What Wish?
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't deliver until 5:00 PM."
"Uh, thanks anyway."
Morisato Keiichi hung up the phone and put out his cigarette on
the makeshift ashtray. "Damn," he muttered. "What does a dormer have
to do to get a decent meal at three in the afternoon, anyway?" He
rolled up the sleeves of his yellow sweater and searched through the
rest of the delivery pamphlets stashed away by his sempai. "I wouldn't
have to order out if I wasn't talked into watching over this place for
Tamiya-sempai and Otaki-sempai, anyway! And for what? More rummaging
through the junk yard for more parts for another of their 'greatest
inventions'. As if we hadn't picked that place clean twice over
already!"
Outside, the sky rumbled. "Just like my stomach," Keiichi
muttered. He pulled one flyer out that looked promising and dialed the
number. "Hello, Shanghai Chinese?"
"Yes, this is Shanghai Chinese Restaurant. What would you like
to order, sir?"
Keiichi breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh, I'd like your Kuchay
Dumplings and an order of Beef Brisket Rice, please."
"Yes, sir. May we have your number?"
Keiichi rattled off the dorm number Tamiya wrote down on a piece
of paper next to the phone.
"Ah, we have you on file already, sir. Your bill is 2800 yen.
We'll deliver it as soon as possible."
"Thanks."
For some strange reason, the food never arrived.
=====
Strange Interlude #1:
Mendo climbed in the Harrier hidden underneath Red Alert Chinese
Restaurant, which was really the Mendo family panic center.
He switched on the throttle, checked the instrument gauges
(which all displayed normal readings), and nodded in satisfaction.
Switching on the radio, he placed the headset to his ears and radioed
home. "Mendo Estate! Mendo Estate! This is Shutaro! Does anyone copy?"
It crackled out a response. "Yes, this is Shanghai Chinese! Your
food is being delivered right now!"
"Fool! No one ordered any!" Mendo snapped.
=====
Keiichi clutched at his empty stomach. "Food... must have...
food..."
He dialed up another number. He waited for it to ring twenty
times, then gave up. He then dialed another number.
"Moshi moshi!" greeted a perky female voice. "You have reached
the Goddess Relief Office! You are one of the lucky mortals who
managed to call me when I'm not in the shower, so I'll be generous and
make a house call, just for you!"
"What the...? But I just want to order takeout!" Keiichi
pleaded.
"Please, let's make the requests when I get there," the voice on
the other end of the line said. "At least I didn't make you have to
come all the way to the office to pick up your prize! Be patient! Oh,
by the way..."
"What?"
"Do you happen to have some hot water nearby?"
"Yup, got a hot water jug next to the cup... er, where the cup
ramen used to be before my sempai finished them all off. (That was my
personal stash, too...) Why?"
"Pour it on the floor. Preferably a stone or tile floor."
"WHAT?!"
"Look, do you want me to get there or don't you?"
"Oh, all right. Will wood do?"
"Yes, but only for a short while. Tell me when you're through."
"Okay. This has got to be the silliest thing I have ever..."
Keiichi reluctantly uncapped the jug and poured the contents onto the
floor. (And just who do you think has to mop this mess up?) "Done."
"All right. I'll be right over!"
Keiichi sighed. (I wonder if it's 5:00 PM already?) Then it
occurred to him. "Oh, shit! The dorm is off-limits to women!"
He stood up and rushed for the door when a voice behind him
said, "And where do you think you're going?"
He turned around and saw a girl. Half a girl, to be precise,
peeking out of the hot water puddle.
Of course, he did what any sane person would do. He screamed and
ran around the room like a madman, tripped over the low table,
stumbled, and nearly tore out the shoji screen from the closet door.
The girl looked at him and stepped out of the puddle. "I wonder
if this is the right address..."
Keiichi took one good look at the girl. She walked towards him
as if she was floating, a smirk on her face; a face that bore strange
markings on the forehead and cheekbones. She wore a white and red
dress that, for all its volume and fancy twists and turns still
managed to show a hint of a slip right above her white knees. Her long
black hair was tied just a few inches above the ends, and it fell away
to reveal a curious long mallet with a little head as she knelt down
in front of him, pointing a white gloved hand at him. "You're Keiichi
Morisato, aren't you?"
He managed a nod.
The girl nodded back. "Good. Now we can get this over with." She
stood up and held out a hand to help him up, which he slowly took with
trembling hands.
When a guy who has never had a girlfriend in his life and had
been cooped up in a boy's dorm for the past two years meets a girl
like the one standing before Keiichi at that moment, trembling hands
are par for the course.
She helped him up, and Keiichi noticed that he was as tall as
she was. Which was not really saying much. At 5' 4", Keiichi blamed
his height for a lot of things, and had a theory about height being
proportional to social life. Of course, that theory was shot down
after he met the two huge lunks Tamiya and Otaki.
The girl looked to be about his age, if not one or two years
younger. To say her complexion was 'fair' was to say that the sun was
'bright', and for a moment Keiichi found himself pondering how it
would feel to run his fingers over...
