[All is dark.]

Yuu's voice:  I think you just blew a fuse somewhere.

Scott's voice:  I'm working on it.  Hang on...

Akane's voice:  Why are we doing this, anyway?

Scott's voice:  Hey, if Leno can do travelling shows, so can I.

Yuu's voice:  But Leno's are funnier...

Scott's voice:  Traitor.  Ah, here we go...

[Lights up on... the bridge of a spaceship.  Several chairs are here,
on two levels, in front of a large screen; all but one of them are
empty.  Scott, holding the remote, sits in the nearest one.  Yuu and
Akane follow suit.]

Akane:  How did we do that, anyway?

Scott:  (holds up the device) This is a -real- universal remote. ^_^

Akane:  Sorry I asked...

Yuu:  Who's the kid?

[Pan across to that one seat that was filled earlier.  A young girl
with white hair, golden eyes, and a blank expression is sitting there,
right in front of the screen.]

Scott:  Our hostess and guest reviewer, of course.  Ruri-chan.

Ruri:  Baka.

Akane:  (shakes her head) Let's just start, already...

Scott:  (nods) Today's fic is part 2 of Richard Lawson's fairly-dark
and conspicuously non-Shakespearean KOR fic, "Life So Dear."

Ruri:  (to the screen) Omoikane, please display.

Okay, be harsh.
  
This draft is very rough.  There's some parts I'm not happy with,
and would like your opinions on.  I've already had one *very* good
analysis of parts of this, but would like to hear other opinions
before proceeding.  So anything you want to comment on, please do.

Yuu:  In fact, anything you don't want to comment on, please do
anyway.

Scott:  C&C is a good thing.

Oh, and a reminder:  This is based on the KOR manga, *not* the anime,
which includes both movies.

[Omoikane skips briefly forward.]

Life So Dear
by
Richard Lawson
  
Part 2
  
  
Kyosuke had cried in pain before in his life.  Several times, actually.
Dressers had been known to fall on him for no readily apparent reason.
But never had he traveled beyond screaming, to a place where each new
flare of pain only caused him to whimper and sob.

Akane:  "Fairly" dark, huh?

Scott:  You've got to admit, it sets a mood.

His entire left hand was agony, a constant sharp and throbbing pain.

Yuu:  His right hand was Earl, a friendly but reserved librarian.

His
right hand was slowly coming to match it.  A wrench, a whimper, and
another one of his fingers was broken.
  
"Your will breaks easily, Kasuga."

Ruri:  What will?

Akane:  They think he's Kazuya.

[There is a brief pause while Ruri is brought up to speed.]

Ruri:  (blinks) I see.

The shape bent over him spoke in a
mocking, cruel tone.  "I thought you were made of stronger stuff.  I
am... disappointed."

Scott:  "You may remember my brother, Certain."

Akane:  (groans) You're not going to start that again...

Scott:  Only once, promise.

Another snap, and this time Kyosuke managed a choking
scream.

Yuu:  Kyousuke travelled to a place beyond screaming... then went
beyond that... and found screaming again?

Scott:  I guess if his voice had given out, this might make sense.
It'd take a lot more screaming than he's probably done at this point,
though.

He had to *think*.  If he could think, he could do something.  But he
couldn't, his mind was clouded and the pain was overwhelming and he
couldn't think.  This was a nightmare, but he should be waking up,
oh God please let me wake up.

Ruri:  (clinically) He appears to be approaching the threshold of
sanity.

Yuu:  Thanks for the update. ^_^;

"Ma... Madoka."

Akane & Ruri:  (in unison) Baka!

Scott:  (facepalms)

The torturer paused in his work.  "Oh?  Who is this?"
  
Kyosuke sobbed.  "Why?  Madoka, why?"
  
"Madoka?  Who is this... a girlfriend?"  The torturer leaned over
Kyosuke's face, his expression one of interest.  "Could it possibly
be that, among the many women you've bedded, there's one you
actually cared for?"

Yuu:  Nope, probably not.

It didn't make sense, none of it did.  Madoka, he could see her,
smell her, she was turning in his arms and kissing him, where was
she?  "Madoka..."

Scott:  He's really out of it.  Just how drugged is he?

"Well, first things first."  With a sharp tug, Kyosuke's forefinger
was broken.
  
Kyosuke cried out again, and he felt his mind slipping.

Akane:  Ah, here we go...

Slipping
somewhere underneath the drugs and the pain, and taking his sanity with
him.  It was a relief, he was scared, he'd never come back and never see
Madoka but it was worth escaping the pain.
  
"You'll answer all my questions in time.  You'll feel pain as you've
never felt it before.

Yuu:  "We're going to subject you to nonstop Spice Girls music..."

Days of it maybe,

All:  Nooooo!

although I don't think you're that strong.  We'll see what we can
do."  The dark shape grabbed Kyosuke's thumb firmly.

Scott:  Make a wish...

Madoka... he couldn't give up on Madoka.  He'd do anything for her,
anything.  Pain, pain, he hated the pain but he needed Madoka, but his
mind couldn't stand the pain, it was too much, he needed her he needed
her.  The pain, the loss, his mind, it was *his* mind, and he loved
her.  "MADOKA!"

Ruri:  (blinks)

Yuu:  Well, that was... incoherent.  You'd think his thoughts would be
most chaotic right after his fingers were broken, and calm down a
little in between.

And his mind... went elsewhere.  And took his body with it.

Scott:  Nice phrasing.

---
  
Amano shot to his feet.  "Where did he go?!"
  
The tall man was staring blankly at the empty table, shock on his face.
His hands blurred, and a knife stabbed at the center of the table,
deeply imbedding itself in the wood.

Akane:  Good thought on the bad guy's part.  A telepath could probably
go invisible, using something like Akane's disguises.

Amano wanted to swear profusely, but he couldn't.  He had an image to
maintain even now.  "Find him.  Find him and kill him immediately.
He's more dangerous than we thought."
  
The tall man produced a walkie-talkie.  He spoke softly but urgently
into it while moving towards the door.
  
"Also," Amano called out as the tall man was leaving, "find out who
this 'Madoka' is."

Ruri:  He just made a mistake.  The rest of the family will have more
reason to get involved.

Yuu:  Kyousuke sure isn't going to be happy...

---
  
Hiyama Hikaru approached the familiar house with dread.  She'd
wanted to avoid this.  She was supposed to be on a plane back to New
York by now.  Not here, not in places that reminded her of the pain
of her dreams shattered, the pain of her sixteen-year-old heart
being broken, the pain of her two best friends in the world
betraying the absolute trust she had put in them.

Scott:  Absolute trust?  I suppose she remembers it that way, but...

Even now, she felt her eyes beginning to water with the hurt
surfacing anew.

But her friends were in trouble.  Something was wrong, and she needed to
figure out what it was.  Watching the wedding was supposed to have been a
catharsis, and instead it had fed a fear.  A fear that something bad was
happening to Madoka and Kyosuke.  A fear that all the pain and sacrifice
she had endured seven years ago had been for nothing.

Gathering herself as best she could, she strode towards the Ayukawa
residence.

Scott:  I don't like this.  I think I'd get rid of that one-sentence
paragraph, and move the part about the wedding:

  Watching the wedding was supposed to have been a catharsis, and
  instead it had fed a fear. [...] all the pain and sacrifice she had
  endured seven years ago had been for nothing.

  Her friends were in trouble.  Something was wrong, and she needed to
  figure out what it was.  Gathering...

The front door was open, and people were wandering in and out of the
house.  There were so many of them; the interior was literally packed.
Conversation buzzed loudly in her ears, along with the occasional
bark of laughter.  Somewhere a baby was wailing while several adults
tried to coo it into silence.
  
Hikaru stopped just inside the door, hoping no one would recognize her.
And she fervently hoped that nobody would try and take her to see the
bride and groom.  She wasn't prepared for that.

Akane:  Which means she's bound to see them.

She sidled along the wall, looking for the pink dresses of the
bridesmaids.

Yuu:  Why is she looking for bridesmaids?

Madoka had a lot of them, unfortunately, and pink satin
abounded.  This might be more difficult than Hikaru had imagined.
  
And then she saw her, walking down the stairs, looking around faintly
bored.  Hikaru raised her arm and gave half a wave.  After blinking
several times, recognition washed over Kurumi's face.

Yuu:  Oh.  That's why.

She grinned and
pushed her way through the crowd.  "Hikaru!  I didn't think you were
coming!  Oh, Kyosuke will definitely want to see you."

Akane:  Heh.  Not this "Kyousuke."

