Kimagure Orange Road Forever

by Manjoume

Between the events of 1991 and 1994 as shown in Shin KOR, Kyosuke and Madoka learn to live their lives together.

2. Alternate Beginning

Author Notes: The first chapter was quite a success. Of course, I find
that I have little competition. I've pretty much cornered the market. I
wish that wasn't so, but it's a nice designation none-the-less. Anyways,
this chapter takes place in the same universe shown in episode 48. For
those of you that caught it, in regards to Madoka's name as compared to
everyone eles's (ie Madoka Ayukawa as opposed to Kasuga Kyosuke) it fell
through the cracks. It has been fixed. I am so sorry this has taken so
long... It's huge. That is all.

Thanks to: Corvus. He's never seen the series, and yet still he prereads for
me. In fact, he's my main editor, advisor, contributor. I couldn't do this
without him. If you like the fic, he's partially responsible for it and
deserves your praise. This all from a man who has never seen KOR. What a
guy, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Kimagure Orange Road, no matter
how much I may want to. (Personal Madoka, anyone?) Kyosuke, Madoka, Hikaru
and pals belong to a multitude of people, including but not limited to:
Matsumoto Izumi, Akemi Takada, Tereda-san, Toho, Studio Pierrot, NHS TV,
AnimEigo, and ADV Films.

Kimagure Orange Road Forever
Chapter Two
"Alternate Beginning"

"Ugh," I moaned. I, Kasuga Kyosuke, had one hell of a headache.
Stars still flew about my head and my perception was haunted by a feeling of
indescribable "wrongness". I had an awful taste in my mouth and my neck
needed a good twist, but those were the least of my concerns. I was faintly
aware of something warm and liquid running down my face and into my eyes. I
reach up and felt the substance, and noted it was quickly drying. Opening my
eyes as much as I could, I detachedly ascertained the substance was blood.
I mentally scratched my head and considered this. I obviously had recieved
some sort of wound in the crash-- the crash! "MADOKA!" I bellowed loudly.
I sat upright so quickly my back complained harshly. I ignored it and called
again, "MADOKA!" while frantically looking in all directions I could.

"Shh," came a voice from behind me. "I'm fine." I let a breath out
in a long sigh. She was ok. At least she was ok. I had been stupid to be
so angry. It didn't matter if she was alive. "However," she said coming
around to face me, "I don't think you're entitled to use my first name, even
if you did save me that one time." I stared at her when she concluded her
sentence. The breath that had so suddenly come out in a sigh was now stuck
in my throat, unable to move. The increased pressure was weighing heavily
upon my chest; my heart complained it might cave in. I wasn't sure if I was
either greatly injured, or if Madoka was just mixed up from the crash.
Though she had no outward signs of harm, there was no way to tell what damage
actually had occured. For my own sanity, I assumed that I was the one who
was mixed up and not her.

"Wha..." I groaned. "I must have hit my head pretty hard.
Regardless," I said as I lay back to ease the pain, "you seem to be perfectly
all right, and that's all that matters." I closed my eyes and rubbed my
temple with the unbloodied hand.

When I opened my eyes again, Madoka stared at me oddly. "Of course,
I'm all right," she said, bending over towards me. "I wasn't the one who got
hit by a car."

I shook my head and sat up more slowly this time. This wasn't
happening. I attempted to tell her so, no matter how much it hurt. "No...
We... ugh... were in the car together.. and--"

"Shit!" I heard Madoka yell over her shoulder. "Do you hear those
sirens? The cops were probably called and are on their way. If I remember
correctly, both of us have records. I don't think we want to stick around to
be processed." She grabbed me with strength I hadn't known her capable of
and helped me onto the back seat of her motorcycle. "Now, hold on tight,"
she told me as she revved up the engine. "We'll take my bike to the ABCB.
That's the pub we met at three years ago, if you remember. We can hide out
there for a while. Master's always been good about harboring me."

With a quick flick of her wrist, Madoka's bike came to life,
screaming as it barrelled down the street. "Dammit," Madoka whispered, "hold
on, we're going to have to go through the cops." She popped a wheelie as we
jumped onto the side walk and flew past the patrol cars blocking that end of
Orange Road. We hit the sidewalk with wheels squealing. We passed by
another set of patrol cars and various police officers yelled epithets at us
as we passed, but all the cars were faced the opposite direction. They
couldn't follow us without wasting enough time to allow us to get away.
Which I guess we did anyway.

It was a nice summer afternoon outside. A gentle breeze was blowing,
though it felt much faster to me since I was whizzing by at over eighty
kilometers per hour. It was a view of Orange Road I was used to, having a
scooter of my own. Even then, the herbiemobile was small enough and low
enough to the ground that the view was similiar even from it. I saw the
lightning bugs hover off towards the tree, usually hard to see in the
daytime. I was surprised there weren't more people out on such a beautiful
day.

Madoka didn't stop burning rubber until we were about thirty meters
from the ABCB. "Go on inside," Madoka said as she took her brake hand off
the brake and handed the store keys back to me without turning. When I held
them tightly, she returned her hand to its original position and stopped the
bike in front of the pub's door. "Wait for me in there, I have to go put the
bike in back so the police won't recognize it." I nodded and slipped off the
bike. Watching Madoka walk the bike around and out of sight, I walked up the
stairs in front of the ABCB and turned the key in the door. It clicked and I
went inside. The walls were oranger than I had remembered. Perhaps Master
had repainted... No, that couldn't be, I had been in this very store hours
earlier. Perhaps it was the lighting. Yeah, that was it. I took a seat as
I pondered.

I hadn't been sitting for more than moment when Madoka came in
through the service door leading out from the alley and into the back room of
the pub. I assumed she had hidden the bike in that alley. In her hands were
two bundles. "Cots," she said suddenly, as if reading my thoughts. "I keep
them here for when I'm trying to hide out." Setting the cots down near me,
she walked into the back room and came out with a first aid kit under her
arm. Blinking, it took me a second to recall I was injured. Of course, the
thought eventually came to me that the first aid kit probably had something
to do with why the ABCB was the chosen place to treat me.

I suppose we had also come to the ABCB because the cops might go to
the Ayukawa residence if they had the plate number of the motorcycle. But
even then it was hard to believe they couldn't track Madoka to her workplace.
Also, why had Madoka mentioned her record? She hadn't really done anything
illegal in years. And I had no record to speak of. I had done some stupid
things, but I never had been caught. This was really confusing. There had
to be an explanation.

Madoka sat down beside me and placed the first aid kit to her right.
She opened it up and withdrew some supplies. Slowly she began treating the
wound on my head. "Gah..." I exclaimed as she applied hydrogen peroxide to
the center of the gash. "That really stung." She lightly chuckled at me,
and then went on to wrap my head. By the time she was done I must have
looked like some Arab Sheik or something. I was pretty certain I looked
silly.

"I wasn't sure if you were coming back," Madoka said at length.
"You know, it's been almost three years since you... ah... saved me. I was
wondering where that guy had gone. And now, here you are." Her eyes
softened as they turned towards mine. I'm sure there was a moment of thrall,
but to explain it would be beyond my means. Actually to be honest, any time
I looked or thought about Madoka I was put in a thrall that was above words.
I'm sure it's understandable.

Finally, I returned myself to the present and blinked at Madoka. I
rubbed what I could of my head and shook it a bit to clear what metaphorical
cobwebs existed. Trust me, there were plenty. I was still feeling extremely
jumbled. "I'm very confused," I eventually said. "You're not making any
sense. Is it possible I have a concussion or something? Should we go to a
hospital?" I continued rubbing. "God, my head hurts." My head felt like it
had a jackhammer on it. I could feel my brain rattling with the intensity of
the pain.

Madoka leaned her chin on her palm for a moment before responding.
"It's a pretty wide gash, but it isn't deep. I haven't seen any cognitive
signs of concussion or impaired brain usage. However, I am no physician."
She laughed. "I read a lot, and I know first aid, but that doesn't mean I'm
the final word. So, I suppose we can't rule anything out." She put her
entire fist under her chin in a Thinking Man gesture. "Let's see... What is
it exactly that you think you don't understand?"

"Well," I said thinking aloud, "you seem to be acting like I don't
really know you. At least not that well. This can't be considering how
we... uh.. are." I blushed. It's funny, Madoka had no trouble speaking to
others about our relationship. I, however, usually locked up and anything I
uttered would be incoherent. I left it unsaid and went on to my conclusion.
"Therefore, something's obviously wrong with my perception." I assured
myself that I would soon get a satisfactory explanation. I just wish I had
been right.

Madoka's smile faded and she looked at me with such concern, that I
felt my soul tear. Something was definately wrong. My heart started pumping
faster and adrenaline rushed throughout my body. I was ready for something.
Something terrible. Her expression was so grave. "I see what you mean,"
she said sadly, "I'm afraid that we only met briefly in 1988. You saved me
from Yukari and her motorcycle gang. We've never even been friends, let
alone anything more intimate." My heart stopped and it fell to my feet,
sputtered, and died. I felt as if I'd be sick. "Maybe this is because I was
the first one you saw after the crash. I don't know. But," her eyes held
guilt, "I'm not who you think I am."

The color fell from my face and followed the path of my heart as I
realized where I was now. While attempting to leave 1982 after being sent
back to the past, I accidently slipped into an alternate dimension. In that,
er, this dimension I never existed. I was confused and scared, because I did
not at first figure this out. Eventually, I ran into the Madoka of this
world. I was running from the cops. I had teleported onto their vehicle,
and caused a wreck. Madoka helped hide me inside this very same ABCB. I
laughed. It was morbidly funny to think of more than one ABCB existing.
Without me, Madoka hadn't changed from the delinquent she had become in ninth
grade. She stayed on that track and made a name for herself with local
gangs. She also quickly acquired a rap sheet with the Tokyo Police
Department. The cops that not only "kept an eye" on her, but also were
chasing me, turned out to be this universe's Komatsu and Hatta. Some how,
without my presence, they actually graduated from High School early, and
became patrol officers.

