A/N: I originally had this and the next part as one Chapter, but it was an overlong, bloated mess that I had been figuring out for the past couple of months to get to a better condition. It was only after I had this betaed that I decided what I should have done was split things up. So I did. The other par that should have any actual "music", in the traditional sense, will be next week. That said, I was still revising up to 30 minutes ago, to get things fine-tuned. Although I'm not sure if you'll be satisfied with my efforts, in which case I'll apologize, but at least it's much better with the split.

Also, in case anyone who read last Chapter is wondering, Hitomi is *not* going to be enacting her plan until the Sequel Fic that comes after Arena/Ultimax, so it's still Yukiko that appears until then.

Thanks to DualSelf, as always

"Coda, First Movement"
March 25, 2012

Now

Okina Concert Hall

Saito Daijiro looked over the concert hall audience with an inward trepidation that he didn't wish to show on his face. There were quite a lot of people here this evening. From Inaba, Okina, even Naka.

But Daijiro was looking out in the audience, not for an audience member per se, but...

"James... Where is he...?"

Daijiro had decided to take the next step in his music career by participating in one in a new series of concerts offered by the Concert Hall for aspiring professionals. He figured if he was going to compete for a spot in one of Japan's top orchestras, he needed to get his name on a map somehow as early as possible. (Without looking desperate... He had standards after all.)

He looked out at the audience again. Truth be told, "Concert Hall" was a bit of a misnomer, at least nowadays. After WWII, when the MacArthur Constitution and the U.S Occupation forces were in Yasoinaba Prefecture, there was a push to modernize the region, as it still looked very basic in its ruralness. Okina got the lion's share of development, with Inaba and Naka getting some improvements over their pre-war pasts. But Okina was the place to be for years. Especially with the Concert Hall built in 1949.

The concert hall had stood the tests of time after it had its first concerts that Christmas. It survived gangs, bad weather, earthquakes...

But not bureaucracy.

Due to certain budgetary issues, there were two locations in Okina in 1997 that needed renovation. One was the Concert Hall, needing new electrics, plumbing, air conditioning, etc. The other was the site of the former St. Andrews' School, which had decided to move out of Okina proper and become a larger dorm school a few miles from town. (The growing number of Love Hotels in Okina, coupled with an almost equal rise of confessions from the Catholic Students may have had something to do with the decision.) The former site was needing renovations as well, as it would become a technical school, though the costs were expected to be much less.

While on paper the decision would have, and indeed should have been obvious, it was actually a little more complex.

There were those in the city council who felt tradition should stand. That the Concert Hall gave so much to Okina that something should be given back.

Others felt that because Education was a priority in Japan, the technical college should have the superior decision. Less NEETs would be among the populace.

The rebuttal was NEET or not, kids needed culture.

And while the arguments were along traditional vs. modern lines, as was typical, what was atypical which generations held these arguments.

The younger members felt that appreciation towards music would help center a child. Give them a sort of balance so they could learn and grow responsibly. Since some of these council members who recently had young children within the last five years, a technical college wasn't on their minds yet.

The older generation was gobsmacked at this lack of consideration for college level. They argued that enrollment rates were lower than in their day, and if nothing was offered to those among the same age group as the traditionalists who didn't get the same opportunities as the Council members, then Japan would fall behind America. AMERICA! (This had been some demagogue rhetoric by one Council member who actually liked American Education, but felt it should always be behind Japan.)

Things were coming to an ugly head until a council member proposed what should have been obvious: The Concert Hall and the technical school could share the same space.

There were indoor and outdoor athletic facilities that had been used for team sports by the former parochial school. The technical school had no need for those. The concert hall, shrine to the musical arts it was, would have taken a long time to refit. At least a year, if not two. The indoor gymnasium and the outdoor field, however, could be converted in only a few short months, and at a fraction of the cost.

In fact, the cost of conversions for both school and musical facilities would still come in at 5 million yen under budget through this proposal.

This proposal had hit rapid approval. The outdoor field was now an outdoor concert venue, meant to be used during warmer months with nice skies. The indoor facility was meant for colder months primarily, with rainy and overly windy days pushing people inside.

The new concert hall was a success once built, concertgoers enjoyed the experience, perhaps much better than they had the last few years at the old hall.

Tonight, the night was an unseasonably warm one, so it was decided to hold things outside.

Daijiro, though, kept looking past the audience for his friend. The outdoor portion was built in the center of where the old running track had been. Instead of an oval, a wide horseshoe shape now was used to seat concertgoers. The caveat was that one, whether patron or player, could only enter from the outer end and work their way downward to the center. But would his "erstwhile" friend be coming?

He looked at the keyboardist he invited, Shirogane Naoto. She shrugged, but she looked unhappy.

He sighed. Was it too much to ask for? Wouldn't HE come and perform?

AM

"You never came!" Daijiro said.

"I never promised I bloody would…" came the cool reply from James Bond Sykes.

"You knew how important this was for me! I thought we could put aside our differences! You *said* we could put aside our differences! What changed?!"

"Nothing changed," James said. "I said if I was free, I'd help out. I wasn't free…"

"What held you up?" Daijiro said.

"The latest issue…"

"The latest issue?! Of what?!"

"The centerfold was so awesome and…"

"You didn't show last night because you were busy with an erotic magazine?!"

