FAREWELLS
"What on earth happened to you two?" asked Manami, surveying Andrei's room. It was the middle of the afternoon, and she had just descended from her room upstairs, where she had been busy talking to Kurumi long-distance on the phone.
"I'm still not sure myself," said Kyousuke, acting as if he wanted to get out of his wheelchair. Madoka in the meantime gingerly sat on the edge of the wide bed, wincing now and then. Bloody cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol were strewn haphazardly around her.
"It looks like a mini-battlefield," the girl with the glasses noted.
"One disaster after another," said Madoka. She told her how earlier she had knocked a glass of water to the floor and tried to clean up the resulting mess. Returning with a broom and dustpan, she slipped on the spilt liquid and fell on her bum on the floor, stabbing herself with a shard of glass in the process. Kyousuke had tried to catch her, but reacted too late and ended up levitating a lamp instead. And, when he let it go, breaking it as well.
"Oh, Madoka-san!" Manami stepped forward to help.
"It's all right," Madoka assured her. "It's not serious. I've taken care of it." She gestured towards her right calf.
Manami insisted, rolling up her soon-to-be sister-in-law's pant leg and examining the wound. "I guess you're right. It's shallow and not bleeding anymore," she confirmed, replacing the bandage.
"Are you sure?" Kyousuke asked.
She smiled at her brother's concern. "Yes, onii-chan." Tying her hair back into her trademark ponytail, she began bustling around and cleaned the mess up, above Kyousuke's protestations to 'let the staff do it'. Madoka tried to help her, but Manami pushed her back onto the bed and told her to stay put. She smiled, recognizing the younger girl was in 'housemother' mode.
"Boy, this room sure has a jinx on it," remarked Kyousuke, listening to the sounds of his sister puttering around. "I get shot here, now you fall and injure yourself."
"Funny, everything was fine earlier," said Madoka. "You know what they say about bad things happening in threes."
"I bit my tongue, remember?"
Manami looked up. "You did?"
Kyousuke—Andrei—nodded. Madoka had to restrain an urge to laugh as his sister promptly wheeled him into the bathroom and told him to brush his teeth and gargle especially well with the astringent mouthwash. After helping him with the task, she returned him to his place near the doors.
"Well, it looks like it's going to rain today," said Manami.
"Yeah," agreed Madoka. "The sky's been gray for a couple of hours now."
"So that's why the air felt cooler," Kyousuke said.
As if on cue, the three heard a distant rumble. "In fours, maybe?" he amended plaintively.
While Manami was finishing up her cleaning, the promised rain began to fall. Soon everything outside was drenched. Madoka, looking out the open doors, admired how the various flowers seemed to begin to glow in the dimmer light. One particular bunch—she didn't know what they were called—caught her eye. Large, yellow and bell-shaped, they hung from a vine-like creeper and seemed to glow brighter in the falling mist than the other blossoms. Their color somehow reminded her of a certain friend whose whereabouts were still unknown.
"Kyousuke," she said, "I wish you could see this, it's beautiful! You should take a picture of it."
"What is it?" She told him.
"Ah," he said, and made no further remark, though his face was unusually thoughtful.
After they had sat there for around an hour simply watching the rain fall, Mr. and Mrs. Ayukawa appeared at the entrance, dressed in jeans and pullovers, with a brown jacket held over their heads to ward off the rain.
"Hello, Mama, Papa."
"Hi, Madoka." Mr. Ayukawa shook the jacket vigorously outside while Madoka's mother entered the room.
"What happened to you?" she asked, noting the way her daughter sat on the bed.
Madoka told her the entire story, presenting her with a slightly edited version. She hoped Kyousuke could hold up his end if necessary.
"How are you today, Andrei?" asked Mrs. Ayukawa, sitting down on the bed by his side.
"Uh, I'm just fine… Y-Yoshiko." He caught himself just before he blurted 'ma'am'.
"Well, I'm glad that you're okay. From what you've told me, it's the only positive thing that's happened today."
"What do you mean, Mama?" asked Madoka.
