Gatekeepers Encore
Across Tokyo, a strange programming was broadcast. It was harmless on most part, but in every neighbourhood, one or two complained of migraines and a ringing in their skulls afterwards, telling them to "return to their true self."
Disturbances were accredited to a freak electrical accident at the station.
Ukiya Shun stared at his smooth, white ceiling. The look on Rurippe's face on replay: disappointment. Pain. Why weren't you there, Ukiya-kun?
The curtains to her room fluttered and stayed closed. They haven't opened since his recovery from that fight with Kageyama, as though she couldn't bear to look at him. She has been avoiding him a lot these days, too.
Kageyama… …
He screwed his eyes tight shut, but images of the blonde boy pried their way between his lids. Smart, popular, terrific at everything he does, with everyone he meets. Images of a little blonde kid, a joy to all around him. Cruelly disposed of. If there was some way… if only there was some way… Kageyama.
"Evil is evil." He thought aloud. He had helped him over that. It seemed so far away, long ago, now. "De'mo… what, who is the real evil?"
I can't fight anymore, Kageyama-kun.
Help me.
What should I do?
* * * Megumi looked up from her book. Special Committee meeting again. Bother. First thing in the morning, too. She changed course and prodded along, sticking her nose back in the book. Kaoru and Bancho whizzed past. A listless Shun caught up with her.
"Ohayo, Megumi-chan."
"Ohayo. What do you want."
"Ne, Megumi-chan…" He faltered, the burning question in his chest found no words to be heard. She looked at him patiently, for about the space of three seconds.
"There's no crying over spilt milk." She muttered. "But if you feel you are unfit to be Captain, why don't you resign."
He thought about this as she disappeared down the chute between some cabinets.
Shirei was sterner than usual. Ruriko flinched under his piercing gaze.
"…The Invaders are getting smarter. It seems that they are learning."
"Smarter… or we are getting dumber."
"…As you can see," He indicated the images now pulled up on the monitor, "The are getting more cunning and deceptive."
Ruriko blushed, remembering the "hostages".
"…They appear now to be more highly evolved, resilient and versatile than before…"
"Multiple Cores. That's how they do it. Teamwork." Megumi felt smug about figuring that out, but was quickly slapped down.
"Yes, teamwork." Shirei glared around the table. "I am very disappointed in you, Gatekeepers, yesterday's battle was very nearly a disaster. You were careless and forgot you were part of a team."
"Shirei…"
"But I didn't forget. I won't be blamed for other people's short-comings."
"Although the Invaders were apprehended, you have failed the Organisation with your inefficiency…"
"No!" Megumi jumped to her feet. "I can't accept this! Shirei! Shirei, you must see. You must know I am not like them…"
"Megumi-chan…"
"Kurogane-senpai…" The table watched her in shock and pain. Various expressions of guilt and disbelief assaulted her, and one gloomy thoughtfulness. Ukiya Shun could have been on another planet altogether.
"I won't let your failures hinder my performance! I… I didn't fail! Shirei!"
Ruriko looked down on her hands. Reiko blinked.
"Oh dear… …"
"Senpai…"
"I… I…" Her throat closed. Hot stung her eyes and she hated herself for that.
"Megumi-chan."
The inert Captain kicked into action. She let him push her back in her seat as he stood up.
"I am the one to blame, Shirei, minna. Nobody failed anyone yesterday. Iya, it was me. I failed you. Gomen."
"Ukiya-kun…"
Shun shuffled his feet.
"I have failed my duties as your Captain and a Gatekeeper." He went on. "Shirei, I wish to resign from the Earth Defence Organisation."
"NANI??!!"
"Senpai! You can't!"
"Ukiya-senpai!"
"Arara, taihen desu…"
"Ukiya-kun!"
"… So, you'll run away. Just as expected. Great Captain Ukiya. Hmph."
"Ukiya-kun!"
"… …"
The head of the table remained aloof as Shun dug in his pockets and surrendered his Gatekeeper Identification, the Earth Defence Organisation licence in an act of finality.
"I am afraid I cannot accept this, Ukiya-taicho."
"Do whatever you want." Shun replied quietly. "I'm through."
"Ukiya-kun!!"
"Senpai!… Ikusawa-senpai, go after him!"
"Ha… hai!"
"Chotto matte desu…!"
Shirei watch the room empty and sighed. By remote control he flipped the image on the screen to a zoom of yesterday's battle, where a black-hole let through a pale arm adorned with gold and silver bangles froze over Megumi's head, an out-stretched finger tracing the beginnings of a dark circle.
First this, now that.
"Gatekeepers," He said to himself. "Be strong."
* * * Ruriko knew she should go out there and drag Shun off the roof, but she couldn't, she just couldn't face him. Instead, she paced the line that was Kaoru, Bancho, Megane and Reiko.
"Senpai…"
"Forgot your keys?"
"Kurogane-senpai…"
She ignored the young athlete and held out Shun's identification to Ruriko.
"Give it to him."
Ruriko hesitated.
"I… I can't, Megumi-chan. He doesn't…"
"Hmph."
A year ago, she would never have been able to see herself doing this. Now, she was stronger, different, as she took the last flight of stairs the others couldn't take and opened the door they couldn't open.
Shun hung over the railing, blank-faced. He felt light-headed, empty, even, without his AEGIS Gatekeeper Captain identity.
"Is this it. The best you can do."
"Go away. Nobody understands."
"Understand what? We are fighting the same thing, remember."
"No, you just… can't understand, okay?"
"Look at yourself. This isn't the Ukiya Shun that defeated Kageyama. All I see is a weak fool who couldn't have stood a chance. I won't accept this. Neither would he."