"And a tasteful erotic film from the 90's. Shannon Whirry… True hotness…"

Daijiro growled. "And you didn't have the decency to either tell me directly or pass a message to Naoto-kun, who DID show?"

"I told her to go ahead and I said I would be along. Then I saw the magazine. Then I slept in the futon on the floor. Everything in between picking the magazine up and Nao yelling at me is not for the T-rating. Other than the film title. 'Dangerous Prey'."

Daijiro looked angry at him. "I thought…"

James wagged a finger. "Ah… there's that mistake again. We didn't resolve things. And I didn't want to. I took your letter from Take, read it, and decided I'd help if I could, but when it came down to it…"

"You were a coward. Again."

James didn't say anything.

PM

Daijiro sighed and looked to Naoto again. "He'll be here…" she said.

Daijiro then sighed again and then looked out at the audience. There were many people here. Not only his friends from Gekkoukan, but also James's brother Will and his girlfriend Marie. His sister Abby and her fiancée Teddye. James's cousin Charles and his fiancée Yukiko. James's other friends Daijiro had briefly met. Up with him, though, not only was Naoto at keyboard, but Matsunaga Ayane, soon to enter her second-year at Yasogami High School in Inaba. When Daijiro had arrived in Inaba, he had been walking by the Samegawa Flood Plain and had seen her practice. And heard her. She sounded quite good.

When he had introduced himself and made the offer a few days before, she had said that while she had improved, thanks to the advice Narukami Yu had given her, she wasn't ready for a public appearance.

"I had practiced hard… For 5 months… For the Culture Festival…But then the player I filled in for finally healed from his injury and they benched me… because I let them…"

"Let them?" Daijiro had said.

Ayane looked at him. "I was so ready, but because of my reputation as a screwup, the other band members wanted him rather than me. I could have protested. I could have told them I had what it took. And then the fear crept in that I would make a mistake in the actual performance like I had in the final rehearsal. And so, despite Yu-senpai's support… I decided for the greater good to step aside."

Daijiro digested all of that and said, "So you made a mistake in the final rehearsal?"

"Yes."

"Did you know the first episode of the American TV Program 'Saturday Night Live's' had a disastrous final runthrough?"

"I don't know that show…" she said. "While I watch TV, not a lot of it is Western…" she admitted.

"I would not hold that against you. It is a sketch-comedy show. Anyway, their debut episode was terrible in its runthrough. But that night, with a couple of changes. It debuted without any major trouble and it still endures to this day. It's even been rumored there will be a Tokyo-based edition sometime this year."

"You seemed very informed, Saito-san…"

"I went to Gekkoukan… Not to toot my horn…" he said. "But let me get back to the point. The Trombone part should not be too difficult for you."

"But four days?!" she said.

He got down to one knee and put an arm on her shoulder platonically. "You could have performed at the Culture Festival perfectly, had you had the support of more than Narukami-san. My school's Music Club will be performing, but our First Trombonist encountered the one thing that would prevent her from performing. The one thing that many girls face and depending on their personality, will love it or hate it."

"And that is?"

Daijiro sighed. "She got married to her arranged intended last week."

"What about your Second Trombonist?"

Daijiro's face was even blander. "He's the groom."

"What about your third Trombonist?"

"Don't have one…"

"Then I'm not the perfect person to fill in…"

"That doesn't sound like the Matsunaga-san who even gave up for the greater good. That sounds like a Matsunaga-san you would be ashamed to see in the mirror. Do not let that Ayane out."

"…" she said. Then she looked at her trombone. Then she looked at her hand like she was a Shonen hero. The hand she used for the trombone's slide.

Then she clenched her hand. "I was expecting a grand speech by you to try to convince me… But somehow, you knew that's not what I needed."

"Grand speeches are good, most of the time. But for someone seeking redemption for a decision… You need to work small sometimes."

Ayane laughed and agreed. Then she said she would try hard to learn and to not be terrible. She insisted she wore her school uniform, though…

Daijiro said the others in the Club wouldn't have a problem with it. Or her.

Though still, now, as he watched Ayane, fidgeting a little, but knowing that with the support of his fellow club members and him, she would succeed… or at least make a few unnoticeable mistakes.

The harder part was James.

He sighed, and murmured one more time what he would say once he hit the stage.

"A few months ago, during the Culture Festival in Gekkoukan last year, I decided to take the infamous 'One-Winged Angel' by Uematsu Nobuo as my piece de resistance. However, I didn't do that because I liked that composition, even though I do. Rather I selected that for the sake of venting my anger and hatred towards my father. I know that would shock some of you, but my father was not a likeable man, not even by me. And yet, thanks to the people at the school, I was able to change myself for the better and fully set my path to the orchestral world, though I'm staying at Twin Cities at least until 'she' has graduated. 'She' who had become the light to shine upon my darkness, and diverting this chimera- no, snake-maned lion from its lack of self-acceptance. I know 'she's' lived 'her' life in Twin Cities for years and I have no right to take 'her' away, even though I love 'her', as I made a mistake of not taking 'her' years ago and it's too late to rectify that. Whether 'she' would choose to follow me to the UK once 'she' graduates or not, it's up to 'her', and I have no right to make 'her' decision for 'her'.

