[FFML] [Mai Hime, Future] Afraid to Fly, Part 1 (Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics) - Segment B

[John Biles]

This is the B segment of this story; the A segment is in a separate
file, Segment A

************


Natasha's Tale:

	Mom and Aunt Shizuru took turns lecturing me on the way there on how
to be like Kasumi.

	Bleah.

	But I'll do my best not to screw things up.  Aunt Mai went home,
since we can't let Kagami's mother know that she's our kin.

	Which sucks.

	But I will do my best for Kagami's sake.  Though I think she must
have been overstating it.

	Surely her parents can't really hate her.

	I hope.

	They got there before us, but Aunt Shizuru took us over to meet with
Kagami's parents; Kagami was looking good, so I gave her a thumbs up.
Her parents are so old.  Okay, that's not fair.  They're in their
forties.  But my family are all young looking.

	Also, her dad is ugly and balding a little.  Well, I guess he
probably looked okay twenty-five years ago or so.

	Aunt Shizuru introduced everyone and we all shook hands.  I was
suprised to notice Aunt Natsuki's boyfriend, Roger Smith, was here.  I
did my best to be Kasumi-esque.  "Nice to meet you, Mitsu-san," I said
to Kagami's father, then bowed to him.

	He bowed back, smiling a little.  "It's nice to meet a polite young
lady.  Mari told me all about her meeting with you yesterday."

	Mom looked at me, worried.  Aunt Shizuru, as always, looked
confident.  She probably would smile that broadly if ninjas attacked
the house.

	"It was very nice to meet Kagami's mother," I said, smiling brightly.
 Don't mention she thinks you hate her.  Don't mention it, I told
myself.  I switched to English.  "We had a very nice conversation."

	Kagami looked nervous, and her father smiled very brightly.  "Mari
told me that," he said in English.  "Why don't you introduce me to all
your relatives here?"

	I began showing him around; I noticed he always mentioned the company
he works for (Curie Pharmaceuticals).

	"I didn't know Curie Pharmaceuticals had a Japanese branch," Roger
Smith said to Kagami's father when I introduced them.

	"We've been here a while," Mitsu Kazuo said.  He then spent a while
bragging on his company and left smiling broadly from pride when I
took him to his next target.  I wonder if Roger did that deliberately.

	Finally, I took him to meet Aunt Haruka.

	"It's a pleasure to meet you," Aunt Haruka said, nearly shaking his
arm off.  "I hear you like pool."

	"I am a fan of the fine art of pool," he said.

	"Good, we can play after dinner," she said.  "Kagami told me you'd be
interested."

	"You see her often?" he asked, surprised.

	"Yes," Aunt Haruka said.

	He looked more surprised, and impressed.  Good, that's what we want.

	Dinner turned out to be Kaiseki-ryori, prepared by Aunt Haruka and
Aunt Yukino's chef.  I could see Kagami's father looked stunned when
the announcement was made.  I was kind of stunned. You can easily
spend twenty thousand yen a person or more on Kaiseki-ryori in a
restaurant.  In fact, I've only ever had it once before, also at Aunt
Haruka's, when we all graduated from junior high.

	Kaiseki-ryori is a series of small dishes, a mix of soups and
vegetable servings.  We didn't have any fish, because Kagami's father
is allergic to a lot of kinds of fish, but we did have some squid and
shrimp as part of it.

	We opened with miso soup; you just got a tiny bowl of it, along with
some very nice tea; I had black tea myself.  Then came a plate of
sliced raw shrimp and squid, which was even better.  As we ate, we
drank a lot of tea and Aunt Haruka rambled on at Kagami's parents
about the importance of education and how hard a worker Kagami was and
how kids today need to plan for the future better and...  This went on
and on and on in a great torrent which basically buried the rest of us
in words, though the general gist of it seemed to please Kagami's
parents.

	Grilled squid and shrimp and some grilled chicken with pickles were
next; I noticed Bobby...Mr. Cooper...was wolfing down the chicken.
(Though he was trying to hide it.)  Given the size of the dish, this
went pretty fast.  I rather liked the grilled shrimp; I also ate a
decorative pepper with my pickles.

	Kagami's father finally seized a chance to say something.  "Have you
ever done anything like this before, Munakata-san?" he asked.  "I
checked out some of your past employers and they were very
complimentary, but you're not a trained educator."

	"This is how I taught Natasha," Mom said.  She switched over to
English.  "The best way to learn a language is to live in an
environment where you use it on a regular basis, learning it in a more
natural way, through watching television and movies in English,
reading books and poetry and using it for casual and formal
conversation.  I took Natasha to Hawaii when she was fourteen and she
had no problem talking to the locals, making friends, and having a
good time, because I've been pushing her to speak English since she
was little."

	"I hated it when I was little, but I've really come to appreciate
it," I told him.  "It means I can read things like Shakespeare in the
original English, which gives you a better idea of how much he shaped
English."  Mind you, I had to use an annotated edition because it's
archaic English and a lot of it relies on knowing history that I don't
know.  "And being the top student in English every year has only made
me a little vain."

	Kagami's parents, Aunt Natsuki, Mom, B...Mr. Cooper, and Aunt Haruka
all laughed loudly.  I felt relieved.

	"I really think it would help Kagami a lot, Mister Mitsu and Mrs.
Mitsu," I continued in English.

	I noticed Aunt Natsuki nodding at everything I said and wondered if
her English was actually good enough to keep up. Though she does have
the American boyfriend.  I think he's American, anyway.

	"Munakata-san used to tutor me in English back in school," Dr. Woods
said ruefully in English.

	"Never been fond of Shakespeare," Kagami's father said in English.
"But I can tell your English is very good, Ms. Natasha."

	"And of course, I'll be helping out," Mr. Cooper said in English.
"As I'm a native speaker."

	"You are working on the big solar panel project, right?" Mr. Mitsu said.

	"Yes."

	They now got off into a discussion of that as the Kakuni stew was
served.  Kakuni mixes pork, soy, mirin, sake, daikon, and boiled eggs.
 I like it very much and wished we got a larger portion.  But there
are a bunch of courses, so I expect they have to keep them tiny.
	
	When we finished the stew, they brought out a soup called hashi arai,
which means 'chopstick wash'.  I have never quite gotten the point of
it, as it basically is almost flavorless and what little flavor it has
is boring and bland.  Mrs. Mitsu now took control of the conversation
and steered things back to Mom.  "I understand Natasha's father
abandoned you."

	Mom had the calm which I know is her forcing herself calm.  "Yes.  I
was young and naive and gullible and quite convinced he loved me and
that my birth control could never ever fail, so he didn't need to use
any of his own, right?"  She trembled with frustration.  I reached
over and patted her shoulder.

	Mrs. Mitsu looked very sympathetic.  "Even if you both use it, you
can still have your unlucky number come up.  Though in our case, it
was due to defective products."  She grimaced.

	"Yes, but your husband loved you and stayed with you, and my
boyfriend bailed out and left me all on my own and broke my heart into
little bits," Mother said, her voice tight as she restrained herself.

	I don't know what to think of Father.  He sounds like utter trash,
but without him, I wouldn't exist.  I'd like to know what he's like.
But who knows where he actually is.

 	"I'm sorry," Mrs. Mitsu said.  "You were in a very bad situation and
you pulled together and raised your daughter well."

	I smiled at that.

	Mom said, "Thank you.  A lot of people just assume I am a rampaging
slut when they hear that, but I really did love him."  She sighed and
stared at her stew, picking at it with her chopsticks.

	Well, I wouldn't exist if Mom had waited for marriage.  But I wasn't
going to say anything.  Best I just avoid any chances to screw things
up.

	"I never got pregnant, but I got sold out a few times by boyfriends
when I was young, who took advantage of my feelings," Mrs. Mitsu said
very sympathetically.  "I was very fortunate to find not just one, but
two good men eventually.  And marry both of them."

	She and Mom traded boyfriend disaster stories while Mr. Mitsu talked
to Dr. Woods and Kagami about the internship.  I kept my mouth shut to
avoid any unfortunate statements.

	Everything seemed to be going well.  This both made me happy and
nervous at the same time.  The closer we get to sealing the deal, the
more there is to lose if I screw up.

	The last dish was tempura with some more grilled squid and shrimp and
chicken and pickles too.  I was quite pleased with it.  Kagami's
parents, Dr. Woods, and Aunt Yukino got into a long shop-talk
conversation about trends in medical research, while the rest of us
pretended we had some idea what they meant.  Well, Kagami got a few
words in, but not the rest of us.

	Then we adjourned to the parlor, where we played pool, drank coffee,
ate sorbet, and talked in small groups; Aunt Shizuru drifted around
the room, managing the whole affair, subtly batting people around the
room and guiding conversations.  It was pretty slick.

	I somehow ended up teamed up with Aunt Natsuki against Kagami and her
father in a game of pool.  I hoped we could get through this without
giving away our Hime abilities.

	Mr. Mitsu said, "I used to play this in college, but I haven't played
in a while."

	"Not since last weekend," Mrs. Mitsu said from where she was talking
intently with Mom.  "In fact, we have a pool table in our house."

	"Honey, don't wreck my pool hustling," he said ruefully and we all laughed.

	Kagami took the first shot, breaking up the initial formation but not
sinking anything, so now it was Aunt Natsuki's turn.  She sank the
nine ball, which meant we were solids.  Then she sank the eleven, but
after that the ball ended up in a bad position and she almost sank the
cue ball, trying to nail the ten.

	"Good start," Kagami's father said, then sank the two and the six
with one shot.

	Kagami said, "Very good, Father."  She smiled.

	He studied the table.  "So you are a bodyguard, Kuga-san?"

	"Yes, sir," she said.  "I've bodyguarded a lot of people, including
Shizuru and Haruka and Yukino in times past.  You make the most money
guarding idols, but they're also the most self-destructive."

	Mr. Mitsu grunted.  "Everyone in entertainment is insane.  I think
you have to be crazy to want to sing or dance or play instruments for
a living, or at least to be good at it."

	I clamped my mouth shut, making weird noises, I think, fighting the
urge to dispute this.  Gin is not crazy and neither am I.

	"I'm very good at singing," Kagami mumbled.

	"Yes, dear, you are magnificent.  But you're not crazy enough to
think it's a good way to make a living," he said, then sank the five.

	I began to wonder if I was ever going to get to play.

	"You're good at singing?" Aunt Natsuki asked Kagami curiously.

	"She won a karaoke contest even though I told her not to enter it,"
Mr. Mitsu said, sounding proud despite what he'd said.

	"Mother said it was okay," Kagami mumbled, studying the board.

	"That's why you didn't get in trouble," Kagami's father said, then
banked the cue ball off one side and nailed the one, but it stopped
just shy of falling into the hole.  He grimaced at it, but sheer force
of will didn't work to knock it in.  "I can't sing very well; Mari is
pleasant to listen to but can't match Kagami for skill or quality," he
said.

	I studied the board. It was going to be hard to avoid knocking the
stupid one in.  I've seen curve shots used here...I have no clue how
to do a curve shot, however.  "You should sing for us," I said.

	"What, right now?" Kagami said, embarrassed.

	Now, don't use too much force, I told myself.

	Thump, the cue ball blazed across the pool table, knocking the one
into the pocket and then scattering balls in its path until I ended up
driving the twelve into a pocket.  It then bounced off the far end,
bounced off a side and landed in the middle.

	"You hit one of their balls first, so that is a foul and play passes
to Kagami," Aunt Natsuki said to me.

	"What?  Oh man!" I said.

	Mr. Mitsu grinned.

	Kagami proceeded to sink the three and then the four with two easy
shots. She studied the table, as our balls were in the way of the
seven.

	"So what do you plan to do for a living, Ms. Natasha?" Mr. Mitsu
asked me in English.

	"I don't know, sir," I told him in English.  "My greatest talents are
sports, English, and Japanese literature," I continued, watching
Kagami circle around.  "I might end up a translator like Mother, as I
like to be around people."

	"Really?  You seem a little shy and nervous to me," he said.

	This made me more nervous.  Was that good or bad?

	"But it's best to learn to be sociable," he continued.

	Kagami tried a fancy triple bounce which scattered balls, but sank
the cue ball.  She frowned.

	This let Aunt Natsuki set herself up anywhere she wanted with it.
She sank first the ten, then the fifteen.

	Mitsu-san said, "Kagami, assuming we place you in Munakata's care,
you should help Natasha work on her science and math.  They're very
important and Kagami is very good at them, Natasha."

	"Yes, Father," Kagami said, smiling a little.

	"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

	It was a good thing it wasn't my shot, as this made me very nervous.
I didn't want to lie, but I had to lie, as he would never approve of
Gin.  But lying like that...ugh.

	Aunt Natsuki now sank the thirteen, and studied the board.

	"I...umm..."  I was vibrating a little.

	"My goodness, I didn't think anyone your age would get so flustered
at that," he said.  "But that's for the best.  Boys at your age only
want sex and you can't afford to end up being conned by them."

	I don't ONLY want sex, but I certainly want it... but I need to
pretend I am Kasumi for Kagami's sake.  She'd better appreciate this.
"I get nervous around boys," I mumbled.

	Aunt Natsuki's efforts to hold back laughter made her sink the seven
instead of the fourteen, so now it was Kagami's father's turn.

	"Eight ball, corner pocket," he said.

	One shot, one kill, one win.  He looked very pleased.  "I win!" he
said, grinning.  More seriously, he continued, "That will keep you out
of trouble, then.  Once you finish your education, then you can start
looking for a spouse."

	Kagami had a clear 'NOT COMMENTING' look on her face, but she was
turned so her father couldn't see it.

	"But then I'll be an old maid and no one will want me," I said piteously.

	"That's an entirely stupid custom of acting like a woman is dried up
if she isn't married by twenty five," Mr. Mitsu said, sounding rather
angry.  "Mari was twenty eight when we got married and I was thirty.
She was thirty when she gave birth to Kagami.  She's forty-six now and
still the loveliest woman I know," he continued, giving some of the
crankiest sounding praise I've ever heard.  "It's much wiser to wait
until you're old enough to think straight than to rush into
relationships which will fail and possibly leave you pregnant."

	He patted Kagami clumsily on the shoulder.  "A woman has to defer
such things if she wants to ensure life doesn't stop her from
achieving her dreams.  That's why you need to stay away from that boy,
however charming he may be, Kagami."

	"Yes, Father," she said a little stiffly.

	"And at your age, friends who won't abandon you are more useful than
love affairs with the lifespan of a mayfly," he said.  He looked over
at Aunt Haruka, who was busy pontificating at Aunt Shizuru, who looked
very amused.  He had an odd look on his face.  "I suppose they throw
this sort of party every night for clients and potential customers and
so on."

	"I think more commonly they meet at restaurants, but yes," Aunt
Natsuki said.  "I've been at a fair number of them over the years."

	"They're very nice," her boyfriend commented.  I expect he throws
parties like this; he seems pretty loaded.

	"How long have you two been going out?" Kagami's father asked curiously.

	"Since March," Aunt Natsuki said.

	"We ended up on the same case and I asked her out," Roger Smith said.
 "Once it was over, of course."

	"Of course," Mitsu Kazuo said.  I think Roger impressed him.
Everyone seemed to really be putting a good impression on them.

	Aunt Haruka strode over to us with Aunt Yukino, Aunt Shizuru
following in their wake.  Aunt Shizuru went over to Natsuki, then
turned to Mr. Mitsu.  "I see you two are the reigning champions," she
said to him.

	"Yes," he said proudly.  "Come to challenge us?"

	"Bring it on!" Aunt Haruka said.  "I haven't lost a game of polio in
three years!"

	"Pool," Aunt Yukino said, and Aunt Shizuru and Aunt Natsuki both
laughed.  I laughed too.

	Aunt Natsuki pulled Shizuru and I away and left them to their game.

	Mother and Mrs. Mitsu were still talking; I hoped this was a good
sign.  It looked good.

*************
	
Kagami's Tale:

	Playing pool with Father was a lot of fun.  In fact, I think it is
the closest I have felt to him in a long time.  He was clearly proud
of my skills, and so was I.
	
	"Didn't we lose to Pierre and Anton two weeks ago?" Kikukawa-san
asked as I racked the balls.
	
	"That was Snooker.  Snooker is not pool, snooker is some sort of
mutant half-tree baby of pool and a badger," Suzushiro-san said.
"Snooker is pool's younger brother who is hooked on pot and runs with
the bad kids."

	"I had a brother like that," Father said, embarrassed.

	"Everyone has a brother like that, even if they don't have any
brothers," Suzushiro-san said.  "Father's younger brother was like
that, which is why he has multiple facial scars and his wife is more
like his warden."  She sighed.  "Flip a coin to see who breaks?"

	"You can, since we won the last game," Father said.

	Suzushiro-san got an 'OH YEAH' look and grinned.  She took the
opening shot and balls bounced around wildly and the eleven sank.
"Yes!"

	The nine, fifteen, and fourteen soon joined it.   She was quite good,
bank-shotting the fifteen in and pulling off an actual curve shot to
nail the fourteen.  Unfortunately for her, the twelve nailed the six
and sank it.

	Father stepped up and pulled a double-bank shot around the ten to
nail the two and set up the four, which he then sank.  He said, "I am
very grateful, Suzushiro-san, for your willingness to help my daughter
out."

	"She's a hard-working and intelligent young woman like Yukino,"
Suzushiro-san said.  "Frankly, I need women like that for my
companies.  Farmers don't just let nature sow their fields and neither
should businesses.  Find them early, cultivate them, ensure they don't
develop bad habits before you hire them," she said.  "It's only common
sense."

	Father then curve-shotted the five in, and managed to nail the one,
only to then sink the cueball trying to nail the three.  "I agree," he
said.  He seemed to want to ask something but was nervous about it.

	Suzushiro-san put a hand on Kikukawa-san's shoulder.  "Be bold,
Yukino.  You can do it!"

	I hoped she wasn't using her Intellivisor to cheat, but surely she
wouldn't do that.

	She managed to sink the thirteen on a bank shot, then the twelve hit
the pocket wrong and bounced out.

	My turn!

	"Well, you got one.  We're even," Suzushiro-san said.

	I sank the three easily from where the cue landed, then pulled off a
bank shot to drop the seven.
	
	Father slapped me on the back.  "Very well done, Kagami."

	I think I turned a little red.  I'm not used to this much praise from
him.  Unfortunately, getting at the eight ball with the ten and twelve
in the way was going to require a curve shot.  Which I'm not much good
at.

	However, I am a Hime now, which should make me more nimble...

	I licked my lips nervously and thought about how Father had done it.
I chalked the cue to buy time, then tried to imitate him.  "Eight ball
in the side pocket," I said.  It was much easier than I thought.

	Plunk and the ball went in!

	"Winners and still champions," Father said.

	I glanced over and saw Mother still deep in conversation with...with
Aunt Shiho.  They then got up and went out on the patio and I wondered
what they were thinking.

*************
	
Shiho's Saga:

	I went outside with Mitsu-san and we sat down at a table on the patio
with some coffee and the really expensive sorbet Haruka stocks.  I am
probably going to gain three thousand pounds because I can't stop
eating it, it's so good.

	"So Natasha begins chasing the cockroach around the kitchen, trying
to kill it with a ladle while I am trying to make sashimi, and the
skipjack tuna goes flying into the air and ends up in my hair, in her
clothing, stuck to the fridge and the cockroach runs for the TV and I
had to grab her to keep her from crashing into it with the ladle," I
finished.

	We both laughed loudly.  "I had the advantage that Kazuo could keep
Kagami under control while I cooked," Mitsu-san said.  "It took a long
time to get her under control and calmed down.  Little kids are
rambunctious."

	Natasha is still rambunctious.  Sometimes it drives me crazy, and
sometimes it makes me proud of her.  No one will ever crap on my
daughter and get away it.

	We chatted on, trading stories about raising our daughters.  I hadn't
expected to bond with Kagami's mother, but we'd had a lot of the same
struggles in child-raising.  Except she'd tended to choose squashing
Kagami's independence and I hadn't done that with Natasha.  Mind you,
it wasn't always my choice.  Natasha is just naturally strong-willed
and often I was too tired from work to fight her.

	"She seems very well-behaved now," Mitsu Mari said to me.

	"She's a good girl who doesn't get in trouble," I lied smoothly.
"It's crucial to encourage your children to find good peers to engage
with, and she has some very good cousins."

	"Kagami never seems to make many friends; I don't know why.  I expect
those kids were easy to make friends with and that's how they lured
her down the road to self-destruction.  She needs good peers," Mitsu
Mari said thoughtfully.

	From what I can tell, it's because you pretty much push her to work
herself to death so she has no time for friends.  And want her to
avoid all boys forever.

	"So how long have you and Mr. Cooper been seeing each other?"

	"For a while," I told them.  "He's a very nice man."

	She nodded.  "Very friendly.  He won't mind, will he?"

	"I think Bobby is enthusiastic about having several girls around to
be fatherly towards, as he never had any kids.  His first wife cheated
on him and he's never been married since."

	Mitsu Mari grimaced.  "How terrible."

	"I know," I told her.  "She's an evil woman, but she's unlikely to
ever show up here, thankfully."

	"You have to make sure Kagami doesn't have any boys over," Mitsu Mari said.

	"I promise you that no boys will be climbing into Kagami's bed while
she's staying with me," I told her.  "Nor will Tate Crystal."

	"They didn't..." she said hesitantly.

	"Who knows what the trashy girl of a trashy mother would get up to?"
I said.  I took too much pleasure in saying that.  WAY too much.
Hehe.

	Mitsu Mari grimaced.  "The mother has a good business reputation, but
clearly is a terrible mother, unlike you and I."

	I think I have definitely won.  But it would be worth it just for this.

	"I promise you that I will make sure Kagami stays out of trouble," I
told her.  Beyond Hime trouble.

	"Thank you," she said.  "I will have to talk to Kazuo, of course, but
I am thinking Kagami should be in good hands with you."  She looked
around.  "Do you come here often?"

	"Quite frequently," I said.

	She looked envious, but then said, "Kagami needs to make contacts for
the future and this will help that."

	"I work with many businesses," I told her.  "I can introduce her to
many people."

	I ended up telling some stories about my business adventures; I think
I've definitely hooked the mother.  Let's hope we hook Mitsu Kazuo as
well.

**************

Bobby's Tale:

	Shiho and I agreed I would take on the father, while she takes on the
mother.  So I had put on my best charm and I took the chance to talk
to him once he finished pool hustling.  I let him defeat me in a game
while we talked general business matters, then we sat down for coffee
and got more personal.

	"I understand you were married once," he said.

	"My ex-wife cheated on me," I told him.  "I haven't been married since."

	"So no children," he said.

	"Yes," I told him.  "But I will do my best with Natasha and Kagami.
Fortunately, Natasha is very easy to get along with.  I only met
Kagami tonight, but she seems like a very smart, well-behaved girl."

	He sighed.  "She's smart but lazy.  Very obstinate.  We have to push
her very hard to get her to do anything.  Otherwise, she slacks off."

	From what I know of him, I think he thinks anything less than working
non-stop is slacking, but of course, I didn't say that.  "I will do my
best to ensure she works hard on her English."  We were speaking
English right now, in fact.

	"Having a native speaker would definitely help her," he said
approvingly.  "She needs to be pushed.  And kept out of trouble."  He
sighed.  "We don't have the time or energy to watch her like we used
to."

	"I will do my best, though I work a lot myself."

	"Of course, given your responsibilities," he said approvingly.
"You've come a long way at your age," he said, also with approval.

	"Thank you," I said, sipping my coffee.  I would probably cry if I
knew how much Ms. Suzushiro paid for this.

	He sipped his as well, and ate a few of the edame pods in a small
bowl on the end table.  "Do you have a pool table?" he asked me.

	I blinked.  "No."  I sipped more coffee; it was really amazingly
good.  I like mine fairly simple, with just a little milk and cream;
none of those crazy fancy things with fruit and they're purple and
don't actually resemble coffee that some people like.

	"A pity, Kagami could teach you more.  She's very good," he said proudly.

	I smiled a little.  "Yes, she is."

	"Must be inherited talent," he said proudly.  He drank a big gulp of
coffee.  "This is great."

	"I know," I told him.

	"I suppose you go to parties like this all the time," he said a
little enviously.

	"More or less," I told him.

	"Just remember, you have to be stern.  And Kagami tries to stubborn
her way through everything, so you can't relent, or she'll just do her
own thing whatever you want," he said.

	I think we've gotten him to sign on.

	I just wish I knew why Shiho thinks this is necessary, but I know she
can't tell me.  I've signed NDAs before.  It's pretty clear they're
grooming Kagami for big things.  She's a lucky girl to have so many
people looking to her future.

	I chatted with him a while, then passed him off to Natsuki and Roger
Smith; I wanted to go talk to Kagami myself.

	She was busy having tea with Natasha and Ms. Kikukawa.  "Mind if I
cut in?" I asked in English.

	"We don't mind at all," Natasha said in English.

	"Okay," Kagami said nervously in English.

	I switched to Japanese to make her more comfortable, since her
English might not be good enough to keep up.  "I'm Robert Cooper,
Shiho's boyfriend."  I shook her hand.  "Nice to meet you."

	"Do you live with Aunt Shiho?" Kagami asked, sounding relieved.

	"No, we have our own places," I said.  "I will likely be over
visiting a lot, though.  I understand you're a future scientist."

	"She is very smart," Kikukawa-san said proudly.

	"I am very interested in scientific research," Kagami said a little
nervously, studying me.

	I put my best smile on.  "Well, I am not a full-blown scientist, but
I studied enough of it in college to be able to manage scientists
well," I told her.  "It helps that I am decent with math, though I
will never be great."

	"Kagami is smarter with math and science than I'll ever be," Natasha said.

	Kagami said, "Do you speak...of course you do."  She looked embarrassed.

	"We're going to have all English, all the time," Natasha said.
"Which should be easy for you."

	I laughed.  "Just a bit."

	Ms. Kikukawa said, "Immersion is the best way."

	"Yeah," I said.  "It's how I got my Japanese up to snuff.

	"I will do my best," Kagami said very seriously.  "I have to improve
my English."

	"I'm sure you'll do fine," I told her.  "Shiho tells me you're a very
hard worker."

	"So is she," Kagami said admiringly and I really smiled now.  "I
admire her determination and hard work."

	Natasha said, "Mom likes to laze around and make me do all the work."

	"She works 8 or more hours a day in order to support you," Kagami
said.  "It's not unreasonable for her to want you to do some chores."

	"She's going to want you to do chores too," Natasha pointed out.

	"That's fine, she's going to be hosting me; I owe her that," Kagami said.

	"Exactly," Ms. Kikukawa said.  "It's a child's duty to help out."

	Natasha grumbled.  "Mom's lazy.  I lived with her for many years.
She does nothing she can make me do."

	"Do you actually contribute any income to the household?" I asked her.

	"I'm in school!  That's a full-time job!" Natasha protested.

	"Yes, but you won't be at school this summer," I told her.

	Natasha grimaced.  "But..."  She looked at me, got a weird look, then
sighed.  "How..."  She started to ask Ms. Kikukawa something, then
grimaced again and sighed.  "Fine.  Slave labor time."

	Kids always grumble, but given how much your parents invest in you,
it's only reasonable.  I always complained until I learned how
expensive I was to my parents.  Then I only grumbled some of the time.

	"I usually cook, so you'll just have other work," I told them.  "The
days I come over, anyway.  Which is most evenings, we at least have
dinner."

	"Please tell me someone cleaned the damn oven," Natasha said.

	I thought about it.  "It awaits your tender touch," I told her.

	Natasha grimaced.  Kagami and Ms. Kikukawa both laughed.

	"So what are you going to do this summer, Natasha?" I asked her.

	"Probably work for Uncle Kazuya and Aunt Akane selling baked goods,"
Natasha said.  "I'd waitress, but some of the customers are total
asses who don't tip.  Shun is really good at getting tips, but my luck
is mixed."

	"Because you get mad at them when they're rude," Ms. Kikukawa said.
"Haruka briefly tried waitressing, but it was a disaster.  I won that
bet."  She smiled.

	Natasha said, "Tell me you filmed it."

	"I just have a few photos.  It was long before you were born."  She smiled.

	"So Bobby," Natasha began.

	"You should call him Mr. Cooper," Kagami said.

	"It's okay, I prefer my first names for friendship and my last name
for business," I said.

	"Okay, Bobby," Kagami said hesitantly.

	"I...dammit, I forgot what I wanted to know," Natasha said.

