[KOR][Fanfic] Spring Wonder, Pt. 3

[Chris Schumacher]

Kimagure Orange Road
Spring Wonder
Chapter 3

Author's note: if you've never read the manga, it would be a very
good time to read a synopsis of the last volume.

A cold wind blew through the empty streets of Tokyo that night, even
though winter had died more than a month ago. The sudden, and equally
unwelcome, chill had been heralded by a thunderstorm that-despite its
fierceness-had lasted only twenty-seven minutes and eighteen seconds.
In a bedroom of an apartment in a certain part of Tokyo,
something queer was afoot.

Manami walked into Kyosuke's bedroom to find Ayukawa waiting for
her. She sat on the end of his bed wearing nothing but one of his
school shirts. Manami could see a black t-back beneath the shirt
tails.
What a wonderful experience of youth this was, Manami thought.
The love of her life stopping by for a quick, passionate, roll in the
hay.
"Hey honey," Ayukawa said. "I've got what you've been craving."
Part of Manami realized this sounded nothing like Ayukawa, but
most of her didn't seem to give a damn.
They necked passionately, Manami kissing Ayukawa's neck and
undoing the buttons on her shirt. Manami got a whiff of that vinegary
smell of Ayukawa's that Manami loved so much.
Shirt: off. Bra: being unfastened as we speak. Panties: don't
get ahead of yourself, Kyosuke.
Then again, why not? Before she knew it, Manami was making love
to Ayukawa. It was something she'd wanted to do since they first met,
and it was every bit as good as she imagined it would be...

Manami jerked awake from the cold. Her nose was running, and the
room was filled with the smell of wet pavement. She wiped her nose on
the back of her hand as she jumped out of bed. She was shocked to
discover that she was naked; but quickly remembered how she got that
way. She ran over to the window and slammed it shut. She switched on
the light and got her winter robe from the closet. She'd almost put
it into storage with the rest of her winter clothes; she was now glad
she hadn't.
She sat down on her bed and looked at the myopia-blurred walls
of her room. What in god's name had THAT been?
Was she gay? She'd never had thoughts like that before; EVER.
She'd been reading that Yuri manga earlier, and even though she found
it kind of sweet it hadn't made her want to go out and give it a try.
But, wait a second, in the dream... she had a penis.
Her confusion was magnified when she realized that the dream was
still going on inside her head.
&"Oh, Kyosuke, you're such a man to make me feel like such a
woman!"&
Manami would've recognized that maudlin dialogue anywhere: it's
how her brother talked. She tried to stop the fantasy, but she
couldn't. It wasn't even like when she stopped thinking about
something and her mind kept creeping back to it.
It was then that she first noticed a very alien "taste" to the
thoughts. Then, with a dreadful certainty, she realized: they weren't
her thoughts at all.

-> -> ->

Kazuya was having a wonderful dream: he was Black Flash, the new
leader of Flashman who came down to Earth to show his brethren what
was what. He and the rest of Flashman were fighting Za Snotlocker
when he was violently shaken awake.
"Kazuya!" a girl's voice said, with a certain hint of urgency.
Kazuya opened his eyes and looked around. His cousin, Manami,
was there, in her pajamas.
"Whazgoing on?" Kazuya said, rubbing the crud out of his eyes.
Was she sleeping over or something?
"I teleported over, I need to talk to you about something,"
Manami said.
Although Kazuya was annoyed, he was curious. It wasn't like
Manami to act like this.
"Yes, I know I'm acting strange, but this is important," Manami
said.
Kazuya looked up sharply. This couldn't be...
&can you read my thoughts?&
"Yes, I can," Manami said.
Kazuya's eyes bugged out. "That's... That's impossible! You
never could before!"
"That's why I needed to talk to you!" Manami said.
Kazuya felt a burst of emotion from her, scattered thoughts. She
was terrified. He backed away from her, rubbing his forehead.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Kazuya said.
"I'm not saying anything," Manami said. Feelings of hurt.
&you know what I mean!&
"Oh," Manami said. She gulped and closed her eyes. After a few
moments, the rush of thoughts slowed to a trickle.
How could this happen, he wondered. He concentrated on the
thoughts in his cousin's mind, and began to push slowly. He had to
know what had caused this...
There was a flash of images; it was pure thought: impossible to
put into words. It gave him a feeling of warm and sticky joy that he
wasn't at all comfortable with.
He was so lost in his cousin's thoughts that he didn't notice
her shoving him off the bed. He only came out of it when he hit the
floor.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" she shouted, looking down at him. Her eyes
burned with rage behind her glasses. The anger simmered off her like
waves of heat.
Kazuya quickly scanned the minds of his parents and Akane: Akane
was slightly aroused, but turned over and fell back to sleep. His
parents hadn't heard anything.
"You idiot!" Kazuya said. "I'm trying to help you!"
"I'm sorry..." Manami trailed off. Feelings of hurt, of anger,
of violation. She reached down and helped him up.
&you know, I could always read your mind, Manami. This is no
different.&
\It's different because I never knew you were doing it before.\
Picture of stick man weeping. &boo-hoo&

-> -> ->

The sky was a dome of interlocking grey clouds. The cloud cover
was so thick that it was impossible to tell where the sun was.
Manami shivered from the cold, in spite of the thick winter coat
she was wearing. She hadn't remembered it being this cold even in the
darkest depth of winter.
"Zip up your coat," Manami said.
&what're you, my mother?&
"You're cold, I can feel it, and it's making me even colder!"
Manami said.
&pfffft, fine&
Manami wondered why he bothered to make the lip-flapping sound
in his mind. She wondered how people would communicate if they didn't
have mouths, and only telepathy.
&I never thought of that before...&
/When did you first realize you could read people's minds?/
&It was more that I discovered that other people couldn't. You
wouldn't believe how much I freaked out the kids in preschool.&
"It must've been easier, growing up on a farm like you did,"
Manami said.
&WITH YOUR MIND! it's faster&
Manami noticed a hum in her mind. She turned to her cousin.
/Are you-/
"Someone's coming," he said out loud.
&Brace yourself. Normal people don't keep their minds tidy like
I do.&
A salaryman turned a corner a few blocks ahead of them. The hum
in Manami's head slowly resolved itself into chatter.
^How much farther? Damn it, where were my gloves? They were in
my coat pocket, did someone take them... Hey, what's this? Cute kid,
and I'd like to take a shot at his sister. I bet she's a screamer.
Dammit, why don't they ever repair these sidewalks, they're always so
unlevel....^
His thoughts dissipated with distance. Manami was blushing.
Kazuya looked at her.
&What did he-& He got a flash of images. &Ew, gross! He's my
father's age!&
/I never knew anyone thought that way about me before./
&I hear thoughts like that all the time when I'm out with Akane.
She'd be surprised how many guys want to do stuff to her.&
"We're almost to the donut shop. This is going to be quite a
shock, cuz," Kazuya said.
She got the image of someone falling into a pool. They struggled
and drowned. The image played back, but this time the man didn't
struggle. He sank right to the bottom of the pool, and then floated
back up. He kicked his legs a little and it kept him afloat.
&It's like that. If you try to force their thoughts out of your
head, you'll drown. You need to let yourself go; allow the thoughts
to pass through your mind and out the other side. If you don't
believe you'll drown, you'll float on the thoughts of others.&
/I understand./
&It's not that easy, but you'll see.&
They walked into the donut shop. As it was early, there were
only three people there. To Manami it was like walking into a sawmill.
&Yeah, fat guy, you really need six more donuts.& #..from the
file, into the char*. Dammit, if only we could read more than a
character at a time. Why won't that jackass let us use C++ instead?#
The girl behind the counter really had to go to the bathroom,
but had to wait half-an-hour for her next break. Manami could feel
the pain seep into her.
&Hold on Manami& The words were much stronger than any of the
others. Kazuya must have a much stronger mind, Manami thought.
&Don't fight; ignore.&
He sent that as text, complete with punctuation.
&When your mind is full of their thoughts, you feel no need to
think your own. Count backwards from 50.&
/Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight/ &Graphically! It centers you
more.&
/50,49,48,47... You know, for a kid, Kazuya knew quite a lot,
46/ &You know a lot about walking, because you do it all the time,
right? Of course I'm an expert. So will you be, one day.&
/If this doesn't wear off./
Kazuya turned to look at his cousin, she felt disappointment
from him.
&You would really give this up?&
/I don't want to know other people's thoughts./
&But it makes you better prepared. It makes people easier to
deal with. It makes you...&
/Powerful/ Manami gave her cousin a sour look. The Imperial
Theme from Star Wars played in both their heads.
&It's not like that. It's not like we're cheating; we can't
think as deeply as other people because of the clutter.& Image of the
ground evening out.
/It's working... I can still hear their thoughts, but I can talk
to you at the same time./ &If you're really tired, it'll be hard to
shut them out. And you'll start having other people's dream if
they're in close contact&
/You mean I'll never dream my own dreams again?/
&Probably not. You can't be in control when you're asleep.&
An image of a piece of Manami's torso falling to the ground.
Kazuya gave her a strange look.
&You're really strange.&
/You've been reading my thoughts for ten years now, and you're
only realizing that now?/
Manami felt a block in his mind, and some embarrassment.
"The truth is..." Kazuya said.
/You never found me interesting enough to pay attention to my
thoughts before./
&Well, they're like my mother's thoughts. Kyosuke's used to be
really cool because he had these space battles going on in his head.
But now all he thinks about is girls. He thinks like he talks too, by
the way.&
/Yeah, I noticed that./

-> -> ->

Manami had never known dread before; but she did today as she
walked through their apartment's front door. She walked into the
kitchen and switched on the lights. She heard the distant buzzing of
Kyosuke's electric shaver.
She put the pink box of donuts down in the center of the table
and called out: "Breakfast!"
Manami took a seat and braced herself.
First down was Kurumi, still in pajamas. Her burbled thoughts
told Manami she was fresh from bed; or perhaps she always thought
like that. It matched the way she spoke.
"All right, donuts!" Kurumi said as she sat down. /It's a nice
change from that traditional stuff she makes us eat/
Manami glared at her sister, but quickly took on a calm
expression. She couldn't react to people's thoughts, or her secret
would soon be out.
Kurumi proceeded to eat three donuts in less than a minute. The
only thoughts in her head was the theme song of a Saturday morning
cartoon she looped constantly.
Kyosuke came down next, a band-aid stuck on his face.
/I'm going to look like such an idiot/ he thought. /It takes a
real brain-trust to nick himself with an electric razor./
He sat down at the table and took a couple of the chocolate
glazed donuts. Feelings of glee and appreciation washed over Manami.
She couldn't help smiling.
As Kyosuke ate, his thoughts turned back to the dream he'd had
the night before; the one that Manami had inadvertently witnessed. He
kept replaying the more explicit parts of the dream, causing Manami
to blush. She had to excuse herself, claiming she had to get some
juice from the refrigerator.
Manami couldn't believe how graphic and sensual her brother's
thoughts were. Not only did he replay the image, but he imagined what
sex must feel like, and ruminated on how good it must feel. But it
wasn't just that... Mixed in with the pornographic images and
thoughts were ones that were downright wholesome. The warm feeling he
got when she smiled; an elated feeling when he saw her walking across
the field behind the school, the sky utter blue, her sleek black hair
blowing in the wind. The warm feeling he got seeing her in a sweater
with a red scarf draped over her shoulders. Then, an image of Ayukawa
eating a Vienna sausage. Okay, that last enough was closer to the
other category.
Manami stared into the refrigerator, lost in thought. The light
inside dimmed as the compressor hummed to life. These thoughts
Kyosuke had... It couldn't simply be lust, not if he thought about
Ayukawa that way. She'd never felt this type of thought before, but
was this love? Was her brother in love with Ayukawa?
Manami had always secretly hoped that her brother would end up
with Ayukawa; but it seemed that he and Hikaru were the sure thing.
Did Hikaru know how her brother felt?
She got back to the table, and Kyosuke's mind had wandered. He
was now remembering when he, Ayukawa and Hikaru had sailed their
little boats during the O-Bon last year. His memories were
accompanied by painfully melodramatic narration.
Her father came out of the darkroom, reeking of developer and
fixer. He sat at the table and looked at the donuts.
"Hey donuts! Nice to have a change of pace," he said as he took
one. /Was it too much trouble to make breakfast? It's not like I ask
much of that girl./
Manami felt herself tearing up. She excused herself and slowly
walked up the stairs. They couldn't see her eyes, so their was no
point in running to give the game away.
She sat in the bathtub in the darkened bathroom and cried until
it was time to leave for school.