I rocked back and forth, staring intently into the face of the woman
who had only moments ago been my lover. My pupils dilated and suddenly I
wasn't staring at anyone. My view was cut off even to me as I faced a long,
wide void filled with nothing. I felt as though I was falling into a pit,
but I didn't care. Perhaps I'd die when I landed, my broken body stretching
out upon the ground. And-

I was shaken with a large amount of force, and I returned to reality.
"-okay? Hello? Oh shit, don't go into shock on me, please! Stay with me!
Come on!" I blinked and the world focused once more. This woman was not my
lover, but she was someone I had saved years prior. However, the woman that
was my lover would be horribly distraught if I didn't return. This was not
my universe, and I had no intention to stay. Madoka sighed as my view was
once again completely focused on her, and I was responsive.

I mentally shook myself. I could deal with this. I returned once.
I could find my way back to my universe again. Smiling, I figured I ought to
get on good terms with this... Ayukawa, I reminded myself. I didn't know her
well enough to call her Madoka, as she had pointed out earlier. She was the
closest thing to an ally I had here. I realized that it might take a while
for me to get back to my universe. This wasn't a usual state of mind for me,
but these were hardly usual times. Perhaps the accident had actually cleared
a part of my mind. I may never know. I frowned as I looked at the woman in
front of me. Yet, having Ayukawa on my side, especially this rough and tough
version, was much to my advantage. I decided to formally introduce myself,
as I recalled I hadn't done so before. "My name is Kasuga Kyosuke. I'm
sorry I had the advantage over you, Ayukawa-san."

"Nice to meet you, Kasuga, but drop the -san, it sounds too
pretentious." She stood up. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like
some?" She grabbed a yellow ABCB apron off a nearby chair.

"Yes," I said, with genuine good cheer. I could definately use a
good cup of tea.

Madoka smiled at me. "All right, two cups of my special green tea
coming up. Whenever I feel like the cherry blossoms are clogging my
movements, I always have a cup of green tea from my Kyoto blend. The powder
is made for the Kyoto tea ceremonies and is very expensive, but considering
the circumstances, I think it's warranted." She walked around to the service
side of the counter and pulled out the ingredients from the cupboards.

I smiled in spite of myself. This was still an Ayukawa, even if she
wasn't mine. I wasn't opposed to spending the night in the same room with
her. Maybe I was being somewhat inappropriate, but such an unusual
experience was a good excuse. I couldn't help checking Ayukawa out as she
went around making the tea. Everything was still as it was on my Madoka...
My Madoka. It sounded like I was comparing two cars of the same model.
Which really wasn't all that bad an analogy. In fact, it was pretty apt.
Especially for people who were real car fanatics. A car may look like
another car of the same model, but their owners would swear up and down
another model didn't have the same personality.

Of course, watching this Ayukawa Madoka, I wasn't certain there was
as big of a difference. Due to my presence in her life, Madoka had come to
terms with who she was, and what she wanted to be. It appeared that this
Madoka hadn't that option, and she was still getting into trouble with the
law. However, it seemed the law never quite got to her. I wasn't sure if
this was because of her physical prowess or her money. Unfortunately, it was
probably the latter. Of course, one did not attack Ayukawa Madoka. While my
Madoka had stopped beating people up nearly three years before, I had my
doubts that the same applied to my hostess. I smiled at her as she finished
making the tea.

"You seem to be feeling better," Ayukawa said to me as she came up to
the counter with the tea. I had taken my "usual" seat at the counter of the
ABCB. Heh, even that was a joke. At least it was becoming funny to me.
Kind of. "May I ask why?"

She didn't play with softballs. I took a deep breath and considered
how I could approach this. At least she already knew what I was capable of.
That was an advantage over my Madoka, though she had always held suspicions
even before she actually knew. "You already know about my... ahem,
powers...." I started, and she nodded. I had saved her by transporting her
attackers over the school pool. They were going to- I shivered
involuntarily. The thought of Madoka -- any Madoka -- being raped was enough
to ruin my good cheer. "Well," I continued, though my smile had vanished,
"Then, what I say to you may not come as a surprise." I looked deep into her
eyes and saw the increasing curiosity. "I'm from an alternate dimension.
It would seem completely absurd, I'm sure, but you've seen what I've, uh,
done..." I trailed off and looked down into my cup.

"Kasuga..." was her reply as she sat down next to me at the counter
and sipped at her own tea. After several moments of heavy silence, she
looked up at me, though I could only see it out of the corner of my eye.
"Then," she started suddenly, "You and I are... I mean... in the other... You
know..." I looked up only to see her own face turn away from me quickly. I
simply grunted in affirmation. "I can understand how you feel, but do not
make the mistake of confusing her with me."

Suddenly I was very angry. Angrier than I had been even before the
crash. I growled. "Do you really 'understand'?" I heard myself say in a
harsh voice, though I couldn't remember when I had actually directed myself
to vocalize the thought. "I'm not even sure how I got back the first time...
I mean, I know I fell off your motorcycle, but I can't force myself to fall.
I've even tried that before. It was hard enough for me to- Oh, what do you
really care? You're not the Ayukawa that loves me, that cares about me. If
you were, you'd know that." I felt my teeth clench, what was I doing? Yet
the words flowed freely, ignoring my persistant commands to stop. "I know I
mean nothing to you, so don't patronize me with your 'understanding'."

Her eyes narrowed and I could detect the barely restrained rage. I
heard her swallow as her fingers clenched around the tea cup's handle.
"You're wrong, Kasuga Kyosuke," she said in a low even voice. "Perhaps I do
not love you, perhaps I cannot. I'm not your lover, and I do know that. I
do, however, know that I care about you. You saved me from- well, probably
saved my life, and therefore, I owe you a debt. I can't pay that debt if you
won't take it. I understand you're upset, but that's no reason to take it
out me." She drained the last of her tea in one quick motion. "Now, if
you'll excuse me, I'm going to go outside and smoke." She stood up and
walked out the door. The bell tinkled, taunting me. I had the urge to rip
it off its screws and stomp on it. Though, really, it was me who deserved a
good stomping.

My idiocy pounded my head. How could I have let myself go off like
that. Hadn't I told myself I needed her as an ally? Didn't I... Ugh. I was
still mad at my Madoka. Even after all this, I couldn't let go of the anger.
She had had no right to interfere in the financial problems of my family.
And yet, she had. And yet, she was right. She was a part of my family.
The most dearest part of it. I didn't like it, I didn't agree with it, but
perhaps I could understand it. Even worse, I had taken it out on an
innocent, simply because she was a convienent substitute. This could not
stand. I had to set things right. I stood and went outside.

I heard the door tinkle after me, and Ayukawa looked up, cigarette in
a hand. "Y'know," I said casually, "if you keep smoking those things, you
won't be able to have healthy babies." I chuckled lightly at my own in-joke,
but I wasn't really feeling any better. I was never very good at lying to
myself, no matter how hard I might try. I wasn't very good at lying to
Madoka either, apparently. Any Madoka.

"Really," said Ayukawa disinterestedly. "What gave you the
impression that I didn't know... Or that I cared?" She took a large breath
of smoke and puffed it back out directly in my face. Talk about bitter...

My smile, which had been a farce anyway, was replaced by a deep
frown. I had to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to explode at you.
It wasn't really you I was yelling at. I-"

"Oh?" she inquired in a tone that dripped contempt, "just who was it
sitting at the counter with you?" I didn't answer immediately and she
inhaled again. "Thought so," she said in a voice so hard it made me flinch.

I looked away, unable to face her. "I had an argument with Madoka-
My, uh, Modoka, and... She did something that I felt she shouldn't have
and... I took it out on you. I apologize." What I didn't tell her was just
how much more there was to the story. My pain and frustration at the current
situation had joined any anger I still held against my Madoka. I don't know
why I kept it to myself. Probably because I was afraid of her response. I
forced myself to look into her eyes and I saw them turn softer though her
features remained chisled flint. I let out a sigh of relief. The situation
wasn't entirely fixed, but I knew she had forgiven me... This time.

She flicked the cigarette to the concrete and ground it into the
sidewalk with her shoe. "Apology accepted." She walked past me and walked
up the stairs. The bell tinkled once more as I let her go. I'm not entirely
sure how long I spent outside. Perhaps it wasn't safe for for me to do so,
but it seemed that Ayukawa had an understanding with the police. Whatever it
was, I supposed we would be safe as long as we stayed near the ABCB.
Honestly, I didn't know. I didn't know where I was or how I would get back.
Though, I figured that this world was near enough to my own that, if need be,
I could survive.

I shook my head. Surviving wasn't enough. I couldn't live in a
world without Madoka. Frankly, it would be even worse here, where there was
Ayukawa. She'd be a reminder of all that I lost. Day after day, second
after second. I couldn't endure that. I let out a long, deep breath. I
would have to go see Dad, and Grandfather if I could. I began to walk in
that direction, but stopped. I turned back around and went slowly up the
steps to the ABCB. Ayukawa should know, in case something important
happened... In case she would worry.

I wasn't kidding myself any better than I had the last time I tried
to. It was really more because she deserved it. I hoped it would be some
kind of tangible outcome of my apology. Besides, I needed her. This world
wasn't mine, and I had already admitted she'd be a valuable ally. I was
certain of this, and so it made sense to tell my ally where I would be. I
climbed the steps and headed through the door. "Ayukawa," I mumbled as I
approached her. She had taken the same counter chair I had been in before I
went outside to apologize. As such, her back was to me. She turned around
slowly, sensing my presence. "I'm going to go the my father's apartment. I
wanted you to know where I was. I thought... I thought you deserved to
know." I let out a breath while I turned around and headed towards the door
when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going with you," Ayukawa insisted. I licked my lips. "I mean,
you don't really know what to expect. Besides, I said I would help, and I
meant it. If you'll have me, I'll go wherever you plan to go." Her hand
returned to her side, and she came to stand closer to me. We walked out of
the pub in silence. It was summer and though it was nearly nine o'clock the
sun was just now setting, its form bleeding into the sky. Its warm rays
shrouded the streets in a soft burning glow as we walked down the road
towards the Stairs. I looked over my shoulder and Ayukawa came to my side.
We reached we stopped midway up the flight, where the fiftieth step stretched
out like a mesa. We looked out over the Tokyo landscape as the sun slowly
set and the world faded. Without a word, we continued up the Stairs as the
last bit of light escaped from view. I caught myself counting the steps as
we reached the top. When we did, I stopped suddenly.

"Everything all right?" Ayukawa asked over her shoulder.

"Yeah, fine, just... Nothing," I lied as I moved once more.

