I seem to like train scenes. It come from the first time I played ST. (of course I didn't buy the idea that a single person could stop a train like a bus transit...) please enjoy this installment. JillM (-o-)
"OH!!" Ayame jolted up in bed, sweating and shaking. Long wavy redhead falling over her shoulders, she clutched at her robe and tried to calm down. She was breathing hard as though she had been running - running from the nightmares that seemed to haunt her every other night. But unlike those other nights that she found comfort as soon as she woke, next to her the space was empty...
'Kaede-san...' she sadly thought, climbing out of her futon and staring down at the place where her sister would be sleeping. 'I had to...' The image of Kaede faded away and she turned to leave the room.
The house seemed so empty at this hour. She would hardly know whether or not a Yoneda had passed out drunk in his room snoring, or if Kazuma was listening to the radio as he wrote another letter home. But, she knew that Yamazaki wasn't in his room, depriving himself of rest to work on plans.
'Yamazaki-shousa can't comfort me either,' she told herself, while peering into his room. He had left some of his things, but the place looked entirely different without his disorderly trademark. Longing for his warmth, she backed away from the door and turned to leave.
"Ayame-kun," said a soft voice from behind. Kazuma had been awake when and heard her emerge from her room and into the hallway. "Are you okay? Are you having nightmares again?"
"Un," she sighed, hands dropped to her sides, "I don't know why they just keep becoming worse. I feel like its trying to tell me something... but I don't remember everything when I wake up... There are a lot of holes in my memory and things I don't understand..."
"They were just dreams, that's all they were," he replied, patting her shoulder, "If you like, we can talk about this, Ayame-kun. I have a pot of tea in my room and I'm not feeling sleepy at all. I would enjoy some company at this late hour."
"Why aren't you sleepy, Taisa?" she asked, as he led her down the hall, "Did something happen?"
"Iya, it's nothing." he replied as they went into his room and he slid the door close. He then started to pour her tea while she got comfortable on a sitting pillow. "I'm more worried about what's going on with you. I mean, Yamazaki left two weeks ago and today Kaede-kun has left as well."
"No," Ayame cut in, lowering her head as she corrected him, "I sent Kaede-san away. She didn't want to go, but I..."
Kazuma watched her accept the hot tea and frown at her reflection. After sipping from his own cup, he asked, "If it's not any trouble at all, could you tell me why...?"
"Hai," Ayame uttered, going to tell her story...
* * * * * * * * * * *
It was three days ago; the Fujieda sisters were walking from the market, their arms full of grocery bags. "Neesan," Kaede said, reaching over to pluck a stray leaf from her hair, "Today we had lots
of fun, ne? I wish all our days could be like this."
"Sou desu ne," Ayame replied as the chilled fall breeze showered them with leaves. The streets of Ginza looked like an endless red pathway with the clear blue sky hovering above. "If only..."
"Aa!" Outside the house, Kaede stopped to check the mailbox and sure enough there was an envelope inside. "From Oniisan!" Ayame immediately put down her bags and accepted the envelope, going to open it and look at the letter inside. "Is there a lot of loving words???" Kaede asked, trying to peer over her shoulder.
Ayame blushed. "Kaede-san, there is no such. Yamazaki-shousa just told me how he is doing living in Kobe with Hasokawa-san."
"Hasokawa-san? Who is that guy??"
"Chigau chigau," Ayame corrected her sister, "Hasokawa-san is a woman."
"EEEEEEEEH?!" Kaede frantically snatched her by the arm and exclaimed, "Oniisan is living with another woman??!"
Ayame let out a sigh. "Don't misunderstand, Kaede-san. Hasokawa-san is a family friend of Yamazaki-shousa's. She used to work with his father and knew him when he was little. She's the only other person he knew he could go to."
"But why did he have to go anywhere?" Kaede pouted, "I miss Oniisan. I hope he speeds up with whatever he's doing and comes back soon."
"You've got to be patient." Ayame said, "It's like the ancients said: 'Hurried actions will create mistakes.' You want everything to go right for Yamazaki-shousa, so you must let him take his time and figure this out on his own."