-> -> ->

When one is out of one's depth, it is irresponsible not to ask
for help. As Yuki wasn't one of the more feminine people she knew,
she felt her love-letter writing skills were sorely lacking. So she
sought out the help of her friend Kaori, who was the most femme
person she knew.
They were sitting at a picnic table in the park across from
school; it would be more than an hour before the first bell rang. If
Yuki had known it would've been this cold, she wouldn't have arranged
this meeting the night before. Their breath formed into mist as they
spoke. The clouds overhead were deep gray, making the landscape look
wetter than it really was.
"Look, right here," Kaori said, pointing to something on Yuki's
rough draft. "Generally speaking, a phrase like 'shit happens'
doesn't belong in a love letter."
"Noted," Yuki said with a nod.
Kaori let out a sigh. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean,
you've got Komatsu."
"I only started going out with him to make Akane jealous. She
was, is, and always shall be my only love," Yuki said.
Kaori frowned at her. "Maybe you shouldn't string him along,
Yuki. I mean, I know how he appears at first... but he's actually a
really nice guy. He doesn't deserve being toyed with like that."
"I know, I know..." Yuki said. "This has gotten out of control.
I thought that Akane would get jealous; I guess I thought somewhere,
deep down, she felt the same. But she doesn't."
"Then why are you writing the letter?" Kaori asked.
"She doesn't feel that way YET. How could she? She barely knows
me. That's why I need to let her know how I feel, through this. Then
maybe she'll think that I'm worth a shot. If she knew me, I'm sure
she'd grow to love me."
"I don't know, Yuki... Do you think you could love someone who
would use Komatsu the way you did?" Kaori said.
"We all have our moments of weakness," Yuki said. "She can
forgive me that... Even if he never can."
"When do you plan to tell him?" Kaori said.
"Not right away; the relationship has to experience some
turbulence first. If I play this right, I can make him dump me. Then
I won't have to feel at all guilty," Yuki said. She looked up as she
heard a sharp intake of breath. Kaori was staring at her, bemused.
"What?"
Kaori just shook her head.

-> -> ->

"This is such a tragedy," Kyosuke said. "It's really spring now,
the weather's got no business being so cold!"
Manami simply nodded, seemingly lost in thought.
Kurumi wasn't with them, as she was just getting into the shower
as they left. Doubtless she was going to be late for school; though
it wouldn't be the first time.
"Oniichan," Manami began.
Kyosuke looked at his sister: it was unusual to hear her so
serious. Kyosuke wondered if she was going to reveal some intimate
detail of her life. He smiled inwardly: they had gotten so close. It
must be difficult for her to speak of such things, so he'd have to be
kind and considerate.
"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. I
just wasn't sure how to broach the subject," Manami said. "If you're
uncomfortable talking about it, I understand,"
Ah, that was it, Kyosuke said. She was in love with someone. He
imagined how hard this must be for her; to discuss the innermost
workings of her heart. However, he felt gratified that she trusted
him this much.
"No, please, I think I have an idea what you want to tell me,"
Kyosuke said.
"Well, it's about you and Ayukawa," Manami said.
Kyosuke stopped so fast that his sneakers squeaked. "WHAT?!"
"I've known for a while how you've felt about her," Manami said.
"How? I mean, what?!" Kyosuke felt his heart racing. "I mean,
how?"
"Umm... That's not important. But, I am right: aren't I? You're in
love with her?"
Kyosuke felt nervous; then he realized he had no need to be. He
let himself remember Ayukawa, all the things about her that made her
so special; all the things that made him...
"Yes. Yes it's true, I love her," Kyosuke said. It was a relief
to say those words out loud; to tell someone, anyone, what he'd kept
bottled up all these years.
"But what about Hikaru?" Manami asked. There was no challenge in
her voice: only concern, and sadness.
"That's really not something I want to think about," Kyosuke
said.
"But you have to!" Manami said. "You can't just continue to lead
her on, you-" Manami's face scrunched up, and she backed away from
her brother.
Kyosuke's flash of turmoil and grief dissipated and he grabbed
his sister to steady her.
"Manami, are you all right?" Kyosuke asked.
"I didn't know you felt that strongly," Manami mumbled, her eyes
still tightly closed. She then opened her eyes, and looked
embarrassed. "I'm fine, oniichan. Just a little headache; I didn't
get much sleep last night."

-> -> ->

The sudden onset of cold forced everyone who usually ate their
lunch in the school's courtyard back into their crowded, stuffy
classrooms. Hence, Kasuga was forced to have lunch with Komatsu and
Hatta; something he hadn't been forced to do since before the spring
equinox.
"So, if you had to choose, which would you rather be: a Time
Lord or a Jedi?" Hatta said.
"Pffft, that's a stupid question. A Time Lord. Jedi's are just
cops with shiny light swords," Komatsu said.
"Yeah, but the Jedi are in touch with the Force; they can see
things before they happen," Hatta said.
"What, and a Time Lord can't? Hello, Hello anybody home? Think,
Hatta, THINK: a Time Lord can cross time as easily as we walk across
a room. A Jedi's got nothing on that," Komatsu said.
"Okay, if they're so powerful and shit, then how come they need
those blue boxes to move around in?" Hatta said.
Komatsu let out a long, impatient sigh. "Look, how many times do
I have to say this: only the Doctor's TARDIS looks like that. The
camouflage system got stuck; the other ones blend into the
environment."
"Well if the Time Lords are so great, then how come the Doctor
can't fix his stupid TARDIS so it doesn't have that shape anymore?"
Hatta said.
"Well, you're a human being, and I don't think you could've come
up with the calculus," Kasuga said.
"Oooh, Kasuga, that's harsh..." Komatsu said. "That's like
something Ayukawa would say," He looked around the room. "Speaking of
which, where is the little delinquent?"
Kasuga look concerned. "I don't know; Hikaru's absent too..."
"Maybe they're off doing something together..." Hatta said. Then
he got a perverted look on his face. "Like each other. Heh-heh-heh...
They would make such a cute couple, don't you think?"
"Couldn't be," Akane said from across the aisle. "Ayukawa's
straight."
"Are you certain of that?" Komatsu said.
"Yes," Akane said, with sadness in her voice. "We can smell our
own."

It's probably true, Akane noted to herself. The assumption that
it was possible to change someone's sexuality was not only ridiculous,
but made her a hypocrite.
But... Madoka and Hikaru had apparently always been very close:
perhaps its possible that there was something more than friendship
there. Of course, that presented an entire host of different problems.
But perhaps Madoka was the water-carrier in that relationship, and
Hikaru was as straight as a laser beam...
Akane shook her head; she was hoping for something that was so
improbable: there was a better chance of the Japanese economy
collapsing.
Akane finished off her sandwich and wiped the crumbs from her
hands. She reached into the bag for her desert, and discovered that
her mother had packed a pear for her. Akane felt a pang of anger, but
she did love the look and feel of pears.
Pears reminded her of the waist/hip curve of a woman's body-
easily the most sensuous part. She remembered the first time she'd
seen Madoka in a bikini; her curves were so sublime. Akane moved the
pear towards her mouth, and ran her tongue along the unbroken skin.
She couldn't give up, she realized. All of her doubts were
obliterated in that moment. If there was any chance at all, she had
to take it. Some things were worth fighting for.

Hatta's nose was starting to bleed. He, Komatsu, and Kasuga were
intrigued by the attention Akane was giving to the pear. After a
moment, she bit into it; they all winced in pain.
"Well," Komatsu said. "...well," was all he could come up with.
"I've... uh, gotta go to the bathroom," Komatsu said.
"Yeah, I've got to go to the roof, and, uh... check for UFOs,"
Hatta said.
"I've going to the gym supply room to make sure nothing's been
stolen," Kasuga said.

-> -> ->

Manami's head was throbbing by 11:50. It was easily the worst
headache she'd ever had: complete with the visual aura associated
with migraines. Unless that was another new power she had. It hurt
her head even more to think about that.
The thoughts had gotten louder during lunch, contrary to
expectation. They weren't passive, bored thoughts like during class.
They were active and involved; Manami kept losing the thread of the
conversation, and once found herself answering one of her classmate's
thoughts: gaining her the strangest look she'd gotten in her entire
life.
She decided to go the library, the place she remembered for
being quiet and serene. It would be the perfect place to lay low for
a couple of periods. Then she'd brave the last three periods and go
home.
The halls were empty, it being the middle of a period, so
Manami's mind was already beginning to relax. The power of thoughts
diminished with distance; and, oddly enough, the intensity of a
thought didn't seem to lengthen its range. That caused quite a shock
when she came in the orbit of someone who was experiencing a crisis.
Manami arrived before the giant oak doors leading into the
library; she stood there for a moment, allowing a smile to come to
her lips. This was going to feel so good; like crawling into a warm
bath after a long day. She gripped the handle and pulled open the
door.
Her minded was almost deafened by the onslaught. So many
different thoughts, from so many different minds, racing at a speed
she hadn't experienced in another person.
@Co-sine of the arc-sine is theta itself... No, wait, that isn't
right...@ !The power of the individual is paramount, as only the
individual can be decisive! #The most merciful thing in the world is
the inability of the human mind to correlate its contents.#
Manami grabbed her head, and rushed out of the library. It was
astounding, she thought when she was able; her teachers would be
quite angry if they knew how little thinking their students did in
class.
Manami leaned her back against the wall and allowed herself to
slide to a sitting position. She pushed her glasses up to her
forehead and rubbed her eyes. She didn't hear the door opening or the
footsteps, but knew one of her classmates was passing by the presence
of his thoughts.
#Hey, Kasuga Manami... Zowie! I'd like to find the area between
those curves!#
This was followed by a flattering, and very inaccurate,
rendering of Manami in the nude. She felt herself blush; she looked
up, but the boy wasn't even looking at her. He was walking down the
hallway, humming something she didn't recognize in his mind.
She tried to remember his name; she thought it was Katsuhiro.
She'd never noticed him before-she certainly had no idea that he, or
anyone, thought about her in that way. There had been the dirty old
man in his thirties she'd met on the street earlier, but that hadn't
been someone she knew.
The irony was sickening: Manami had gotten into this situation
because Kurumi had convinced her that all the guys had seen her as
some sort of mommy figure. Manami now knew that guys needed very
little prompting to think of girls in erotic ways.