	I fiddled with my phone a bit, paging through photos.  "This is me at
your age," I said, showing them.  I was pretty skinny and really kind
of goofy looking with an ugly haircut.  Dad insisted on crewcuts for
me and that's shorter than I like; though I don't grow my hair out
much, as it's not acceptable in my line of work.  I also had glasses
in the photo; I got laser eye surgery the second I could afford it.
Which was years after this.

	"Wow, you look like crap," Natasha said, then suddenly realized I
might take that amiss.

	"Natasha!" Kagami said.  "He looks just fine."  She was lying to be
polite, I'm sure.  I did look like crap.

	"You shouldn't insult people's appearance," Ms. Kikukawa said with a
little bite in her voice, harsher than I expected for someone so
soft-spoken.

	"I looked pretty terrible," I said.  "I'll never be pretty, but I
looked a lot worse then."  I showed them a few more photos.  "I take
care of myself a lot better," I said.  "And make more effort to dress
nicely and so on."

	"You dress pretty snazzy," Natasha said.

	"Your suit is very nice," Kagami said.

	Ms. Kikukawa nodded, then cocked her head.  "I must go.  I'll be back
later."  Then she departed.

	Must have an earpiece I didn't notice.

	"So you were married?" Natasha asked.

	"When you were very little," I told her.  "But we've been divorced
over ten years.  My wife cheated on me because I was gone too much and
she left me to marry him."  My voice was more sad than angry.  Some of
it was my fault and it was over a decade ago.

	Kagami grimaced.  "How terrible."

	"Wante...," Natasha began, then seemed to realize something and
nearly strangled on her own tongue.  "That's awful."

	I wonder what she was going to say.

	"Do you believe in true love?" she asked me.

	"Define 'true love'," I said.

	"Uhh..."

	"I do," Kagami said softly.

	"I mean, I know my love for Gin is true," Natasha said.  "But now
that you ask..."  She frowned.

	"There is no such thing as love that never dies," I said.  "I found
that out the hard way.  I thought Angelica and I had that."  I sighed,
lost in memories. "There is no one destined person. I believe love is
real and can last a lifetime...  but you have to work at it.  It won't
just happen, and you won't get a magical memo that tells you THIS IS
IT."

	They both frowned at that.  Sorry kids, but I have to live in the
real world.  I love Shiho, but we've both been burned before.

	"Do you love Mom?" Natasha asked.

	"Yes," I said.

	She studied me and I tried to figure out what I could say to confirm
that.  But really, you can't ever know another person's heart for
sure.  Any words I said would just be words.

	"They all say that," Natasha said hesitantly.

	I'm not sure what she's looking for here.  The key to persuasion is
usually to find out what people want to hear.  Is she looking for a
teenager style eternal love speech?  I could lie to her, but that's
not honest, and if you start off by lying to people, it'll be hard to
ever be honest.  "Eventually, I will be transferred to somewhere else.
 I can't stay forever.  But Shiho understands that.  We've both been
hurt before, and neither of us believes in eternal love any more.
Nevertheless, I love her and I won't just abandon her.  At our age,
you don't hold out for the perfect when you could have something
pretty good.  Mind you, there's nothing I'd change about her."

 	Well, a few things, but pretty much in a relationship, you have to
accept people as they are; as if you go in thinking you will change
someone, you are probably fooling yourself.  "She is beautiful,
strong, gentle, smart, and determined, and I will stay by her side as
long as I can."

	"Gentle?  Mom?" Natasha said dubiously.

	"Natasha, you really shouldn't dump on your mother," Kagami said firmly.

	"Gentle?" Natasha asked again.  "You haven't seen her pissed yet, I see."

	"Oh, we had a stupid fight or two already," I said.  "But you can't
judge people by their worst moments without remembering their best
moments too."  She can be cranky, but I love her anyway.

	Kagami seemed satisfied, but Natasha was not.  "Mom's boyfriends all
do something retarded and she dumps them, or she gets her hopes up and
they leave her."

	"Well, I do not intend to do either," I told her.

	Shiho suddenly draped herself over me.  Or tried; I'm taller, so it
doesn't work as well.  I quickly pulled her around to embrace her.
"How are you, dear?"

	"I believe us victorious," Shiho said.  "You three having a nice talk?"

	"Natasha is being very mean to Bo..Mr. Cooper," Kagami said.

	"You can call me Bobby, it's okay," I told her.

	"I'm just being..."  Natasha looked somewhat frustrated.

	"An ass to my boyfriend?" Shiho said sharply.  "Has he done anything to you?"

	"No, I just...," Natasha began.

	"It's okay, Shiho," I told her.  "She's just worried about her mother
and whether I'm going to break your heart."

	"I'm not...I mean..."  Natasha looked very aggravated.

	"She's being mean," Kagami said firmly.

	"I'm not being mean!"

	"It's okay," I told her.  "I can understand why you're skeptical.  I
hope I can get your trust."

	"I trust you, Bobby," Shiho said firmly.

	I kissed her neck and she made a happy noise.  "And I trust you,
Shiho," I told her.  I held out a hand to Natasha.  "Just give me a
chance, okay?"

	"Okay," she said, shaking my hand.

	I pulled Shiho around and kissed her very firmly, which set off a
wave of noises as if we were all teenagers watching people kiss for
the first time at the dance.  Shiho and I now realized all eyes were
on us.

	She turned a little red, but was smiling, and I said to Kagami's
parents, "Just showing the kids what real adult kissing looks like
with mature love."

	Kagami turned red and Natasha laughed a little.

	Then Kagami's father grabbed her mother and kissed her, both of them
rather red.  Kagami stared like a meteor had just struck the earth and
I grinned.

	"That, my daughter, is what you have to look forward to when you're
older," her father said, a little lecturingly, but he was smiling
brightly.  Her mother looked ready to die but had happy eyes.

	 Kagami looked utterly flummoxed, while Natasha punched her arm
gently.  "Come on, it's your parents kissing.  They didn't make you by
sending a request to the ministry of health, you know," Natasha said.

	Kagami's parents looked even more embarrassed, and Kagami said
something incoherent.

	"I wish Pierre was here," Ms. Suzushiro said softly, though I caught it.

	Then Kagami's parents dragged Shiho and I off to the hallway.

	"That was very clever," Mr. Mitsu said.  "Kagami really does need to
see an example of mature, adult love, to understand why she needs to
wait right now on dating.  And why she doesn't have to be afraid
she'll be alone in the future."

	"Thank you, sir," I told her.

	Shiho smiled brightly.  "It's very kind of you to say that."

	"She needs good examples, and we're impressed with what we've seen so
far of you. Your professional references also spoke well of you," Mrs.
Mitsu said.  "And Fujino-sama thinks very highly of you.  I just wish
Kagami had let us know more about this part of her life earlier."

	"Kids want their privacy at her age," I said.  "I never told my
parents anything."

	"I never told my parents anything because Mother was being an idiot
when I was her age," Mrs. Mitsu said.  "But we're not idiots."

	"All parents are idiots to a teenager," I said.

	"It feels that way," Mr. Mitsu said.  "She needs people who will
ensure she doesn't slack off or run with the bad kids."

	"I will make sure she stays away from bad kids," Shiho said.

	"And make sure she doesn't have sex with any boys," Mrs. Mitsu said.

	"She will not be having sex with any boys under my roof," Shiho said.

	We spent a while further reassuring them and then we worked out the
details of the transfer; Kagami would spend the first weekend with
them as they were going to meet with some of Mrs. Mitsu's family, and
then she would come to Shiho's the Sunday after finals and start at
Woods Research Institute the next morning.

	Mission accomplished.

	I think this is going to be a fun summer.

**************	

Shun's Tale:

	Dan, Mandi, Sanae, and I were busy studying together.  I was feeling
kind of frustrated I couldn't go to the big party.

	Then I got an email.

	From:  Shiho at Hime.net
	To:  HIME at Hime.net
	Subject:  I WIN AGAIN

	I grinned and read it.  It was 2 pages of Aunt Shiho bragging about
how awesomely she'd persuaded Kagami's parents to hand over Kagami to
her care for the summer.

	I was VERY happy.  YES!  I'd been very scared I wouldn't see her at all.

	Then I got a second email.

	From:  Shiho at Hime.net
	To:  Shun at Hime.net; Kagami at Hime.net
	Subject:  No Nookie For You

	...

	'I promised Kagami's parents you two would not have sex in my house,
so that won't be happening.  I'm already lying enough to these people;
I will keep this promise.  Further, I can't let Shun visit at all,
just to be sure of no problems.  What you do when I can't see you is
beyond my control, but if I find out you had unprotected sex, I will
make you regret it.  I am not a Puritan like some of my sisters, but I
do respect a promise between parents, and I must enforce it,' was the
text.

	Dammit.  But then, this never stopped me before.

	Mandi looked at me curiously.  "First happy, then sad."

	"The good is that Kagami is staying with Aunt Shiho.  The bad is a
ban on nookie for us at Aunt Shiho's, as she promised Kagami's
parents."

	"That's not surprising," Sanae said.  "My parents wouldn't let Dan
and I do it at our house."

	"You're not actually doing it to be banned," Mandi said.

	"True," Sanae said.

	I guess I've gotten used to us being able to sleep together as much
as we like, I thought.  Holding her in my arms feels wonderful.  But
at least we'll be able to see each other.

	We went back to studying.

***************

Natasha's Tale:

	When Mom dropped us off at the school, she sent Kagami on ahead, and
left Bobby in the car, fiddling with something on his laptop.

	I knew a bitching out was coming.

	Sometimes knowing is the shitty half of the battle.

	Instead, to my surprise, Mom hugged me tightly.  "I love you, you
know that," she said.

	"Yeah, I love you too," I told her, somewhat confused.

	"I have no regrets that I had you," she said to me, still clutching me.

	"Sure you do," I told her.  "But I know you love me anyway."

	For a moment, I thought she was going to cry.  "I have no regrets,"
she said firmly.  "I don't want you to EVER regret you were born."

	I don't regret that.  But I do sometimes wonder what Mom would be
like if Dad hadn't crapped on her and left her.  If I had a normal
family.  "Well, I don't regret it."

	"Good.  I love you and I want you to know I love you and I'm glad I
have you as my daughter and I wouldn't trade you for any other
daughter in the world," she said softly, gently.

	For a moment, I felt like she'd been possessed by Aunt Mai.  "I
wouldn't want any other Mom in the world," I told her.  I wouldn't
mind if she was less bossy and didn't go through boyfriends like rolls
of toilet paper, though.  How can she be happy like that?

	She kissed my forehead gently and rested her head on my shoulder
silently for a little bit.  I held her, worried because Mom being this
nice is usually either prelude to her telling me to clean Mount Fuji
with a spoon, or her trying to wheedle me into something.

	"Please be kind to Kagami this summer.  I have a better opinion of
her parents than I did before meeting them, but they totally fucked up
raising her.  You can only push anyone so far before they push back."

	"They're kinda giant hypocrites," I said.  "Her mom certainly didn't
wait until she was 2000 years old to date anyone."

	"Yes, but people do sometimes change their opinions of what is wise
from experience, you know.  I know some things I did at your age were
mistakes," Mom said.  "Anyway, you two will be sharing the chore load,
so you have no reason to complain about it.  And you'll each have your
own room.  So please try to get along."

	"I will.  Kagami's kind of bossy, but I'm used to that from you," I told her.

	Mom rolled her eyes at me.  "But if you keep crapping on my
boyfriend, I will gut you like a trout and hang you out to dry," Mom
said sharply.

	"You're mixing your metaphors, Mom," I said.  "And I wasn't crapping,
just being honest."

	She made a weird pained noise.  "Bobby is a gentle, kind soul and I
will not tolerate you questioning his feelings or telling him he's
ugly," she said sharply.  "He isn't going to dump on you, so don't
dump on him."

	"I just..."

	"I do not crap on Gin every five minutes," she said sharply.

	"I know you look down on him," I said angrily.  "You don't respect him at all!"

	"He's rude, too forward with EVERYONE, and his idea of a future is a
one in a million shot at glory through rock music!" Mom said.  "He's a
good painter, but he's basically gambling on hitting it big!  Most
people don't."

	"We will!," I said.  "And he loves me!"

	"There are plenty of boys who would love you who aren't basically
under the influence of too many music videos!," Mom shouted.

	Bobby looked over at us, worried.

	"They wouldn't love me like Gin!  No one ever loved me like he loves
me!" I shouted back.

	"You said that about YOUR LAST THREE BOYFRIENDS," Mom said.

	Torpedo amidships.

	"I was wrong, okay?  Am I not allowed to learn from experience?" I protested.

	"I think he'll shit himself and run for the hills if he finds out the
truth!," Mom shouted at me.

	"If history is any record, your current boyfriend won't even stick
around long enough to find out, shit himself, and run away!" I shouted
back at her.  "And Gin would never do that!"

	Bobby was watching us.  Could he hear?  Shit.  "Mom, Bobby," I
hissed.  "Secrets."

	She froze up and looked frustrated.  "I can't see him going the long
haul," she said hotly but more quietly.

	"We both know Bobby will probably be gone before I go back to
school," I hissed back angrily.

	"No he won't!," Mom said angrily.  "Gin will leave you before Bobby leaves me!"

	"HAHAHA," I laughed darkly.  We were starting to get loud again.

	I could see Bobby was trying to work on his laptop and pretend we
weren't shouting.  Could he hear us?  Oh man, he's probably going to
be pissed at me.  But he isn't coming out...

	"Go study for your finals!  I'll be by tomorrow to help tutor people
one more time!"  Mom stormed into the car and drove off.

	Dammit, that was so nice and then it turned so shitty.  Bobby doesn't
seem like a bad guy...he's got some nice features, really.  But Mom's
boyfriends are like dust in the wind soon to wither.

	Dammit, now I'm mixing metaphors.

	I stalked off to go find Gin and make love to him.  He loves me, our
love is true and THAT IS THAT.

*****************

Bobby's Tale:

	I couldn't hear much of the fight, though I got the impression it was
something about me and Gin.

	Shiho didn't talk the whole way home.  I said hello when she got in
to the car, then worked on the laptop, letting her cool off.

	We were up in her condo when she finally said, "That girl can be so
ignorant sometimes.  So rude."

	"It's okay, she's young and free," I told her.  "Besides, I know I
looked pretty terrible in high school."

	"It's not okay!  She always looks down on all my boyfriends and I
hate it!," Shiho said, pacing back and forth. I put my laptop on the
table, hung up my jacket on the coat rack, and got some hot water and
made us both tea, while she went on about Natasha's many sins against
Shiho's past boyfriends.

	I let her vent and sat down on the couch with her, making soothing
noises and drinking tea with her, then finally said, "Kids are rarely
happy with anyone their parents date," I told her.  "I'm sure I can
win her over."

	"You're too patient for your own good, Bobby," she said, leaning over
with an arm around me.

	"I'm a man who finds a good thing and holds onto it through thick and
thin," I told her.  "Like you."

	She sighed.  "I'm a terrible mother.  I can bitch about Kagami's
parents, but I suck."

	"You're not," I told her.  "Natasha is a good kid.  She just has a mouth."

	"Like her boyfriend.  Who is EVEN WORSE," Shiho said.  "He's very
creative with all the problems that entails.  A big dreamer.  This
world craps on big dreams."  She sipped her tea.  "Mmm, good, thank
you."

	"Well, you have to fight for what you want," I told her.  "I think
Natasha is a fighter."

	"Natasha will never put up with some man shitting on her," Shiho said
proudly, then sighed.  "But getting conned by smooth talk, that's
another question."

	"I don't think Gin's conning her.  I am dubious about his plans for
the future, though; I don't think they're very viable."

	"He wants to be like his parents, only making a living off their
hobby instead of working full time to afford the hobby," Shiho said.
"Understandable, but most people fail big in music.  And then..."  She
froze, then sighed and sipped her tea.

	"I'd like to hear them perform some time.  We could pit our skills
against them.  You play music, right?"

	"Flute and some other instruments.  Best with the flute.  I sing well
too," she said to me.

	"I can't sing well but I play a mean saxophone.  Can Kagami sing or play?"

	"I hear she can," Shiho said.

	"That should make for a fun evening some time," I said.  "Anyway,
she's young and idealistic.  I know how you feel, but some things have
to be learned the hard way.  I won't hide the truth from them, but
it's not worth an argument you can't win with a teenager."

	"Ugh, I know," she said, then finished her tea.  "Thank you for
helping with this."

	"I've done a little recruiting myself," I told Shiho.  "She must be
very talented if you're already recruiting her this young for your
friend."

	"She is," Shiho said.  "Please be kind to her."

	"I will.  She seems very respectful and thoughtful."

	"I'm afraid she and Natasha will drive each other insane," Shiho
said.  "And us in the process.  But she shouldn't cause us any
trouble.  She's a good girl."

	She moved closer to me. "Right now, though, I want to be a bad girl
with my boyfriend," she continued, smiling a wicked little smile.

	"I can go for that," I said.  "One bad boy coming right up."

	Adulthood has its privileges.

****************
	
Shun's Tale:

	Kagami came in, looking worried.

	"What's wrong?" I asked.  Dan, Sanae, and Mandi looked at her quizzically.

	"Aunt Shiho and Natasha had a big fight," Kagami said.  "Does that
happen a lot?  I was too far away to make out much, just the yelling."

	"Every so often," Dan said.  "It'll blow over fast.  Natasha gets mad
fast, then cools off quick.  Aunt Shiho stays mad longer, but they're
used to it."

	"But, we won!  I get to stay with Shun," Kagami said, coming over and
kissing me.

	Everyone gave the thumbs up.  "Aunt Shiho emailed us," I told her.
"I'm excited."

	"Me too," she said, smiling brightly.  "This is going to be a great summer."

*******************
	
Gin's Tale:

	I was busy doing damn math and wishing I didn't have to, with the
help of my roommate and his girlfriend.  Fortunately, they're good at
it and I'm good at biology, so we help each other out.

	Natasha stormed in like the crack of doom.  The very angry but sexy
crack of doom.  "Gin, you are the best man in the universe," she said
angrily.

	I'm not used to anyone saying that angrily, so I wasn't sure if this
was good or bad.  I could tell my roomie and his girlfriend didn't
know either.

	"And you're the best woman," I said, rising and going to hug her tightly.

	"Take me now," she said.

	"I...my roommate and his girlfriend are here," I said, surprised.

	"On the bed, not the table," she said, trembling.

	"Uhh..."  I looked at my roommate.

	"Don't be too loud," he said.  "Finish before bedtime."

	We did our best not to be too loud.

	Afterwards, I asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

	"Mom's being a bitch," she grumbled into my chest.

	I stroked her hair gently.  "What happened?"

	"Oh, she doesn't think we have a future," she complained to my neck.  "Dammit."

	"She's just old and bitter," I said.  "We haven't gone crazy with old
age yet."  My folks once dreamed of rocking out all week long but now
it's confined to the weekends; Dad's an aeronautics engineer and Mom
runs a garden supply shop.

	"I want to be with you forever," she said softly.

	"Me too," I said.  "I mean, me with you, not me with me."

	She laughed and stroked my chest gently.  "I know, baby."  She
yawned.  "You're the best."

	"We should probably go get clean before my roommate has to sleep," I said.

	"Sleeping now, I'll be quiet so I don't bother him," she said.  "Hold me."
	
	So much for getting much studying done.  Oh well, I hate math anyway.
 "You sure you're okay?"

	"Just had a stupid fight with Mom about our boyfriends," she said to
my chest.  "She doesn't believe in our future."  She sounded very
frustrated.

	"It's okay, I believe in you and you believe in me and that's what we
need, right?" I asked.

	"Yes," she said firmly.  "He'll be gone in a few weeks and we'll be
together FOREVER."

	"I need to introduce you to my folks," I told her.

	"I want to meet them," she said urgently.  "They must be pretty cool."

	"They're rocking.  We can probably get them to let us go rock out
with them on one of their gigs."

	"That would rock," she said, giggling and I laughed too.

	"Tell me you'll love me forever," she said.

	"I will love you until the sun falls from the sky and the rain comes
down," I told her.  "The rain of sun bits."

	"I wish I didn't have to worry that could happen," she said to my chest.

	"I really hate it when the sun goes out and flaming bits of sun fall
down," I said; I assume this is a joke.

	"It doesn't happen often, does it?" she asked.  Surely she's joking.

	"Only on Tuesdays."

	"Don't mock me," she mumbled.

	"I thought you were teasing me," I told her, playing with her hair.

	"I WILL protect you," she said fiercely.  "Goodnight, my love."  And
then she crashed.

	I hope she feels better tomorrow.

****************

Kagami's Tale:

	"It's weird, my parents were much nicer than usual.  But then, I've
almost never seen them like that, except for Father having friends
over to play pool," I said to Shun as we got ready for bed.

	"Seen them like what?" he asked.

	"Around other adults doing something fun. They tend to work very
hard, then either they read if they have energy or else vegetate in
front of the TV," I told him.  "Sometimes they play pool.  Playing
pool with Father, I felt like a real daughter for once," I said sadly.

	"Well, Aunt Akane will make you feel good all summer," he told me.

	I smiled.  "I feel...when I'm with Akane-san, I feel like I ought to
with Mother.  Like everything is going to be okay and..."

	"And she cares for you very much," he said, finishing changing into
his usual t-shirt and shorts for bed.

	I finished buttoning my pajamas and flopped down, smiling.  "I care
for her very much.  She's wonderful, so brave and strong and kind.  I
could fight anything for her, for you.  With you all, I finally...this
is what family feels like, right?"

	"Yes," he told me.  "I'm going to miss making love to you whenever we
want," he continued.

	"It's okay, we'll find time," I told him, embracing him as he laid
down, cuddled up to me.  "Aunt Shiho saved me from going crazy this
summer.  I'll have to do something nice for her."

	"If you do the chores without complaining, you'll be one up on
Natasha," he told me as I closed my eyes.

	"Of course I will," he said.  "Love you."  And then he was out and
soon I was too.

*************	

Kasumi's Tale:

	After class on Wednesday, I went back to my dorm for a bit, then
headed to the library with Hayao and Mandi to study English.  We all
have our final tomorrow, though we're in different sections.

	I could see Taiki and Ayumi-sempai headed for the library too,
holding hands.  It was kind of sweet and they were smiling at each
other.

	I stopped Hayao and Mandi.  "Let them go in first," I said.

	"Why?" Mandi asked.

	"If Ayumi-sempai sees me, we'll probably have a shouting match and I
don't have time for that and I don't want to ruin their happy moment,"
I said.

	Mandi looked at me like I was a crazy woman.  Hayao said, "Wise."  He
smiled at me, then leaned in close.

	So we just stood and kissed while Mandi looked impatient.

	I'm not very happy with Ayumi-sempai but I don't want to waste time
on her either.  It's all perfectly rational, whatever Mandi thinks.

******************

	At dinner time, I was going to cook them both dinner for helping me,
so we headed out of the library to go back to the dorms.

	Unfortunately, Taiki and Ayumi-sempai were both coming out.

	Taiki said, "Hey, Mandi, Hayao, how are you?"

	"I'm great," Hayao said.  "I saw Yaten the other day; he told me that
he's feeling a lot better."

	"Yeah," Taiki said, smiling.  "Thankfully."

	"Wishing I could abolish Biology; don't tell Sanae that," Mandi said,
and Taiki laughed.

	Ayumi-sempai, however, gave me the death glare of hateful death.
"We've done a lot better with you gone, Kasumi."

	Taiki rubbed his forehead.  "She's Hayao's girlfriend.  Lay off her, dear."

	"You know what has to happen," Ayumi-sempai said to him and he looked
kind of guilty.

	"What?" Mandi asked.

	"Nothing," Taiki said.  "Come on, Ayumi-san, we've got to go get food
or we will both collapse."

	"Don't rag on my girlfriend, Misano-sempai," Hayao said angrily to her.

	"What he said," Taiki said to her.

	"If they were really your friends, they wouldn't have left you to
chase after those freaks and weirdos," Ayumi-sempai said to Taiki.

	"We didn't...you're the..."  Mandi looked very frustrated.

	"Let's go, dear," I said, fighting the urge to unload verbally.
Fighting with Ayumi-sempai is a waste of time.

	"They're not the ones who have to die," Taiki said to Ayumi-sempai,
starting to hustle her off.

	"If you touch my girlfriend, you will regret it,"  Hayao said angrily
to Ayumi-sempai.

	"You can't stop me any more than you could stop an earthquake, kid,"
she said to Hayao.

	I was fuming but determined to keep my cool.  "Come on, Mandi,
Hayao."  I began hustling them.

	"You will regret it!," Hayao said angrily as I dragged him along.
Mandi looked frustrated, then followed us.

	"Come on, dear," Taiki said, sounding frustrated as he dragged
Ayumi-sempai off.

	"You're going to pay, Kasumi!  And Hayao, you can't protect her and
you know it!"  I could hear Ayumi-sempai laughing as Taiki made
aggravation noises and they headed off.

	I stalked along, trying to not crush Hayao's hand.

	"What a rude bitch," Mandi said, frowning.

	"Do you think she'll attack you or is she all mouth?" Hayao asked me,
sounding worried.

	"I think she just wants to bully me," I said.  "She might try
attacking, but I can handle her."

	Mandi studied me assessingly, while Hayao looked worried, so I kissed him.

	"It's going to be okay," I told him.

	But he looked bothered the rest of the evening.

***************

Erica's Tale:

	Hotaru and I were in the library, studying together.  I was getting
some stares; Hotaru had dressed me up in some of her gear, and lots of
guys were looking.  It was flattering but also made me nervous.
Everyone wanted to see my cleavage; though I do have some, this outfit
really exaggerates it.

	She's a lot of fun to study with, and pretty smart.  My biggest
vulnerability, unfortunately, is my elective.  With a choice between
art, vocal music, instrumental music, and acting, I chose art, and
didn't do well.  I should pull a C; pulling a C in your elective is
like failing while on fire in other classes.  Unfortunately, you're
stuck choosing between art and performance classes this year, and I'm
not so great in any of those.  I should have done acting; I know that
now, too late to switch.

	I have an A in Math and Biology; B+ in English, History, and Japanese
Literature (which if I do super well, I can turn into As, I hope); a C
in Art; and a pathetic D in Physical Education.  I'm hoping I can just
squeak into a C there if I do well on the final; I can cut loose on
that, since unlike most of my cousins, I can't actually go past normal
human potential. Which frustrates me.

	So I'm helping Hotaru with Biology and she's helping me with
Literature, which she's good with.

	We were working on history together when Kuroda Arata and Kiwara
Hitomi snapped pictures of us.  Hitomi is a gossipmonger and future
'journalist'; Kuroda Arata is pretty much a rich pain in the butt.
He's also pretty handsome and has a lot of lady friends, but Hotaru
turned him down one time (I know why now), and I think he resents
that.

	Hitomi ran off; but he came our way, and I braced for impact.

	"So you two are shacked up," he said to us, sounding not very happy about it.

	Hotaru said, "Ignore him until he goes away, Erica."

	"Right.  Let's hit the Romans one more time, then," I said to her.

	He frowned.  "Don't just ignore me!"

	I fought the urge to giggle as Hotaru said, "These Roman names are
hideous.  I can't even figure out how you say 'Scipio' or 'Hadrian'."

	I'm not sure either.  "Skippy-o and Had-ryan, I think," I told her.

	"Hey!  I'm talking to you!," Kuroda-san said angrily.

	"I'm not interested in talking to you; please go away and let us
study," Hotaru said.

	Not too good at the ignoring thing, I take it.

	"I guess you..." he began.

	"Erica, can you get one of the librarians to get rid of him?" Hotaru asked.

	"Hey!"

	I rose and he said, "You'll regret this!" and stalked off.

	"Has he been bothering you?" I asked.

	"He can't handle that I turned him down," Hotaru said.  "I thought
he'd given up, but I guess seeing me with someone else has set him
off."  She sighed.  "I'm wondering why he took a photo, though."

	"Maybe he plans to put up big posters to make fun of us," I said.

	She frowned.  "Well, nothing we can do to stop that," she said, sighing again.

	Hopefully he won't do some crazy thing like strip us naked digitally.

	Ugh.  I hope not.

	At least there weren't posters out everywhere when the library
closed.  We moved to a bench in the quad and studied under the lights
for a while.

	I was about to say I needed to go sleep when suddenly, the sprinklers
kicked on.  Hotaru yelped and we got hosed down.  EEK!

	We were staggering around, trying to get dry, when Kato Izumi, who is
big and strong and on the wrestling team, stormed up to us.

	"We know what you did to Kuroda-san," Kato-san said.  "Now you're
going to pay, Ibuki-san."