"Kurumi, please."  Hikaru quickly looked both ways, afraid that
Kyosuke would suddenly pop up out of nowhere.  "Don't.  I... I
didn't come here to... to talk to him."
  
"You didn't?"  Kurumi peered at her.  "Hikaru, why *are* you here?"

Scott:  (Hikaru) I've come for revenge against Madoka-san.  Where do
you keep the knives?

Hikaru stared back at her former classmate.  She and Kurumi had
managed to be in the same homeroom all during junior high and high
school.  They'd been friends, although not particularly close
friends.  Kurumi's biggest charm had been her unwavering support for
Hikaru's relationship with Kyosuke.

Ruri:  How shallow.

Yuu:  I thought they were pretty close friends at the time.  Not that
Hikaru had many... maybe she's just looking back on it from her
current perspective.

Ruri:  Just like an adult.

But she, too, had been among those who had known about Madoka and
hadn't told Hikaru.

She shook her head to clear it of extraneous thought.  Right now,
Kurumi was the person Hikaru trusted the most.  "Um... do you
remember when... when I went around seducing men?"

Scott:  (laughs) Nice juxtaposition there, since Kurumi was
responsible for that.

To say that Kurumi reacted calmly to this statement would have been
like saying Kyosuke was a decisive man.

Akane:  I don't think this works.  It breaks the mood of the scene too
clumsily.

Kurumi's jaw dropped open and her eyes grew wide.  "What?"
  
"Don't you remember?"  Hikaru pointed to her mouth.  "I went around
late at night and attacked them all with lipstick."

Scott:  This is probably just me, but the pointing threw me for a
second.  I guess she's referring to the lipstick, but since she's
talking about herself, and pointing to the nose is a way of referring
to yourself in Japan, I got the wrong image.

Kurumi blushed.  "Um... why would you bring this up all of a
sudden?"

Yuu:  (Hikaru) You're next, after Madoka-san.  Do you prefer
strangulation or defenestration?

"Something happened to me," Hikaru persisted.  "I... I didn't
remember acting that way.  It was as if I was a different person."
  
A nervous smile appeared on Kurumi's face.  She looked from side to
side.  "Well, that was an interesting thing, wasn't it?  But you got
over it.  Um, I have to go, uh, help with the food."

Akane:  All these years, and she's still a terrible liar.

Hikaru frowned, leaned forward, and grabbed Kurumi's wrist.  "Kurumi,
please listen to me.  Something like that's happened to Kasuga-sempai.
And Madoka-san.  They weren't themselves at the wedding."
  
Kurumi giggled nervously.  "I'm sure it was your imagination.  They
were under stress because they were getting married.  That's all.
Um..."
  
Hikaru shook her head violently.  "No!  Did you see how your brother
behaved?  The way he acted?  Did it seem normal to you?"
  
"He just forgot what he was supposed to be doing.  He's like that.
He's a little high-strung sometimes."

Ruri:  A little?

Yuu:  Sometimes?

"Not that!"  Desperation was welling up in Hikaru.  Couldn't anyone
else *see*?  "The way he looked at her, the way he treated her!  It
wasn't *him*!"
  
Another denial began to form on Kurumi's lips.  It froze there, then
faded away as her expression turned thoughtful.  "Hmm."  She touched
her finger to her pursed lips, then turned to look into the crowd.

Scott:  Houston, we have comprehension.

Hikaru did her best to will belief into Kurumi.  She'd had experience
doing this.  Not *good* experience; all her efforts to will reciprocal
affection into Kyosuke had come to naught.  But this time she seemed
to have a better chance of success.

Akane:  That's a little clumsy.  I can't think of anything better,
offhand, though.

Kurumi looked back at Hikaru, then apparently decided something.
"Come."  She reversed Hikaru's grip on her wrist and pulled her into
the crowd.
  
"No!"  Hikaru dug in her heels.  "I don't want to see him!"
  
"Silly."  Kurumi released Hikaru's wrist and jumped up into the air.
"Manami!"
  
Hikaru was normally not one to shy from attention.  But this was not
the place she wanted to be nor the attention she wanted to receive.
She did her best to fade from sight right where she stood.  The best
she could do was to duck her head and hunch her shoulders.
  
"Kurumi!"  This voice sounded cross as it approached.  "Don't be so
rude."
  
"It's not *my* fault.  She wouldn't let me go look for you."
  
Hikaru finally raised her head.  A woman wearing another
bridesmaid's gown stood next to Kurumi.  She had long hair flowing
down her shoulders.  Intelligent brown eyes looked out from a very
attractive face.

Scott:  So, roughly, she looks the way she did during her "day out."
I'm a little surprised she's gone without the glasses, but the hair
fits, considering.

They blinked at each other for a moment.  Then the woman smiled.
"Hikaru!"
  
Hikaru was a little slower on the uptake.  Then she realized... tie
the hair in a ponytail, put some glasses on the face...  "Manami!"

Ruri:  Why didn't she realize earlier, given that Kurumi just jumped
in the air and shouted Manami's name?

Manami's smile grew wider.  "I'm so glad you came! Kyosuke will be
very happy to see you."

Yuu:  I have the strangest sense of deja vu...

"Um..."  Hikaru sighed.
  
"She's not here to see him.  She thinks he and Madoka-san have been
hypnotized or something.  Do you think he's been acting strange
today?"

Akane:  (Manami) Other than that thing with the chicken?  No stranger
than usual.

Manami looked at Kurumi steadily for a second.  Then her eyes lost
focus. "Hmm."  She turned to look off somewhere to her right.
Hikaru followed her gaze and blanched.  Standing together in front
of the fireplace were Madoka and Kyosuke.  Madoka was still smiling
blankly and nodding at something a woman was saying to her.  Kyosuke
was slightly behind her shoulder, as if using her as a shield.  His
expression seemed to be a mixture of anxiety and contempt.  He was
holding a mostly-full glass of champagne in front of his mouth but
didn't appear to be attempting to drink it.  His eyes were scanning
the crowd.

Scott:  Oh, yeah, that's really inconspicuous.  I'm shocked that
Hikaru had to point it out.  Wedding-day jitters couldn't account for
-that- much in his father's or sisters' minds, could they?

And then his eyes met hers.
  
Hikaru eeped and looked hastily down, her face burning, all rationality
leaving her in a rush of embarrassment.  Oh God, he'd seen her, he'd
seen her *here*.  He'd think she'd come here to try and win him away
one last time,

Ruri:  It would be a little too late to try that -after- the wedding.
Baka.

and he'd be friendly and nice like he always was but underneath
she'd feel the pity, the sincere regret that Hikaru had grown
infatuated with him, and she couldn't stand that, not then and not
now.  Oh God, he'd seen her and she'd never live this down.  She
waited, waited for him to come up to her and call her "Hikaru-chan",
for her humiliation to begin.

Yuu:  I think Hikaru's gotten just a little paranoid about all this.

Nothing happened.

She slowly raised her head.  Kyosuke was now looking off somewhere
else, the champagne glass still in front of his mouth.  He was
ignoring her.
  
Hikaru's fear subsided, replaced by her original certainty -
something was very wrong with Kyosuke.
  
She looked at the twins.  They were both staring at Kyosuke, various
degrees of incredulity on their faces.  Then they looked at each for
a moment, and Hikaru could almost feel a silent communication taking
place.
  
Hikaru felt a preternatural need to say something verbal.  "That isn't
Sempai.  At least, not the Sempai I knew five years ago."

Akane:  Hikaru felt a preternatural need to state the obvious.

Manami broke her gaze away from Kurumi.  "No.  It's not.  There *is*
something wrong."
  
"Madoka-san, too."  Hikaru waved in her general direction without
looking.  "She shouldn't be acting that way."
  
Manami seemed to consider that.  "Hmm.  What do you think, Kurumi?"

Scott:  I think Manami would be a bit more certain.  She and Madoka
were friends, and unlike Kurumi and Hikaru, they haven't been
separated for years.  If anything, they'd be closer, since Madoka
would be around so often.

Kurumi appeared to be getting angry.  "I say that *isn't* Kyosuke.
And whoever it is..."  She scowled.  "He won't get away with it."
She began to stalk towards the couple.
  
"Kurumi!" Hikaru hissed.  She began to move after Kurumi.
  
And couldn't.
  
She looked down at herself.  Something was pushing against her torso,
keeping her from going forward.  A pillow covering a steel plate.  But
nothing was there.

Ruri:  There goes that secret.