"Well, we were going to visit a newly-excavated Roman settlement on the western edge of town," replied her mother, looking outside. "The entire time we've been here, it's always been sunny. Now it has to rain."
"I like listening to the rain," Kyousuke said, making what he hoped was small talk. "It reminds me of what you sang."
"Thank you. I'm glad you liked it."
Madoka cast a quick glance at her father. There was no flicker of expression on his face.
"And what are you doing here, young lady?" asked Mr. Ayukawa, sitting down in one of the chairs that flanked the doors after carefully placing his jacket on the coat rack.
"Oh, I just fed Mr. Pagott," she half-lied. "We were trading stories when you came in."
Manami looked her way but said nothing.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, watching the rain fall outside.
Andrei spoke up. "Bad things happen in fives, it seems."
"What?" Mrs. Ayukawa turned toward him.
"Madoka and I were just talking about how bad things are said to happen in threes."
There was a movement outside, and they saw Cardiff appear, pushing a cart, sheltered by a large black umbrella wielded by a brown-haired man Madoka recognized as the one who had worn the black steel mask and assisted them in treating the wounded butler.
"You have finished, ma'am?" he asked Madoka, indicating the food tray. He put it away on his cart and produced a silver pillbox.
"Pardon, sir, it's time for your medicines."
Andrei nodded. His butler handed him several pills and a glass of water. One by one he downed them. The last one made him make a face.
"Ugh, that was horrible."
There was a commotion outside, and they heard voices. Familiar voices.
Into the doorway ran a rather sodden Kyousuke Kasuga and—clinging to his arm—a slightly less wet Hikaru Hiyama, shielding a large, colorful plastic bag.
"So much for staying dry," he was saying as he folded the single umbrella they had shared.
"Madoka-san!" the girl accompanying him exclaimed.
As if noticing the people in the room for the first time, Kyousuke caught Madoka's eye. A red stain crept up his neck. "Madoka… what is this, a party of some sort?"
"Hikaru! Where have you been?" The sight of her on Kyousuke's arm alarmed Madoka. Had they been together all this time? If so, what could they have been doing?
"Alright, Kasuga-kun." Bemused, the other occupants of the room watched as she crossed her arms, a stern look appearing on her face. "One minute. Start talking."
"I met him yesterday at a flea market," Hikaru divulged, cringing even though her best friend's glare wasn't aimed at her. "We roamed the city and got lost. We had to stay overnight in a bed and breakfast, but couldn't contact the Adriano because we couldn't make ourselves understood. Don't be mad at him."
Looking from one to the other, the raven-haired girl suddenly laughed. "I was just kidding." She leaned back on the bed, flinching slightly as she did so.
"What's wrong, big sister?"
It was Manami who explained what had happened. As she talked, Madoka could see the yellow flowers on the wall outside, past Hikaru's frazzled but beaming face. She could not tell which of the two was shining brighter at the moment.
Kyousuke disengaged himself from the blond girl and sat down on the bed beside his fiancé.
"Got lost, huh?" Madoka said in a low voice, looking at him dubiously.
Kyousuke vigorously nodded. "I swear," he replied in an equally low tone. "It's the absolute truth. But we did have some fun," he added, unable to keep the grin from appearing on his face.
"You rat," she swore, smiling, punching him in the shoulder. "Don't joke like that."
"Fun, the innocent kind! Geez!" In a low voice, he added, "Your friend is a very nice companion to have around."
"Uncle, it's probably too much to hope you didn't flirt with her." Madoka lost the amity she was displaying for the others in her worry about Hikaru. "Or hurt her feelings."
"No. Well, a little." He looked down at the floor. "We did have some tense moments."
"I'd like you to tell me about them."
"Later, I promise." Andrei grimaced inwardly at her words. Gods, of all the people to have to lie to. He could see himself in her. Wanting to be in control, to be informed all the time…
"I'm sorry you have to go back, Uncle," his niece commiserated.
"A deal's a deal. Thanks for watching over Kasuga while I was gone."
"How did you know that? It was no problem."
