Splintered Mirror
Chapter 29
Atobe strutted into Yuriko's office. Even with a torn shirt and dog hair on his trousers, he carried himself like a princely Adonis.
"Atobe-san?" asked Yuriko solicitously. It was only two days since Atobe 'agreed' to work out a compromise with Tezuka. He had spent the better part of the day reading and talking with Shiroi. Pointedly ignoring Yuriko and her expertise. When he turned up that morning with a puppy and a parrot, she thought he had lost his mind. Never mind that she was sure the very adorable ball of fluff had a pedigree longer than most royalty.
"Kunimitsu is waiting for you." There was not mistaking the smug tone of his voice.
"And you have come here personally to tell me?"
Atobe gave her a self-satisfied smirk.
"Ah, you have to tell me personally to rub my face in your success." She shook her head. Atobe Keigo maybe a vain peacock, but even she had to admit there was substance between his ears. When he decided on a course of action, he delivered promptly.
"Of course," said Atobe. "I suggest you get to his room post-haste to do your job. This is a rare opportunity to talk to him without interruptions for a while."
"That is ... very well done, Atobe-san." She hurried out the door, leaving both Sanada and Atobe alone.
"How is he?" asked Sanada.
"Disoriented. He asked me if we had planned a tennis game or a fishing trip."
"What do you think Yuriko-sensei will say to him?"
Atobe shrugged. He was a little wary of talking to Kunimitsu. In case he said too much. Besides, it was Yuriko's show for now. She had to appraise him of his diagnosis and prognosis before Atobe can freely speak to him.
Oshitari Yuriko watched the two men in the room. Asakura had gone back to his usual pose, propping up against the wall. He had chosen a position right next to the door. She guessed it was a good position to bar the door and hold the other person in case he decided to bolt.
The other man in question was sitting on the couch, shaking his head lightly, feeling the unfamiliar weight of his long hair. He held the tail end of the long braid of hair in his hand, frowning in puzzlement while the puppy batted at the thick loop playfully. Other than that, he appeared unexpectedly calm and alert. Unexpected, since Yuriko would have expected some panic, hysteria, confusion or at least, anxiety. The only sign that not everything was right with Kunimitsu was the way his hand drifted to his nose-bridge, as if to adjust his non-existent glasses.
Yuriko slowing pushed the door open without showing herself. She was new to the Kunimitsu alter and she did not want to spook him on first meeting.
"Atobe, what is the meaning of this?" he said, the moment the door swung open. "Give me my glasses back and take this ridiculous wig off. I am not going to go to one of your costume parties again. Our birthday party or not."
"Kunimitsu-san, I am Dr. Oshitari Yuriko."
Kunimitsu stood up immediately the moment he realised it was not Atobe. "Tezuka Kunimitsu. Please to meet you." He bowed politely.
Yuriko did not miss the emphasis on 'Tezuka', an indirect and subtle rebuke on her inappropriately chosen term of address. He was obviously uncomfortable with her using his given name and so, chose to remind her of the proper etiquette of personal address.
"I am sorry to have wasted your time, sensei. Atobe can be too enthusiastic sometimes."
Yuriko was taken aback by the strange comment. "Why do you say that, Tezuka-kun?" There and then, Yuriko decided Kunimitsu would be Tezuka-kun while Tezuka would be Tezuka-san. It was too confusing when both alters wanted to be addressed by the same name. Besides, there was an openness and innocence to Kunimitsu that made him appear younger than Tezuka. She did not know how Atobe managed it. They were all 'Tezuka' to him, including Tezuka Kunimitsu the whole person.
"I have told Atobe before. I don't need another orthopaedic specialist. The doctors have done all they can. I just need to follow up on my new rehabilitation training to adjust my techniques."
"I am sorry. I am not sure what you are talking about. But I am not a medical doctor. Let us sit down. There are some important matters I need to discuss with you."