Hikaru gaped after Manami.  She was striding directly towards
Kyosuke.  Kyosuke saw her coming, and his face grew wary.

Yuu:  Hikaru's lost the ability to tell the twins apart.  It's Kurumi
who was moving.

"Kurumi, what are you doing?"  Manami seemed utterly shocked.  She,
too, appeared to be trying to move forward but not succeeding.
  
Just as it seemed Manami would run into Kyosuke,

Yuu:  Kurumi, again.

she swerved and greeted
Madoka.  Madoka responded gaily, and they were soon chatting.
  
Kyosuke watched her for a minute, his face slowly relaxing.  He
began to sweep the room again, and Hikaru quickly averted her eyes.
She looked over at Manami.  She had a thousand questions to ask but
she was frightened out of her mind.
  
Suddenly the force holding her in place vanished.  She took an
involuntary step forward and quickly regained her balance.  She
looked back at Kurumi, who was rocking back and forth on her heels
while talking to Madoka.  Her hands were clasped behind her back;
one was gesturing urgently.
  
Hikaru spoke in a small, quiet voice.  "What's she trying to say?"

Akane:  After being held in place with the Power, the first thing
Hikaru says is, "What's she trying to say?"  I think she'd have to be
a lot more shocked than she seems here, to do that.

"She needs a distraction."  Manami grimaced, then stepped forward
herself.

Scott:  She -is- a distraction. ^_^

"Wait!"  But it was too late, and Hikaru was alone.  She could only
watch with a kind of horrified fascination as Manami walked up to
Kyosuke and began a conversation.

Ruri:  I'd eliminate the "a kind of."

The wary expression returned to Kyosuke's face.  He appeared to try
and brush Manami off but she was cheerfully insistent.  She laughed
once and kept touching him, punching him playfully on the shoulder
or grabbing his hand to examine his wedding ring.
  
It took a while for Hikaru to figure it out.  Manami was slowly
turning Kyosuke away from Madoka.  To what purpose, Hikaru couldn't
guess.
  
Kurumi had stopped rocking and was now leaning forward slightly,
still chatting brightly.  Madoka was giggling at something.  Then
Kurumi reached up one of her hands and poked Madoka in the middle of
her forehead.

Yuu:  So that's what she was up to.

Madoka's face went slack.  Kurumi said something into her ear.
After a few seconds, Kurumi whirled and walked off, leaving Madoka
staring blankly into space.

Manami left Kyosuke a few seconds later.  Kyosuke frowned after her,
then turned to Madoka.  He squeezed her shoulder.  She looked up at
him, and her smile returned in full force.  He asked her a question
and she nodded energetically.  They began to move towards the stairs.
  
Manami came, trailing Kurumi behind her.  She whisked Hikaru in her
wake, and they all made their way to the front door.
  
When they were outside and a reasonable distance from the door, Manami
whirled on Kurumi.  "All right, what were you doing?"
  
Kurumi smiled mischievously.  "Protecting Madoka-san."
  
"Please."  Hikaru felt like something was choking her.  "What did you do
to me?  How did you paralyze me?  What did you do to Madoka?  What's
happened to Kyosuke?"  Fear bubbled up inside her.  "Please tell me...
what's going on?"

Scott:  Okay, that sounds more like what I'd expected.

Kurumi and Manami looked at each other once again.  Kurumi nodded.
Manami grimaced, turned, and took Hikaru's hands.  "Hikaru... I
think it's time you knew about our family."

Ruri:  Long past time.

---
  
His whole world was pain.  His hands were on fire.  Every beat of his
heart caused the pain to flare up.  Agony was his companion.
  
Something, however, was better.  This was good, and he couldn't
exactly say why.

Yuu:  Because "better" is, well, better?  This could use rephrasing.

He tried to concentrate, to bring some coherency to his
thoughts.  All he could come up with was that the pain was no longer
increasing.  It was lessening, in fact.  His right hand felt better
than his left hand.  He tried to open his eyes so he could look at
his hands, but the pain was too much.
  
"Are you awake?"  A harsh voice, and the harshness made him flinch.
But it was also a familiar voice, one that immediately calmed him
down.  He managed a nod.
  
"All right.  Now, for this last finger I'm going to need to set the
bone.  This is going to hurt.  A lot.

Scott:  (winces) No kidding.  That has a decent chance of knocking him
right back out.

You're going to have to lie at still as
possible.  Do you understand?"
  
"Y-yes."  He tried to brace himself as well as he could.
  
Hands gripped his finger in a way that called to mind all sorts of
horrible memories he was trying desperately to suppress.  He cried
out in fear, then clenched his jaw.
  
Something pulled his finger, and the pain climbed to new levels.  He
screamed but did his best to freeze his arm in place.  Tears streamed
from his eyes.  He managed to choke off the scream and bite his
tongue instead.

Akane:  And was lucky enough not to bite through it, apparently.
Getting that done -hurts-.

"Okay, just a minute longer."  Something was being applied to his
finger - a splint? - and then his hand was gently put on the table.
"That's the best I can do."
  
Kyosuke took ragged breaths, trying desperately to adjust to the pain.
After several long minutes, he felt sufficiently fortified to open his
eyes.  His vision was a little blurred, possibly the result of how
tightly clenched he'd kept his eyes shut.

Yuu:  That last part doesn't sound quite right.  Maybe "possibly
because he'd clenched his eyes so tightly shut?"

He was going to lift one of his hands
so he could look at it, but his muscles gave him a warning twitch of
pain as he began to move his hand.

Yuu:  I'd just say "it" instead of repeating "his hand."

Scott:  Aren't we getting a little more picky than usual?

Ruri:  He did ask.

He wanted to sit up, but couldn't think of
a way to accomplish that without using his arms.  He turned his head
from side to side, trying to figure out where he was.

Akane:  Welcome to Hell, Kyousuke.

The room was cramped and dingy.  There were no windows, and the only
light source was a lantern hung on the ceiling.  He was lying on a
futon in the middle of the room.  Several crates evidently substituted
for furniture; they were being used not only to store clothes and
other items, but the tops were used to put other objects like a
mirror or a vase of artificial flowers.  One wall of the room was
practically covered by stacks of tin cans.  Food, he realized.
  
Somebody was kneeling at his feet, where he had difficulty seeing
without raising his head.  "Hello?"  No response.  "Um... where am
I?"
  
Whoever had tended to his broken fingers was not being responsive.
Kyosuke sighed.  "Whoever you are... thank you.  Can you take me to
a hospital now?"
  
After another moment of silence, he was favored with a response.
"They'd never let us inside.  We'd be shot down before we could even
get close."

Ruri:  This is not a kinder, gentler alternate reality.

Scott:  But if it's the one I suspect, then it does reflect the darker
tone of the original universe in this fic.  After all, this one's
always been darker than the 'normal' one.

Now, at last, he figured out who the voice belonged to.  In a
convulsive effort, he used his elbows to prop himself up awkwardly.
"Madoka!"
  
She was kneeling with her hands on her thighs, staring at him
impassively.  She appeared to be wearing her old high school uniform
for some reason.  And that wasn't the only thing odd about her.  A
thousand little things were wrong.  Her hair wasn't the right length
and was cut a little unevenly.  Her nails were cut to the quick, her
face was a little rougher, she was wearing no jewelry or makeup... it
was all out of sorts.  Most of all, her eyes were... cold.  Hard
emerald rocks that contained none of the life Kyosuke expected in
them.

Yuu:  She didn't wear that much jewelry or makeup, anyway... but this
is definitely the universe where Kyousuke wasn't born.

One of his elbows slipped and he fell back against the futon.  The
impact traveled up his arm and triggered a new wave of pain from his
hands.  Kyosuke closed his eyes and groaned, riding out the pain again.
  
He heard her get up and shuffle through her things.  She then knelt
by his head and put a pill on his lips.  Surprised, he took it into
his mouth, recognizing the bitter taste of aspirin.  She reached her
arm underneath his shoulders, lifted him up a little, and put a cup to
his lips.  He took a sip of the water, swallowing the pill.  The water
made him realize how dry his throat was, and he eagerly drank down the
rest of the water as she slowly tilted the cup.
  
Kyosuke gasped as the cup was lifted away.  He managed to smile at the
still-impassive face very close to his.  "Thank you."
  
She inclined her head, then lay him back down.  He turned his head
so he could see her face as it gazed down on him.  They stared at
each other for a while.
  
Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer.  "What's happened, Madoka?
Where are we?"

Akane:  As slow on the uptake as ever.

Yuu:  (shrugs) He's had a rough night.

