"I win, Papa!" Hikori shouted as she raced towards the door of the library a few feet
away.
"That may be true, but can you open the door?"
"Papa, that's not fair!"
Kojiro slowed his pace down to a fast walk, and then met Hikori at the room's entrance.
She strained to reach the control, but height still was a burden. "Do you want me to open it
now, Hikori?"
"No, I want to do it myself." She held her Pupurin up above her head. "Moru, push
the button."
"You've got your mother's attitude, you know that?"
"I hear that all the time from Mondo-san," she answered innocently. "Come on, Moru!"
Sighing, he lifted her up to the panel. "Arigato," she replied with a smile.
Smacking her hand on the green button, the door opened and Kojiro, with Hikori in his
arms, stepped inside. She immediately jumped down and scampered over to the video game console
in the corner. "I want to play 'Rokku no Sutaa'."
"Do we have to play that again?" Musashi questioned as she entered the room behind them.
"You haven't played anything else since we got it."
"You can play with me, too! We'll all play!" She excitedly plugged the microphones in
and handed one each to them. "I'm gonna win this time."
As the game loaded, Musashi and Kojiro sat down on the two seats that faced the main
screen. The sounds of the opening sequence blasted in their ears from the speakers built in to
the headrests, so they could barely talk. "Where's our next stop, Musashi?"
"We're supposed to be headed for the planet Noir, to pick up some dark Pokémon."
"Well, that seems feasible."
"How? It's over 6 planets away!"
"Well, it's not my fault that they assign us to far away lands. And we'll get a chance
to try our our new warp speed system."
"The Saltar Luz? That thing hasn't been approved yet, Kojiro."
"It's been used a thousand times, Musashi."
"But it only has a 99.6% guarantee! At least 4 ships have been lost! Do you want to be
the fifth?"
"Not exactly..."
"Mama! Papa! Look at my score!" The child's voice cut into the conversation,
ultimately ending the topic until another time. "It's really high this time!"
The numbers on the screen flashed a 125. "That's very good, Hikori," Kojiro nodded.
He looked over at Musashi and smiled. "The dear doesn't know the top score is 500," he
whispered.
"Let me try it, Hikori," her mother said as she stood up, microphone in hand. "What do
I do?"
"You put these little metal things on your hands and feet." She put two small silver
sensors on top of Musashi's boots and placed two similar gold ones on the back of her hands.
"And this little red one goes on your neck."
Musashi took it in her hand and positioned it where her voice box was. "How do I
get points, Hikori-chan?"
"You gotta be a rock star!"
Looking for some clarification, she turned to Kojiro. "You have to do the same things
that they do on the screen. Sing the lyrics, do the actions, play air guitar." He sat back in
the chair. "This should be fun," he grinned. "Hikori, come sit on Papa's lap and watch Mama
play the air guitar."
"You have to do this after me, Koji," she threatened. She turned towards the loading
screen and waited.
"Mama's gonna do really well, isn't she?"
"I think she'll do just fine."
Suddenly the whole wall in front of them burst into a screaming, jeering, action-packed
arena. Musashi screamed.
"You're gonna lose if you're scared, Mama," Hikori advised.
"I'm not scared, dear, I was just startled."
Kojiro pointed to the screen, lips curled into a smirk. "Musashi, the song's starting."
"Oh!" She turned around and immediately tried to mimic the actions of the singer
onscreen. It was but a few minutes before audible laughter was heard coming from the direction
of the padded metallic chair. "I hear that! Stop it!" she yelled while trying to jam on the
non-existant strings.
"Every word that's not the lyrics deducts points..." Kojiro forced out at a bout of
calmness.
"Go, Mama!"
She hit her last high note and the auditorium faded into black. The numbers flashed in
columns slot machine-style, and then...
"A 34?!"
"Nice try, Mama. You'll get better."
Kojiro could stifled a chuckle only for a moment, and then burst out in a roar. "You
were :::hah hah::: absolutely wonderful, :::hahaha hahaha::: sweetie."
"It's your turn, Kojiro." She put her hand to his ear as he got up. A cruel whisper,
"Looks like your sleeping on the floor tonight."
"Come on, Musa-chan!"