We walked along the sidewalk. This entire area had beautiful gardens
everywhere. The concrete was nice and white, not like the asphalt of other
sections of the city. As usual, it didn't take us long to get to Green
Castle, the apartment building where my family of this universe lived.
Where my family had lived until Madoka had helped pay for the new house. I
checked the mailbox and found that they indeed did still live here, though my
name was conspicuously absent. I had, however, expected no different.
"They're upstairs," I stated aloud for Ayukawa's benefit. "I believe my
father should be home by now." She followed me to the elevator, and we
waited while it ascended to the right floor.

I walked up to the door which once again had my name absent, and
Ayukawa followed at my heel. I swallowed and knocked politely. The door
opened and my dark haired, glasses wearing sister, Manami stuck her head out.
She was wearing her hair up in pigtails and had on a sweater and jeans.
"May I help you?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, can I speak to D-" I coughed. This girl's father was not my
own, but it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of familiarity. "I
mean, may I speak to Mr. Kasuga?"

"Just a moment," she replied, shutting the door. A few seconds later
my father opened the door.

"Yes, young man?" he asked curiously. My father was a tall man with
short black hair, glasses, and a mustache. This version of my father looked
exactly the same. My mother was the true Power holder. My father had met
her when he was out shooting pictures of wildlife near her home in the
mountains. He had helped heal one of her birds, not knowing that it was
"tame" and my mother had fallen for him as soon as she found out. Of course,
my grandfather had been against the marriage, but really he was just being,
well, a father. I could imagine my own father doing nothing less for Manami
or Kurumi. Besides, my grandfather seemed to no longer hold any grudge
against my father, for which I was quite glad. If he had, it would have made
my task much harder.

I took a deep breath. "I need to speak to you about the Power. I
think it would be wise if I came in," I said, attempting not to sound too
overbearing. This was still my father, and this was still his home.

"Power? Are you with the electric company?" my father asked while
scratching his head. He was a kind man, and he was good at his job, but
geez, he could be dense.

"No... I mean, the Power. Like..." I leaned in, whispering into his
ear. "Moving stuff, teleporting, etc."

He blinked and his expression turned very grave. "I don't know who
you are, but perhaps you're right. You should come in. Mister...?" he asked
as he opened the door to let Ayukawa and me in. His eyes flitted nervously
to my sisters. They had a bad habit of letting the Power get out of control
when they used it. When that happened and "normal" people found out, we had
to pack up and move. It was how we came to be in Tokyo... And how I met
Madoka. To everything there is a purpose. Besides, it wasn't really Manami
so much, but Kurumi had been a wild child. It usually took my constant
reminders to make her toe the line. Though, at seventeen, she certainly was
getting better about it.

"Kasuga. Kasuga Kyosuke," I replied, though I very nearly felt like
I would throw up. I wasn't entirely sure why I was feeling the way I did.
I was stressed, obviously, and this was a wonderful reason to be stressed,
but this was something more. I refocused and calmed my stomach. "This is
Ayukawa Madoka. My... friend." Ayukawa moved around me so that he could
better see her. She smiled at him gently.

My father nodded. "I understand better now that you've given me your
name. Are you Akane's brother? I wasn't aware that she had siblings, but I
haven't been in contact with her mother in quite a while, though Akane has
stayed the night once or twice." We walked past the anteroom and into the
main living area of the apartment. He gestured to for use to sit. I took
the love seat and Ayukawa sat next to me. His featured begged me to answer.

I shook my head in answer to his question. "No, I'm afraid not.
I'm more directly related than that." He blinked at me, not understanding.
Which wasn't surprising, to anyone else but Ayukawa and me, I certain wasn't
going to make any sense. "You see, I'm a Kasuga family member from an
alternate dimension. I was shunted here after a car accident." I saw the
realization beginning to form in his eyes, but I finished for him. "I'm your
son."

"I see," he said, leaning back into his lazy chair. He steepled his
hands under his chin. "I understand your want of help, but if you're truly
who you say you are, then you must understand my reluctance. We have
enemies, Kyosuke. *I* have enemies." He gazed at Manami. "While I'm not
exactly the most paranoid of the clan's members, I am paranoid enough to
wonder if you aren't a plant. You must prove to me you are who you say you
are." His eyes bored into the back of my soul.

I gulped involuntarily. I had always known my father had a core of
steel despite his usual incompetence. He was far more devious than most
people, myself included, would give him credit for. He may have been closer
to his daily performance of inability when he first met my mother.
Parenting probably changed that, even simply being with my mother had
probably started him on the path to deadly competence. I know I had learned
the same about the need to protect since meeting Madoka. Sometimes it
shocked me, but I had long accepted that if it came to killing in order to
protect her, I'd do it. My powers gave me more options than "normals" had,
but they came with the risk of detection. My father had no powers, but I
recognized the same urge to protect in him that I had recognized in myself.

I felt a prickle at the back of my mind, and turned to face a very
determined Manami. Most of the clan had telepathy, but very few could use
it. I had only managed to use it once, and apparently on the wrong person.
Manami was no better at language communication than I was, but her empathic
abilities were amazing. She had learned long ago to be the bridge between
members of our family and to diffuse otherwise... unpleasant situations.
The prickle I had felt was her trying to get a read on me. We had natural
blocks, but I forced them to fall. "Watching" someone else walking around in
your head was very much unsettling, but my own Manami had done it more than
once. Not that I enjoyed the experience. I didn't. j

"He's telling the truth," Manami said, "Or at least, he believes he
is. I haven't found any evidence of programming, but I can't be certain.
Though, his mind has my imprint on it." j

"Wouldn't that make you conclude that I am someone you've read
before? Or, as I suggest, someone an alternate of you has read?" I asked.

"Normally," she agreed, "however, a very high level telepath that
could program you beyond my detection, could also manage to sucessfully fake
my mental signature if he had access to it."

"Fine," I agreed, "but could such a person also instill in me the
Power?"

Manami raised an eyebrow. "No."

I nodded, for I already knew everything she had already said. Of
course, the mental signature was real, and I was who I said I was, but at the
moment, Ayukawa and I were the only two that knew that. The others were
coming around, and my father looked far less paranoid, but they obviously
weren't quite ready to give up.

My father leaned forward. "Perhaps a demonstration might be in
order." He scratched his chin. "No, that won't do it. Kasuga isn't the
only clan that has powers. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. Demonstrations
won't be enough... I need personal information."

I blinked. "Personal information? What kind of personal
information?"

"The kind," he answered slowly, "that only true Kasuga clan members
would know... Or, the kind only my son would know."

"You didn't have a son."

"True," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean I didn't plan for it to
happen. I assume that your father followed through with the plans that I
came up with."

I was suddenly very nervous. "How can you be certain that such plans
are multiuniversal? And even if they are, and I hate to point out something
against my own claims, how do you know that your enemies haven't found a way
to find out just such information?"

"Manami would know if someone else had been in my head," he answered.
"Indeed, that was as much of a reason for her presence as to sense you. If
you were manipulating me.... But you're not, so I guess we don't actually
have to worry about it." He pursed his lips. "I need to speak to my
daughter. Please remain seated."

Manami and my father walked into the small dark-room he used to
develop the photographs from which he made his livelihood. I assumed they
were deliberating on whether or not I was who I claimed to be. I hadn't
given any personal information, but it seemed that perhaps I didn't need to.
Though that seemed weird considering the lengths to which my father had gone
to discuss the matter. Ayukawa stared at me, but I had very little to say.

She had decided to come along, though I couldn't really see what role
she could play. Perhaps she just wanted to be a sort of mental cheerleader.
Besides, she had chosen to come on her own accord, and I wasn't willing to
argue with her considering my outburst earlier. I just smiled at her with
more confidence than I felt, though it increased when she returned the smile
with one of her own. "I know," she said gently, "I'm pretty close to useless
aren't I?"

"Bah, you're an excellent source of external confidence," I said.
My face turned bright and cheery and my voice was that of an announcer.
"Ayukawa Madokas are a wonderful source of confidence, pick yours up at your
local ABCB!"

Ayukawa giggled at me. "Oh, stop it." She pointed a finger at me
and waggled it. "If you've really spent as much time with me as you say you
have, you must know I hate giggling. Makes me sound like school girl."

"Must I remind you, Ayukawa-san, that you were a school girl not too
long ago..." I said shaking my finger knowingly.

"Oh," she said rolling her eyes, "How could I possibly forget?"

"With me here?" I asked. "You can't."

"Uhuh," she murmured as the door to the dark-room opened up.
Ayukawa and I turned to face the pair.

"We've chosen to believe you," my father said carefully. "Manami can
find no deception, and I've seen no signs of it." He sat back down in his
chair. "Unfortunately, as you're no doubt aware, I have no access to the
Power. I can't help you, and I doubt Kurumi and Manami are strong enough to
help you either. I don't have a clue as to what you think we can do." He
sighed. "If what you say is true, and I've had enough experience to believe
it is, you'll probably require a member of the clan who is very powerful."

I nodded. "How about Grandfather or Grandmother?" One was very
powerful, and the other had amazing control over her limited Power. I also
had my doubts as to whether my sisters could help me. I had very little
doubt as to whether my Grandfather could help. He would surely be able to
help me. Surely. But I noted the expression on my father's face and my hope
fell. This was an alternate universe, so who knew, perhaps he was dead...
In which case I was stuck here.

"Your grandfather and I never got along after your mother's death...
He blamed me, I guess." His eyes floated off and he was no longer looking at
us, but at something far, far away. "It seemed all right at first. I mean,
there was tension, obviously. His daughter had died. Not his only, but that
really doesn't matter. It went downhill after that. It started with
important arguments, over money and the welfare of Kurumi and Manami..." He
pinched the bridge of his nose. "It ended with your grandfather stalking off
because his pork chop wasn't salty enough. That was two years ago.
Occasionally, Manami and Kurumi will get cards, or they'll be invited to
spend a weekend up at the Kasuga Clan retreat, but he's never been back."

"I see," I said slowly. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared.
It would take time to get to the retreat, but it was probable that my
grandfather, alternate or not, would have the power to help send me back to
my dimension. My grandfather once sent me back in time, and I had actually
ended up here because of that. Eventually, I found my way back, though I
felt my neck complain in the memory of being thrown off a motorcycle three
years past. "I'll go to the retreat then. Once I explain who I am, I'm sure
he'll help." I stood up and bowed politely. "Thank you, we'll make the
plans. You've been very helpful."

