Aftermath

1:35pm

Rei, who had been chanting with her body straight, slumped down as she finished, and sat on her crossed heels.  Her brow glistened with sweat; and her eyes remained closed momentarily whilst she rested for the exhaustion.  Suddenly she spoke with a low voice, “the Kuriverse is there, I can feel it trying to invade; they’re fighting.”

1:36pm

“What do you think she wants to talk to us about?”

“Probably a longer version of what Makoto-chan said to us?”

“Good, then you already know what is wrong,” Mewagi said when she entered the room, “I’ll try to make this as short for both of your sakes, but let it be known that I am seriously displeased about both of your behaviours just then.  It was utterly disgusting and unfitting for any young lady, let alone two princesses who should be concerned about the welfare of their friend, a friend that they depend on in times of war.  Princess Serenity, what is Princess Mars’ strength?”

“Her… spiritual…?”

“Princess Jupiter’s strength?”

“Her strength?”

“Mercury?”

“Her brain?”

“And what is yours?”

“I dunno…”

“Dunno?  I did not realise that it was a word Princess Serenity.”

“Sorry.”

“Do you know how to construct a full sentence, Princess Serenity?  Good God, well, what is your strength of the group?”

“To use the Ginzuishou?”

Mewagi sighed, “Princess Venus, what is your strength?”

“That’s easy, love and I’m the leader.”

“Is that how you show love to your friends?  Is this how you lead them?”

It suddenly dawned on Minako and she hung her head shamefully, “no ma’am.”

“And tell me, why do you swear allegiance to the Moon, why are you willing to give your life to protect the girl sitting beside you?”

“Because she has heart.”  Minako whispered.

“Not because she can use the Ginzuishou?”

“No ma’am.”

“But I don’t see heart, Princess Serenity, I see stomach and I don’t mean guts, I mean glut.  What I see is a princess so consumed with the occupation of eating that she has forgotten how to show heart, how to show concern for her friends. 

“I am not bound to show deference for you because I am of an older generation, and so I can be quite frank with you.  I do not approve of you, and I don’t claim to understand why my daughter would choose to protect you if it were not for duty, and today you have disappointed me beyond disappointment and you have disappointed my daughter.  Don’t think, for a moment, that she must serve you by any sort of law – she does so by choice and by duty.  She can walk away, is that what you want?  Show her, and show me a reason to respect you, because I have none for you at this moment. 

“Don’t forget that Princess Mars and Jupiter also do not have to risk their lives for you either, they can walk away at anytime.  You have given them a reason today to walk away from you.  Show them why they should stay and risk their lives for you or for Crystal Tokyo.  Show them that you won’t be stupid enough to throw it all away after they risk their lives to build Crystal Tokyo for you to rule – at the moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if you exchanged it for a plate of sushi.  Show them you won’t exchange it for some food craving.  Show them that heart you are supposed to have instead of the stomach that you always display.  Grow up and start acting your age, you should be old enough to think of the consequences of your actions because you cannot expect that they will forgive you time and time again for your thoughtlessness. 

“The same applies to you Princess Venus, you cannot hope to lead disgruntled troops, just as you cannot hope to lead a group that has no respect for you.  If you keep on falling over every man in your way, you will have no respect from your fellow senshi.  Do something to change it before you go down in history, famous, as the most incompetent and ludicrously simple leader that the senshi have ever had.”  Mewagi inhaled a deep breath, “you may leave now.”

“Hai, arigato (thank you) for spending time to teach us this important lesson, we will remember it well, Someieichi-kou.”  Minako said as she bowed.

Usagi quickly followed suite as she bowed, “arigato.”

1:40pm

            “Oka-san?”

“Ami are you alright?”

“Hai.”

            “Good.  Rei, what is your verdict?”

“They’re in there, they are trying to take over him.  I tried to help him, together with Makoto, but I couldn’t even penetrate the wall that they have erected.”

“Was the wall strong?”

“Hai.”

“Then it is alright.  Your mother, Lady Mars, once said that the wall is one that the defender built to protect himself, no enters, no one leaves until the battle is over. If he loses the battle, the wall will crumble, if you say that the wall is strong then there is still hope.”

“How do we help him?”

“We can’t help him.  Nothing goes in, nothing goes out.  If we try to help him from the outside, the wall will break and he will effectively die.”