"Hai hai..." Kaede mumbled with her head down, "Honestly, Neesan, you memorize all those sayings just to prove my thinking is all wrong."
"Sou ja nai," Ayame laughed, slipping the letter into her pocket, "I'm only trying to help you shape a strong common sense. Later on in life, you're going to deal with different kinds of people. The ones who passed before us had a great knowledge that revealed truths. I think they dealt with people wisely so their words have always guided me."
"Since Okaasan and Otousan aren't here, you're the only one who has to guide me," Kaede replied, "But I refuse to listen to a bunch of dead old guys."
"Kaede-san..." Ayame sighed. Before she could elaborate on the need of respect for the ancient philosophers of the world, she noticed that a crowd of young men had surrounded her. "Konichiwa, Minna..."
"Konichiwa, Ayame-san~!" they gasped, looking all lovey-dovey.
One fellow pushed his way up front, "Ayame-san, by any chance are the rumors true - That you dumped that guy, Yamazaki, and sent him packing?? If so, then could I take you out to dinner??"
Another guy shoved him away. "I was going to ask her on a date! Get lost!" He then smiled towards Ayame. "I can come by around seven to pick you up."
All of the boys broke out fighting with each other on who had the rights to the 'now-single' beauty of Ginza. Kaede, very disgusted with this, stormed the crowd. "DAME DESU!!" she yelled out and got everyone's attention. "Neesan is NOT free to date any of you losers! Get out of here and go home!"
"Shush, brat!" snapped one of the guys, "Who made you in charge of your older sister?? Ayame-san can see who she likes."
"DA-KA-RA!" Kaede retaliated by grabbing him by the ear and hollering into it, "Neesan didn't dump Shinnosuke-niisan!"
"Sou desu," Ayame said, prying her sister away and calmly explaining the situation. "Yamazaki-shousa left town. I'm going to wait for his return."
"NANII?!!" It was instant heartache for each of the suitors as they gazed at the cruel, beautiful woman before them. "It's no fair..."
Then, a tall guy from the back stepped forward. "Ayame-san, if that's your decision, we're okay with it. All we care about is Ayame-san's happiness." His comrades nodded in agreement.
"Arigatou gozaimasu." Ayame said, "I'm glad to have so many people on my side."
"But there's something that's been bothering us. We heard another rumor that was very shocking. Is it true that you were doing 'favors' for other men to get Yamazaki's project underway??"
"Heeh?!" the Fujieda sisters were aghast, "NAN DESETTE?!?"
"Some military guys were spreading it around. But we didn't believe any word of it! If you say it isn't true, we can argue against it in your honor."
"It's a lie!" Kaede exclaimed, "The only man Neesan will be with is Shinnosuke-niisan!!!"
Ayame quickly reprimanded her sister and took over the talking. "It is most certainly not true. I can't believe someone would spread such a rumor. I would never...!"
"Yoshi! If Ayame-san says so, then it isn't true! Let's get started right away and discredit those bastards, spreading lies about our Ayame-san!!" With that the crowd rushed down the streets.
"Hidoi!" Kaede grumbled, clenching her fists, "Who could do such a thing?! I'll hunt him down and...!"
"Yamette, Kaede-san," Ayame said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the house. "I agree that this was cruel, but some things just cannot be prevented. I guess I've made some enemies and they had to sink to this low level, but there really isn't anything I can do about it. 'Fighting isn't always the answer'."
"Neesan, then what is the Answer?" Kaede sighed. She faced her older sister with a frown. "I don't think I can be satisfied with ancient sayings like you... I know I'm brash and irresponsible, demo I too only care about your happiness... and nothing else."
* * * * * * * *
"Ano..." Kazuma suddenly interrupted the story, his face all flustered. "I-I just wanted to ask you... regarding Yamazaki..."
"About how close we've become??" Ayame had read his mind and felt a bit amused by his uncomfortable reaction. "Taisa, you mustn't worry about us. My relationship with Yamazaki-shousa has matured over time, but it won't affect our work."