Yuriko started by questioning Kunimitsu's knowledge - what year it was, what were his plans, his current status or situation. Slowly, she began to build a picture of Kunimitsu's current understanding. He was 15 years old and a Third Year student of Seishun Gakuen in Tokyo. He was graduating in March and he had two exam papers coming up the following week. He lived with his parents and grandfather. He played tennis with Atobe once a week. He hadn't seen or spoken to Sanada since the National Tournament award ceremony. He did not go to cram school, not having any need or time for it. His schedule was filled with tennis and student council and self-study.
When he was done, she sent an orderly to fetch the newspaper. She placed the paper in his hand, drawing his attention to the date. Carefully, she broke the news to him. "Tezuka-kun, you have been asleep for a very long time. I would like to bring you up to date on your current condition. I know it will be hard to believe, but I hope you will hear me with an open mind."
Yuriko carefully explained the mental condition called Dissociative Identity Disorder to him and how it was affecting him. She told him about the other alters Shiroi and Tezuka. Then, explained that he had lost time due to the existence of these alters, not that he had amnesia or time-travelled.
Kunimitsu looked askance at her. Looking at her as if it was she who was suffering from mental illness. Yuriko did not miss the twisted irony in how she must have sounded to Kunimitsu. Only, he was too polite to say it out loud. He was humouring her, she thought in wry amusement. Listening to her with an air of reserved scepticism, humouring her authority but reserving his right to doubt her until proven otherwise. At least, he had not rejected her words out of hand. At least, he was giving her the benefit of doubt.
He stood up and paced around the room. His eyes captured details of the room and the limited view he had outside for his mind to analyse and tally up. Looking for falsehood or holes in what she told him. He stopped mid-stride and turned to look directly at her.
Yuriko felt a shiver down her spine when he focused all his attention on her. So, this is the Tezuka Kunimitsu that had Atobe obsessed for three years, as least according to Yuushi. Kunimitsu's gaze was as intense and masterful as Tezuka's, only without the wrath and the bitterness. He was very austere and restrained.
"If this is not Atobe's home, and I am not about to play tennis," he said mildly, "then where am I? What am I doing here?"
Yuriko told him all that she had found out from Shiroi. She told him that both Shiroi and Tezuka were able to communicate with each other internally. Then, encouraged Kunimitsu to try to make contact with both of them.
Tezuka gave her a long suffering look. Hearing voices and talking to imaginary people inside one's head were normally signs mental instability. Yet, this woman was asking him to do just that. His long stare and the just-so angle of his eyebrows seemed to convey every logical argument against her every word. Just who is the crazy one? Those eyes seemed to ask. He was being polite by not voicing the obvious discrepancies in her statements.
Yuriko maintained her professional mask. If she thought Tezuka was the difficult alter to deal with, he had just been dethroned by Kunimitsu. And here, she had thought Kunimitsu would be the easiest of the three. Somewhere up there, someone was having a joke at her expense. There should be a rule somewhere that says psychiatric patients should not sound more sane and rational than their therapist. For once, she sympathised with Atobe. If Tezuka Kunimitsu could compress a lecture into a look and an eyebrow, he was a formidable man indeed. No wonder Atobe was obsessed with him. And Yuushi seems to respect him too. She shook her head. She should remain objective and judgement-free, not swayed by the opinion of the others.
"I know it sounds really strange, Tezuka-kun. But please, try it."
Tezuka did not comply. He shifted his gaze to Asakura. Then, looked expectantly at the door. Where is Atobe? was clearly heard in his actions.
Why is he leaving me with this mad woman? was Asakura's interpretation of his meaning. He looked at Yuriko, judged that her safety was not his responsibility and his job was finished now that she was here talking to Kunimitsu. He shrugged and let himself out. He tried to convince himself that it was his choice. Not that Tezuka had silently, telepathically compelled him to find Atobe and bring him back. No, not at all. He was simply acting on his best judgement. Who the hell is Kunimitsu that he could give Asakura an order without even opening his mouth? Damn Atobe and his tennis circus.