She held up two fingers of her hand.  "That's twice you've called me
that."
  
"Called you what?"  He frowned.  "Madoka?"
  
A third finger joined the other two.  "How is it that you can
address me in such a familiar fashion?"
  
"But... Madoka!"

Yuu:  Then again...

Now all four fingers were raised.  "You don't want to know what
happens on the fifth occurrence."
  
Oh God, something was horribly wrong.  He swallowed.  "I'm sorry."

Ruri:  He finally stopped to think.

She lowered her hand again.  "Who are you?"

Scott:  (Kyousuke) I am the Egg Man.

Kyosuke closed his eyes in dismay.  "You don't know me?"
  
No answer.  Kyosuke felt the throbbing of pain in his hands coursing
through his body.  His mind, still a little groggy, was utterly
confused by what was happening.  

Yuu:  His mind was utterly confused?  Sounds stilted.  Why not "His
mind was still a little groggy, and he was...?"

A full-scale depression was settling over him.  This was supposed to
have been the happiest day of his life.  Instead it was an utter
nightmare.

Ruri:  Isn't it strange, how that works?

"You saved my life once, I think."
  
Kyosuke's eyes flew open.  "What?"
  
Still no expression on her face, but her voice was a little softer.
"Years ago.  Of course, it was your fault I was in that situation in
the first place."
  
"I... I don't understand."
  
Ayukawa cocked her head.  "Maybe it wasn't you.  But you look like
him.  And you can teleport like he did."
  
"Uh... who is 'he'?"

Yuu:  That really should have tipped him off.  I'd move the following
bit forward, and then have her say "Maybe it wasn't you," and so
forth.

Her gaze turned inward.  "Eight years ago.  When Akane's gang
attacked.  They saw me as a threat to their control of the school,
so they captured me and planned to make an example of me.  Then he
came.  He had ESP.  He spoke to me telepathically.  Along with
Hikaru and the Kasuga twins, he came and rescued me."
  
Her eyes focused on him again.  "He never gave me his name.  When...
when I tried to be friendly to him, he... left."  Her brow lowered
slightly and her voice could freeze lava.  "He teleported away
without saying a word and left me behind.  I looked for him for a
long time.  He obviously found the idea of being with me repugnant,
and fled."

Scott:  I've got to say, I much prefer the anime version of that
storyline.

Kyosuke shivered.  Now he remembered.  "Th-that *was* me."
  
"Really?"
  
"Y-yes.  I met you at the Abcb.  You hid me in your coat when Komatsu-
when the police were after me."
  
Ayukawa leaned forward so that her face was inches away from him.
"Where do you come from?  Why did you leave?  Why did you come
back?"  She barked the questions at him.  "Answer me!"
  
Kyosuke swallowed hard.  "I... I come from... from an alternate
world.  A parallel universe.  I teleported here accidentally eight
years ago.  I'm not sure how I got here this time."
  
She leaned back, her face still angry but a trace of puzzlement in her
voice.  "Parallel universe?"

Akane:  The truth really is stranger than anything she could have
imagined.

"Yes.  It's like yours, but different.  It's because I have the
Power that I'm able to move from one universe to another."

Yuu:  Too bad he can't do it on purpose.

"Hmm."  Now she sounded thoughtful.  "The Kasuga twins said that you
claimed to be their older brother."
  
He nodded.  "In my universe, they're my sisters.  My name is Kasuga
Kyosuke."
  
"Kyosuke."  She said his name slowly and thoughtfully.  "I wondered."

Scott:  Nice touch.

"Can you tell me how you found me?"  Kyosuke looked down at his hands.
"I'm not sure if this happened to me before or after."
  
Ayukawa considered him for a moment, then shrugged.  "I was here
reading.  Suddenly there was a 'whoosh' and you appeared next to me
on the futon.  I almost killed you."

Akane:  (alternate-Madoka) And how was your day, dear?

Kyosuke looked into at her stony features and knew that this was no
idle comment.  "But you didn't.  You fixed me up.  Thanks."

Yuu:  (Kyousuke as politician) I appreciate your not killing me, and
hope that you will continue to not kill me in the future.

"You're welcome."  She stood up abruptly.  "I'm going to collect some
water so we can have dinner."  Picking up a plastic pitcher, she moved
towards the door.  She hesitated, and looked at him over your shoulder.
"I don't know what it's like in your universe.  Here, it's very
dangerous outside.  If you value your life, don't leave.  This room
is fairly soundproof, but I wouldn't make a lot of noise either.
Just to be safe."

Ruri:  It seems that that universe went downhill even more quickly
than the normal one.

He remembered what a dark, grim place this world had been like last
time.  "Uh... maybe you should contact my, er, sisters.  They could
help me out."
  
Ayukawa shook her head.  "They're dead."

Scott:  That's it, break it to him gently.

With that, she manipulated some locks on the door, opened it, and
walked through.  As the door closed behind her, the locks clicked
back into place.
  
Kyosuke was oblivious to it all.  Dead.  Kurumi and Manami.  For some
reason, it didn't make a lot of difference that they weren't the
women from his universe.  His sisters were dead.
  
Tears of a different nature streamed from his eyes.  He was more
alone than he could possibly have imagined, and an awful feeling
hovered over him.  A feeling that the worse was yet to come.

Akane:  Hmm.  No, no foreshadowing here...

---
  
Hikaru stared at nothing at all for a long time after Manami finished
speaking.
  
Kurumi eventually poked Hikaru in the shoulder.  "Are you okay?"
  
Hikaru focused on her.  Slowly, a smile appeared on her face.  "I'm
fine."
  
"Really?"  Kurumi tilted her head.  "How... What do you think?"

Yuu:  (Hikaru) I think I could get paid a lot for this story.

"It makes sense."  Hikaru waved her arms above her head.  "That
explains *everything*!"
  
Kurumi blinked.  "What?"
  
She laughed.  "I understand now.  All the strange things that kept
happening.  Kyosuke disappearing and reappearing.  My watch suddenly
ninety minutes fast.  All the little mysteries about Kyosuke."  She
brought her hands down and clasped them in front of her.  "You don't
know what a relief it is to... to *know*."

Ruri:  My.  She accepted that well.

"Please, Hikaru."  Manami's voice was very serious.  "You mustn't
tell anyone.  *Anyone*.  Do you know what would happen if someone
found out?"
  
The smile left Hikaru's face.  "Does Madoka-san know?"

Akane:  Sheesh, is everything a competition with Madoka?

Scott:  As if you should talk...

Manami nodded.
  
"How long?  When did she know?"
  
"Um... Not until after she came back from America.  Kyosuke told her
then."
  
Hikaru digested that.  Madoka hadn't known during high school
either.  For some reason, that made Hikaru feel a little better.

Yuu:  Except that she must have, after that time travel bit.  Good
thing Kurumi and Manami don't seem to know about that.

She suddenly remembered what had prompted the revelation.  "So, can
you explain what's happened to Sempai?  And Madoka-san?"

[Akane pulls out a big road sign, reading 'Exposition Ahead.']

"Madoka-san's been hypnotized."  Kurumi nodded firmly.  "I'm sure of
it."
  
"But why?"  Manami put a finger alongside her nose in a portrait of
deep thought.  "Why make Madoka act like that?  For what purpose?"
  
"So she wouldn't call attention to Kasuga-sempai," Hikaru shot right
back.  "Because he's acting weird, and someone doesn't want anyone
to notice.  And Madoka, more than anyone else, *would* notice."
  
The twins looked at her in surprise.  She looked back at them.
"Don't you think?"

Ruri:  Debatable.

Yuu:  Be nice...

Ruri:  Why?

Yuu:  Err... (shrugs)

"Okay," Kurumi said hesitantly.  "Then who's hypnotized Kyosuke, and
why?"
  
Manami's eyes widened.  "Kazuya!"
  
Kurumi frowned.  "Why would Kazuya hypnotize him?"
  
"Not *hypnotize* him, Kurumi."
  
For a moment Kurumi looked at her sister blankly.  Then her eyes, too,
widened.
  
Hikaru was mostly drawing a blank, although the name sounded familiar.
"Who's Kazuya?"

Scott:  They've met, but I guess it has been a while.

"Our cousin."  Manami's eyes were still wide.  "He's been missing for
three days.  We've heard rumors that... that's he been mixed up with
some bad people."

Yuu:  "that he's been"

Something still didn't add up.  "And how does this all relate to
Sempai?"
  
Kurumi grimaced.  "Kazuya's got the Power, too."

