-+- Standard Disclaimer -+-
The characters depicted in this story are not mine. Sue me and you get nada, cuz that's how much I own. Blah.
-+- End of Disclaimer -+-
Unlikely Companions
A fiction novella by Dave Zhang (dzhang@its.caltech.edu). Comments and criticisms welcomed. Copyright 2003.
[This text is in English.] "This text is spoken." 'This text is thought.' =This text is telepathic.=
Chapter 13: The Test of Empathy, Part I
"Congratulations again, Haruka. You have now completed the second of the seven tests, the Test of Mettle. Today, we begin the Third Test, the Test of Empathy. Before we begin, we wanted you to know that of the few who made it past the first round, 42% of our Contestants make it this far. Actually, the test you just completed was the easiest of the seven. Again, you can choose to leave by yourself any time you want."
"I guess it makes sense that about half of the people would pick the side of virtue," commented Haruka.
"Actually, no. Passing the test merely requires you to make a decision," said Pansom. "I think you rather misinterpretted the point of the test. We are not here to judge whether loyalty should be placed above virtue, or vice versa. If you had supported Serenity in the name of loyalty, you would have also passed the test. The key point is that there are times when you are caught in situations where the choice will be very difficult, but you still need to have the courage to pick one and stick it out. The people who fail that test are the ones who can't bear to make a difficult decision, and thus demand to be removed from that scene."
"Oh." Haruka suddenly started wondering what would have happened if she stayed on Serenity's side, and fought against Beryl. Most likely Beryl would have been captured on her first trip to the Moon, and then the Outer sectors would crumble due to lack of leadership. Or, if somehow Beryl did manage to escape, it was very unlikely that Beryl would have ended up winning without Haruka's support and extensive insider's knowledge of the Moon Kingdom military.
The more she thought about it, the more Haruka was convinced she had been taken back in time, and performed her role exactly as she did ten thousand years ago.
Haruka's thoughts were cut off as she felt the familiar tingling of a teleportation spell having its effect on her.
***
Haruka felt different, somehow, but she could not pinpoint what it was. She was still a girl, that much she was sure of. But what was different? Then, suddenly spotting one of the bangs that covered over her eyes, she realized that she now had red hair.
Suddenly a flood of memories deluged her active mind, and filled her with the experiences of having lived a life that Haruka never did. Haruka, as far as she could tell now, was in the place of a fifteen-year-old girl named Miki Koishikawa, whose life was the epitome of normal. She had a female best friend, she went through a painful puppy love with one of her male friends, she played tennis, and life was good. Her parents were a bit out of it, and their tendency to buy useless things made it so that their finances weren't that great, but it was obvious to Haruka that her new parents loved her, or rather Miki, very much.
"Miki?" called out her mother, Rumi, from the living room.
"Coming!" Her new memory told Haruka that her parents just came back from a vacation to Hawaii, and that meant presents! Her mind danced in celebration at that thought. Haruka suddenly stopped, as she considered thing. 'What's going on? I don't normally care about material presents that much. It must be this test--they've ingrained parts of this girl's personality into me. The Test of Empathy... they want to see how well I can cope with being a normal girl, instead of a Senshi with powers. I wonder if this is still my world? Maybe they want me to feel what it's like being a civilian and watching the Senshi fight monsters.'
Haruka checked her memories, but there didn't seem to be any monster attacks that Miki had been aware of, ever. 'But then again, we've only been Senshi in reality for a few years. Maybe it hasn't started yet.'
"Miki?"
"Coming!" restated Haruka as she made a mental note to do some research on Senshi later.
Haruka found her parents sitting side-by-side on the couch, smiling cheerfully at her. Her father began, "Miki, don't be surprised, but we'd like you to listen..."
'Drat! No presents...'
Her mothered continued. "We're... getting divorced."
***
Haruka found herself ranting about the day's relevations over the phone to her friend Meiko.
'It must be Miki's compulsion that's doing this,' thought Haruka idly while chattering away. 'I wonder if I'm really in control here?'
She decided to test, and suddenly pulled the plug out of the phone, disconnecting it while Meiko was in mid-sentence. That convinced her. Miki would never do something like that to her best friend. She reconnected the phone line.
The phone rang again, and Haruka quickly picked it up, apologizing to Meiko about her phone suddenly disconnecting.
When she and Meiko finally finished talking, Haruka lay back on her bed and started to think again. 'This can't be normal... there's no way that parents divorcing to swap partners with another couple they met in Hawaii can be normal. But then again, I guess any life has its share of weirdness, so if it wasn't this, it might be a pyromaniac older brother or a lecherous uncle or something. Maybe this isn't so abnormal, anyway.'
"Argh! I've been WAY too introspective since these damn tests started!"