-> -> ->

Charm school was winding down for the day. Akane and Akiko sat
at their desk, working earnestly on their flower arrangements.
Periodically Akiko glanced at the clock.
"It doesn't look right," Akiko said, trying to move her lips as
little as possible.
"It's free expression; we'll be graded on form, not contents,"
Akane said without looking up or moving her lips at all. She simply
parted them to let the sound flow out.
Three minutes later Shimizu-sensei walked among the rows of
desks and appraised each arrangement. By the time she got to their
desk, she looked weary from disappointment. She gave Akiko's a
cursory nod, but took some time to look at Akane's.
"That's an interesting use of materials, Akane. Perhaps you'd
like to tell us what you were thinking," Shimizu-san said, challenge
in her voice.
Akane smiled good-naturedly. "Well it's about the splendour of
spring. You see, that's why we have the long grass around the edges.
Not especially elegant, but its wonderful verdant hues are refreshing,
as is the smell. Dandelions aren't even flowers, but again they're
associated with summer, and these young dandelions let us know that
even though summer is not yet here, it will be soon. The cat-tails
remind of those fields in Hokkaido where I grew up."
"Akane... Are you aware of the fact that there are no actual
flowers in your flower arrangement?" Shimizu-sensei asked.
"Flowers are over-perfumed, bitter and remind me of enclosed
spaces. There are some things they aren't able to convey," Akane said.
The two locked gazes for a long moment.
After a moment, Shimizu-sensei smiled. "Exceptional job, Akane."
There was a collective sigh of relief from the rest of the room.
Shimizu-sensei walked back to the front of the room and sat down.
"Class dismissed," she said.

"Wow. That really took guts, Akane," Akiko said.
Akane and five of the girls from her class were filing out of
the building onto the sidewalk. Each of them had a bad case of the
shivers as the biting wind hit them.
"She respects strength," Akane said.
"That certainly doesn't sound like the Shimizu-sensei I know,"
one of them, Haruki, replied.
Akane clucked her tongue several times in disappointment. "You
haven't been paying attention in class, Haruki. A lady should be
strong, but not insolent. Insolence presents a challenge, but hidden
strength gets past defenses and awakens reason."
"Wow!" another of the girls, Eri, exclaimed, her eyes shining.
"You're really good at this," another one, Ryoko, said. "You'd
put the empress to shame."
"You must've grown up in an upper-class household," Eri said.
Akane sighed. "Weren't you listening in class? I spent most of
my life on a farm in Hokkaido. You just need to pay attention to the
material; it's amazing what you can do when you try."

By the time they reached Shinjuku station, Akane and Akiko were
the only ones left. Akiko and Akane stared through the window at the
landscape as it blurred by.
Akane felt strangely numb inside. She liked insolence; some of
her best friends were insolent. Hikaru, and Madoka in her better
moments. Wasn't what was wrong with society these days is that people
weren't insolent enough?
"How do you do it Akane?" Akiko said.
Akane shook off her ponderings and looked to her friend. Had she
missed something? Had she been so deep in her thoughts that she
missed something else Akiko said? Probably not, there were only five
people on the train, and no one else was talking.
"I'm sorry, what?" Akane said.
"How did you manage to become so popular?" Akiko said.
It was a strange question; one which Akane hadn't ever conceived
of before. Was she popular? Well, not in school... Wait, she had been
popular at Hoshi's; very popular in fact. And she'd become popular in
charm school as well. She'd never thought to ask why.
"I don't know," Akane said. "I shouldn't be, should I?"
"Why not? You're the best student in the class," Akiko said.
"The other day, after class, Shimizu-sensei said you were the best
student she ever had; and she taught the empress."
Akane felt herself blushing, she also felt her skin crawl. This
is how spies must feel, she realized. How do they keep on living the
lie like that?
But that thought passed out of her mind as she thought back to
her popularity. She was very popular among girls, she realized. She
suddenly got a devious smile as the realization dawned: she was a
babe-magnet.
That little ego-boost carried her through the rest of the day
without any guilty feelings whatsoever.

-> -> ->

Manami kicked off her shoes and crawled under the sheets. The
bed was still unmade, she hadn't had the chance to make it after she
departed abruptly that morning. Manami took off her glasses and
snuggled the comforter. She didn't believe she'd ever felt more
relieved to be back in bed.
It was just a little past four, but Manami was profoundly tired.
She realized that she'd been up since three that morning, and she'd
only gotten three hours of sleep the night before. She felt a surge
of hope in her heart: so it wasn't just the telepathy that had made
her feel so overwhelmed today. Tomorrow might be better, she thought.
That is, if the power didn't fade, or she didn't find a way to get
rid of it.
As her muscles untensed, she allowed the steel-grip she kept on
her thoughts-or more to the point other people's thoughts-to relax.
It was almost quiet here, the background buzz was nowhere near as
strong. The population density in a residential neighborhood was
smaller than that of a school. Perhaps she could stay home from
school tomorrow?
She listened to the buzz for awhile as she drifted off. Finally
her curiosity got the better of her. The buzz was like background
noise, it only sounded like a buzz because she wasn't attempting to
listen to any part of it. She concentrated on a thought pattern she
recognized very well, and strained to listen. It was shocking how
clearly she heard the thoughts. This wasn't like squinting or
straining to hear: the strength of thoughts diminished with distance,
but their content did not.
Kazuya was in his living room, taking a Famicom Disk System out
of its box. Manami remembered that his birthday was the following
week. She had to remember to get him something.
&A cake would be nice. You know mom's cooking.& he sent.
Manami's muscles tensed. Across the street in his apartment,
Kazuya smiled; Manami could feel the muscles in his face contorting
into the proper shape.
&That's pretty impressive long-distance telepathy, Manami. Why
don't you try poking around some more. I have some...& He looked down
at a plastic sleeve containing a small yellow disk and read the label.
&...Hyrulian Adventuring to do.&
\All right.\ Manami sent.
She listened to a few more thoughts, looking for Akane's, but
couldn't find any.
&She's not here; she usually doesn't come back until six. I have
no idea where she goes. You can't read her thoughts anyway.&
\What? Why not?\
&She's partially telepathic, so she knows when someone's probing
her mind. You might be able to overpower the block, or she might let
you in. But she's never done that for me.&
Manami gave the telepathic equivalent of a grunt of
acknowledgement, and continued to browse through the buzz that
surrounded her mind.
#The evil that men do lives after them, the good if oft interred
with their bones, so let it be with Caesar#, first in English, then
quickly translated into Japanese. Manami wished she had that depth of
skill.
$This is how we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our
teeth, so early in the morning$ the thought echoed in her mind. She
suddenly realized that it was one thought, being thought by many
different minds. She'd never felt something like this before, and it
was scary in its starkness. She realized that the thought must be
coming from the preschool a block over.
She listened to a few more verses of the song, the slow, strong
melody lulled her to sleep.

-> -> ->

She awoke just before seven, the sun had just set and the clouds
about the horizon were blood red.
She sat up and rubbed the gunk from her eyes. She'd has the
strangest dreams of her entire life. Then she realized: they hadn't
been her dreams.
Still, she felt as she'd been reborn. As she walked down into
the family room, she was able to silence the thoughts of her family
with minimal effort. She'd never thought herself a quick-study, but
she had managed this admirably. Of course, she'd had plenty of
practice.
After they'd eaten (Manami made yakitori that night) Manami
cloistered herself in her room, claiming she had some studying to do.
She took out a map of the Kanto region and made several marks on it.
That done, she pulled on her coat, placing the folded map in one of
its pockets, concentrated, and teleported.
It took six jumps to get to her grandparent's house. These were
the long-distance, exhausting jumps that she and her siblings rarely
made. When Kurumi was younger, she used to hop around Japan and
decorated her room with all sorts of trinkets. Their friends and
neighbors wondered how the Kasuga family could take so many family
trips without anyone ever noticing.
Kurumi had once even threatened to jump across to China or the
Korean peninsula, but their father finally put his foot down. When
one of them failed to make a jump to the correct location, they
usually ended up somewhere in-between; and Kurumi wasn't that good of
a swimmer.
Manami finally made it to her grandparent's front door. She
knocked, and after a moment her grandmother answered.
"Good evening," Manami said, the world swimming around her. "Is
grampa around?"
Her grandmother's bewildered face was the last thing Manami saw
before she was swallowed in darkness.

The next thing she saw was her grandfather's face above her. He
looked more amused than concerned. Manami sat up, finding herself on
the couch in the living room. There was a sweet smell in the air-hot
chocolate, she realized.
"Grampa..." she said, at a loss for words. She couldn't remember
why she was here.
"Take it easy, my child. You've had a busy day," her grandfather
said.
Then she remembered everything. Her grandfather helped her over
to the table. She sunk her feet into the leg-warmer beneath the table,
and her grandfather gave her a mug of hot chocolate. She sipped it,
and felt luscious warmth flow into her. It had been such a cold day.
Slowly and carefully, Manami told her grandfather what had
happened. She didn't go into details about what brought on the event,
but her grandfather gave her a knowing look while she sputtered over
that part.
Finally she asked the question she'd come there to ask. "Is
there a way to make this go away?"
"You need to understand Manami, that you weren't just granted
this power out of the blue. You've always had it; you just needed a
strong enough emotional experience to shake it loose," her
grandfather said.
"But I couldn't have had this power and not known it!" Manami
said. "Kazuya said he could read minds as far back as he could
remember."
"Yes, as far back as he can remember," her grandfather said.
"His first few years of life were happy ones for his family. As such,
the feelings around him were of warmth and love."
"What are you saying?" Manami said, growing angry. "Our family
isn't a dysfunctional one! Our father never abused us or molested us.
What the hell are you..." Then she got it.
"Yes. During those first few months of your life, your father
and brother were overtaken by almost unbearable grief over the loss
of your mother. It stands to reason that if you could feel their
thoughts and emotions you would react in a way to make that pain go
away. You suppressed the power, and you've always been suppressing it
unconsciously. Just as you constricted your emotions," her
grandfather said.
Manami leaned back until her back was on the floor and stared at
the ceiling. It was true, she realized. It was not only her own
feelings that she had been holding back all those years.
"But grampa... I can't cope with this. Kazuya's had his entire
life to learn how to deal with this. I'm a teenager, I have enough on
my plate already!" Manami said.
"What would you have me do?" Grampa asked.
Manami sat back up. "There was that ring you let me borrow when
I was sick, so I could keep my powers from getting out of control#,"
Manami said.
"You mean this?" Grampa said, taking the ring from one the right
sleeve-pocket of his yukata. He was full of surprises--he knew she'd
ask. "Here," he said. "Take it."
Manami took it; suddenly she felt indescribable dread. It felt
like once when she'd been electrocuted by the electric mixer. But
this was worse, it was dark, and vile, and alien. She dropped the
ring, it clattered on the floor.
"It's... It's alive!" Manami said.
Grampa gingerly picked it up and stuffed it back into his
sleeve-pocket.
"Yes, it contains some kind of parasite that feeds on our powers.
It must be very long lived: this ring is as old as the village that
once stood here," Grampa said. "As you can see, it's only useful in
the most dire situations. I have no idea what the long term effects
would be, but I doubt they're good."
Manami sighed; as disturbed as she was by the feel of the ring,
she still wished it had worked. "Kyosuke once told me about how he
went back in time..."
"Yes, but that has its own problems," Grampa said. "You may be
able to go back to yesterday and stop yourself from doing whatever it
was that gave you this power--"
Manami blushed.
"--but you need to understand that you're simply traveling back
and forth on your own time-stream; the you that exists now is the you
that will appear twenty-four hours ago. You'll still have the power,"
Grampa said.
"What if I left myself a note and then jumped back to the
present?" Manami said.
"Do you remember reading a note last night?" Grampa asked.
"No," Manami said.
"Then you didn't leave yourself a note," Grampa said.
"But if I go back and leave myself a note, then I will have read
it," Manami said.
"But if you do that, and never get the power, than you won't
have a reason to go back and leave yourself the note," Grampa said.
"But I'll tell myself in the note to go back and leave myself
the note," Manami said.
"But it won't be the same you that went back and left the note
in the first place. And since that you never existed to start the
loop, the loop never started to begin with, and you're back where you
started," Grampa said.
And Manami thought that telepathy gave her a headache.
"Temporal dynamics aside, Manami, do you really want to live the
rest of yourself without experiencing the thing that freed this
ability in you?" Grampa asked.
Manami thought about it... The aftermath had scared the hell out
of her; but what she felt... That little explosion inside her; she'd
never felt anything that good before; and the feeling of peace and
rightness she'd felt afterwards... These were things she wouldn't ever
want to give up; not if she didn't have to.
"I... I suppose telepathy is a small enough price to pay," Manami
said.
Grampa nodded in approval. "Just remember that, when you feel
you can't bear it anymore. It'll carry you through the hard times."
"Grampa, there's something else... Only Kazuya knows I have this
power, and now you. I don't want anyone else to know," Manami said.
"It's one thing to know that I can move things around with my mind
and teleport... But if they know I can read their minds, they'll never
look at me the same way again."
"I understand Manami; but don't you think they have a right to
know?" Grampa said.
"I'll tell them, eventually; but I don't need them trying to
cope with my new abilities at the same time I am," Manami said.
"All right, that's settled then. Now, I suggest you get some
sleep. I'll help you teleport back later," Grampa said.
"But I need to be back for school," Manami said.
"Don't worry," her grandfather said, his eyes gleaming. "I'll
get you back before dawn."

