Trapped in a Strange New World
Steins;Gate
Chapter Six

2012.07.21 - 2:49 PM JST
Saturday

It took about ten minutes, but I did get to the shine. It was in record time too, as I was running most of the way. Ruka was already waiting for me outside with Violet. She still had tears dripping from her eyes, but thankfully it seemed her anger had ran its course. The two of them appeared to just be having a normal conversation when I arrived. However, the mood sadly changed once Violet caught sight of me.

"Hi, sis." Violet said with a long sigh. It was clear she still felt bad about what happened back at the lab. I knew I was treading thin ice here.

"Violet, what happened back there?" I gently asked her.

"You know exactly what happened, it's just as Okabe said."
"I am culture shocked and I'm not really a true Japanese citizen."

"Kyouma said that? Why? And why do you believe him?" Ruka asked in a bit of shock.

"Because it's true!" Violet yelled once again before calming down again. She began explaining her story to Ruka.

"Long story short, Kursiu got severely sick during a visit here in 1999. I was so traumatized after seeing her in such a state of disarray, I actually swore off ever returning to Japan for ten whole years. Then I heard Kursiu got an opportunity to give her first public lecture here in Akihabara about two years ago. Only at that point did I finally bring myself to come back. Until then, I opted out of every family trip that went anywhere near this part of the world. I've simply never gotten the same cultural exposure at a young age that she did. That's why I find it so hard to live here."

Ruka silently stood there as he fully absorbed everything he just heard. I did this too, though I tried not to show it. Giving this was about me, I should definitely already know all this.

"In the end, my American visa is going to expire on my next birthday. Just like Kurisu's did when she turned 18. Even if I do get a student visa after high school, I will have to move to Japan some day." Violet took another deep breath. "Unless..."

"Unless? Unless what?" I pushed her to finish.

"Well… there's this little thing called the Child Citizenship Act."

"Huh?" Both Ruka and I questioned simultaneously.

"It's a law in America. In short, it states if a child of foreign citizenship has an American parent and is legally living with that parent within the country, they are automatically eligible for American citizenship before they turn 18."

"Oh. I get. You have to choose between Japan and America." Ruka slowly said in realization.
"Considering how you were raised, that sounds like a really difficult decision."

"You're telling me?" Violet told him, holding back a sarcastic laugh.
"This could honestly be the toughest decision of my life."

"Are you sure this law even applies to you?" I sincerely ask her. Violet bit her lip.

"I would need to consult a lawyer to be sure, but I have read the article about it on WikiBio."
"I'm pretty sure it would apply to me."

"Have you tried talking to… Mama and Papa... about this?" I stumbled on my words after remembering that Violet and I were siblings. The look she gave me revealed I asked a touchy question.

"Of course not. You know how patriotic Papa is about Japan."
"I doubt he would like the idea of me becoming an American citizen."

"Right." I almost whispered my response. This was something I actually should have already knew. Even in my worldline, Papa was still quite proud of his Japanese heritage.
Some things never change…

Violet then spoke up again. "Point is, this has been on my mind for a while and I've been wrongly keeping my feelings bottled up. I'm sorry for that."

There was a bit of dead space in the conversion. I felt liking saying something, but I didn't know what. Violet scraped her shoes along the ground before finishing.

"We can go back to the lab if you want. I feel much better now."

"Okay." I said in slight surprise. "Are you coming too, Ruka?"

"You'll have to go without me." He told us with a sad expression.
"My family needs me here right now. I apologize."

"That's fine." Violet replied. "We were just wondering if you were available. Also thanks for calling Kurisu by the way. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Goodbye."

Violet and I both ended our visit with simple "bye" before we began our trek back to the lab.
When we arrived, Okabe and Daru were still chatting away the the computer. I guess they I didn't hear us come in.

"Shouldn't we tell her parents first? If she just goes missing for a few days, they'll surely notice." Daru asked Okabe.