"Are you just going to stare or are we going to get on with
this?" the girl said, and Keiichi got the feeling she was used to this
sort of attention.
"Uh, sorry. Get on with what?" Keiichi asked, and then a wild
thought occurred to him. (Is she propositioning me? Am I finally going
to get some, after twenty-one long years? No, of course not, Keiichi,
get a grip. She looks too nice to be that kind of... Although she did
say she was from some 'Goddess Relief Office'...)
"Get on with your wish." the girl replied, folding her arms.
He blinked. Twice. "Wish? What wish?"
She scratched her temple in irritation. "You qualified for a
wish, silly. The Heavens have decreed that you are a kind enough
person to deserve a wish - and let's face it, you seem to need it.
Unfortunately for me, my sisters were too busy to take this call, so
once again, I, the Great Skuld, have to respond to the call. It's just
not fair."
"Skuld?"
"That's my name."
"I get a wish?'
"Yup."
"You're kidding, right?"
Skuld slapped her forehead. "Why do all you mortals have to
respond that way about receiving a wish? Kami-sama gives you a wish,
and you question it?"
"Well, I..."
The door burst open, revealing Tamiya, Otaki, and the rest of
the Nekomi Tech Auto Club.
"MORISATO!" the big lunk known as Tamiya bellowed at his usual
volume. "DID YA TAKE ALL MUH CALLS LIKE I TOLD YA TO?" Tamiya looked
down, and realization dawned on his face (which usually didn't get
much dawning in the way of realization). "A GURL?! WHAT IS A GURL
DOIN' IN HERE?!"
"A 'gurl'? What the heck is a 'gurl'?" Skuld snapped.
"Well, I..." Keiichi began (feeling curiously like he was
repeating himself), but was cut off.
"Morisato," Tamiya muttered, voice ominously modulated, "article
twenty-three states..."
Keiichi swallowed hard. "Article twenty-three states..." he
repeated.
"...That anyone who violates the rules will be..." Tamiya
continued.
"That anyone who violates the rules will be..." Keiichi repeated
weakly.
"Anyone who violates the rules will be..." Tamiya finished,
cracking his knuckles, "KICKED OUT!!!"
In a sudden whirlwind of activity, Skuld, Keiichi, and a few of
Keiichi's things hastily packed into a box were unceremoniously hauled
out of the room, down two flights of stairs, and out the door.
"We'll send ya the rest of yer stuff when ya find a place,"
Tamiya growled, handing over Keiichi's helmet and dumping a jacket on
Keiichi's head. "Call when ya find one." And with that, the dorm door
closed on Keiichi.
"Oh, great, now what do I do?" Keiichi whimpered.
Skuld turned to Keiichi. "Now, you'll make your stupid wish so I
can get the heck out of here!"
"Not now!" Keiichi argued. "I still have to find a place before
it starts to rain!" Keiichi dug through his jacket pockets and pulled
out a set of keys. "Good, they're here." He put on his helmet, walked
over to a motorcycle parked by the dorm building, and searched the
attached sidecar. He pulled out another helmet and offered it to
Skuld. "Well, come on!"
A look of exasperation crossed Skuld's face for a moment. She
sighed and muttered, "Why don't I ever get the easy jobs?" She
snatched the helmet from Keiichi, put in on, and got in the sidecar.
"Fine. Let's go. I don't have all eternity."
"What do you mean you haven't found a place yet?" Skuld shouted
over the roar of the motorcycle engine. "We've been to five apartment
complexes already! The guy in the last one was happy to give me a
room!"
"Of course he was! He was giving you his room! Don't you know
what that means?" Keiichi yelled back.
"That means I would've had a nice bed to sleep in if you hadn't
pulled me out of there!" Skuld replied.
"You aren't from around here, are you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you seem a little..." Keiichi hesitated.
"What? What? A little what? Spit it out!"
Keiichi waved her off. "Hold your horses, I'm trying to put it
politely."
"A little naive? Was that what you were going to say? A little
naive?"
"I was going to say a little clueless, but yeah, that about
covers it."
"WHAT?!" Skuld exclaimed, nearly standing up in the sidecar.
"Clueless? I'll show you clueless! We've been wandering around the
city for hours now and you still haven't found a place to stay yet!"
"And I suppose you know a better place, Miss Goddess?"
"Of course I do, and we would have gotten there sooner if you
had only asked me, stupid!" Skuld spat.
Keiichi spat back. "Fine! Fine! You know of a place, show me
where this place is!"
"Fine!" Skuld slapped a strange round device on the handlebars
of the motorcycle. "Skuld Autopilot Device Mark I, switch on!" She
pressed a big red button on a remote control device she had pulled out
of nowhere.
"What the hell?!" Keiichi exclaimed as the bike gained a mind of
its own and wrested control from him. It sped up and made several
turns so quickly that Keiichi lost his bearings for a moment.
"Watch out for that car!" Keiichi screamed as the bike
threatened to collide with a silver Mitsubishi FTO that was straying
from its proper lane.