Akane:  I'm surprised Hikaru didn't assume that, since she's just been
told about the family in some detail, and Manami referred to Kazuya as
"our cousin."

A sudden cheering came from the front door.  People were pouring out
of it at a rate and volume that astounded Hikaru.  They turned back
to face the door, still shouting loudly.

Hikaru leaned in closely towards the twins, trying to get herself
heard.  "And what does that mean?  What did he do to Sempai?"

Ruri:  To "make" herself heard, or to "be" heard.

Manami shouted, her eyes watching the door.  "He has the ability to
swap minds with other ESPers.  And... and he's not the nicest person
I know."
  
Madoka and Kyosuke appeared at the front door.  They had changed
clothes.  Kyosuke was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt;
Madoka a simple skirt and blouse.  She grinned widely at the mass of
people, who immediately began showering the two with rice.  Kyosuke
looked mildly annoyed at first, but quickly forced a smile on his
face.
  
Hikaru began to panic.  "If that's Kazuya, we have to stop him!"
  
Kurumi nodded.  "Yes!  We should talk to Grandma and Grandpa when
things calm down."
  
"No, no, no!"  Hikaru shook her head violently.  "We have to stop him
now!"
  
"We have time.  They don't leave for Hawaii until tomorrow."

Scott:  You get the feeling Kurumi just made a -very- -bad- mistake?

[All three of the others nod.]

"Tomorrow?!"  The panic grew.  "We can't wait that long!  He have to
keep him from... from..."
  
A strange smile covered Kurumi's face.  "Don't worry.  We're safe for
tonight."
  
Manami frowned.  "What did you do, Kurumi?"
  
"I was just protecting Madoka-san."

Scott:  In deference to decency, and, more importantly, because Akane
is sitting right next to me with a mallet, I will refrain from making
the obvious joke.

As Hikaru watched, Madoka and Kyosuke pushed their way through the
smiling, noisy crowd.  A white limousine waited for them on the
other side of the gate.  They ran towards the open car door the
chauffeur had opened.  Madoka stopped, turned, and waved excitedly.
Kyosuke almost yanked her into the limo with him.

Yuu:  You'd think her doubts would be getting strong enough by now to
resist the easier manipulation... "Kyousuke" has been acting extremely
suspiciously all day, and she's been with him for most of it.

Chorused goodbyes filled the yard as the limousine pulled away.
  
Manami shook her head.  "I hope you know what you're doing, Kurumi."
  
"Trust me."  Kurumi's eyes twinkled mischievously.

Akane:  (Manami) What is this strange sense of impending doom...?

Hikaru drew in a deep breath.  This had been an emotionally
exhausting day so far.  She'd received more shocks, dramatic
revelations, and blows to her psyche in the past few hours than
she'd received in... in the past seven years.  And the day wasn't
over yet.  "What do we do now?"

Scott:  (Manami) I'm going to Disneyland!

Ruri:  Baka.

Manami did the finger on the nose thing again.  "I'd say we need to
bring Akane in on this.  We don't *know* that Kazuya's taken over
Kyosuke's body.  We need to find Kazuya *now*."

Yuu:  I'd think they'd see it as a pretty good bet...

Kurumi wiggled her nose.  "Grandma and Grandpa."
  
"Grandma and Grandpa," Manami said almost grudgingly.  "They might
be our best bet?"
  
"Might be?"  Something in Manami's voice confused Hikaru.
  
"Grandma and Grandpa have the strongest Power in the family."
Kurumi grimaced.  "Or do have when they're... here."
  
"Here?"
  
"First things first," Manami said decisively.  "Let's find Akane."
  
---
  
Kyosuke's nostrils brought him slowly awake.  Something smelled
good.  At least, it smelled hot and edible, which to his rumbling
stomach *had* to be good.

Scott:  o/~ That's what you get when you confuse your stomach with
your heart...

Yuu:  (facepalms) That was uncalled for.

Realization washed over him, of where he remembered being and what
had apparently happened to him.

Akane:  "Realization" doesn't go with "remembered" and "apparently" in
this sentence.  It scans awkwardly.  Maybe "Realization washed over
him as he remembered where he was and what had happened to him," or
something like that?

His eyes shot open and he raised his left hand.  Pain shot down his
arm, although not as intense as before.  Crude but effective splints
had been applied to all four fingers and his thumb, and his whole
hand wrapped heavily in bandages.  His hand still hurt a lot, but it
was bearable.
  
He raised his right hand, which was in similar condition, although
his thumb was unbroken.  He flexed it experimentally, and found that
moving it sent sharp slivers of pain through his broken fingers.  Best
to keep it still for a while, he decided.

Yuu:  Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.

Something else was different, he realized as he carefully lowered
his arms back onto the futon.  His head was clearer.  He could think a
lot better.  Enough to seriously wonder what the heck had happened to
him.  While his present thoughts were coherent, his memories of the
past twenty-four hours were a blur.  His last clear memory was moving
out of his old apartment.

Scott:  Ah.  That could explain a lot.

Then there were flashes: getting drunk with
the guys, being strapped to a table while men spoke to him, his
fingers being broken - his mind skittered around those memories - and
waking up here with...
  
He turned his head.  Ayukawa was heating a pot over what looked like a
Bunsen burner.  The smell was emanating from the pot - some kind of
stew, Kyosuke guessed.  His mouth drooled involuntarily.  He was
famished.
  
"Awake at last?"  Ayukawa spoke without turning.
  
"Yes."  He frowned.  His voice sounded strange.  He decided to
experiment a bit.  "I'm quite hungry, too."  Something definitely
weird.  Perhaps it had something to do with how much he'd been
screaming before.  He vividly remembered screaming.

Ruri:  Just flashes, but vivid flashes.

Scott:  That sort of thing tends to be hard to forget.

Shuddering, he experimented with sitting up to distract himself.  By
using his elbows and wiggling in place, he managed to sit up against
the wall.  The concrete was cool and rough even through his shirt.
  
Ayukawa tossed her head and looked over her shoulder at him.  "Feeling
better, I see."
  
"Yes, thanks."  He looked down at his hands.  "I really should see a
doctor, I think."
  
"Hmm."  She turned back to the pot, stirring its contents.  "Tell me
about your world, Kasuga-kun."
  
Kasuga-kun.  The words shook him.  Madoka - *his* Madoka - had
called him that at the very beginning of their relationship.  It had
taken him a while to figure out, but the slightly condescending form
of address was actually her way of showing a degree of affection.
Those that she truly despised she ignored completely.

Yuu:  But it's probably not a good idea for him to assume that this
Madoka acts the same way.

Kyosuke took a breath.  "Uh, I dunno.  It's... well, there's a lot
more order.  Not a lot of crime.  I mean, there's crime, but not so
much that... that..."
  
"That businesses are destroyed, schools shut down, and the elite
barricade themselves in the heart of the cities and the unwashed
masses are left to fend for themselves?"
  
Kyosuke blinked at the cool, detached tone of her voice.  Despite
all the pain he'd felt in the past few hours, this managed to make
him feel a bit of horror.  "Is that what your world is like, Ma-
Ayukawa?"

Scott:  Whoa.  I hope we're going to get an explanation for this in
the next chapter, because the last time he visited, it hadn't gotten
nearly that bad.  It's kind of hard to believe that that world could
have gone completely to hell within ten years.

She didn't answer, except to ladle some of the stew into a bowl.
She turned to face him, the bowl held in her hands.  Kyosuke raised
his hands, stared at the bandages, and back to Ayukawa.  She calmly
took a spoon, scooped up some of the stew, and brought it to his
mouth.  He carefully ate from the spoon, all the time meeting
Ayukawa's dispassionate gaze. 
  
The stew felt good going down.  He was quite hungry, and couldn't help
looking back at the bowl.  Ayukawa continued to feed him, and he did
nothing but concentrate on the stew until the bowl was empty.
  
He sighed when it was gone.  "Thank you."
  
She nodded and ladled the rest of the stew into the same bowl.  She
ate mechanically, all the time staring at him with a kind of
detached intensity.
  
Kyosuke waited until she was done.  "Ayukawa... can you tell me what
happened to my... my sisters?"
  
She nodded towards the cases of food.  "They died in a raid we made
on a warehouse, just before the last of the barricades went up.
Twenty-five of us went in.  Twelve came out, but with a whole
trailer full of food."  She set her bowl on the ground.  "Enough to
last each surviving member for two or three years, depending on how
many mouths they had to feed."

Akane:  That's right, the Kasugas weren't Espers in the alternate
universe, in the manga...