# - see "The Rumbling Spirit" by the same author.

-> -> ->

Tuesday.
Akane was worried. Madoka had been absent for two days in a row.
Akane wouldn't put it past Madoka to skip a couple of days of school,
but she couldn't help feeling concerned.
It was those feeling of concern that brought her to the
Ayukawas' front door on this cold day in April. Akane sighed and
noticed the sigh float past her face as clouds of mist. She'd checked
the weather section of the Tokyo Times at breakfast, and it didn't
look like this cold snap was going to pass anytime soon. This weather,
combined with Madoka's absence, made her incredibly irritable. It
certainly didn't help that it followed such a blissful weekend.
She had rung the doorbell three times, and had waited at least
two minutes since the last ring. Painful thoughts wormed their way
through Akane's mind. She took a few deep sniffs, but smelled only
the nostril-stinging freshness of the newly fallen snow; no decay. So
either Madoka was still alive, or not near the front door.
She tried to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. She
walked around the perimeter of the house and found the sliding door
that led out onto the patio. She felt a gush of relief as it slid
open.
She walked into the darkened kitchen. She noticed several dirty
dishes in the sink. Akane frowned; that wasn't like Madoka. She
washed up after every meal: Akane had even joked about her having
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder. But... what if the dishes weren't
Madoka's?
Horrible ideas flashed through Akane's minds; an older man, from
out of town. He showed up every month or so, and he and Madoka slept
together. She imagined Madoka's naked form squatting atop him,
writhing in ecstasy.
It was certainly possible; as Kyosuke once said, they knew so
little of Madoka's gang years. It was quite possible she'd have an
old beau from back then.
Akane stopped, with her hand resting on the yule-post of the
staircase. Did she really want to know if it was true or not? It was
probably better to always have some doubt; but she couldn't imagine
going the rest of her life not knowing.
She steeled herself and walked up the stairs. The upstairs
hallway was as dark as the rest of the house, no light came from the
doors leading into the various bedrooms. One door alone was closed:
the door leading into Madoka's room. Akane went over to it, and
turned the knob.
It was just as dark inside. In the dim greenish light of the
alarm clock's LED display she saw Madoka lying in her bed, alone.
Akane's heartbeat raced; she flicked the light switch on and light
flooded the room.
There were empty instant ramen boxes on the bed stand, as well
as some empty bottles of juice, and a few dirty wineglasses. Madoka
was cocooned in dirty sheets; a layer of grease covered both her face
and hair. Her eyes flung open and she sat up, alarmed.
"Madoka, I....," Akane started. No, this wasn't about her. "Are
you okay? I called you seven times last night,"
Madoka breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed on her bed. "Oh,
Akane... Thank God," she said.
Akane walked over to the bed.
"I've got a bad case of the flu. I haven't felt this bad in my
entire life," Madoka said.
"Have you seen a doctor?" Akane asked.
"Yeah, my parents have a friend that still makes house-calls,"
Madoka said. She pulled the blanket up over her dirty nightgown self-
consciously. "I'm sorry, I must look horrible, I didn't expect
company,"
"I just wish I could look that beautiful when I was sick," Akane
laughed. She wasn't joking, though.

-> -> ->

"The oxygen tubes won't fit into the samurai helmet," Hatta,
wearing his prop-master hat, said.
"Well, just tape them on then, the thing doesn't have to be
functional," Komatsu said in a worn-out voice.
"What, and have the tape show up on film? We have standards in
this film company," Hatta said.
"And that crab suit of yours was the pinnacle of
verisimilitude?" Yuki said.
"Verisawhat?" Hatta said.
"It's a big Scrabble word for believability," Komatsu said.
Hatta sneered and walked off, yelling at one of the Hoshi girls
to get him some tape.
The cold wasn't doing much to help Komatsu's mood. Had it been
only three days ago when they started shooting? Everything seemed
fresh and new then. It was an exciting time; now they were shooting
linking footage.
Komatsu shuddered as the words passed through his brain; was
there any viler combination of words in the Japanese language than
that? The scenes no one ever notices, but their absence destroys the
movie. They could also completely ruin them by introducing continuity
errors--which were impossible to check since the film for the scenes
they linked hadn't been developed yet.
"You know," Yuki said. "This film of yours really sucks."
"Yeah, I know," Komatsu said.
Yuki looked at him, nonplussed. After a moment she continued.
"You know movies like Gamera and Godzilla are not something you
should be seeking to imitate."
"I know, I was a fool," Komatsu said. He reached his hands out,
as if he was grasping the air. "I want to do something serious and
mature, but I'm stuck doing this," Komatsu said. "It's hard getting
up in the morning knowing I'm making something that people will
consider a joke." He shook his head. "I bet you Kurosawa never had
days like this."
"That's because Kurosawa was a far superior director," Yuki said.
"I know! But how does someone like me become someone like that?
No one is born a genius; they have to learn the ropes, the same as
everyone else. But how do you become great? What is it that people
like Kurosawa, Kubrick and Welles do that those others don't? How do
I stop being a hack?" Komatsu said.
Yuki just stared at him; after a moment she shrugged.
"Thank you, Yuki," Komatsu said, jumping to his feet. There was
a gleam in his eyes that wasn't there before. "You've given me the
courage to go on. I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a C,
or even B, director. I'm going to push myself, and discover what it
is to be great!"

Komatsu kissed her hand and then rushed off onto the field,
shouting commands at his crew.
Yuki emitted a groan of frustration. She'd been trying to insult
him and cause a breakup. How could he be so damn dense?!

-> -> ->

Wednesday.
Hikaru was still feeling a little out-of-sorts, but part of that
was the knowledge that she had to go back to school tomorrow. She had
long ago learned to distinguish between the two types of weariness:
the healthy kind that felt good when you finally lie down at the end
of a long day, and the vitality-sucking halo of dizziness that
accompanied sickness. The latter had finally left her; leaving her
with more than her fair share of the former.
Hikaru rang the doorbell and waited. She couldn't help feeling
guilty. Madoka had asked for help; which she almost never did.
Hikaru's illness, the same that had felled her friend, prevented her
from offering it. Luckily she had recovered first and would be able
to do something.
The door swung open and Hikaru saw Akane standing there. She was
wearing an apron and bowed to Hikaru as if she were the lady of the
house.
"Greeting Hikaru-chan, come in, come in!" Akane said.
Hikaru wondered if Akane could invite her into someone else's
house; luckily she wasn't a vampire and wouldn't find out. She walked
across the threshold.
"Uh, what're you... I mean..." Hikaru stumbled. How could she ask
while still being polite?
"Please, have a seat," Akane said, motioning to the living room.
"I've got to check my dumplings. I'll be right back."
Akane slid on her slippered feet into the kitchen. Hikaru, for
lack of anything better to do, went into the living room and sat down.
The blinds had been pulled up, not simply open, and the room smelled
of fresh air, even though the windows were closed. Akane must've
aired out the house, Hikaru realized.
What the hell was going on? Akane was behaving like Madoka's
mother. Were Madoka and Akane such good friends already? Surely you
had to be very good friends with someone to care for them when they
were sick...
Akane came in, still clad in apron, and sat across the table
from Hikaru. "You probably want to see Ayukawa, right?" Akane said.
"She's taking a nap right now, but if you can stay until five, that's
when I'm waking her."
Hikaru felt a creeping emptiness inside her. She'd felt it
before: it was how she felt when she wanted something she couldn't
have. Not so much jealousy as despair. But it didn't make sense for
her to feel that way; not now.
"I..." Hikaru said. She couldn't think of any way to ask the
question without sounding petty; so she gave up on it. "How is she?"
"Getting better, I hope. She said that her stomach cramps have
gone away now that she's eating real food," Akane said, a hint of
pride in her voice. "She's also got a runny nose, which means she's
in the last phase of the flu. She'll probably be back to school on
Monday, if not Saturday."
"...That's good to hear," Hikaru said. It was, so why did she feel
so bitter?
Hikaru shocked herself when she realized that she had no
interest in seeing her old friend. She rose to her feet. "Tell Madoka
I was here; I might stop by tomorrow."
"Oh, it's only an hour and a half," Akane said. "I'm sure seeing
you will make her feel a lot better."
"I've got four days of homework to catch up on," Hikaru said.
"Tell her I hope she gets better soon."
She didn't spare another word to Akane as she left. She walked
almost a mile, deep in thought, before she realized she was walking
in the wrong direction. Even though it was Akane and Madoka's
relationship that was bothering her, for some reason she kept
thinking about Kyosuke.