Skuld furiously pressed several buttons on the remote. "Agh! Who
deactivated the evasive maneuver program! I'll have to do a manual
override! Skuld Autopilot, right turn!"
They missed the offending car by the width of two fingers.
Small, dainty fingers.
The motorcycle entered a wild spin before screeching to a halt
just inches before the guard rail.
A long moment of silence passed between the both of them, broken
only by the sound of relieved gasps.
"HA! I am the greatest!" Skuld finally said, standing straight
up in her seat.
"The greatest?!" Keiichi snorted. "Your doohickey nearly got us
killed!"
"MY 'doohickey'? It was your hunk of junk that couldn't handle
high technology!"
"Hunk of junk? I built this bike from the ground up! How can you
call this a hunk of junk?"
"I don't care if you had to give your left eye to Mimir to make
this bike! It's still a hunk of junk!"
"Well, my 'hunk of junk' was doing just fine until you decided
to fix what wasn't broken!"
Skuld took off her helmet and nearly hurled it at Keiichi.
"What?! Now you're saying it's my fault?!"
"Who do you think I'm talking about?"
"HAH! We wouldn't be in this darn mess if you'd made your stupid
wish like you were supposed to!"
For some reason, the God of the Heavens chose that exact moment
to turn a fire hose on Tokyo.
"Just great," Keiichi grumbled. "And where was this 'place' that
you were talking about before you turned all Doctor Wily on me?"
"The temple straight down this road," Skuld replied through the
dripping wet hair covering her face.
"A temple?" Keiichi asked, wondering why his companion was
suddenly so subdued.
"Don't complain," Skuld muttered. "It's not like we have any
choice."
"Man, this place looks deserted!" Keiichi said, looking through
the darkened front room.
"It is deserted," Skuld called back from the back rooms. "This
was the priest's living quarters, behind the main prayer room." She
peeked back out at Keiichi, who was shivering. "Are... are you okay?"
"F-fine," Keiichi managed to say. "They didn't pack too many
clothes in there," he said, tilting his head in the direction of the
box of things his sempai handed him. "You look soaked to the bone
yourself," he remarked. He caught himself trying to make out her
figure through her wet clothes. He shook his head, took off his jacket
and offered it to her. "Put this on."
Skuld blushed slightly, but shook her head and refused. "I don't
need it."
Keiichi looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, placing it on
the floor. "I still think you need it more than I do, but... If you
change your mind, it's right here, okay? I'll just slip into some dry
clothes... that is, if they packed any..." Keiichi rummaged through
the box and found a few clothes. He grabbed a set (or approximated
one) and headed for a back room.
As Keiichi took off his shirt, he called out, "Hey, there's an
extra towel in that box. And a blanket."
"I said I don't need it!" Skuld answered back.
Keiichi sighed and put on the dry clothes; he squeezed the water
out of the wet clothes and hung them next to a window. He stepped back
out to find Skuld frantically searching the walls, holding another
strange looking device. "What the...?"
"How could I have forgotten? There's no electricity in this
place!" Skuld wailed. She stomped over to Keiichi and grabbed him by
the collar.
"What? What'd I do?" Keiichi asked.
"This is all your fault, Morisato! If you'd only made that
stupid wish I'd be out of here by now!"
"There you go with that wish business again," Keiichi said
wearily. "For one thing, I don't even know if you really are a goddess
in the first place!"
"I showed you my Autopilot Device, didn't I?" protested Skuld.
"That doesn't prove a thing! Aren't goddesses supposed to know
magic and stuff? If you really are a goddess, prove it to me!"
"Yeah? How?"
"Show me the magic!"
"What?"
"You heard me! Show me the magic!"
Skuld sighed. "All right, all right! It's just that I prefer my
mecha over magic. Mecha is so much more tangible." She closed her eyes
and chanted, making gestures with her hands.
wood and stone
and the spaces in-between
speak of the story of your past
and your present
I arrive to offer the promise
of tomorrow
with these dreams I revive you, restore you
to not what you once were
but to what you might be
Keiichi watched wide-eyed, as a bright yet soft light filled the
room. He watched as the dust disappeared, as the holes in the shoji
screen closed, as the boards on the walls and the floor regained the
tone of newly-shaped wood; he watched paint and lacquer flakes rejoin
the coats they were separated from by weather and time.
Then the light faded, and Skuld opened her eyes, leaning against
the wall, smiling. "You still dream. I knew you still could," she
whispered as she fell asleep.
Keiichi sat in stunned silence for five minutes. He watched
Skuld sleep for another two, then spent yet another two pondering what
to wish for before he keeled over from the combined strain on his mind
brought about by shock, greed, lust, and a forty-degree fever.
to be continued...
=====
TimeRunner's Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482
=====
"Whatever," her heard her say sarcastically, although he could still
hear the grin in her voice. "You'd better not be messing around back there
while I'm gone, buster!"
"Mess around? Me? I'm hurt, Yui, truly hurt."
"Uh-huh."
"No, seriously!"
- Yui and Gendo Ikari, Neon Chronicle Evangelion 0:1