"I can't help it. If you were my daughter, I would be very concerned about what will happen if your actions will create a difficult situation for the two of you. If you were to become..."
She cut him off, much to his relief. "Daijoubu desu. Whatever happens between us, we'll take care of it. We trust and believe in each other, so there really is anything to worry about. By the way, Taisa - you have enough worry about your own daughter. But that won't be for a long time, right?"
He started to panic at the thought of his little angel in a bad situation. Shaking it out of mind, he reached over and put his arm around her shoulders. "Sometimes, I forget... that you are an adult." he admitted, "That you're a woman capable of making your own decisions. Forgive me, Ayame-kun."
Ayame blinked; if he had done this a year or so ago, she would have swooned. But now, all of her heart belonged to Yamazaki - these small notions of affection had lost its affect.
"Taisa, even if we're adults, I sometimes feel the opposite. When we argue and joke around... it just makes life more wonderful. I miss him so much," she sighed, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I still remember how Yamazaki-shousa would look at me... almost like a child, so innocent and sincere... I could see his soul in those blue eyes..."
Kazuma uttered, "Even though Yamazaki has the wisdom and form of a man, his faith and idealism is so simple. He's bad-tempered and cruel on the outside, but truth is he couldn't harm anyone..."
She nodded silently, remembering how she discovered the gentleness underneath that angry mask he wore. 'He made life more wonderful...' she thought, a small smile on her lips, 'Yamazaki-shousa...'
* * * * * * * * *
Going on with her story, Ayame went into the part where Kaede and her had arrived home and Yoneda was there waiting with an assignment. "Oh, Kazuma wants you to go to Ueno and pick up some things."
"Shirei, more mean buns?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow, "We just came back with groceries and I'm going to make dinner. Do you think we'll have room??"
"I don't think its meat buns this time," Yoneda replied, taking the bags from her and Kaede, "I think you better go and find out for yourself."
"H-Hai," she uttered not comfortable about the tone in his voice, "I'll go over there right away..."
"Matte kudesai!" Kaede hurried after her sister, who had hastened her normal walk. "Neesan, don't be nervous." Ayame shrugged, trying to pretend it was nothing. But Kaede could see past this calm exterior. "I'm going with you so you won't be alone."
With that, the two sisters caught the next streetcar to the Ueno district and walked through the park to get to the base. Passing by the security, they entered an office with high walls and little light. Takamura got up from his desk to great them. "Good to see you both. Please have a seat."
Ayame offered the single chair to her younger sister and then leaned onto the back. Giving her him full attention, she could tell it was something serious by the look in his face. "Takamura-chuujo, did I do something wrong...?"
"No, not a thing... But, there is an issue regarding your performance..." After a long pause, Takamura finally found some words. "Fujieda-kun, don't misunderstand; you're doing great... Only there is some concern..."
"About what?" Ayame asked, her hands now on Kaede's shoulders - her every muscle tense. "Please tell me what's going on."
"The department has been taking readings of your spiritual power level, and it's been increasing daily at a startling rate. They were wondering if they could quarantine you for a couple of days for observation. It's for security reasons."
Kaede jolted from her seat and leapt at the desk faster than Ayame could stop her. "Just because she's getting stronger doesn't mean she's a threat or anything! After all that Neesan has done for Teito, they can't do this!"
"Maa maa!" Takamura gasped, backing away from the frantic girl, "We're not calling Fujieda-kun a threat. We're just concerned about her health. Surely something is causing this increase; it is mostly for safety of Fujieda-kun."
Kaede slowly calmed down, bowing her head in apology. Ayame took her hand and led her to the door. "Please wait outside. I want to talk to Takamura-chuujo in private."
For once, Kaede didn't argue and did as she was told - the door closing behind her as she left the room without a word. Ayame turned back towards the weary-looking sergeant.
"Now tell me the entire truth."
Takamura stared back and realized that she knew a bit more about what when on behind the scenes. "You see, there's a government emergency project secretly working together with Kanzaki Industries..."