	"Uh, what?" Hotaru asked, confused.

	"He'll never look at me so long as he's thinking about YOU," she said.

	When she said that, I felt my Hime sign suddenly itch intensely.  As
soon as she fell silent, it fell silent.  WHAT?

	Then she stepped closer to us and we both instinctively backed up.

	Kato has short black hair.  I don't know why it suddenly drew my
eyes, but it was pretty clear she'd made an effort to fancy it up. In
fact, she'd gotten a perm and I thought it looked really nice.  She's
pretty tall, taller than Kagami, but shorter than Sanae.  But unlike
Sanae, she's pretty muscular and could probably...well, I guess I
could take her now.

	I think.

	Then Hotaru stepped forwards and said, "I have a girlfriend.  Harada
Erica, right here.  I have NO interest in Kuroda-san.  I never have
and never will.  But if you hurt Erica, I will make you regret it."

	Holy cow.  Hotaru's not exactly the boldly defiant,
stand-up-to-someone-a-good-fifteen-centimeters-taller-who-wrestles
kind of person.  Or so I thought.

	"She's a pathetic wimp," Kato said.  And Kuroda-san's not interested in her."

	"Erica, you'd best go to the dorm now," Hotaru said.  "I'll catch up
with you when we're done."

	Is she going to try to fight Kato-san?

	For a moment, I was going to go.

	But I told myself no.  I can't abandon my girlfriend and I don't HAVE
to run away any more.  I am a Hime, and the Hime fight for the ones
they love.  We're not supposed to use our powers on normal people, but
I'm not strong enough to really hurt a wrestler who is so much taller
than I am.

	I hope.

	I got into the brawling stance that Aunt Natsuki taught me.  We
mostly focused on other kinds of things, but she did teach us a little
unarmed combat.  "I'm not leaving you to Kato-san's tender mercies," I
said.
	
	Hotaru stared at me, then smiled brightly.  "Thank you, Erica."

	Then I heard footsteps.  It was Dan and Sanae, coming from the
science building.  What were they doing there at this hour?

	"Hey, guys...gals," Dan said.

	Sanae laughed, then frowned when she saw Kato-san.  "Kato Izumi, are
you threatening Hotaru and Erica?"

	"You going to do anything about it, beanpole?" Kato said angrily to Sanae.

	Sanae hid behind Dan, who now scowled.  "Don't insult my girlfriend."

	"Did you get tired of sleeping with your cousin?" Kato asked Dan hotly.

	There are a lot of nasty rumors about us circulating on this campus.
Probably going to be more soon.  I don't know what we ever did to
Kiwara Hitomi, but Chie-Mom is pretty sure she's orchestrating it.
Hitomi's one of her students; she's on the student newspaper.  Such as
it is.  It's really more like the student news website in this day and
age.

	She offered to chew Hitomi out, but that will just make her more
bitter.  Not that I have a better idea.

	Dan made a rumbling noise.  "I never had sex with Crystal.  She is my
cousin, and she has a girlfriend.  And so do I."  He put an arm around
Sanae.  "And I won't tolerate you being mean to Sanae."

	Sanae smiled a little and looked more defiant now.

	Kato looked at the four of us, clearly trying to assess whether she
could kick all our asses at the same time.  Then she grimaced at
Hotaru.  "Coward," she said hotly, then ran off.

	"I don't think you get to say that if you run away," Sanae said.

	Hotaru sighed.  "I thought Kuroda-san had given up, but I guess not."
 She shrugged.  "Want to walk back with us?" she asked. "And what were
you doing in the science building?"

	"Dad kindly came up and gave Dan a special review," Sanae said.
"Being a teacher's kid has its privileges."

	Dan looked totally embarrassed.  "Mom's going to come help Sanae
tomorrow night in return."

	"Wow, that's cool," Hotaru said.  "My folks are in Europe, so they
can't help me or Erica."  She sighed.  "They're gone a lot."

	"Mom doesn't teach anything useful to me or Hotaru, unfortunately," I
said.  "Let's get back."

	We headed back to the dormitory.

***************

Crystal's Tale:

	I decided to just take it nice and easy in the swimming test on
Thursday; this would be easier to fake than with running.

	I hoped.

	I could see Shun and the boys on the other side.  He waved, and then
we all went into the water.  Shun was one of the leaders of the pack,
but he was pushing himself to do so.

	Even not pushing myself hard, I was in the lead of my class.  Coach
kept giving me funny looks; I think everyone else was too busy
swimming to notice much.  Or perhaps I'm just delusional.

	Then I heard splashing and saw Mary had managed to match me.  This
surprised me, but I fought the urge to speed up.  Let her pass me, I
thought.  Maybe she'll be less pissy. If nothing else, it'll distract
everyone from noticing how easily I am beating them.

	She was really, grimly determined; and, swimming like a maniac, she
managed to pass me and came in first.  Coach looked stunned.  As we
came out of the water, I said, "That was great, Mary."
	
	She glared at me as if I was trying to trick her, but then she curtly
said, "Thank you."

	"Very good, Mary," Coach said.  "You too, Crystal."

	"Thanks," I told her.

	Okay, crisis averted, I think.  Mary got swarmed by people
congratulating her and I went to go shower.  Hopefully, the others
won't have too much trouble.

*********

Kasumi's Tale:

	Sanae is in Physical Education with me.  She looked rather nervous
for some reason, so I patted her shoulder.  "Don't worry," I told her.
 "You're going to do fine.  You get a better grade in here than I get
in half my classes and it's not even your strong point."

	"I like swimming but I hate bathing suits," Sanae mumbled.  "I look terrible."

	"These are terrible suits," I said.  "But Dan isn't here and if he
was, he'd like how you look.  Besides, a body like yours is faster in
water, anyway."

	She looked down at herself.

	"Just imagine Dan is waiting for you at the end," I told her.
"You're going to do fine."

	I, on the other hand, have to do well but not TOO well.

	Gin gave us a thumbs up from the boys' side.  He probably is
imagining us naked; I don't know if that would cheer Sanae up or freak
her out.  I gave him a thumbs up back, and then Sanae did too, smiling
nervously.

	This must be heaven for him.

	"I bet you wish Hayao was in our class," Sanae said, with a small,
almost teasing smile.

	My eyes crossed.  I think I'd crash into the side of the pool or
something, I'd be so distracted.

	Sanae giggled.  "Gin's not bad looking in his suit, though."

	"He's okay," I said.  He's got a body like Shun's, but just skinny
instead of wiry.  Not much strength on it.

	I positioned myself next to Sanae and deliberately took it easy;
matching her speed, and constantly, slowly, speeding up to push her to
match me.  She did so, though it was obvious she was working a lot
harder than I was.  She flopped out of the water, having made number
five in the class; then laid there breathing, while I sat down next to
her.  "Good job," I told her.

	"Good job, Koyabishi-san," Coach Kumasaki said, then she gave me a
curious look.  "I expected you to be first, Kurauchi-san."

	She knows.  She's probably seen or will see all of us.  I have to
wonder what they will think.

	I glanced at Sanae, who was too busy trying to breathe to notice,
then up at Coach.

	She blinked, then nodded to me and looked pleased.  "Anyway, good
job, both of you."

	Sanae said something incoherent to Coach Kumasaki, who said, "Ask me
again once you catch your breath."

	"Dan will be proud of you," I told her.

	He'd better be proud.  She did great.

*********
	
Hayao's Tale:

	I'm a mediocre swimmer.  I get Cs in Physical Education.  So I was
not expecting much.

	I did better than I expected.  Mind you, this meant moving from
twentieth out of thirty to fourteenth.   But hey, PROGRESS.  You take
it where you can get it.

	Coach Yoshida Tatsuo said, "Good news and bad news, Masakuri-san."

	"Yes?"

	"Good news is you get a B for the final.  Bad news means that just
gives you a C+."

	I sighed.  "Well, maybe next semester."

	"I hear you're dating Kurauchi Kasumi from the track team, right?" he said.

	"She quit to study more, but yes," I said.

	"Exercise with her and I bet you can get your grade up to a B
consistently next semester," he said.

	"Thanks, coach," I said.  I should get more exercise, and it would be
nice to get this damn C off my record.  Then I would just have Math
and Biology Cs.

	Not looking forward to the math final.

***************

Crystal's Tale:

	I looked over at one of my classmates in Math class...Harold?  Haru?
Hikaru?  I totally can't remember, but he's got short blond hair and
glasses.  He was reading a book titled "Epistemic Karantics:  The New
Science of Self-Actualization".  Sounds like the kind of thing which
causes Aunt Alyssa to shoot flames from her eyes and rant about Thomas
Aquinas.

	Then I noticed the author.  'Kurokami Nubuo'.  That sounded familiar
but I couldn't quite place it.

	"Hey, mind if I take a look?" I asked him.  We had a few minutes
before I die screaming in math.  Not as bad as Dan will die screaming,
mind you.

	"Sure, Crystal," he said.

	The fact that he remembered my name made me feel embarrassed.  Mom
would totally remember his name.

	I took a quick look at the author bio, then did some math.  Hey, he
was at Osaka University the same time Aunt Mikoto, Aunt Nao, Aunt
Akira, Aunt Shiho, and Uncle Takumi were there. Didn't I hear them
talking about...

 	Wait. Oh, shit. Is this Natasha's father?

	I twitched.  Does Aunt Shiho know about this?  I think there is going
to be killing.

	I paged through the book.  It seemed to be new-agey claptrap about
how archetypes from another dimension are hampering you from using 90%
of your brain.  Also, red haired women are all angry harridans who try
to trap men, thanks to the archetype monsters.

	"I can't believe you're reading this," I told him, handing it back.

	"Hey, I'm going to ace this final, thanks to this book," he told me.
"It's really cleared my mind."

	If he spent his time studying that book, he's going to DIE.

	I don't know if he aced it, but he DID finish in an hour, which means
he either did really well or died unmourned in a ditch.

	I took the whole two hours and died unmourned in a ditch.  I expect
Dan is busy digging a sub-basement for his ditch right now.  Or
whenever he has math, anyway.

	I guess we'll see how rankings stack up at the start of next semester.

************
	
Bobby's Tale:

	I was busy trying to understand a report covering progress on the
south side of the city when there was a banging on my door.  I blinked
and said, "Come in."  Normally, my secretary would tell me someone was
here to see me.

	It was Blake Henderson, our main computer guy, and Harmony Johnson,
from US Robots; they work together a lot. "We have a problem," Blake
said.  "Why haven't your answered your email? I copied you *five
times*."

	"I'm sorry, I was busy going over this report," I told him.  "Did you
tag them priority so my system would page me?"

	"Yes!" he said.

	I called up my email.  "I'm not seeing anything."

	"TRIPLE FUCK," he said.

	Harmony got on the phone and began shouting tech-speak at someone.  I
may speak Japanese, but my knowledge of computer tech-speak is
limited.  Something about networks.

	"What's going down?" I asked.

	"We have been hacked, and I'm thinking we may well have been totally
ass-raped, to be blunt," he said.  "I don't know who or how yet, but
my people are trying to find out.  Whoever it was grabbed pretty much
everything in our system, as far as I can tell. Fortunately, it's all
archived; and it looks like they didn't deliberately delete anything
for fear we'd notice, so we probably didn't actually lose any
information.  But I don't trust that, especially knowing they cut off
my emails to you.  Maybe others."  He kicked the floor.  "DAMMIT."

	I closed the report file; the mouse click seemed to echo in the
silence. "Shinohara probably has the most to gain from stealing our
tech information," I said.  I sighed.  I do not have time for all this
extra work, but you do what you have to in a job like mine.  The buck
has to stop here.  "I'm going to have to consult Sato-san to see if
they are likely to try actual sabotage, or if they just want to steal
our technology to duplicate and improve on it."  Sato-san is basically
in charge of knowing about the Japanese business world; this includes
some spying, but mostly having his ears to the ground and being part
of said world of business.  He advises me on how to approach various
businessmen, what we can find out about our competitors, and so on.
"Blake, do you need more people for this?"  I can hire temps if I have
to.

	"No, we shouldn't bring in anyone who isn't loyal to the company," he
said.  Plus, he'll be embarrassed he and his men couldn't handle it.

	"We'll assist, of course.  If they came for you, we're likely next,
given some of the tech is only on our servers," Harmony said.  "I've
got to get back to HQ."

	"Go," I said.  "Keep me posted by phone, since our email is
compromised.  Let me know if you need anything extra, and get me a
report on what we've lost.  I'm going to go talk to Harriet."  She's
the head of our installation crews; I need to know if her people saw
anything, and find out exactly how compromised our system could be if
they have the tech specs.

	And I have to tell Shiho I'm going to be out of action until this is
all resolved. So I have to cancel coming over tonight, and maybe our
date Friday.  Maybe even the whole weekend, depending on how bad this
is.

	But she knows how it is.  She'll understand.

	Hopefully.  Though I can't actually tell her much; I can't let news
of this leak out.

	"They might have compromised our phones," Harmony said.
	
	Dammit.  "Well, time to bust out my notepad and use the photocopier."
 Dammit.

	I began composing a 'Tell No One If You Don't Have To' message to
everyone as I headed for Harriet's office.

***********

Shun's Tale:

	I was on my way to the social sciences building to be part of a big
study session Aunt Midori was going to run for us for history (those
of us who need the help), when I encountered Hayao playing frisbee
with some junior high kids.  I blinked in surprise, as I would not
have expected him to hang out with anyone from the junior high.

	One of them looked kind of familiar; tall, skinny, dark haired.  He
looked just incredibly happy.  He also really sucked at playing
frisbee.

	"Hey, Hayao," I said.  "What's up?"

	"Hey, Shun," he replied.  "This is Taiki's brother Yaten and some of
his friends," Hayao said.  "I'm showing them some frisbee tricks."

	He introduced me to everyone and Yaten said, "Are you the guy who got
in trouble for stealing a car?"

	I rubbed my forehead.  "We borrowed a car, yes."

	"I'm sorry about my brother," Yaten said.  "He's not a bad guy, but
he can be stubborn."  Then he coughed and everyone around him looked
worried.  "I'm fine," he said.

	I knew that look; it's the look Aunt Mai gets every time Dad gets
sick at all.  "Hey, toss me the frisbee," I said to one of the kids.

	He threw it to me and I caught it.  I came over by Yaten.  "Now,
watch this."  I skimmed the frisbee off the ground and into the hands
of one of his friends.

	Once we got it back, I had him do it over and over until he could do
it every time.  Most times, anyway.

	"Gotta go study," I told him, when he looked like he was comfortable
with it and enjoying himself.  "You all have fun!"

	"We have to study soon," Yaten said.  "I just needed a break."

	"Thanks," Hayao said to me.

	"No problem," I said and headed off to study, feeling good about myself.

***********

Crystal's Tale:

	Being part of this family has its privileges, and having a
triple-tag-team of history tutors for us is part of it. We had
Sakomizu-sensei, Aunt Midori and Uncle Professor - all trying to beat
some history into my head, Sanae's head, Kasumi's head, Shun's head,
and Natasha's head.  Dan was here, but he was busy studying for his
Japanese literature exam; sometimes he chimed in.

	Aunt Chie had gotten us a classroom to study in, but she was in the
corner, frantically grading.

	Aunt Aoi brought us a lot of stew for dinner; it was very good.
She'd gone home, though.

	"The Baal cult of Carthage lost most of its power after their
authentic idol was destroyed by commandos from Tyre around 712 BC,"
Uncle Professor said.

	"We need to stick to things which will be on the test," Sakomizu-sensei said.

	"The Copper Rod raid was an important turning point in the decline of
Baal worship to a mere empty shell of a cult instead of a
demon-summoning nightmare," Uncle Professor said.

	"It sounds interesting to me," I said.

	"Honey, we have centuries more to sum up tonight," Aunt Midori said.
"You can show her your monograph later."

	"Thank you," Kasumi said.

	Sanae said, "Demon-summoning?  That's a joke, right?"

	AARGH.

	"Oh, there's a difference between really summoning and thinking
you're summoning thanks to lots of drugs," Uncle Professor said
quickly.  He looked embarrassed.

	"Let me cover this," Aunt Midori murmured under her breath to the
Professor; I think I was the only one who could hear her.

 	She took over, making sure to keep things mundane.  But Sanae looked
somewhat confused anyway.

	I don't know how we're going to be able to keep them close to us
without giving everything away.  But we need them close both to
protect them but also to make sure we can trust them when things come
out.

	Because they will.  If monsters are around, we can't hide this for long.

***********

Shiho's Saga:

	I held it together until I got off work, but then my worry started
trying to beat me to death.  There was no news of exploding solar
panels or rampaging robots, so I had no clue what might have happened.
 Chie had no clue.  And Bobby's message had been pretty enigmatic.  I
was sure he wasn't in danger.

	I was sort of sure but worried anyway.  I was so jumpy, I went and
ate hamburgers.  Good burgers, mind you; I can afford a pretty good
burger.  Still, BURGERS.

	I only eat burgers when I'm agitated.

	I'm not sure how exactly I ended up in front of Mai's house.  I
intended to go home, full of burger, but for some reason, I was
knocking on her door.

	"Shiho!" Mikoto said excitedly.  "Hey, Mai, it's Shiho!"

	I smiled a little.  Mikoto's always happy to see me.  "Hello, Mikoto."

	She dragged me inside.  "Where's your boyfriend?" she asked curiously.

	"He has some kind of work crisis he can't talk about," I said, trying
not to visibly fret.  "So I was bored, as he can't do anything until
it's under control."

	Mai was on the couch, watching financial news and reading a book...
which I noticed had been extensively scribbled on with a pencil.  Mai
had a RightPad she was using to take notes.  "What's that?" I asked.

	"Professor Sasaki's copy of 'Twelve Apocalypses and the Long Count',
which is about various doomsday prophecies and the Long Count calendar
of Mesoamerica," Mai said.  "He's scribbled all over it and made
corrections and comments and I'm trying to decipher it."  She sounded
a little frustrated.

	"Isn't that best left to the experts?" I asked.

	"I need to know at least enough to ask them intelligent questions,"
Mai said.  "Remember when we had that stupid virus that put ads on
everything?"

	"Yes," I groaned.  Stupid Natasha.  Mind you, she was only eight.
Old enough to use email, not old enough to know when NOT TO OPEN
ATTACHMENTS.  Attachments my virus checker SHOULD HAVE CAUGHT.

	"Anyway, it took twice as long to fix as it should have, because I
didn't understand anything well enough to look up help properly," Mai
said.  "I need a grounding in all this, but it's so much," she added,
sounding frustrated.

	"Well, they study it for years," I said.  I took a quick look at the
text and felt my brain melt.  "This looks awfully advanced."

	"He said it was a good introduction and his commentary does help," Mai said.

	I could hear noises in the kitchen and Mikoto said, "I tried helping
but it made my head hurt."  She sounded guilty.

	"It's okay, Mikoto," Mai said.  "So what brings you over here, Shiho?"

	"Bobby's having a crisis at work and can't talk about it and so he's
busy tonight and maybe tomorrow night, when we were going to go out,"
I said.  "Maybe even longer."  I sighed.  "Knowing he is in trouble
when I can't do anything to help, or even know why he is in trouble,
frustrates me."

	"Sit," Mai said, so I sat, then felt aggravated for obeying.  Mikoto
sat down next to me and hugged me, so I hugged her back with one arm.

	"You know how it is in our world," Mai said.  "Sometimes you have to
keep things confidential.  Doubly so when you have one foot in the
family and one in the business world.  I'd never ask you to repeat the
meetings you translate," she said to me.  "And of course, our family
has its own secrets.  But I'm sure he understands, as he's a
businessman like you and I."

	I smiled a little.  I'm not exactly a businesswoman, but close
enough.  I work in that world.

	"I was going to see if you two wanted to go out with us on Friday.
Our fling before Crystal moves in for the summer," Mai said.

	"You should come with us anyway," Mikoto said.

	"I'd just be a fourth wheel," I said, sighing.

	"Cars need four wheels or they wobble," Mikoto said.

	"I'll be fine," I said.  I will probably go insane sitting around
worrying about Bobby and trying to make my condo clean itself by force
of will.

	I hate cleaning.

	Yuuichi came out.  "Hey, Shiho.  Your boyfriend's the project manager
for Shell Solar for the big solar project, right?"

	"Yes," I said urgently.  "Do you know anything?"

	"The scuttlebutt is that they've sealed themselves off from the
Internet, except for a very thin stream of heavily monitored
communications in and out," Yuuichi said.  "Our best guess is that
they got hacked and are trying to find out who, how, and why."

	For one paranoid moment, I suspected his ex-wife the programmer.  But
surely not.

	Still, having some clue was a relief.  "That's...well, I guess that
could be bad.  But it's not danger bad."

	"I'm sure he'll clean it up before the party," Yuuichi said.  "I'm
curious to meet him."

	I'm quite worried because about half the time, Yuuichi and my
boyfriends hate each other on sight, and that usually gets hideously
messy.

	Please don't kill each other.

	"Natsuki was very complimentary about him," Mai said, smiling.  "She
and Mr. Smith had dinner with Natasha, you, Gin, and Mr. Cooper,
right?"

	"We had a good time, and he helped with the whole business with
Mitsu-san," I said.  "He was a *big* help."

	"Good," Mai said.  "Thank you very much for taking care of that, and
being willing to host Kagami.  Shizuru told me you Mitsu-san was very
impressed by you."

	"Of course she was; I'm very impressive," I said confidently.

	"And soft and cuddly," Mikoto announced as she leaned on me.

	"Very," I said, smiling a little.  "Anyway, Kagami is a good girl who
won't be any trouble at all."

	"Do you need any money?" Mai asked.

	"I am fine," I said.  I'd rather die than ask Mai for money.

	"Okay," she said cheerfully.  "It feels so much better we don't have
to hide anything from the kids."

	"I know," I told her.  "Unfortunately, I still have to hide things
from Bobby."  I sighed and leaned on Mikoto just a little.

	Mai patted my shoulder.  "You know how it is."

	"Yes," I said.  "I just hope Natasha isn't going to be mean to him
all summer."  I grimaced.  "He's a very kindly person who won't fight
back."

	Mai frowned.  "What happened?"

	"She told him he was ugly and how he wouldn't be around very long," I
said gloomily.  "He's not ugly and he's not going to vomit on anything
like Alexander did."

	Mai made a face.  Mikoto made a face.  Yuuichi said, "I knew some
kind of vomit incident happened."

	"It wasn't the vomit, it was refusing to clean up his own vomit.  I
was stunned; it was like I was dating a five year old.  So I dumped
him."  I sighed.  He was so hot but the hot covered up some bad
traits.

	"Well, you don't have to worry about him now," Mai said.  "Is Natasha
doing well on her finals?"

	We now drifted off into talking about our kids' grades, which I will spare you.

*************


Kasumi's Tale:

	I was busy trying to remember TOO MANY ROMANS when the door opened.
To my surprise, Father and Mother walked in together.  They were
carrying several boxes which turned out to be full of sweets.

	Father came over and patted my shoulder.  "How's it going, dear?"

	Mother began serving everyone; Aunt Chie helped her.

	"I think my brain is full," I joked.

	"Well, we'd better give you some selective amnesia to free up space,"
Aunt Midori said.  "Thanks for the pastries."

	"I was talking to one of my regulars, Misty Johnson,  and she
suggested it," Mother said, passing a bean pastry to Dan.

	"We've been getting a lot of people from US Robots lately," Father
said.  "I wouldn't think Americans would want to eat so many Japanese
style pastries, but I won't complain."

	"I expect it's cheaper than trying to find American-style pastry,"
Sanae said, then munched on her butter mochi.

	I had a kuri manju with real chestnuts in it.  Really, really good.

	"That's the company Aunt Shiho's boyfriend works for, right?" I said.

	"Shell Solar," Natasha said.  "But they're partnered with US Robots
and with your Grandpa's company."

	Mother and Father both sighed, then Dad got himself a daifuku pink.
Mother had a kuri manju like me.
	
	"Is he living with Aunt Shiho?" I asked.

	"He has his own place, but I get the impression he comes over a lot,"
Natasha said, frowning at her pastry.  She had a chofu, which I
thought she liked.  I'm not so fond of the outer dough, myself.  Also,
it has no chestnuts, which I love.

	"Is...," Mother said, paused, then said, "You don't like him?"

	"No, he's fine, I guess," Natasha said.  "It's just, they come and go
so much.  I don't think...no, wait, I did meet Alexander.  At Aunt
Mikoto's dojo.  And at least once after that.  Maybe."  She frowned.

	"All I know about him is the family scuttlebutt," Aunt Midori said.

	"I think he's a nice man," Mother said.  "Didn't you think so,
Kazuya?" she said to Father.

	Father was working on a sakura mochi, which is a regular mochi
wrapped in a salted cherry leaf.  He likes the combination of sweet
and salty; I tend to prefer all sweet, or all salty.  "He likes to
cook.  This makes him part of the true elite of men."  He smiled
broadly.

	Aunt Chie said, "Your cooking definitely makes you elite, Kazuya."

	"I hate to interrupt the gossiping," Sakomizu-sensei said, clearly
not sorry.  "But the kids do have a final coming up."

	"Oh, we'll just bother Chie until you finish," Mother said.  "We just
wanted to bring you a nice snack and give Kasumi our support."

	"Thanks," I said, smiling.  "I guess Aunt Mikoto has my brothers?"
	
	"Shiho is there, helping. It's very nice of her," Father said. "When
you're done with this, I can help you with biology. I got an A in it
at Fuuka."

	"Thanks, Father," I said.  Hopefully with all this help I can do better.

***********

Bobby's Tale:

	I should just go home, since I can't actually contribute
meaningfully, but I stayed at the office just in case the techs needed
me for something.  Although that wasn't likely, I would just fret at
home.

	"There you are," Jinnai said, and I jumped.

	I blinked, but led him off to the hallway so we wouldn't distract the
techs.  He had Misty with him; I was surprised she was working this
late.  "What's up?" I asked them.

	"I think Father sent me as a show of support, basically, even though
I can't do anything useful for you.  So I hopped the train and came
down; Misty was kind enough to pick me up and drive me over."  He
sounded worn out.

	Misty tipped her hat to me.  "I didn't have anything useful to do
tonight anyway."

	"I'm going to see if my brother...I meant to call him on the train
and fell asleep."  He sighed.  "Anyway, do we know what's going on?"

	"Hackers attacked US Robots and our servers.  Nothing on your end?" I asked.

	"No," he said.  "I think Father feels offended that whoever it was
didn't think us worth hacking," Jinnai said, laughing softly.

	I laughed too, while Misty just smiled.  "The attack seems to have
come from inside the US, though they're still trying to figure out the
origin point," I told him.  "You can crash at my place if you need
to."

	"Well, Kazuya will probably want me to stay with him, but if he can't
take me for some reason, I would be grateful."

	I would have slapped his shoulder in a friendly way, but most
Japanese people seem less touchy...less liking to be touched than
where I am from.  It's hard overcoming habits.

	Misty started to say something, then didn't.

	He called Kazuya, while Misty said to me, "Harmony is really pissed
that she'll probably have to work all night."

	"Well, that's the cost of being on salary," I said.  "But then, some
days, I expect she just sits around and reads her email."

	"And then Brigit gets angry, yeah," Misty said, smiling.  "Do you
have any siblings?"

	"I have two younger sisters," I said.  "What's it like being triplets?"

	"Wonderful and terrible.  No one else understands me like they do...
which sometimes means they know me too well."

	I laughed at that.

	Jinnai finished and put his phone away. "They're up at the school,
but they're going to come pick me up when they finish."

	"If you want to go visit your niece, feel free," I said.  "I'm just
here because if I go home, I will call them every fifteen minutes
asking if they've caught her, and they will go mad."

	He laughed.  "If you don't mind," he said.

	"I wouldn't mind some company, but there's nothing much for us to do
but read reports and wait for the techs to triumph or collapse of
exhaustion," I said.  "So feel free."

	"Thanks," he said.  "I'll call you in the morning."

	"I'll send you a text - or call you if it's not too late - once we
know where this came from."

	My phone rang; it was Harmony Johnson.  "Your hacker may be
different, but we have an address in Denver, Colorado.  It seems to be
a residence, according to our map program," Harmony said.

	I blinked.  Why would someone in my hometown hack us here in Japan?
"What's the address?"

	"11605 Blackwell Drive," she said.

	Tiny wafts of smoke came out of my ears.  Or should have.  "Say that again."

	"11605 Blackwell Drive."

	"..."

	"Sir?" she said when I didn't reply.

	Misty and Jinnai looked at me in confusion.

	"That can't be right," I said.