"Don't mention him!" He screamed, and immediately regretted it.
"Kageyama? Why not. He used me too."
"I…" He turned, finding his pain mirrored in a fleeting expression on Megumi that was almost soft. "Gomen, Megumi-chan… It's just… you don't know him like I do."
"That ought to be my line."
"No, that's not…"
"I know about Mitsuoka Yuji." She shrugged. "AEGIS records."
"They'll just keep coming."
"Then we'll keep fighting."
"We created them, you know. A Gatekeeper, from human desires…"
"But we are better. At least, I am. I don't know about you or the others."
She threw something at him. It landed on the concrete with a hard slap.
"They are waiting for you behind that door. I have better things to do, but it doesn't look like they'll leave until you come down."
Having done what she came to do, she turned to leave. Shun stared at the card at his feet and slowly picked it up.
"Megumi-chan."
She paused.
"Do you… do you think he's still alive?"
A thoughtful silence. Megumi didn't look back.
"Does it matter."
He had no answers. She left. She had better things to do. He stared at the card. Earth Defence organisation, huh? There had been a time not so long ago when he was proud, excited to be part of the secret alliance. AEGIS. Gatekeepers.
"But I can't fight anymore…" He told himself helplessly. "I can't…" The laminate bit into his palm with his shame.
"If this is not the end of Oblivion, then I shall live every day as if my life were to end on this very day."
He could feel the snow melting on his back, but he wouldn't face her. Not anyone. Not now.
* * * "Tea, Shirei?"
Ochiai-san watched Shirei pour over the spread of documents on his table. Folders, files, printouts and old photographs. He was unusually tense, which made her nervous, in turn. Now he swerved back in his chair and held up a black-and-white picture yellow with age to the monitor. He stared at it, losing himself in thought.
"Ochiai-san, do you remember… Oh, right. That was before your time."
It was a picture of three girls in uniform, posing in front of the school gate, their fingers uniformly forming the AEGIS v-sign.
"Ochiai-san." He put it down, snapping back to reality command. "Do we have any documentation from the late 1950s?"
"1950s? I'm not sure, Shirei. Weren't most of them destroyed?"
The man winced, forgiving her light mention of the matter for ignorance. It was before her time in the organisation and the circumstances that led up to that disaster were seldom mentioned.
"I am aware, but I need whatever you can find."
"I'll see what I can do, Shirei."
1950s. She has heard snatches about it, although she was never sure of the exact events. Ochiai-san wasn't a gossip type person. It might have been early 1960s, though. She couldn't be sure. Apparently it was when the base was first established here. There had been an invasion of some sort that destroyed much. Thankfully, the infrastructure was mostly intact afterwards and rebuilding, although painful, was not as slow as feared. What if…
"Ochiai-san?"
"Ha… hai! Gomen nasai!" She mental-boxed herself for wandering off.
Shirei held out his cup.
"This tea needs sugar."
* * * He could hear voices.
"What were you thinking?"
"If you had your say, I don't think."
"Sure doesn't look it!"
"Yakamashii."
And the dreams swallowed him once again.
* * * "Wai, sugoi, Yuji-kun!"
"You have it all made, Mitsuoka-kun, rich, smart, popular!"
"Wow! How do you do that?"
… Chigau… this isn't the way things are… everyone… everyone has left…
"Ah! There's my boy!"
…Father… he… he wouldn't listen…we lost everything, so he killed himself and…
…and left… left me…
…behind…
Alone.
"Yuji! Yuji!"
… Lies… all lies… friends? Family? I… I have none… They all left me… I have nothing…
"What an ominous kid…"
… Why? Why can't I see good things for people?…
…… I… I wanted to make them happy……
"You! Get out of here! Creepy kid!"
Humans are scum. Lower than bugs. A speck of a bug.
You don't deserve Happiness.
A white shadow descended upon his shoulder with such force that he fell over and landed heavily on his seat. It didn't hurt, not in dreams. It asked a question, but he couldn't describe the voice. He wasn't sure if he'd heard it, even. It wasn't from inside his head. He couldn't tell from what direction it came from. He couldn't tell how he knew. He just did.
"Are you happy?"
* * * "Whoo! Check it out! Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!"
Shadow, Kageyama Reiji, opened his eyes and was, momentarily, blinded. He blinked. Someone moved to close the blinds. He could just make her out in the halo of light. He pulled himself up in a sitting position. On the other end of the couch a second figure watched. While he couldn't make out her features, he felt sure she was smirking widely.
"What… you are…"
His throat raked painfully from long periods of disuse.
"You're alive." A third personality withdrew from the depths of an armchair across of him, laying down a black leather-bound volume stamped "Pilgrim's Progress" in gold lettering. Reiji rubbed his eyes and realised his sunglasses were missing. The setting, as his eyes grew accustomed to work again, was a familiar sophistication.
"Tea?" The girl at the window came to offer. He took it with mild thanks. How long has he slept? Where is this?
It was served warm, in a dainty cup not unlike his Mother's prized china set.
"Where am I?" He asked, dreading and hopeful.
"Your home, Yuji."
He gripped the cup. How? What's going on?
"Nice place, too."
Then, with an odd old sensation, he knew.
"You are… Gatekeepers?"
The woman in the armchair accepted a similar cup from the girl.
"Were."
The one sharing his couch, the one he couldn't make anything of, had expressions that were visible in her speech. This was a wry grin. "At your service."
"Sugar?"
Author's Rambling Notes:
Staccato: Shattered Moment
And sightings of alien life-forms have been confirmed. They abduct our young people and offer them tea and sugar.