“So we sit here and do nothing?”

“We can encourage him, but we can’t actively do anything to help him, we’ll leave Ami here with him for a little while.”

1:44pm

The stacks of watery yellow manila folders seemed to ever increase in size and height as they covered every inch of available space on his side-benches, cabinets, most of his desk and floor.  There was a small empty space on his desk to open a file, and there was a narrow walkway out the front door, that was it, every single other inch that did not have other office utilities was buried.  He had two guest chairs, neither of them were available for guest seating, he had forgotten what those chairs were. 

Sighing, Kendo Daiki reviewed his notes on this particular case; it was pretty obvious that this young woman had died from knife wounds in her dinning room, by her steak knife no less, he had a pretty good idea that it was done by another jealous wife – the infamously dull and predictable love triangle.  After all, one does not open the front door and turn their back on someone they don’t know, and this young woman had been having a discreet affair with her friend’s husband.  The friend had probably heard it from the rumor mills and wanted to talk it through but…

There was a brief knock on the door and then a head poked in through the doorway, “hey doc, there’s some dodgy looking guy waiting for you outside, and ur, sorry, I forgot to bring in your lunch when it arrived – as usual, it looks gross.”

“Are you going to stop calling me that?”

“Nope doc.”  The junior inspector flung the slightly soggy cottage cheese, tomato sauce and lettuce sandwich towards his cluttered desk, “it’s my duty to constantly remind you that you’re a damn unwanted outsider.”

“Hate me that much huh?”

“You and all those educated ones.”

“Any reason why I found Doctor Mizuno’s hospital photo in your locker?”

“Come on now, you’ve got to admit…”

“Careful there, its dangerous ground that you’re treading on.”

“Sorry, forgot that part about you two dating.  Set a date yet?”

“You’re the inspector.”

“Fine, do it the hard way,” marching into the office, the junior inspector put one foot on one the chairs, and turned the desk light into his face, putting on his best movie inspector voice, “youch, the lamp’s damn hot, it’s always cold in the movies.  Okay, come on, tell all, how serious is it, when are you heading down the aisle.”

Kendo chuckled, “show that dodgy looking guy in, I know all your tactics, ain’t not going to work with me kiddo.  Hey, how dodgy does he look?”

“Baggy light blue jeans and a tee-shirt, his hair covered his whole face, and hell, I thought that he was a girl until he spoke, Pops.”

“Pops?”

“You’re an old man doc.”

“You know what they say about inferiority complex and age?” Kendo yelled after the twenty-or-.so year old.

“Yeah, that it’s nothing but psycho-babble.”

“Hey, watch it there kid!” 

1:45pm

Doctor Mizuno was not a happy woman especially because of the fax that she had just received and was currently in her hand.  It had not been a good day ever since Urawa had predicted that they would be having hospital ramen for dinner.  It was still four and a bit hours before dinner time, she could only wonder how much worse the day could get.  For years, she had been intimately involved with research of the link between the exposure of the foetus to different environments and the development of early childhood behavioural, mental and physical problems.  Now that they were only a few months away from finishing their statistic compilation and to begin the analytical reporting of the phenomenon, the National Institute of Research had pulled the plug!  Not exactly pulling the plug, but they might as well have – approving approximately a fifth of the funding budget that they had asked for. 

Unlike university research chairs that funded a whole project, she had to fight for funding each year.  Her research group assistant had already spoken with the institute and had been told that the competition had been fierce, and their project competing against compassionate and controversial projects such as cloning or genetic development work, they were lucky that they hadn’t been dropped off the list at all.  The only reason they had received any funding was because they were so close to the point of completion that it would have been a waste of previous funding should they have refused it.  This was one of those points in time when she regretted giving up her own family name – if she had kept her own name, she would have had much more clout in the funding campaign… but it wouldn’t have felt like it was her own achievement. 

Her assistant was now crunching numbers trying to figure out how much more research they would be able to do with the substantially smaller budget.  Of course, there was the small matter of compilation, analysis, reporting, presenting, the follow up, research into intervention…  She knew that they’d never be able to make it with that budget, and now, she would have to consider the possibility of applying for funding from universities overseas – if it wasn’t already too late.  Mewagi sighed, and she still had to check in on Kunki and probably have to deal with his angry parents when they found out that she was withholding the release.  It wasn’t going to be a good day.