	"We think it's right.  If your people get the same results, we're good."

	"That's down the street from my mother," I said.

	"Do you know Don and Donna Wilkerson?" she asked.  "They're the legal
owners of the house."

	"Vaguely.  I think he runs a car dealership," I told her.  "I'll call
Mom, look for gossip.  Tell Joe to call me."  Joe Ickes is the project
head for US Robots for this operation.

	"Will do."

	I let Harmony and Jinnai go, then it was time to call Mom.

****************


Jinnai's Tale:

	The parking lot was mostly empty at Rosewood, but this wasn't
surprising.  I recognized the bakery van from my brother's business;
Misty's sports car (how did she pay for it, I have to wonder?) seemed
rather incongruous next to it.

	I left my suitcase in the car, no point in hauling it onto campus.
We walked across the parking lot; you could hear lots of distant noise
from the dorms, but nearby was pretty quiet.  "You didn't have to do
this," I said.

	"See, the one thing that gets you more credit than doing extra work
if your boss asks is doing extra work without having to be asked," she
said.  "Plus, I know your brother and sister-in-law now, and I didn't
have anything to do tonight anyway.  I guess I could see if driving
the computers around in a car would help, but..."  Her voice was
playful and I laughed.

	She pushed her glasses up her nose, then stretched as she walked.  I
consulted my phone; I had the campus map off the school's website
ready for viewing.

	The gates of Rosewood are huge red brick pillars with twin metal
gates painted blue, shaped to resemble the outline of the stylized
rose symbol of the school.  They are themselves symbolic as you can
just walk around them into the school.

	We walked past the administration building, out into the open area I
think is called 'the Quad'.  And then I saw it.

	It was a flying thing like a silvery manta ray, if manta rays flew
through the air and had eyes that shone orange.  Purple and green
waves of light rolled along its back as it flapped its 'wings'.  Its
tail idly flicked around as it flew, defying wind currents.

	It dove down from above, coming from the forest beyond.  It was
heading westward into the Quad, as we came in from the south.

	How could this...was this something like the robot dog?  But how
could it possibly fly?  And why was it roaming around campus?

	"Oh shit," Misty mumbled in English.

	I had to agree, especially when its tail suddenly pointed at ME and
it turned our direction, banking.

	"FUCK," Misty said, then put her hand over her mouth.  I would have
laughed if I wasn't so scared of this thing.  But I couldn't even
move, just stare at it.

	She turned to me, throwing me her car keys.  "Go to the car now, get
in it, and DRIVE. Do not stop for anything until you are far away from
here.  I will call you once it's safe to come back and if I don't call
you in twenty minutes, call Brigit and tell her what happened."

	"But..."

	"GO!" she said.

	I could feel my nerves jangling, and a weird presence, like something
was watching me.  And then I ran like a maniac.  Good thing I ran
track for a while, and still run every day.

	Even so, I couldn't help looking back. Misty was suddenly shrouded in
a black fog.  The fog collapsed in on her, and now she was wearing a
black bodysuit with a partial black face mask; the outfit included a
black cape, and she pulled the hood up over her unruly hair. She held
an ivory boomerang in each hand.  The manta ray plunged at her, and
she leaped high into the air; as she released the boomerangs, she
vanished completely and they sliced into the creature, which bled
purple blood.

	The thing ripped apart, and transformed into a giant purple and green
centipede with orange eyes, tentacles coming out of its head.  As it
did so, the boomerangs vanished, and appeared in her hands when she
re-appeared on the roof.

	...

	What the hell?

	It started to come my way and I ran again, heading for the car; I
quickly got in.  Misty nailed the thing again, and it was bleeding
more, but it seemed determined to reach me.  Why?

	If this had been my car, I would have tried ramming it, but I
couldn't destroy Misty's car when she'd told me to go.  As bad as I
felt leaving her behind... I was also pretty damn scared of this
thing.  What the hell was it?

	Misty began bouncing around, slicing its legs, which slowed it enough
for me to get out of the parking lot and race off down the road.

	I felt terrible leaving her but I was also shaking with fear.  Does
this happen often?  What is going on?

	As I got away from the school, the feeling of being watched faded and
my nerves eased a little, but I was still pretty scared and hoping
Misty would be okay.

	WHAT IS GOING ON?

***********

Kagami's Tale:

	Having finished studying with some friends from Ring Club, I headed
towards the social science building to meet with the others.  I hadn't
planned to go, but I wanted to see Akane-san, since Shun had sent me a
message she was there.

	As I was going past the gym, I could see something in the woods.  It
was a purple and green centipede, maybe two dozen feet long, heading
into the woods.  It had tentacles coming out of its head and it was
chasing something I couldn't see.  But I could hear something...was it
someone...thrashing deeper into the woods.

	I quickly found a place to hide and called the others, in case it was
a trap.  Akane-san picked up quickly.

	"Hello, Kagami-san," she said.

	"There's an Orphan here chasing someone or something into the woods," I said.

	"Yes, we'll come meet you so you don't have to walk in the dark by
yourself, Kagami," she said cheerfully.

	Wait, did she understand what I said?

	"See you soon!"

	Something weird was going on.

*********

Akane's Tale:

	I arrived with Natasha and Kasumi, ready for a fight but hoping that
I hadn't erred in leaving Crystal and Shun  behind.  Having to hide
things is very awkward.

	It was easy to follow the sound of it in the woods; we found it badly
injured and half up in the air, waving about as if trying to figure
out where its foe was.  We couldn't see its foe, but there was
something...

	Suddenly she appeared, wearing a black jacket, gloves, boots, pants,
shirt, hood, and mask, standing on a tree branch.  Twin ivory
boomerangs tore into the creature, and it lashed out at the tree she
was on.  The boomerangs vanished; so did she, as the tree toppled.

	I assessed the situation.  It's too tangled here for Horus to do any
good.  "Summon Boris but be careful, we can't afford to set the forest
on fire," I told Natasha.  "Kasumi, don't summon Horus, there's not
space for him.  I want you to assist me.  HARRY!"

	Harry appeared; there went another tree.

	I hope the sound of this doesn't carry too well or we're in trouble.

	Boris sucked the heat out of the centipede, slowing it down.  It
turned to rush at him; Kasumi and I bludgeoned him to one side with
wind strikes, then Harry sucked him into a tornado, spinning and
battering him.

	"Hello, whoever you are!," I shouted to the invisible person.

 	The centipede survived the tornado, but Natasha leaped in; she
blinded him in one eye, and Boris bit down on him, then barbecued the
part of him he'd bitten.  Harry fell on him, and the two of them
ripped him apart.

	"Victory!," Natasha said.  "Yes, chalk one up for the Fire duo!"

	"Hello, are you there?" I shouted to the woman...I think it was a
woman... we'd seen before.  "We just would like to talk to you!"

	"I think the school authorities are coming," the woman said.  "We'll
meet again another day!"  Her voice sounded odd, like she was using a
voice modulator.  And then silence.

	We booked it out of there, circling around to enter campus by another
route than how we came in.

	"Maybe it was supposed to jump Shun so he becomes our final new
Hime," Natasha said.  "We need to hook him up."

	"I think the Silver Knight just recruited himself another Knight,"
Kagami said.  "She was able to recognize the school authorities."

	"Well, she seemed friendly, or at least not hostile," Kasumi said.

	"Yes, let's be grateful for that," I said.

	We headed back for the classroom.

****************

Jinnai's Tale:

	I turned back when Misty sent me a message; we met at a gas station
down the road from the school.  "What is going on?" I asked urgently.

	She sighed.  "Let's get a drink and talk about it."

	She got a coke, I got green tea in a can.  "What you encountered is
called a troll.  But it's actually an alien from another universe,
invading ours," she continued.

	"..."

	"It can't stay here for long, because the dimensional walls are only
weak enough to sustain it in a - thankfully - limited number of
places.  Sometimes these things break through and then look for people
to infect," she said, giving me a concerned look.  "Some of them can
slide inside a person and control them.  Others just cause people to
develop abilities based on tapping energy from another dimension.
Tallin was trying to duplicate their abilities by artificial means,
leading to its destruction.  The same thing happened at Primus."  She
sighed, staring at her coke.

	I sipped my tea.  Something suddenly struck me.  Misty would have
been born around the time of the Primus disaster, I think.  "Are
you..."

	"My mother and father worked at Primus," she said.  "They both died
there and Grandfather raised us."

	I stared at my tea.

	"We were an experiment," she said very softly and sadly.  "There were
seven of us.  Our parents' DNA was modified to give us powers like
those of the Trolls.  We were test tube babies.  And Grandfather was
only able to save three of us," she said very sadly.

	"What happened to the other four?" I asked.

	"We don't know.. but probably they died," she said.  "Though they
might have been saved and implanted in someone, or frozen for later
use.  They might even be in a freezer right now - though I hope not.
I mean, it is better than them being dead, but..."  She shivered and I
patted her shoulder.

	I tried to imagine growing up knowing that, but I couldn't.  "No
wonder you three are so close."

	 "Anyway, we call ourselves the Valkyries.  I can jump around like
crazy and turn invisible when I attack with my boomerangs.  I...look,
you have to promise not to tell anyone about this.  NO ONE.  We have
enemies - and they haven't made the connection between us the sisters
who work for US Robots, and us the Valkyries.  Those monsters have
masters, and they find things out.  Because there are people who serve
them."

	I shuddered at the thought.  Serve monsters from another dimension?
It seems so crazy, but I know enough to know that what I saw can't be
done with normal science.  Cyborgs don't have the kind of abilities
she displayed.  And it explains some things.

	Akane had definitely been experimented on.  Kagami's parents worked
for Primus...possibly Kagami was an experiment too.  Which Akane had
learned of and taken her in.  Their whole family probably got
experimented on and now have special abilities.

	And may be controlled by these things, given what Misty said.
	
	Certainly, they seem connected to Himeno Fumi and she was involved in
controlling Primus and Fuuka.  Possibly to prepare it for monster
invasion.

	I can't believe I am thinking in terms of monster invasion.

	THAT THING WANTED TO GET INSIDE ME.  I nearly dropped my tea on
myself and I shivered.

	"Kurauchi-san?" she said, very worried.

	"I think it wanted to infect me, or maybe crawl inside me."  I
shivered at the thought.

	"I think so," she said softly.  "Some bloodlines make better targets."

	Which is why both Kazuya and Akane vanished for a while...

	But now I can't be sure if they're monster fighters or have monsters
inside them...

	I stared at the floor.

	"I'm sorry to dump this on you; these things don't normally show up
in places like schools," she said.  "People tend to find dimensional
weakpoints to be 'creepy' or 'haunted' and avoid them.  They don't
build schools on them."

	I drank more of my tea.  I can't go in front of them, freaking like
this.  Though I can blame it on the tension of the crisis at Shell
Solar.  I hope.

	I need to find out, but how?  And I can't just give their secret away
to Misty, even after she's trusted me with all this.  Though if they
are controlled by monsters...

	Please don't let me have to...

	Please.

*************

Kagami's Tale:

  	Everyone else was studying while I talked to Akane-san, when
Kurauchi Jinnai and Ms. Johnson arrived.  He looked kind of jumpy and
she looked somewhat guilty.

	"Sorry about that, we got a flat," Ms. Johnson said, looking
embarrassed about that.

	"Good to see you, brother," Kurauchi Jinnai said to Kazuya-san,
shaking his hand and then Akane's, and then patting Kasumi's shoulder.
 He looked at them, quite worried, then clearly tried to collect
himself.

	"What's wrong?" Akane-san asked.

	"We're having a business crisis.  I may be down here a few days; even
though I can't do anything useful, Father wants me on the scene.  And
I can't talk about it as it is confidential," he said.

	No wonder he feels bad, having to hide things from his own brother.

	"I understand totally," Kazuya-san said firmly.  He really is a good
brother and father.  "I won't ask."

	"So you two didn't...," Natasha began.

	"Don't even think it," I said to her firmly.

	"Do what?" Jinnai asked.

	Ms. Johnson's eyes widened.  She stared at Natasha in surprise.

	"Nothing," I said.

	"But...," Natasha began.

	"No," Crystal said firmly to her.

	Aunt Chie looked up from her grading.  "Don't badger our guest, Natasha."

	"We just had a flat tire," Ms. Johnson mumbled.  "And bought drinks.
Anyway, I should go, since you're with your family now.  I'll pick you
up in the morning," she continued.

	"Thank you," he said.  "My luggage is in your car, though."

	"I'll go with her and put it in our van, then come back," Akane-san
said.  "See you all soon."

**********
	
Akane's Tale:

	"I'm sorry about Natasha, she is a good girl but she can be kind of
rude," I told Ms. Johnson.

	"It's okay," she said, glancing about nervously.  "Harmony has kind
of a big mouth herself."

	"I assume she's hard at work on the problems at Shell and US Robots?" I asked.

	"Yeah, where I can't do anything, so I was free," she said.  She
laughed a little nervously.

	"It was very nice of you to drive him around," I told her.

	"It's a good idea to cultivate contacts," she said.  "The boss will
be glad I helped him out."  She sounded a little evasive to me.

	Maybe Natasha is right.  But she seems like a good person, so I will
leave it between them.  They certainly haven't done anything like
Natasha thinks, but Natasha probably fantasizes about Gin and Hayao
kissing each other too.

	I chatted a little more with Ms. Johnson, trying to cheer her up and
then I switched the luggage and she took off.  She's a good customer,
seems like a good young lady.  I like her.

	But she would be kind of young for Jinnai; he could almost be her father.

	Probably Natasha is imagining things again, though.

***********

Bobby's Tale:

	The Wilkersons have wireless.  The Wilkersons left it set to the
default password.  The Wilkersons got hacked; and, through them, us.
And US Robots.  It is probably coincidental this happened down the
street from my mother.

	But now I feel paranoid.  Thankfully, Mom has a strong password on
her wireless network.  I made sure of that after the damn koala virus
got into my files after I was living with her for a few months after
the divorce.

	I was also feeling pretty exhausted.  I'd stayed up late, pretty much
for nothing.  They got away clean, and I'm going to have to figure out
who to kill and whether to sue the Wilkersons for negligence and
whether we can win it and whether it's worth the bad publicity.  I
think Joe plans to immolate them for this.  I have to decide whether
to egg him on or try to restrain him.

	Sato is trying to find out who is behind this; I hope he has some luck.

	I went home and collapsed into bed.  At least the immediate crisis
was over and now only the long, slow post-mortem would follow.

***********

Kazuya's Tale:

	We eventually went back, picked up the boys from Mai's place, then
got squared away for bed.  I found Jinnai brooding on the back porch.
"Is it really that bad?" I asked him.

	"Father's jumpy lately for some reason; I wish I could tell you
everything but I can't," he said, swigging from his cup of green tea.
It's not the good stuff, just the stuff that comes in a bottle, but
he'd been impatient for a drink.

	"Yeah, I know the feeling," I told him, sitting down beside him.
"This going to set you back?"

	"Maybe," Jinnai said, then studied me.  He looked very worried and I
felt pretty bad for him.

	"I'm sure it'll be okay," I told him.

	"Kasumi seems much happier," he said.

	"She is.  She really likes her boyfriend; I'm not so sure about him.
But I'm willing to give him a chance, as I was friendly with his
mother in school," I told him.

	"What's wrong with him?"

	"Playboy reputation," I said.  "But he seems to be being a gentleman
so far, and didn't try to sneak into her room or anything at the
beach."  I slumped comfortably in my chair.

	"Well, lots of guys go through that for a while, then clean up their act."

	"I think Nao scared him a lot by sicking bees on him."

	"..."

	I laughed softly.  "I don't know how."

	"Tough nun."

	"You have no idea," I said.  "So Father is more agitated than usual?"

	"Yes," Jinnai said.  "But he won't talk about it.  My guess, though,
is that he's worried about the rumors about Janus."

	"The secret mech-construction project that a lot of designers have
been recruited for, taking them off the market?" I asked.

	He blinked at me in surprise and I smiled a little.

	"That ship that got cut in half was connected to it," I continued.
"Or so Natsuki's boyfriend, Roger Smith, believes."

	"I've heard of Roger Smith," Jinnai said.  "So he's investigating Janus?"

	"I think so," I said.  "Why does Father care?  He isn't making mech
parts now, is he?"

	"Not specifically, but we do sell some things that are utilized by
mech designers in addition to their normal uses," he said.  He looked
at me curiously, less depressed now.  "What are you thinking?"

	"If Father is supplying parts to whoever is conducting Janus, then he
would be worried by that ship attack," I said.  "Though I'd think he
would tell you if he was connected."

	"I'm sure he would," Jinnai said, but now he frowned more.

	"But it's probably something else," I said.  Now I'm curious.  It
could be just one of Father's moods...but normally Jinnai would know
why.

	We talked a little longer, then went to bed.

***********

Crystal's Tale:

	We were all busy discussing how well we'd done so far at breakfast,
when Harold...Hikaru...whatever his name is...came up to us.  He stuck
his tongue out at me.  "I told you I'd ace that test!  The grades are
already up!"

	Damn, the math teacher works quick.  "How did you do?"

	"I got the first, all thanks to Kurokami-sensei's book!," he said
defiantly.  "Whereas, you didn't read it and you did lousy."

	I couldn't see Natasha but I didn't need to.  Her voice was enough.
"Kurokami-sensei?" she asked tensely.

	"Kurokami Nubuo!  He's a genius!" Harold...Hikaru - dammit, I really
need to learn his name - said.  He pulled the book out of his
backpack. "'Epistemic Karantics:  The New Science of
Self-Actualization' is a work of genius, and I'm up a letter grade in
everything so far!"

	"That name sounds familiar," Kasumi said.

	"It's my FATHER," Natasha said.

	Hikaru...Harold...I feel so stupid.  He said, "Really?  You didn't
get his intellect, I guess."

	"Don't insult my girlfriend!," Gin snapped.

	"He wrote a...what the hell is self-actualization?" Natasha asked.

	"It means your book is bullshit," Shun said.  "This looks like some
kind of new agey bullshit."  He frowned.

	"It is GENIUS," my classmate insisted.  Whatever his name is.

	Kagami flashed her ring at him and I smiled a little, and then she
said, "I can assure you, Harold, it has no scientific basis."

	"Fine.  Flunk all you want.  3.5 GPA, HERE I COME!," Harold
proclaimed and marched off.

	Natasha was now brooding into her milk and cereal.

	"I doubt that did anything for him."

	Gin looked like he ought to say something.

	"It's probably a placebo effect," Erica said.  "The human mind can do
all sorts of things, to itself and your body, if you feel convinced it
is going to happen - because of 'medicine,' or self-help guides, and
so on."

	"Or he just studied harder," I said.

	Natasha continued to be gloomy.  Still, there are a lot worse ways to
hear about your father for the first time in years than hearing he
published a book, right?  Stupid as it is.

**********

Akane's Tale:

	I went over to Mai's house Friday morning, so we could discuss what
happened last night.

	"I'm guessing she is one of the Silver Knight's Knights," I told Mai,
after briefing her on what I saw.

	"That makes sense," Mai said.  "So she seemed friendly?"

	"Friendly enough to warn us to run from the school authorities," I
said.  "She may have thought we were fellow students."

	"I called Shinichiro and talked to him," Mai said.  "It seems like
they don't get any kind of instructions.  I have to wonder what the
Silver Knight hopes to accomplish by giving people power and turning
them loose to do what they want."

	"That's what happened with us," I told Mai.  "Maybe he wants them to
grow in strength, and then they'll get used.  I assume he wants out of
his prison."

	"True.  If they're where they depend on his power to get by, it would
give him leverage to get them to help him."  Mai twirled her pen
thoughtfully.

	"With school ending, the kids will scatter.  I will talk to Chie, see
what gossip she's heard and what indications there are of kids who may
have gained powers from the Silver Knight."  She frowned.  "Or the
Crimson Huntsman.  Best we not be caught by surprise."

	We discussed things a while longer, and then I went to work.

***********

Bobby's Tale:

	Friday night, I wanted to do something but was too tired to do much.
Friday was a super busy day of trying to decide who is getting
punished for our security failing and how and whether I will need to
hire more people, while trying to keep Joe from going berserk.

	 I wasn't up to going out (and nervous about meeting Yuuichi for the
first time), so I made a big batch of shrimp Creole; Shiho assisted me
while watching the news.

	She took a call and became more and more agitated over the course of
it, making me nervous.  Something about Kurokami Nubuo.

	She finished the call.  "The fucker wrote a book!  A BOOK!"

	"Natasha's father?"

	"Yes, exactly," she said.  "Some damn new agey psycho-crap brain
exercises pop psychology crap."

	She sometimes gets rather foul mouthed when angry.

	The whole thing sounded ludicrous to me, as Shiho told me the story;
apparently Natasha called her about it. I actually think I've seen one
of my techs with the book, but I paid it no mind.

	I let her rant to get it out of her system and then I said, "As long
as he stays away from Natasha, does it matter?"

	"Yes, I want him to lie in his own vomit in a DITCH," Shiho said
urgently.  She poured herself some sake, downed it, and sighed.  "But
I don't want to rant at my guests."

	"Well, I'm sure you'll never see him again," I told her.

	Thunder boomed outside and she winced.

	"Come on, I'm sure that's coincidence."

	Thunder boomed again.

	We quickly saw that it wasn't thunder; it was someone's incredibly
loud music from down on the street. Someone was parked there with a
Corvette which was pumping out bass-thumping noise.

	Shiho said, "What the hell is this?  Drive Shiho insane night?  What
the fuck is Alexander doing here?"  She put her hand over her mouth.
"Sorry, Bobby."

	"It's okay," I told her.  "You mean, your ex-boyfriend?"

	"Yes," she said, grimacing.

	Alexander Blake turned out to be a big muscular blond, dressed
immaculately in a very nice, expensive suit.  He was pretty good
looking, a little shorter than me.  Some people get blessed with
looks, and he was clearly one of them; for a moment, I felt kind of
depressed looking at him. He had a much shorter, elegantly dressed
brunette next to him, holding his hand.

	I lost out to a lot of guys like him in the past, it always drove me
crazy.  But there's no point in getting worked up over her ex who
wouldn't clean up his own vomit.  Punk.

	I found myself gripping the windowsill and telling myself not to say
anything.  Ignore him.  Move on.

	"Hey, Alexander, you punk!  Hey you, do you know you're dating a man
who won't clean his own vomit?" Shiho shouted out the window down at
them.

	They looked up at us; the woman looked surprised and Alexander
scowled.  "Shut up, you liar!" he shouted at Shiho, then said
something we couldn't hear to the woman.

	They turned and headed out and Shiho shouted, "Hey, Alexander!"

	He turned and looked, and she kissed me firmly; I was surprised but
rather enjoyed it.  I heard him make noises and go, and soon his music
retreated into the distance.

	That was probably a little childish, but I don't care and neither did Shiho.

	"So that was your ex," I said.

	"I know, I was insane," she said.  "But he was so hot."

	He was quite hot.  So far as I can tell.  I wouldn't mind trading
bodies with him, though I've definitely improved my body a lot over
the years.  But so has he, I could tell.

	Quickly, she said, "But you're hotter."

	I know better than that, but it is nice to hear her say it.  "Not
nearly as hot as you," I said, then kissed her one more time.

	She said, "No one is as hot as me, except me."

	She's just a touch vain.  But it's okay.

	We ate dinner, talked business - though I couldn't talk about my
work, unfortunately - then sat on the balcony, eating ice cream.

	"Bobby," she said, spoon stuck in her chocolate.  "Have you ever
gotten so angry you lost control?"

	"You know those clock-radios you threw at the wall to shut off?" I asked her.

	"Yes," she said.

	"Do it enough times hard enough and they break.  I broke one after I
found out Angelica had cheated on me," I said, then stuffed my mouth
with cherry ice cream so I wouldn't have to think about it.

	"You must have been really mad," she said to me.

	"Never been angrier.  While also incredibly hurt.  And I just felt
stupid for not noticing and fucking everything up."  I sighed, taking
another tasty bite of cherry.  Cherry makes everything better.

	Shiho ate more for a little bit, without saying anything.  Then she
stuck her spoon in it again.  "Did..."  She hesitated.

	I could guess.  "I briefly thought about beating up the guy, but he
basically stayed where I couldn't get to him anyway.  Unless I broke
into his house... and I wasn't that angry."

	She studied me silently, looking unhappy.  I tried to figure out why.
 Was she disappointed I didn't beat the guy up?  Or that I thought
about it?  I couldn't read her.

	She finished her ice cream quietly, and I ate, feeling a little
guilty she was feeling unhappy.

	So I changed topics.  "I can be free to go help move out Natasha on
Saturday if you want.  I either have to work all Saturday or all
Sunday."

	"I would be grateful," she said a little glumly.  "Bobby, your
company needs to invent a time machine so I can go back in time and
kick my own ass."

	I laughed.  "I could go for kicking my younger self's ass too."  I
did the math in my head.  "Hmm, when I was a senior in high school,
you would have been a freshman."

	"I was in the last year of junior high; high school and junior high
are both 3 years here.  But yes, I was fifteen when you were
eighteen," Shiho said.  "You're about the same age as Yuuichi.  I
haven't actually dated someone older than me in quite a while."

	Interesting.  Probably because of reminding her of how things went
with Yuuichi.  I want... I need to meet him.  I really can't get a
read on what she thinks of him. I'm not sure why she still associates
with him and his lovers if they hurt her so much; but sometimes, they
seem very important to her.

	Right now, though, it was weirdly casual.

	I wondered idly if we would have liked each other, back then.
Probably I would never have had the courage to try anything, so she
would have had to start it.  Given how fearless she is, she would
probably have stormed my defenses if she had taken an interest.  But
she would have had much better targets than me at that age.

	I brooded in my memories of high school, which I don't think about if
I can help it.  College really was a new life for me, free of many
years of dealing with idiots and finally getting over some of my
problems like acne.

	Angelica...I totally fucked that up.  We'd probably still be married
if I hadn't spent so much time away and left her alone all the time.
I don't...I just was trying so hard to rise in business and do a good
job at work so we could both live well and...I just fucked up.  I let
other things be more important than her, so it's no surprise she
eventually left.  I don't want to make that mistake again.

	It's way too easy to take someone for granted until it's too late.

	We were both brooding; I felt I ought to do something.  "What time do
we pick up Natasha tomorrow?"

	"We have until Saturday night; but probably best to let her pack in
the morning, go get her for lunch, then bring her stuff home in the
afternoon. Then we clean this place so that it SHINES LIKE THE SUN on
Sunday, when Kagami's parents drop her off." Shiho said.

	"I suppose you looked like Natasha in high school."

	"Even prettier, but yes," she said, staring out across the city.

	"This is me," I said, showing her the picture.

	"Wow, you've changed a lot," she said.  "But you look as kind then as
you are now."

	"Mom always told me I was kind and one day, women would appreciate
that more than looks.  I guess she was right," I told her.

	"Is your mother likely to really come to Tokyo?" Shiho asked.

	"No," I said.  "Maybe if we stay together at least a year.  By that
point, she will be going insane because she hasn't met you yet and she
might actually budget the money to come.  Mom is old enough she needs
to be careful with her money, though.  And we're both busy enough we'd
have a hard time spending all day with her and she can't really get
around Japan on her own to sightsee by herself."

	Shiho looked a little nervous.  "What's she like?"

	"Flakey, but incredible with kids," I told her.  "Has a lot of
boyfriends ever since her divorce but it has never reached the point
of remarriage.  She teaches first graders and loves it.  She's tall
and skinny with short brown hair.  I'm sure she'll like you."

	"If you ever meet my parents, they will try to tie us down and get us
married so we can pump out babies for them," Shiho said, clearly
disgruntled.  "I don't talk to them very often."

	"I don't talk to Dad too often - though I'm on better terms with him
than I used to be, now that I understand why he made the mistakes he
did."  I sighed and reached over and took Shiho's hand.  "I'm going to
need your advice on presents for the three birthday ladies."

	"You don't have to buy them anything; I already did," Shiho said.

	"I should," I told her.  "Or I can't guilt them into buying me a
present on my birthday."

	Shiho laughed loudly.  "I like your style, dear.  When is your
birthday, anyway?"

	"Halloween.  I had awesome costume birthday parties," I told her.
"It really ruled."

	"Obon is a lot more serious than Halloween. It's in August; we pray
for the spirits of our ancestors," Shiho told me.  "Some people here
do Halloween, but it's very much just for fun."

	"Most Americans just do it for fun," I told her.

	"A costume birthday party," she said thoughtfully.  "I like it."

	"I suppose we'll have to be careful not to end up naked in front of
the kids," I said to her.