"Knowing you," he said slyly, "where else would you be?"
Again a companionable silence descended upon them. They spent the next half-hour or so just looking outside, or conversing in quiet tones with their neighbors. Kyousuke/Andrei watched them, wondering if they would ever be gathered like this again. He shook his head. Of course, Kasuga's wedding.
Hikaru was deep in conversation with Manami, having given the other girl a souvenir from the flea market they had stopped by just prior to making the bay crossing. She had purchased knick-knacks for everybody. Yoshiko and Seiji were talking with their daughter, trying once more to convince her to come live with them in America. Cardiff was talking to Andrei/Kyousuke about some small matter with the maintenance of the hotel.
"Oh, look, the rain's stopping," Manami pointed out.
"Finally," said Hikaru, making a little 'yes!' thumb-up motion with a hand. "I can go change now."
"Kyousuke, why don't you escort Hikaru up to her room?" Madoka said. "I'd do it myself, but…"
"Say no more. Come on, Hikaru-chan."
Pausing only to open their umbrella, Kyousuke left with the blond girl in tow, chattering happily.
Oh, Hikaru, if you only knew…Madoka thought. I'm so sorry we have to lie to you. I wish we could tell you the truth.
------oOo------
Once safely out of sight, Madoka's best friend linked her arm around Andrei's. "Think we fooled them?"
He nodded. "I think so."
"I feel bad about lying to Madoka-san," she admitted, a serious expression on her face.
"That's to be expected. We're guilty."
"Why?"
"You know why."
Hikaru frowned. "I hope she'll understand someday. I hope she'll forgive me."
They crossed the lobby and went into the elevator.
"Era did. I think she will too."
"That was just a play."
"And this, my sweet, was just a dream," said Andrei, his lips in a thin line, his eyes sad.
Hikaru squeezed his hand.
The elevator chimed and the doors opened. Stepping out, they walked somberly to Hikaru's room, stopping outside the door.
"I… I guess this is goodbye."
"Yes. Well, thank you, Hikaru Hiyama." He gazed long into her eyes, knowing he would soon not be able to see them again. "For the company… and everything."
She couldn't stop herself from embracing him. "I'm so sad for you." They weren't quite the words she wanted to say, but she suddenly felt shy and couldn't bring herself to say what she really wanted to.
"Don't be. And Hikaru-chan?"
"Yes?"
"I think you'd better keep away from me from now on…"
Flabbergasted, she released him. "Why?"
"Your sempai. And Madoka. We talked about this a while ago, remember?"
"Is that all? I can find a way…"
"Hikaru-chan. Don't make this any harder than it already is. Please."
A hurt look appeared on her face. She stepped away from him, swallowing. "You know, you never told me how you feel about me."
"Isn't it obvious?" His resolve crumbled to bits as he looked at the pain in her eyes. Stepping forward, he hugged her to him. She raised her head and they kissed.
So oblivious were they to their surroundings that they never heard the elevator doors open. There was a loud gasp, and the startled pair turned to see who it was.
------oOo------
Kyousuke's sister stood rooted to the spot, shock written on her normally impassive face.
"Manami-chan!" cried Hikaru.
Manami, not knowing what to do, blushed and looked down at the floor. "I–I came to get something," she offered lamely.
Hikaru disentangled herself from Kyousuke's form and ran to the other girl. "Manami-chan." She bowed and held her head down. "Please don't tell Madoka-san. Please."
"I… Hikaru-chan…"
"I'm begging you," Hikaru repeated, desperation in her speech. "Please."
Manami managed to find her voice. "Hikaru-chan, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into…"
Hikaru straightened to look at her. Manami could see the despair and certainty mixed all together in her eyes. "I know, Manami-chan. I know all about sempai and your family."
Manami, receiving a second shock so soon, involuntarily stepped backward. "Know what?" she stammered. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hikaru."
"I know that's not your brother standing behind me. Please, Manami-chan. It's no use denying anything. I know your brother's an ESPer."
The elder Kasuga twin wasn't about to give up. "That's silly, Hikaru-chan. Whatever made you think that?"