He bowed in response. "I'm glad I could be of service. I wish you
good luck." He followed us to the door and opened it for us. Ayukawa and I
had started down the hall when I heard him call to me. I glanced over my
shoulder at him. "I'm sorry," he said taking a deep breath. "I lied,
Kyosuke. I knew exactly who you were once I heard your name... I just
couldn't take the chance you were lying... Besides, there's something
else..." He trailed off and I looked at him expectantly.

"Something else?" I repeated inquiringly.

He sighed and shook his head. I could tell it must have taken a lot
of effort but he finally managed to lock his eyes onto my own. "Your
mother... You... You never made it through birth. I didn't want to open
myself up to..." His words dropped. "Stranger things have happened since I
became a part of the Kasuga Clan, and I'm sure you know that as well as I
do... I don't like the idea of losing you again, when I haven't really met
you."

"Come with us," I heard myself say. "If you want to make amends, you
should come with us."

"No, I think not, I... I wouldn't want to ruin your chances of
getting home." He bit his lip. "It's been nice knowing my son has become
such a handsome man. If your mother was still alive, she'd be proud, I'm
sure of it. Thank you for coming, Kyosuke, you've managed to change the
past, if only for a little while. For that, I am truly grateful. When you
return, tell your father that you care about him. He'll appreciate it." He
smiled, though I could tell that it was pained. "Goodbye, Kyosuke."

"Goodbye, Dad." I turned back around and began heading down the hall
as I heard the door shut. Ayukawa followed me in silence. This certainly
explained why I didn't exist in this world. We took the elevator down to the
first floor of the Green Castle apartments and slipped out the glass doors.
It was dark out, but a few street lamps lighted the way towards the Stairs.
"What do we do now?" I asked Ayukawa. "Shall we go back to the ABCB? We
can't leave until tomorrow."

"Hmm...?" She nodded as we walked down the Stairs. "Yes, I guess
so... That's what I set up the cots for."

"Right," I said. "Off to the ABCB then. Say, Ayukawa, you were
worried about 'our records' earlier? I seem to recall that you promised me
you would behave yourself... For a certain someone, I think." I was
surprised I had actually remembered such a thing, but the circumstances
surrounding my last trip to this alternate world were beginning to come back
to me. I faced her and smiled.

"I've been keeping my promise for you, Kasuga," she said as she
returned my smile. "Though, to be honest, the records I speak of are years
old... And Officers Komatsu and Hatta have it out for me." She stopped at
the bottom of the Stairs and I stopped with her. "I think they'll leave me
alone now that I've 'reformed.' But, who knows, and besides, they didn't seem
too fond of you last time you were here, did they?" She chuckled. "I
wouldn't want to test fate."

"I guess not..." I followed her gaze up into the heavens. She was
leaning over a railing, peering up at the stars above us. "The stars are
beautiful, aren't they? I could sit and stare at them for hours when I was
younger. I still do it occasionally, especially when I go to the Kasuga Clan
retreat. So far from Tokyo, it's much easier to see them. You know, almost
forty percent of the so-called 'visible' stars are now invisible because
of..." I noticed she had stopped looking at the stars and instead was
looking very intently at me. "Ayukawa...?"

I stared into her eyes... The thrall was there once more, and she
felt it too. We were moving closer together. It took me a moment to realize
that, and still we stumbled towards each other. Very slowly her neck
stretched out and her face came up to meet mine. Our eyes continued to be
locked on each other's, pulling us closer still. Our lips came within an
inch before I turned my head, cutting off the kiss before it could happen.
"This... is a mistake."

She frowned. "Yes, I suppose it is... It's just that... Perhaps we
should get going. We've wasted enough time." She quickly turned and headed
towards Orange Road and the ABCB. I stuck my hands in the pockets of my
windbreaker and followed her down the side walk. If there was anything to
say about Orange Road, it didn't take very long to get anywhere I needed to
go. The college, Madoka's house, Green Castle, and the ABCB were all near
it, not the mention that the Stairs ran along it. In a way, it could be said
that it was as much of a central place in my life as the Stairs. Of course,
one could be merely an extension of the other. Indeed, I could never predict
what could happen next. Perhaps, then, Orange Road was truly whimsical.

The breeze that had been light earlier had picked up, and I heard the
trees outside the ABCB rustle as Ayukawa unlocked the door. We walked inside
and headed toward the cots. "Perhaps, I shouldn't tell you this," Ayukawa
said suddenly as she sat down on the cot she had obviously chosen as hers and
took off her shoes, "But you had quite an impact on me three years ago..."
She swallowed audibly. "I wasn't honest when I implied I had no interest in
you. I always wondered why you saved me... I know why now, but still,
somehow my feelings of gratitude turned to feelings of another nature." She
looked into my eyes. "The kiss would have been a mistake, I agree. I can't
steal you, and certainly not for some three year old infatuation. You belong
to her, not to me..."

"Ayukawa..."

"Kasuga, you don't need to say anything... As I said, I'm indebted
to you, and as long as you need me, I'll be there for you... And, if you
can't return... Then perhaps... Then, I'll still be here for you." She
stretched out on the cot.

"Ayukawa..." I could only say again as I followed suit. I had
thought my problems were over when I broke up with Hikaru. And now, my
problem wasn't limited to two girls who were both in love with me. Now I had
two Ayukawas in love with me... I let out a breath. No, that wasn't fair.
Infatuation and love were two very different things. Besides, I could not
let myself be distracted. If there was a way to get back, and there had to
be, I would. And yet, still, if I couldn't get home, this wasn't exactly a
bad consolation prize. No, no, no, I shook my head, trying to shake loose
the thought in the process. I couldn't think about that. And yet, I'd have
to give up sometime... Sometime... Give up, Madoka? No... I mouthed the
word as my eyes closed, and the water that had been hovering on their surface
fell softly on my pillow...

"Kasuga... Kasuga..." I blinked, my eyes blurry from sleeping...
Or, perhaps, something else. I certainly didn't feel like a good night's
rest had been achieved. I smelled coffee and the scent of freshly baked
danishes. Ayukawa must have gotten up to make it. I was really grateful.
"Ah, good, you're awake. I made some coffee and danishes, help youself."
Ayukawa was already dressed and in her apron. "Could you put the cots away
for me? I told Master that I had something important to do, so he'll be here
soon to take over." She stood back up and put a cup of coffee and a plate
with a danish on the counter. I sat up and stretched. I folded up the cots
and took them into the back room. I had actually known that Ayukawa would
store cots here, for Madoka had done the same thing in my universe. Of
course, with a head wound, I hadn't really thought about it last night.

I came out from the back room and walked over to the counter. I took
the danish as I sat down in one of the bar chairs. I bit into it and took a
sip of the coffee. "This is wonderful. Thanks." We would have to get going
soon. Even while we could take a train to the base of the mountains, we'd
still have to hike up several hundred feet to get to the retreat. Not that
it was a particularly bad hike, in fact it could be fun. And with a gentle
breeze still blowing, it wouldn't be bad at all. "We ought to get going
soon," I said as I took another bite from the danish before me.

"I know, but we have to wait for-"

The door tinkled and Master walked through. "Ah, Madoka, thank you
for opening up the place for me... I see, so this is the young man you were
telling me about."

"I'm Kasuga Kyosuke." I stood and bowed. I knew this wasn't the
Master that had been such an influence on me over the past few years. Yet it
was hard to think of Master in any other context, and I was genuinely warmed
to have even an alternate version of him present.

"No need to be so formal, Kasuga. I hear from Madoka that we've
already met." He winked at me. I gawked and turned back to Ayukawa behind
the counter and mouthed 'You told him?' "Of course she told me," Master said
and my head whipped back around to him. I thought *I* was the one with
paranormal powers. "I'm not psychic, Kasuga, if that's what you're thinking.
I saw you mouth the words in the metal of one of the coffee machines behind
the counter."

"Oh." Master was certainly observant, though, really, hadn't I
already known that? This universe was looking to be a lot more like my own
than I had originally imagined. Perhaps my presence in my own universe meant
less than I had really thought. Sure, there were differences (most notably
Komatsu and Hatta), but largly, the people that had touched me were very much
the same. But, if there was one person I was worried about, it was
Ayukawa... Despite her assurances, I knew that the situation would be
awkward. We felt too much for each other. Perhaps my own attraction was
just because of her counterpart, and perhaps hers was an infatuation that
should have died, but it was there, and even if it would be a mistake to
pursue it, we couldn't deny it existed.

Ayukawa took off her apron and hung it up while Master put on his
own. "Ok, let's be off to the train station, shall we, Kasuga?"

"Right," I agreed as I followed her out the back door. "So we'll be
taking your motorcycle to the station?"

"Yep," Ayukawa answered, handing me a helmet before putting on her
own. She slid her leg around the seat and revved up the engine. "Last time
I was afraid... when you fell off, I mean. So, I bought an extra, in case
I'd be giving anyone else a lift. If I had known I'd have been picking you
up yesterday, I'd have taken it with me, but, well, I didn't."

"Of course," I said, putting on the helmet and getting on the back of
the motorcycle. "Let's go!" Ayukawa flicked her wrist in her usual way and
the motocycle belted out of the alley and out onto Orange Road. She gunned
it for a few moments and we coasted down the hill. The station wouldn't be
too far. Though, actually, we'd have to first go to the subway and then
switch to the trains when we got to Central Station. It wasn't efficient,
but it was the only way.

I wasn't entirely fond of motorcycles. I liked my scooter, but that
had a completely different feel to it. I had a license for all three of the
vehicles Madoka and I usually used, but of them all, I prefered the
herbiemobile. For the protection and stability if nothing else. The
herbiemobile was small, but it was made of steel. It was like being
surrounded by girders. Sure, it'd get smashed up in a crash, but the
occupants would generally survive better than occupants of newer cars.
Still, even my scooter was better than Madoka's motorcycle. It was easier to
stop, for one thing, and it was lighter, so there was less of a chance of
being crushed under it.

Of course, then again, the last time I had rode on this cycle for an
extended amount of time, I had fallen off. This fact didn't make me all that
pleased with riding on the machine. Still, Ayukawa, or at least my Madoka,
was an expert rider. Ayukawa seemed to be as well.

"Couldn't we have taken the herbiemobile?" I asked, yelling over the
wind as we rushed through it.

"Hmm?"