	She laughed, which I had hoped for.  "Your naked is just for me," she
said.  "And vice-versa."

	She studied me again.  "If she is mean to you again, I will make her
regret it."  Her voice was firm.

	"It's okay; kids always have mixed feelings when their parents date
someone," I told her.

	"Don't put up with her crap," Shiho said.  "If you don't push back,
she'll walk on you.  You have to be firm with her, especially since
she hasn't got much discipline. She's not malicious, but she can be
pushy and she has little discretion; just don't put up with her crap.
Kagami should be no trouble at all; she's very polite and obedient.
But Natasha will take a mile if you give an inch."

	I don't know if she'll listen, but Shiho knows her better than me.  I
nodded.  "Okay."

	She got up, came over, and sat down in my lap.  We shifted a bit to
get comfy, and I put my arms around her.  "We could dress up as her
and Gin and act just like them to tease them," I told her.

	She laughed.  "I think that would drive her insane."  She now looked
at me thoughtfully.

	"Thinking about really doing it?"

	"Just wondering what it would have been like if we met in high
school," she said, her eyes half on me and half on some vision of
make-believe.

	"You would probably have been a cheerleader and I was in the band," I
told her.  "So we would have both gone to all the football games."

	"And then made out on the bus on the way home," she said, ruffling my
hair gently and smiling.

	"Assuming we weren't killed for dating," I told her.  "I was pretty
socially incompetent and cheerleaders usually dated the cool kids."
Probably she would have never noticed I existed, really.

	"Hah, like I ever let anyone tell me who to date," she said.

	I imagined her in the cheerleader uniforms of our school.  She would
have looked pretty damn good.  "Now I wish you had been there."

	"Me too," she said.  She looked thoughtful.

	"But you can't change the past, unfortunately."

	She rose.  "I'll be back in a minute."

	I took the ice cream bowls and spoons to the kitchen, then went back
to wait while noises echoed from the bedroom.

	Then she came out in a black leather bustier, a black mini-skirt, and
high black boots.  She'd put her hair back in a long pony-tail and was
wearing a silver cross nestled in her bosom.  A gift from one of the
nuns, I assume.

	She didn't so much move as slink.  "I'd dress you up, but I have
nothing that would fit you." She grinned predatorially.  "We can still
pretend."

	"Are we going back in time together, dear?" I asked, rising and coming to her.

	She smiled.  "One last night we don't need to be discreet or worry if
they catch us."  She put a hand on my shoulder.  "Set the stage,
dear."

	We travelled back in time inside our minds, and to the bedroom in our
bodies... and I can only wish high school had been like that for me.

*******************

Hiroi Rin's Tale:

	There's a party in the woods on Friday and Saturday; the one on the
last Friday before summer break tends to get extra crazy.  I like to
dance, so I went with my new boyfriend, Hirosaka Sora; he's a student
at Tokugawa, a second year high schooler like myself.  He hopes to
eventually become a professional writer, and he plays soccer on their
team.  He's big and strong and maybe not as smart as me, but that's
fine, smart guys tend to stab you in the back.

	As I learned when I foolishly dated that bastard Masakuri Hayao.  I
thought he loved me, but once he'd managed to get me into bed, he
dumped me.  Mind you, he dumped me, then slept with someone else; my
friend Ito Izumi, who is on our golf team, ignored my warnings, slept
with Hayao, then he cheated on her with Shimizu Hisoka, who is a
softball player at Rosewood.  Who he then dumped to chase other women.
 Mostly athletes, who he has a thing for.  (I'm on the tennis team
myself.)  He is very charming until he doesn't need you any more, then
you go in the garbage.

	Thankfully, since I go to Saint Mary's along with Izumi, I don't see
the bastard unless he and I both show up at the woods party.  Which is
annoyingly often.

	He's found a new source of virginity to steal, I've noticed, that
girl Kurauchi Kasumi, who I hear got thrown off the track team for
using steroids.  Or possibly for being a cyborg - though Coach tells
me that he really, really doubts that she's somehow cyborged in a way
that isn't obvious.  We have really great cyber-limbs these days, but
they tend to make noises and be obviously fake.

	However, Masakuri hasn't fucked her yet, so I doubt he cares if she's
a cheater.  Given he'll cheat her.

	I thought it was funny.

	I'd warn her, but they never listen.  They have to learn the hard way
that he is filthy.  I'll never be...

	Ugh.  Because of Hayao, a lot of guys just assume they can fuck me
and move on now.  That I am 'easy'.  So if I don't have sex with them,
they get mad and I have to run for cover and if I do, they move on to
their next victim.  I'm lucky to have found Sora; he really loves me.
And he keeps all the idiots away.

	Which is what will happen to her.  More so because her whole family
is pretty much a pack of sluts, except for her.  I kind of doubt
they're actually committing incest with each other, but it's pretty
clear they'll sleep with anything.  Especially that slut Tate Crystal,
who is sleeping with that freak Nagiki Junko.  And possibly her cousin
Suguira Dan.  But while Suguira-san is pretty good looking, I've seen
him with Hayao's fuck-buddy, Koyabishi Sanae, lately.  Though he may
well be fucking her and his cousin at the same time.

	I never used to say fucking all the time before that bastard Hayao
messed me up.  He ruined me.  If not for Sora...

	Ironically, Izumi-chan and I are both friends with Shimizu Hisoka
now; they both have boyfriends, so the six of us hang out together a
lot.  Shimizu-san is dating Sato Rodney (from Rosewood) and Izumi-chan
is dating Watanabe Frank (from Tokugawa).

	I'm supposed to be dancing, but I was mostly brooding, when Sora
said, "Hey, what's wrong?"

	"Wishing someone would kick Hayao's fucking ass," I said.  "He ought
to spend the summer clutching his nuts."  I used to have a clean
mouth, before that bastard broke me.

	"Amen," Izumi-chan said.  She's slender with long blonde hair.  "He
needs an ass kicking."

	"Damn straight," Shimizu-san said.   She's average of height with
short black hair.

	"Well, I expect any of us three could take him.  The rest can stand
guard in case his two lady minions interfere," Frank said.

	I doubt Sanae could stop any of us, but Ota Mandi is tougher than she
looks, as my ass can attest.  She also is a fast hand with scissors,
which is why I now have short red hair instead of long red hair.

	However, I'm pretty sure any of the guys can take her, even if I
can't.  And probably any two of us girls could take her down if we
have to.

	Kurauichi has a reputation as a coward and crybaby, but her family
might retaliate.  But only if they strike fast; we'll all be gone
tomorrow.

	"Let's do it," I said.  "That bastard needs to learn not to trample
on women's hearts."

	He and Kurauchi were busy dancing together, oblivious to our
existence, smiling so much.  He really fakes sincerity well; he smiled
at me like that, once upon a time.

	Frankly, we're doing her a favor.

	He looked a little tired from too much dancing when she wandered off
to get a drink or something.  He leaned on a tree at the fringe of the
crowd.

	This was the best chance we'd get.  No sign of his fuck-buddies or
their boytoys or Kurauchi's family nearby.  There's so many people
here, anyone could easily lose themselves by choice or accident.  It's
more than usual.

	Time to beat his mangy ass.

	I never used to talk like this, dammit.

	He was lost in thought when Sora-san grabbed him and threw him
against the tree, then began whipping his ass while the rest of us
stood guard and smiled in satisfaction as he howled and grunted and
groaned.  "This is for what you did to Rin-chan, you bastard!," Sora
shouted.

	"Who the hell are...Hiroi-san, is this your boyfriend?" Hayao asked.

	Of course he hasn't paid attention enough to know I moved on to
someone better.  He's utterly self-centered.  "Yes and he's here to
kick your ass for being such a cock."

	I never used to talk like this.  It's his fault.

	"I'm sorry, I screwed up!" Now he noticed everyone else and got a
look of 'oh shit'.  Few things in my entire life have ever given me
more pleasure than seeing him panic.

	"It's too late to apologize now, you bastard!  Do you know how much
trouble you made for me?  You wrecked my reputation and my life!" I
shouted at him.

	We all started shouting at him, and while he tried to defend himself,
he couldn't stop Sora, who is much stronger than him.  Hayao's good
looking but not very strong at all.

	I was getting excited just watching Sora kick Hayao's miserable ass.
I hate that bastard so much.

	"What are you doing?  Stop hitting him!" a woman said angrily.  Not
Kurauchi, I don't think.

	I turned and saw her.  Harada...Harada something or another.  Erica,
that's it.  Kiwara-san hates her for some stupid reason.  She tried to
explain to me one time, but it came out sounding like she thought she
was Esau and Erica was Jacob.  Which makes NO SENSE, given Erica is
Harada-sensei's daughter and Kiwara-san is no relation to Harada-san
whatsoever.  I mean, Jacob and Esau were siblings.  Though,
admittedly, if Jacob had come from nowhere and stolen Esau's
inheritance, it would have been even more of a dick move than it was.
Except Kiwara-san...Look, I don't even care.  Let's just move on.

	For some reason, she was dressed up like that nutjob Ibuki does, the
whole 'I AM VAMPIRE, HEAR ME CRY FOR ATTENTION' routine.  Maybe she's
fucking Ibuki-san now.

	"What's it to you?" Frank asked.  "We're kicking this fool's ass.  He
won't be seducing and abandoning any more women when WE'RE done with
him."

	Harada-san's eyes flickered across us and she looked angry.  Not that
I'm afraid of her.  She's the mousy type.  I could kick her ass, let
alone the guys, even if she is running with the slut army these days.

	"Stop hitting Hayao or I will stop you," she ordered Sora.

	He didn't even waste time on a reply, banging Hayao against the tree again.

	We were starting to get an audience, but no one was going to
interfere.  Though now I was starting to wonder where his friends
were.  If Kurauchi's whole slutty family comes after us, this could
get ugly and I'd like to start my vacation with no injuries.

	Harada-san charged and decked Sora with one punch - though he didn't
stay down and started to get back up, moaning.

	...

	"Get her!" Izumi-chan shouted, and we rushed forwards.  I can't let
her get away with hurting my boyfriend!"

	She hit me in the chest and I fell down.  OWW. Izumi-chan got an
uppercut to the chin and fell down too, though we both staggered to
our feet.

	Hayao slugged Watanabe-san, but then got knocked on his ass and
stomped on the chest as Sato-san and Shimizu-san warily approached
Harada-san.  Sora-san got up and helped kick Hayao's ass, while
Izumi-chan and I tried to circle to flank Harada-san.

	"Give it up, woman, you can't fight all of us," I said to her.

	She pounced on Sora-san and began totally kicking his ass, slamming
him into a tree and yelling in rage.  He screamed more with every
blow.

	Watanabe-san was enough to keep Hayao down, and now we all closed in
to try and pull Harada off Sora-san.

	"Hey, you," a woman said to me, turning me around as I tried to grab
Harada's arm.  Then Ibuki Hotaru slugged me in the gut, and I fell
over, yelping.

	There was a rumble of thunder; suddenly Kurauchi-san came out of the
trees and grabbed Hayao, carrying him off before Watanabe-san could
react.
	
	Izumi-san joined me on the ground again as Ibuki Hotaru knocked her
down; Harada-san, briefly grabbed by Sato-san and Shimizu-san, shook
them loose.

 	Then Suguira Dan, Ota Mandi, and Koyabishi Sanae emerged from the
crowd, looking angry.  "Give it up," Dan ordered us.  "Or we're
pitching in."

	God, Ota Mandi is such a slut.  I didn't realize she was fucking
Suguira-san these days, though.

	More of them were coming now.  Tate; that freak Nagiki Junko; Tokiha;
some girl I didn't know who was hanging on Tokiha; Houseki Gin (a
total manwhore) and his queen of the sluts, Munakata Natasha; and
Hayao and Kurauchi were coming back out our way.

	Shit.

	Tate Crystal stepped up and said, "Erica, you okay?"

	"I'm fine," she said.  "Hayao-san, are you okay?" She sounded worried.

	"I'm fine, Erica-san," he said.

	"I say it's payback time," Ota Mandi said.  I guess she's not busy
spreading her legs for everyone on Earth by this hour, for once.

	"Let's not have a big fight and all get busted," Houseki Gin said,
touching his chest for some reason.

	I got Sora.  "You okay?" I asked him.

	"Fine," he said, putting an arm around me.  He didn't look fine.

	"That boy is just going to dump you, like he dumps all his
girlfriends once they put out for him," I told Kurauchi, knowing it
was futile.

	"Liar!" she said.  "He loves me!"

	"He told me that too," I said to her harshly.  "Just remember, once
you spread your legs for him, he'll dump you like yesterday's
leftovers."

	"LIAR!"  She looked very angry.  Damn, she has it bad for him.

	"Look, I know I screwed up," Hayao said, looking pained.  "I'm sorry,
Hiroi-san.  Shimizu-san.  Ito-san.  I did you all wrong and I'm
sorry."

	"It's too late for sorry," I told him.  "God may forgive you but I
never will.  You're just going to fuck her and dump her, like you did
us.  That's all you are, a shitty little sex machine.  And she's just
fuel for your engine."

	"If you ever sic your boyfriend on him again, any of you, I will make
you both regret it," Kurauchi-san said firmly.

	"Oh please, don't act all superior when you're just going to set your
cousins on us," Shimizu-san said.  "Stop trying to sound tough," she
added angrily.

	"If you touch Erica again, any of you, I will make you regret it
too," Ibuki-san said, her fists clenched, her face twisted with rage.
This didn't actually make her look as scary as she probably hoped.
Damn, she hits hard, though.

	"We all will," Natasha said.  "You hit any of us, you hit all of us -
and we WILL fire back."  She had her arms folded across her stupidly
large breasts.

	I'm surprised those things don't break her in half at the waist.

	We can't beat them all.  Dammit.

	"Come on, let's go dance," I told the others.  "They're not worth our time."

	We stomped off and the crowd went back to dancing; I think they were
disappointed at no floor show.

	Fuckers.

	Dammit.

	Mom's going to wash my mouth out every day AGAIN.

	I never used to be like this.

	I hate that fucker.

	It's all his fault.

****************

Erica's Tale:

	That wasn't a very good performance.  I had a hard time with some
ordinary kids.  I guess some of them are athletes, but still...

	I'm going to have to start working out, as I'm really weak.

	It never mattered before, but it has to matter now.

	I put my head on Hotaru's shoulder and let her hug me tightly.  "You
okay?" she said softly.

	I suck.

	"I'm fine, they didn't hurt me," I told her.  I just couldn't handle
ordinary people in a fist fight even though I'm a Hime.

	I need hand-to-hand training as well as accuracy training.

	Or I need to ride a motorcycle everywhere so I can just run them over.

	At least I didn't get my ass kicked either.

	"Hey, Erica," Hayao said.

	"Hey," I said, keeping my face in Hotaru's shoulder.  I was trembling
with frustration.

	"Thanks," he said.  "For standing up for me."

	"Yeah, that went real well," I said in frustration.

	"Hey, you fought a hell of a lot better than I could; I couldn't even
handle ONE guy," he said, sounding frustrated himself.

	"It was very nice of you, Erica," Kasumi said.

	Easy for her to say; she could have taken out the whole group by herself.

	What a feeble excuse for a Hime I am.

	If I can't handle ordinary people, I'm going to get pasted in the field.

	I suck.

	Hotaru holding me so tightly helped a little.

	"Yeah, thanks, Erica," Mandi said.  "You're a good friend."

	"Good job," Dan said very seriously.  "Don't feel bad about it; you
did the right thing."

	That made me feel a little better, until I remembered he'll be
kissing Sanae tonight and Kasumi will be with Hayao and...

	Hotaru needs a girlfriend who doesn't have her brain trying to fly
away to other places.

	I can forget them when I'm kissing her.

	But I can't kiss her all the time.

	She kissed me softly and I felt a little better, kissing her back.
"Let's dance, Hotaru."

	"You dance well," she told me.

	Not really, but I learn fast.  One nice thing of being a Hime.

	After a while, my worries faded away as I danced with Hotaru.
Everything was all right.  She dances very well, and I could just lose
myself in her.

	And right now, I definitely wanted to lose myself.

**************	

Kasumi's Tale:

	"Are you okay?" I asked him again.  I think he's more hurt than he'll
admit, but men try to act all tough.

	"I'm fine, it was mostly my pride," he said, sighing.  "He wasn't out
to kill me."

	"I should take you and make sure you're okay," I told him.

	"I'd rather dance with you," he told me.

	So we danced; but sometimes he winced, and I fretted endlessly.  He
was showing me the Tango when Taiki-san and Ayumi-sempai showed up.

	"Hey man, you okay?" Taiki asked, sounding worried.

	"I'm fine, but thanks for asking," Hayao said to him.  "I ran into
Yaten, he's looking a lot better, lately."

	"He is," Taiki said, sounding relieved.  "I think we've finally
turned the corner."  He and Hayao did some odd thing with intertwined
pinkies.  "Let's wish."

	They both closed their eyes; and for a moment, I could forget all the
past ugliness with Taiki, and remember the guy Crystal dated before
she threw him in the garbage.

	I still don't understand why she did that.

	But it reminded me of Hayao's bitter exes and I sighed.  Having
Ayumi-sempai glaring at me silently didn't help.

	They released each other's pinkies, and Taiki said, "Anyway, I just
wanted to make sure you're okay."

	Have they...They've both gotten a lot better at sports.  Could they
have pledged themselves to someone?  I could see Ayumi selling herself
for power, but Taiki...I didn't know him well, but he seemed a decent
guy.  On the hand, he's been so cranky and...

	Of course, if she has given herself to one of our enemies, I can kick
her ass without guilt.

	I felt shocked at myself for even thinking that.  I don't want to be
afraid, but I don't want to be a bully who picks fights, either.

	Hayao won't be happy with me if I have to beat up his friend.

	Did Hayao really just sleep with them and move on?  I'd heard that
before, but I'm not big into gossip and...I didn't want to know.

	He loves me.  How could I feel like this if he didn't?  And yet...

	Damn them.

	"I'm fine," Hayao said.  "You go have fun."

	"Thanks."  Taiki took off with the bitch.  Ayumi-sempai.

	Don't think about how easy...aaargh.

	"What's wrong?" Hayao asked.

	"Nothing you did, dear," I told him.  Is he...no.  He won't do that.
I wouldn't be that stupid.

	Would I?

	Aaargh.

	"I...look."  He sighed and pulled me over to find a log to sit on.
"I dated all three of them and I was totally stupid about it."  He
sounded rather guilty.

	I listened quietly, fretting.

	"I dated Hiroi-san for a while, we had sex and then she became hard
to deal with, so I dumped her."  He sighed, staring at the ground.

	"Hard to deal with?" I asked nervously.

	He looked up at me and gestured, as if trying to draw words out of
the air, his face strained.  "She was very paranoid and jealous and
really hated Mandi and Sanae.  I couldn't take her dumping on them.
Plus, I think she was afraid I was sleeping with them whenever she
couldn't see me."  His hands clenched and unclenched and his voice was
heavy with frustration.  Then he looked me in the face.  "I
wouldn't... they're like sisters to me.  The same way you are with Dan
or Shun."

	I nodded, holding his hand.  I've never considered them a threat.

	"Anyway, so then I dated Saga-san for a while, and we broke up.  She
wasn't one of them tonight.  Then I dated Ito-san."  He collapsed in
on himself a little.  "I totally fucked that one up."

	"What happened?" I asked softly.

	"Pretty much Shimizu-san came on to me at a party and I stupidly had
sex with her even though I was dating Ito-san."  He stared harder,
holding my hand tighter.  "I totally screwed that up.  Ito-san dumped
me, rightfully so.  Shimizu-san and I went out for a little while, but
we weren't really compatible, so after a few fights, I dumped her."

	I winced.  I'd heard rumors...but on the other hand, it's pretty
clear he feels guilty about it.  And I knew he wasn't a virgin by a
long shot.  And he really...

	I don't want to live in fear.  "Promise me you won't cheat on me."

	"I'm not going to cheat on you, Kasumi.  I want to be a better person
than I used to be," he told me.  "I could get any girl to sleep with
me, so I often did.  But I want to do better."  His voice was urgent,
almost panicked.  "I tried to apologize to them, but I got clobbered
anyway."

	"I know," I said.  "But they know better than to try that again."  I
took his hand to my lips and kissed it.  "You've been a gentleman with
me and I'm very grateful."

	"Half your family hates me.  I'm surprised Crystal didn't beat me up
too, with them."

	"Crystal isn't like that," I told him.  "And she knows it would hurt
me.  She loves me and I love her, and she won't hurt you.  I won't let
her."  I pulled him into an embrace now.  "I love you."

	"I love you too, Kasumi," he said softly, then kissed me really
tightly.  "I'm willing to wait and not pressure you because I don't
want to rush into things like I always used to."  He sighed.  "Mandi
needed to kick my ass more."

	I have to trust him.  He's come clean with me and he's promised me
and if I can't trust him to keep that promise, we can't date.  And I
love him and I trust him.  He's made mistakes, but our family is all
about making mistakes and learning to forgive each other.  I know that
now.

	I just hope I won't do anything that needs forgiveness on that scale.

*****************

Dan's Tale:

	"Thank you," Sanae said to me as we danced.

	"Huh?" I asked in confusion.

	"For coming to help Hayao," she said to me as I whirled her around.

	"Oh, no problem," I told her.  "Crystal's the one who is pissed at
Hayao.  If he hurts Kasumi, I'll kill him.  But unless that happens,
we're good."

	She sighed.

	Sorry, dear, but while I can tolerate him, I don't have any loyalty
to him like you do.

	"You're not mad at me, are you?" she asked weakly.

	What?  "What?"

	"I mean, Hayao and I..."

	"He's family to you.  I understand that," I told her.  I now swung
her around in a series of spins and quarter turns.  We ended up back
at our starting point and some people applauded us.  She blushed and I
smiled.

	"Can you lift me?" she asked.

	"I really...well, just once," I said, then moved into a fancier move
and lifted her up over my head to 'fly' briefly.  She loves that.  I
kind of wish she could lift me so I could try it.

	That provoked imitators and many people falling down; I fought the
urge to laugh.

***************

Hayao's Tale:

	Kasumi and I danced some more; eventually it grew late and we headed
back, since we both have to move out for the summer tomorrow.

	"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

	I probably am going to have some bruises, but basically I'm okay.
"I'm fine," I told her.

	"That was really mean of them," she said.  She's said this several times.

	"Yes, but they all have reason to hate me," I told her.  "I handled a
lot of my relationships pretty badly, like we talked about," I
continued.  "I'm trying to do better with you."

	"You're doing great," she said, smiling brightly and kissing me, arms
around me.  I kissed her back and fought the urge to see how easily
her blouse comes off.  She just turns me on so much.

	"And you're always a gentleman with me," she said, smiling brightly.
"I'm so lucky."

	"I'm the lucky one," I told her.  I thought about her just zooming in
to sweep me away from the Tokugawa kid, whoever that was.  She moves
so fast.  I bet she'd be incredible in bed.

	Don't rush things, I told myself.

	We reached the door of her dorm and she kissed me again and said,
"Want to come in for a while?"

	"Yes," I said, surprised.  Did she want to...no, don't rush things, I
told myself.

	We reached her room; everyone was gone, probably still partying or
their folks moved them out after finals.  We ended up making out on
the couch, as much as you can while you both remain fully clothed.

	I suddenly realized I had put both my hands up inside her blouse,
stroking her back as I kissed her throat and she fumbled at my torso.
I don't know if she knew and didn't care or somehow hadn't noticed.
"Don't stop," she mumbled.

	I took this as permission and let my hands roam up and down her back.
 There's nothing naughty there, anyway, other than if I undid her bra
strap.

	Which I'd instinctively done, I now realized.  But again, either she
didn't notice or she wanted me to, and I was afraid to actually say
something.  Her hands were inside my shirt now and they felt so good
and I wanted to take my shirt off, but I didn't want to make her feel
I was pushing things too far.

	I'm not sure where that boundary lies.  Kasumi tends to be pretty
loyal to people and I don't want to hurt her or break the loyalty she
has to me.

	Also, I will be killed.  If Erica could wrestle three people at once
on even terms, I don't even want to think about what Crystal would do
to me.

	Probably kill me.  I know she wants to, whatever Kasumi thinks.

	She took one of her hands out of my shirt and took one of mine and
brought it up to her cheek and held it there.  "Don't be afraid," she
said softly.  "I've resolved to live without fear and I don't want you
to be afraid either.  I will always protect you."

	Isn't the guy supposed to be the one saying that?  I think I turned a
little red.  I certainly can't protect her.  That kind of frustrates
me.  "I'm...I'm not afraid," I said in a manner that probably made me
sound terrified.

	The skin of her cheek is so soft, but I can feel just a hint of
roughness on her hands - not hugely so, but what I'm used to from
dating athletes. Where the skin begins to toughen itself from a lot of
time spent holding a bat, or dribbling balls or...holding tonfas.

	She brought our hands down to her lips and kissed several of my
fingers at once; I felt a thrill go through me and my birthmark
tingled intensely.  Then she kissed my fingers one by one, her other
hand roaming around my back and every kiss felt wonderful and my body
was screaming at me and for once in my life, I had no idea what would
happen next, whether I was just going to drop dead or she was going to
take my clothes off or if she would just smile and say, "We'd better
go to bed," or if roses would just erupt up through the floor and
attack us.

	Then she brought our intertwined hands up to my lips and I kissed her
fingers one by one and she closed her eyes and made happy noises and
the tingling in my birthmark died down but it was still tingling and
what did that mean?  That there was something in Kasumi...but we'd
held hands all the way here and I hadn't felt anything special in my
birthmark.

	Was this some kind of...was she about to...

	She pushed me down onto the couch on my back and kneeled over me, her
torso perpendicular to mine.  She ran her hand up and down my chest
with a look of confidence that was so sexy I am surprised I didn't
just come in my pants.  I was getting close to that anyway.

	My birthmark was starting to pulse again and my whole body was
screaming at me with happiness and I was just overwhelmed.  She traced
something on my chest; was it the characters of my name?  I think so.
That made me smile.

	She licked her lips, then said softly, "Take your shirt off and roll
over onto your stomach."  Then she got up and ran out of the room to
the bathroom.  I tried to figure out what exactly was coming next.

	But I rolled over and took my shirt off.  What is she planning?

	She came back and I felt her doing something wet to my back.  Was she
drawing characters on my back?  "You're a better poet than I am, so
you'd better start composing while I do this."

	What?

	She's writing a poem on my back with...  "Is that nail polish?"

	"I couldn't find something else which wouldn't go nasty," she said.
"It was this or jam."

	She hummed a little tone and I composed a quick love poem in my head.
 I do have a knack for poetry.

	"I need to see what kind of temporary tattoo paint Gin uses," she
said as she worked.

	"You did this with Gin?" I said in confusion.

	"No, he and Natasha did it," she said.  "But with something better
than nail polish. I'm going to have to buy more."

	"How will I read it?" I asked.

	"Mirrors," she said.

	She finished her poem, then she had me get up and she took off her
shirt.  I tried to not stare too much but she has nice breasts.  I
don't like them too huge as they tend to sag.  But hers are about the
perfect size.  And will likely stay perfect, like her mother.

	Don't think about her mother.

	She didn't seem embarrassed at all, which was confusing, and she was
studying my topless self, which to my surprise, embarrassed me a
little.  Which is weird as I've had women see me naked lots of times.

	Probably too many.

	She laid down, with her bra still on.  So I worked around it, writing
out my rather simple poem about my love for the goddess of speed who
runs like the wind and carries me in her gentle arms.

	I could do much better, but I had to keep it short, as bottles of
nail polish were not really intended for writing poetry.  But this was
actually kind of cool.

	"Oh, be careful - until it dries, you have to keep your shirt off.
But it should dry quickly," she said.  "If it stains your shirt, I
don't even know how to get it out."

	I could feel my nervous excitement dying down some, but this was
pretty fun.  We finished, then read each other's poem in a mirror.

	She's no literary giant, but I liked hers.  And she smiled brightly.
"Goddess of wind," she said softly, then kissed me.  I forced myself
not to stare at her breasts too much.

	"Oooh, we can watch the rerun of the Diadochi while it dries," she said.

	This meant an hour of being half-naked on the couch, watching ancient
Greeks fight and have sex.  By the end of it, I was ready to explode
and Kasumi was rather worked up.

	"Do you know what happens to Demetrius in the end?" she asked.

	He's the son of Antigonus, and the ancestor of the last kings of
Macedon.  "Wouldn't that be a spoiler?" I asked her.