"Because he told me," she said, jerking a thumb in Andrei's direction. "Please, Manami. I'm at your mercy."
Andrei, who had come to stand by Hikaru's side to share in the guilt, was about to say something when Hikaru covertly pinched his arm and shot him a warning glance.
Manami sighed. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. I'm going to have to tell Kyousuke-niichan and Madoka-san."
"No!" Hikaru grabbed her arm. "At least… at least say you won't be going away. That your family won't be disappearing on me."
"That's not up to me to decide."
"Please!" Hikaru clapped her hands together in a praying position and bowed low. "I'll do it! I'll tell them myself! I'll confess, if only you'll promise me you'll try to persuade sempai not to leave."
Manami thought about it. It was hard to refuse someone clearly so desperate. "Okay."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Get up, Hikaru, don't bow to me." A sad, stern expression appeared on Manami's kind face. "This isn't over yet. Not by a long shot." She pushed past Hikaru and entered their room.
Andrei stood beside her. "Why are you taking the blame for this? You wouldn't even let me speak."
"It's my fault," she said, her voice quiet. "I… We shouldn't have gone that far. I should have stopped you. I was weak. Andrei, please let me handle this." Fear coursed through her. Was her friendship with Madoka about to become a thing of the past?
------oOo------
"You what?"
The angry shout came from Kyousuke himself, rising from his seat beside the door.
Manami had led the pair back to Andrei's room, feeling all the while like a jail guard conveying prisoners to an execution; more so when she, after they had arrived, closed the doors of the old man's room before Kyousuke and Andrei returned to their own bodies. When it was over, she let Hikaru in. Then the woman with the golden hair dropped her bomb on them.
"Please, sempai," Hikaru pleaded, still abasing herself, still bowing low on the floor. Manami knelt beside and slightly behind her. Although she sided with Madoka on the issue, she had decided to throw her support behind the distraught girl, all alone in this hour of need. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have. But I couldn't help it. I felt I wasn't making you unfaithful to Madoka-san." The older girl was silently sitting in a corner of the room. Everyone could feel the chill radiating from her direction.
"Forgive me." They barely heard the words.
Mastering his initial surge of anger, but still livid, Kyousuke said, "Hikaru. Get up, please."
His former girlfriend stopped bowing but refused to get off the floor.
Kyousuke stomped over and knelt in front of her on the carpet. She looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"Do you know what you did?" he said. "You used me. You used my body to indulge yourself."
"Sempai…"
"Onii-chan," Manami protested. She had never seen her brother this angry before.
"Quiet! And now I find that I've become unfaithful to Madoka without even having to lift a finger!"
"Kasuga." The voice came from Andrei, once more an old man, sitting up in his bed. "I should be there with her if it weren't for this." He gestured at himself. "The blame should rest on me. If I didn't do what I had done… Please don't be so hard on her. What she did, she did out of love for you."
"Andrei!" Hikaru blurted out in protest before she could stop herself. "Don't."
The fierce expression never left Kyousuke's face. "Is this true, Hikaru?"
"I… Yes."
"Love, or lust?" he asked. "I think you're confusing the two."
"Both."
"Onii-chan! How can you be so heartless?"
Kyousuke sucked in a lungful of air and rubbed his forehead vigorously with his palm, as an exasperated man would. "Manami, please stay out of this."
"No I won't! Can't you see you're putting her in a lot of pain?"
Taken aback by his normally reserved sister's outburst, Kyousuke stayed silent.
After a while, he spoke. "Well," he said, "what are we going to do now? We can't just sweep this under the rug."
He stood up. "As the eldest member of the Clan," he said, "I have to assume responsibility for what happens. The way I see it, I have only two choices. The first is to move away… again. To somewhere where you, Hikaru, can't find us. But I don't know what to do with Madoka. Since she's not a member of the family yet, I don't think I can bring her with us."
"The second choice is to erase your memories of all of this. This will leave us pretty much the status quo, but at a great cost to you."