Kyosuke had to blink back tears.  All too vividly his imagination
called up images of Kurumi and Manami fighting and dying just so
they could have food.  And yesterday - had it been only yesterday? -
the talk had been of ice cream.

Scott:  I'd either drop the last sentence, or, preferably, rewrite
this whole paragraph so it's not beating the readers over the head
quite as much.

He tried to wipe his tears away, but the mere movement of his hands
reminded him why that would be impossible.  Instead he blinked his
eyes rapidly and shook his head a little.
  
Ayukawa peered closely at him.  "You really did care for them."

Ruri:  Baka...

"They were my *sisters*!"  He was a bit taken aback by the vehemence
in his own voice.
  
She cocked her head.  "Not really.  If what you say is true, they
weren't your sisters."
  
"Close enough."  His brow furrowed slightly.  "You have a sister, don't
you?"
  
"Yes."  The ice in her voice and on her face made it clear that this
was a subject not to be pursued.

Akane:  Now I'm kind of curious.

Ruri:  I would guess that her sister and Shuu-chan are probably among
the elite she spoke of earlier.

Kyosuke let out a sigh of frustration.  Damn it all anyway.  What
had *happened*?  He pushed himself with his elbows so he was sitting
upright, then tried to stand.

Ayukawa raised an eyebrow.  "What do you think you're doing?"
  
He was getting more than a little fed up with this Madoka's attitude.
He growled, preparing to give her back some of the same.  Then he
remembered - the bandages she had used, the aspirin she had given
him.  Surely very rare commodities.  And the food.  "What will you
do when you run out of cans?"
  
Something like surprise flitted across her face.  "I don't know.
Maybe try to move out to the country; surely they're still growing
rice there.  Maybe try to organize another raid, with more people.
If I can find any that I trust."  She shrugged.  "Maybe I'll just
starve," she said noncommittally.

Yuu:  Hmm.  She never seemed that depressed before.

Akane:  I hope there's a reason for all this detail on the parallel
world.

Ruri:  Or for bringing the parallel world into it in the first place.

"So...," he said softly,  "every can of food you give me could be a
day of your life?"
  
She shrugged again.  "I struggle enough these days to find a reason to
live.  What's a few days more or less?"
  
Her calm, even tone sent prickles along Kyosuke's skin.  This *was* an
evil world she lived in.  He tried to regain a measure of calm.  "I
need to go to the bathroom."
  
Ayukawa nodded, stood, and helped him to his feet.  "Through here."
She pushed on one wall, which opened up to reveal a crude toilet,
much like an outhouse.  Where the hole lead, Kyosuke had no idea.
He nodded his thanks and made his way there.
  
"Need any help?"
  
"No!"  Kyosuke growled.  "This I can do by myself."
  
"Are you sure?"  Somewhere, far beneath the cool delivery of her
words, some humor was beginning to show.  "You don't have any
fingers."
  
He held up his right hand and carefully flexed his thumb.  "I'll
manage."

Scott:  Kyousuke's IQ seems to have dropped precipitously.  You'd
think he'd remember that he has telekinesis.

"You're sure?  It won't bother me, I assure you."
  
"It would bother *me*."  He looked over his shoulder at her.  "What
would *you* do if the situation was reversed."
  
"Kill myself for being stupid enough to get my fingers broken," she
shot back promptly.  A corner of her mouth lifted slightly.  "Very
well.  Let me know when you're done."  She turned back and began to
clean up after dinner.
  
Kyosuke studied her for a few seconds, lost in thought.  There was
something... familiar in her bearing.  Beneath the ice and granite
loomed the women *he* knew as Madoka.

Yuu:  All three of them.

Akane:  (reaches over to whack Yuu)  "Woman."

She was just beginning to come out of her
shell - a process he had witnessed once before.  There was
something... tantalizing in seeing it happen again.  Because of him.

Scott:  Uh oh...

Ruri:  (shakes her head) Baka.

Cutting off that train of thought, he turned back towards what
passed for the bathroom.
  
---
  
Akane looked around the table.  "No."
  
"Yes," Kurumi answered right back.
  
"No!"  To Hikaru's eyes, Akane was looking more and more frantic.
"It's not possible!"

Akane:  (Kurumi) Look, we know you liked Sailor Moon, but face it, the
show's over.

Hikaru leaned forward.  "You saw Sempai at the wedding.  Was that
him?"
  
"It wasn't my brother!"  Akane slapped the table.  "He wouldn't do
anything like that!  Why would he?"

Yuu:  Why would Akane think he wouldn't?  She didn't seem to have that
high an opinion of him in the manga.

Scott:  (shrugs) Maybe he did something to her mind, too.

Ruri:  That would be... intriguing.

"We don't know, Akane."  Manami's voice was soft and calm.  "We need
to find out."
  
"SHUT UP!"  Akane shot to her feet.  "YOU'RE WRONG, YOU'RE ALL WRONG!"
She stalked towards the door.
  
Hikaru jumped up and stepped in front of Akane.  "Please... we want
you to be right, for your brother to be whole and safe.  But no
matter what, the answer to what happened to him lies in Kyosuke.
Help us help your brother."

All:  o/~ Help!  I need somebody, help!  Not just anybody...

Akane's eyes were a little glazed over, her voice strident.  "You're
saying... my brother is a horrible person.

Scott:  Well, yes.

That he took over Kyosuke just so he could marry Madoka instead.
That's horrible!  He'd never do that!"

Akane:  He took over Kyousuke just to avoid a dentist's appointment, I
think he's capable of this.

"We're not saying he did.  We don't *know*, Akane.  There may be a
lot of things that can explain what's happened.  We just have to
find them.  That's all."
  
Akane shook her head.  "No.  No."  She closed her eyes as tears
began to come flow from them.  "No no no no..."

Yuu:  (Kurumi) I'm getting mixed signals here, Akane.  Are you saying
"no?"

Hikaru reached out and hugged her gently.  Akane began sobbing on her
shoulder as Hikaru stroked her hair and spoke soothingly to her.
  
Manami stepped up to speak into Akane's ear.  "We'll get your brother
back, Akane.  Trust us."
  
Akane lifted her head to look with mascara-streaked cheeks at
Manami.  "Oh God, I hope so.  He really... wouldn't..."
  
Kurumi bounded over to them.  "Okay!  Let's go see Grandma and
Grandpa!"
  
Everyone blinked at Kurumi.  She smiled cheerfully back at them.

[All except Ruri laugh out loud.]

Yuu:  Yep.  That's Kurumi, all right.

Manami spoke with a hint of irritation.  "Subtlety has never been
one of your strong points, sister."
  
"And talking too much has always been one of yours."

Akane:  That doesn't sound quite as insulting as it should, I think.

Ruri:  It works.

Kurumi pulled on
Akane's arm and dragged her over to the sink.  "Let's get you
cleaned up first."
  
Hikaru sighed as Kurumi wiped Akane's face with a washcloth.  Manami
heard, and their eyes met.  Hikaru grimaced.  "Do you have the feeling
that we've just begun to scratch the surface here?  That there's
going to be a lot more pain before it's all over?"

Scott:  That's twice.  Think the author might be trying to tell us
something?

[Pause.]

All:  Nah...

Manami seemed to think it over for a while.  "I can't say for sure.
But I do know that there would be more pain if we did nothing."
  
Hikaru couldn't help laughing once.  "Yes.  I'm well aware of that."

Yuu:  Well, at least she can laugh at it.  I guess that's progress...

"Okay!"  Kurumi, almost dragging Akane behind her, appeared in their
midst.  "Let's go!"

Akane:  Bowling!

Yuu:  ...Out tonight, take me out tonight.

Scott:  ...Our own way!  We can go our own way!

Ruri:  ...

[Absolute silence.]

Scott:  Were you going to say something, Ruri-chan?

Ruri:  No.

[Scott facefaults.]

They all moved en masse down the hall.  The house had mostly emptied
of people, leaving family members behind.

Akane:  I thought mostly family members were at the ceremony in the
first place?

Manami went up to an older
couple.  Hikaru recognized them as Kyosuke's grandparents.  They
looked a little more frail than the last time she'd seen them.  She
frowned slightly, hoping the twins knew what they were doing.
  
Manami lifted Grandpa to his feet as the rest of the family began to
exclaim.  Manami seemed to be trying to reassure them at the same
time she was talking softly to Grandpa.  Finally, Grandma rose
shakily to her feet, said something that apparently ended all debate,

Yuu:  (nods) Just like Grandma.

and walked with Grandpa
and Manami back towards Hikaru and company.
  
