In Vino Veritas
By Laura Schiller
Series: Shugo Chara
Copyright: Peach Pit
Yukari and Yuu were perched on tall wooden bar stools, holding drinks and chatting to the background of a soccer match from a nearby TV. It was eleven o'clock at night – Yukari's usual bedtime – but instead of feeling tired, she was pleasantly buzzed from drinking whisky, not to mention being on a date with her handsome new colleague.
"So...Sanjou-san." Yuu grinned and took a sip of beer, leaving a tantalizing little bit of foam at the corner of his mouth. "Do you mind if I ask you a rather...personal question?"
"That depends," she said demurely, dropping her eyes and swirling her sake cup. "What's the question?"
"You realize that all of us in the Embryo Department are a little messed up," Yuu said bluntly. "So what's your story? I'm really curious. You, well, you seem like a really smart, strong-minded lady...something must have happened to you to end up in this particular line of work."
"You mean being manager to a spoiled, sulky idol, or gathering X-Eggs?"
"Either. Both. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he added, waving his arms in front of him and splashing beer on her in the process. She squeaked – he apologized – thankfully it was a small stain and her suit was beige anyway.
Once they had calmed down, Yukari leaned her elbows on the bar counter with a long sigh. She hadn't thought about her past in a long time; whether it was his endearing, clumsy honesty, the alcohol or something else, the memories came crowding into her head with painful brightness and clarity.
She felt like talking; besides, she trusted this man, with his childlike manners and the hidden pain inside his emerald eyes. He was most likely 'messed up' too; he would understand.
"I had a Shugo Chara once," she said softly. "Well, of course, everyone does, but...I knew her. She hatched when I was twelve. She was...don't laugh, Nikaido-san. She was an idol singer. That was my dream."
Nikaido did not laugh; his eyes flared in understanding and he nodded.
"Her name was Mika. She had long blond hair in two ponytails, blue eyes, she had a frilly white dress and a headset microphone. Her voice was...just like an angel's. Oh, Nikaido-san, she was the sweetest thing."
Yukari stared down into her little glass without really seeing it; it was as if she were back again, in that bare, empty, traditionally Japanese mansion where she had lived as a young girl. Playing with Mika in the garden, watching her flit through the air like a butterfly, chara-changing to sing lullabies for baby Kairi.
"My...my father didn't want me to become a singer. He's the director of Sanjou Corporation, you know. He's a workaholic – it runs in the family. Singing wasn't a real job, of course. He considered it disgraceful. I was supposed to either work for his company, or else marry into one of Japan's high society families to add to Father's connections. But Mika always told me to follow my dream, regardless of what he said."
Yukari's voice took on a hard, metallic edge. It had to be unhealthy to hold a grudge this long. "When I was fourteen, I once went to an audition by Easter Records. I asked Mika to chara-change with me, but she wouldn't, she said I had to use my own voice and sing from my heart. And you know what the judge told me?" She tossed down her shot of whisky in one gulp. "He said if I had any mercy in my soul, never to sing in public again!"
Yuu scowled, looking as if he'd like to have a word or two with that judge. "Who was it?"
"Oh, I don't remember the name. Doesn't matter anyway. So when I came back home, there was Father on his knees by the dining-room table and looking –" She shuddered. "Like...the stone statue of some angry god. Scared the wits out of me. I'd left the house in secret and he wanted to know where I'd been. I told him the truth, that I'd gone to the audition against his orders. He – " She poured herself another shot with shaking hands; Yuu gently took the bottle away, giving her a look that clearly said 'that's enough'.
"He stood up, very slowly, walked over to me, then slapped me across the face so hard it knocked me over. I hit my head on the wall and was too scared to get up, so I just lay there, all crumpled up, while he was standing over me. He said I was a liar – I dishonored our whole family. I was no longer his daughter – and he would never speak to me again – except in public, for appearances' sake. The last thing he said to me was, 'get up and out of my sight'.... and I did!"
To Yuu's and her own dismay, suddenly Yukari burst into loud, messy tears. Her voice, which had been getting more and more unsteady as she talked, broke down into a shuddering croak. A little mental voice scolded her; she really should control her drinking. It always made her dreadfully sentimental.
Poor Yuu was looking decidedly nervous, looking left and right as the other patrons of the bar stared at them shamelessly. The bartender, who'd seen it all before, gave them a sympathetic look and pushed a box of tissues across the counter.
"I think it's best if we go my car, Sanjou-san," said Yuu softly, handing her a tissue. "Don't you think? Somewhere private."
She nodded and took out her wallet to pay for the drinks; he waved it away and paid them himself.
"Have... a good evening?" said the bartender, sounding unsure as to whether it was appropriate to say that to a crying woman and an anxiously hovering man.
"Thanks," said Yuu. As he escorted Yukari out, he took the liberty of putting his arm around her waist – not only for comfort, but because she was having trouble walking straight.
Once outside, the cold night air in Yukari's face had a bracing effect. She shook back her hair, wiped her tears and took a deep breath.
"I'm – terribly sorry," she croaked. "I don't mean to be – a bother – Nikaido-san..." She giggled hysterically. "I'm your worst date ever, right?"
"No." He smiled down at her; to her surprise, he actually sounded sincere. "I kind of like playing the knight in shining armor."
"Except that real dragons can never really be defeated, can they?" she said quietly, leaning against his shoulder as they walked over to Yuu's little red Toyota Echo.
"Hmm. I guess not. At least, not our sort."
He pulled her a little bit closer; it felt so warm and comforting that she never wanted him to let go. The place where his arm had been turned cold as he opened the car door for her.
"I'll drive you home. I only had one beer anyway."
"Okay."
Yuu eased out of the parking-lot with meticulous care and entered the highway; after a few minutes of silence, only broken by Yukari's occasional sniffs, he asked: "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes...thank you."
"Good. Um...may I ask what happened to Mika?"
"She went X and then died later that day," said Yukari, quite calmly since she had no more tears left. "I threw myself into schoolwork, finished high school with honors and went to business school in Vancouver, Canada – as far away from Father as I could get. I visit once a year or so to see my little brother...one of these days I might bring him over here to live with me. If I had a nice house in the suburbs and a bit more free time, maybe."
"Your brother?"
"Yeah. Kairi. He's eight, but his mental age is about thirty, poor guy. Mother died giving birth to him, so he's had to take care of Father all by himself since I moved out. I feel sorry for the kid, but I'm not going back. Nothing's ever gonna make me live in that house again."
Yuu reached over and briefly squeezed Yukari's hand; it was such a sweet gesture, it almost made her cry again.
"I know what it's like to have your dream crushed in your face," he said bitterly, with a hard, cold look in his face quite unlike the cheerful, awkward man who had asked her out. "But at least you got to know your Shugo Chara. I never even had that."
He told her his story as he drove – how he had dreamed of creating artificial life in the form of robots. How the teacher who was like a father to him had moved away when he was small, leaving him with no guidance or encouragement. How one experiment after the other had failed, with his parents pushing him, always pushing him, to give up because his little robot toys were just useless.
Useless.
"You're just like me, aren't you, Sanjou-san?" he commented with a crooked smile. "Both failures at our dreams, knocked around by this cold, cruel world of ours. But at least we can face it together, no?"
"I'd like that very much, Nikaido-san," said Yukari, feeling warmer and more at peace than she could remember being for years. "And in that case, why don't you call me Yukari?"
His crooked smile blossomed into a real, soft, affectionate one. "Only if you call me Yuu."