-> -> ->

Madoka looked refreshed when she awoke. Her face was losing its
paleness, and the glow that Akane so loved was returning to her
cheeks.
Akane brought her tea on a bed tray, and pulled up a chair next
to the bed as Madoka drank it.
"I'm going to be a little late tomorrow," Akane said. "So don't
expect me before six. I'll come over on the way to school to make you
breakfast, though."
"Thank you Akane, but that isn't really necessary. I've almost
beaten this bug, it's time I spent some more time up and around,"
Madoka said.
"It's no trouble at all," Akane said with a flustered smile.
"I'm glad to do it."
Madoka gave her a cheerful smile. "I'm lucky to have such a good
and devoted friend, Akane."
Akane couldn't help feeling stung. Friend: is that all she was?
"The mail came while you were asleep," Akane said. She handed
Madoka a purple envelope. "I got one of these yesterday. It's an
invitation to a party being thrown by some guy called Jun Ryoushi.
You ever hear of him?"
"Ah, Jun," Madoka said, her cheeks blushing just a bit. Akane
didn't like that look one bit. "You wouldn't have met him, I suppose.
His name starts with r, so he's in the other homeroom. We were good
friends back in elementary school, though," Madoka said, and smiled a
mysterious smile.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Akane said, trying to
sound playful. There was a surge of angry jealousy inside her, making
her chest burn.
"Perhaps another time," Madoka said. "I really hope you're going
to go, Akane. You'll really like him, I think. He's a great guy."
Akane almost mentioned that she had no interest in guys, but
something held her back. Was it possible that Madoka didn't know that
by now? She must; she must!
"I might, unless you're not well by then. We could have a movie
night," Akane said. "I've been wanting to take a crack at that
Laserdisc player in your living room."
"Oh, I know I'll be better by then," Madoka coughed then, as if
she were disputing the point. "On the other hand, maybe it's a good
idea not to rush it," she wavered.
Madoka pulled her winter kimono tight around her shoulders. "I
just wish this cold weather would pass."
"I know what you mean," Akane said. "After this last month, I
feel slighted."
Madoka shook her head. "It's not just that. I don't want some
middling warm weather, I want summer. I want my arms and shoulders to
bake in the sun; I feel like I've been frozen to the bone this winter.
It'll take a while for me to thaw."
Akane nodded sagely. She knew that only too well.

-> -> ->

Thursday.
Manami was getting the hang of this. It had been difficult at
first; dreaming other people's dreams, having to build a wall in her
head whenever she was close to someone, and the constant background
buzz when she was alone. None of that bothered her anymore. She'd
even managed to get through yesterday without a single migraine. She
was still drained at the end of the day, however.
She was sharpening her pencils with a handheld sharpener when
Hikaru arrived. Manami recognized her first as a mind in the distance
that she hadn't felt before, but which felt familiar at the same time.
She looked up and saw Hikaru taking her usual seat across the aisle.
"Feeling better?" Manami asked. "You look great."
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. It's great to be back!" Hikaru said.
Manami gave Hikaru a strange look. Hikaru sounded like her usual
cheery self, but her mind was a maelstrom of gloom and hurt. Manami
wondered if its was Hikaru's sickness; she'd never read the mind of a
sick person before.
But, no, that isn't what this was. This was depression, not just
fatigue. Manami heard that sometimes people got depressed when they
were ill, but there was something else.
Hikaru turned to look at her. "What? Are you okay Manami?"
Manami saw her own face flash before her mind's eye; it had a
confused and concerned look. But Hikaru noticed something, the sheen
of the hair, the shape of the nose; suddenly her face morphed into
that of her brother's...
It was the most beautiful feeling Manami had ever had; pure,
perfect love; but it was tinged with despair. Manami felt a phantom
cramp in her stomach: Hikaru was afraid of losing him.
Then Manami realized where she'd felt love like that before.
"I... I'm fine, I just," Manami said, stumbling out of her chair.
She quickly walked out the door and into the hallway. It was still
between classes and there were people in the hallway, so Manami cast
her eyes down so that people wouldn't see the tears.
Hikaru really loved him, Manami thought. It wasn't just
infatuation; it may be an inconvenience for her brother, but it was
no less real than his feelings for Ayukawa.
Manami got to the bathroom and sat in one of the stalls. She
pulled off her glasses and wiped the tears from her eyes. A sob
started, but she arrested and repressed it.
It seemed that things weren't going to be as easy as I thought,
Manami thought. Something like this, unrequited love, wasn't all that
uncommon. People with crushes; children who hated their parents;
people cheating on their spouses; salarymen robbing their employers...
All of these things she would be privy to.
When the next sob came, she didn't hold it back.

-> -> ->

Akane stared out the window at a wondrous sunset. The sky was
dark-blue and the brightest stars were already visible; the horizon
was rimmed in red and bands of orange light rose from it into the
young night sky.
She heard the clank of Madoka's spoon in her coffee cup; Akane
spared her a glance. She looked a little pale. It was only a mile
from Madoka's house to this coffee-shop, but she looked pooped. Akane
was glad she was able to dissuade Madoka from walking all the way to
ABCB.
"That was a glorious walk we had," Madoka said. "It's too bad it
was so cold."
"Maybe it was too soon to leave the house," Akane said. "I
could've fixed us dinner there."
"No, I'm feeling much better; not a hundred percent yet, but I'm
getting there," Madoka said.
"By the way," Madoka said, motioning with her spoon. "That
ribbon is very becoming on you."
Akane gritted her teeth. She kept forgetting to take the silk
ribbon out of her hair when she left charm school. Usually she caught
her reflection in a shop window and took if off before she got home.
She'd been in such a rush to get to Madoka that she hadn't had time
to look in any shop windows this evening.
"Uh.... Thanks," Akane said. "I'm trying out a new look," Akane
said, trying to sound casual.
"I'm all for it," Madoka said with a smile. "You'd be surprised
how much accessorizing can improve your appearance. It's a nice
confidence boost."
Akane laughed nervously. "I don't even own any jewelry. I could
never get my ears pierced: afraid of needles."
"Well you don't need to poke a hole in your skin to add a little
something. Try headbands, necklaces, bracelets, anklets-" Madoka said,
stopping as Akane snorted. "What?"
Akane adopted a wide, sheepish grin. "It's just, the thing is...
At Hoshi, anklets had a special meaning."
"What, like gang signs or something?" Madoka said.
"Not quite," Akane said. "You see, a girl wears an anklet to
show that she lost her virginity."
"Ohhh," Madoka said, and then was quite for a moment. "So you've
never..."
"Nope," Akane said. "How about you?" Then, quickly: "If you
don't mind answering; that is."
"It would be disingenuous of me not to answer after I asked
you," Madoka said. "It's safe to say that this flower has not yet
been plucked. Hey, you're blushing!" she said with a laugh.
"It's just, I've never talked about these things before... " Akane
said. With someone I loved, she commented to herself.
"I'm sorry, if you're uncomfortable we can talk about something
else," Madoka said.
"No! That's fine, it's nice being able to talk about these
things with someone," Akane said.
Akane squirmed in her chair; the next question was going to take
guts. "When was the first time that you thought about... doing it."
Madoka stared up at the ceiling in thought. "Back in junior high,
I guess. There was this guy that Hikaru and I used to run around with.
He was older; about five years or so. The first crush I ever had."
Akane thought that it sounded like Madoka wanted to say
something more, but she just stared out at the setting sun.
"What about you?" Madoka asked.
"A bit earlier, there was...someone when I was 10. Same age,
though, in my case," Akane said.
"Funny, I would've expected you'd be after someone older. Guys
mature later than we do," Madoka said.
Akane felt her face flushing. "Yes, well...."

An hour later they were walking home. Madoka was shivering.
"Maybe this really wasn't such a good idea," Madoka said.
"Don't worry, it's only a couple more blocks. You're strong,
Ayukawa, I know you can make it," Akane said.
Madoka looked pale in the cold moonlight. Akane couldn't help
remembering Higuchi Ichiyo, who they'd been learning about in
literature class. Madoka looked like those pictures she'd seen of her
in books; when her lungs were being eaten from the inside by
tuberculosis germs and she didn't even realize. Akane felt a shiver
that had nothing to do with the cool night.
As they were walking past the front gate of Madoka's house,
Akane caught a flicker of movement down the street. She pretended to
look at the nameplate on the stone fence, but kept flicking her eyes
over to the grove of trees at the end of the street. She could make
out a pair of shoes on the ground, but the rest of the figure was in
shadow. Akane probably would have thought she was seeing things if
she'd couldn't feel the dim buzz of a mind associated with those pair
of feet.
"Is something wrong?" Madoka asked. "Our family name isn't all
that interesting."
"No, it's nothing... Just a little tired I guess. But hey, look
who I'm talking to. Let's get you inside," Akane said.
A few minutes later, after Madoka was safely tucked away in bed,
Akane snuck out into the front yard, pulling the door shut with a
soft swoosh and click. She crept along on her hands and knees until
she got to the stone fence. She slowly looked over the lip of the
fence; the figure was still there. She locked onto the mind and
projected an image of a piece of cardboard falling from the top of
the stone fence to the sidewalk, and the wind blowing it towards him.
Hopefully the lurker wouldn't notice that there wasn't a breeze
blowing the piece of cardboard. Akane moved softly; she could block
her footsteps mentally, but it would be far too much trouble.
She cross the street, the piece of cardboard the figure saw
would be flipping over a couple of times. She walked straight down
the sidewalk, coming to rest about ten feet away from the figure. She
could make out more detail now: it was definitely a man; but one of
medium build. Nothing she couldn't handle, even without the Power.
When she was within five feet of him, she dropped the illusion
and leapt at him. He let out a cry of surprise; Akane wrestled him to
the ground. In the pool of the streetlamp their struggle had moved
them into, Akane could see his face clearly: the face of her cousin.
"Kyosuke!" Akane yelled. "What the hell are you doing lurking
around here? Wait, never mind, I have a fair idea."
She got off him, and he climbed to his feet. He gave her a
terrified look.
"Please Akane, you can't let me know I'm here!" Kyosuke said.
Akane gave him a cockeyed look.

"So when exactly are you from?" Akane said. She blew on her
coffee.
"November. The 17th, actually," Kyosuke said.
"Of this year?" Akane said. She never imagined herself having a
conversation like this. Kyosuke had, of course, told her stories
about his adventures in time. Akane had always assumed they were
bullshit. She still wasn't sure he wasn't having her on.
"Yes, this year," Kyosuke nodded. He took a bite of his danish.
In spite of the odd situation, Akane realized that she was going
to have a hell of a time falling asleep tonight. Two coffee shop
visits in under two hours; but where did you take your cousin from
the future for a little talk? Beef bowl?
"How could you be nostalgic for seven months ago?" Akane said.
"You wouldn't believe how much has changed..." Kyosuke said, then
gasped. "No, I've said too much."
"You haven't said enough!" Akane said. "What's the big
difference? In November we'll still be in high school, we don't
graduate until next April."
Kyosuke said nothing, Akane looked at his reversed image in the
meniscus of his coffee.
What could've gone wrong? Did someone die? Akane felt her chest
go cold at the thought; the hair on her arms stood up. Who? Not
Madoka!
Wait a second, Akane thought to herself... Kyosuke must know how
her master plan ended up. She was planning to soon tell Madoka how
she felt; could that be what shattered his world? In his present,
were she and Madoka lovers?
"There's something I'm been meaning to talk to you about," Akane
said. "About you and Hikaru."
Kyosuke looked up, there was incredible sadness in his eyes. It
took Akane a moment to remember what she was going to say.
"You two do make a great couple," Akane said. "One of the best,
in fact. I don't see why you can't be happ-"
"Shut up!" Kyosuke shouted.
Several people turned and stared at them. Akane marveled at the
self-control of the people who didn't. Akane folded her arms and
looked at her cousin. He was still in love with Madoka; even though
she had obviously spurned him.
"It isn't settling, Kyosuke, she's a wonderful girl," Akane said.
"You don't know anything!" Kyosuke said through gritted teeth.
"I know that you're chasing rainbows," Akane said. Why couldn't
he just accept defeat?
"I'd almost forgotten what you used to be like," Kyosuke said.
"Have I changed that much in the future?" Akane asked.
"You're deeper; better," Kyosuke said.
Love can do that, I guess, Akane thought. She always imagined
that the love of a good woman would turn her into a better person.
What was the Akane that this Kyosuke knew like? She felt that she was
finally getting things right-she could only imagine how much farther
along she would be in November.
After they finished their coffee, they went for a walk. The grey
cloud-cover had finally lifted, and the stars shone crystal clear
above them.
"So, is there anything more you want to see in the past?" Akane
said.
"No, who knows who else I might run into," Kyosuke said. "I
suppose it's about time to go home. I'm not looking forward to it,
though."
Akane clenched her right hand into a fist. "Tell me, cuz, what
was the weather like on the day you left?"
"Cold... Almost as cold as this. The leaves had fallen from the
trees; I could smell someone burning them. It was a beautiful,
peaceful day, this autumn of my youth," Kyosuke said.
Akane rolled her eyes; Kyosuke could probably go on for hours if
no one stopped him. Akane came to a halt, her cousin walked a few
feet in front of her. Quickly, she barreled forward and punched him
square in the back of the head. He stumbled and fell, but vanished in
a flash before he hit the concrete.
Akane cracked her knuckles; she'd enjoyed that a lot more than
she felt was decent. Shimizu sensei wouldn't be pleased.
Aw, screw her.