She sat down next to Hikori in the chair, being careful not to squash Moru in the
process. "Good luck."
"It's all in the believability, ladies." He stepped up to the screen, and as soon as the
game came on, he waved his arms to the "crowd". "Kon'nichi wa, Tokyo! Are you ready to rock?"
"What are you doing?"
"Papa's the best at this game! He can get a really high score!"
And indeed, it did look like he was performing for his fans. He rocked the stadium with
his vocals, and his perfect guitar chords. Musashi didn't say a word as the music died down and
his score came onscreen.
"All right! A new record!" Kojiro pumped his fist.
"How in the world did you get a 487?"
"I told you, Mama! Papa's a star!"
She hugged his legs tight. "See? I'm a star," Kojiro grinned. "And," he said as he
scooped Hikori up in his arms, "my little girl's going to be a star, too."
"I think our little star needs to go to bed." Musashi pointed at the watch on her belt.
"It's getting late. I'll tuck her in, Kojiro."
"Fine." He kissed her cheek and gave her a hug before handing her over. "Oyasumi, my
chisaii bara."
"Oyasumi, Papa!"
They both walked out of the library and down the blue hallways back to Hikori's bedroom.
Hikori rested her head on her mother's shoulder, and Moru bounced off of Musashi's hip at every
step. "That was a lot of fun, Mama."
"It was, wasn't it?" She stopped just in front of the control panel, and the little
girl slid the protective panel upward and opened the portal. Carrying her to the bed, she set
her down and walked over to the closet to get her nightgown.
"You looked really silly." Hikori chattered as she changed. "And I think you'll get
better soon and I want to play again tomorrow and I think Papa was the best."
"Your Papa is the best, isn't he?" Musashi smiled. She placed the small child into bed,
pulled the blanket over her, and gave her a peck on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Hikori-chan.
I love you."
"Love you too, Mama." She shut her eyes and turned towards the window. "Oyasumi."
Taking one last look at her, Musashi walked out of the room, pressing the button and
snapping the panel shut. Just before the door closed, Hikori could still hear her mother's
voice.
"I'll always love my little girl. Oyasumi."
away.
"That may be true, but can you open the door?"
"Papa, that's not fair!"
Kojiro slowed his pace down to a fast walk, and then met Hikori at the room's entrance.
She strained to reach the control, but height still was a burden. "Do you want me to open it
now, Hikori?"
"No, I want to do it myself." She held her Pupurin up above her head. "Moru, push
the button."
"You've got your mother's attitude, you know that?"
"I hear that all the time from Mondo-san," she answered innocently. "Come on, Moru!"
Sighing, he lifted her up to the panel. "Arigato," she replied with a smile.
Smacking her hand on the green button, the door opened and Kojiro, with Hikori in his
arms, stepped inside. She immediately jumped down and scampered over to the video game console
in the corner. "I want to play 'Rokku no Sutaa'."
"Do we have to play that again?" Musashi questioned as she entered the room behind them.
"You haven't played anything else since we got it."
"You can play with me, too! We'll all play!" She excitedly plugged the microphones in
and handed one each to them. "I'm gonna win this time."
As the game loaded, Musashi and Kojiro sat down on the two seats that faced the main
screen. The sounds of the opening sequence blasted in their ears from the speakers built in to
the headrests, so they could barely talk. "Where's our next stop, Musashi?"
"We're supposed to be headed for the planet Noir, to pick up some dark Pokémon."
"Well, that seems feasible."
"How? It's over 6 planets away!"
"Well, it's not my fault that they assign us to far away lands. And we'll get a chance
to try our our new warp speed system."
"The Saltar Luz? That thing hasn't been approved yet, Kojiro."
"It's been used a thousand times, Musashi."
"But it only has a 99.6% guarantee! At least 4 ships have been lost! Do you want to be
the fifth?"
"Not exactly..."
"Mama! Papa! Look at my score!" The child's voice cut into the conversation,
ultimately ending the topic until another time. "It's really high this time!"
The numbers on the screen flashed a 125. "That's very good, Hikori," Kojiro nodded.
He looked over at Musashi and smiled. "The dear doesn't know the top score is 500," he
whispered.
