As soon as Gerald closed the door to the limousine, Takumi asked what really brought him to Tokyo. He was worried Ralph's research had turned up some bad news.
"Actually, I'm here because I'm attempting to file our corporate taxes, and I had a few questions I needed to clarify with you," Gerald explained.
Takumi was not familiar with this phrase, "what is tax, how did our corporation get one, and why must it be filed?"
Hummm. Gerald found these to be some excellent, if not very complex, questions. How could he explain this concept which he was still attempting to understand himself. It was one of the most interesting things yet that had come of their research project into life here in Earth. Perhaps an analogy would work well? "Let's pretend that money is represented through grains of sand and this sand is stored in a cloth bag rather than a bank. If this were true, taxes… and there are numerous such taxes… are various shaped needles that poke holes into the bottom of that bag so that the sand will spill out. I am currently dealing with a rather large knitting needle sized tax."
Takumi stared in bewilderment. That analogy really didn't work for him. "So let's just say money is money… what is a tax," he asked trying to get Gerald to shift his approach.
"Well, the tax I am currently trying to calculate seems to be a fee one must pay for the privilege of being a productive member of society and this fee increases as you are more successful," Gerald explained. Gerald shared Takumi's bafflement. It was a counter intuitive concept. Why would there be a disincentive for members of society attempting to improve the productivity and economic viability of their own society? But both men saw the wonderful possibilities of such a concept. If they could ascertain why humans agreed to pay these fees, they could both become exceptionally rich! At the very least, they would ensure funding of their research for several more centuries.
"And where does this money go? What is it used for?" Takumi continued to grill his older brother.
"Well it goes to the leaders of the government and they use some of it to fund things that everyone benefits from… like roads or parks," Gerald explained it in the same way it had been explained to him.
Just at that moment, the glass between the driver and the passenger's compartment opened. "Excuse me sirs," the driver said, "I hate to interrupt, but we're about to get to the toll booth for the expressway. I'm afraid I don't have any cash to pay the toll."
"Right," Gerald reached into his pocket and pulled out a note for 10,000 yen.
"Sir that's far more than is needed for the toll," the driver explained.
"Yes," Gerald responded, "but I'm hoping to do some sight seeing tomorrow before I head back to England and you can use the balance to pay the park entrance fees for the national sites I wish to see." The driver nodded and rolled up the window.
Takumi would have normally pointed out the irony between the two conversations that had just taken place, but he was distracted by something. "Gerald," he asked, "that man driving the car…. Isn't he… Ralph?"
"Oh yes, yes it is," Gerald said with a smile. It was good to see that Takumi wasn't suffering from memory loss due to that love thing he had. "He wasn't working on anything very important so I decided he could earn his keep as my driver." Gerald was so pleased with himself for making full use of his limited resources.
Takumi looked furious. "That unimportant work he was doing was trying to find a cure for my illness! You know… so I don't go blind, start stumbling around, lose all judgement, die of a broken heart, that sort of thing."
Right. Gerald hadn't seriously considered that Takumi might be upset about this. Takumi wasn't contagious, so it wasn't like this illness would spread around to other members of the crew. "Well I was thinking…. Ummm… you're just a student. Everyone knows students have a ton of free time with nothing to do. Maybe you could look into this illness of yours a little on your free time. I really need Ralph to drive me around tomorrow because I don't know how to get to most of the tourist sites we'll be visiting."
Takumi was incensed. Gerald could sense it. Right right… Claire had come up with a strategy to sell this. Good old Claire. Always predicting when Takumi might throw a silly tantrum about such insignificant issues like his sight, sanity or life, even when such possibilities seemed so remote. Now where was that thing she'd given him? "Ummm… have you seen this movie called Lorenzo's Oil?" he asked. He found it! He'd tucked it away in one of the car's pockets. He handed the DVD to Takumi. "The main characters find a treatment for some illness because they have more of an interest in finding a cure. Clearly it matters more to you to find a cure than it does to Ralph. By assigning the task of figuring this out to you, we have improved the odds for success." Gerald smiled, "I always have your best interest at heart dear brother."
Takumi looked at the DVD. "This DVD is for a different movie Gerald," Takumi said drily.
"Well of course it is,"Gerald replied. "No one sells Lorenzo's Oil on DVD anymore! What time period do you think we're living in? The DVD is just some movie Claire found on sale at the grocery store. You should be impressed we found a DVD at all! It's symbolic of the movie that is supposed to inspire you to find your own cure. If you need to watch the actual Lorenzo's Oil for inspiration, maybe it's on Netflix or something." His brother could be so tiring. "Now… onto my tax questions… this service we're paying for to clear the streets around you of people… can we consider that a business expense?" The balance of the car ride was spent addressing such possible tax deductions.
Once they arrived at his apartment, Gerald handed Takumi a wet washcloth. "Should anyone venture to visit you, please be sure to lay down on your couch and stick this on your head. We must create the illusion that your head injury is being taken seriously." Takumi agreed, but thought the possibility of having a visitor very remote. Gerald finally left as he required a good night's rest before his busy day of site seeing.
No sooner was he gone that Takumi's door bell rang. "It's open," he called assuming it was just Gerald or Ralph coming back to collect something they'd left behind.
Imagine his surprise when Misaki walked in. His first impulse was to dive onto the couch and throw the cold washcloth on his forehead. Then he remembered… it was Misaki. She already knew his little secret. "Oh hi!" he greeted her.
"Shouldn't you be lying down?" She asked nervously.
Takumi looked at her for a second and then a little smirk crept over his face. She was trying to play out some little nurse-patient fantasy wasn't she. Okay. He could play along. "Oh right. Pain. I'm on soooo much pain," he moaned. He went to the couch, lied down and placed the washcloth on his forehead. "Ouchie!"
"Yeah!" she responded, "you jumped off a building! You should be in pain. It's amazing you just hurt your head. I mean, I really appreciate you getting that picture back and all but what were you thinking?"
Takumi sighed. Maybe she had a point. He could have blown his cover. He was suppose to mimic the the locals. That's what they taught them in training. In fact, the instructor would ask, 'if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?' And then all the crew members would yell, 'yes, sir! Yes.' He hadn't really thought about it until now, but if none of his friends jumped off a bridge, the answer was probably 'No, sir. No'. Misaki was right. Success was found by being a blind sheep following the crowd, not by creating your own path.
"You're right like always Misaki," he said. "Thank you."
She was surprised by his sincerity and by his compliment. But she hadn't come here tonight just to talk about his idiotic action of jumping off a roof. There was also that kiss. "So… if you didn't already have an injury, I would need to punch your head you know."
Takumi had a blank look. She was a bit aggressive but why was she telling him this? He was already aware.
"Because you flat out kissed me," Misaki elaborated, "like without any reason or even asking."
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do to indicate I have claimed you?" Takumi asked completely befuddled by her thought process.
"Where the hell were you raised?" Misaki asked. "Claim me?! What do you think I am? I'm not some newly found gold mine or something."
Takumi pouted. "I'm sorry… can I get you something to eat? I want to make it up to you."
Misaki looked a little nervous. "Are there any bugs in it?" Takumi shook his head. "Is anything regurgitate?" He shook his head again. "There won't be anything weird?"
"I promise," Takumi answered.
"Okay." She said smiling and sat down on the edge of the couch near his feet. Takumi smiled and waved his hand toward the kitchen. The fridge opened up and a plate of leftovers began floating toward the living room couch.
Misaki turned white. It was as if she'd seen a ghost. She jumped off the couch and bolted for the front door.