"The european car of yours," I clarified, "You know, the one that
looks like it drove right out of Herbie Comes to Japan?"

"Oh," she answered, "My sister has it for awhile. She took it up to
Hokkaido on a skiing trip."

"In the summer?" Absurd, skiing in the summer, how could you
even do that? "Isn't a bit hot for that?"

The helmet in front of me shook despite the fact that Ayukawa was
looking ahead and not at me. "The mountains are high enough that you can ski
year round."

"Oh," I said. I hadn't realized the mountains were quite that high.
Evidently they were. Madoka and I had gone skiing a few times over the
years. Rarely were the trips pleasant. The first time we went skiing
together we ended up trapped in a skilift for hours. I tried to use my
powers, but I only made things worse by shattering the windows and allowing
the cold air to flow in. If it hadn't been for Kazuya, we would have
probably frozen to death. The last time we went skiing we almost died at the
hands of a very angry ghost. Yes, ghost. Though Madoka and I never speak of
it, it was one of the weirder incidents in our courtship. And, for once, it
had nothing to do with the Power.

The motorcycle hummed to a stop as Ayukawa put on the break. We were
at an intersection further into Tokyo. I recognized the building where
Madoka and I had gone for cram school to prepare for the college examination.
It was a tall glass skyscraper. I had seen pictures of schools from other
countries, and it seemed to me that Japan was the only nation that housed
schools in buildings forty stories high. While I respect the results of the
Japanese educational establishment, I had my doubts as to whether it actually
produced better people. Oh, perhaps it produced better members of an office
team, but that isn't exactly the same as making better people.

We were nearing the station and Ayukawa slowed and stopped to get her
parking ticket from the gate. It opened up and the motorycle sped down one
of the many delta roads that eventually came back together to form a normal
four lane street. "Where are you going to park it?"

"Not far from the station entrance," she yelled back. "Great thing
about motorcycles, their designated parking spots are towards the front."
The road took a sudden drop and the motorcycle flew several feet before
bouncing on the asphalt. I all but had a heart attack. "Sorry about that,"
Ayukawa said apologetically, as if reading my mind.

We pulled into a covered garage right across from the main entrance,
and Ayukawa parked the motorcycle in the thin area marked for two-wheeled
vehicles. She knocked the kickstand upright and hopped off the cycle. In
contrast, I gently dismounted and handed her my helmet. She locked it in the
small helmet case on the rear of the bike and grabbed the travel bags that
were attached to the sides. She tossed one to me and we crossed the white
striped street to the entrance of the Tokyo Central Station.

Ayukawa and I walked out of the humidity and into freezing air
conditioning as we entered the building. With a quick gaze off to the right,
she turned on a heel. "'Tickets sold this way'," she quoted in explanation.
I simply nodded and followed. "So, how far north are we going?"

"Sansei," I answered. "The mountains above Sansei are where my
grandparents' retreat is located." It was a traditional Japanese country
home, one floor but widely laid out. There were many rooms, including a fire
room, where the family would gather around the flames, what might be termed
as a kitchen, and plenty of rooms to spare. It was sparsely furnished, but
that too was traditional. Besides, with so much to do around the retreat,
there was very little need to spend more time in the rooms than it took to
sleep.

"Two for Sansei," I heard Ayukawa say in front of me. "Uhm, yes,"
she answered, "that'll be for the bullet train." She nodded at the teller
and turned to me. "They have a nonstop to Sansei, believe it or not. Seems
a popular destination because of the humidity. It's more expensive, but..."
she shrugged and handed me one of the tickets. "If we're going to be
traveling by train for three hours, we might as well try to maximize
efficiency."

"Uhm, ok." I knew that the ticket in my hand had to be far more than
I could just casually afford, but it was wise of me to not say anything.
Ayukawa Madoka was likely the wealthiest person I had ever met. Not that it
had anything to do with my love for her. Still, sometimes it amazed me.
Her house was huge by Japanese standards, and even then a huge house in Tokyo
was rare. Even rarer, the house was hers in a very real sense. Being famous
violinists for the New York Philharmonic, her parents were never home. Her
father had once conducted, but prefered to play. I had heard stories from
Madoka that her father liked antique knicknacks, and that their two story New
York apartment was decked out in them.

I chuckled at that. Then there was her sister, and as I gazed at
Ayukawa I could see why they were often mistaken for each other. They looked
almost exactly the same, but Ayukawa Misako had dark brown hair that mirrored
her father's American ancestry, while Madoka's hair was raven black. Misako
had moved out a few years ago after her wedding. So, Madoka had the huge
house all to herself. Although, I spent enough time there that it could
really have been termed our house. There was very little to my apartment but
a bed, and not a very large one. I may have slept there, but I certainly
didn't live there.

The train pulled up as Ayukawa and I stepped out onto the platform.
A conductor punched our tickets as we boarded. He pointed out where we would
find our cabin, but also was very enthusiastic about pointing out the dining
car. There didn't seem to be any assigned seating, so Ayukawa plopped down
in a nice booth with a table in between. "There's lunch," she said, "so I
thought that we might grab a table." I looked at my watch and noticed it was
nearly one o'clock. Perhaps a slightly late lunch, but then, we did have a
large breakfast not three hours before... And, by the looks of the menu
Ayukawa handed me, there were some excellent eats to be had.

"I'm thinking the steak," I said. "It looks very good, and it comes
with a baked potato." I idly checked the wines out of curiosity and
considered the wallet in my back pocket. Ayukawa paid for the tickets; the
least I could do is pay for some wine. I could afford something that wasn't
too expensive. The name Anapamu caught my eye and the price wasn't bad. I
could handle eighteen hundred yen. "Would you like some wine?"

"That sounds lovely," Ayukawa answered. "You don't seem like much of
a drinker." A waiter came by and checked our tickets. "Two steaks," Ayukawa
said quickly as the waiter pulled out his notepad. "With baked potatoes."

"And how would you like those cooked?"

I immediately said, "Medium for myself, and," I looked at Ayukawa,
"medium rare?" Ayukawa nodded.

"Very good. Something to drink, ma'am, sir?" the waiter asked
looking first at me and then Ayukawa.

"Yes, a bottle of Anapamu 1989 Syrah," I answered.

The waiter nodded. "Excellent choice, sir." The waiter disappeared
through a door at the end of the car. Other waiters scurried about to attend
to the needs of the other passengers that had paid for VIP tickets. Though
there weren't many other passengers present, the light buzz of conversation
filled the car. I returned to my own conversation with Ayukawa.

"In answer to your question," I said, "no, I'm not much of a drinker.
I didn't really drink much until I met..." I looked around, this was not the
place to be admitting I was some kind of universe crossing ESPer. "...her,"
I finished. Ayukawa's eyes flashed and she nodded. "I'm not sure how much
you drink, but she often drinks much more than I really think is healthy."

"I stopped drinking heavily after our first meeting," Ayukawa
admitted. "It seemed too much a part of the bad-girl image I was running
from after my promise to you." She waved a hand in the air. "Oh, of course
I still drink on and off, but it usually means I'm either happy enough to
celebrate or sad enough to mourn." She smiled. "Usually it's more the
former than it is the latter nowadays." Her stomach growled and she rolled
her eyes. "Maybe we should have ordered the bread sticks."

"I wish I had such an impact on her when it comes to drinking," I
said nibbling at my lip. "You seemed to realize pretty quickly that being a
delinquent really wasn't you. It took her quite a bit more time. And, I'm
sad to say, sometimes she still does things I'm not fond of- like the
drinking."

Ayukawa chuckled. "More proof we aren't the same?"

I looked at her inquisitively. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"

The waiter slipped a silver holder between the two of us. I nodded
at him and he poured our glasses half full of the dark red liquid. The man
sat the wine bottle into the holder. The ice rustled softly as it settled
under the weight of the bottle. "I shall return shortly with your meals.
Excuse me." He took one more moment to place sets of silverware down in
front of us, each wrapped in a napkin, and walked off towards the door that I
assumed to belong to the kitchen.

"What did you mean about 'proof we're not the same?'" I inquired, my
head tilting slightly.

Ayukawa smiled, but it was a sad smile. "I just meant, she and I...
we're different."

I blinked. "Of course you are, I mean, you'd have to be, especially
if I'm completely foriegn to this uni- uh..." Oops, there I went again.
"...this place."

"Yes, but, ah..." Ayukawa burbled as she toyed with her wine. I was
going to prompt her further when the waiter returned with our meals. I was
definately impressed with the service. Ayukawa and I couldn't have been
talking for more than a few moments since we got the wine. Ah, well, I
shouldn't have expected any different with such an expensive train ride.

He laid the steaks out first, and then put the baked potatoes on the
side, since they were on their own plates, accompanied by small portions of
sour cream, onions, butter, and even bacon bits. I spread the portions all
over my potato and poured some steak sauce on the t-bone in front of me. "I'm
surprised, you'd think we'd get sa-" The waiter laid down two small salads
to the side, and then a thing of bread. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I
just laughed nervously.

"Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?"

"Uhm, ah, not at the moment," I answered, still feeling the fool.
I'd leave a good tip. "Thank you, ah... Kensuke."

He nodded at the use of the name, which I had only gathered from the
name tag on his right breast pocket. "Very good, sir." He bowed slightly,
and walked off to talk to some other guests who had just entered. I dug into
the steak right away; it wasn't best steak I had ever eaten, but it was good
nevertheless. I didn't like the potato quite as much, but the steak more
than made up for it. I was happy that Ayukawa also seemed to be enjoying the
meal. True, it wasn't quite what I had planned for when I said I wanted
lunch; it was more like a dinner. Still, it was a fair train ride, and the
meal was definately hitting the spot.

"How did we meet?" Ayukawa said suddenly. I blinked at her. "I
mean, in the other..."

"Ah," I said, taking a quick bite of bread and swallowing it almost
without chewing. "We met on the Stairs running along Orange Road. I was new
to our current area of suburban Tokyo, and I was counting the number of
stairs it had. It's a hobby of mine, you know? Counting steps."

She giggled. "And...?"

I scratched my chin, feigning thought. I knew our first meeting by
heart. Every word. Every detail. Every scent in the summer air. How could
I have not? "Well, you had lost your red straw hat, since there was a pretty
strong breeze. As it came by, I jumped up. I caught and you said 'Nice
Catch.'" Actually, it sounded more like "Niceu Catchu" as I recall. Her
Japanese accent had been stronger then when she pronounced English. "I
proceeded to finish counting the steps and determined there to be one
hundred. And you said-"

"There are only ninety-nine steps," she finished for me.