He sighed and spoke to the room at large. "So you see, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. If I take the first choice, not only will I lose Hikaru, but probably Madoka as well. The second choice… I don't even want to think about it."
He looked down at Hikaru, who understood for the first time the great price she was making everyone pay. She raised her head to look up at him.
"Sempai…" she said. "Erase my memories."
Kyousuke gazed into her blue eyes for a long while. "You're sure you want that?"
"Yes. That will be my punishment."
He sat down tiredly in front of her. She saw the unhappy look on his face. "Why did you do this, Hikaru? Now do you see what you're making me do?"
She nodded, ashamed of herself.
"I don't want to do this. I really don't. If there were some other way…" His voice, troubled, trailed off into silence.
"Sempai… may I at least say goodbye to Mr. Pagott?"
"Yeah. I'll give you a few minutes." So saying, they stood up and Kyousuke left the room, closely followed by Manami and a silent Madoka.
Hikaru watched him go. "I'm so sorry," she murmured. She sat down on Andrei's bed.
"A fine can of worms we've opened," he said as he felt her movement.
"Yes. They don't taste good."
He smiled at her lame attempt to joke. Then the smile disappeared. "Hikaru-chan, if it's any consolation, I'll still remember you."
She grasped the old man's hand. "Thank you, Andrei. I can call you Andrei now, can't I?"
"Yes. Hell, you can call me anything you want, and it'll be okay with me."
She hugged him, smelling Old Spice and the scent of age and infirmity, and whispered, "I guess this really is goodbye."
"Yeah. Too bad I have to look for another pilot now. I think you would've made a good one."
"Sorry I can't take you up on your offer. I would have, you know. I think it's a fine gift."
He reached out and she guided his hand to her cheek. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess."
"Don't be. It was worth it, my friend and lover. For a while."
They sat quietly until Kyousuke and the others returned.
Kyousuke stood in the middle of the room while the others returned to their places. "Are you ready, Hikaru Hiyama?"
She stood up and nodded.
"I'm ready."
Going before him, she asked, "What do I do?"
"Just… just stand there." Kyousuke was having trouble speaking. The words were glomming up in his throat.
"Will it hurt?" Hikaru asked.
"No. Actually, I've done this to you once before," he admitted.
"Really?" The question came from Madoka, who sat in a sway-backed chair near the corner where Andrei's walk-in closet protruded from the wall, hiding her face in the shadows. Thus far she had kept her silence throughout the whole proceeding.
Kyousuke turned to her. "Yes. When I had to ask for her help when we… I… thought you had been abducted by the ghost of your first boyfriend."
"You mean Shuujiro? I explained all of that to you already, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. But when we were out looking for you I had to show Hikaru the Power. I took her with me and traveled through time, back to when you and she were still in junior high. Afterwards, I erased her memories of that incident."
He turned back to her. "And now, Hikaru, I have to do this again…"
"Sempai, before you make me forget, just so you know—and I want Madoka-san to hear this too—part of what I did was because… I still love you… even after so many years."
"Hikaru." The grief in Kyousuke's expression was palpable. "I love you too… but I can't love you the way you want me to."
"It's alright. I know that. As long as you're happy with Madoka-san, it's alright with me."
Kyousuke closed his eyes. His hands slowly moved towards her forehead.
"Stop it."
"Madoka?" His eyes popped open.
"I forbid you, Kyousuke."
The angry expression returned to his face. "Forbid me? You can't do that."
"Yes I can. There is a third alternative."
"What's that?"
"Leave everything as it is."
"What? That's not possible. I can't let this slide by."
"Yes you can. You're the eldest Clan member, so it's your call. No one here will second-guess you."
"No… You haven't been listening, have you, Madoka, to all those stories Ojii-chan told us about what happened to ESPers who revealed their powers to other people and didn't flee afterward?"
"Ancient history!" she shot back at him, her voice low and angry. "If you so much as touch one single cell in Hikaru's head, I'm… I'm not going to marry you."
Kyousuke heard gasps coming from Manami and Hikaru.
Andrei, listening from his bed, grinned.