1:46pm

The door had barely closed when another figure appeared at his doorway, Kendo sighed, this was going to be a long day, “I thought I’d never see you again, from my understanding, you aren’t supposed to wander around the mortal realm.”

“You don’t get much respect around here, do you?” deus strode into the cramped office without so much as acknowledging his father’s words, “I thought that you’d keep your office clean, but…” he swiped his finger over one of the ledges, “I find dust.”

“Are you here for something?”

“Gee, a bit of enthusiasm wouldn’t hurt.  That sandwich…”

“Like everyone else who tries to make a comment, I say lay off my sandwich, I’m eating it, not you.  Look, the last time you appeared in front of me, which happened to be last night, did not exactly brighten up my world – you caused chaos to put it lightly, so you’ll forgive me for not being too enthusiastic right now.”

“You two made up though.”

“Did you…?”

“No, I gave you your privacy,” deus replied, referring to the monitor he could use to see the activities of Earth, “my duty only lies in protecting the present Princess Mercury, and that is what I am here for; I thought you might want to help them out.”

“How?”

“Well, Saito-Sato just got admitted into hospital, the hospital can’t get in touch with his parents.  We want his okaasan to check him out, not his otaasan, got it?”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say that it would improve both Princess Mercury and Someieichi-kou’s quality of life a great deal if she was to go to the hospital instead of the husband, you know I can’t say much more without getting punished.  Well, I have to go, have fun being mortal.”

1:47pm

Ami cradled herself on a hard plastic chair beside Kunki’s bed.  He didn’t even look like he was sick, he was just asleep there in an extremely uncomfortable bed – she knew that part from personal experience.  Yet he was peaceful, so completely at ease and trusting that it was like watching a baby.  She had spent many hours looking through the windows from the corridor to see the maternity ward, full of sleepy premature babies.  And here was Kunki with the same expression of dependence as he slept, his usual little crease of concentration between his eyebrows relaxed and dissolved with his smooth features.  It was strange to see that semi-frown gone; it had been there even from her earliest memory, he had always looked had the face of diffident determination and concentration.  His usually dedicated features were slack; it was as though she was looking at a bad replica of Kunki – his short hay-blond hair that usually irritated and fell into his eyes now fell backwards to show an unobscured forehead; his usually intensely bluish-green eyes so eager for information were hidden from her sight.  She missed those sparkling eyes, those orbs that were sometimes blue, sometimes green or even grey depending on the weather and the color of his clothes, but always ever inquisitive.  It was definitely a bad replica of Kunki, but unfortunately, it was the real thing.

Shaking her head, she wiped the dampness of her face and nose with the back of her hand without thinking, returning her hand to its original position, she clasped Kunki’s hand even tighter than before.  “Wake up Bai-S-kun,” she gently urged him, “win this fight and come back to us, we’re all waiting for you to come back.  You mustn’t let them tempt you, if you hold a strong will then they can never win, don’t doubt how important you are, we all need you to be here.  Fight, please fight, you have to win, you can’t let them take you away, I need you as my friend.  Use that kindness, that goodness in you to overcome it, please, you have to…”

1:49pm

“This is Doctor Daiki from the Juuban Police, can I speak to Mrs Saito-Sato?”

“Of course doctor, I recognise your voice, how are you?”

“Very well thank you, and yourself?”

“As usual.  Now, Mrs Saito-Sato is at a luncheon right now, but for you, I’ll go and see if she might be able to step out and answer your call.”

“You’re wonderful, I’ll owe you,” Kendo rubbed his forehead, he had spoken to her enough times but he had no idea what this woman’s name was.

“You owe me so many times doctor that I expect a dinner invite soon.”

Kendo laughed nervously, wasn’t there an easier way to speak to Mrs Saito-Sato than to get on the good side of a flirtatious secretary? 

2:15pm

“Ma’am?” ventured the apologetic secretary whilst politely drawing her mistress aside, “I’ve contacted the hospital, they have refused to transfer your son without one of his parents signing his release papers at the hospital.”

“Tell them to fax it over, I’ll sign it, and one of the drivers can give it to them when they pick up Kunki.”

“I suggested it ma’am, but they said they would require you to be there.”

“Well, we can’t leave until after the luncheon.”

“Of course ma’am.”

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