Seeing he was not quite ready to do as she asked, Yuriko decided to call it a day. She had gotten most of the important initial work done in that two hours. She could see Kunimitsu was getting tired of her presence. Or perhaps, simply the presence of other people. She could recognize the introvert in Kunimitsu easily enough. It was time to leave him to mull over the information she had dumped on him.
"Tezuka-kun, I will leave you to rest now. I will see you again tomorrow."
"Am I a prisoner?"
"Oh, no! You have access to all the facilities and gardens. There are three libraries and various sports facilities. There is even an arcade room, karaoke lounge, music room and mini-theater. I heard the movie collection is quite impressive. I'll let Atobe and Sanada show you around."
"You mean you will let them distract me to avoid telling me I can't leave this compound."
The boy is blunt, thought Yuriko. Arrogant, if I were easily offended. I supposed it was his way of telling me he won't accept white lies and distractions. But it also showed he was very perceptive. She smiled brightly. "It's been a busy day, Tezuka-kun. Please be patient and take it easy today. We can discuss your other privileges another time."
Beyond all expectations, Kunimitsu remained present for the next three days uninterrupted.
On the fourth day, Tezuka emerged briefly for his 1-hour session that was his part of the bargain. He sat stonily through the hour, grumpy and silent. When he wasn't silent, he gave short answers. She could have built a dictionary of single syllables from Tezuka's responses. His favourite vowel was 'a' and his favourite consonant was 'n'. It was linguistically fascinating how Tezuka had managed to build whole sentences on just 'hn'. The combination of tone, pitch, volume, and expression provided an almost infinite number of permutations and meanings. Tezuka had turned a simple vocalisation into a science.
On the fifth day, Yuriko was worried enough to try to raise Shiroi, which left Kunimitsu looking curiously at her making a fool of herself. Tezuka did not even bother to entertain her. He got tired of hearing her calling Shiroi. He took over from Kunimitsu long enough to tell her to shut up.
On the sixth day, Shiroi woke up. He sheepishly explained that Tezuka had found out that he had freed Kunimitsu and imprisoned him under a mountain. It took him a long time to escape. Even if Tezuka had imprisoned him in Shiroi's own domain, where Shiroi was the strongest, Tezuka's will was much stronger than Shiroi.
At least Shiroi tried to explain what happened. Tezuka simply ignored her question. It was Shiroi that spilled the beans that Tezuka was worn out by Atobe and went into deep sleep. When he woke up, he found Kunimitsu in control, so he decided to sulk for a few days longer.
Yuriko had a talk with Atobe about his methods, not that Atobe even pretended to be contrite. It was generally not a good idea to pit one alter against another. They were supposed to get the alters to trust and help each other, not turn them against one another. At least Shiroi was a forgiving fellow.
In the end, Yuriko was glad to see all three alters present and accounted for. It marked the beginning of a new phase in their road to recovery.
Responses to Reviewers:
Looks like I'm more(?) productive without internet and laptop to waste on MasterChef. But laptop is back now. The old hard disk is on ice and I have a stranger living in my laptop until I can install my regular software and configure Win7 to my satisfaction so it doesn't look anything like Windoze anymore. Alas! My writing notes … my original fictions, my almost done NaNo novel. (T-T) On the other hand, I'm looking forward to a trip next weekend out of the country to see a friend that has finally returned from getting permanent head damage in Australia. It'll be my turn next year, except mine will be a lowly haring off nowhere sort.
Kamu : Hehe! There's another OVA and a movie to look forward to before Shin Tenipuri Anime.
Aan : Thanks.
DjWis : Thanks for dropping a line. It's nice to hear from a lurking reader. :D The OVA is OVA Another Story II ~Ano Toki no Bokura – Seishun Gakuen Nanafushigi (Seishun Gakuen's Seven Mysteries).
karupin22 : Thanks! Happy you find the OCs worked out.