-> -> ->

Friday.
Manami sat on the roof overlooking the courtyard where, on
warmer days, the students ate their lunches. It was empty today,
which gave Manami no small amount of relief. The buzz in the back of
her mind was as persistent as ever, but quiet enough for her to
ignore.
Her lunch today was curried chicken. She didn't used to like
curry; she'd eaten it once when she was a toddler and never recovered.
However she'd been exposed to the sensory information of Kurumi
eating some, and tried some herself. She soon like curry as much as
her sister did.
That really bothered it. Had she simply never given curry a
chance; or had her experience with Kurumi rewired her brain so that
she liked it? If the telepathy could change that, could it change her
favorite color, her political views, even her sexuality?
She was no longer afraid of being overwhelmed by the thoughts of
others; but she was afraid of her own personality eroding away, until
there was nothing of herself left.
She hadn't mentioned this to Kazuya, because he had never known
a world without telepathy; it's possible that there never was a
"real" Kazuya, he was simply the sensory and cognitive programming he
got from the people he was around.
This wouldn't have bothered Manami if she'd been a Buddhist;
because this lack of self was what they strived for; but the Kasguas
had never been Buddhist.
Manami saw two figures walk out of the school and into the
warren of trees in the courtyard. They were too far aware to hear
with her ears, but she could hear their words through their thoughts.
It was weird because she heard the conversation take place in four
different voices, and always two simultaneously: how each person
sounded to themselves, and how the other heard them.
It was Komatsu and one of the girls from Hoshi; Manami
remembered her name being Kaori. She wondered if she should be
listening; but she didn't want to waste energy repressing their
thoughts.
"Komatsu-san, this is going to be hard to hear; and I'm not the
one who should be telling you; but Yuki doesn't have the decency or
courage so I'm left without a choice," Kaori said.
"What're you talking about?" Komatsu said; confusion, dread.
"Yuki's only been going out with you because she wanted to make
someone else jealous. It didn't work, and she doesn't have the guts
to tell you," Kaori said.
In Komatsu's head was an odd emotion; Manami had no name for it,
but it translated as: "I knew it was too good to be true". It was
quickly repressed by one Manami recognized all too well: denial.
"You don't know what you're talking about! How dare you impugn
Yuki's honor like that!" Komatsu shouted; but in his mind he was
realizing that it was true.
"I'm sorry, Komatsu-san," Kaori said, her eyes began to tear up.
Manami could feel her sinuses prickling. "When she told me what was
going on, I was horrified."
No you weren't, you liar, Manami thought. You only started to
feel guilty when you discovered that Komatsu wasn't the lummox you
believed him to be.
Manami started as she recognized the vibe inside Kaori's head:
she was in love with Komatsu!
"Why would she do something like that?" Komatsu said; Manami
felt his eyes tearing up as well.
"Because she's so in love with this person that she can't think
straight. She didn't realize what she was doing to you at first. She
was trying to get you to stop liking her so you'd break up with her;
but I guess you must really love her."
He did; and now all three of them were crying. Manami reached
under her glasses to wipe her eyes.
"Who is this guy? Do I know him?" Komatsu said.
"Ummm..." Kaori said.
Manami sat up straight. She mumbled a swearword under her breath.
"Well there's something you need to know about Yuki. Do you know
the reputation that girls, especially freshman, have at Hoshi's?"
Kaori said.
"Yeah, they're all really slutty because there's no guys
around," Komatsu said.
Manami thunked him in the head using telekinesis; he looked
around, bewildered.
"Uh no, they're kinda... lesbians," Kaori said.
"What?!" Komatsu said. There was a flash of pornographic scenes
through his head. Manami recognized one from a Cream Lemon LD cover
she'd seen once.
"A counselor once explained it to me once, it has to do with
their sexuality awakening when there's no men around. Usually by the
time they graduate it wears off; but there are some who really are
lesbians; and this girl and Yuki are of that sort," Kaori said.
Komatsu felt like he was standing in a shaft of sunlight. "It's
Akane Kasuga, isn't it?"
Kaori was shocked. "Why, yes, it is... How did you..."
"We discussed this once. I guess I can't blame Yuki for wanting
her; but... I can't forgive her for what she did," Komatsu said.
"Please, be gentle with her," Kaori said. "She feels the exact
same thing you do; Akane doesn't love her, and never will. She
already knows the pain you feel."
"I'm hold back as much as I can," Komatsu said. "But I can't
make any promises."
"Don't hit her," Kaori said sternly. "I don't know if that's the
kind of man you are-"
"Don't worry, I'm not. Besides, Yuki could break me in half,"
Komatsu said.

-> -> ->

Hatta found Komatsu sitting alone in one of the classrooms. An
eerie silence filled the room. Komatsu sat in one of the student
desks and stared out the window on the opposite side of the room.
In spite of himself, Hatta followed his gaze. It was a beautiful
day; there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the grass far beneath them
was lush and green. It was impossible to believe that it was five
degrees below freezing outside.
"Komatsu," Hatta finally said.
"Yeah?" Komatsu said, not shifting his gaze.
"We'd better go, they'll wonder where we are. It's been almost
an hour since the last bell," Hatta said.
"They won't be waiting for us," Komatsu said. "I called off
shooting for today."
"What?" Hatta gasped. "Why?"
"It's too cold; and I thought they could use the break," Komatsu
said.
That made sense, Hatta thought. They'd been filming every day
since they started.
"You went all the way over to Hoshi to tell them that?" Hatta
asked.
"I was there for other reasons," Komatsu said.
Something clicked in Hatta's mind. Komatsu and Yuki had broken
up; it was the only possible explanation. As Hatta looked at his
friend's glassy stare he wasn't sure what to feel; he had his friend
back... but at what cost?
"I got the film back from the lab," Hatta said. "We can start to
cut it..."
"Take the day," Komatsu said. "Who knows when we'll get another
break."
Several moments passed, but Komatsu didn't say anything more.
"Well, the cans are in the A/V room if you want to get started
without me," Hatta said.
"Thanks, I just might," Komatsu said.
"Are you still going to Ryoushi's party tomorrow?" Hatta said.
"Of course," Komatsu said, allowing himself a smile. "He's the
one that got me into film in the first place."

Half an hour later, Komatsu found himself in the A/V room. He
wondered why he hadn't just gone home. The last thing he wanted to
deal with was his stupid movie; he hadn't even begun to think how he
was going to cut the Princess of Silence out of the second half.
He picked up the first canister and slammed it down next to the
viewer. The label identified it as the first reel of footage they
shot on the second day. This contained the opening shots of the
movie; or that is, the first shots that appeared that weren't special
effects. They were going to shoot those after everything else was
done; he hadn't even begun to think how he was going to accomplish
that.
He loaded the strip into the viewer and set the speed to real-
time. This was the establishing shot of the hill on that distant
planet where we first meet the ronin. Forty-three seconds in, he
found a perfect start pointing; he rewound the film and slashed the
forty-three second mark width-wise with a razor blade. He pulled the
forty-two seconds worth of film out of the viewer and dropped them
into the trash can.
He ran it through again: without a fade-in the screen leapt from
black to a full-blown image. Komatsu liked the way it flowed; he
seemed to cut through the nonsense. Just having the scene start
immediately showed such audacity... No, Komatsu realized, not
audacity: confidence. He was playing straight with the audience: "Hey
you guys out there, the ones in the sticky seats. I've got a story to
tell you, and I'm not going to pretend it's the best damn thing under
the sun, and I don't think I'm the best thing since sliced bread, and
neither should you. I got a story to tell, I think it's a good one,
and if you give it a chance, I don't think you'll be disappointed."
Komatsu smiled. He made a few more cuts to quicken the pace; he
used scotch tape to hold the new filmstrip together, and ran it. The
slow pan on those green fields, up to our two figures in samurai gear,
having their earnest conversation.
Komatsu cut the film at that point and rewound it onto the first
reel, which he put into a small film case. He wrote "Scene 1,
establishing" on the label and put it aside.
The next scene would be the close-ups between the two ronin;
those were shot just yesterday, so they'd be in a complete different
reel. Komatsu went to the last film case, the one against the wall,
and found yesterday's date on it.
As he began to spool, cut, and tape, he couldn't remember the
last time he'd felt so alive. Perhaps it was simply because he was
keeping himself busy. What Yuki had done had hurt him-but life was
still worth living; even with the pain.
After an hour of work, he spooled up and played the first five
minutes of the movie. He was in awe: it actually looked like a movie.
He'd made an entire movie in TAP Gun, but that had been videotape,
edited inside a VCR. As good as even the best shots were, it still
had the quality of a tape of someone's birthday party.
But this was film-the same kind of film that Apocalypse Now,
Star Wars, and Ran were on. Without even realizing it, he had been
inducted into a special guild: the brotherhood of filmmakers. It felt
good to belong.

-> -> ->

Saturday.
Akane was using her boomerang to take out a Keese when the call
came in.
"Can you get that?" Akane's mother called from the other room.
"Why don't we have an answering machine?!" Akane said in rage.
Kazuya stared at her with predatory glee; rather, he stared at the
red-and-gray controller in her hand.
Akane let it drop, and her brother caught it before it hit the
ground. He flicked the reset button on the Famicom and her Hyrulian
Adventure vanished in an instant.
Akane growled at him and rushed into the other room, where the
phone rang for the fifth time. She picked up the receiver and
muttered a hello.
"Greetings, is this Akane?" a familiar voice said.
"Oh, headmistress!" Akane said. "How can I... Wait a second, why
are you calling me?"
Did principal's have a habit of calling their former students? Well,
maybe if they were favored pupils; but Akane had never been one of
those. Her teachers liked her; the disciplinary staff loathed her.
"I was wondering if you and your parents could come in and see
me today, Akane. After school, naturally," the headmistress said.
"That's all right, I suppose..." Akane stopped. "Wait a second,
you can't tell me what to do! That's a privilege you so blithely
threw away."
Akane's father took the phone from her hand and gave her a dirty
look.
"Excuse me, is this Akino-san? Ah yes, hello. I'm sorry about
our daughter, she's obviously distraught..." her father said. "Oh? Is
there any particular... Well, no it shouldn't be any trouble. All
right, we'll see you then." he hung up the phone.
"Say hi to her for me while you're there," Akane said. "'cause I
ain't going."
"Try to behave, for once in your life, Akane-chan" her father
said. "Speaking of which, school starts in half an hour, shouldn't
you be out of your pajamas by now?"
"Did she say why she wanted to talk to us?" Akane said.
"She said she wanted it to be a surprise," her father said.
Akane gave him a cockeyed look. "I have a bad feeling about
this."