	"I am just worried about him," she said.  "Things are going downhill
for him and his father," she continued.  "Seleceus really gave them a
mauling in the East."

	"He'll be fine," I told her.  "Knowing too much would make it less exciting."

	"That's true," she said, then kissed me, embracing me tightly.
"I..."  She hesitated.

	I held her tightly and waited.

	"I don't want to disappoint Mother, but I want you so much and I am
such a hypocrite," she said in a tide of words, and then got stiff,
though she still held me.  "I've never felt this way before.  Not so
much.  I want...  I want you.  I don't even know what to do really but
I want you and I am such a phoney.  But I shouldn't.  We shouldn't.
We're so young and I don't want...I want Mother to be proud of me and
I always looked down on them...."  She was speeding up.

	"It's okay," I told her.  I WANT HER SO MUCH.  "We shouldn't do it
until you're ready to do it without feeling any guilt or hesitation.
I don't want to end up hurting you.  I've made that mistake too many
times."

	"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

	"It's okay," I told her.  I kissed her and rose.  "It's late, so I
should get home and get some sleep before we have to move out
tomorrow.  I love you."

	She rose and kissed me.  "I love you too.  I just..."

	"It's okay.  I rushed before and hurt people.  Never again," I told
her.  I am going to go crazy tonight.

	We said our goodbyes and laid our plans for the weekend. I put my
shirt on and went home, feeling strange; took a shower, touched myself
until I got some relief, and then went to bed.

	Definitely my least expected date events ever.

	But you know, the poem tattoo thing is pretty damn cool.

*****************

Kasumi's Tale:

	I had to take a shower and I touched myself until I came and it felt
wonderful and I was smiling so much.  He loves me so much.  SO MUCH.
And I love him and I don't know what to do AT ALL.

	I can't believe I want him so much and I don't know what to do about
it.  I've always....I always laid a big judgement on everyone who was
having sex and told myself I was better than them.

	But now I want him so much.  No wonder they get like...No, I
shouldn't judge Natasha.  Or Crystal.  Or any of the others.  If it
feels like this for them, I'm surprised they don't have more sex.

	It never...I've been attracted to boys before, but none of them made
me feel like this.

	What if...no.  He won't leave me.  He promised and he's a better,
wiser person now who loves me.  I can feel it.   I can feel how he
feels.

	Or I'm deluding myself.

	No, it's real.  It has to be.  He loves me enough not to push me into
sex, when I can't decide what I want.

	Part of me totally wants him.

	And part of me knows I shouldn't.  We're too young, we're not
married, I want Mother to be proud of me, not disappointed.

	Mother had sex by my age.

	Yes, but she and Father were special.

	I want me and Hayao to be special, but he's...

	I have to trust him, but even if he means well...  Love doesn't always work.

	Dammit.

	I put a hand over my mouth for cursing.

	I don't even know what to do if we did do it.  Except very generally.

	I shouldn't do it.

	But isn't that just the fear I told myself I wouldn't have any more?
Is there any reason other than fear not to...with Hayao?

	He loves me.

	Then why am I unable to make up my mind?

	All those women...

	No.  I trust him.  I want him.  But...

	I finally got dry and spent the next two hours arguing with myself in
my bed before I finally fell asleep.

****************

Erica's Tale:

	Hotaru and I eventually went back to my room.  We were sort of
watching TV and I sat in her lap, feeling rather frustrated, while she
made soothing noises at me.

	"What's wrong?" she asked.  She'd asked before and I'd mumbled out of it.

	"Just aggravated I wasn't much help."

	"You wrestled three people at once, dear," she told me.  "And held
your own.  I'd say that wasn't bad.  There was only so much one person
could do."  She stroked my cheek gently.  "I feel bad I wasn't more
help to you."

	"You got me free enough to deal with the rest.  Don't feel bad," I told her.

	She played with my hair a little.  "This is going to be a great
summer.  I think I'm only five minutes from your house."

	"Cool.  So your folks are gone?" I asked.

	"Yes," she said.  "For a good while.  So we'll have lots of privacy."

	"If my folks let me go over; they may want you to come to my house
since your folks are gone," I told her.

	"Well, that will be fun too," she said.

	We ended up watching TV and making out until we got tired and fell
asleep.  I felt better when I woke up.

******************


Crystal's Tale:

	Junko and I discussed having sex and decided to wait until we can
both be in the same place for a while; maybe when she comes to visit
this summer, which her parents have okayed.  We just have to figure
out when.  But we didn't want to start anything and then not be able
to do it again for weeks.

	Also, I've never actually gone that far with a girl.  I mean, I know
what I like, but...I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing
first.

	So we just danced and made out, then kissed goodbye and she went back
to get ready to hop the train on Saturday.  I'm going to miss her a
lot.

	I hope this goes okay; I've never actually had this happen before; I
either dated people who lived near me or we broke up before any major
breaks.

	I woke up to Aunt Akira holding a finger to my throat.  "You are
already dead, niece."

	"..."

	"I'm surprised to find you alone, though," she said, now helping me up.

	"Junko and I said goodbye last night," I told her.  "Are Mom and Dad
and Aunt Mikoto here?"

	"They will probably be here in twenty," she said.  "I came early to
ambush my son; he was alone too to my surprise."

	"Well, Kagami's parents are coming; couldn't risk being caught," I said.

	"He has a little sense," she said, then sighed.  "We will have to be
careful at your birthday party; everyone who knows nothing will be
there."

	"We ought to tell the others," I said.  "What are we going to do if
the Silver Knight recruits them?"

	She grimaced.  "And if Gin blabs to everyone in the universe?  What then?"

	I frowned.  They'd recruited Shinichiro even when he did know, though
everyone thought he wasn't under any evil sway.

	Yet.

	"I guess I am lucky," I said.

	"And so is my son," Aunt Akira said.  "This is why I want a chance to
work with some of them and see if they are trustworthy.  I incline to
think Gin cannot keep his mouth shut, though I hope to change that,
and given how much Hayao and you hate each other, he might be willing
to betray us in order to get rid of you.  Mandi seems to basically
slut around and I don't know if she can keep her mouth shut either.
Sanae seems trustworthy, but it's pretty clear that if she knows,
Hayao and Mandi will know.  I don't really know Hotaru at all."

	Hayao.  Given our parents sold each other out and they're much nicer
than he is, he probably would sell us down the river.  Given he was
planning to use me and break my heart to get revenge on me for hurting
Taiki's feelings.  How can Kasumi date that bastard?

	"See?" Aunt Akira said.

	Ugh.  "This all sucks so much," I said, frustrated.

	"Now you know how we felt," she said, then patted my shoulder.
"Anyway, I'll let you get ready for your parents.  Monday, we begin
INTENSE training."

	I grinned.  "I'm looking forward to that."

	"Me too," she confessed.  "This feels so right.  Like I have been
living for decades with a limb missing so long I forgot I had it."
She smiled more brightly than usual.  "It feels good."

	"Yeah," I told her, casually flipping over her and landing by the
bathroom door.  "See you later, auntie."

	"See you."

***************

Mari's Tale:

	Kagami was ready for us on our arrival with everything packed up and
ready to go; she'd already checked out a trundle cart too.  Excellent.

	"Very good," I told her and she smiled a little.

	"Thank you, mother," she said.  "I have some cookies from
Kurauchi-san if you want one."

	I tried to remember.  "The baker family, right?"

	"Yes, mother," she said.

	My dear husband now arrived; he'd been trying to find somewhere to
park but I guess he must have found one quickly.  "Very good," he
said.  "Hmm, I think we should take these boxes here first," he
continued, going over to the biggest ones.  "Assuming they fit in the
trunk."

	"I used them to haul my things here after the last break so they
should," Kagami said.  "I just took the boxes apart and stored them in
the closet."

	"Wise," he said, clearly pleased.

	The door opened and Munakata-san and Cooper-san both came in;
Munakata-san wore an elegant blue dress which probably was not well
suited for moving heavy objects.  I'd dressed more practically in blue
jeans and a durable green blouse, but now I felt under-dressed.  I
suppose she's used to high society where you could never wear what I'm
wearing.  She probably doesn't even own anything like this.

	Cooper-san was wearing a nice dark blue suit with shiny black shoes;
he looked ready for a board meeting; I could tell Kazuo felt a little
under-dressed as he was wearing jeans and a blue knit shirt.  But
neither of them commented on what we were wearing.  Too polite for
that, thankfully.

	"Since Kagami-san is staying with us, we thought we'd just take
anything of hers which she doesn't need for the next two days with us;
there is no point in her hauling it home and then having to move it to
my place when we could take it right now," Munakata-san said to us.

	Very sensible.  I felt embarrassed I hadn't thought of that.  "A good idea."

	"Thank you," Kazuo said.

	"Oh good, it's all packed," Cooper-san said.  "Natasha is still
getting her things together, so we can take this first.  We rented a
van so we'd have extra space."

	"Oh, well, I..." Kazuo began.

	"Don't worry about it," Cooper-san said.  "It's not a big expense."

	I guess you can afford to be generous when you're rich.  It's hard
for me to imagine not having to be cautious with your money.

	"Thank you," Kazuo said, though I think he was a little embarrassed.

	I should buy Kagami some more nice clothing if she'd going to be
moving in these circles, but we really can't afford anything that
wouldn't just come off as cheap to someone at that level.  That made
me feel guilty; a mother ought to be able to help her daughter with
such things.

	We moved everything down to the van, which took two trips, and had a
nice conversation.  Kagami was, thankfully, in a good mood, so we
didn't have to deal with her being broody; indeed, she seemed livelier
than I am used to, even on a good day.

	As we came up to the dorm, Munakata Natasha was waiting for us,
looking somewhat nervous and wearing a fancy black dress, the one she
wore at the party.  She really is such a jumpy girl and I can't figure
out why.  Her mother isn't mean to her and neither is anyone else, so
far as I can tell.  I don't know what she is worried about.

	But I had a present for her, so this was good.

	I pulled the package out of my purse and handed it to Natasha.  "This
is for your birthday, which I know is coming up soon."

	"I didn't get you anything," she babbled.

	"It's not my birthday any time soon," I told her, patting her
shoulder.  "So you are hardly expected to give me a present."

	Kagami laughed softly and Munakata-san laughed loudly.  Mr. Cooper
laughed softly and said, "That's very nice of you, Mitsu-san."

	"You are doing us a huge favor," Kazuo said.  "It's the least we can do."

	"Thank you," Natasha said, smiling brightly and relaxing.  "I'm ready
to move my things, Mom."

	"Once I return these carts, I'll be ready to go," Kagami said to me.

	We discussed the drop off tomorrow and they took off.  We were about
to go return the carts when a girl with long brown hair who looked
vaguely familiar to me came out.  I couldn't think where I had seen
her, though.  "Kagami, have you...oh, are you Kagami's parents?"  She
looked at us curiously.

	"Kasumi, these are my parents, Mitsu Mari and Mitsu Kazuo.  Mother,
Father, this is my friend, Kurauchi Kasumi," Kagami said.  "Her
parents run a bakery."

	"It's nice to meet you," Kasumi said, shaking our hands and smiling
brightly.  "Kagami is a dear friend of mine."

	I think her mother is the one who made Kagami that very nice dress.
"Tell your mother thank you for making such a nice dress for Kagami."

	"I will," Kasumi said, smiling.

	I noticed that Kagami looked nervous for some reason and I wondered
why.  Understanding that girl's train of thought is so hard sometimes.
 "Kurauchi-san is a wonderful person, and I am very grateful to her,"
Kagami said, her voice wobbling a little, as if she was lying about
something, but yet, I didn't think she was ungrateful or disliked
Kurauchi-san.  Unless...surely, she doesn't have a crush on Kasumi's
mother.

	Kasumi cocked her head slightly at Kagami; she must have noticed the
wobbling too.  "Mother is wonderful.  And Father.  But my brothers are
not so wonderful."  She sounded rueful.  "They're ten."

	"Boys can be a handful," Kazuo said.  "Do you plan to eventually take
over your parents' bakery?"

	"I am not sure," Kasumi said.  "My greatest talent, unfortunately, is
not something you can make a living off once you get very old."

	"What do you mean?"

	"I am a very fast runner, but you can't be an athlete your whole
life," Kasumi said.  "But I am a very good baker.  I'm still
contemplating my options, though.  My brothers don't seem interested
in cooking, though Father has tried to get them to learn."

	I nodded.  "There is not much of a future in athletics in the long term."

	Kasumi winced and I regretted my words.  It's clear she had thought
about that, after all, but who wants to have to know their talent has
an expiration date?  "Still, you need to make up your mind soon, so
you can choose a good college."

	"I know," Kasumi said very seriously.  Good.  "My parents are
encouraging me to try for Osaka University where they went."

	"It's a good school," I told her.  "You'll want to know by the end of
this school year so you can fine-tune your studies for their exams."

	She nodded.

	"I'll help you, whatever you decide," Kagami said very seriously to her.

	"Thank you, Kagami," she said.

	"Are you on birth control?" I asked Kasumi.

	Kazuo put his hand to his face.  "Dear, you can't just ask someone
you just met that."

	"Young girls need to learn to take precautions," I said.

	"I'm a virgin, Mitsu-san," Kasumi said.  "But yes, I'm on the pill.
Whichever one our school supplies."

	"Good," I said.  "Girls your age shouldn't be having sex anyway, but
unfortunately, rape is still a serious problem and people do sometimes
succumb to temptation.  You are a very lovely young lady and I expect
you have many suitors who whisper sweet words to you."  I certainly
did and I wasn't all that good looking.

	Kasumi turned bright red and looked hugely embarrassed.

	"Please don't embarrass Kasumi, mother," Kagami said, embarrassed herself.
	
	"Yes, dear, that's enough," Kazuo said.

	"It's okay," Kasumi said, still a little red.  "Anyway, I see you two
are ready to go.  It's very nice to meet you."  She bowed to us, then
ran off at a good clip.  Very good clip, in fact.

	"Let's go home, then," I said to Kagami and my husband.  "We've got
to get lunch, and then we can relax until time for the family party."
We will be meeting with Mother and my siblings and their children
tonight.  It should be fun.  Mother loves Kagami very much, so she
will be happy to see her.

	"You should tell Mother all about your internship," I told Kagami as
we headed out.

	"I will, Mother," she said, now relaxing.

	I was tempted to ask why she was nervous earlier, but she would just
lie to me and I don't feel like having a fight with her today if I can
help it.  "And study your English hard this summer.  How do you think
you did on the final?"

	"Well, but I'm not sure if it was enough to nudge me across the
line," she said, then sighed.  "Munakata-san has been tutoring me, but
she only started recently, so it will pay off more after this summer
than right now."

	"You didn't have to hide knowing these nice, respectable people from
us, you know," I told her.

	"You seemed to want me to go hide in a box whenever I'm not
studying," she said, sounding frustrated.

	"That's not true," Kazuo said firmly.  "We just want to make sure you
don't trap yourself into anything that could wreck your future."

	"Yes, yes, you'd be happier if I didn't exist since I wrecked your
plans," Kagami said bitterly.

	"That's not true!," I protested.  "I would not be happier if you didn't exist!"

	Kagami made an odd noise like she was trying to eat her own tongue,
then sighed.  "Let's not have a fight."

	"You shouldn't say such mean things to your mother," Kazuo said.
"You should apologize."

	Kagami seemed about to shout, then sank in on herself.  "Sorry,
Mother."  She wasn't very sorry, I was sure, but it would have to do.

	"Apology accepted.  Let's go get lunch."

	The good thing about taking Kagami out is that she'll eat anything
without complaint, not even her usual sullen silent display of
complaint.  The bad thing was that getting anything out of her was
like cross-examining a witness.

	I hate it when she gets like this.  We left her alone once we got
home; best to let her unwind in her room, so she won't be this cranky
at dinner.

	I hope she won't be this cranky at dinner.

***************

Jinnai's Tale:

	I passed Kasumi a box.  "Careful, this is pretty heavy," I said.  I
was pretty close to dropping it on myself.

	She carried it as if it was as light as a feather.  I wondered how
strong she is.  What kind of...is she...  I tried to not think about
it.  She seemed the same as ever, maybe just happier.  Surely she
doesn't have some kind of monster inside her.

	But could I be sure?  Surely that thing wouldn't have wanted inside
me if it didn't think it could pass as me.  What would be the point?
And why ME?

	"Brother, what's wrong?" Kazuya asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

	"Just getting old," I said, then sighed.  Kazuya...if there is
something inside him, it certainly fakes being him well.  Surely he
isn't serving something from another dimension.

	But I can't be sure.  ANYONE could have one of those things...

	How does Misty handle this without cracking up?

	"It happens to all of us," he told me.

	Not to you.

	...

	They all...they're not aging.  It must be the ones who stop aging who
have things in them or have been modified or... it's got to be a sign.

	"Brother?" he asked.  He sounded really worried.

	Akane walked into the wall instead of the door; she was carrying a
bunch of Kasumi's dresses, trying to hold them high so they wouldn't
drag on the floor, but this meant that they kept getting in her face
causing her to crash into things.  Keiichi was trying to guide her
like a seeing eye dog, but he wasn't very good at it.  "Left, Mother,
left!" he said frantically when in fact, he clearly meant right.

	Bump again.

	Katsuhito marched past them with a small box; he looked proud of
himself for helping.

	"I'm fine," I told him.  "Just a lot of stress."

	"You can relax on the couch while we work," he said.

	"No, no, I can help," I told him, taking a box I could handle.  I had
to wonder how Kasumi put this much stuff into her room; where did it
all go when she is living here?  These rooms are not very big.

	Now I walked into the wall.

	Kazuya took the box.  "You had better sit down," he said.  "I'll call
Aoi-san, have her take a look at you."
	
	"I'm not that old," I said to the floor.

	Pretty soon they had me on the couch with Harada Aoi, the nurse,
fussing over me.  She was very cheerful and soon rather worried, since
she couldn't find anything wrong with me.

	Because nothing is wrong but my worries.

	"You just rest a little," she said.  "You're probably just
overwhelmed from the business stress."

	I laid on the couch for a little while; Munakata-san, Cooper-san, and
Munakata Natasha now showed up; they were all dressed remarkably
fancily for a moving day.  Mind you, they looked great.  "Hey, Mr.
Kurauchi, are you okay?" Cooper-san asked.

	"I'm fine, Cooper-san," I told him.  "Just worried about everything."

	I glanced at his girlfriend and he shook his head.  So she doesn't
know.  Probably for the best.

	But she's one of them.  Does she have something inside her?  She
looks so human...they all do, but could they be...

	Now, he definitely has aged.  But then, he only met her recently.  He
may not be suitable or...

	I'm going to end up hiding under my desk for fear my shoes have aliens in them.

	"Man, you don't look good," Natasha said.  "Want me to make you some
tea or something?"

	What if...no, I can't be that paranoid.  "If you can find something
not packed up to make it with."

	"I'll go to the vending machine."  She ran off.

	"I hope you're not sick," Cooper-san said.  "Maybe you should take a
nap once you get home with your folks.  We have a big lunch meeting
tomorrow."

	"I may do that," I told him.  Does he...of course not.  Why would he
suspect anything?

	"Uncle," Kasumi said, startling me.  When had she come back?  "Are you okay?"

	"Just stressed, I guess," I told her.  I hate lying to her.  But no
wonder they've hidden this side of their life so long.  If there
are...

	I can't.  I don't want to believe it.

	Munakata-san studied my neck for some reason.  Why?

	"My boyfriend will be here in just a minute," Kasumi said.  "I'd like
you to meet him."

	"Okay," I said.

	Hayao was a handsome young man with short brown hair and a charming
smile.  He shook my hand and said, "I'm Masakuri Hayao.  My mother
Sayuri went to school with your brother, Kurauchi-san."

	Which is probably why she can date him.  He's probably part of this
too.  How big is it?  Does the government know?

	Surely they must know.  Or at least suspect.

	He blinked, then said, "What's wrong?"

	"Nothing," I told him.  "If I make faces at you, please ignore it.
There's business problems going on with our alliance of businesses and
I can't talk about it."

	"I understand," he said seriously.  "Dad often can't talk about his
cases, though I think he usually talks to Mom in the bedroom."

	"So what do you plan to do with yourself?" I asked him.  Besides
fight aliens or maybe BE an alien...

	"I'm not sure.  Something in the social sciences.  History,
sociology, psychology...something like that."

	"Respectable," I said.

	It suddenly struck me that I probably look rather like Kasumi did
when I came down and she looked so worried and unhappy.  And now she
is smiles all over.  Probably because of him.

	At least I was able to help her by telling her to ask the boy out.

	That made me feel a little better.

	We chatted a little while and then he had to go and I had to go too,
as they'd finished moving everything and it was time to go.

	I pulled Kasumi aside on the way to the van.  "That's the boy, right?
 Who I told you to ask out?"

	She laughed.  "Yes, it is," she said.  "He's wonderful."

	"I can tell; he makes you smile so brightly."

	She smiled even brighter.  "I love him very much."

	"Good.  I hated seeing you so battered down," I told her.  "You
deserve better."

	"I'm not afraid any more," she told me.  She looked me up and down.
"So this business thing is really bad?"

	"I can't talk about it, but it could be pretty bad," I told her.
"Not company wrecking, but bad.  And mostly I can just sit around and
watch because I'm mainly here to offer moral support."

	She grimaced.  "That doesn't sound good."

	Father seems to be feeling very insulted they didn't bother to hack
us.  That's Father for you.

	Of course, it's also possible that in our case, someone quietly sold
us out and handed over data in a not-traceable way.  For that matter,
this hacking might just be intended to divert our attention from
something else.

	"I wish I could help you," Kasumi said, then sighed.

	"I wish that I could help me," I said, and we both laughed ruefully.
"Anyway, I'm sure I'll be fine once I have some rest."

	Rest isn't the problem, but it's better than just exploding from
frustration and fear.

****************

Natasha's Tale:

	We got home and I hauled my boxes in with Bobby helping me.  I did
most of the work, mind you.  Not from Bobby not wanting to help but
because I could carry way more than him.

	More than I should have, I realized too late.

	Mom, of course, let us do all the heavy lifting while she 'managed'.
She and Bobby thought this hilarious for some reason.

	Do not ask me why.

	Once I had my stuff stashed, Mom announced, "And now we CLEAN."

	"You mean, I clean and you sit and give orders," I said, frustrated.
Mom won't lift a finger if she has me to do all the work.

	"That is my right," she said.  "As your mother who pays thousands
upon thousands of yen to send you to Rosewood and feed and clothe you,
while you supply no income whatsoever."  She smiled benevolently at me
and I grimaced.

	She continued, "But because I am the best of all mothers, I proclaim
we will all work.  I am going to vaccum, Bobby will clean the
bathroom, and you get to clean the kitchen."

	Holy shit, Mom's going to do housework.  Though I noticed the condo
was less slobbed out than I expected.

	This meant, however, another battle with the most evil, horrible
thing in all of space and time.

	THE DAMN OVEN.

	I HATE CLEANING IT.

	HATE.

	I bet Boris could clean it out with one firey breath.

	Which would probably take out the whole kitchen, dammit.

	I scrubbed until I was ready to die, then scrubbed some more.  Oven
cleaner fumes make me woozy, even now.

	I was close to done when I realized Bobby was scrubbing the fridge.
"Weren't you going to do the bathrooms?"  We have two.  This place is
way too big for just two of us.  I don't know how Mom pays for it.

	"I'm done," he said.

	"..."

	"Here, I can finish that," he said.

	"You're welcome to it."

	I worked on scrubbing the counter-top until it gleamed.  Which was
easier than I expected.  Mom tends to get slob-tastic if she's not
having guests.  Boyfriends don't always count.  But this wasn't
actually very dirty at all.

	"Would you like to learn to drive?" he asked me.

	"What?" I said.  I must have hallucinated that.

	"You're the right age, right?" he said.

	"I...YES," I said.  "Yes, I am."  Hopefully, this involves Bobby's
car which is 20 times cooler than Mom's car.  Which is EL
CHEAPOMOBILE.

	"We'll have to get you a driver's permit," he said.  "However that
happens here."

	"You can't drive until you're twenty in Japan," Mom shouted from
across the condo.

	How she heard us from her bedroom, I don't know.

	"Oh, that's too bad," he said.

	"Can't we get Aunt Haruka to bribe the police or something?  If Dan
and Erica get to learn motorcycles, I ought to get to learn to drive a
car!"

	"Haruka does not exist to be a cop-bribing ATM," Mom shouted.

	"See, in the US, you can get your license at sixteen," Bobby said.

	DAMMIT.

	"How come Dan and Erica get to drive cycles, then?" I shouted.

	"They're cooler than you," Mom said sarcastically.  "Actually, I have no idea."

	They're probably just defiantly breaking the law.

	DAMMIT.  I WANT TO DRIVE.

	"Hmm, maybe I can figure something out," Bobby said.

	"I could pretend to be your American niece!  Or daughter or
something," I said.  "My English is GREAT."

	He finished in the oven, then got a drink of water.  "Wow, this stuff
really goes to your head."

	"Yeah, I know," I told him, now scrubbing the sink as he wobbled to a
chair.  "Hey, you okay?"

	"Just give me a few seconds," he said, breathing hard and drinking water.

	I got my phone and called Aunt Natsuki.

	"Hi, Natasha," she said.

	"So, how exactly are you legally training Dan and Erica to ride a cycle?"

	"Oh, you only have to be sixteen to drive a moped or a ordinary
motorcycle," Aunt Natsuki said.  "Eighteen for a ordinary car.  Twenty
for medium vehicles.  Twenty one with three years of experience for
heavy vehicles."

	"Bobby wants to teach me to drive."

	"W...oh, you mean Cooper-san," she said.  "Once you turn seventeen,
you can get a provisional license, but you can't get the full license
until you're eighteen, so an adult would have to be with you all the
time."

	"Hah!  I'm seventeen on Tuesday!  YES."

	"It's probably a good idea to learn, but you'd better make sure he is
up on our driving laws so he doesn't teach you anything wrong," Aunt
Natsuki said.

	"I'll tell him we'll be good.  YES."

	She laughed.  "Here, put him on."

	She talked to him a while and I did my happy dance.

	Finally, he hung up and gave me my phone.  "The other girl, is she
seventeen yet?"

	"Not until August.  Late August," I said.

	"Too bad.  Well, I can only really teach one person at a time."

	This is going to rock!
	
	"Less planning crashing Bobby's car, more cleaning," Mom shouted.
"This place has to be immaculate when Kagami's parents arrive
tomorrow.  It has to be clean enough to eat off the floor."

	Ugh.

	Bobby made a face too and I laughed.

	We cleaned relentlessly until everything gleamed, then went out for
dinner so we wouldn't make a mess, I guess.

	Glorious vacation time, I love you.

	I AM LEARNING TO DRIVE!

**************

Bobby's Tale:

	I got a long rambling, incoherent email from Jinnai, so I talked
Shiho into us dropping in on the Kurauchis on the way to dinner.  She
and Natasha visited with the boys and Akane and Kasumi, while I went
upstairs to where Kazuya and Jinnai were hanging out; Jinnai was lying
on the bed, while Kazuya slouched in a chair.

	"Hey," I said.  "You okay, Kurauchi-san?"

	"I'm fine," he said.  "Sorry about the email."

	"My Japanese wasn't good enough to follow it," I told him.

	"Brother, I hate to ask," Jinnai began.

	"It's okay," he said.  "You have to talk shop, I understand.  Dinner
will be ready soon."

	"Okay."

	Kazuya headed out and I sat down in the chair.  "So what's going on?"

	"I just wish I could do something useful," he said.

	"You and me both.  I'm hoping Sato-san can get us some clues what is
behind this," I told him.  "Did you say something about aliens in the
email?"

	"No, no," he said wearily.  "I was tired and groggy and I think I
messed up completely."

	"You really are zonked," I told him.  "Too much heavy lifting?"

	"Yes," he said, staring at the ceiling.  "That girl is staying with
you and Munakata-san, right?"

	"That...you mean Mitsu Kagami?  She's staying with Shiho.  I have my
own place, though I stay over at Shiho's a lot," I told him.

	"What's she like?" he asked.

	"I don't know her well, but she seems studious, hard-working,
disciplined, obedient.  A model child, really."

	He made a noise; I'm not sure what it signified.

	"Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

	"I'm the eldest of three kids," I told him.  "My parents are
divorced.  You have several siblings, right?"

	"We're a large family," he said.  "Do you think we're alone in this universe?"

	Why is he thinking about aliens?