'Maybe I shouldn't fight it,' thought Haruka. 'I'll just act my compulsions, since they're obviously the real Miki's choices. I'll just sit back and watch the show.'
***
Haruka sat with her parents at an expensive restaurant, and across the table from another couple.
"And this is our daughter Miki," introduced her father Jin.
The woman of the other couple spoke, "Where's Yuu-kun?"
Rumi explained. "Yuu is Youji and Chiyako's son. He's in the same grade level you're in."
Haruka's ears piped up at the mention of Yuu's name, but she said nothing. 'I think I see. During the first test, one of Yuu's fragments mentioned that his parents swapped partners with another family, and another Yuu fragment mentioned a sister. I'm to be his sister, and know him from a sister's point of view.'
A blond and good-looking Yuu, though somewhat younger than Haruka remembered, walked to their table some moments later, saying nonchalantly, "I'm sorry! Was I late?"
After feeling herself a bit flustered by the arrival of Yuu, which Haruka assured herself was because of Miki's influence, Haruka felt the urge to declare loudly her opposition to the arrangement, but then she stopped herself forcibly. 'What's the point? I already know this is going to go through.'
Haruka sighed, and said, "Nice to meet you."
Jin and Rumi nodded, a bit surprised by their daughter's reaction, but they were not ones to question their good luck.
Jin spoke, "Anyway, I love your mother very much still, Miki. It's just... it's become a friendly sort of love, whereas with Chiyako... it's the type of love that makes me feel young and alive again! I think it's the same for your mother and Youji."
Miki nodded stoically. "I'm happy for all four of you."
"You're not opposed to this?" asked Yuu, a bit surprised. "Mom and Dad told me that you were pretty against it."
"What's the use? They're going to do it no matter what, so we should be happy for them." Haruka then thought of something. "Wait, will I be staying with Mama or Papa from now on?"
Rumi spoke to her daughter again, comforting her. "You don't have to worry about anything, Miki. Neither I nor Jin would want to be parted from you. That's why... we're all moving into a big house together, all six of us!"
Haruka was caught off guard and fell out of her chair.
***
Yuu looked at Haruka as they finished moving into their new house. "Hey, it's not normal, but you gotta admit, it's kinda fun when your family suddenly doubles in size. Let's be friends, OK?"
Haruka looked at Yuu's extended hand, and gently shook it. 'After all, I think that's what I'm supposed to do to pass this stupid test. Hm... Yuu really doesn't seem like that bad a guy so far.'
Then she felt something in her palm, and brought it up to her face. 'He handed me something... used gum!?' "Yuu!"
"Hahahaha!" laughed Yuu as he pranced off.
Haruka chased after him. "Get back here you little shit! I'm going to beat your face so hard your mother won't recognize you!"
The four parents sweated profusely as the two children ran by them and out the house.
"This re-marriage thing has sure changed Miki quite a bit," commented Rumi. The others sagely nodded.
***
"Good morning, Meiko!"
"Miki. Did you get through moving okay?"
"Um, sure. It's started at last, my abnormal life..." 'in more ways than one.'
"You still look pretty cheerful though."
"That's because I'm in school! At school, I can escape my abnormal family and my damn annoying step-brother. Here, I can... relax..."
At that point, a schoolbag connects with the back of her head, making Haruka's eyes goggle and pitching her forward. "Ow, what the Hell are you..."
Then Miki recognized her assailant. "Yuu!?"
"It's too tiring to commute to Yokohama, so I transferred. How unfortunate, huh? Even in school, you'll have to deal with your 'damn annoying step-brother.'"
"Oh, I can have fun with this," sneered Haruka evilly as she cracked her knuckles. "Schoolbag to the head, about to be repaid with interest..."
Yuu suddenly felt in danger, and decided to flee, with Haruka hot on his trail.
***
"Good afternoon, everyone! The Broadcast Club brings you the Lunchtime News. Today, we welcome a wonderful guest to the studio. The transfer student whose rapid rise in popularity has made him the talk among the girls in school... Year 1, Class B's Matsuura Yuu-kun!"
Haruka did a spit-take as she heard the above from the TV in the cafeteria. 'What the hell is that little shit doing?'
On the screen, Yuu started speaking. "Thank you, and hello. I'm Matsuura."
Haruka snorted in disgust as several girls in the lunchroom screamed out "Kyaah!" and swooned.
"By the way, Matsuura-kun, you've been coming to school with someone every morning, and, well... It's being gravely rumored..."
"Ahh, you mean Miki."
"Yes! Koishikawa Miki, from the same Year 1, Class B--this is her, right?" A very unflattering picture of Miki was displayed on screen for a moment before the interview scene returned. "What sort of relationship do the two of you have?"
Yuu smiled, and calmly replied. "We're living together."
"Ehhhh?!! Wh-what an explosive line! Then, in other words, you're cohabiting..."