"Yeah I know. It's also a perfect opportunity for them to say no right off the bat and then our whole operation is ruined." Okabe said in response.
"Do you have anything good to say, hack?"

"The only good news I can give you is that since she's 18 now, American customs shouldn't have any problems letting her into the country by herself."
"I still think this is a bad idea though."

"What's a bad idea?" Violet asked half jokingly.

"None of your business, Americanese girl." Okabe barked back at her.

"Great. Now I have my own secondary nickname." Violet announced, her voice full with more sarcasm.
"First Christina No. 2 and now Americanese girl. What's next?"

"Seriously though. What were you two talking about?" I repeated Violet's question.

Okabe and Daru looked at each other. Daru turns back to us and answers our question.

"It turns out, Mayuri apparently actually has a valid passport. Okarin wants her to continue the plan to travel to America and receive the Phone Wave."

"What? The Phone Wave? Mayuri? America?" Violet asked in confusion. "What's going on here? What did I miss during the last hour or so?"

I take Violet aside and briefly explain the just of what happened while she was gone. She wasn't very impressed much like I was.

"So you want to send Mayuri all the way to rural America all by herself just to recover your stupid failed invention? Without even telling her parents?"

"Well… when you put it that way it almost sounds criminal…" Okabe said while stroking his chin in thought.

"It is criminal!" The three of us yelled at him in response.

"Like any of you can talk. Especially you Christina No. 2." Okabe said with a finger point. "You tried to help my hostage escape. That's direct treason against both myself and this lab. You would be out of work right now if your actions weren't extremely vital to our current cause."

"Right. I did assist Mayuri with applying for that passport…" Violet said with a sigh. She gave Okabe a little cocky smile.
"What's my punishment then? Am I getting demoted?"

"In fact, you are." Okabe confirmed with a look of disgust. I really hoped this didn't escalate into another argument. "Makise Violet, you are no longer lab member 005 or my assistant." He pauses briefly. "Instead you now being reassigned as Christina No. 1's assistant. Your lab member number will be changed to the value of 00X until we get around to updating the numbering scheme to account for this newly created position. Any questions?"

"Whatever. Like I did much of the actual research." Violet scoffed at him.

At that moment, the door crept open. Mayuri steps into the room. I guess she went out to get something before we came in. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Violet. What came next was something I never would guessed would occur in a thousand years. "Tutturu. Nice to see you'll here, Miss Violet." She said in very shaky English with a thick Japanese accent. "How are you today?"

While I was still processing what just happened, this little bit of English got a standing ovation from Violet. She actually showed a genuine smile this time as she replied to Mayuri's question in English back to her.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

Unfortunately, I wasn't really paying attention to all this. I was still a maybe tad surprised that Mayuri could speak English at all. During this time, I must have accidentally given her a bad look.

"Kurisu? I said something wrong, didn't I?" Mayuri asked me, shifting back to Japanese. Embarrassment filled her voice.

"Well, I-ow!" I go to say something, but Violet cuts me off by stomping on my foot.

"Yeah, Mayuri. You used a future tense contraction instead of a present tense contraction." She told Mayuri. "Other than that you did fine. No biggie."

"Mayuri, did you bring the item?" Okabe called over across the room.

"Of course. Here it is." Mayuri sang back to him. She pulled a shiny brand new passport out from her bag. Okabe ran over to take a look himself.

"Let's see… it certainly looks like the real deal. When does it…?" He mumbles to himself.
"Ah-ha. Valid from February 22nd 2012 to February 22nd 2017." He walked back so all of us were in view.

"Daru, book those tickets! Mayuri, start packing! You've got a plane to catch!"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold your horses, Okabe. What about us? Shouldn't we go with her?" Violet asked, halting Okabe's plans.

"Your sister pretty much pulled the brakes on that even happening." He told her. "Unless, she's changed her mind."

The two looked at me impatiently, I knew what I had to say.

"Fine, but I'm not going to America for the reasons you might think."

******
(Chapter Seven: Out Now!)