	"I think there must be other sentient creatures, but the size of the
universe means they probably will never get here.  And who knows if
we'd recognize any messages or if any of them would actually reach us
strong enough to be detected.  I like some science-fiction but those
kinds of spaceships are impossible unless we somehow repeal the laws
of physics," I told him.

	"And other universes?"

	"Have no way to drop in and visit.  And can only be speculated to
exist, until one does."

	He studied me and I wondered what he was looking for.  "What's on
your mind, Kurauchi-san?"  He's asking some weird questions.

	"I don't even know how to ask," he said, still studying me as if he
expected the answer to everything to be written on my forehead or
something.

	"Well, I can't stay too long or Shiho and Natasha will starve to
death," I told him.  "So I can't wait too long.  My apologies."

	"How do the spouses of Police Officers and Soldiers and what not deal
with it?" he asked me.

	"Well, even a soldier on the front isn't actually all that likely to
be killed in most wars these days. In World War II, only two percent
of our soldiers were killed, I think.  A lot more  injured.  And
that's in four years of high tech warfare.  So you pray that today
isn't the day they get unlucky, I think.  And you try not to dwell on
it.  But I'm just guessing."  I looked at him curiously.  "Worried
about someone's safety?"

	"Yes," he said, now looking at the ceiling again as he laid on the bed.

	"Well, if there is nothing you can do personally, it's best to just
put it aside and do the things you can do, or you'll go crazy," I told
him.  I wonder what it is. But Japanese people tend to clam up when
you pry, I've learned.

	Okay, lots of Americans do too.

	"You do track, right?" I told him.  "I mean, you run."

	"Yeah."

	"Go running with Kasumi. I bet she'd love to go running with you and
it might clear your mind. I like to drive around when I need to get
thoughts out of my head."

	He nodded.  "That might help.  Thanks.  I shouldn't keep you."

	"It's okay," I said.  "Everyone needs someone to talk to who isn't
part of their problems, right?"

	I shook his hand.  "Hope you feel better soon."

	"Me too," he said.

	I went down and got Natasha and Shiho and we went and ate dinner.

	I hope he's going to be okay.

****************

Jinnai's Tale:

	I eventually got up and went down to dinner.  I felt better once I
had some food in me.  We watched TV for a little while, until my
stomach settled and then I said to Kasumi, "I feel like running.  Why
don't you come with me, Kasumi?"

	She blinked.  "Me?"  She looked at her parents.

	They looked at each other.

	"Come on, this neighborhood is safe, right?"

	Kasumi stood up.  "Sure, uncle.  Let's run!"

	"Kasumi," Kazuya began.

	"It'll be fine, Father," she said, then went and changed into running shorts.

	I borrowed some shorts from Kazuya.  We're much the same height and
build except I have stronger legs, so they fit well.

	I could see clouds building up over the sea in the distance, so we
might not have too long to run.  "I love to run," I told her as we
took off.

	"Me too," she said, smiling.  She ambled alongside me, matching my
pace perfectly.  But I could tell it didn't strain her at all.  I
wonder how fast she can really run.

	"What's bothering you, Uncle?" she asked after we ran in silence for
a while.  "You look like I did when you saw me after the meet."

	I want to tell her the truth, but I'm afraid to.  Why haven't they
told me about all this?  Are they afraid I'll blab?  Or that I'll get
drawn into it and die since I'm just an ordinary guy?  Or maybe they
are monsters... no, I can't believe Kasumi has some monster inside
her.

	But she runs so fast...how can anything human run so fast?  Is she
human?  How can I ever know?

	It all clicked in my mind now.  What Kazuya said about the rats
getting bolder, a few weeks ago, when he was drunk.  Being married to
a cop.  The kids training.  All of it.

	"Kasumi, do you believe in destiny?" I asked her.

	"Yes," she said, staring off down the road.

	We ran past three kids busy playing with a happy dog.  They were
laughing and the dog was barking happily and fetching things for them.
 Just seeing it made me feel less disconnected from reality.

	A little less.

	"Is it a good one?" I asked softly.

	"Yes," she said.  "I think it's a very good one."

	"My parents decided all our destinies before we were born," I said.
"I liked mine, so I never rebelled.  But your Father did.  He
sacrificed a lot so you could be free.  So you could choose your
future instead of having it chosen for you."

	"I have chosen to live without fear or despair," Kasumi said, waving
to a middle aged man who was busy mowing his front lawn.  He waved
back.  "I've spent my whole life holding back and being afraid.  You
saw where that led me."

	I nodded.  "You didn't look very happy at all."

	"None of us can control everything that happens to us.  We just
control how we react.  I got handed some things and I had to give up
some things.  And I regret that," she said sadly.  "I loved track,
Uncle Jinnai.  But I know you ran, so you understand why."

	"I understand," I told her.  "I did it for me, even though Father
didn't approve of it.  He thought I was wasting my time.  But I obeyed
him in everything else and it wasn't a bad thing, so he didn't try to
stop me either.  And I loved it."

	"I can't run track anymore. Not ever again, probably."  Her voice was sad.

	"You could be the greatest track star on Earth," I told her.  "You're
incredible."

	"It wouldn't be fair to them," she said.  "And I can't afford the
attention.  You can't tell anyone how fast I am, Uncle.  I have to
hope they forget."  She sighed, then waved to two kids trying to fix a
bike on the sidewalk.  One of them noticed and waved back.

	"I won't tell anyone," I told her softly.

	 She can't be a monster.  I couldn't have this conversation with
someone who had some inhuman thing inside them.  She's still Kasumi.
She's not the Kasumi I knew. But I can see the child in the woman I
see now.

	"Thank you, Uncle.  I wish...well, we both have our secrets, right?" she said.

	"Yes," I told her.  But I felt better.  I still don't know what's
going on.  I still want to know.  But I think I can trust them.
Hopefully, I can get more out of Misty.  She's kind of a soft touch.

	"How long are you going to be with us?"

	"Until Father stops being worried about the crisis at Shell Solar and
US Robots," I told her.  "Hopefully not too long or I will have to
entirely rely on Kazuya's clothing."

	She laughed.  "Father dresses nicely," she said to me.  "I guess all
that is business secret stuff."

	"Yes," I told her.  "However, my role is basically to lurk and watch
and be useless until I go completely insane, just in case I am needed
for something.  Somehow."

	She grimaced.  "That sounds terrible."  She leaped over a cat which
apparently decided it wanted to ram us.  It missed me.

	"It is," I told her.  "At first, I was watching Cooper-san watch
people do the work, that was even worse."

	Her eyes crossed.  "Yes."

	"So now I just watch him," I told her.  My brain clicked through
several layers of connections of things people had told me.  "The
Mitsu girl is staying with his girlfriend, right?  Your Aunt Shiho?"

	"Yes," she said.  "Mother was disappointed she couldn't stay with us,
but we didn't have room and..."  She frowned now, looking displeased.

	"The Mitsus would respect a professional more than a baker?" I asked.

	"Yes," she said, clearly annoyed by this.  "As if my parents didn't
run their own business, while the Mitsus have both been other people's
servants their whole life."  Then she put a hand over her mouth and
sighed into it.  "I'm trying to be less judgemental, Uncle, but I am
not very good at it."

	"I've been 'other people's servant' my whole life too," I pointed out
and she looked mortified.

	"I didn't mean..."

	"I know," I told her.  "Father is exactly like her parents," I
continued.  "But probably much more bossy.  You are lucky, you know,
to have such a good relationship with your parents.  I love Father,
but he makes me crazy sometimes."

	We ran through a little park now, with swing sets and trees and
flowerbeds and benches and four families busy having picnics.  Kasumi
waved to them all and so did I and most of them waved back, though one
set of parents seemed lost in an arguement over a bicycle chain.

	A bicycle chain?

	"I know I'm lucky," she told me.  I could see her house in the
distance; we'd made a run through the neighborhood and around.

	"Let's go a second lap," I told her and she smiled, clearly thrilled to do so.

	We had a good run and I managed to actually get to sleep that night.
There's still a ton to worry about...but I'm not going to just crumple
up in a ball and die.  I can't say I've gotten to where I can live
without fear, but at least it doesn't rule me as much as it did last
night.

	I just want to know the truth.  Before I have to find out the hard way.

********************

Crystal's Tale:

	Dan, Professor Sasaki, and Aunt Midori joined us for dinner Saturday
night, which was pretty fun.  We had a good time eating; then as we
were all having ice cream, Aunt Midori said, "I've got a new project
I'm going to be working on.  I wanted to tell you, Mai, as it might be
relevant to our Hime affairs.  Or maybe not, as it may or may not have
ever been finished."

	I was curious now.

	"You know Emperor Kotoku?" Aunt Midori asked, looking specifically at ME.

	"He...he..."  Dammit, he actually sounds familiar.  "I've got nothing."

	"He enacted the Taika reforms," Dad said.  "And didn't he found Osaka?"

	I feel like an idiot.

	"He built the Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace in the town of Naniwa,
which now is known as Osaka," Aunt Midori said, with a
well-done-pupil! smile at Dad.  "There's nothing left of it but ruins;
his nephew, Naka no Oe, basically won a power struggle with him and
moved the capital back to Nara, leaving him behind to get sick and
die." She gave us her ain't-this-cool grin. "However, I've found a
text which indicates he was trying to build an occult underground
fortress when he died.  It may have never been finished, or even real,
but I want to see if I can find it; I suspect if it is real, it may be
useful to us and should be denied to our enemies."

	"Can I help?" I asked.  I want to do something productive, not just
be a waitress again this summer.  Do something useful.  Show I am
worthy to have this power.

	I don't feel worthy.

	Aunt Midori seemed to be trying to find some polite way to say 'you
suck at history'.  Which I do.

	It never seemed important before this.

	Dan studied me, then said, "If we do find it and it is full of
Orphans or something, we'll need some muscle," to his mother.

	"Hey, I go places like that all the time," she protested.  "And I AM
the muscle when there is magic."

	"It would certainly be a better use of Crystal's abilities than
whatever part-time job she normally would take," Professor Sasaki
said.  "And she needs to learn more history, anyway."

	"I think it would be good for her," Mom said.

	"Okay, welcome to Team Fortress Research, then," Aunt Midori said.
"Starting Monday, research in the morning, training in the afternoon."

	I felt a little better already.

********************

Kagami's Tale:

	I washed my nice dress so I could wear it tonight; in fact, I did all
the laundry, even though Mother told me I didn't have to.  I think I
scored some points, as she went and bought some of the really nice ice
cream I like during her groceries run and served me some when I was
done with the laundry.

	Father was lurking aimlessly around the house, killing time and
pretending to work on things.  He and Mother usually work Saturdays
for extra money, but they took the day off to help me move out.

	I ended up playing pool with him until it was time for us all to
dress up and go; we had a good time, and Father pretty much kept the
conversation light, about various things going on in the city.  I
think he was worried I'd get cranky before the family thing.

	It's Mother's family we'll be seeing; they live further west, mostly,
but one of my uncles has a big place here in Osaka and he usually
hosts everyone so we can all go somewhere nice.

	I put on my dress with determination like donning a suit of armor. I
tied my pony-tail with a light green ribbon, adjusted my glasses, and
put on just a little makeup - as much as I felt I could manage without
messing it up.  I wish Kasumi was here.  Or Akane-san.  Or Aunt Shiho.
 They'd be able to help me.  If I ask Mother, she'll just lecture me
on it being superficial while she puts her own on.

	Shun should be here, meeting my family.  I shouldn't have to lie and
say that I'm not seeing him.  I hope he doesn't...It must hurt him.
It hurts me to pretend.

	No, I can't cry.  I want to cry.  Why does it have to be like this?
Hayao is a manwhore but Kasumi doesn't have to hide her love for him.
I'm so jealous.

	I'm the only one who has to hide EVERYTHING from my parents.  I hate it.

	I can't even imagine what they'd do if they knew the truth, but
forbidding me to have anything to do with this at all would be the
start. They'd probably send me to my aunt and uncle on Hokkaido to
farm all summer.

	UGH.

	I had to wash my face and do my makeup a second time after I finished crying.

	I can't be weak.  Kasumi doesn't cry like this all the time like I
do.  She's so strong...

	They're all so strong and I don't feel strong.  I pretend to be
strong; I'm good at being bossy and telling people what to do.  But
that isn't real strength.

	Some Hime of Steel I am.

	I went and got Chieko and hugged her.  She's a doll my Grandmother
gave me a long time ago; I think she's made in America, but I don't
know what they call her.  She's a little brown haired girl in blue
overalls and a green shirt, and looks kind of cranky.  Hopefully that
wasn't a hint from Grandmother.

	But hugging her usually makes me feel better and it did this time,
though she was cranky as ever.

	Then I closed my door and summoned my Element and did a kata with it.
 Slowly, step-by-step, I worked my way through it, then I did it nine
more times.

	By the end, I was moving pretty quickly, flowing through it like I
was born to it. I felt a lot better.

	I dismissed it and went down to watch TV until we left.

	My parents had fancied themselves up, and we went to see Mother's family.

	The Silent Garden is a pretty nice place, though it's certainly not
silent.  They give good discounts for big groups if you rent a room;
discounts draw Father, who organizes these meetings, like moths to a
flame.

	But it's very nice; we have a set of tables around a covered rock
garden and we get a big buffet of food.  Mostly rice dishes, but they
have some really good soba and takoyaki.  Father had kushi-katsu; he
really loves pork.

	He also told everyone over and over how good the food at
Suzushiro-san's place was; everyone was stunned at him having eaten
there.  I got a lot of jealous looks over it.

	Which made me smile.

	I know, I'm terrible, I couldn't help it.

	"How did you meet someone like that, Kagami-chan?" my cousin Naoko asked me.

	"Several of her nieces go to school with me," I told her.  "And I met
Fujino-san and Suzushiro-san and Kikukawa-san through them.  I'm
staying with one of her nieces this summer."

	THAT provoked a wave of more jealousy.  I tried not to let it go to
my head, but I couldn't help smiling at that.

	"I'm going to be waitressing again," Naoko said, then sighed.  "So
what kind of research will you be doing?"  She sounded jealous, even
though I know she hates science.  But they don't really have good
internships for people who are good at Japanese literature like she
is.

	"I can't talk about it; I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
But basically, biology and medicine," I told her.

	"Wow.  Big secrets and everything."

	"Well, Mother and Father can't talk about their work too much either,
to keep their business' secrets," I said.  "Good training for the
future."

	"You're learning to lie, big whoop," my cousin Suki said.  Suki's
never liked me; she thinks I have a big head.  But she's a snippy
little brown-haired guttersnipe herself.

	"I admit I have a long way to go to catch up to you," I said.  I
should have just ignored her, but I couldn't...didn't help myself.

	"I am not a liar," she said hotly.

	"You just badmouth people honestly," Naoko said, gesturing with a
piece of nasu in her chopsticks.

	"I...Oh fuck you too, Naoko," Suki said, crankily, before turning to
her beef and squash and rice.  And peppers.  I've never been into
squash.

	I had some spinach, rice, corn, and chicken in a light sauce.  I
think there's some other things in this which I'm not sure what they
are.  It was GREAT.

	"So is it true you had sex with a guy and a girl at the same time?"
my cousin Kioshi asked.  His name may mean 'pure', but he's rather a
pervert.  He's tall and muscular and plays soccer for his school; like
me, he wears glasses, but he has orange eyes.

	"Don't ask questions like that," Naoko said sharply.

	"Like anyone in their right mind would have sex with her," Suki said,
then stuffed her mouth with food.  She loves to eat, but she's very
skinny.

	"Hey, I'll confess, I have had sex with two people;  it was great,"
he said.  "I was just wondering if Kagami had joined the club."

	"I am a virgin," I lied.  Well, I'm sort of a virgin.  I've never had
intercourse which could lead to pregnancy.  Just...other things.  Sexy
things.

	Which I shouldn't think about right now.

	"Uh huh," my cousin Osamu said.  He's a freshman in college.  Mother
didn't quite force him into college at gunpoint, but she pushed his
decision to go pretty hard and then pushed him into studying; his dad
works in a factory and his mother, my Aunt Kotone, works part-time in
a dress shop, so she had to convince them too.  But he's really good
at math and science, so Mother had a shouting match with Aunt Kotone
on his behalf and helped him get into Hiroshima University; he's doing
engineering, and I think he hopes to work for Mazda eventually.
"Everyone knows you got laid and your parents went apeshit over it.
And you stole a car.  Mom nearly fell down the stairs when she heard
about that."

	I stifled the instinct to deny stealing a car and stuffed food in my
mouth.  This calmed me enough for me to then say, "I did not get
'laid'!"

	"You stole a car for them without even getting any?" he said in disbelief.

	"We borrowed it," I said. Then I had to eat more to cover up and
everyone laughed and I wanted to kill myself

	"That's a nice dress you're wearing," Naoko said.  She's the same age
as me and always very kind.

	I smiled.  "Kurauchi-san made it for me."

	Osamu paused, right about to eat some of his pork and rice.
Slathered with enough soy sauce for four people.  "As in, the
electronics company family?"

	"Yes," I said.

	"Damnation, you can't throw a rock at that school without hitting
someone rich," he said.  He sounded jealous and I couldn't help
smiling.

	"Yeah, fucking your way to the top," Suki said sourly, then took a
big chug of coke.  "Damn, this is some really good squash."

	"I am NOT fucking my way to the top!" I shouted.

	Everyone at the adult table turned and looked at me and I wanted to
die.  My Aunt Kotone said something I couldn't understand and looked
cranky.

	"I'd fuck my way to the top without hesitation or guilt if anyone
rich wanted me to," Kioshi said.

	I don't need that kind of support, cousin.

	I heard Father say something about pool tables.  He sounded really excited.

	I smiled a little at that.  "I'll let them know that, Kioshi."

	"Thanks, cousin," he said, laughing.

	Suki snorted and wolfed down more food.

	"So you're staying with some rich woman this summer?" Osamu asked.

	"Yes," I said.  "Munakata Shiho and her daughter Natasha."  I showed
them a picture I'd taken of her with Cooper-san.  "And that's her
boyfriend."

	"Geez, he's like a decade older than her.  And she doesn't look old
enough to have a kid your age," Osamu said.

	"When you're rich, you can afford surgery and stuff," Naoko said,
then sighed.  "I wish I was that pretty."

	"Pretty is overrated," Suki said.  "And you have a boyfriend, so why
do you care?"

	"You have a boyfriend?" Kioshi asked.

	"And you'd better stay away from him!" Naoko said frantically.  "His
name is Susumu and he's very sweet."

	"I'm seeing a girl too," Osamu said.  "Her name is Patty and she's
pretty cool."  He showed us a picture.

	"I got dumped," Suki said curtly.  Which is probably why she's so angry today.

	"I'm currently at the 'not quite sure if this will go full-bore or
not' stage with Shuichi and Michiko," Kiyoshi said.

	"You had sex with them and you don't actually know if you're
serious?" Naoko squealed.

	"We were all drunk and it was weird and Mom busted my ass when she
found out, so none of us are allowed to actually see each other,"
Kiyoshi said.  "Which means, of course, we have to do it anyway."

	"I'm surprised you ever have your ass feeling well enough to sit
down," Suki said, finishing her food and going to get more.

	"So, are you still a virgin, Naoko?" Kiyoshi asked.

	"Yes," she said.

	"And I am," I said.

	Everyone looked at me dubiously, even Naoko.

	I cringed a little.  "Mother would kill me if I got pregnant."

	"Your mother is the Queen of Birth Control," Kiyoshi said.  "She gave
me a two hour lecture on why I shouldn't have sex, then gave me some
condoms anyway.  And made Dad show me how to use them.  Which I
already knew, of course.  I think being related to Aunt Mari, I was
probably born knowing."

	"She does kind of harp on it," Osamu said.  "But I owe her a lot."

	Suki made cranky noises into her new plate of food, soba noodles with
broccoli and carp.

	I don't know how she can eat so much.

	"So Kurauchi-san made you that dress?" Naoko asked me.

	I smiled.  Everyone gave me an odd look for some reason, except
Naoko.  "Yes, she's a brilliant seamstress and cook."

	"Really?" Suki said.  "You'd expect rich people to have servants."

	"She likes to cook for her family because it's a way to show her love
for them," I said, my voice wobbling just a touch.

	I couldn't help glance over.  Uncle Sadao (Kotone's husband, Osamu's
father) was busy pontificating about something, while Mother and
Father looked dubious and the rest of my aunts and uncles looked rapt
with attention.  Grandmother and Grandfather were focused on their
food.  I think Grandfather grew up in a house where if you didn't eat
fast, everyone else ate up the food and you were out of luck.

	I wish my parents loved me.  My aunts and uncles love their kids.
Why did I have to end up the unwanted one?

	"I wouldn't cook if I was rich," Kiyoshi said.

	"You don't cook now," Suki pointed out with her chopsticks.

	"Yes, but I will have to once I graduate from high school," he said.
"I can't just beg Aunt Mari for money like you did, Osamu."

	"I didn't beg her, she offered to help," he said.  "But I got the
scholarship money."

	I didn't know about that.  "She offered to help you?" I said.

	"She's pretty determined we'll all go to college," Kiyoshi said.
"Mom and Dad want me to go, but they're not very well off.  I got my
grades up some, though; finally got that C in English, and I got Bs in
Biology and History."

	"If you were my brother, my Mother would beat you to death for those
grades being so low," I said.

	"If I was your brother, your Mother would have sold me into slavery
in Africa a long time ago," he said.  "Your parents have stupidly high
standards."

	"Mom's pretty sick of your parents trying to tell her how to raise
me," Suki said.  "So am I."  Munch, munch.

	Father was pontificating now at everyone, and I sighed.

	"She's my aunt and I love her but she has a corncob up her ass," Suki
said flatly.

	I sighed and worked on my food, and she just stared angrily at me.
Normally I would deny this, but I'm pretty frustrated.

	Suki tried to say something but it didn't quite work.

	"Well, you wouldn't have gotten in trouble if you had more sense than
to steal your folks' car," Naoko said hesitantly.

	"So did you actually find anything out?" Osamu asked curiously.

	I could hear Naoko's mother, Miho, laughing at my parents - who
looked somewhat frustrated - and I heard something about 'your bad
girl', and winced.  The parental table erupted into a lot of arguing
and shouting.

	"About what?" I asked, trying to figure out the conversation over there.

	"Man, they're going at it again," Kiyoshi said, shaking his head.

	"The Tallin affair.  With the giant mech and the place blowing up
twice and everything.  You all went because you were curious, right?"
Osamu said.

	Everyone's eyes were on me now.

	There was a burst of laughter and something about Anpanman at the
kiddie table; my younger cousins have their own table with Aunt Aiko
trying to run herd on them.

	I pity her.  They're not bad kids, but all little kids are pretty wild.

	"I heard the cops found the word 'Kiyohime' scrawled in blood after
the explosion," Suki said.

	Everyone looked at each other a little nervously.

	We got stopped before we got in," I said.  That was true.  "It was
likely corporate sabotage, and I suspect the giant mech didn't so much
'vanish' as 'explode'."  That was more debatable.

	"That makes sense," Osamu said.  "There are a ton of websites who
have analyzed the footage of it to death but they can't figure out who
made it or anything."

	"I think it's from another dimension," Kiyoshi said.

	"Don't be stupid; there are no other dimensions, and they wouldn't be
able to function in ours if they got here," Suki snapped.

	"Techically speaking, you can't be from a dimension," Osamu said.
"Length is a dimension.  The word 'universe' is better."

	"You know what I meant!"

	Grandfather was trying to calm things at the parent table.  By yelling louder.

	"I tried looking at their published research, but it was too vague to
tell if they had any clue what they were doing," Osamu said.

	"It sounds insanely dangerous to me," Naoko said.

	"Surely there are sexy people in other dimensions too," Kiyoshi said.

	"Anyway, I don't actually know much more than any of you," I told her.

	Naoko's mother was ranting about purity.

	Grandmother came over and got me and took me with her to the
bathroom.  "You look wonderful in that dress," she told me.  "Mari
tells me that the mother of a friend of yours made it for you."

	"Was everyone discussing my dress?" I said weakly.

	"Only briefly, but yes," she said.

	"Kasumi has a lot of dresses like this that Kurauchi-san made for
her," I said softly.

	"I made your mother a dress like that as a wedding present, and some
less fancy ones when she was your age," Grandmother told me, taking
the sleeve between her fingers and studying it.  Her wrinkled face
creased in a gentle smile.  "I am surprised someone so wealthy can sew
this well."

	"Kasumi's a good seamstress too," I said softly.

	Grandmother studied me carefully, then went back to the dress.  "I
would have killed for a dress like this at your age."

	"Kurauchi-san is very kind."

	She studied me up and down with those piercing eyes of hers.  You
can't lie to Grandmother.  Not that I usually try, but Mother got
caught by her all the time.  My Aunts and Uncles say Mother was good
at avoiding saying anything before she got in trouble, so she couldn't
be caught lying.

	"Is she the one you are staying with?"

	"I'm staying with Munakata Shiho, her sister," I told Grandmother.
"They are kin to Suzushiro Haruka, who I will be working for this
summer.  Well, for one of her companies.  Munakata-san is going to
help me with my English."

	"Mari seems quite taken with her," Grandmother said.

	She's digging for something.  But what?

	I looked at both of us in the bathroom mirror.  "They have some
shared life experiences."

	Grandmother studied me in the mirror; it was unsettling, though her
smile was kind.  "Like ending up with children they didn't plan?" she
said softly.

	I ordered myself not to cry.  I gripped the sink and forced myself
calm.  "Yes.  Munakata-san's college boyfriend got her pregnant and
abandoned her."

	Grandmother's eyes widened, and then she frowned deeply.  But her
anger wasn't at me.  "How wretched."

	"But she raised Natasha, finished college, and supports herself
without needing anyone's help," I said to Grandmother.  "She is strong
and beautiful and kind and she really impresses me."

	"She didn't look old enough to have a teenage daughter in the picture
Mari showed me," Grandmother said thoughtfully.

	"She had her child at nineteen," I told her.  "Mother was twenty-nine
when she had me."

	"And no children since then."

	"No," I said.

	"A pity.  Having lots of children will drive you insane at the time;
but now, it is a source of joy to me. Even when we have stupid family
fights," she said.

	We always have some kind of stupid family fight whenever we all get
together.  I've had so many stupid family fights with my parents.
Because they just tolerate me instead of loving me.

	Like Kasumi's parents love her.  They love her so much and I'm so jealous.

	I tried to force myself to cheer up.

	"Kagami, people who love each other have fights too," Grandmother
said, patting my shoulder.  "Sometimes the biggest fights."

	Kasumi's parents are probably hugging her right this minute.

	If I was strong enough to bend metal, I would be destroying the sink.
Thankfully, I am not that strong.

	"I know, your mother is pig-stubborn," Grandmother said.  "And so am
I, so we fought constantly, every day.  But I loved her anyway.  Even
when we fought."  She put a hand on my shoulder.  "Mari could do with
some loosening up, but she really does love you.  Which I knew would
happen."

	I don't know how Grandmother convinced her to keep me but she did.  I
owe everything to Grandmother because she was the one person in the
universe who could change Mother's mind.  Somehow.

	"Grandmother...," I said, agonized.  "Thank you."

	"For what?"

	"I'm here because of you," I said.  "I mean, you made me exist."

	"Mari and Kazuo made you exist, and they love you, dear, even if
neither of them is much good at showing it," she said.  "She didn't
want you then, but she loves you now.  In her own pig-headed,
stubborn, can't-say-it way.  You know how she is."  Her voice was
gentle, but her eyes were still studying me.  What was she looking
for?  "A mother cannot help but love her child."

	I wish that was true, but I know better.

	I've seen what it's like when people really love their children.

	I looked down at the sink.  Grandmother made a little noise.  "Just
like your mother," she said.

	I looked up in the mirror.  "What?"

	"You two wouldn't butt heads so much if you weren't so much like each
other," Grandmother said, then sighed.  "So, what is your boyfriend
like?"

	"I don't have a boyfriend," I said firmly.  LYING.

	"I can tell you do," she said softly, smiling at me.  But her eyes
were still intent.

	"Mother has forbidden me to date anyone," I said firmly, but my voice
shook a little.  "Until I am 3000 years old."

	"Yes, that worked very well for me too when I tried to keep her from
running around with loose boys," Grandmother said, chuckling.  "I
can't imagine you carrying on like she did, but I can just look at you
and I know you're in love with someone."

	"..."

	"When you live as long as me, you learn to read people if you pay
attention.  Was it the Taki boy?"

	"Tokiha," I told the sink.  "Tokiha Shun."  My hands trembled.  "Mother..."