"Shiori, Tsure, thank you for becoming such great kouhais to me, and entrusting me to be the leader of this club even when I only had been there for a year. Matsunaga, may your music career be also successful in the future. Perhaps we shall meet again in the UK, whether you will be there to study or to perform. Shirogane-san, James, may you be a great detective couple, and especially you, James for being such a good friend."

AM

"And I said that and you weren't there. The air was sucked out of the place when that noticeable empty air was there…" Daijiro said. "Because you ran… Again…"

James looked at Daijiro. "Lad…"

"No excuses! You said you were going to turn yourself in and then you ran!"

"I would have blood turned myself in if that daft cop hadn't let Simone's grieving Dad there to go all Hollywood cliché on me and kick my arse. Moment that happened, and the copper's commanding officer gave him a light reprimand… I knew I was going down a railroad and I left…"

"You ran, let's get that straight, James…"

James threw up his hands in exasperation. "FINE! I RAN! I mean wouldn't you if you came in in good faith and are about to turn yourself in, you just don't say as such until the end…?"

Daijiro made a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's just an out for scrutiny purposes… You had no true intent to turn yourself in. Not deep down. Not when the chips were down. You just say that, just so you could sleep well at night… And so that Shirogane-san can sleep with you…"

James had been looking away from Daijiro until he had said that. "Leave Nao out of this!"

"My, touched a nerve, have I?"

"Bloody sodding right it's been touched! I always meant to turn myself in!"

"I think you may believe that. But then you became a coward and ran."

"Because a grieving father came at me and threatened to kill me!"

"And you couldn't take him? You? James Bond Sykes?"

"I could have taken my father any day!"

Daijiro was confused. "Excuse me?"

"I said 'I could have taken Simone's father any day!'" James said.

"No, you mentioned your father. Why?"

James looked confused. "Why would I mention Dad? He had nothing to do with my running away, past my running away because of Simone."

Daijiro looked like he stumbled upon an answer of some kind, because he said, "Wasn't he, James?"

James scowled. "Go shag a porcupine!"

"No denial. Interesting."

"I do deny it, I just don't have to say specifically!"

"Why so sensitive, James? I'm just trying to figure out why after the Sykes family took my family in, so to speak, would teach us about honor, courage, loyalty, and truth... You'd lie at the drop of a hat and run all the way to Hong Kong."

"Because I was scared of the Old Man!"

"Yours, or Simone's?"

James just laughed and said, "We're done with the psychoanalysis." Then he started to leave.

"So, you're running away still? Coward!"

James stopped. "It's interesting you call me that, after you and Kawahime..."

Daijiro scowled. "We're talking about you... Not rumors and innuendo about me."

James turned around and snickered. "Rumors and innuendo'?! She called me after what happened! Me! Mr. Low Credibility!"

"Low creditability?!" Daijiro said. "I know not what you speak…"

"You don't?! Even though you're supposed to have gotten past the fire your old man set?! The Yakuza DAD?!"

Daijiro looked at him. "I feigned ignorance because I didn't want you to know…"

"Fuck that! Shawn, your 'childhood friend' told me once I got back to Yorkshire after I was deported from Hong Kong and you left to come back to Japan!"

"Only if he didn't hear from me. He misheard '30 days' as '3 days'. But still, you don't understand what…"

"You dumped Kawahime in an orphanage and changed her name! And then when you're reunited with her, you didn't tell her the truth!"

"Because she had amnesia after the fire that nearly killed her. I did what was best to protect her."

"Yeah, in such a way that makes your friends think the least of you!"

"I like how the boy who spread in Japan the fictional character 'Albert Keeler' is calling me out for that."

James shook his head. "Just sodding say 'That's rich, coming from you!' That's how Chuck would say that!"

"Everything you're saying is 'rich', in a poor manner to it. You ran."

"You did too. And you ran from your old man!"

"Better I run from him than you run from some asshole you could have taken!" Daijiro said.

"Please… a few sucker punches and he had me dazed. Your old man, believing in that old honor schtick, still gave you a chance to face him like a man and you were still a little pussy! I'm surprised Kawahime sees ANYTHING in you!"

"You think you know about running from a woman?!"

"I did, to fake her butler who was testing me out and I came back for Nao!"

"And I was reunited with Kawahime!"

"Fate brought you two back together. But you were running from the truth. The truth you deserved to tell her."

Daijiro wondered why James kept this up. And why he was reacting. Responding. "You and I are through. And this is the most courageous step I can take."

"Or you can answer. I think that's more courageous," James said.

"Answer? I'm done trying to answer to you. You're trying to rile me. To prove some chink in my armor. Good try. But we are not in the schoolyard, James. Ever since you and I reunited after you and Christine fought off Dogeyes and his gang, and believe me I was as tense as you were, I held out a small hope that things could go back to the way things were between the pair of us. But it is worthless. You have moved on. I have moved on. I expected better from you. But we are done. You do not call me. I will not call you. Arigato for being the friend you were and let us part as neutral parties."

Daijiro started walking again.

"So you cried like a little sissy girl when Kawahime got hospitalized, rather than explain things?"

Daijiro stopped. "Those were manly tears. And Shiba-kun shouldn't speak so of things not entirely his business."

James snorted. "But you ran when she called your name over and over. Your friends thought you hurt her."

Daijiro nodded. "I was in a corner. I made a mistake. You cannot rile me."

"Hypocrite…" James said.

Daijiro had walked and stopped again. "I am not a hypocrite. At least not now. I own my mistakes. You have not."

"You haven't owned them! You've just defended them! You are so a hypocrite!"

"Tell me how! How am I a hypocrite?!"

"You created a concert just to draw your bastard dad into your web. You were running from him even as you began to try to get back at him. You had a flawed plan that *just* managed to work and you were able to catch him, but you didn't confront him after what he did. You ran from him! You ran for years! Because you wanted no part of him and yet when you had the chance to confront him honorably and fight him on his terms, you didn't do it until your hand was forced. I wonder, was it because thinking about fighting him made you scared?! Did you shit your pants?! And was the only reason you screwed up your damn courage was because you wanted to impress the hell out of Kawahime enough to sleep with yo-?!"

James didn't get to finish.

Because Daijiro punched him and knocked him to the ground.

Then Daijiro cracked his neck. "So, you still don't know to quit while you're ahead. If you agreed for us to become neutral parties, then your nose wouldn't be bleeding. And ow to my neck."

James got up and grinned wickedly. "I could fix that for you… make sure that's the only thing that's moving when I'm done kicking your arse."

Daijiro sighed. "No, James. No… I feel that the person who needs his ass kicked the most right now is you."

He got into a fighting stance. "For agreeing to show up and then not coming through. That's the reason I'll fight. The only reason."

James snickered. "Whatever you wanna believe, hypocrite."

"I believe that at this point you are spoiling for a fight and I mist quote the old axiom, 'Be careful what you wish for'," Daijiro said.

And to underscore his point, he reached out to a tree and pulled out a wooden two-headed kanabo that had been laying against a tree.

James saw it and cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. Apparently it was finished and then laid in such a way that it was practically invisible.

"Don't you know you don't bring a Kanabo to a gun fight…" James said, getting out Delilah and Ruby.

"Those… 'toys' will not hurt me."

James scowled, but Daijiro was right. Unless James was expecting real trouble, he used safety versions of each gun's ammunition. The bullets that would split were rubber-based, while the explosive bullets were mildly concussive, based on knocking an opponent back.

Song – Supremacy – Muse

"En Garde," Daijiro said after tossing of a salute.

James snickered and nodded once and then fired Deliliah.

…

And then Daijiro held up the Kanabo and then swung it in an arc toward James.

James felt the bullet, once split, hit him in the shoulder that he had Ruby in, causing James to drop it.

"Bloody hell!" James said. He quickly picked it up and he fired two bullets from Delilah quickly. "Try and hit these quickly, A-Rod!"

With a quietness that was not typical of Alex Rodriguez, but rather Suzuki Ichiro, he wielded the Kanabo again, hitting both bullets before the split in an arc back to James. This time taking him down to his knees.

"Shite!" James said. When did Daijiro get so fast?!

"Do you yield?" Daijiro said, pressing the other head of the Kanabo at James's chest. "This is not a fight you want."

James gave a wicked grin. "Oh no. I don't yield and this *is* a fight I want."

He then pushed the Kanabo out of the way, got to his feet and fired from Ruby.

Daijiro just quickly planted the Kanabo to the ground on one end and then swung around, avoiding the explosive bullet.

Then he quickly dropped to the ground and then lifted up the one end of the Kanabo to smack James in the left leg below the knee and then above the knee. He then pushed it sideways against James's abdomen before striking James down in the shoulder that had been hit earlier, exacerbating the injury.

James grunted and then found one of the heads of the Kanabo at his throat.

"Now, do you yield?" Daijiro said. "We have not sparred in some time. In addition, I have learned new ways to wield a Kanabo. While you… You never change. And that's why I shouldn't have hoped you would. You're still the same James Bond Sykes. The same boy who would bed anything attractive, male or female. While it is true that you've finally found a committed relationship, you have not changed in any other way possible. Disappointing. I expected more of you. I wanted more from you."

James looked oddly at his friend.

"I do not mean anything romantic by it… at least not in the strictest sense. I…admired you, James. I saw you as someone who had the same integrity and conviction as his siblings and parents. But then I learned that was a façade. An act used to gain friends and seduce lovers. And I learned that at the moment you ran… And so, a couple of years removed from this incident. This decision of your to run. I used it. I used it to fuel the desire to stop running myself. And so I ended things with my father. But you… All you've shown is that you can get a committed relationship and luck can forgive you of many sins… But we both know the true one… the only one that exists: Simone is dead at your words and there's nothing you can do to change that."

"And the fact that I was able to take you so easily? You? Your father would be so disappointed in you."

James flashed back to a previous moment, in his mind's eye, at the Police Station a couple of years before.

"I'm disappointed in you, Jimmy…"

James then saw himself with fear.

Then he looked at Daijiro. Glared, really.

"Oh… so you still have fight… But the fight's done. I hereby offer that we part as acquaintances. Our friendship over and when next we meet, we'll be cordial, but that's it."

He pressed the head down so James was having a harder time breathing. He could, just barely. "And I accept you take it… What say you…?"

"…" James rasped.

"I'm sorry?" Daijiro said, confused. James should have said that a little louder.

"I said… I've changed in one other way… and you still leave yourself open to a lass…"

Daijiro was confused until he felt a feminine kick to his junk.

Daijiro doubled over and wondered if Naoto appeared after all… He had try to ensure she wasn't involved.

But then he turned around and then when he didn't see Naoto, as he turned back to Jamie…

He felt her fist.

Daijiro looked at Jamie. She looked angry and hurt.

"Don't mention Dad…"

Daijiro realized he went too far… Mentioning Jamie's father. She had loved him so and was very broken hearted about his death. Not an Electra Complex, but had been a Daddy's Girl who exasperated him as much as had been adored by him and…

…

Wait a moment… He'd been fighting James…

"How… How…?" Daijiro said.

"Shite!" Jamie said. "Soogi… He bloody can tell I'm James in a lass's boody."

"'Soogi'?" Daijiro said, right before Jamie kicked him in the chest and kicked his kanabo to the side.

"How?!" Daijiro said.

"Soogi…" Jamie repeated.

(I'm sorry, Jamie… Daijiro's got some aura that my magic can't make him exclusively think when you're Jamie, you've always been Jamie…) Sogi said.

Aye, it's called loogic… He's always been a good thinker…

(No… It's something else… Almost magical…)

"Male… Female… It does not matter how you can change gender. You know my grip on the Kanabo wouldn't let up that much from that kick and so you changed so your Adam's apple would disappear, therefore that's how the leverage was lost."

"Can't blame a lass froom trying…"

"But I will still fight you… Male or Female…"

Jamie stopped. "As mooch as I would love to test meh skill in a lass's foorm…" Jamie changed back into James. "I'd like to fight you as how we met. Man to Man…"

"Jamie was manlier than you have been…" Daijiro said.

James narrowed his eyes. "Fuck… You…"

Song – Destiny – Yakuza 6 (As covered by Vincent Moretto)

"To hell with you…" Daijiro replied.

Daijiro then started striking James with his hands. James took one, but not the other and blocked it and then punched Daijiro in the face.

Daijiro moved backwards slightly, but then just adjusted and did a slight jump kick, hitting James in his face.

James snickered. "You're good, but I'm better..."

Daijiro didn't believe James had improved his repertoire until James used a move that Daijiro recognized as being from a Chinese martial art. (He just didn't know which one. Especially when it hit him in the abdomen before he could get over his surprise.)

Daijiro fell to the ground. As he got up, he felt James behind him.

Once Daijiro was standing, he quickly did a spinning kick, but James blocked it. Daijiro then went for another punch, but then quickly adapted once James tried to block that, grab his left arm and judo flipped him over.

"oof!" James said as he landed on his ass. He did a spinning kick to get back up. Then he leapt into the air and then as Jamie, he tried to do a landing double kick.

"I thought you wanted to fight Man to Man…"

"There are two things yeh need to knoo aboot me, Laddie, if yeh haven't already…" Jamie grinned. "I'm a fighter, I can be painfully vindictive, and I do noot play fair…"

Daijiro blinked. "That's three things…"

Jamie did a sliding kick that Daijiro didn't expect and so was down on the ground.

"See… I'm noot playing fair alreadeh…" Jamie said.

Daijiro got up. "Fine… then let me return the favor, and kick your ass!"

"Yeh wooldn't hit a lass, woold yeh?" Jamie taunted.

Then she was punched in the face and kicked in the leg.

"I'm making an exception for you… only because you're trying to run now by using a gender change spell… You still haven't changed."

"Aye…" she said, grinning wickedly as the blood dripped down her nose.

She then punched him in the gut, but he hit her in the shoulder and then kicked her in the leg. Jamie's wicked grin went wolfish and she punched Daijiro in the forehead and then stomped his foot.

Daijiro cursed inwardly. Jamie was using moves James knew, but was quicker, though not as deft. IT seemed she was still getting used to her abil-

Then Daijiro had found she had quickly reached him while he was thinking and had not only turned back into James, but had him in a wrestling hold. Then Daijiro had been picked up and slammed to the ground. Then he was picked up again. "…to a Shiranui!"

Daijiro landed on his back again after being spun 180 degrees in the air. "Now… From a James Bomb…" Daijiro felt James elbow drop on him and bounce off him. "…To a Jamie Leg Hook…" Jamie grabbed Daijiro's left leg with both of hers and tripped him up as he had tried to get up. "…to a Hipster!" She rose up to do a hip drop, but once she landed on Daijiro's abdomen, she was James again, the change done to inflict the ultimate impact.

"From a Spinebuster…" James said before he launched with Daijiro into the air and then landed on his ass but Daijiro landed on his back. "…to a…"

Daijiro grabbed James's arm as he got up for "Flopsam", a belly flop that could cause more abdominal damage and tossed him over his shoulder. James, before he could recover from his surprise, was picked up and flung over Daijiro's back! "From a FlapJim…" he had said in the first part, "…to a ChestButtster…" Daijiro jumped up and landed ass first on James's chest. "…to a 'Shinning'! And that last part is for making me pull out my wrestling moves! Shit!" Daijiro said as he landed knees first into James's shins.

James groaned after all this.

"Look at you…" Daijiro said. "You're such a disappointment…"

James reacted to that. "Eh?"

"You can't even fight fair. You fight like a coward. Where is the heart of the Sykes? Where did your Core go? Your drive?" Daijiro said.

James shook his head. He was still dazed.

And then he wasn't.

Daijiro had been standing over him, but then he didn't see Daijiro when his vision cleared.

"You call yourself a Sykes? Even William has more fight than you…"

"D-Dad?" James said.

James's father looked disappointed at James.

And James wasn't outside, he was in the interrogation room at Yorkshire Police.

"You gonna run again, Jimmy? You gonna be yellow-bellied again?"

"dad… Don't say that…" James said in a small voice.

Daijiro looked concerned. Had James had a concussion? He had asked James if he would yield now and reconsider his philosophical stance. Especially if things were going where he thought they were.

"James, I need an answer…" Daijiro said. "Jimmy can't even give me an answer…" James heard.

"I'm a Sykes…" James said.

"Then prove it, be a man and look beyond yourself/Then prove it, stop being a pussy and kick my arse…"

"I can't…"

"Then I've failed/Then you're a pathetic, cowardly shite!"

James got up. "I'm not pathetic…"

"Nor did I say as such/You're out of the family… You let a girl take you? Now you're letting Dai own you? Where's your cock, lad?"

"Shut up," James said.

"IIE! You need Medical attention!"/"You're in real need of an arse-kicking!"

"You're not my father…"

"Of course I'm not. I'm Dai-"

"YOU'RE NOT DAD!" James howled.

And then Daijiro's eyes widened and he dodged an open palm that would have been a debilitating blow. As in Daijiro would have been in traction. If not dead.

"James! Stop!" Daijiro said.

James kneed Daijiro in the stomach before kicking him there twice and then stomped on his left foot and then punched him in the face three times. Daijiro hooked his leg into James's and then tripped him. James got back up and tried to kick Daijiro in the face, but Daijiro caught the foot and twisted it to the James's left to incapacitate him and then tossed him backward so he landed on his Sykes ass. James got up and despite a slight limp, he kicked and punched Daijiro hard and fast. Daijiro returned what blows he could.

The two boys continued to fight, though Daijiro was just trying weaken James. He realized James was going to keep coming and so instead decided to parry and block James's blows.

That just made James angrier and so he re-doubled his efforts.

And then Daijiro realized he needed to end this fight the only way he could.

He took a blow. A hard one. To his abdomen. And after he landed, began convulsing.

James saw Daijiro convulsing and after he shook off his daze, he saw Daijiro in horror and said with, "Fuck! Not again!"

James tried to hold down Daijiro. He was scared. Really scared.

In fact, he got up to his feet and was about to…

FUCK NO! This was his friend!

"Dai! Please Dai! I'm here!" James said. "Please Dai! It's gonna be okay! I'm gonna call 119 and I'm gonna…"

Daijiro stopped convulsing. James's eyes widened.

"No…" James said, pale. He picked up the phone. Tears running down his face. "I gotta stay… I gotta save Milton… Daijiro… I gotta save…"

Then James cried. Cried at what he had done. Not now. But a couple years before.

"James… He's alive… and so am I…" Daijiro said.

James should have been angry at Daijiro for what he did. Livid. But something in his heart… whether it was Sogi, or his accepted Shadow "Will" or Naoto, or his own conscience… It told him he needed Daijiro right now.

And so James accepted Daijiro's embrace. "Abby told me you may have forgotten… but then I wasn't entirely sure because I didn't know how your Dad figured in."

James nodded and sniffled. "I did… I put a block on it…" James said. "I was so scared that by the time I collapsed from exhaustion in Hong Kong and I woke up 2 days later, my mind had convinced itself and me that… That I punched Milton, Simone's dad, once and ran away after Abby came in. But no… I ran away because Abby came in to stop me from killing him…"

"Self-defense wasn't an argument, was it?"

"Everyone saw me go nuts on him… Because after his sucker punches I was dazed and saw Dad. And everything he said, sounded like it came from Dad. And I relived those words."

Daijiro nodded. He had heard tell that when James was dazed he wasn't in his right mind, but while it made sense, Daijiro had forgotten until it reached the point in the fight where James was re-living things and he needed to put a stop to it by faking Milton's convulsion. A sickening thing to do, but it was the only way Daijiro could think of snapping James out of it.

"I'm truly sorry, James, for making you relieve the trauma that you just have felt. I thought you had run because you didn't have the nerve to stay after what you had did. But then, realizing that… in your rage against Milton, you were actually believing you were being condemned by your father… you wanted to exorcise your guilt of that one event…"

James nodded. "After I had my row with Mum about how I had been out all night on a date with my boyfriend at the time without leaving a message, even though I did, and Bully forgot and she was overlooking his history of failure, Dad caught wind and yelled at me. Hit me a couple of times too and I said I hated both him and Mum for overlooking Bully and that they weren't supportive of my bisexuality. Which wasn't true. Bully's fuck-up made them worry… But I didn't see that. I just saw Bully getting off scot free and so I was pissed. And so when I fought Milton… I saw Dad… And I wanted to prove to him I was a Sykes… I think my logic was a little off…"

James got up to sit down on a seat and Daijiro sat next to him. "You knew towards the end… And yet, you sound like you weren't going to play that card once you figured things out.…"

"I wasn't…Not at first… Only to snap you out of it did I decide to." Daijiro admitted. "I mean, I knew of how you put Milton into the hospital and he's now a paraplegic…" James looked ashamed. "But I didn't know of your fear… and of the guilt you felt about your Dad spilling over. It doesn't excuse what's been done… but now I understand why you ran… you thought you had killed him at first, before rationalizing he was fine when you left him..."

"And that a car crash from his being drunk in a rain storm afterward on a cliffside road caused his injuries…"

"That's a very specific trauma-induced rationalization…" Daijiro said. "But that would make sense…"

"Well, I left very specific injuries that my mind didn't want me to take blame for lest I have a flashback into that dark moment," James said.

"Was that the reason why you didn't show up last night? Not just a dirty magazine?"

James took a breath "I actually did show up."

"No you didn't," Daijiro said firmly.

"Not on stage. Not even in the audience. But I was off the train when a couple of girls talked about the expected performers. They gushed about Nao. They snickered about me. They asked how a cool guy could have a friend like me. Some kid who runs away…"

"But I've never breathed a word for public consumption. And my friends are not gossips."

"But the news is. Apparently an Okina newsmagazine did a report on you. They mentioned how you lived with us. And how you had said you had confronted your demons…"

Understanding formed on Daijiro's face. "After seeing you run away from yours… And I had said that without giving your name. I hadn't even specified the circumstances. The media just zeroed on you and got it right. I'm sorry…"

"It's not that part that made me go back home. It was the doubt that crept in after. 'What if he had meant to make up in the letter, but his anger rose at seeing me at worst, or just giving me pointed comments at best?'" James paused. "God, I had a Chuck Moment, didn't I?"

"I believe that you can learn from Charles-san's more recent example, and not fall into that trap of his past days."

"Easy for you to say," James snorted.

Both of them laughed.

Then James sobered. "I'm sorry I disappointed you by running, Dai... And for fighting dirty."

"You can prove that by fighting me fair..."

"We're having a moment here..." James said, wryly chuckling.

"Sorry," Daijiro said.

"It's fine." James rubbed his slightly aching chin. "Still, I'm surprised you're this pissed about someone missing a dress rehearsal..."

Daijiro glared at him seriously. "Dress rehearsals are the backbone of the symphonic industry. If people are not on the same page at that juncture, it bodes ill for the actual performance."

"I don't do dress rehearsals the night before. Especially for someone who does it the same day also..."

"And yet, if the rehearsal the night before isn't conducive to a great performance, that's why I have another one... It's a good motivational technique..."

James was about to say something when Daijiro said darkly, "You will be at tonight's performance and the preceding rehearsal... And you will play to your fullest potential. I will not be dishonored by my friend just because of a personal belief he has about rehearsals, am I making myself clear?"

"Couldn't we let the fair fight have the rehearsal later be the stakes?" James said.

Daijiro grinned a wicked grin. "You misunderstand. Your participation in this concert is mandatory, you just need to fight me to A)Regain your honor and B)Earn my forgiveness."

James gulped because he knew Daijiro was serious all-around.

"Oh, and please do not summon Jamie in this fight. I wish to spar with her exclusively at a later date."

"I won't summon her..."

"Good. Because how the hell can you bend genders?"

James sighed. He didn't know how Daijiro could pierce Sogi's spell and even Sogi-Yo was at a loss, other than there was some aura around him she thought was almost magical, but James concluded that it could have just been Daijiro's personality that allowed him to figure it out, but he figured his friend was trustworthy.

So he explained everything in quick, broad strokes about what happened in Inaba. The murders. The Midnight Channel. Personas and Shadows. He didn't mention Chris's own gender revolving door or specifically how Minako or Chris had their Personas, he just mentioned they had been involved in some previous unknown incident and already had them by the time James reunited with Chris and met Minako... He also minimalized Chief Suou's involvement to knowledge, but was keeping quiet and told Daijiro the public version of events surrounding Charles's "faked" death. It hurt him to do that, to only trust Daijiro so far, but he had little choice. He had to protect the secret as much as possible. All he had said about Abby getting her Persona through all this was she realized she needed to fully embrace that she was a rebel. Fortunately he was able to finesse that explanation so Daijiro could buy into it.

Daijiro didn't speak for several minutes, wondering if Daijiro HAD bought it.

After a time, though, he said," That is...truly a fantastic tale... I would expect that from one of Shawn's comic books..."

"Aye...but it is the truth..." James had to resist wincing.

Daijiro looked at him. "I am sure it is *a* truth... One that I will not probe further on as I feel, from what I did hear... I am better off not knowing the complete story."

James looked at him. Did Daijiro suspect him of lying and was giving him an out to confess, or was he calling bullshit without jeopardizing their reconciliation by letting it lie?

"Regardless how you feel, Dai, Shawn and Bully are the only ones who don't know, and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible."

Daijiro nodded in a quarter-bow. "I shall remain silent on this, as there are those who would not believe me... Except for Shawn, who would pepper me with fanboy questions."

"That's why we wouldn't tell him, because he'd accept Personas and Shadows, he'd just end up writing volumes of notebooks."

"That he would…" Daijiro said, chuckling.

Then he got into a fighting stance and attitude. James waved his arms and said, "Wait, wait, wait! Explain the fashion trend…"

Daijiro shrugged. "I like the look. En garde."

James got into a fighting stance. "I promise not to make you look too ugly for tonight."

"It does not matter if you beat me hard or not in the face. I shall leave cuts and bruises on your face as well. We both, however, shall be our handsome selves thanks to a sample of the Kirijo liquid bandage I brought."

James's face looked odd. "Couldn't you have broken my nose once and given that stuff to me. Chris says it stings like 17 Hells."

"That would have earned my forgiveness, but wouldn't have restored your honor."

James sighed. "Aren't you exaggera-?" "No, I'm not. You need to restore your honor," Daijiro replied quickly.

James nodded. "En garde."

Both boys bowed and then began fighting again. James hit Daijiro with the flat of his palm in Daijiro's chest as Daijiro had been rushing towards him. He then kicked Daijiro in the leg, but then Daijiro hooked his kicked leg around James's free leg and tripped the Englishman onto his back. James then got back up and ducked a double karate punch by Daijiro and then did a headbutt to his friend's breadbasket. Daijiro grunted, but before James could plant his forearm into Daijiro's chest with his right forearm and punch Daijiro's nose with his left fist in a quick double move in his repertoire, Daijiro punched James in the chest to make him lose his breath and then did a left hook to James's face.

James caught his breath. "Can't we fight dirty now?"

Daijiro laughed. "No! Don't you understand the concept of a 'fair fight'? The definition?"

"Aye… It's usually has my picture in the dictionary with the word 'Loser' on it."

"You only will lose if you turn into Jamie or do any other dirty trick. Real winners play by the rules…"

"Until they have no choice…" James retorted.

"In this fight you have a choice: Fight fair or die without honor…when it's your time," Dijiro added quickly.

"So I'll be cursed?"

"If you'd like…"

James sighed. "I'll fight fair…"

"Good… I was wondering if you were going to give up after I took your breath away."

James snickered. "I never give up when Naoto takes my breath away…"

Daijiro just chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Resume when you will… My aim is to get you to fight me fairly and defeat me… If you can…"

James came at Daijiro again. This time James let Daijiro throw the first punch. Once James dodged, he tossed Daijiro over in a judo move and then kicked him in the chest when he tried to get up. Daijiro just did a back flip and got to his feet. Before Daijiro could make a move, James implemented Charles's walking kick move to keep Daijiro off balance. Daijiro blocked a couple of kicks and then grabbed James's leg and tossed him up in the air. This time, James used his momentum to create a backflip and land on his feet perfectly. Daijiro went for a running punch when he realized James would land perfectly but James, after catching it in his hand, flipped Daijiro again and then did a wrestling piledriver for good measure. Daijiro was dazed and James picked Daijiro up and did a back-bruising backbreaker move.

Daijiro groaned as his swimming vision stabilized.

"Didn't hurt your back too badly, did I?" James said, concerned.

Daijiro chuckled. "I would have thought you learned new skills, but other than those walking kicks, ow, you've merely refined the skills you have… Perhaps showing you learned something in the process…"

"And that is?"

"My ass is, given the right opening, shit that hurts, easier to kick." Daijiro gingerly sat up.

"I've learned something else," James said. Daijiro gave him a sideways upward look. "I think we've fought enough…"

James sat down again. "Sorry if this fair fight lasted shorter than the dirty fight."

"Actually, I had believed you would have won by cheating once I had frustrated you enough. Instead, you showed patience. Elegance. And so…"

"We're buds again?"

"Well, I do not wish you to be an enemy…" He slowly got up. "I think we'll need to repair to an onsen here in Okina."

"Not the Amagi Inn?"

"Is your cousin not there at the moment?"

"No. I don't know where he and Yuki are, but they're not there…"

"And yet, I need to be close by to here… Perhaps there is one close by?"

"Aye… There's a place Nao and I once went to… And just had a bath…"

Daijiro smirked. "I'm sure… But I was thinking of taking Kawahime and was wondering if you would bring Shirogane-san with you… though I would prefer it be a less shady establishment…"

"Aye… There's a more reputable place. I went with Abby, Teddye, Chris, and Nao a couple weeks ago, to this joint. Yes I was Jamie."

"That brings me to another request…" Daijiro smiled. "You must not become Jamie during the concert."

"But she plays the guitar better…"

"I want it to be you, James…"

James shrugged. "Well, it is just the one song… All right…"

"Then let us be on our way…" Daijiro said.

Both boys began moving slowly as they felt the pain of their fights, arms around each other's necks for friendship, not support.

PM – That Night

"As such, in order to show this appreciation to everyone in Gekkoukan High School, my friends who helped me during my lifetime, 'she' who loved me despite my many, many faults, everyone who worked hard to invite us and make this charity concert possible, and of course the audiences who spends their time to come to this concert; I, the graduated head of the Gekkoukan Music Club, Saito Daijiro, as the final performance I will be doing for this club, we will perform a composition that showed itself during the opening ceremony for new students at Gekkoukan two years ago, for those who will be the next Golden Generations of Gekkoukan. It's a composition that is missed to watch two years ago, a composition that I look forward to since, a Composition that will encourage everyone to stand up and pledge your allegiance to whatever personal cause that you will be done in your own life. So, without further ado, we present you, MOON OVER THE CASTLE!"

To be Continued…