My jaw dropped and I stared at her. "How did you... I.."

She laughed again. "Kasuga, I myself have been bored enough to count
those steps. Trust me, there are ninety-nine."

"Uh huh. You're ganging up on me now," I accused with a smile on my
face. "Anyways, so I argued that no, there were in fact one hundred steps.
You of course disagreed, and I tried to make peace by claiming that we must
both be wrong. There were only ninety-nine and a HALF steps. You, of
course, thought that was hilarious."

She nodded. "I do think it's rather funny."

"Well, I offered you your hat back," I continued, "but you thought it
looked better on me, so I should keep it. I did, and I still have it.
Well, it's in my apartment anyway."

"You sound very sentimental. So, did the relationship progress very
quickly after that?" She took a bite of salad and a sip of wine.

I sighed and took a sip of my own wine. "No, unfortunately not
because of another girl named Hikaru who took a liking to me. I was pretty
indecisive and I couldn't tell her no. I found out later that she knew I
loved you, but she really believed she could change me by her constant
presence. Eventually the stumbling trio caused all of us too much pain, and
I broke it off with Hikaru in order to be with you. She...." I took a deep
breath, "She didn't take it very well. She's doing better now, I think."

Ayukawa blinked at us and scrunched her face in thought. "You
couldn't mean Hiyama Hikaru, could you?"

Crap. I had forgotten that when I first teleported into this
dimension I had met the alternate Hikaru and Yusakuu. In fact, Yusakuu tried
to kill me. It wasn't a memory I relished remembering. "Yes, Hiyama Hikaru.
You were friends... I guess you are."

"We were," Ayukawa answered very darkly. "She followed in my
footsteps, and Yusakuu followed her. However, she never gave up the life of
delinquent.... Yukari had her beaten severely in order to flush me out."

I nodded. "Something similiar happened to my Hikaru, but I think I
can tell that this situation turned out worse."

"Yes," Ayukawa confirmed, "much worse. Even though I rushed her to
the hospital as soon as I could, the internal bleeding was too much for her
to handle. She died on the operating table..." Ayukawa closed her eyes in
pain. "Yusakuu still won't talk to me. He thinks it was my fault.... In a
way I suppose it was."

"Oh," I said quietly. "Oh! Hikaru's letter!"

Ayukawa blinked at me. "What letter?"

"Hikaru moved to New York after graduating from high school. She's
become an actress. She sent me a letter, but I must have left it in my
apartment." I frowned. "I haven't read it yet. To be honest, I don't want
to. I mentioned she was doing better, but I don't know how truthful that
really is. I'm afraid of what I might read." In fact, I knew it to be that
Hikaru had not stopped loving me, for I had spoken to her scant weeks ago in
the future. Future, past, alternate dimensions. Being an ESPer was often far
more complicated than it was worth.

"Oh. I see." She ate in silence for a few minutes. When she noticed
my intent stare she looked up. "I'm sorry," she said, dabbing the corners of
her mouth with her napkin, "it's just that... I was never close to my sister.
She was never into the same things and was too old to want to play with me
anyway." She bit her lip. "When I met Hikaru, she needed me for everything
I felt I needed in my own older sister. Since I could not get that from her,
I decided to become my own ideal older sister to Hikaru. In the end I failed
in that. I couldn't protect her."

"I admit, I never understood the relationship between you," I said
and knew I was being honest. I never had. It was obvious throughout my
school years that if it hadn't been for their relationship, it would have
been quite a bit easier for one to push the other out of my life. Knowing
Madoka, the situation probably would have ended in the same outcome. Still,
Hikaru was so... spoiled. And yet, as I thought about it, that was probably
also because of Madoka's presence in her life. Madoka usually gave in.
Madoka gave with a selfless love that taught Hikaru that it was acceptable to
take advantage of her, and by extension acceptable to take advantage of
others as well.

True, Hikaru had seemed to have moved past this aspect of her
personality in 1994. I was nice to consider a future where Hikaru had moved
on with her life and that the bond between her and Madoka has been
reestablished. A future where I wasn't in the way of that bond. This would
be a future where we were happy. I frowned. This would be a future that
Ayukawa would not have access to. "Regardless," I said after a few moments,
"you shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done at that
moment."

Ayukawa set down her fork. "No. Nothing in that moment, but plenty
of things could have been done in the infinity of moments before that. I had
two years, Kasuga. Two years from the time you came to when she paid the
ultimate price for my previous sins. I could have changed her. I could have
kept her from harm. I didn't... Didn't think I was strong enough..." Her
tears started but she quickly swiped at her eyes. We finished our meal in
silence.

While Ayukawa took care of the bill for the meals, I insisted upon
springing for the wine and the tip. She didn't seemed pleased by it, but I
absolutely insisted. Yes, I was stereotypical. I still am. It bothers me
to have a woman pay for everything, to support me, and I won't allow Madoka
to do it even now. I certainly wouldn't then. Sexest? Maybe, but at least
I'm honest. Kensuke thanked us as we handed over the money, including the
rather large tip, and pointed us down the proper way to our cabin.

We found it fairly easily and slipped in. Even though I had slept,
I doubted it had been much of a good rest. I locked the cabin door, posted
our tickets so the conductor would know when he was to disturb us. The cabin
wasn't extremely spacious, but it did have one side for sitting and another
with two fold down beds for sleeping and a small bathroom on one side. It
reminded me quite a bit of my small apartment back at Green Castle. Ayukawa
pulled down one of the beds and immediately crashed on to it. We had close
to two hours to kill and it wasn't a bad idea to take a nap. I pulled down
the other bed and climbed into it.

I jolted awake as there came a loud rapping at the door. I sat up
and nearly smashed my head against the ceiling of the train. Ayukawa was
already up and she answered the door. A large man in a conductor's uniform,
but not the same as the man who had earlier punched our tickets, stood
outside the door. "We'll be reaching Sansei in ten minutes," he said in a
deep voice before starting to turn around and amble off.

"Uhm, thank you," I shouted.

"You're welcome," he said from around the corridor when I could no
longer see him. I climbed down from the fold out bed, adjusted what I was
wearing, folded up the bed, and headed to the bathroom. Taking my travel bag
from where I had tossed it, I pulled out my toothbrush, toothpaste, and a
comb. I had only been sleeping for a few hours, yes, but my breath had to
have been horrible. I could already tell from the small mirror that my hair
was wildly attempting to go in several directions at once. I brushed my
teeth and combed my hair, and then offered the bathroom to Ayukawa, who
certainly didn't appear to need to use it.

"I already took care of it before you woke," she said by way of
explanation. I really wasn't all that surprised, Madoka was usually faster
than me on that account, despite being female. It would sound like bragging
to say that she didn't exactly have to spend any time to "put on her face"
considering how beautiful she already was. Okay, so, it would be bragging.
Doesn't change the fact it's true. "Anyways, shall we make our way out the
middle car, Kasuga?"

"Er," I gurgled as I grabbed my travel bag and tossed everything back
into it. Thinking about how beautiful Madoka was at this moment might not
have been the best thing to do. "Indeed," I said simply, answering her own
formal tone. She cocked her head at me in a bemused experess and we headed
out of the cabin and towards the middle cabin where we had entered. We met
the same conductor that we had spoken to earlier in the day. The train
slowed to a stop after an announcement about the next station was made. We
handed our tickets to the conductor where he punched them again and handed
them back mentioning how we'd need them for the return trip when we decided
what time we were returning. I didn't tell him I wasn't planning on using
the return trip.

The doors wooshed open, and we hurriedly exited the car before we
were trampled by all the people who had suddenly showed up behind us at the
last minute. The air was definitely cooler here, since we had gone steadly
uphill the entire way. We would still actually have to hike up the mountain
to the retreat by foot. There was no vehicle that could use the mountain
paths besides regular mountain bikes, and we sorely lacked those. True, my
grandparents had more than one, but they were located at the retreat. Not
exactly useful at the base of the mountain.

I readjusted the traveling bag on my shoulder and waited for the
train to depart before we crossed the tracks. The mountain was on the other
side, and I soon found the trail Ayukawa and I need to take. It wouldn't
take an extremely long time to get up the mountain, and both of us were in
fair condition. I had made the hike many times, and Ayukawa had done it
three times at least... No, scratch that. Madoka had. I slowed down so
that it would be easier for Ayukawa to follow behind me. She caught back up
in very little time and kept pace with me.

Mid-summer as it was, the elevation was so high that it seemed like a
nice spring day. The blossoms had long ago given way to fruit and leaves,
but the scene was still very picturesque, and we certainly weren't dying of
heat. The path curved in and around the trees, rocks, and other small houses
and shrines. Some were owned by my grandparents, some owned by others, and a
few I knew to have been abandoned. I recalled somewhere that in my universe,
my Grandfather had tried to get the courts to give the land to him under an
abandonment law. I couldn't recall the outcome of the claim.

After what felt like an infinity of turns, we pushed through the
underbrush and found the fence that ran around the retreat. We were almost
there. I opened the fence door, and I let Ayukawa go first as it creaked.
It slammed shut behind me when I was through it. We then continued up the
trail until the house was in view. I frowned. Usually Grandfather did
something infinitely stupid like teleporting from the house to greet us. He
was consipicously absent, and that worried me.

Eventually we reached the front door and I knocked loudly. The door
unlocked and creeped open, but no one was there. I made a guess that it had
been opened with the Power, and I started inside, with Ayukawa on my heel.
I walked the well-known and well-worn hallways of the house, tossing my shoes
into their appropriate alcove by long practice. Ayukawa followed my lead and
took off her own shoes, placing them alongside my own. I continued down the
hallway towards the main fire room of the large manse.

I came to it and found my grandfather asleep by the fire, my
grandmother floating over him. And I mean that in the strictly literal
sense. She was truly floating above his futon. She looked up at me and my
companion. "Ah, Kyosuke, we've been expecting you." I blinked. I didn't
exactly expect this, but then, perhaps maybe I should have. My grandmother
was an interesting woman. She too had the Power. I never really managed to
figure out why. I knew a lot about the clan, but the source of my
grandmother's Power was a mystery. I knew there were other clans with
control of the Power, and so I had always assumed she was a member of another
clan. I didn't really know, and it wasn't my place to ask.