-> -> ->

Akane and her parents walked into the headmistress's office a
little after one o'clock. The headmistress rose and bowed to her
parents. She gave Akane a smile, which left her bewildered.
They exchanged vapid pleasantries, and discussed the weather;
Akane couldn't help but squirm in her seat. She had no happy memories
of this room-and it was disconcerting that she still had no idea why
she was here.
"Now, the reason I've called you here is because I got a call
from Shimizu-san yesterday," the headmistress said.
Akane's jaw fell open. Her parent's looked confused, but were
too polite to interrupt.
"She was my teacher when I went to finishing school twenty years
ago," the headmistress said. "So I know I can trust her judgment. She
told me about Akane's progress in her class, and how she is the most
earnest and capable student she's ever had," the headmistress said.
"I'm afraid there must be some mistake..." her father began. He
stopped and stared at the carpet in confusion.
Akane's mother looked at her. "Akane, when were you enrolled in
charm school?"
Akane sank back into her seat. "I'm still enrolled; I've been
going since the beginning of this month."
"She's made quite an impression on Shimizu-san," the
headmistress said. "Though Akane seems good at hiding her proficiency
for ladylike behavior."
Akane noticed a cold glint in the headmistress's eyes. Shimizu-
san had forced her hand; she doesn't want to do this. Whatever it was
she was doing. Akane had a very bad feeling she knew what that thing
was.
"How could you have gone to charm school without us knowing
about it?" her mother asked.
"Where did you get the money?" her father asked.
"I've been working at a manga store after school three days a
week, it pays the tuition," Akane said.
"Part-time jobs are against the rules, Akane," the headmistress
said. "You're going to have to quit; it doesn't befit a Hoshi
student."
"Excuse me, did you say-" her mother said.
"Yes, Shimizsu-san convinced me that I had been hasty in my
decision.," the headmistress said.
Akane's mother grabbed her arm. "Honey, that's great!"
Akane's father patted her on the back.
Akane gripped the arm-rests of her chair and gave the
headmistress a penetrating stare. "I have no interest in returning,"
"Akane, I know my actions must have hurt you," the headmistress
said. "I acted in haste, and out of hurt feelings. What you said
deserved nothing more than a reprimand. I was wrong, Akane, and I
apologize," the headmistress said. "The students and teachers miss
you terribly. I think it's time you came back."
Akane shook her head. Her head was swimming; this couldn't be
happening. Her plan couldn't be falling apart. The headmistress did
NOT just admit she was wrong and apologized.
"No. I'm not coming back-" Akane said.
"Akane!" her father said in a scolding tone. "Hoshi's is one of
the best schools in the country. Do you know how hard it was to get
you in here in the first place?"
"Even if I did want to come back, it's a month into this
trimester. I just can't switch back," Akane said.
"That's a good point," the headmistress said. "You can transfer
at the end of the trimester; at the end of summer vacation you'll
come back here instead of Koryou. I can even get one of the students
to give you the summer homework a little early so you can catch up."
"I didn't agree-" Akane started.
"I believe that's settled," her mother said. "We're glad to be
back."
"The school just hasn't been the same without Akane," the
headmistress said. Akane noted some regret in her voice.

-> -> ->

The wind picked up around 2:00, and screamed across Tokyo in
strong gusts.
Akane, in the process of deciding what to wear at Ryoushi's
party that night, looked out the window and saw the leafless branches
of the trees violently shaking. She switched on the TV and allowed a
weather report to reassure her that a hurricane wasn't imminent.
It rattled the windows of Komatsu's bedroom; causing him to look
up from the chroma key manual he was reading. He drew the shade and
watched as the wind caused the trees in his front yard to shake, and
tossed a neighbor's trash can down the street.
Just across the street from where Akane was watching the news,
Manami sat alone in her room and tried to keep her mind from drifting
to the thoughts of others.
Kyosuke ignored the howling sound coming from his window and
continued to concentrate on a difficult physics problem. Not for the
first time, he despaired of his chances to get into a good university.
Hatta and Yuki, though ten miles apart, were so engrossed in the
Yuri manga they were reading that they didn't even notice the tempest
outside.
Ayukawa lay floating in her bathtub, unaware of the wind storm.
She enjoyed being able to breathe without obstruction. She felt the
most relaxed she'd felt in a long time. She thought of the man she
had fallen in love with-and regretted that he didn't have the courage
to admit he felt the same.
Hikaru sat at her bedroom desk; she looked up at the lonely
sound of the howling wind, and reflected on the horrible emptiness
that had taken hold of her.
The wind blew on, as it had for aeons, oblivious to the ones it
had touched.

-> -> ->

Akane rang the doorbell and turned to the mob that stood behind
her. "Don't be shocked if she appears a bit frail; it was a pretty
nasty bug."
Madoka's house was the last stop on their cross-city tour before
they made their way towards Ryoushi's beach house.
Kyosuke and Komatsu were better dressed than usual, their hair
far neater than Akane had ever seen it; impressive considering how
windy it was. On the other hand, Hatta was his usual slobbish self.
Manami wore a blue dress with a low hemline and a high neckline.
Kurumi wore a black number that left little to the imagination.
Hikaru wore a sleeveless blouse with a black micro skirt. She
hadn't said much on their journey, and had responded coldly to any
attempt to bring her into the conversation. Akane hoped she would
perk up now that Madoka was with them.
Kaori, who had begged Akane to take her along, wore a white
dress that was almost as conservative as Manami's.
The door opened and Akane gasped at the sight. Madoka was back
in full-force. The bloom was back on her cheeks, the sheen had
returned to her hair, the cloudiness had faded from her eyes, leaving
them crystal clear. Her face contained one of those smiles that
destroyed any doubts Akane could ever have about her sexuality.
"It's great to see you all," Madoka said in a musical voice. She
stepped back and motioned for everyone to enter.
"We can't stay long, it's a long, and cold, train ride out to
the shore," Kyosuke said.
"Oh, don't worry about that. In light of this momentous occasion,
and the weather, I ordered a limo to take us out there and back
again," Madoka said.
There were gasps of amazement from everyone in the mob.
"Ayukawa-san, you are the best friend I've ever had. Marry me!"
Komatsu said.
Akane felt her right-hand gripping into a fist. She noticed that
Kyosuke had done the same. She let it pass, and Madoka didn't even
deign to respond to his comment.
"Sit down, I'll make us some tea while we wait," Madoka said.

Hikaru hadn't said a single word as they made the tea. As it
boiled, she simply started at the counter with a strange expression
on her face.
"You look much better, Hikaru," Madoka said. "It looks like the
virus didn't hit you as hard as it hit me."
Hikaru simply hummed an acknowledgement and drummed her fingers
on the counter.
This simply was like her, Madoka thought. Hikaru was capable of
getting enthusiastic about anything. Could she still be sick?
"Are you feeling all right, Hikaru?" Madoka asked.
"I'm feeling just well, Ayukawa," she replied.
Madoka felt her chest grow cold; Hikaru hadn't called her by her
family name since kindergarten.
She just stared at Hikaru for a few minutes; she wasn't sure
what to say. It occurred to Madoka that something else was wrong, but
with her. There had been fights between them in the past too; but
they always ended with them both admitting that they still loved each
other; and nothing could stop that.
So why didn't Madoka want to pry any deeper? Why didn't she talk
plainly to her friend and ask what was bugging her. What could be so
terrible that it could end their friendship?
Madoka felt her stomach knot up-and for once she fully allowed
herself to accept that something, or someone, had entered their
lives and had come between them. She'd known this was coming, with
the same sense of inevitably she felt about her parent's death. She
just didn't think it would've happened this soon.
So Madoka didn't say anything more while they were in the
kitchen together; and they shared scarcely a word for the rest of the
night.

-> -> ->

"Do you know anyone who wasn't invited to this party?" Hatta
asked.
"Nuh-uh," Kurumi said. "Even the freshmen were invited, and
they've only been at our school for a few weeks."
"It shouldn't be surprising," Ayukawa said. "Jun Ryoushi isn't a
member of any clique, and yet he's part of all of them."
Manami felt feelings of goodwill and tenderness from everyone in
the car, except for Akane, who felt a little bemused. Manami didn't
think it was possible for anyone to be so universally liked; but
apparently they all through as fondly of Ryoushi as she did.
Manami remembered the first time she'd met Ryoushi; she'd been
sitting in the courtyard of school last fall, working on a poetry
project for her Japanese class. She hadn't been very good at it.
He'd been walking by, and mentioned that he couldn't help
noticing the syllable markings on her paper, and asked if she needed
any help. Over the course of the next hour, he'd taught her how
better to express herself. She ending up getting an A on the poem,
and it was entered into a regional competition. It'd ended up in 17th
place, but that was out of 500, so Manami didn't feel that bad about
it.
She hadn't picked up the ink stone and brush after that, though.
She'd always feared that without Ryoushi to help her, she'd never be
able to write another poem. She remembered the feeling of peace
writing this first poem had given her; she wondered if she could ever
feel that stillness inside her again, with the thoughts of others
within her.
Which reminded her... She had met Ryoushi in the hallway the
other day. She had decided to strike up a conversation with him, RSVP
in person as it were. She hadn't managed to feel any thoughts coming
from it all. It didn't feel like Akane's mind did; where she could
feel the presence of Akane's thoughts but couldn't 'decode' them. It
was as if Ryoushi hadn't been there at all.
The limo drove on into the night.

-> -> ->

The entire school must be here, Komatsu thought as she looked
around the ballroom. Then he realized that that might be literally
true. Ryoushi seemed to be a friend to everyone.
"Hey Komatsu," a female voice said.
Komatsu turned around and saw the voice belonged to Kaori. Now
that she was out of that heavy coat, he saw that her dress exposed
her shoulders. He had once heard that men got hot seeing naked
hemispheres of flesh; which meant that men not only found breasts
arousing, but also knees, elbows, and shoulders. At the moment,
Komatsu was inclined to agree.
"Hey Inoue-san, great party, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, this wine is great," she said, indicating her glass. "It
has this wonderful cherry flavor, and I can't even taste the
alcohol."
"That's because it's cherry Kool-Aid," Komatsu said.
"It is?" Kaori said, examining the glass. "Was I supposed to mix
this with vodka? I didn't see a bottle."
"Ryoushi believes people can have fun without alcohol," Komatsu
said. "It sounds lame, but he's managed to have some of the best
parties on earth. I'm not quite sure how he pulled that off-but I'm
just happy to be invited."
"Hey, would you care to dance the next number with me?" Kaori
asked.
"Oh... I didn't think you danced with guys," Komatsu said.
"What?" Kaori said, giving him an odd look.
"I mean, you came with Akane. So I assumed the two of you were...
well, you know," Komatsu trailed off.
"I just wanted to come to this party, and Akane wasn't taking
anyone, so she decided to help me out," Kaori said, and then laughed.
"Oh, well, very well then," Komatsu said.
Almost as if on cue, the current song ended. Kaori offered
Komatsu her arm. He took it and walked out into the center of the
floor. The next song started, some slow number by Kanako Wada.
After a few moments, Komatsu got the courage to look his partner
in the eyes. She looked beautiful; her smooth soft skin, her sleek
black hair done up in a ponytail.
Their glances met, then broke in a bout of self-consciousness.
Half-way through the song, Kaori leaned forward and whispered
into Komatsu's ear. "You know Komatsu, the real reason I came to this
party... was you."
"What?" Komatsu hissed. His heart leapt, but he quickly beat the
feeling of elation down. He'd fallen for this once before.
"I've enjoyed working with you on the film," Kaori said. "I love
that giddiness you get when you're working on that film; when you
have that light dancing in your eyes."
Yuki had never said anything like to him, Komatsu thought. Come
to think of it, he couldn't remember her ever complimenting him on
anything specific, ever. It had always just been "you're a great guy",
"you're a wonderful boyfriend", "I can't believe you ate the whole
thing."
"I don't know what to say," Komatsu said. He hadn't ever thought
of Kaori in that way. He'd only ever known her when he was Yuki.
She's the one who'd introduced them, when they were looking for cast
and crew.
"After what Yuki did to you, I can understand that you feel like
you can never trust a woman again," Kaori said. "But I want to know
you better, Komatsu. I want you to be part of my life."
The song ended, and the two of them parted. Kaori reached into
her purse and pulled out a slip of paper. She handed it to Komatsu,
he saw that a phone number had been written on it. She'd prepared it
beforehand; perhaps she really did only come here for him.
"I can wait until you're over Yuki," Kaori said. "If you ever
need something to talk to, I'll be there."
She gave him a tender smile and walked away.
Komatsu looked down at the slip of paper; he couldn't believe
that just yesterday he'd had his heart ripped out. He had begun to
wonder if all women were as cold and manipulative underneath as Yuki
was. Then he realized the truth: Yuki was that way because she was a
bitch, not because she was a woman.
Komatsu folded the piece of paper in two and placed it in his
pocket and allowed himself to grin.

-> -> ->

Akane was wondering if she had the nerve to ask Madoka to dance
when she heard a tapping noise over the PA system. She turned and saw
a guy about her age standing on a table. He had a microphone in his
hand, which he was tapping.
"Is this thing on?" he asked jokingly. A few people laughed.
Akane felt something like an itch in the back of her mind. She
had the strangest feeling that she'd seen this guy before; and yet
she recognized neither his features or his voice.
"Hi folks, are we having a good time?" Ryoushi asked.
The partygoers cheered in response. Ryoushi smirked and bowed in
appreciation.
"I'm glad you all decided to join me here tonight, because I
have something important to say; though I truly wish I didn't have to
say it," Ryoushi said.
He sat down on the edge of the table. "I've thrown parties like
this once every season for the past three years; entire classfuls of
people have come and gone. It saddens me to have to tell you that
this party is going to be my last."
Sounds of dismay echoed from every corner of the room. Akane saw
that her three cousins were in wide-eyed shock.
"My parents have been transferred overseas, and I'll be gone by
the first of May," Ryoushi said.
Kurumi was in tears, Manami's face showed the strain of
repressing deep feelings of sorrow, Kyosuke continued to look shocked.
"I consider everyone in this room my friend, and I love you all
dearly. If it was up to me, I'd never leave, but my time here is over.
Everything ends, my friends, but every ending is a beginning in
disguise. I know it's tempting to cling to the past; and we had some
wonderful times together, but we can't just live off our old memories.
If we did so, we'd be cheating ourselves. We need to move on, and
make every day better than the one before it," Ryoushi said.
A guy in a grey jacket walked up to the table and whispered
something in Ryoushi's ear.
"What? Really? You're kidding me," Ryoushi said, then seemed to
notice he was still on the PA. "Our friend Baienno has just informed
me that the temperature outside is at least 60 degrees, so I suggest
we all move out of doors and onto the beach!" Ryoushi said.
Akane rushed to the nearest door and threw it open. A warm
breeze blew past her, ruffling her hair. She walked out, mouth agape.
It must've risen 20 degrees within the last hour.
"I heard about this on the news," Kyosuke said. "There was some
blast of tropical air coming, but it wasn't supposed to hit us until
tomorrow afternoon."
Komatsu yanked his sports coat off. "The cold snap is over!" he
shouted.
Akane kicked off her shoes, hiked up her skirt, and ran over
sand-covered terrain to the shore.

-> -> ->

By 2:00, Kyosuke and his friends were the only people left on
the beach. Even Ryoushi had gone inside to go to sleep. Everyone else
had to catch the last train; but the limo service Madoka had used was
available twenty-four hours a day.
Just after midnight the temperature had settled down into the
fifties, so they had gathered driftwood and made a fire. They'd sat
around it for the past two hours and talked and told jokes. Around
one o'clock they'd started to tell stories. Hatta was in the process
of finishing his.
"...and so the women pulls out his can of mace and yells at the
guy running towards her 'Get back!'. The guy says 'look lady, I'm
sorry I had to push you off the road like that, but there was a guy
sitting in your backseat, and he had a knife.'
"So naturally the woman doesn't believe him, so she chases the
guy off and finds a payphone and calls the police. But as she's
waiting for them, her curiosity gets the better of her, and-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get the point," Ayukawa said. "She goes to
the car and finds the body of the murderer in the back, impaled on
his own knife. I've heard it a thousand times before."
Komatsu was sitting on his back, his mind engulfed in the stars
that burned high above them. He was so absorbed that he didn't notice
that Ayukawa was talking to him until Akane nudged him with her foot.
"What? I'm sorry, I missed that," Komatsu said as he sat up.
"I said it's your turn. Everyone else has told a story. I would
prefer it if it didn't involve yet another woman being stalked by a
bloodthirsty murderer with a knife," Ayukawa said.
"Or ghost stories," Kyosuke said. "Those really scare Ayukawa."
Ayukawa shot him a dirty look. Hikaru gave a chortle that
Komatsu could've sworn sounded mean-spirited. Akane looked bewildered.
"All right then. My story is going to be a little different,
it's not really a campfire story, but..." Komatsu said. He took a
deep breath. "All right, let's begin."

A long time ago there lived a Shogun who had a son who was more
interested in painting pictures and being friendly with girls than
doing his duty as a samurai.
One day the Shogun, who was by that time an old man, met a
peasant who he sees fight off a horde of brigands. As the old man
watches the battle, he wonders why his son can't be more like this
peasant. The old man is shocked to discover that the peasant looks
almost exactly like his son.
The old man has the retainers bring the peasant before him, and
he informs the peasant that he has come up with a plan. Since the
peasant looks like his son, and has natural martial abilities, he
will train him in the ways of the samurai and pretend that the
peasant is his son. When he chooses to retire from the shogunate, the
peasant would take his place.
("But what about the real son?" Hikaru asked. "Did he just kill
him?"
"I'm getting to that," Komatsu said.)
A few days later, the prince was captured while he slept by
several of the Shogun's elite guard. He was taken to one of the old
man's more secluded estates out in the country. He was then forced to
wear a sack with eye and mouth holes cut out of it. He was never
allowed to take the sack off, even to clean his face or hair.
("Ewwwww," Kurumi said.)
Now I know this seems cruel, but the prince loved this. The
country life was peaceful and provided him with plenty of inspiration
for his paintings. Now that his father had given up on him being a
warrior, he was happier than he had ever been before.
Meanwhile, back in the capitol, the peasant was undergoing
extensive combat training under his father's own instructor. He made
tremendous progress, and the instructor admitted that the peasant may
be even more skilled than the old man was in his prime.
Now one of the old man's vassals wasn't at all happy with this
situation. He was a real blue-blood and he would never allow a mere
peasant to lord over his country. So he made plans to assassinate the
boy and bring the real prince back from the country.
However, just as he was about to put his plans into motion, the
old man's chief scribe stayed his hand with an incredible revelation.
Not only did the two boys look alike; they had the same birthday. The
two boys were twins!
The scribe and vassal go to the shogun with their discovery, and
he is befuddled. He can't think of any way that this situation could
happen: how could one of his sons have ended up as a peasant? The
shogun decides to seek out the boy's nanny, who now lived in a far-
off kingdom.
When the shogun finally finds the nanny, she informs him that
the truth is even more complicated: the boys are twins, but neither
are his son!
You see, the shogun's wife had died in childbirth. (Manami
sniffled a little) But she had given birth not to a son, but a
daughter!
One of the old man's most trusted advisors, now long since dead,
knew that the old man and his wife truly loved each other. He knew
that it was very unlikely that the shogun would ever marry again, so
there would be no prince to take up the throne when the shogun passed
on.
So this advisor traded the daughter for a son of a peasant
family. The peasant's sister was the shogun's real child!
The shogun is livid and returns home. He has the peasant
imprisoned, and sends several of his soldiers to bring the "prince"
back from his country estate.
He then goes into town to visit his daughter. He meets his
daughter, a peasant woman who had just been engaged to be married.
His daughter is a gentle and happy young woman, who comported herself
with decency and respect.
The old man can't bring himself to tell his daughter the truth;
for, you see, his daughter has managed to find true happiness. The
prince was sensitive and too easily depressed; whereas the peasant
had a steely resolve and ambition, but neither of his "sons" were
ever truly happy.
The old man's successor surpassed him in all things. The new
shogun was remembered for centuries to come as a capable political
leader and military commander. He was a polymath: able to conquer on
the battlefield, but also capable of bringing about peace and
prosperity without resorting to war. He was also, I might note, one
heck of a painter.

Komatsu let out a long sigh. That story had taken a lot out of
him. It had grown as he was telling it.
"That was a good story," Hikaru said.
"Indeed," Manami said.
"Why don't you make a movie out of that, instead of that stupid
tokusatsu thing you're working on?" Ayukawa said.
"It's just a story," Komatsu said. "It's not a movie. I mean,
there's no camera movements, transition effects, allusions to other
films..."
Komatsu stopped; something clicked into place in his mind.
Movies were stories; everything else was just the way the story was
told. The story was paramount; what he wanted to do was let people
see the world the way he saw it. All this technical jargon and
referencing other people's movies just got in the way.
Komatsu felt a steely resolve of his own; once he was done with
the 47 Ronin, he was going to abandon the cheesy crap all together.
His next movie was going to be heartfelt; he was going to tell a
story, damn it. If he made something he could care about, then other
people would care too.
It was the literary golden rule; and it was his key to greatness.

-> -> ->

By dawn, Akane was the only one left awake. She stirred the fire
with a stick and looked at her sleeping friends.
This night had reminded her of another one, the night after
Spring Day, more than a month ago. She and her friends had sat in
Madoka's living room, listened as her delicate hands played the
piano; then they had talked long into the night about the things they
never seemed to talk about at any other time. But this time the boys
had been along: and they had all added something to the proceedings.
Akane looked at the red clouds floating just above the golden
horizon. There were moments in life that were nothing short of
perfect. Nothing you could add could make them better, anything you
took away would lessen them.
Akane took a deep breath of cool, salt air. These were moments
where you took account of everything that had happened to you, and
found a positive sum. Life had led me to this perfect moment; so
everything that I endured was worth it.
Akane Kasuga, seventeen years old, experienced one of those
perfect, golden moments, as she watched the sun rise that morning in
late April.

End Part Three

To be concluded in Part Four.

Since I can't take credit where it isn't deserved, some of the prose
stylings in this chapter were heavily derived from Alfred Bester's "The
Demolished Man", which I highly recommend. Even if it does make this
story look like a piece of excrement.