Kyousuke was flustered. "Please, Ayukawa," he said. "Don't make me choose between my duty to my clan… and you."
"Hikaru is my friend. And she was yours, too. She still is. Choose, Kasuga-kun."
Caught like a deer in a car's headlights, he lowered his hands. It took a little while for him to find his voice. "Alright. You win."
Hikaru sagged with relief. Manami clapped her on the shoulder.
"Sempai…"
"Don't… talk to me just now, Hikaru-chan. I need to think." He went to the doors, flung them open, and showed himself out.
Madoka stood up from her seat and hobbled after him.
"Madoka-san," said Hikaru as she passed them.
The elder girl turned to her.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it, Hikaru."
"I was sure… I was sure you'd never speak to me again…"
"Part of me doesn't want to." Though Madoka kept her gaze averted, Hikaru could sense that she had not forgiven her completely. "But I find I'm not that mad at you, because I understand. I was his 'other woman' for a long time, you know that."
She pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I am angry, however, at the way you deceived me. I told you before, when you said you still loved Kyousuke, that it was okay, didn't I?"
Hikaru nodded, remembering well that bright, sunny afternoon by the hotel rooftop pool back in 1994.
"I meant it." She gave her friend a brief smile.
"Thank you, Madoka!" Hikaru bowed, grateful that some part of her friendship with her childhood friend still survived.
"The only thing I'm worried about, though," she said, lowering her voice, "is why you entered into a relationship with my godfather, of all people."
"Why? He's a nice man."
"Hikaru." Madoka's voice was quiet but intense. "I don't know how long… he will live."
"I know that already, Madoka-san. But like I told him, we have the here and now, why worry about the future?"
Kyousuke's fiancé smiled. "I envy you. You're always so optimistic."
"Thanks to people like you, Madoka-san, I never lose faith."
Madoka smiled once more and left in search of Kyousuke.
Manami let out a sigh of relief. "Well, you escaped that one, Hikaru-chan."
Hikaru stared at the door which Madoka had passed through. "Yeah. I never want to see sempai that mad again." She turned to go to Andrei's side. Then, as she recalled something, she clapped her hands to the sides of her face and squealed. "Kyaa! I think I do want him to erase a memory!"
"What's that?" asked a startled Manami.
"I told him… so embarrassing! I told him I still love him!" She blushed a bright red.
"Kyaa!" Manami echoed.
------oOo------
Madoka found him in the gazebo, leaning with his hands on the low stone wall, staring out to sea.
"Kyousuke."
He didn't reply.
"Kyousuke." She laid a hand on his shoulder.
"What?"
"I'm sorry I did that. I didn't want you to harm her."
"You're not going to be as sorry as I am when we get back home and Ojii-chan hears about this. He'll probably chop me up into little pieces. Then murder me and throw me to the wolves."
"I'll do what I can to help."
"No, I don't want you going anywhere near him. When he gets mad… he gets really mad." The sea breeze blew at his fine black hair. "Madoka?"
"Yes?"
"Would you have done it? Not married me, for her sake?"
She lowered her gaze. "I… I don't say things I don't mean, Kyousuke. Try to understand. She's dear to me."
"And I'm not?" She could hear the hurt in his voice.
"Of course you are. I wouldn't marry a man I didn't love." She rested her head on his shoulder. "You're afraid, aren't you?"
"Afraid? Of what?"
"That because she knows all about you now, you won't have anything to use against her should the need arise."
Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded his head. "One of these days, Madoka, I might prove weak…"
"I don't think it'll ever come to that. I wouldn't blame you even if it did." She tugged his sleeve to get him to look at her. "She had part of you, for a while. As long as I have all of you, for eternity… then it doesn't matter much."
"My angel," he said quietly, planting a kiss in her hair. "I'll always hope I prove worthy of you." Turning towards her, he grasped her by the shoulders and kissed her.
------oOo------
Mr. and Mrs. Ayukawa caught sight of them as they strolled past the open white gate. Nudging his wife, Madoka's father gestured in the pair's direction.
"I'm getting jealous of them," he said.