"No, it's nothing like that..."
"You little shit!" roared Haruka as she stormed into the live recording area. "What the Hell rumors are you spreading about us!? I'm so going to beat that bishonen face of yours!"
Haruka then suddenly noticed that the 'Live' sign as still on.
"Uh..." said she as she quickly jumped into the foreground. "It's like this. My parents and his parents are friends, and such being the case, our two families have been living in the same house recently! That's all it is!"
Yuu smirked mischeivously from the background. "Isn't it a bit different?"
"Whatever! If the truth were known to the entire student body, I'd be so embarrassed I couldn't come to school!"
The student interviewer quickly jumped into the foreground and addressed his audience. "As you've heard, it seems that their relationship extends to their families. There is a very close relationship between the two..."
The interviewer found himself interrupted by Haruka's backfist. "You asshole! When I'm done kicking your ass, you won't be able to sit down for the next year!"
"Miki. She's changed," spoke Meiko to Ginta in that unperturbable voice of hers, at the cafeteria.
"Hm... they're being silly."
***
"Ow... you didn't have to punch me that hard."
"You got off easy since I already vented most of my anger on the interviewer."
"It's hard to believe your the daughter of Jin and Rumi. They seem so... peaceful, compared to you."
"Ah, shut up, you little shit."
A cry came from out in the distance. "Hey! Look out!"
"Huh?" Miki turned around and looked up just as a baseball travelled to her, and hit her squarely in the head, knocking her out. Several girls rushed to Miki and then carried her off to the Health Room.
***
"How do you feel?"
"I'm much better now, Meiko." Haruka mentally grumbled. 'Damn, I don't have my Senshi-enchanced strength and reflex anymore. Gotta be more careful in this world.'
"I'll go get your backpack."
"Thanks," said Haruka as she lied back down onto the bed.
"Matsuura-kun!" Haruka's ears perked up a bit as she heard Meiko's voice from the other room.
"How's Miki?"
"She seems much better now. I'm going to go get her clothes and stuff. Do you want to see her?"
'Damn! I don't want to see that little shit again. It's his fault I got sent here in the first place. Still dizzy... don't really want to run around and clobber him again. Ah, I'll just pretend to be asleep.'
Yuu pulled aside the curtain and looked at the supposedly asleep form of Haruka. "Miki? Are you asleep?"
Not getting a response from her, Yuu quickly leaned down and kissed her on the lips, before leaving the room and closing the curtain behind him.
'What the Hell!?' Haruka mentally steeled herself to pretend that she was actually asleep during this kiss episode, and vowed never to bring it up again, though she promised herself to double the next beating that Yuu gets from her.
***
"Ah, we really need a new toaster," lamented Haruka as she looked at her toast, blackened to the point of inedibility on one side and still kind of soggy on the other. "Hey, Yuu. Hand me the apricot jam."
Yuu looked up from the newspaper he was reading, and tossed a bottle to Miki. "Sorry, we're out of that. Have that instead."
Haruka looked at it. "Marmalade? Ugh... I hate that!"
"Don't be so picky."
"But the skins... they're bitter and taste completely nasty..." Haruka then thought of something, and smirked at Yuu. "You know, you're just like this marmalade, Yuu. Marmalade Boy!"
"Huh?"
"Good analogy, if I say so myself. You look sweet to people you don't know you very well, but really you're all bitter and nasty on the inside..."
"Hm... I see." Yuu stood up and ruffled through the panty until he found the bottle he was looking for. "Then, Miki, you're this!" He tossed her the bottle.
"Huh? Tobasco sauce?"
"That's right! People who don't know you well think you're spicy, but you're actually caustic! Tobasco Girl!"
"Tobasco Girl, eh?" A vein throbbed on Haruka forehead. "I guess I'll just have to live up to my namesake then!"
"Uh-oh." Yuu started running.
Haruka suddenly paused in the chase. 'Somehow, unknowingly... I've gotten used to this. When I hit Yuu, it's not like when I thought he was molesting Hotaru. It's friendly now. Yuu and I have become... friends... siblings.'
***
"Miki."
Haruka looked. The boy who now stood before her, she recalled to be Ginta, a boy that Miki had liked during middle school. She was firmly rejected by Ginta, but somehow the two of them remained friends, and often played tennis together. Since Haruka's insertion, however, interaction with Ginta had been sparse, mainly because Haruka's attention was mostly commanded by Yuu. Today, however, the two of them were alone in the classroom after school because of clean-up duty.
"What's up, Ginta?"
"You're eating something?"
"Hm...?" Haruka realized that she was, without realizing it. 'Grape flavored. Tastes pretty good. I wonder if Miki's personality will rub off on my permanently.' Haruka held out a half-full bag of the candy she was chewing on. "Yeah. Do you want one?"
Ginta looked at the bag. "Muscat Kiss. Ahh... The one where Hagiwara Mio does the commercials."
"Yeah, that's right."
"'Taste of a kiss.' I wonder if that's true. Shall we try and see?"
"Huh?" Haruka quickly tried to draw upon Miki's memories to try to determine whether Ginta was serious or not. After a moment's considered, Haruka decided that he was not--Ginta had been proven himself over the years to be prone to jokes, and he had already firmly rejected her a few years ago. This had to be a joke. 'Stupid Ginta, trying to fluster me? Sorry kiddo; might have worked on the real Miki, but I'm no weak-willed girl.' "Okay. Shall we try it?"
Haruka paused for a moment before continuing. "Haha. Just kidding. That kind of joke isn't your style, Ginta."
Haruka quickly lost her smile as Ginta suddenly stood up and approached her. Before she could react, Ginta had already firmly planted his lips on hers.
Haruka violently shoved Ginta to the floor, abruptly breaking off his show of affection. "You bastard! What the Hell are you doing?"
As Ginta got up, Haruka quickly slapped him across the cheek with all of her strength, stinging both Ginta's face and her hand.
"You said it was okay!"
"There's no way something like that could have been okay!" Haruka balled her stinging right hand into a tight fist and punched full-force at Ginta's nose, knocking him out.
***
"Miki? Are you not feeling well?"
"It's okay, Yuu. I just had a bad day."
"We can do this tomorrow if you want."
"I said don't worry about it!"
"Well let's go then and have fun! That's what amusement parks are all about."
At their first stop in the park, a video game arcade, Yuu and Haruka quickly sat down side by side at a Wing-Commander type video game. Haruka cursed constantly as she played. Yuu, right next to her, played calmly and methodically, eliminating wave after wave of enemies.
"Damn!"
From the sounds, Yuu could tell that Haruka's ship was taking substantial damage. He smiled and played on.
"Lame-ass missiles!" Sounds of missiles exploding in the empty air could be heard.
"What the Hell!? Accelerate, you piece of shit engine!" More sounds of rage and damage.
"Argh! I'm dead! Stupid game cheats!"
Yuu continued playing carefully and it was another five minutes or so before he finally got cornered by too many opponents and died as well. Grabbing his score-card, he proudly displayed it to his step-sister. "Ha! I got an 'A', Rank: Captain! Did you get a 'B' at least?"
Haruka grinned deviously and held out her own score-card.
"WHAT!?" Yuu exclaimed. "A++++!? Rank: Fleet High Commander!? How!? You died much earlier than me!"
Haruka's smile grew as she pointed to two of the entries on the card.
"Holy! You started at Level 120, and got to 136 before you died!?" Yuu started on Level 1, and died at Level 43. The total number of enemies he destroyed was about how many Haruka had destroyed on a single level.
"Hah! That'll teach you to think twice before showing off to me!"
***
"Let's go in there... Miracle Illusions. It should be fun."
Haruka shrugged apathetically. "Okay."
'Now that I think about it, Yuu does seem to be a pretty decent guy to have as a brother. He teases me constantly, but at least it does serve to lighten the mood.'
Haruka looked around, and saw reflections of the red-haired female body that she was inhabiting all around her. "Say, this is kinda fun!" She waved her hand, and all the Miki-reflections waved back. She giggled a bit at that, and consequently so did every Miki around her.
"Yuu! Huh? Where are you, Yuu?"
Upon Yuu not responding, Haruka followed the right-hand rule and exited the maze after some five minutes. When she exited the maze, Haruka saw Yuu off in the distance. Haruka called out as she jogged toward him, "Hey, Yuu!"
As she approached though, Haruka saw that Yuu was not alone; a cute blue-haired stood close to Yuu.
"Ah, Miki! Over here!"
Haruka walked toward them, and bowed to the girl. "Hello, I'm Miki. Are you a friend of Yuu's?"
"She was a class-mate during junior high. Suzuki Arimi-san."
A boy waved up to the trio. "Hey, Arimi. You're still here?"
"I'm coming now. I'll see you later, Yuu!"
"Your boyfriend?" asked Haruka.
"Nah, I just dated him a couple times, and only because he insisted. I'm going to dump him soon." Arimi gently caressed Yuu's cheek. "I like you much better. Anyway, gotta go now. I'll call!"
'I remember one of the Yuu personality fragments talking about his girlfriend during the first test... could that have been her? Arimi? She's pretty cute.' "You guys dated?"
Yuu nodded. "When we were in 3rd-year junior high, we went out together. It was only 3 months. We did the usual things."
"I see," commened Haruka. "You two should get back together!" 'Maybe that's my mission for this test.'
// Yeah, yeah. This chapter wasn't that creative; mainly just MB canon stuff. Mainly for reader who didn't have MB background.