Ayame replied, "Don't tell me they want to use me as a test subject."
"According to the scouting report, you're one of the known few in this nation who could do it, as well as the youngest. I'm not saying you have to do it; I'm just bringing it to your knowledge that it exists. Whether or not you're up to the job, the researchers still want analyze you to determine the causes..."
Takamura and Ayame both stopped as they felt a slight rumble. Reaching for their swords, they anticipated the onslaught of demons crashing in through the windows.
"Dammit!" Takamura cried, fighting off the half dozen that had burst into his office, "How did the enemy find us?!"
Ayame wasn't even listening to him, her focus on getting out of the room. "Kaede-san!" she exclaimed, entering the hall. She could only see hordes of demons ready to attack anyone in sight. "HAAAAAA!!!" She ripped her way through, leaving behind a trail of demon debris and blood. "KAEDE-SAAN!!"
Meanwhile, the entire building continued to shake. Ayame paid no attention to it as she continued to rush down the halls and check every room. Soon the smell of smoke caught her a bit by surprise, but it only hastened her efforts.
"Lost something?" asked a voice. Ayame entered the dim storage room to see one of the demon minions holding onto the terrified girl and a staff with a jagged blade. "Fujieda Ayame, if you have any interest in saving this girl, put down your sword and listen to what I have to say to you."
Ayame glared at the nymph that looked identically to the other nymphs that they had fought before. "What do you want?!"
"I want you to know that it does not matter whose side you chose, the result will always be the same," hissed the nymph, "There's a power growing in you - A great power that everyone wants. I assure you that we'd treat you better than those who you believe are your friends... Come with us, Fujieda Ayame."
Ayame stood in half disbelief and anger. Here he was trying to make an offer to her at the same time insulting her own judgment and holding her sister hostage. "Shut up..." she grumbled, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword.
"You heard me; don't come near if you don't want anything to happen to this girl!" he warned again. But Ayame didn't look fazed as she charged him with full force. Before he could react, the sword met flesh and his life was over in a flash. Crumbling to the floor, he released the unharmed but shocked Kaede - him going to lie in his own blood and gaze up at his slayer. "It's only... a matter... of ... time..." With that, his eyes closed.
"Nee... san..." Kaede whimpered, turning away from the gore. Ayame, still in disbelief of everything, continued to glare at the fallen enemy.
* * * * * * * * *
"We were able to get out before the place burned down. I can't believe the entire base was destroyed and that Takamura-chuujo is in the hospital with serious injuries. There were many injured and some dead... and I was there... Why didn't I do enough...?"
"Ayame-kun," Kazuma cut in, watching her now turn to the bottle after running out of tea, "You did all you could... Don't hold yourself responsible..."
"I know it's not like me, but I... I'm just so confused about what I'm doing. All I wanted to do was to protect Teito and make a difference. But now, the military, the government and now the enemy think I'm some kind of power source... Taisa, what's going to happen to me?"
Kazuma didn't respond, but watched her throw aside the now empty bottle and looked around for something else to drink. 'She has been hanging around Yoneda too much,' he noted to himself.
She finally stopped her restless search. "One thing I'm sure about, I don't want Kaede-san to go through the same thing. I want it to be different for her. She's not going to wear a chain around her neck like me... I want her to live a normal life. I want..."
"Ayame-kun...?"
The girl broke down crying, clawing at the floor and sobbing in despair. Kazuma scooped her up into his arms and did his best to comfort her, but she couldn't stop... at the thought of what she had done to her most important person...
* * * * * * * * * *
"Honto da yo!?" Kaede's face lit up in an instant, even though she had been miserable for the majority of the day. "Is it really okay??"
"Un," Ayame replied, the two of them standing in her room, "I talked it over with Hanakoji-hakushaku, and he said I can have some time off. So, we can go together."
The girl happily snagged her hands. "Yatta wa! So, you're coming with me?? You do know that this time we can go visit Okaasan's old home, like we always talked about. And, I can show you around school. Oh, I'm so glad!"