"What, you're getting jealous of your own daughter?"
"No, I mean they just remind me... we used to be young ourselves."
"Maestro, at least we don't have to go through all the troubles they still have to pass through."
"Yes, I suppose so." He wound his arm around her waist and they walked on.
------oOo------
Back at the hotel there was a knock on Andrei's door.
"Come in." He was alone, Hikaru having gone with Manami for a drink or two.
"Hello, sir. How are you feeling?"
"Fine, just fine, Cardiff."
Andrei held up a hand. "It's a good thing you're here. I'd just like to go over the arrangements one more time."
"Sir."
Andrei sighed. "Sorry if I'm boring you with all this, my comrade. I'm just worried about how things will turn out, when I'm gone."
"You have my word, sir, that I'll uphold my end of the bargain. And I believe that…"
"That goes for me too," came a voice at the door.
The lean, wiry, brown-haired figure of the ex-USN Captain Scolliani entered the room, dressed in a sport suit and windbreaker. He had evidently been exercising, as the sweat stains on his shirt proclaimed.
"If you two are going to discuss secrets I suggest you close the door first. I could hear you from just outside."
Cardiff looked chagrined. "Of course. My error."
Scolliani looked down at Andrei. "Sir, all I've got to say to you is that I believe in your plan, and am willing to push through with it. That goes for the whole boat crew as well, every last one of them, even Magain and Aleksei." The Belgian, the son of the man who had tried to shoot Andrei down that day in 1969; the Russian, a former Spetsnaz squad leader: the most terrible wolves of his hand-picked crew.
"Yes, that's how I feel myself, sir," agreed Cardiff. "Although I'm not going to be the one to do the fighting, there'll be the Adriano to look after…"
Andrei nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you. I would have you know I believe I picked the right men for this matter."
A hand went to his temples as a brief twinge of pain coursed through his head. "Say, Cardiff, what have you done with my plane?"
"Well, Karl is going to fly it back into storage tomorrow."
"Wait, I have other plans for it." He told them, and his butler was amazed.
"Why, sir, if I may ask?"
"Nothing much, really. Call it an old man's whim."
The two men silently looked at each other.
"An old man's whim, eh?" repeated Captain Scolliani.
"Yeah," returned Andrei. He sighed and smiled.
"She's really pretty, don't you guys think?"
Andrei heard a snort as Cardiff rolled his eyes to the ceiling and the captain smacked the palm of his right hand to his forehead. Both groaned.
"I knew it, it was the girl again," Captain Scolliani muttered.
"Sir, if I may remind you your penchant for members of the opposite sex caused you all that trouble long ago with your wife."
"Maria." Andrei smiled a half-sad smile. "Yes, and I'm still paying for it, even now!" He settled back in his pillows and laughed out loud.
------oOo------
The group spent three more days at the Adriano. For Kyousuke, Madoka and even Hikaru and Manami, it was a chance to really relax. They would spend the late evenings in the old man's room, listening to him tell stories about his past life. In return they told quite a few of their own. He would smile at them as he heard them tell their tales.
"Why, Kyousuke, I never knew you were such a hand with the ladies."
Madoka sniffed. "Hmph. Sometimes I wish he did have hands for the ladies, just so that I'd know what he was thinking."
"Hey, hey, Ayukawa…"
"You took so long to decide which of us you wanted," Madoka scolded him. "And hurt both of us very badly."
"Yeah, that's right," agreed Hikaru.
"But… hey, I'm sorry—what do you want me to do?" Kyousuke squirmed in his seat.
They looked sternly at him. For one, at least, part of the hurt was still real, but not so real anymore as to prevent her from joking about it.
Then they laughed together.
"What?" Kyousuke exclaimed as he realized he had been tricked. "Why, you two—"
The women shrieked like little girls and fairly ran out of the room. Manami laughed as her brother scuttled round the corner and chased after them.
Hikaru gave up quickly after a short run down the path. "I surrender," she giggled, standing before him.
There was a short, awkward silence as they faced each other. "Sempai… I hope you can forgive me."
Much to her surprise, his expression softened.