"Let me try it, Hikori," her mother said as she stood up, microphone in hand. "What do
I do?"
"You put these little metal things on your hands and feet." She put two small silver
sensors on top of Musashi's boots and placed two similar gold ones on the back of her hands.
"And this little red one goes on your neck."
Musashi took it in her hand and positioned it where her voice box was. "How do I
get points, Hikori-chan?"
"You gotta be a rock star!"
Looking for some clarification, she turned to Kojiro. "You have to do the same things
that they do on the screen. Sing the lyrics, do the actions, play air guitar." He sat back in
the chair. "This should be fun," he grinned. "Hikori, come sit on Papa's lap and watch Mama
play the air guitar."
"You have to do this after me, Koji," she threatened. She turned towards the loading
screen and waited.
"Mama's gonna do really well, isn't she?"
"I think she'll do just fine."
Suddenly the whole wall in front of them burst into a screaming, jeering, action-packed
arena. Musashi screamed.
"You're gonna lose if you're scared, Mama," Hikori advised.
"I'm not scared, dear, I was just startled."
Kojiro pointed to the screen, lips curled into a smirk. "Musashi, the song's starting."
"Oh!" She turned around and immediately tried to mimic the actions of the singer
onscreen. It was but a few minutes before audible laughter was heard coming from the direction
of the padded metallic chair. "I hear that! Stop it!" she yelled while trying to jam on the
non-existant strings.
"Every word that's not the lyrics deducts points..." Kojiro forced out at a bout of
calmness.
"Go, Mama!"
She hit her last high note and the auditorium faded into black. The numbers flashed in
columns slot machine-style, and then...
"A 34?!"
"Nice try, Mama. You'll get better."
Kojiro could stifled a chuckle only for a moment, and then burst out in a roar. "You
were :::hah hah::: absolutely wonderful, :::hahaha hahaha::: sweetie."
"It's your turn, Kojiro." She put her hand to his ear as he got up. A cruel whisper,
"Looks like your sleeping on the floor tonight."
"Come on, Musa-chan!"
She sat down next to Hikori in the chair, being careful not to squash Moru in the
process. "Good luck."
"It's all in the believability, ladies." He stepped up to the screen, and as soon as the
game came on, he waved his arms to the "crowd". "Kon'nichi wa, Tokyo! Are you ready to rock?"
"What are you doing?"
"Papa's the best at this game! He can get a really high score!"
And indeed, it did look like he was performing for his fans. He rocked the stadium with
his vocals, and his perfect guitar chords. Musashi didn't say a word as the music died down and
his score came onscreen.
"All right! A new record!" Kojiro pumped his fist.
"How in the world did you get a 487?"
"I told you, Mama! Papa's a star!"
She hugged his legs tight. "See? I'm a star," Kojiro grinned. "And," he said as he
scooped Hikori up in his arms, "my little girl's going to be a star, too."
"I think our little star needs to go to bed." Musashi pointed at the watch on her belt.
"It's getting late. I'll tuck her in, Kojiro."
"Fine." He kissed her cheek and gave her a hug before handing her over. "Oyasumi, my
chisaii bara."
"Oyasumi, Papa!"
They both walked out of the library and down the blue hallways back to Hikori's bedroom.
Hikori rested her head on her mother's shoulder, and Moru bounced off of Musashi's hip at every
step. "That was a lot of fun, Mama."
"It was, wasn't it?" She stopped just in front of the control panel, and the little
girl slid the protective panel upward and opened the portal. Carrying her to the bed, she set
her down and walked over to the closet to get her nightgown.
"You looked really silly." Hikori chattered as she changed. "And I think you'll get
better soon and I want to play again tomorrow and I think Papa was the best."
"Your Papa is the best, isn't he?" Musashi smiled. She placed the small child into bed,
pulled the blanket over her, and gave her a peck on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Hikori-chan.
I love you."
"Love you too, Mama." She shut her eyes and turned towards the window. "Oyasumi."
Taking one last look at her, Musashi walked out of the room, pressing the button and
snapping the panel shut. Just before the door closed, Hikori could still hear her mother's
voice.
"I'll always love my little girl. Oyasumi."