"You did?" I asked.

"Yes, but we're not sure we can help you," Grandmother said slowly.
"I'm not very powerful, and Grandfather is very sick. When he wakes, I'll
let you speak to him. He may have answers for you." She looked at me sadly
and announced, "I'm afraid I simply do not." She floated over to a teapot in
the corner that flew up to meet her half way. She caught it deftly and
poured it into three tea cups that were likewise hanging suspended in the
air. Grandmother wasn't as powerful as even my sisters, but she had many
years of control, and it appeared she could do much more than the majority of
the Kasuga Clan. When she had finished pouring the tea, two of the cups
floated toward Ayukawa and me. I slowly took control of the cup intended for
Ayukawa as well as my own, since I knew she would not be able to catch it
herself. When I had grasped them both, I handed one over.

"Careful," I warned Ayukawa in low tones, "she may assume you have
more skill dealing with the application of the Power than you actually do.
I'll go ahead and 'grab' anything that floats your way."

Grandmother clucked her tongue as she settled back onto a cushion
placed on the floor. "Ayukawa-san is more nimble than you are, Kyosuke, I
wouldn't count her out. Besides, she will need to get used to the
application of the Power."

I bit my lip. Grandmother was obviously telepathic, which is why she
had noted to expect me, as well as my name, and yet she must have thought
that Ayukawa was the Madoka in my mind. I decided to inform her otherwise.
"Grandmother, as you can read my mind you must know that I am alone here.
Ayukawa is not my love. She is of this universe, and she is not coming with
me."

"She loves you," Grandmother said simply. "You must understand my
confusion."

I shook my head. "I saved her life, what you sense is a deep caring,
not love."

Ayukawa licked her own lips. "I owe Kasuga more than a lifedebt, and
I always will. There is no way for me to repay what he has done for me.
How could I not love him? It's just not a romantic love, even I know that.
I made that mistake once. I tested it, and it failed to stand up to that
standard."

Grandmother seemed unconvinced, but waved it off. "Whatever you
say." She appeared to want to say more but her attention suddenly shifted as
Grandfather started to move. She instantly hovered back up and over to the
spot she had held when Ayukawa and I had first entered the fire room. I
moved over almost as fast, though I wasn't hovering. I could do it, yes, but
I'd never been very good at it, and besides, I didn't need to do it now.
Ayukawa shifted over in order to follow me. Grandfather's eyes opened and
when they had finished blinking away the blur of sleep, they focused upon me.

"Ah," he said in his high pitched craggy voice, "Kyosuke, you have
finally come." He coughed. "I have so much to ask you, but... Not enough
time to find out about all of it. I know you need to get home, but there's
something you have to understand..."

"What, Grandfather?" I asked. I sounded like a little kid, but I
didn't much care. I need to get home, and this was the only man in the
universe I knew how could do it.

"No, no," he said after coughing once more, "Not yet. Tell me, boy,
how is your mother? I long so to see her again..." He shifted under his
covers.

I frowned. "There is no difference, Grandfather. She passed away in
my universe as well." I wasn't really pleased to be the one delivering the
news. If this version of my grandfather was a bit less sane than my own, as
his reactions to my father in this universe suggested, I might come to regret
my forthrightness. He may no longer have been willing to help me. I was
luckily quite mistaken. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring you better news. "

Grandfather let out a breath. "I understand, Kyosuke. I suspected
as much. You cannot fight fate. Yet I had hoped against hope. Your
presence here had signaled something had changed in your universe. I hoped
that more than just your birth had changed." He rolled over while he coughed
again and then rolled back. "Not to say that I'm displeased to see that you
survived. It's a nice change of pace. I don't usually get to meet alternate
grandsons."

I didn't really want to interrupt him, but I wasn't here to have a
conversation about the states of our respective families. I wanted to get
home. I had already spent nearly two days here, I didn't plan on spending
any more than was absolutely necessary. I would have to bite the bullet and
tell him this. "Grandfather, please forgive me if I seem rude, but I really
need to be able to get home as soon as possible. I have some people at home
that I'm sure really miss me, and I really miss them. I would appreciate it
if you could help me get back. You're the only one who can help me get
back."

Grandfather shook his head at me. "As I was trying to tell you
before, I cannot help you. I do not have the power to help you. I cannot
send you back. I'm sorry, you'll have to do it yourself." He closed his
eyes, and I thought he had just dismissed me. This couldn't be possible.
He had to be able to help me. He was the only who could... He was the one
who got me here back in 1988, he could certainly return me now! It wasn't
fair.

"How can you say that!" I objected. "You're the only one who can do
it. My own grandfather caused me to appear here before, certainly you can
send me back! You have to be able to... I can't stay here, I just can't.
It's too much to ask... Please tell me there's something you can do."

"No, Kyosuke, I don't think you understand," my grandfather grumbled
softly, "I cannot. I cannot send you back without your permission. It's
you."

I blinked. This was insanity. He had my permission. Hell, I was
begging for him to send me home, and he said he couldn't do it without my
permission? Was the old man mad? This was obviously going to be far more
difficult than I thought. "No," I said after a deep breath, "I don't
understand. Why is it up to me?"

My grandfather coughed and spit into a hankerchief he produced from
under his covers. "Because, Kyosuke, you are here at your own request. It
is your own control of the Power that led you here, and not just because you
fell down a flight of stairs. You delivered yourself here, now you must
deliver yourself home."

"But.. I was in a car accident, I didn't have any choice," I cried,
unconvincing to even my ears, and before he responded to my objection, I knew
what he was going to say. I didn't want to hear it, but it was already
ringing in my ears. I had to listen, I had no choice. Not that it mattered.
My heart was already telling me.

The old man closed his eyes as if in rejuvination for a few seconds.
"You had unfinished business here, Kyosuke. I have no way of knowing if it
is concluded or not. I can only assume that the business has to do with your
young woman sitting near you. You can stay here as long as you wish, after
all you are a member of the clan. Even though it isn't our clan." He closed
his eyes again and didn't open them the next time he spoke. "I suggest,
Kyosuke, that you and Madoka-chan have a chat. Now, I'm going to bed. If
you're still here when I wake, then perhaps, I can try to help... Somehow my
instincts tell me you won't be. I certainly hope so. Goodnight, Kyosuke,
Madoka-chan."

I shook my head and headed out. 'Unfinished business,' he had said.
I had, for the last four years, been thinking about Ayukawa in the back of my
mind. I had changed her destiny, and so I wondered, 'what was she like? What
had she become?' Unfinished business was dangerous when it came to crossing
dimensions, I had read that in one of the clan books. I hadn't really though
it. Why should I care? She's not my Ayukawa Madoka... I rolled my eyes.
This was garbage, and I knew it. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have saved
her, and I wouldn't have returned. What was that I was supposed to say to
her?

Ayukawa was following me, though I'm sure she had no idea where I was
going. I hadn't really been 'going' anywhere, but had somehow made my way to
the room I normally used on auto-pilot, which wasn't really surprising
considering how often I had been here. "So," I said, pulling the futons out
of the closet, "What now?"

She seemed pained, but I was sure it was only because of my own
extreme discomfort. I could go home, but only if I learned how to. I felt
like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Odd to compare myself to an American film
character, but it was only too apt. I had just found out I could have left
at any time. The question then was, where did I find my ruby slippers? I
certainly didn't see a wicked witch of the east that I could have stolen a
pair from. I headed over to Ayukawa.

I wasn't entirely certain what I was supposed to do, but talk was
better than nothing. Maybe we could figure it out. Maybe I could still get
home. I placed my arms around her, but it wasn't a gesture of anything more
than sorrow. "Ayukawa, I'm sorry that I couldn't have been more help to you,
and that I wasn't around when you needed me most. I regret that I wasn't
there to see the change you promised me; the fullfillment of my impression
upon you. You've always been in the back of my head. I never meant to
abandon you, but there was no way I could have stayed. Just as there is no
way for me to stay now. I care about you deeply, and I have from the
beginning. You claimed to be different from Madoka, but I think we both know
that isn't true, and that's why we're both having problems here."

She turned and buried her face in my chest. "I just don't want to be
alone. I was alone until you came. You didn't have to help me, it wasn't
your fight. I really did only save you to annoy the cops. You were
amusing, and that's why I saved you. Yet you saved me out of pure love. I
wanted to feel that again. I don't want you to go, Kasuga, I'm not sure I could
bear to see it a second time. I know I wasn't clear earlier. I just don't have
anything to go home to. Certainly not anyone."

I really didn't have anything new to say, but I tried being
reassuring anyway. "I care about you. I influenced your life just as I
influenced my own Madoka, but I'm only one man. I cannot stay here, but you
will always be a part of my experiences, and I will never forget you. That
I promise you. Besides, now you do have someone to go home to. You can stay
with my father or my grandparents. Get to know my sisters. Fill the void
my lack of existence has placed within the clan. You already know about the
Power, and much more than you should. You have a place, Ayukawa Madoka.
Mine."

She pushed herself away and stared coldly at me. "That's all you
have to say to me, Kasuga? I'm sorry, as great as your family is, they
aren't you."

I hung my head. "It's all I have to offer," I cried.

"It's not good enough." The determination in the words frightened
me.

"It has to be," I mumbled. "I can do no better." I tried to make my
gaze meet hers, but her eyes drilled deep into my soul. "Please, don't do
this, Ayukawa." My words were anguished. I realized what she was about to
lose in my, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I found that I
was once again repeating myself. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I hope you
can forgive me."

"No."

"I don't have the heart for this. Don't ask me to choose, Ayukawa.
Please." Tears. Odd, I hadn't realized I could cry that easily. "I'm
weak, and I've always been weak. Dammit, how can I make you understand?" The
tears disappeared as my anger was rekindled. "How can you be so selfish?"
Suddenly, I realized exactly why I couldn't leave. My visage hardened and I
returned her stare. "You're holding me back."

A sneer. "I changed my entire life for you, Kasuga Kyosuke. Not
because it was the right thing to do and certainly not because I felt like
bettering myself." She looked away. "For you."

"So what you told my grandmother was a lie?"