Ayame silently watched as Kaede cheerfully went to pack. And when Kaede went to bed, she packed for herself in the dim room. She had the two tickets on the dresser drawer, two tickets leaving Teito...
"Neesan," Kaede said in the morning as they waved farewell to Yoneda and Kazuma from the streetcar, "Is it really okay for you to leave Teito? A-Are? Your luggage isn't really heavy."
"Oh, I only packed what was important."
"Sou ka," Kaede replied with a smile. It was a nice day, and the day of bloodshed before was long forgotten. Ayame still seemed very thoughtful and she wanted to make sure she wasn't bothered from yesterday's events. "Neesan, don't worry about battles... We're going to have a great time together."
"Un..."
At the train station, the two sisters found their seats and put away their suitcases. Kaede stared across to her sister and sensed that something was still wrong. "Neesan..."
Their eyes met; one look filled her with relief.
"You seemed different today, so I thought something was wrong... I'm must be imagining. Maybe I'm just so happy that you're finally leaving behind all this danger, that maybe we can find another home and go back to the way it was."
"Kaede-san..." Ayame blurted out, "Watashi..." Kaede blinked and waited for the rest to come out. Ayame got up from her seat and put her hands on her shoulders. "I love you very much... Please believe me."
"Neesan... of course I do... demo, why all of a sudden...?"
Ayame turned for the aisle. "There's still some time before the train leaves. Let me go get some snacks for us." And then she left.
The minutes passed. Kaede waited and waited for her to return. Suddenly she heard the train whistle. "N-Nani?" Looking side to side, she noticed the train was starting to move, but her sister hadn't come back. "Matte! We can't go yet!"
Before Kaede could protest further, her eye caught outside the window. Ayame stood outside, looking very solemn. The train moving away, the two stared towards each other, both with tears in their eyes. Eventually, Kaede turned away from the window, no longer visible as the train sped away.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm the worse person in the world," Ayame whimpered into his shoulder, "But it doesn't matter... I'm going die in Teito... it's a matter of when and how..."
"Shhh," Kazuma said, patting her back, "Don't think about such things. You did what you thought was best for Kaede-kun... It's not selfish at all; I would have done the same... And, you've got many things to look forward to. You can't start to begin to think about this now."
"But," She lifted her face to his, bangs falling into her eyes that were swollen from crying. "It's never going to end, is it? This cycle of fighting and dying... it's going to keep going, isn't it?" He just stared back at her, unable to say anything. Ayame appeared impatient. "Don't just sit there, give me answer! I want to know why does it have to be this way...!"
"I think you've had too much to drink," he finally replied, starting to release her, but she quickly hung on. "A-Ayame-kun...?"
"I was a fool... pushing the ones I loved away from me... Now I'm alone and no one is here to comfort me, to hold me..." She covered her face into his shoulder, tears soaking the fabric, "A long time ago, I wished you'd hold me, Taisa... Ever since the day I met you ... Demo, now... I wished that time we met - you would have left me for dead..."
"You know you don't mean that, that's the alcohol talking," he coaxed her, putting a hand to her cheek and thumbing away the tears, "But what's this about you wishing...?"
Ayame suddenly broke free from him, finally coming to her senses. "It doesn't matter anymore," she told him, "Shinguji-taisa, oyasumi nasai."
Before he could reply, she left the room and closed the door behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Neesan..."
It was the next morning; a brokenhearted Kaede sat in the window of her dormitory room, watching the rain roll down the windows. Loosening her necktie, she turned and looked over at her shoulder, at the open suitcase on her bed. Inside was what Ayame had packed: her memories in the form of letters and photographs. There was also their mother's wedding gown wrapped in rice paper and a small music box...
Dreams, that's all they were.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Next Chapter: "Just us two... apart"
Life in Kobe has been fine thus far, with the exception of Miroku-san's occasional bad behavior (I thought I had enough of irresponsible adults with the geezer...). Enough about me, I want to know how are things in Teito. Are you all right? I haven't heard anything from for over a month. Please send word very soon... to the one adores you and whom I hope you haven't forgotten.