Grandpa's eyes were shining.  "My, you all look so pretty!
Akane-chan, heavens, you've grown so beautiful since the last time I
saw you!"
  
Akane smiled wanly.  "That was an hour ago, Grandpa."

Scott:  D'oh!  I have the feeling that I'm not going to like this
scene...

"Was it?"  Grandpa frowned for a moment in puzzlement, then turned
towards Hikaru.  "And don't you look lovely, um, dear!  You should
show more of that attractive bosom of yours, get all the men's
attention!"
  
Hikaru blushed scarlet.  Grandma reached over to pat Grandpa's
shoulder.  "Dear, you're embarrassing her."
  
"Nonsense!"  Grandpa seemed offended.  "She's an attractive lady who
should-"

Akane:  (sighs deeply) And -that-'s just like Grandpa.

"Grandpa!"  Kurumi growled and pushed him down the hallway back
towards the kitchen.  "Quiet!"
  
"Have you found a boyfriend yet, Kurumi-chan?"  Grandpa seemed
undeterred.  "I know this young man in our village who-"
  
"GrandPA!"  Kurumi almost shoved him into a chair.  "For the last
time, I am *not* moving back to the village!  No one is!"

Yuu:  (Kurumi) We may like discos, but we are not Village People.

"But dear," Grandma smoothly picked up the attack as she sat at the
table, "you know that the outside world isn't ready for us.  Better
that we stay close to home before-"
  
"Grandma.  Grandpa."  Manami's soft voice was nevertheless effective
at cutting off debate.  "We have a greater problem right now.  We
need to find Kazuya."
  
"Kazuya?"  Grandpa frowned.  "Kazuya?"
  
"You know, dear."  Grandma smiled.  "Our grandson."

Ruri:  Grandson?

Scott:  I was never entirely sure, but I thought Kazuya was removed
from Kyousuke more than that.  I don't think the manga mentioned any
children other than Kyousuke's mother, in that branch ofthe family...

"Oh!"  Grandpa rubbed his mostly-bald head in apparent embarrassment.
"Yes, Kazuya, of course!  How could I forget?"
  
Akane leaned in.  "Remember that we asked for your help finding him
before?  Could you try again?  We..."  She paused and swallowed.
"We need to find him."
  
"Kazuya?"  Grandpa blinked at her.  "But he was just here, wasn't
he?"

Akane:  Hmm...

"Really?"  Akane's eyes lit up.  "Where?"
  
Grandpa rolled his eyes thoughtfully.  "He... he was... I... Mother,
where is he?"
  
"I don't know, dear."  Grandma smiled apologetically.
  
Hikaru bit down hard on her frustration.  This wasn't getting them
anywhere.  She turned towards Kurumi.  "Maybe we should-"
  
Grandma continued unheeding.  "But he left with Madoka-chan.  She's
going to be a wonderful granddaughter, don't you think, dear?"

Yuu:  I thought Grandma was the one who favored Hikaru.  (shrugs)

The young women in the kitchen all stared at the smiling visage of
the Kasuga family matriarch.  Hikaru felt a cold, hard lump form in
the pit of her stomach.  "Sempai..."  She sat down heavily on a
chair, the last of her strength leaving her in a surge of fear.

Scott:  Now, this raises the question, just how much of Grandma and
Grandpa's behavior is an act?  They're either too far gone to
recognize anything wrong when they identified Kazuya, or they're up to
something else, and they don't want to tell the girls for some reason.
I'm sort of hoping it's the second.

---
  
Kyosuke sat against the wall, trying to be as still as possible.  His
hands had begun to throb again, and he didn't want to ask for another
aspirin.
  
Ayukawa was sitting opposite, reading a book.  She didn't seem to be
doing a good job of it; she hadn't turned the page in ten minutes.

Ruri:  One wonders where she got a book.

He ventured a question.  "What do you do during the day?"
  
She looked up at him, her gaze hard.  "Live."

Akane:  Well, that wasn't much of a conversation-starter, was it?

Kyosuke suppressed a grimace.  "Anything else?"
  
"No."  She looked down at the book again.

"Ayukawa."  He waited until she looked up again.  "I... is there
anything I can do?  To... repay you for what you've done to help
me?"

Scott:  Watch closely, as Kyousuke prepares to get himself in over his
head once more...

She stared at him expressionlessly and said nothing.
  
He shifted slightly.  "I've got the Power, after all.  I can use it to
help you... I dunno... get more food or something."
  
Her gaze remained steady for another minute.  Then she looked down
at her book.
  
Kyosuke swore silently.  She was so cold and closed.

Ruri:  Earlier, he thought about how she was opening to him again.

Akane:  That could just be Kyousuke.  He changes his mind a lot.

He was certain there
was something he could do for her.  If only he could tell what she was
thinking.  He focused on what he could see of her face, half-hidden
by the hair falling around it.
  
	i'vereadthisparagraphthreetimesstartover
	wheninthecourseofhumaneventsitbecomesnecessary
	itdoesn'tmakesensenoneofitmakessense
	he'ssoyoungjustlikethefirsttimedoesheageatall?
  
Kyosuke jerked his head back so sharply it hit the wall.

Scott:  (winces) Maybe he'd better ask for that aspirin after all.

He cried out and
squeezed his eyes shut.  After the initial dizziness passed, he
opened them again to see Ayukawa looking at him in concern.
  
He grinned weakly at her.  "Sorry."
  
She half-closed the book in her lap while staring at him curiously.
"Why did you do that?"

Yuu:  (Kyousuke) Now I'm not thinking about how much my hands hurt.

He blinked once.  He'd been surprised because...
  
_he had read her mind_.
  
Kyosuke trembled once in reaction.  He'd completely forgotten that
in this universe he could read minds and project thoughts.  He'd
only had a couple of opportunities to try it out the last time.  One
time he had been able to communicate with Ayukawa from outside the
school building when she'd been held captive inside.

Scott:  (blinks) Can he do that with anyone?  I thought it was just
with Madoka, another example of the "red thread of destiny" bit.

Akane:  Well, it was in the anime, since both versions of Madoka heard
him.  I don't think it was ever stated in the manga.

He could do it again.  He could read her thoughts.  He'd done it
just now.
  
He gathered himself and tried to answer her.  "Uh, I was, uh, just
surprised by, er, the book you're reading."

Yuu:  Heh.  So was I; I'd hardly expect to find that there.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at the cover.  "You can read
English?"
  
Oops.  "Er, no.  That's why I was surprised, because I didn't know
you could."
  
"Hmm."  She looked at him evenly for a few seconds - flat stares
seemed to be her favorite means of communication - then shrugged and
opened the book again.

Ruri:  (flat stare) What's wrong with communicating that way?

Akane:  Well, some people like some emotion...

Ruri:  (flat stare) Adults are strange.

Kyosuke sat still for a few minutes.  During that time Ayukawa
managed to flip a page.  Then he focused himself again and tried to
enter her mind.  Her thoughts were less than words and more than
images.  They flitted by so fast, and the best his mind could do was
to record them and play them back with whatever meaning he could
deduce.
  
	soweirdsostupidsovulnerable
	hedesertedmeleftmebehindlikemomlikedadlikeeveryone
	thatamongthesearelifelibertyandthepursuitof
	thelookonhisfaceashewenttothebathroomsofunnysocute
  
This last thought was accompanied by a memory of just an hour ago,
of a young man with a slightly affronted look on his face.  A
teenager, definitely the worse for the wear, with bandages on his
hands...
  
Kyosuke's whole being froze.  His mind fixed on the image, studying
it carefully.

Yuu:  He's  a surprisingly skilled telepath, for someone who's never
practiced.

He looked down at himself.  For some reason, the fact that he was
wearing a school uniform hadn't fully registered on him.  It had been
the least of weirdnesses around him, and he hadn't considered the
implications.  He hadn't worn a school uniform in years.
  
"Ayukawa."  His voice was soft, very soft, and tense.  She looked up
at him in surprise.  "Do you have a mirror?"
  
She lifted her eyebrows slightly.  She seemed to be on the verge of a
question, then reconsidered.  She stood up, placing the book
carefully on the floor, and walked to one side of the room.  She
reached into a box and pulled out a shiny piece of metal.

Scott:  The description of the room in the first alternate-world scene
said there was a mirror on top of one of the furniture-crates.  Why
doesn't she just use that?

She turned and knelt beside him,
holding it out in front of him.  One side was highly polished, and he
could see a fairly good image of himself.
  
Except it *wasn't* himself.
  
Anger began to build in him.  In leaps and bounds it grew, causing his
heart to pound and his vision to turn red.

Ruri:  Kazuya is in trouble.  Kyousuke is quite powerful when he
becomes angry or desperate.

He jumped to his feet, banging
one of his hands against the wall and sending spasms of pain through
his arm.

Ruri:  But still an idiot.  Baka.

He shouted in pain, turning it into a name.
  
"KAZUYA!"

Scott:  What do you think the chances are of Kazuya hearing it across
worlds?

Akane:  About 999 in 1000, I'd say.

---
  
Amano stopped pacing as the tall man entered.  "Well?"

Yuu:  "Yes, I am.  Thank you for asking."

The tall man looked very grim.  "We have been unable to locate him."
  
"Damn!"  Amano pounded his desk in frustration.  He stopped himself and
soothed his mind.  The situation was getting to him.  The longer the
boy was free, the more Amano began peering into shadows and suddenly
whirling around at the smallest sound.  The thought of what an angry
ESPer that could appear and disappear at will could do to him made
Amano very nervous.

Akane:  (evil grin) Now imagine a whole family of them...

The tall man raised an eyebrow.  "However, the name he gave us..."
  
Amano looked up at him.  "Madoka?"
  
The tall man nodded.  "I believe it may refer to Ayukawa Madoka.
She married a cousin of the boy's just today."

Yuu:  I almost feel sorry for Kazuya at this point.

Scott:  Well, considering his best bet is probably to get himself
killed before his family finds him...

"Hmm."  Amano considered that.  "Is it possible that she and Kasuga
have had a... relationship?"
  
"She is very beautiful," the tall man said calmly.
  
Amano nodded.  "Very well.  Take her.  I very much have the feeling
that if we threaten her, the boy will quickly show himself."

Ruri:  I don't think so.  According to his character profile, the
chance is quite slim.

Akane:  Kyousuke, on the other hand...

Yuu:  Right, and they still think he's Kazuya.

Scott:  I really wouldn't want to be them right now.  Kyousuke's a
telekinetic, teleporter, and illusion-caster, and that's just counting
the things he can do on purpose.  Then they have to deal with Kurumi,
Manami, Akane, and possibly Kazuya and the grandparents.  They're
seriously outclassed.

The tall man nodded.  "Yes.  And this time..."  The tall man gave
Amano a hard look.  "He will die.  I will shoot him in the head and
it will be over."
  
Amano grimaced, considered, and nodded.  "Very well.  Just don't miss."

Ruri:  Amano already ordered Kazuya's death, in the earlier scene.  He
doesn't seem the type to reconsider, especially when he was so
definite about it.

"I never do."  The tall man turned and left.
  
Amano sighed.  He had to admit to the wisdom of the tall man's
decision.  The sooner the ESPer was dead, the better they all could
sleep.

Yuu:  What Ruri said.  It almost seems like this was meant to come
before the other scene, but the Madoka parts are obviously in the
right order.

---
  
Kazuya lay in bed, eagerly anticipating the moments to come.  Madoka
was in the bathroom, "preparing herself" as she put it.
  
Kazuya couldn't wait.
  
The hotel room was quite luxurious.  Kazuya let his gaze wander
around the room, taking in the soft elegance.  After tonight, it
would be off to Hawaii for the extended honeymoon.  But here in
Tokyo... tonight would be the beginning.
  
A leer spread his lips, and he didn't feel like stopping it.  After
all the pain and terror he'd gone through in the past few days, he
*deserved* a night like tonight.

Akane:  This passage brought to you just in case you still felt any
sympathy whatsoever for Kazuya...

He suddenly sat bolt upright, startled.  "What?"
  
"What?"  The voice of Madoka called out to him from behind the
bathroom door.
  
"Did you call me?"

Scott:  (smiles) Yep.  Across dimensions.

"No!  Did you need something?"
  
"No."  He lay back, puzzled.  He was sure he'd heard something.
  
The light from underneath the bathroom door went out.  The door
open, and the shape of Madoka moved towards the bed.  In the
darkness Kazuya couldn't make out what she was wearing, but he felt
certain it was going to be very... interesting.  The leer began
again.
  
Madoka lifted the covers and crawled into bed.  She lay on her side
with her back away from him, covering herself up to her shoulders
with the sheets.  "Good night, Kyosuke."

Yuu:  (laughs) Gotcha, Kazuya.

Kazuya blinked.  Well, this was different.  He smiled again and
reached his hand underneath the covers to touch her back, trying to
guess her outfit by the feel of it.  His hand touched part of the
sheets, and he tried to move them aside so that he could get to
Madoka's body.  After a few seconds, he realized it wasn't the
sheets.  It was Madoka.  She was wearing pajamas.  Flannel pajamas.

Ruri:  So that's what Kurumi meant.

"What the...?"  He moved over so that he was right next to her.
"Madoka, aren't we... going to...?"

Akane:  (Madoka) Nope.  There's no [lemon] tag in the header.

"Love you, Kyo-chan."  She sounded half-asleep.  "Nighty-night."
Her breathing immediately became deep and regular.
  
Kazuya frowned.  He reached out with his mind to discover that she
*was* asleep.  The more he probed, the deeper her sleep became.

Scott:  Interesting... Kurumi did basically the same thing to Madoka
that Kazuya did to Kyousuke.

He shook her slightly once, then harder, but she didn't stir,
instead settling into even a deeper slumber.  He tried to dart in
with his mind, but he knew from experience that the subconscious
mind was much stronger than the conscious.  Asleep, Madoka could
resist him as she never could while awake.

Yuu:  She could?  That doesn't sound right.

He could still force her, but he might damage her brain too much
while doing it.

Akane:  From the way Kazuya's been built up, he probably wouldn't
care.  I think you need more than this.

Kazuya moved violently away from her in disgust.  What kind of
perverted arrangement did these two have?  He'd known Kyosuke was a
wimp, but he'd never imagined that his relationship with Madoka was
quite so... tame.  Hell, Kyosuke was probably *still* a virgin.
What a jerk.

Ruri:  Irony indeed.

Kazuya stared at the ceiling, quite frustrated.  He'd try again
tomorrow.  If she resisted, he'd tweak her mind and make her... 
receptive.

Scott:  (snickers) All those who think he'll have a chance?

[Nobody raises a hand.]

Scott:  That's about what I thought.

He smiled in anticipation, and began to drift off to sleep himself,
comforting himself with wonderful fantasies of what he and Madoka
would do tomorrow.

Yuu:  Run for their lives... get kidnapped... dodge bullets... deal
with several very angry Espers and several slightly less angry
mobsters... you know, the usual newlywed thing.

Scott:  And that's it for this chapter.  Comments?

Akane:  I could do with a little more subtlety.  Not just the
foreshadowing, but some of the text, like the ice cream comment, is
very obvious, and it feels too heavy-handed.

Scott:  Characterization was pretty consistent, although I hope that
the grandparents aren't -that- senile, yet, and that Madoka doesn't
spend 90% of the fic as a zombie.

Ruri:  I'm curious about the changes in the parallel world.  And why
the Kasugas are acting like such bakas.  Kyousuke is often like that,
but his sisters, parents, and cousins usually aren't that bad.

Yuu:  On the whole, it's a pretty good chapter.  Compared to the last
one, not that much seemed to happen, but it's all obviously setting up
for more to come next chapter, so that's not a problem.

Akane:  Some of the continuity, like when Amano agrees Kazuya should
be killed, and whether the alternate Madoka has a mirror or not, needs
to be cleared up.  And I'm not sure the comic relief works as well as
it did in chapter one.  I assume it's supposed to lighten the mood a
little, but as it is, a lot of it seems out of place, like the scene
with Hikaru and the twins.

Scott:  I'm looking forward to the next chapter already, although I
suppose it'll be a while.  It's been a pretty good week for KOR fics,
at any rate. ^_^  Hmm.  I might go into more depth later, but I
suppose that's it for now.  Thanks for the time.

[Scott raises the remote and presses a button.  He, Yuu, and Akane
vanish from the bridge of the Nadesico.  Ruri sits in front of the
screen, staring emotionlessly forward into the camera.  Finally, she
blinks.]

Ruri:  You can go home, now.

[A few measures of "I Want to Be Your Number One" play as the scene
fades to black.]



Scott Schimmel                http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~schimmel/
Ex ignorantia ad sapientium;  "You really aren't normal, are you?"
ex luce ad tenebras.              -- Miki Koishikawa