Her head whipped back to me. "Of course! I could barely admit it to
myself, I certainly wasn't going to tell her." Ayukawa ran a hand through
her hair and murmered, "I don't want it to be true." I simply stared at
her, uncertain of what to say. "I wasn't always alone, Kasuga. I used to have a
family of my own. My parents, before they made me choose between my home
and our togetherness. My sister was around, of course, but I'm sure you realize
we were never close, and she got married anyway." She took a deep breath.
"So, I got used to being alone. A big, capacious house, plenty of money...
I didn't have anyone, so I didn't feel I needed anyone." She sighed. "Then
you came along and single handedly saved me from being raped... I was
suddenly so dependent on you. Do you realize how that made me feel?"

I made to speak, but fell silent at her glare.

"Do you have any idea how much I want to hate you even though I
can't?" I remained silent. What more could I do? "What's more, your
appearance caused the situation in the first place! If you had left when I
told you to... You made me need you, dammit, and then you abandoned me.
And now, now when I'm so close to forgetting about you and moving on with my
life, here you come again, out of nowhere to mess things up again. So, here
you are, making me feel all those emotions again, and you're going to
abandon me a second time. Don't you feel any responsibility as a man?"

"Yes, but not for you." I let the words roll out of my mouth before
I had even thought them. I instantly regretted them, but I knew they were
true. Well, mostly true.

"Bullshit," Ayukawa spat as she poked me with an outstretched finger.
"I may have been niave to think I could have you, but even I'm not so stupid
as to ignore the fact that you feel something for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't
be 'holding' you back."

I threw my arms up in defeat. "Fine, you're right, I feel for you. I
even said I cared about you earlier. Perhaps I even love you, but that
doesn't change a thing. I have to go back. I belong to someone else."

She shook her head and sagged. Her anger had been expended, all that
was left on her face was a tortured yet resigned expression. "Isn't there
anything you can leave me...? At least, someway we could stay in touch...?"

I sighed. That had worried me, still was there anything I could do?
"Let me think," I said in earnest. After a while, I found myself pacing
about the room. I wasn't really certain... Could I go back in time and
have my duplicate stay with her? No, he'd be me, then I'd just create a bigger
problem. Instead of just me trying to get back to Madoka, there'd have been
two of me trying to do the same. Okay, so, time duplication was out of the
question. Could I take her with me? No, Madoka would have a fit, and I
wouldn't be able to spare the time for her anyway.

If only there was a way to give Ayukawa a willing copy of me. No, I
had just gone over that. Didn't I? What if... UGH! I was way out of my
league. It's not like I could just whip up another me, but the idea
wouldn't get out of my head. Oh, why had the Kyosuke of this universe died?
Maybe if I brought him back to life... No, he had died when he was a newborn,
and the clan had laws against bringing people back from the dead anyway. I
blinked. Wait, could there be another option? I looked back at Ayukawa. I knew
what I had to do.

I dropped to my knees, knowing it would help me maintain control. I
hadn't expended this much power since my return from the future, yet it was
obvious this was going to take a lot out of me. I closed my eyes. I must
have looked like I was praying. Which, in a way, I guess I was. Still, I
imagined I looked very silly. If Ayukawa was startled, she didn't notice.
Of course I might have been too out of it to notice. I was already deep in
meditation, scanning for a way out.

My mind pulled away from me. I was assuming I'd be able to find him.
I mean, all I had to was scan... Whatever the hell this was. "Niche
Universe" grandfather had called it. I was looking for a pattern very
familiar to me. It shouldn't take too long... In fact, I had found it. I
was narrowing my focus. Calling it toward me. It? He? Me. I fought back,
or rather he fought back against me. He didn't want to go. Too bad. I had
a job to do; a conscience to satisfy. His decisions after I was done were
his own. Right now, he would follow my lead.

I opened my eyes as I concentrated, a ball of blue energy forming in
the middle of the room. It wasn't his soul. It would have been impossible
to see that. No, this was the matter I was pulling from somewhere.
Although I had no idea how it worked, I knew that it did. The ball pulsated
and eventually started to stretch. Mostly lengthwise, but it was filling
out as well. I spared a glance for Ayukawa, but it almost made me lose control,
so I returned my full attention to it. Forcing the bonds to click. Even
moreso, forcing him to go into it.

If I was doing this right, I'd create a biological duplicate of me.
I was hoping that by infusing his own soul, instead of creating an extension
of mine, he would be an individual. That was the plan anyway. I
focused more, and the blue energy was no longer a ball at all, but a
humanoid shape. I was still being fought, but I was winning. He was strong,
but it was all instinct; I knew control by years of practice. I tried to
project the memories I wanted him to have, if it was possible to do. Even
moreso, I let the bit of my mind in love with Ayukawa come out and help bolster
my control.

The world sneezed. I sagged, and in front of me stood my mirror
image with a bemused expression on his face. He was wearing a copy of my
usual school uniform. I didn't think I could create inanimate objects.
Still, his expression had me worried. I frowned. It didn't look good. I'd
probably just succeeded in creating a duplicate. At least his soul was his
own. Perhaps that would persuade him to stay. If not... Well, I'd deal
with that when I spoke to him. For now...

"Quite a trip, that," my mirror said.

Ayukawa just gaped. She wasn't known for ability to cope immediately
with the unexpected. Still, she managed to shake it off. "Is this... I
mean-- Is this..." She gave up.

"Thank you," he said. "How can I ever repay you for... Saving a life I
never really had?"

I blinked. "You understand what happened? You're not a clone?"

He shook his head. "Biologically, perhaps, but I'm more like... An
amalgam. I'm partly you, but partly myself. I don't really understand why
I understand. I know because you do. It's... an odd sensation. I feel
like everything is new, and yet I already know it all." He shook his head
bringing it back up to stare off somewhere that didn't exist in front of
him. He drifted over to Ayukawa and smiled at her.

She stared at me. I held up a hand. "If I stay, you'd always be
sharing me with her. But him... He loves you completely, if I've done my
job. This is his universe, rightfully. Treat him well." She nodded,
unable to speak.

"Kyosuke," I said, addressing my alternate, "you take care of her.
I'm going to take off, but I expect you to get me some kind of message every
so often. I know you can do it."

He nodded. "You needn't have even asked."

"Oh, and one more thing," I said as I felt the tugging of a teleport.
I knew, and I was coming, but I had to do this. My soul required it.

"Tell our father you love him. In person."

He smiled. "Of course, and I do love him... and I love her." He
pulled Ayukawa close. She seemed confused, but didn't resist. "Now, get
home. It's been taken care of. You're absolved."

As soon as he had finished his heartfelt words, I felt the world
shift around me, and I was falling through a kaleidoscope of colors. I had
done this one before, and I would do it once more before my present. I had
done whatever I needed to do. Finished my 'unfinished business.' I was on
my way home. Yet it seemed like I was falling forever. At some point, when I
had completely lost track of time, the colors started joining together
forming a bright white light. If I could have blinked, I would have.
Not that it would have mattered. When the light subsided, and my vision
turned sharp, I saw four distinct walls around me.

I had been here before, or some place like it. I moved my head. It
was hard to move, but I saw enough of my surroundings to quickly come to a
conclusion about where I was located. I was in a hospital. Not all that
different from the one I had been in mere weeks before for another trip I
never intended to take. This was starting to become very annoying.
Eventually something else came into focus: the most beautiful woman I had
ever seen. She was resting in the corner of the room. I tried to get up,
go to her, but I couldn't; I was attached with too many wires, some kind of
mask over my face. I tore it, managed to get it off. A warning alarm went off.
I ignored it. She woke up and stared.

"Kyosuke!" She rushed over, just as a nurse fled into the room and
stepped in front of her.

"No," the nurse insisted, "absolutely not. I must check on him
first. I can't have you bothering him if he's just come out of a coma."
She then turned to me. Oh, I'm still not sure she saw, but I hoped that she
read the burning in my eyes. The audacity was enough to make the blood boil
in my veins and I could feel the Power just egging me to action. I could
not abide this, I would set her straight right that instant.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but if you EVER talk to her that
way again, I will personally rip out these tubes, remove you from the room,
and go about my business. As for now, I have been through some of the most
horrid days of my life, and I'd like to talk to the woman that I love
without interruption. So, I suggest. You. Move. Now."

She seemed aghast by my temper, and she rambled a rebuttal, "But,
sir, you've been out for days, and I just can't-"

"Now," I repeated. In fact, I stabbed at the door, in indication I
wanted her more than to move. I wanted her out. Gone. I would not have my
reunion busted up by some overprotective med tech. I waited until she got
the message and quickly exited the room. When she did, I turned back to
Madoka. "Help me up. I need to hold you in my arms, and I'm not sure I'm
ever going to let go."

She grabbed me, almost pulling me straight out of the bed and into an
embrace. "Oh, Kyosuke, do you have to do this? Please don't ever lose your
soul again. It was crazy enough the first time," she cried, the floodgates
opening, and tears quickly showering my medical gown. "I was so worried
when you got hit by the car, and we had to get you back from the future. Now and
you go and lose your soul again. Where did you go? How did you get back?
It's been nearly a week, and Grandfather could do nothing..." She buried
herself in my chest in an action that seemed so much like deja vu. "He said
it was all your fault, that you had chosen to go, but he didn't know
anything more than that... Why do you have to have the Power? Can't you turn it
off?"

I didn't answer her. I just kissed her. I kissed her for a long,
long time. I didn't stop until my family arrived, having gotten a call from
the hospital that I was not only awake and cognitive, but up, about, and
abusing the nursing staff. Once again there were hugs all around. I had a
new-found appreciation for my family. My family. A family Madoka was a
part of, and would always be a part of. I even looked forward to helping get
everyone settled in the new house that Madoka had helped provide. And I
would take a step forward in our relationship.

"Madoka, can I move in with you? It's not like I haven't already."

Madoka looked at me through her still wet eyes as I finished
buttoning my shirt, as I awaited the paperwork that would discharge me from
the hospital. "Of course," Madoka said through her choked voice, "God, I am
so glad you're back." She collapsed onto me, and I held her tightly. There
was only one thing left for me to do before Madoka and I left. Something I
had promised someone very, very important to me.

"Hey, Dad," I said, pulling him out of some debate with my sisters.

"Yes, Kyosuke?" he answered, curious, but immediately tuned in to
whatever I had to say.

"You've always been supportive, appreciative, and loving... I love
you, and I always will." I left him stunned, but warmed. Madoka and I
received my papers and walked out of the hospital into the sunny afternoon
that awaited us.