	"Isn't going to hear anything from me," Grandmother said.  She had a
naughty smile and the searching look in her eyes was replaced by a
wicked gleam that reminded me oddly of Aunt Shiho.  "She never obeyed
my rules; I'm not going to enforce hers, especially when they're
stupid and futile."

	I sagged.  "He loves me so much," I told her.

	"You'd best be careful; love won't stop pregnancy, and I agree with
your mother that you're way too young for that."

	"We haven't done anything that can make me pregnant," I told her.

	"Just naughty things that can't," she said, with that wicked smile.

	I have never seen her like this and it was rather boggling.  I'm used
to her being more...grandmotherly.  "..."

	"Mari seems quite convinced that if she can't see you, you're
probably in bed with him," Grandmother said.  She sounded amused.

	"He really loves me, Grandmother, and I love him.  A lot," I told
her.  I showed her a picture of him on my phone.

	"Hmm, kind of girly.  I liked my men rather more masculine but to
each their own," she said.  "Is he a scientist like you?"

	"He's good at acting and literature," I told her.  "And he's very
nimble and funny and charming and loves me very much."

	"First loves often don't last, you know," she said softly.

	"Ours will," I told her, then looked at him and said softly, "He's
loved other girls before me."

	"Not surprising with looks like that.  Suki and Naoko would both
drool all over him, though Naoko would pretend she wasn't,"
Grandmother said.  "Just be careful, Kagami.  Lots of boys seem nice
until they're put to the test.  As Munakata-san found out."

	"I know Shun will never abandon me," I said firmly.  "Not that I'm
going to get pregnant."
	
	"I hope you're right," she said softly.  "Just be careful."

	"I will," I told her.

	"I never thought I'd see a daughter of mine hanging out with the
wealthy," she said.  "I thought Rosewood was far too expensive, but I
see Mari  chose wisely, sending you there.  She wanted the best for
you."

	"I'm glad she did," I told her.

	"We'd best go back before they think I got stuck again."

	"..."

	She sighed.  "Don't ever get old, Kagami.  I was sick and I sat down
and couldn't get up for a while." She shook her head and I went out
with her to go eat.

******************

Mari's Tale:

	I don't know what Mother said to Kagami in the bathroom, but I wish
she could bottle it, as Kagami was all smiles when she came out.
Which is all too rare.

	Mother brought Kagami over to the adults table; thankfully, the
face-biting had died down by now and we were all trying to be polite.
Sometimes I think we're lucky we didn't all kill each other as
children.

	Kagami said hello to all her aunts and uncles.  Miho said, "I hope
you don't get in more trouble this summer.  My Naoko never gets in
trouble."

	For a moment, I thought Kagami was just going to open up with all
cannon like she does on me when she is at her most petulant.  I could
feel myself tensing for the inevitable riot.

	She closed her eyes for a moment, and my sister Kotone said, "Miho,
that's enough."

	Miho and her daughter Naoko get on like... something that gets on
very well.  I'm always a little jealous of that.  They're not much
like each other; Naoko is sweet and well-behaved and not very good in
school.  Miho is smart as a whip, probably smarter than me, but too
lazy for her own good, so she never got anywhere and now she's
frustrated by that.  And she's got a sharp tongue.  And she's been
gloating for weeks now over Kagami getting in trouble.

	As it means there's something Naoko actually outdoes Kagami in.

	And Miho, of course, must rub this in.

	"She's been punished.  It's enough," Kazuo said.  "Let it be, Miho."

	"I had to listen to you two brag endlessly about how Kagami runs on
water and could climb Mount Fuji with her tongue!  So I feel I am
entitled to a little bragging!" Miho said irritably.

	Kagami opened her eyes and looked surprised.

	We have tended to brag about her accomplishments.  It's only right to
be proud of what you've done; if we did it in front of her, though,
she'd get a swelled head and rest on her laurels.  Which would mean no
more accomplishments.

	"That is enough," Father said sharply.  "Kagami, we're very proud of
you and I hope you will do well at your job this summer.  Everyone,
Kazuo and I are not paying for this room so we can bite each other's
faces off."

	Kagami seemed to say something to herself; I wondered what.  Then I
said, "We're very proud of you, Kagami."

	"Hmph, if Naoko had done something like that, you'd ride me until the
Sun went out," Miho said.

	Her husband, Seiichi, who doesn't talk much, grunted his agreement.

	Kazuo took a deep breath, then let it out.

	Mother said to Kagami, "You'd best finish eating before your cousins
take everything."

	"Thank you, Grandmother," she said to Mother, then smiled weakly at
Kazuo and I and went to go eat.

	Then we had another of the usual family fights.

****************
	
	"We will head to Munakata-san's after lunch," I told Kagami in the car home.

	Kazuo yawned as he drove.  "I ate too much, but you can't waste a
good buffet like that."

	"Okay," Kagami said, then yawned herself.  "I probably ate too much too."

	"You have to be on your best behavior.  Natasha is a very
well-behaved, shy and gentle girl and you will..."

	Kagami made an odd noise.

	"Don't just make noises at me," I told her.  "If you disagree, say it."

	"I will be on my best behavior, Mother," she said.

	I tried to find the lie or the bomb or the trick; there had to be one
after that noise.  I know her noises.  But I couldn't find it.  "Obey
her like you do us.  Better than you do us."

	"I will," she said very seriously.

	"I know you're used to being an only child, but this will be like
being a sister.  Which is very nice," I told her.

	"Without the troubles I had with mine either," Kazuo said to her.

	There was a distant rumble of thunder.  This has been a rainy few days.

	"I just watched you fight with your sisters for three hours," Kagami
said to the back of my seat.

	I sighed.  "Love and hate aren't opposites, they're siblings.  It's
apathy which is the opposite.  You'll learn that in time."

	She didn't say anything, so Kazuo said, "Is she a good cook?"
	
	"I think I will be doing a lot of the cooking," Kagami said.
"Munakata-san is usually too busy, and sometimes has to translate for
dinners and the like."

	"And eating out all the time costs too much," Kazuo said.  "Nice as
it is.  Do your best for her, Kagami."

	"I will."

	I instructed her on everything she'll need to do on the way home; I
couldn't tell if she was listening or not, so I will probably need to
do it on the way there too.

	Naoko will never amount to anything, but sometimes I envy Miho for
having a daughter who actually listens to her.

	Not that Miho is usually saying anything worth listening to half the time.

********************

	The next day, we took Kagami to Munakata-san's home.  Despite the
loud rap-music playing car pulling out of the parking lot as we
arrived, I thought Munakata-san's condo looked quite nice.  We went in
and went upstairs, where Munakata-san had prepared lunch for us; she'd
called and let us know in advance, thankfully.

	It looked WONDERFUL.  She may not cook often, but she's clearly a
good cook, and Kazuo was happy.  He loves shabu-shabu; I can never get
the meat to slice thinly enough.  And paying for it pre-sliced costs
extra and we never have enough money as it is.

	So if I make hotpot, I make something like sukiyaki or udon-tsuki
(beef only, no fish due to Kazuo's allergies, of course).

	The one odd thing was the big fluffy rolls next to it all; not
exactly a traditional component of shabu-shabu.  Mind you, they
smelled wonderful.

	"Bobby made the rolls," Munakata-san said.  "They're very good."

	"I got the recipe from Grandmother," he said.  "She grew up in the
countryside."

	They were quite good with butter and jam, I soon found out.

	We need to stop having people give us free food or we may eat
ourselves to death.

	Kagami and Natasha sat at one end of the table and talked about their
living arrangements, while we four adults chattered at the other end.
Munakata-san is really an engaging speaker; Cooper-san is a very
friendly man.  And his Japanese is remarkably good for a foreigner,
though sometimes he asks us to repeat things.

	"Unfortunately, I have to spend the rest of today in meetings.  We're
having a crisis at work," he said.  "I will likely have to roll some
heads, but I can't really talk about it."

	"I understand," I told him.  Kazuo and I can't talk about our work
too much either.  Trade secrets and all.  "I am really grateful you
will be watching over Kagami.  She's not a bad girl, but she's a
little too easily tempted by bad kids."

	Kagami either didn't hear me or hid her reaction.  I can't tell.  She
and Natasha seemed to be trying to plan some sort of schedule.

	"Well, you've seen the company Natasha and I keep," Munakata-san said.

	I know.  I am jealous.  But this is why I wanted Kagami to go to a
good school.  Networking is important, and the friends she makes here
and in college will help her to go further than we could, coming up
from nothing.

	"I am very impressed and your references were complimentary," Kazuo
said.  "I know Kagami is in good hands."

	Munakata-san smiled very brightly.  "You flatter me."

	"We will do our best for her," Cooper-san said.  "I'm kind of jealous
myself, that she has such a good summer job.  I had to flip burgers at
her age."

	"Me too," Kazuo said.

	This, of course, triggered a competitive 'who had the worst job as a
teenager contest' between them, while Munakata-san and I ate and
watched with amusement.

	Kazuo won; he always wins.  How many people these days have had to
muck out a pig pen?

	Not many, I hope.

	We stayed a while and chatted with them after dinner; Kagami and
Natasha went off to get her things unpacked.  I smiled to see them go.
 "They get on well."

	"They are good friends," Munakata-san said.  "Kagami's a good girl
and so is Natasha.  Unlike those trashpits, who I promise you won't
darken my door."

	She seemed to relish that.  So did I.

	"Good," I told her.  "Just be patient with Kagami.  Sometimes you
have to tell her to do something several times before she does it and
she sometimes tries to bluff her way through with silence."

	I gave her more tips on handling Kagami, and then we talked about
local politics for a while.  Cooper-san had to excuse himself to go,
so we said our goodbyes.

	"Thank you again," I told her.

	"You're welcome," she told me.  I got the roll recipe from
Cooper-san; I noticed he'd really liked them.  And they seemed simple
to make.

	We headed out; I felt confident Kagami was in good hands.

*********************

Shiho's Tale:

	I felt a little guilty at pulling such a snow job on Mitsu-san.
She's a control freak, but I think she really does love her daughter
more than Kagami realizes.  And she's fun to have a conversation with.

	And I think she respects me a lot and I can never get too much of that.

	If she knew Mai cooked that meal and had Akane deliver it to me,
she'd blow her top.

	I went to check on the kids; they were mostly done unpacking and were
sitting on the bed, discussing whose boyfriend was more awesome.

	"Can Shun paint half as well as Gin?  No, therefore I win," Natasha said.

	"Is Gin as sexy as Bobby and as good a cook? Is he the head of a
major international business project?  No?  Then I win," I said.

	Natasha laughed.  "It's not that easy to win this contest, Mom."

	"I need to talk to Kagami," I told her.  "So, please clear out for a
little while."

	"Okay," she said and ambled out.

	I sat down next to Kagami.  "Tomorrow, we begin Project Infinite English."

	She cringed a little, and I said, "It's for your own good.  I made
your mother several promises and I will keep them.  No nookie with
Shun in my place for you, and you will learn all the English you can
stand."

	"I will do my best, Aunt Shiho," she said solemnly.

	"You and Natasha will do the cooking, though I expect Bobby will want
to do some cooking too," I told her.

	"Of course, Aunt Shiho," she said.

	"Every Saturday, we'll clean the place up," I continued.  "That's everyone."

	She nodded.

	"Bed by ten or so during the week, since you will be working in the morning."

	"Of course, Aunt Shiho," she said seriously.

	"This may involve both of us beating Natasha with a hammer," I continued.

	She laughed loudly.  "That's funny."

	I wish I was joking.  She'd stay up until she collapsed if I let her.

	"Weekends, I don't care, stay up all you want.  But during the week,
you and I will both have to get up in the morning," I said.  "Either I
or Bobby will drive you to work, depending on if he's here and where I
am working."

	"Of course," she said.
	
	"Natasha is going to be working for Akane," I told her.  "I believe
you'll be doing lab work in the mornings and training with Akira in
the afternoons.  I'll likely come join you all once I get off work."

	She nodded.  "That will be fun."

	"For you. I'm not prone to exercise and I don't have my powers back."
 And I don't remember being all that athletic when I did have them.

	"That'll be soon," she said confidently.  "I look forward to fighting
by your side, Aunt Shiho."

	I wish I trusted myself that much.  "Thank you."

	"I..."  She seemed to want to ask for something.

	"Go ahead," I said.

	"Can I have a hug?" she asked weakly.

	"Always," I said and did my best Mai impersonation, holding her very
tightly. I was afraid she would cry, but she just embraced me tightly
in silence for a while.

	Finally, she said, "Thank you."  She sighed.  "We had a big family
dinner and all my aunts and uncles had a big fight.  In part over me.
I'm glad to be here with a family that loves each other."

	She really has some strong delusions.  "We fight sometimes too, you
know.  We nearly killed each other.  I...hurt the person I most loved.
 And tried to kill Mai."  The pain is just a dull ache now, but
thinking about it makes me regret...well, lots of things.

	"Yes, but you're not like that now," she said.

	I wish I could be as confident of that.

	"You're strong and kind and loving," she said.  "And so beautiful."

	"If you put people on a pedestal, they'll only disappoint you," I
told her.  "Nevertheless, I will treat you well and I am glad to have
you here." I paused, then finished softly, "And there is a lot of love
in this family."

	She smiled and tried to rest her head on my shoulder, but it didn't
work because she's too tall.  She's at least a decimeter taller than I
am.  I shifted around so she could lean down a little and put her head
there.  "I'm so happy," she said softly.  "To be here."

	She sounded rather like she might cry.  Some people are like that, I
guess.  "You need to obey Bobby too, if he tells you to do something,
unless I said something else.  But he's a good man and I trust him."

	"If you trust him, I will," she said.

	"Just treat him like an uncle."

	"I will," she said.  "Will we be able to hide all the HIME affairs
with him here, though?"

	"We have to try, much as I would rather tell him," I told her.  At
least some days.  Others, I'm terrified he'll run if he knows.  "I
just hope he won't leave when he finds out the truth."

	"I'm sure he won't run away," she said firmly.

	I wish I could be so sure.

	"Anyway, I'm sure Natasha has a pile of lies to put in your head, and
I'm done," I told her.  "Unless you have any questions?"

	"Can we sing?" she said softly.

	"If you want to," I told her.

	"I mean, the three of us.  Together," she said softly.

	...

	"Umm, okay."

	Which is how we ended up tuning the TV to a music channel and singing
along; I don't have a karaoke machine, unlike Mai.  But Kagami sings
beautifully - even better than Natasha and I, and we're pretty damn
good.  After a while, Natasha and I got our flutes and just let Kagami
sing; her voice is beautiful.

	Then she started crying.  She seems to be good at that.  But she was
smiling while she cried.  Also good at that.

	Then she and Natasha went to hang out; I puttered around, hoping
everything was okay with Bobby.

****************
	
Bobby's Tale:

	Jinnai seemed to be less freaked out during Sunday's meetings,
thankfully.  I convinced Joe not to bother suing the Wilkerson's; we'd
end up looking like giant corporate bullies and they probably didn't
even have enough property for us to make back the cost of the suit.
It wouldn't accomplish anything useful and it would waste resources
better spent on upgraded security.

	Some of my IT people, on the other hand, may get fired and replaced.
It depends on the final report, so we know why our security failed -
and if there was anything we could have done about it beforehand.
Heads usually have to roll when something this bad happens; for that
matter, my own head may roll, though I think I will weather this.

	Jinnai went off with Misty afterwards; I wonder if they have a thing
going.  I like her, but she's too young for someone my age or
Jinnai's.  Not in the 'squick' level of too young, but he could be her
father.

	On the other hand, the Suguiras are like that, but...

	I was about to leave when Sato took Joe and I aside.  "I found a man
who may have some information for you.  He's pricy but he usually is
pretty accurate.  His name is Yamada and he is willing to meet with
you tonight."

	"Sounds fine to me," Joe said.

	I nodded.  "I trust your judgement, Sato-san."

	Sato looked pleased.

	The meeting was in a stand-up noodle shop.  I was somewhat surprised
that he'd choose such a public place.  Also that it was open at 10 PM.

	Yamada was an old man, who life had clearly not treated too kindly.
But he looked like the sort of man who knew things.

	"8Chan is a Japanese group which coordinates hackers across the world
for corporate espionage," Yamada told us.  "They recieved a large
amount of money from a Swiss bank account to pull off a job in Denver
in the last few days.  I can't prove it was your job, but it would be
a tremendous coincidence if it was not your break-in."

	The use of Denver makes me suspect someone was trying to taunt me;
why bother hacking from someone's house in Denver when there are tons
of unsecured wireless networks in Japan?  But, on the other hand, that
could be a bluff."

	"But you don't know who paid for it."

	He gave us a piece of paper with a number and a bank name.  "There is
the account number and the bank name.  Beyond that, I don't know."

	I had to wonder how he got this.  But if it's accurate and Sato does
vouch for him...

	That was all he could tell us, but at least it was a lead.
"Unfortunately, the bank won't tell us anything," I told Joe.

	"Hmm, Harmony may have the skills to hack the bank for us and find
out who is behind this.  Or someone else in one of our other
facilties.  I'll kick this info upstairs, see what they think," he
told me.  "They may know things I'm not privy to."

	Good idea, though I don't know if anyone in my company would know
more than I do.  But it doesn't hurt to ask.

	Crisis over, but the cleanup may take a while, it looks like.

****************

Jinnai's Tale:

	"Thanks for giving me a ride," I said to Misty as she drove me back
to my brother's place.

	"No problem," she said.  "You haven't run into anything, I hope."

	"No," I told her.

	"Good.  The odds are pretty good you'll never see anything like that
ever again.  But you have my number just in case," she said.

	"If there's anything else you can tell me, or anything I can do...I
just feel like I need to do something.  If something like that shows
up in Tokyo, it would take you far too long to get there."

	"It won't," she said.  "Or at least it's not very likely.  All the
incidents we've had in Japan were in this area.  Though I can't
swear..."  She sighed.  "There are ways to arm ordinary people.  I
could get you a gun with special ammo, but you'd have to be very
careful, given the gun laws in this country."

	"I'd feel better if I wasn't helpless," I told her.

	She laughed nervously.  "Totally understandable.  I'll see what I can
do for you.  There's no way to take these things captive, so all we
have is traditional lore that may not be very trustworthy and what
we've gotten from their ranting over the years."

	"Hit me," I said.

	"Trolls have probably always existed.  However, they can only break
through into our world in special places, that seem creepy to ordinary
people.  They often have a reputation as being 'haunted'.  Many of
these sites had shrines built on them by some cultures to contain and
purify them; religious rites seem to help seal such sites which is why
my sister is such a...dabbler in religions."  Misty shook her head
fondly.

 	"Some Trolls serve stronger beings, which we call 'Gods' for lack of
a better term.  Some of these Gods have cults that serve them in our
world.  Some have Troll-tainted or Troll-possessed servants in these
cults in our world.  We can't prove it, but Tallin and Primus were
probably either controlled by or destroyed by such cults. Or both, as
the cults don't necessarily like each other," Misty said.

	"And Primus made you and your sisters."  I suddenly wondered if
Akane's DNA got used in this.  She and Misty do have the same hair
color...

	Mitsu Kagami...her mother worked for Primus...could she have taken
one of the altered fetuses and then passed it off as her own daughter
later?  If Mitsu Kagami actually IS Akane's daughter genetically...no
wonder she would dote on her like that.  I'm pretty sure there are
pheromones or something that parents and children exchange.

	"And our parents.  We don't think they were forced into it, but
Grandfather isn't sure what happened, just that Father called him in
and then everyone died and Grandfather just found the three of us
where Father had concealed us."  She sighed, looking haunted.  "It may
be that the other four had different parents who tried to save them or
maybe even did."

	"So you don't know what they want."

	"Beyond taking over the world, no.  We have pretty good reason to
think 'Kiyohime' was one of the cults, though.  Fuuka has legends
about Battle Princesses chosen by the Gods to fight.  Whether Kiyohime
ran Primus or destroyed it isn't clear.  Or maybe it fell out among
itself."

	She pulled up in front of my brother's house.  "I have a mark on my
body which identifies me as a Valkyrie.  We think everyone with
abilities like us has one, according to how they got their powers.
Find the mark and you'll find someone who has some kind of connection
to the Trolls, for good or ill."

	Probably those mercenaries at Fuuka who searched all the girls were
looking for a mark like that.

	I just wish I knew if...surely Kazuya and Akane would never sign up
with some monster-cult...but if it was that or die...

	I wish I knew for sure if I could trust them, but it's hard for me to
believe they've done anything wrong.  They must be innocent victims
like Misty, not evil cultists.

	"Thanks for telling me more," I told her.

	"I wish you didn't have to know," she said sadly.  "See you tomorrow."

	"See you," I said, getting out and going inside.

	Akane let me in.  I saw her eye Misty's car pulling out.  She smiled
at me and said, "Was it a productive day?"

	"I'm exhausted and hungry and bored, but we made progress," I told her.

	"I saved you dinner.  Hope you don't mind stew."

	"Any food made by you or Kazuya would be good under any conditions,"
I told her and she smiled as we came in.  Kazuya was watching TV and
Kasumi was half-watching and half-reading a romance novel.

	Wait...is that a Diadochi novel?  They have novels for that show now?

	Somewhere, Alexander the Great's descendants are crying, I think.

	I don't watch that show, but it seems like half the women I know are
obsessed with it.  And a lot of the men too.

	Akane warmed dinner up for me, and I sat down to eat; she sat with me
and sipped some tea.  White carp stew.  Very good.

	"How long will you be with us?  There is a triple-birthday party
tomorrow if you would like to go," Akane told me.

	"I will be here until Father sees fit to recall me.  I can get a
hotel room if I'm too much of a burden," I told her.

	"Of course not," she said.  "I hate making you sleep on a futon, though."

	"It's fine," I told her.  "Tons of people sleep on futons all the
time.  We're just all decadent these days."  I smiled and she laughed.

	"Fuuka was actually the first time I slept on a bed on a regular
basis," she told me.  "Father was too busy spending the family's money
on prostitutes to afford beds."  She sighed.  "For all Kazuya's
problems with his...your father, at least he doesn't blow all your
family's money on alcohol and prostitutes and the like."  She stared
into her cup.

	I hadn't heard this before.  "I didn't know that."

	"Mother was also busy blowing money on gambling and it contributed to
why everything turned so ugly."  She finished her tea.

	I ate more of my stew.  "I would be interested to meet the rest of
your current family."  My nerves tried to jangle, but I told them to
shut up.  I can't...There is no way they're a threat to me, at least,
whatever my fits of paranoia may try to say.  If they wanted to eat my
soul, they've had more than enough chances.  I don't know what's going
on enough, still.  But I believe in them.

	But this may be a chance to find out more if I keep my eyes and ears open.


*************

Mandi's Tale:

	"Four.  Orion's belt has four stars," I told Sanae for the sixth time.

	The three of us and Gin were playing a trivia game; Hotaru was over
at Erica's, I think.

	"The card says 3 and I'm pretty sure that's right," I told him.

	We went outside and took a look.  I counted them off.  "Four, then
there is the one that is down and right from the far left one but I
think that's the top of the sword."

	"Yeah, that's the top of the sword and then the two stars and the
galaxy are the bottom," Gin said.  "But there are clearly four stars
in the belt."

	"I think that is a nebula," Sanae said.  She frowned.  "I wonder why
the card has it wrong."

	"You always complain everyone gets science wrong," I told her as we
went back in.

	"Yes, but how am I supposed to answer questions right if the answers
in the game are WRONG?" Sanae said.

	"That's why the gods gave us the Internet," Gin said.

	"Don't get her started," I told Gin as we went back to our game.

	This is going to be a good summer - as long as we get through this
game without Sanae going mad, anyway.

	And without things going to hell like they did at Fuuka.

	Which they might.

	Well, I'll take it one day at a time; that's how I always do it.

	I idly scratched my birthmark, then sat down and got ready to WIN!

	Sanae won of course; one of these days I will learn not to play
trivia games with her.

	One of these days.

****************	

Kagami's Tale:

	We were all about to go to bed when Mr. Cooper...Bobby... got here.
He looked pretty worn out.  "Hello, Mr. Bobby," I said, then felt
silly.

	"You can call me Uncle Bobby, since I'm dating Shiho and you call her
Aunt Shiho," he said to me.  "If you're good with that."

	That felt right.  "Uncle Bobby," I said, then smiled.  "I think Aunt
Shiho's in the shower."

	"Good idea," he said.  "Goodnight, Kagami."

	"Goodnight, Uncle Bobby," I told him and went to my room.  I could
hear Natasha playing some video game, then I heard Aunt Shiho telling
her to go to bed.

	"You good for tomorrow?" Aunt Shiho asked, sticking her head in.

	"I feel wonderful," I told her.  "I set my alarm clock and everything."

	"Good.  If you hear Natasha in half an hour, kick her ass, make her
sleep."  She yawned.  "I am going to die now.  If you find me in the
hallway or something, push me back into my room."  She yawned again.
"Time to die."

	"Thank you so much for taking me in," I said to her.

	"It's not a problem," Aunt Shiho said.  "You're a good girl and I had
space.  Someone needs to be a good influence on Natasha.  Though I
suppose Bobby's a good influence too."  YAWN.  "Anyway, tomorrow, all
English, ALL THE TIME."

	I laughed softly.  "I'll do my best, Aunt Shiho."

	"Goodnight."  She wandered off and I went to bed, feeling happy.  I
just wish Uncle Bobby knew everything; hiding things from him will be
awkward if he's over here often.

	Still, at least here I'm with people who care about me.  Who don't
think I'm a burden.  I will do my best not to be a burden to them.

	I think this is going to be a good summer.

*************

Mari's Tale:

	I hauled the garbage out to the curb.  We put out our garbage twice a
week in special cans and a drone comes and picks it up.  It's pretty
convenient.

	A car, a black sedan...a Cadillac...a Cadillac?  It was moving very
slowly down the street; it had tinted windows and I had to wonder how
the driver could see.  Or was it some kind of drone?

	Why make a drone Cadillac?

	It was going only about 5 miles an hour, maybe ten.  Looking for something?

	I waved at it.  "Are you lost?" I asked.

	It came to a stop but the window didn't open.  I started over to it,
but then it pulled away.

	How very strange.

	I suppose Kagami will get to ride around in cars like that this summer.

	I felt a burst of jealousy and shook my head.  I made this possible
for her; I got her into a good school and got her to work.  Her being
able to do the things I didn't is the reward for my sacrifice, and I
shouldn't be bitter about it.

	I rested my head on the fence around our yard and told my brain to
shut up.  Getting mad at her for something she did doesn't bother
me...  well, it bothers me, but it's justified.  Getting mad at her
because of existing isn't.  I didn't want a daughter, but she is my
daughter and I love her, even when she drives me insane.

	We'll get through this.  When she's my age, she'll be grateful for
all the times I pushed her.  She's not mature enough to make her own
decisions on everything yet; I have to guide her.  Sometimes restrict
and punish her.  But I do it because I don't want her to make my
mistakes.

	And if I don't go inside, I will list them ALL and then wallow in regret.

	"Done marinating in regret?" Kazuo asked me as I came into the living
room, where he was trying to do a crossword puzzle.

	How could he tell?  "I was not," I told him.

	"C'mere, please," he said, so I did; he pulled me down and kissed me.
 "Don't feel guilty.  Our daughter is in good hands with people we can
trust.  And she chose this, so she won't get mad.  Don't feel you're a
failure because she's not here."

	"I'm just eager for her to be old enough to understand," I told him.

	He kissed me a second time.  "Patience, dear.  Patience.  Kids are a
long-term investment.  And the fact that she went looking for a good
summer job is a good sign.  I think things are looking up."

	I sat down in his lap and he embraced me, putting the book of puzzles
to one side.  "You're a good mother and you don't need to worry.
She's safe and as happy as a teenager ever gets."

	"I was a very happy teenager.  And totally irresponsible and wild and
out of control."  I sighed.  "But you're right."  Then I told him
about the car.

	He frowned.  "How weird.  But not illegal.  Hopefully not casing
houses for robbery.  Maybe I should call the police."

	We called them just to be sure but they didn't take it very
seriously.  Really, I expect I was being paranoid.

	Kagami's safe, and no one in a Cadillac would bother robbing anyone
in this neighborhood.  I've never seen an actual Cadillac before,
except on TV.  Maybe they were lost.  Probably their GPS went out.

	I yawned.  Time to hit the sack.  I'm sure everything is going to be
fine.  Kagami is safe and nothing like what happened to Primus can
happen to her, even if she is doing medical and genetic research.

	Damn my brain.  It's going to be fine!

	I'm sure it will be fine.