"You don't need to worry about that, Hikaru-chan. I've already forgiven you."
He strode forward and took her in his arms. Her eyes grew wide with surprise; then she closed them, aware it was the real Kyousuke who held her now.
"Kyousuke…" she allowed herself to say, feeling the beating of his heart beneath the hand she placed on his chest.
"But please keep quiet about this, okay?"
She nodded. "I will," she murmured. "I don't want you to vanish on me. Ever."
They stood still for a moment, savoring each other's company. "Hey, Hikaru?"
"Yes?"
"Was I any good?"
She stood back and blushed furiously. "Sempai! Of all the things to ask!" Taking two quick steps forward, she raised herself on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "Watch out, or I'm won't be able to resist you one of these days." Then, giving him a friendly little bite on the side of the neck, she ran back to Andrei's room.
Watching her run away, Kyousuke felt flattered and worried at the same time. He rubbed his neck and was immensely thankful things had turned out the way they did.
"Kyousuke."
He turned to see Madoka in her dark violet silk dress, standing there on the path, looking at him, arms on her hips.
"Did I just see her kiss you?"
Kyousuke looked back at her with guiltless eyes. "She didn't. She just whispered something in my ear."
She walked up to him. "That's fine, then." Linking her arm around his, she turned him towards the lobby. "Come on, my parents are waiting for us."
As they walked, she asked, "What did she tell you?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just a joke."
"What was it?"
"I… it's nothing, Madoka."
"Then why won't you tell me? And hey, what's that on your neck?"
------oOo------
The very next day almost everyone suddenly seemed very busy.
"What's going on?" Hikaru asked Manami. They were both busy packing their things. "I haven't seen Madoka-san nor Kyousuke-sempai the whole day."
"I think they're planning something for tomorrow night."
"Yeah, Andrei said something about that." She turned thoughtful. "Even he seemed preoccupied."
"Hikaru-chan? What's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"What's it like, falling for someone who turned out to be someone else—and much older than you?"
Hikaru pondered. "It feels fine, Manami-chan," she answered lamely, not having the words—or the will—to describe it. The color on her cheeks gave her away, though.
"I wonder what onii-chan and the others are up to," said Kasuga's sister. "Oh, well, we'll find out tomorrow night."
------oOo------
And find out they did. That night they were back in the Adriano dining room, at a table set for seven—but only they were there, along with Andrei Pagott. He was attired in a cream-colored business suit, while the girls wore evening gowns, a sleeveless white one for Hikaru, and a daring strapless wine-colored number with matching bolero jacket for Manami. Hikaru held the yellow straw hat with red trim on her lap, as they had been taking pictures earlier with everyone else in the afternoon sun. That was the last they had seen of them.
"Where are they?" Hikaru asked Andrei, touching his arm.
He took her hand in his but whispered "Shhh, the show's about to start."
A coterie of musicians filed onto the stage. They were not the usual Adriano house band; they had been hired especially for this occasion.
A waiter served them as the lights dimmed and the group began to play. After a few numbers, they had yet to see Madoka and the others.
Manami motioned the waiter for second helpings. "I'm getting impatient," she said.
After the last piece had ended, the same perky brunette who had emceed Madoka's previous performance hopped onstage. She was dressed in a velvety black gown.
"Good evening. Now we bring to you a performance by a special group of guests, who have been practicing very hard for this night. Will you please join me in welcoming to the stage Maestro Seiji Ayukawa of the Seattle International Philharmonic, his wife Yoshiko, their daughter Madoka…"
The trio emerged from the darkness in the wings and walked onstage. They were dressed to the nines, elegant but somehow seeming businesslike as they walked to their places.
"…and her fiancé Kyousuke Kasuga, who will play for us tonight a set of three pieces."
"Sempai will play?" asked Hikaru as she clapped, watching as Kyousuke lifted a guitar from its stand and sat down, balancing the instrument on his knee.
The first piece was a jazz number made famous by the Arakawaband long ago. Mr. Ayukawa was content with conducting the group, backed up by the hired musicians. