Tuesday just after midnight, August 14th 2012
The park across the street from the Furukawa Bakery
Takeshi was uncharacteristically nervous. A few years ago, he would check his toolbox once and leave everything else to the team leader. After Kohaku started accompanying him on his explorations, he got in the habit of checking things a little more seriously. He would check all of the gear – not just the toolboxes. Not only that, he was also checking Kohaku's stuff as well. She had asked him to double-check her gear on the first and second mission they went on together. After that, it had just become a habit.
He knew that she was fully capable of doing her own equipment check by now, but it just made him feel better to know that she would be safe. Still, it wasn't a comfortable feeling for him. He wasn't used to worrying about anyone else's things. He didn't care for people going through his stuff and it made him uneasy when he had to go through another person's gear.
Takeshi wasn't the only person that knew this about himself. All of his friends joked about him never getting the 'sharing' lesson in kindergarten, but that wasn't really it. He was willing to let someone else use one of his tools if they needed it. He just didn't like them digging through his gear to find what they needed. Kohaku had figured that out after a few bitter spats. She had seen him grow a lot since she first met him, but that was one part of his personality that would probably never change. Even though they had been living together as a couple for over a year now, there were some boundaries even she would not cross. And neither would he… except for checking her gear before a mission.
And yet, on this early August morning Kohaku tried to keep herself from laughing as her boyfriend fought his own instincts and went through the gear of all four of the expedition members. Takeo and Mayonaka stood with Kohaku and watched with equal measures of fascination and humor.
"His face… is really red." Takeo commented quietly to the two girls.
"Yeah, he really doesn't like to do this." Kohaku said through the fingers that were hiding her whimsical smile. "But, he wanted to try being a team leader this time and that is the price you have to pay."
Of course, Kohaku was referring to the heavy responsibility of being the one to lead the exploration team on this mission. Isamu had long been the principle mission leader but Mikio and Kenta had taken their turns at the position as well. Both Tomoyo and Yukine had congratulated them and there had been subtle changes in those three after they had taken their turns at wearing the mantle of responsibility.
Takeshi didn't care at first, but there was more to it than getting praise from people that he admired and respected. Those changes… Takeshi could see them too. When others commented that they had become people that were inherently more valuable to society, he couldn't argue that either. When he thought about how his life was changing, and how he was already changing as a person… he started to care a little more. After he considered what the future of his life would be like, with Kohaku and the eventuality of marriage and possibly… children, he knew that he had to change even more.
"I still can't believe that he wants to be the leader. I never thought he was that kind of guy." Takeo said while he watched Takeshi finishing up with his own pack. He did appreciate how Takeshi carefully put everything back exactly the way it was.
"Love can change a guy." Mayonaka sighed.
"I can't wait till he goes through my stuff." Kohaku said with a strained voice as she tried desperately to hide her smirk behind the fingers in front of her face.
"What did you do?" Mayonaka ask conspiratorially.
"Oh… I might have packed something that just might embarrass him when he finds it… a little… just a little." Kohaku had to bring up her other hand to hide her mirth when she saw him pick up the little box.
Takeshi found the rectangular box wrapped like a gift box, hidden amidst the ordinary things in the picnic basket that Kohaku had packed. The basket had a false bottom for some of their more high-tech gear, but this didn't look like one of the things that needed to be hidden from view. Quickly studying it, he found that it was gift wrapped in a way that it could be easily opened without ruining the wrapping, so he decided to check it out.
"AH!" Takeshi flailed from the surprise when the top came off the box and revealed the contents. Unfortunately, the flailing meant that the brightly colored foil packets that filled the box were strewn all over the pergola like over-sized confetti.
Kohaku was doubled over with laughter.
Takeo shook his head and wondered why Takeshi and Kohaku always acted like high school kids in love.
Mayonaka bent over and picked up one of the square packets that had fallen at her feet. The slender, bright yellow packet with the contours of a ring shaped thing sealed inside it… didn't need a label. Any adult would know what this thing was, and what it was for. And, by the casual way that Kohaku had used them in a joke, it was obvious that she and Takeshi were doing THAT.
By the way Fuko had been glued to Ryota whenever they were together, it was likely that they were doing THAT.
She also suspected that her friend Kishiyami and Mikio were doing THAT.
Even the ones in the exploration teams that weren't doing THAT, seemed to have paired off with their special someone… and probably would be sooner or later.
Sighing as she looked at the brightly colored packet in her hands, her own mood could only be melancholy at best. She had a special someone too, but he was doing THAT… with someone else. Ever since the trip to the frozen world where they had rescued Kyou-kun, there had been a special place in her heart for Takeo. But Takeo was already taken, even if his girlfriend was currently out of the country. "Not that I could ever steal him away from her anyway."
"You're comparing yourself to Melissa-hakase again, aren't you?" Yukine asked quietly.
"Yu…" Mayonaka jolted at the sudden question. She hadn't even known Yukine was in the pergola, much less standing right next to her. "Yukine-sama, you are observant as ever."
"You might think that there are many things she could best you on, but there is one thing that you can claim – that Melissa could never achieve." Yukine said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh? Please tell me." Mayonaka said wryly.
"Melissa is taller than you."
"Yes."
"She is a natural red-head."
"Yes, but..."
"She is an accomplished scientist."
"Well yeah."
"She is very elegant and refined."
"Yes."
"She is… more endowed than you."
"I meant for you to tell me the one thing that I'm better at!" Mayonaka shouted as her arms folded protectively over her modest chest.
"I never said you were better at this," Yukine told the flustered young woman, "but Takeo is Japanese and you are Japanese."
"So?" Mayonaka asked.
"We are in Japan. In competitive events, isn't this called the home-field advantage?"
"Seriously… you think I have a chance at going up against Melissa-hakase?" Mayonaka asked cynically.
"You will certainly have no chance if you don't try." Yukine said sagely.
Mayonaka viewed Yukine in a new way for a few moments. All of the former bikers and gangsters regarded Yukine with respect as a wise and caring person. But, hearing such advice from Yukine seemed somehow odd. It wasn't that the counsel was unwise, but it was certainly unexpected. Until now, Mayonaka had thought that Yukine and Melissa were friends. For her to tell me to try and steal her friend's boyfriend is strange. But… there is no sign of guile or deceit in her eyes. Perhaps… "Perhaps I will try after all."
"Good for you." Yukine's smile broadened a bit at Mayonaka's newfound courage. "You should go and finish your preparations. And good luck with your endeavors."
"Thank you, Yukine-sama." Mayonaka said before she headed over toward the pile of gear to help pick up the remaining foil packets.
Yukine stepped out of the pergola and tapped the icon to dial the number that had been queued up. It only rang once before it was quickly answered. "Good morning… or is it evening there?"
"It's late morning… yesterday from your perspective." Melissa's voice chuckled through the smartphone. There was a pause, then she asked, "Did you talk to her?"
"Yes. Are you quite sure this is what you want?" Yukine asked.
"She… Mayonaka really loves him, right? I mean… the kind of love where she sees fireworks and stars when she thinks about him. Is it like that?" Melissa asked with a voice that sounded of pleading and hope.
"I'm sure of it." Yukine said warmly.
"Then… this is what I want." Melissa said after a deep breath.
"Melissa-chan," Yukine tried to keep her voice steady but she couldn't keep the tears from her eyes when she thought about her next question, "are you sure that you don't want to tell him? He cares for you very much, you know."
"Don't. Please don't." Melissa sounded like she was choking on her words as well.
"What should I tell him after…" Yukine couldn't finish the sentence but her friend came to her rescue.
"Tell him… tell both of them that I swore you to secrecy. I know I am acting very selfishly, but I am a red-head so it is my right." Melissa tried to lighten the mood with a little humor but it only went so far.
"I will honor your wishes." Yukine said softly but resolutely.
"One last thing. When you guys get Kotomi back, please tell her that I loved her. She was my senpai, my idol, and the best friend that I ever had." Melissa said stiffly.
You should tell her that when she gets back. It won't be long now! We should have her back within the next five or six missions. Your own research says that. So just fight and hang on until then. …is what Yukine wanted to say. But she knew the truth, and she knew it would probably be impossible for the feisty red-head. Instead, she took a deep breath to stoke up her own courage and said, "I promise, I will convey your feelings for you."
"Thank you, Yukine. I… I have to go now." Melissa said just before the line went dead.
Yukine stared at her phone and at the picture of the smiling red-head that lingered on the softly glowing screen after the disconnected call. She wasn't upset about the abrupt disconnection at all. If anything, she appreciated that Melissa had been able to talk for as long as she had.
"That was Melissa, wasn't it?"
Nagisa's voice surprised Yukine. She quickly turned around to see Ryou there as well.
"What's going on?" Ryou asked suspiciously.
"Nothing! Nothing at all."
Yukine tried to hide her words in fake cheerfulness but both of these girls had known her for a long time. Even in the pale lamplight, they could see the darkness around her eyes.
"Yukine-chan, leave the acting to me. We can both see that you are upset." Nagisa said with more concern than reproof.
"Please… promise me that you will help me keep this secret." Yukine pleaded.
"Does it impact the safety of anyone on the exploration teams?" Ryou asked before agreeing to Yukine's request.
"No, it does not." Yukine said quietly.
"Then I will agree to keep your secret." Ryou said.
"I will too!" Nagisa added.
"We will… not be seeing Melissa again." Yukine said as she struggled with the words.
"Why? She doesn't want to come to Japan anymore?" Nagisa asked.
"No, she wants to come back. She wants to come back and see all of us again, more than anything in the world." Yukine couldn't hold back the emotions and had to raise her arm over her face to hide the falling tears.
"Then why…" Nagisa started to ask but Ryou squeezed her hand.
"She's dying, isn't she?" Ryou asked.
Yukine tried to answer but could only nod her head.
"Cancer?" Ryou guessed.
Yukine nodded her head again.
What kind? Ryou wanted to ask, but there was no point. She knew that the place where Melissa was from had the best cancer treatment hospitals in the world. From the little that Yukine had said, she knew it would be one of the cancer's that was fatal and didn't leave a lot of time between detection and death.
"No!" Nagisa rushed to Yukine's side and hugged her.
Ryou stepped in as well, to comfort a friend who had been bearing this grief all alone until now.
There was no rain that night. Neither was their moon or stars. Clouds covered the world in a blanket of warm humid gloom. It was not the kind of vista that any director would have chosen for this kind of scene, but that was another tragedy of unscripted life.
.
Inside the tent, everyone was gathered around the table where Ryota and the researchers watched the information coming back from the probe. The date was six and a half years in their past, which wasn't too bad. But there was a collective groan when they saw the weather data.
"Is this another frozen hell universe?" Isamu asked.
"I don't think so." Ryota had another laptop open and was pulling up historical data from the national weather service. "This storm matches our own weather records for that date. It blew in the previous day and should already be tapering off. There will be a lot of accumulated snow on the ground, but the winds should die down and there should be clear skies in the next hour."
"Still cold though, eh?" Takeshi stated more than asked.
"It's cold enough to keep the snow on the ground, but not as bad as the frozen hell world. And… it won't last." Ryota replied.
"Oh? You can tell that from the sensor ball?"
"No, I can tell that from the weather archives." Ryota gestured to the other laptop on the table before him. It was open to a page displaying data for the entire month of February of 2006, but the weather for Sunday the 12th was exploded into more detail. "The weather on the target world has exactly the same weather that was recorded for our world on that date."
"I guess the picnic basket routine is out." Mayonaka said with a little sadness. She had really been looking forward to walking around and holding hands with Takeo… even if it was all just pretend.
"Look at the bright side," Takeo grinned triumphantly, "we get to wear the work clothes!"
"Body armor for the win!" Takeshi agreed wholeheartedly with his friend.
"I thought you liked to see me in the sundress?" Kohaku pouted at Takeshi while he was fist-bumping with Takeo.
"Uh… I do! But…" Takeshi felt trapped but his friend helped out.
"Hah!" Takeo laughed, "Those pretty sundresses are fine for around here, but when we go to another world, it's armor baby. The way Takeshi worries about you, I'm surprised he doesn't insist that they make you a dress out of that armored cloth stuff."
"All right, enough!" Takeshi said to everyone but he was blushing after what Takeo had said, "We gotta get to repacking and gearing up. Let's go!"
"I guess it doesn't matter whether I'm in a sundress or those baggy work overalls." Mayonaka said while she glanced down at her modest chest.
"Sure it does. You're a lot better protected in the overalls." Takeshi said brusquely. It was obvious that he was clueless about her self depreciating comment about her chest.
Just as Mayonaka was about to round on Takeshi for his thoughtlessness, Takeo said something that stopped her in her tracks.
"Too bad about her legs though. Mayonaka has a great set of legs and those sundresses show 'em off real good." Takeo commented.
"Yeah they do!" Takeshi gave Takeo another fist-bump as the two men entered the tent where they would change into their cold weather gear.
Kohaku stopped walking and looked back at Mayonaka who was wearing a strange grin. "You okay?"
"He… he likes my legs!" Mayonaka said in a hushed voice.
"Of course he does. You've got great legs." Kohaku told her friend, "One of the advantages of being tall is all the leg you get to show off."
"I'm not that much taller than you." Mayonaka huffed.
"Like ten centimeters!" Kohaku retorted.
"Hah, only seven or eight." Mayonaka knew that she was exactly eight centimeters taller than Kohaku, but her height wasn't something she was thrilled with, especially when she was taller than the guy she liked. Even if it was just one centimeter. It made her self conscious even though it was obvious that Takeo didn't have a problem with taller women. After all, Melissa was taller than any of them.
Melissa… despite the pep talk that Yukine-sama had given her, Mayonaka still felt guilty about her feelings for the man that was in a relationship with the American red-head. When we get back, I will have to call her, apologize to her, and confess my feelings for Takeo.
"Whoa, what's with these mood swings? You were so happy a minute ago and now you look depressed. Are you on your per-hmmmf." Kohaku's indelicate question was interrupted by Mayonaka's hand over her mouth.
"NO!" Mayonaka's reply was louder than she had wanted. In a quieter voice, she hissed, "I'm not… anyway, I'm fine! Just don't ever ask me that question again!"
.
An hour later, everyone was gathered at center field. The trucks had already started spinning up their accelerators and the crews were getting in place for the departure of the exploration crew. Anyone who didn't already know what happened in this park every four weeks would have thought that there was some kind of early morning construction going on. Until they saw the four people who seemed very strangely dressed for this time of year. It was true that the nights in August were cooler than the days, but certainly not cold enough to need parkas.
"Let me have your attention for your final briefing." Kobayashi Jun said as he glanced up from the tablet in his hand. "You should be arriving a few hours before sunrise. The bakery may not be open yet, but Akio will probably be inside and at work. The collegiate year in America runs from August to May, so Kotomi may be out of the country – so, if this is a universe where Kotomi went abroad for college, she won't be home. However, that assumption needs to be validated. It is also possible that this universe's Kotomi is attending a domestic college and may be home on the weekend. Likewise, the Fujibayashi sisters should be at their respective colleges. So, although movement will be difficult with the snow, this trip should be fairly simple."
"Right," Takeshi, as the team leader this time, repeated what he understood their objectives to be, "check on Kotomi's status in that world, check with the Furukawas, and come back."
"Correct. I know it sounds like a simple errand, but I can't stress how important this is. Depending on what you find, we should have our Kotomi's destination narrowed down to three or four possible worlds." Kobayashi told them all.
"Thirty seconds." the announcement was made in all of their earpieces.
"We'll do our best, hakase!" Takeshi gave the older man a quick bow and turned with the others to head for their departure point at the middle of center field.
Back at the safety line, Nagisa stood next to Ryou and Kobayashi to watch the departure of their friends. Nagisa was the only one at the barricade that didn't need a visor to see the dance of the mysterious light baubles… which was another mystery in itself. Others weren't wearing their visors, but they had seen the show so many times that the fascination had worn off for them. But not for Nagisa. Every time she saw the dancing lights, she was filled with feelings of hope, warmth, and love. And yet, a bit of sadness too. Curiously, the story of the last girl in the world came to mind. Nobody else could tell her why she would think of her old high school play at a moment like this, but there was another curiosity that others could answer.
"Why do they always go to the bakery?" Nagisa asked while they all watched the glowing baubles whirl around the four people at the center of the light storm.
"The answer to that question is in the notes that Kotomi left behind." Kobayashi explained, "One of the reasons that she chose this particular place for the experiments is it's proximity to the bakery, your family, and you."
"Me?" Nagisa reacted with stunned surprise. She had heard Kotomi theorize that the pathways to all these different universes were created by dissatisfied Ushio's that rebelled against the unfairness of the realities of their own worlds. But she hadn't heard that she was mixed up in it too.
"Of course. Who do you think that the Ushios are searching for when they create all these wormholes?" Kobayashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Me?" Nagisa answered the question with surprise but this time it was from the incredulity of her own answer. She wanted to discuss Kotomi's theory a little more, but the countdown reached zero at that moment and something strange happened that they had never seen before.
Instead of the light baubles shooting up into the sky in a vibrant column, they seemed to implode into the center of the departing group this time.
"What… what the hell was that?" Tomoyo demanded immediately.
"I'm sending a message now." Ryota replied while his fingers made a blur over the keyboard.
.
Sunday early morning, February 12th 2006
The park across the street from the Furukawa Bakery
"Whoa!" Mayonaka gasped as soon as the transfer was complete. As radical as the change from the warm August morning to this waning blizzard was, the change in weather was not the cause of her exclamation.
From the perspective of the four explorers, they had seen all the light baubles rush toward them at the last moment in their own universe, then explode away from them in the new universe. But once the explosion was complete, the baubles didn't dissipate or rush off like they usually did. They simply hovered in place as if waiting for something to happen.
"What the hell was that?" Takeo was also surprised.
"This kind of thing… has never happened before?" Kohaku asked.
"Not on any of da missions dat I ever been on… or heard of either." Takeo replied.
"Language." Kohaku reminded Takeo. She knew he was usually pretty good, but tended to regress under stress.
"Listen up!" Takeshi sounded more brusque than he had intended, but no-one complained, "Kohaku and Takeo, scout positions. Mayonaka, come with me to the dugout. I want you to send a message home… let them know what happened."
"Right!" the three replied and set off for their destinations. Takeo took the far end of the outfield while Kohaku went in the direction of the bakery.
Mayonaka was still setting up her communicator and laptop when Kohaku's voice came in over the radio.
"Um… is it just me, or are there a whole lot more of these light bauble things here than what came with us?"
"I'm seein lots of em too." Takeo's voice sounded confused, but not afraid, "It looks like… theys all over the city."
"Oh!" Mayonaka gasped when she got the communication software up.
"What? Is it broken?" Takeshi asked with concern.
"No, it's fine. I just didn't expect to already see a message. There is something here from Ryota." Mayonaka replied as she opened up the message, "They saw the same thing we did. The light baubles went with us and not up into the sky. They want to know if we are okay."
"I'm okay." Takeo replied quickly.
"No problems here." Kohaku added.
"I'm good." Mayonaka reported.
"All right… tell them what we saw and that we are ready to continue the mission."
It took a few minutes, but the messages were finally exchanged and they were told to proceed. There was a note from Tomoyo that she wanted them to use extra caution.
"She's gonna be a helicopter mom, sure enough." Takeo groaned. His own mother had been the type to get drunk in the kitchen while he ran around outside without any shoes on. In truth, he wished he had got a little more attention from his mother when he was just a kid. But not so much that he could abide by the kind of mother that was constantly hovering around her children.
"I kinda like it." Mayonaka sighed, "There ain't… haven't been that many people that worried about me in my life, ya know?"
An almost reverent silence hung in the air for a few moments while each of the team members thought of their own pasts and why they venerated Tomoyo and Yukine. Kohaku was the one to snap out of it first, but she waited for Takeshi to get everyone's attention over the communicator.
"Takeo and Mayonaka, you two head out for the Ichinose place. Kohaku and I will check out the bakery and head over to the Fujibayashi place if we need to." Takeshi announced, but waited until Mayonaka was all packed up again before heading out to join his girlfriend who was already on the path to the bakery.
"Roger." all three replied.
Takeo had thought that Takeshi might want to keep the team together since something weird had already happened. But, the advantage of splitting up into pairs was that they could finish their tasks sooner, and get home more quickly.
It wasn't long before Mayonaka caught up with Takeo at the perimeter of the park and headed off toward the Ichinose residence. Their walk would take quite a bit longer than the other two had to travel to the bakery. As a result, they could hear their companion's progress over the communicators as they walked up and down snow covered streets.
"The front of the bakery is still shuttered." Takeshi said.
"There is a light on upstairs though." Mayonaka said.
"Upstairs? That's odd, usually Akio will leave the lights upstairs off while he starts working in the bakery downstairs." Takeshi commented.
"I don't hear anything through the shutters, but it's hard to hear through the storefront shutters anyway." Takeshi said.
"Should we knock a little louder?" Kohaku asked.
"I'd like to, but I don't want to draw too much attention with all the noise." Takeshi replied. He looked up and down the street and didn't see anyone about, but that didn't mean someone wouldn't look through their windows and call the police out of concern. At least it'll take the cops a long time to get here, if some busybody does call 'em. This snow ain't lettin nobody go nowhere.
"Let's go around back." Kohaku suggested. She was worried that just standing there, in front of a closed up store might draw attention if they remained there any longer.
"Yeah." Takeshi agreed.
Listening to the other pair's conversation, Mayonaka looked around at their surroundings while she trudged through the snow with Takeo. His strides were as big as they were powerful, but Mayonaka was no slouch in the legs department. She had no difficulty keeping up with his pace through the accumulated snow. Relying on him to be the guide, she tried her best to open her senses up to everything around them.
The snow had stopped and the clouds were quickly breaking up – just as Ryota had predicted. With the absence of the falling snow and clouds, the deafening silence that comes with a snowfall was gone for the most part. She could hear the sounds of nature, if not traffic. The wind had died down but she could still hear it's soft whisper as it passed through the bare tree limbs. A few speckled birds watched the two passing by from their tree branch. It was hard to tell what color they were through the light intensification visor, but the image was sharp… if a bit monochrome. Other than the birds, there wasn't much going on in the snow covered town.
It seemed that people weren't ready to challenge the mountains of snow with their cars just yet. Being a Sunday, most people wouldn't be in a rush to wake up early anyway. The sky was still dark, but a little glow was beginning in the direction where the sun would soon be rising.
And the baubles…
Still using her visor since dawn had only just begun, she could see the countless light baubles hanging in the air everywhere. Also, it was very difficult to catch, but she could see a new light bauble appear now and again. Unlike the countdown to their parallel world travel, the little orbs didn't all appear close to the ground. Many did, but others would appear in all kinds of random places. A few of them even popped into existence right in front of Mayonaka's face as she followed Takeo toward the Ichinose home.
"Okay… this is really weird." Takeshi said.
"What is it?" Takeo asked but kept walking.
"The back door isn't locked and I still don't hear anyone inside." Takeshi told them.
"Do you want us to come back?" Takeo asked as he came to a stop at an intersection.
"No… we can handle this much." Takeshi decided.
"You guys need to keep talking. Let us know what you find." Mayonaka requested.
"Good idea. We're going in now." Takeshi said as he pulled the door open and stepped inside. They spent a minute stepping out of their snow covered boots before entering the residence.
"This place isn't a disaster like the frozen hell world. The kitchen is clean and the living room is orderly. I'm pretty sure Sanae is healthy and living here in this world." Kohaku said quietly into her microphone.
"Akio? Sanae? Nagisa? You guys home? We found the back door open and are a little concerned. Anyone home?" Takeshi called out as he made his way into the bakery part of the residence. In a lower voice he told his friends, "No-one's in the bakery. It doesn't look like Akio-san has started the morning run yet."
"This late?" Takeo sounded more concerned. "He'll never cover the morning rush at this point."
"I'm upstairs now." Kohaku announced, "Nagisa's room is mostly cleaned out. It's not left alone like a shrine… I think she doesn't live here anymore."
"Away at university?" Mayonaka asked over the radio link.
"Possibly." Kohaku said while still looking for clues.
"What about the parents' room?" Takeshi asked. He heard footsteps on the floor above then heard a reply.
"The bedding isn't put away and drawers are left open… as if they had to leave here in a hurry." Kohaku said.
"Or… get somewhere in a hurry." Takeshi said as his eyes settled on a number of pictures on the wall inside the door from the bakery entrance. The Furukawa home in his universe had something like that too. Sanae always had happy pictures of her family on display. One picture stood out to him. It had several people that he recognized. Tomoya, Kotomi, Kyou, Ryou, Nagisa, and Youhei were in it. They were all seated around a kotatsu and smiling warmly at the camera. While he studied the picture, he called out over his radio, "How close are you to the Ichinose house?"
"We're here." Takeo replied. "This place has never been modified, so I think the Kotomi in this universe is on a different path than ours.
"No-one is at home, but it doesn't look like anyone left in a hurry. I think it is as Kobayashi-hakase said – Kotomi is probably away at university now." Mayonaka said. She was more certain of her answer after eyeing some American souvenirs in the study.
"Waitaminit… if no-one is there, how did you get in?" Takeshi asked.
"Tomoya-sama gave me a set of the keys that went to the house before all the upgrades were done." Mayonaka replied as she entered the master bedroom bath and looked wistfully at the place where the large bath should be.
"That's… that's breaking and entering!" Takeshi exclaimed.
"It's not breaking. I used the keys." Mayonaka rebutted.
"It's still a crime!" Takeshi fumed.
"No it's not. I have permission from Tomoya-sama." Mayonaka objected.
"Baka! The Tomoya from our universe can't give you permission to enter the home in this universe. He might not even have a relationship with the Kotomi-sama here." Takeshi growled.
"Semantics. Besides, aren't you being a bit critical considering where you are now?" Mayonaka smirked.
"Stop using big words on me!" Takeshi hissed into the microphone.
"Hey," Kohaku called out as she approached him, "relax big guy. She's just saying that we are guilty of the same thing. And we are, right?"
"Dammit!" Takeshi hit the wall in his frustration. The impact caused the picture that he had been studying, to fall to the floor. He watched Kohaku bend over to pick it up, but she stopped her movement before she could put it back on the wall. He could see her eyes open wide and she flipped the picture over to read what was written on the back side. "What's wrong?"
"This picture… did you see it?" Kohaku seemed both excited and worried.
"What is it?" Mayonaka's voice came over their radios.
"It is a group picture of Tomoya, Kotomi, Kyou, Ryou, Nagisa, and Youhei. Tomoya is sitting next to Nagisa and she looks to be seven or eight months pregnant. The note on the back says, 'Happy New Year 2006' on it."
"So the picture is six years old?" Takeo asked with a 'so what' expression.
"No. It's February of 2006 in this universe, so that picture isn't even two months old." Kohaku replied over the radio.
In the Ichinose house, Mayonaka ran over to a window and looked out at the sky. Through the special filters of the visor, she could see all of the light baubles outside. The sky was full of them and they were beginning to move again. Spinning around, she pulled out her laptop and the communication device.
"What?" Takeo went over to the window to see whatever it was that seemed to make Mayonaka panic. "I don't see anything."
"Put your visor down and look again." Mayonaka was typing furiously as she spoke.
"What is it?" Takeshi asked from the Furukawa home.
"The light baubles… there's a lot more than before and they're moving again." Takeo reported from the window. He didn't know exactly what that meant, but he was starting to have a bad feeling.
"Today… this morning… is Ushio's birthday." Mayonaka explained while she typed, "So, according to Kotomi's theories, one of two things is going to happen… or has just happened. Either Okazaki Nagisa died in childbirth, which will cause this Ushio to create the wormholes some day…"
"Or?" Takeo prompted when she paused to concentrate on her typing.
"Or… this is the universe that the distraught Ushio was looking for… and Nagisa lives." Mayonaka looked up and asked, "Any last words before I send this?"
.
Tuesday early morning, August 14th 2012
The park across the street from the Furukawa Bakery
Tomoyo was lying down on a bench with her head in Isamu's lap. Isamu enjoyed moments like this. He would like to have been able to run his fingers through her long platinum blond hair while she slept, but that wasn't possible with Tomoyo. Especially not when some of her boys were out on one of their exploration missions. Like a cat, she would wake up in an instant at the slightest disturbance, so Isamu satisfied himself with just watching over her. It seemed that only a few minutes had passed since she had finally allowed herself to relax when warning sounds started blaring. The jarring noise came from speakers, the laptops set up on the tables in the room, and in the earbuds in their ears.
"What the hell?" Isamu demanded even as Tomoyo was on her feet and heading for the table where Ryota and several of the technicians were scrambling for answers.
"Is the exploration team calling for an emergency pickup?" Tomoyo asked. She glanced up for a moment when Kenta, Kimera, and Mikio charged into the room.
"No no… that's a different kind of alarm." Ryota replied.
"Then what is it?" Isamu asked as he took his place next to Tomoyo and also looked at the laptop displays over Ryota's shoulders.
"Just a minute. I've never seen anything like this before." Ryota was a good technician and had been taking the classes that would make him a good engineer some day. But he wasn't yet at the level of the scientists and researchers that surrounded him. On the other hand, they were trying to find answers too.
"The wormhole is collapsing." Kobayashi said as he entered the pergola. His hair was still a mess from an attempt to get a quick nap, but his eyes were clear and his mind was sharp.
"Is something wrong with one of our trucks?" Tomoyo asked. She knew that they had spare accelerator trucks and it would just be a matter of getting a replacement here and spinning the accelerators back up, if that was the problem. Unfortunately…
"I don't think…" Kobayashi cut himself off as he sat down at the table with Ryota and the others. He checked several of their screens and consulted with some of the other scientists. His face looked grim and his hand was balled into a fist as he told them, "No, the problem is not on our side."
"Then what…" Tomoyo started to ask but was interrupted by Ryota.
"Incoming message!" he called out. The message was text instead of voice, so he brought it up on his screen.
"What are they saying? Are they at the park? Can we retrieve them?" Tomoyo asked.
"The tunnel is closing quickly… even now, I don't know if they would live through it if we tried." Kobayashi admitted.
"The message is from Mayonaka." Ryota read the message and told the others in the room, "The Kotomi of this world is studying abroad. No sign of the Furukawa's as yet. They… they have observed light baubles everywhere. Mayonaka says that today is Ushio's birthday. She believes that world may be Nagisa-Prime."
"Nagisa-Prime? What is that?" Kenta asked.
"According to Kotomi's hypothesis, all of the worlds that we can travel to, are at the other end of wormholes that were created by desperate Ushio's." Kobayashi explained, "In the worlds where these Ushio's are from, the sadness of the loss of one or both of their parents triggered this search for a universe where they can all live happily together. Kotomi referred to the universe that would fit Ushio's needs perfectly as Nagisa-Prime."
"So dat's a good ting right? Lil Ushio get's her wish. Den why's all dese alarms goin off?" Iwao asked.
"What happens when you find what you're looking for?" Kobayashi asked the rhetorical question but he could see that some of the people in the tent were still having trouble processing the answer from what he had given them.
"The Ushio that opened that wormhole has stopped looking for her Nagisa-Prime because she found it." Ryota explained to his friends, "The only reason we were able to use the wormhole was because the Ushio that opened it, was still looking for her perfect world… so it was still open. Now that she's found what she was looking for, her search is over and all the wormholes she opened are closing."
"Then… does that mean we've lost all the worlds? We've lost Kotomi-sama?" Isamu asked.
"No," Kobayashi shook his head and explained, "there are a lot of Ushio's searching for their happy future. We will only lose the wormholes that were created by the same Ushio. As soon as we can, we will conduct an experiment to determine if any of the remaining target worlds are lost to us."
"Are you telling me that we have just lost Takeo, Takeshi, Kohaku, and Mayonaka? Is that what you're saying?" Tomoyo demanded. She was starting to look as angry as Kyou when she worked herself up into her demonic aura.
"There… may be a way to get them back." Kobayashi answered while his mind was puzzling out the effort that it would take. "I believe there is a good chance that it could work. But it won't be soon."
"What are you thinking?" Isamu asked.
"First, we need to get our Kotomi back, then contact the other Kotomi who has helped us in the past. She was working on a machine that used a different principle to view parallel worlds." Kobayashi looked like he was about to embark on a lecture on how this could work when he was interrupted.
"If you have any messages for them, you'd better do it quick. The wormhole may collapse at any moment." Ryota told everyone in the room.
"You said that this Kotomi is off at university in America, like ours was?" Tomoyo asked Ryota.
"Yes Boss." Ryota didn't think Mayonaka had been certain of this when she sent her message, but there wasn't enough time to discuss probabilities.
"Tell them to use the Kobayashi protocol." Tomoyo ordered.
"Yes, Boss." Ryota immediately started typing.
"Kobayashi protocol?" Kobayashi asked, since he had never heard of such a thing.
"They are going to contact the Kobayashi in that universe for help." Tomoyo told him.
"Can you get the text file off this thing?" Yukine held up a pink USB fob that she had pulled out of her purse. "It needs to be sent to… all of them."
"Sure." Ryota took the drive, plugged it into the laptop, and saw the only file on the drive. He thought the title a bit strange and asked, "daisuki desu sayonara?"
"Yes." Yukine looked sad as she told them, "It is a special message from Melissa. It is for all of us."
Nagisa and Ryou were the only ones that weren't stunned when the tears started falling from Yukine's eyes. The two embraced her while she silently sobbed in the quiet pergola.
.
"By the time you read this…"
The message had been read to everyone by Nagisa. Only her acting skills saved her from faltering into tears and sobs like the others. It had been Melissa's heartfelt goodbye. She told them about her incurable condition but, thanks to all of them and their wonderful friendships, she would face the end with no regrets.
The message was sent to the four friends on the other world but there was no way to know if they had received it. The tunnel failed completely during the attempt.
Tomoyo was moved the most by Melissa's sayonara message. Her bravery at facing the inevitable end had been inspiring. But there was another element that made her change her way of thinking. She was still upset about what had happened to four of the people she was responsible for. But she had to admit there are fates that were far worse than being stranded far from home, but alive and well.
.
Several days later, the scientists and engineers came up with a device that should be able to give an early warning to another tunnel collapse event. It was bulky, needed to be close to the gateway, and went through it's battery in twelve hours. But it was the best they could come up with for the next exploration – which would happen three weeks earlier than originally scheduled.
Tomoyo didn't like it, but she had the same feeling that pervaded the scientists and everyone else on the project.
They were running out of time.
.
Friday morning, August 20th 1993 – The park across the street from the Furukawa Bakery
Even though it was in the middle of August, the park was still cool from the night air. A mild wind wafted the tips of the trees, but not much of that was felt beneath them. However, out in the middle of center field where there were no trees or bushes, the cool and gentle breeze was welcome to the small group of people that stood there in the dim but growing light.
Since the sensor ball had returned such favorable readings, the exploration team had been decked out in casual clothes instead of the heavier workman uniforms. This attire had an advantage of comfort during the hot summer months, but it still wasn't everyone's preference.
"Ah look stoopid in this." Iwao grumbled. He always preferred the work clothes that were made of ballistic cloth, even if it meant he would have to be uncomfortable in the hottest part of the day.
"You look stupid in anything. What's your point?" Kishiyami retorted as she checked the contents of her 'purse'. The thing was huge, but not out of place for the early 1990's.
"Hey! Ah knows ah ain't the sharpest hammer in the drawer, but…" Iwao started to plead but was interrupted by one of his own 'friends'.
"Truth." Kenta chimed in at that precise moment. He also hadn't looked up from where he was checking the contents of his backpack.
"HEY!" Iwao sounded even more taken aback that one of his friends had joined in on his torment.
"That's enough." Isamu cut through the banter, "This might be the big day, so let's start it off on the right foot. And Iwao… it's not hammer. You should say that you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer."
"Sheeeze boss, even you gonna pick on me?" Iwao looked more hurt than ever now.
"Huh? No, I…" Isamu was interrupted from his explanation when his watch buzzed to let him know that it was about time for the next set of arrivals. "Kenta, explain what I meant to hammer-kun while I see to our arrivals."
"Yes boss." Kenta smirked, then walked over to Iwao.
Isamu and Kishiyami walked back toward the middle of center field, but stayed at a safe distance while they waited for the timer to count down to zero. It didn't take long for the swirl of light baubles to gather, swirl, then rush up into the sky. Then there were three more explorers in the field.
Kimera, the former gangster, looked like a completely different person in her sun dress and carrying a large picnic basket. Along with her were Mikio and Akuma. Mikio was helping Kimera with the basket since it contained a rather heavy, and sensitive piece of equipment. Akuma didn't hide the fact that she was a little miffed that her boyfriend was helping Kimera with the basket. With both of them holding onto the handle, it was almost like holding hands!
"What's the plan, boss?" Akuma asked as they approached Isamu and Kishiyami.
"We're not going to be able to do boy-girl pairs with four boys and three girls." Kimera pointed out.
"Only one pair this time." Isamu gestured at the cumbersome picnic basket and told them, "Kimera, I want you and Kenta to stay in the park. Stay as close to center field as you can, but move around a bit so you don't draw too much attention."
"Booooring." Kimera frowned.
"Sorry, but after what happened a week ago, we can't be too careful." Isamu told them.
"Yeah, 2006 might not be so bad, but getting stuck in 1993 would suck." Mikio said with distaste.
"What's so bad about the '90s?" Akuma asked.
"Their cell phones were awful. The nearest smartphone is fourteen years away!" Mikio groaned.
"I never would have thought you would turn into such a tech otaku." Akuma shook her head in dismay.
"What about the rest of us?" Kishiyami asked.
"I want you and Akuma to check out the bakery. I don't expect to get much information but the Furukawa's should be living there now. Nagisa will only be eight years old and probably hasn't met any of the others." Iwao was sorry for giving them directions that were so vague, but it really couldn't be helped.
"And you guys?" Akuma asked.
"Kotomi never met any of the girls, so I don't want to make her nervous. That means it will just be Mikio, Iwao, and me that goes up to the Ichinose house." Isamu explained his reasoning, "The date for this world is very close to what we were looking for, so I really don't want anything to go wrong. If it's not the right place, we'll just meet back at the park and go home. Got it?"
"Yes." the others agreed.
Kenta arrived after smoothing things over with Iwao and was all smiles as he got into the role of the boyfriend who would be spending the day in the park with his girlfriend. Of course, it wasn't too much of an act since he and Kimera were one of the 'couples' that had resulted from Yukine's matchmaking efforts. They didn't immediately get to the picnic act though. Since the route up to the Ichinose home was quite a bit farther than the bakery, Kishiyami and Akuma sat under the tree's with the heavy picnic basket while the 'couple' walked around the neighborhood park to get a feel for the place.
The park was the same, for the most part. The children's playground equipment was different but in the same place as the one in the future. There were trees where the volleyball court would be built some day. As the pair passed the sidewalk across from the Furukawa Bakery, they commented that the store was already open, and that it definitely said 'Furukawa' on the sign.
"Could you see who was inside?" Isamu asked over the radio link.
"No. There were several customers in the store. I couldn't see who was behind the counter." Kenta replied.
"All right, that's good news." Isamu felt a boost in his hopefulness that this would be the mission where they found Kotomi-sama. Already half-way to the Ichinose house, it wouldn't be long before they would know if this was the right place. "Kishiyami and Akuma, you're up next."
"We're ready." Akuma replied.
The well endowed former gangster and the tallish former biker who used to be rivals, had the appearance of good friends out for a sunny August morning stroll. Fortunately, the sundress style wasn't something that changed a lot over time. Even much farther back than the early 1990's, the ubiquitous knee-length, sleeveless, one-piece dress had been a summer staple. Certainly, some of the more intricate fabric designs might go in and out of fashion, but a basic pastel or white would always be around. It was the other things they had to be careful with. The baseball caps and sun hats were common too, as long as no-one noticed the integrated vision enhancement and communication suite that had been built into them.
"Typical neighborhood park. Real peaceful. You guys wanna go now, or hang out in the park for a bit?" Kenta asked as he and Kimera returned to the place where Akuma and Kishiyami were watching over the picnic basket.
"We'll go now." Akuma said as she got to her feet.
"This is a good spot. It's out of the way and still cool under the trees. A good spot for making out." Kishiyami smirked.
"Kishi!" Kimera blushed and turned away from Kenta. Even though they were in a relationship, Kimera still found it a bit embarrassing to talk about such things. And since they had previously been in the same gang together, Kishiyami knew all about her weaknesses.
Akuma and Kishiyami laughed at the successful teasing as they left the couple under the trees. The walkways in the park hadn't been paved yet, so they decided to take the long way on the sidewalks that wrapped around the park.
"We've arrived at the Ichinose home." Isamu announced through the radio.
"That was fast." Kenta commented.
"Well, we didn't exactly run… but I couldn't call that 'walking' either." Mikio panted in reply.
"What does it look like?" Kimera asked. She had her tablet out and was making the progress report that would be transmitted back to their world.
"Curtains are drawn and there is no activity outside. It's not boarded up though. We're going to look around a bit, before we go up to the house." Mikio reported.
Aside from Kimera paying close attention so she could make her report, the others were listening keenly as well. Depending on what happened in the next few minutes, they should know if this mission was a success or a failure. However, the mission wasn't the only thing on their minds.
"Gotta say, I'm not looking forward to this." Kishiyami groaned as she casually walked around the perimeter of the park with her shorter, bustier friend.
"Huh, why is that? I thought you liked the Furukawa's?" Akuma asked.
"Oh yeah… they're good people. I didn't mean them. But I love freshly made bread and the smell of it baking…" Kishiyami's stomach made a hungry growl just at the anticipation of being in the familiar bakery.
"I know what you mean. Dressed up all pretty and being dead broke in this world…" Akuma left the rest unsaid. Logically, she knew the reason's why they couldn't bring any money with them. It was unfortunate that the brain couldn't communicate that rationale to the stomach though. As they rounded the last corner, both of them caught a whiff of the baking bread.
"Mmmf." Kishiyami whirfled at the spontaneous craving, but she was able to focus on the job at hand and asked, "How do you want to do this?"
"Isamu is going up to the door now." Mikio's quiet voice announced in their earpieces.
"Just a sec." Akuma looked away from the street and flipped her visor down. On the display, she could see that her microphone was not set up to automatically transmit. Flipping the visor back up into the floppy sun hat, she told the shorter girl, "Make sure your microphone is off."
"Oh yeah." Kishiyami quickly checked and nodded that she was good.
"Part of me wants to wait until the guys finish at the Ichinose house, but there's not really a good reason for that." Akuma said.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Besides… standing out here and smelling all that delicious bread baking is killing me." Kishiyami whimpered.
"All right, let's get this over with." Akuma said as she turned and headed for the welcoming bakery door.
The two of them were ready to go through the door, quickly chat up Akio, then leave this place and it's insidiously seductive aroma. However, they both stopped in their tracks as they came through the door.
The bell above the door sounded different, but that wasn't what grabbed their attention. The woman behind the register definitely wasn't Sanae. In fact, she looked like all the pictures they had seen of the missing Kotomi. Except for this woman appearing to be six or seven months pregnant. But it was hard to make a mistake like that. Kotomi's purple hair was exceedingly rare.
"Is that…" Akuma started to ask.
"Ssh." Kishiyami nudged her tall friend when the purple haired woman glanced up at them. She tried to calmly guide the two of them over to a display shelf full of cream filled pastries, but the possibility that they had stumbled upon the real Kotomi was very exhilarating.
"Her mother didn't have purple hair, did she?" Akuma asked quietly as they pretended to look at other baked goods.
"Let me check." Kishiyami pulled her tablet out and opened the data on the Ichinose family. There was an old photograph that had been scanned into all their computer tablets. After only a quick glance she could see that this woman was not Kotomi's mother, "No. She had brown hair."
Stunned with the possibility that this was the person they had been searching for, both of them felt a nervous jolt when Akio's voice interrupted their thoughts.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Akio called out from the doorway that led to the back of the bakery.
"Yes, Akio-san." the purple haired woman replied, "I had my six month checkup just a few days ago and they said that I was perfectly healthy.
"All right. I'll go check on the ovens. You take care of the customers, but don't do anything else. Call me if you need anything moved!" Akio said before disappearing into the back of the bakery.
"Yes, Akio-san." the purple haired woman replied.
Both of the girls wished that Akio had called her by name in that exchange, but there should be another way to be sure.
"Bring up Kotomi's picture." Akuma whispered.
Kishiyami opened the picture of Kotomi, which also had text on it. Distinguishing features: purple hair, purple eyes. Physical information as follows… She glanced up from the data and asked, "Did you notice her eye color?"
"I… I'm not sure." Akuma replied. Then as one, both of them turned and looked over at the purple haired woman behind the counter. They meant to only steal a glance but were distracted when Mikio's voice came into their earbuds.
"The house is locked up, but looks lived in. Nobody responded to the knocking or the bell. We're going to walk around the block and talk it over. We'll try the keys next."
Akuma was about to key her transmitter when the purple haired woman looked up from the register, directly at them. She seemed to be surprised by the eye contact and quickly looked away though.
Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Akuma chastised herself. She had been working hard to hone her observation skills and to be spotted so quickly was a disastrous failing. On top of that, the moment had been too short and she wasn't sure if the woman's eye color was purple or not. Pretending to be interested in a display of pastries, she whispered to her busty friend, "Could you tell if they were purple?"
"No, it was too quick."
"What should we do?" Akuma asked.
"We could notify the others." Kishiyami suggested.
"It would take them a long time to get here, and I think we already have her spooked." Akuma worried.
"Well… we could take the direct approach." Kishiyami proposed.
"What do you mean?" Akuma asked while they both moved to another display of tarts that was a little closer to the register where the purple haired woman was seated.
"Your tablet has the hand scan feature, right? We'll just ask her to put her hand on it." Kishiyami said as she quietly put her own tablet away.
"Don't you think that's risky? What if it's not her?" Akuma asked.
"Then we laugh it off and walk away." Kishiyami considered their options and posed, "In her condition, I doubt she works a full day. If it's not her, and we leave now, we could always come back later to have the chat with Akio-san."
"Okay, let's go with that." Akuma agreed and they both turned and approached the register.
It appeared that the purple haired woman was trying to get off the tall stool where she was seated. Neither of them had been pregnant before but they imagined that she must be having difficulty with the simple task by the careful way she was moving. Both of them had the same thought that they might need to help her if it looked like she might fall.
Suddenly, the chair made a scraping noise as it scooted back across the floor and the purple haired woman froze. Akuma and Kishiyami's muscles tensed, worried that the pregnant woman was about to lose her balance.
But the hands were well braced against the counter and the moment of concern passed. The two women watched as the head of purple hair slowly rose. The startled woman made a frightened little sound when she looked up at them.
Purple eyes!
"You have a very interesting hair color." Akuma said. She was trying to sound calm, but every nerve in her body was vibrating with the possibility that their search was over. At this distance, there was no longer any doubt about the eyes.
"And eye color." Kishiyami added, "It is very rare."
"Very rare indeed." Akuma reached into her big woven purse as she said, "We happen to be looking for someone with your description."
"Oh?" The woman replied. She also looked like she was trying to maintain her calm despite being terribly nervous about something.
Akuma could see that the purple haired woman was nervous, possibly even frightened of them. But this would all be over with soon. One way or another. With the scanning tablet making a thunk sound as it settled onto the counter they would soon have their answer.
"Would you mind putting your hand on this piece of glass? I promise, this isn't something that will hurt you." Kishiyami tried to ask as politely as she could.
The purple haired woman looked down at what had been laid on the counter and… relaxed. Kishiyami and Akuma could both see the stress leave the previously frightened woman as completely as if it had been an article of clothing she had pulled off and discarded. However, instead of placing her hand on it, she picked it up and examined it. "A Folio? You can't get a Folio in 1993."
"Ah!" Akuma gasped as her own pool of nervous energy exploded.
Kotomi touched the screen and watched the tablet come to life in her hands. Fascinated with the presence of the device in front of her, she didn't notice when the screen changed to a green background and displayed a message.
Identification Mode
Okazaki Kotomi
Identity Confirmed
Unnoticed by the exultant Akuma or the fascinated Kotomi, Kishiyami activated her radio and announced, "This is Kishiyami at the bakery. We found Kotomi Prime."
.
Glossary
.
Daisuki desu sayonara: Daisuki desu is often used as the polite form of 'I love you' or "I like you a lot'. Sayonara is 'goodbye' but not in the 'see ya later' way – it is a more permanent or long term farewell. In this way, Melissa was trying to tell her friends that she loved them, and goodbye.
Folio: An android based tablet made by Toshiba in 2010.
Kotatsu: A low wooden table with a heat source underneath it. A blanket runs from underneath the tabletop to the floor.
Otaku: Someone with an obsessive interest. It doesn't have to be anime, manga or games. It could be beer or cars or anything else.
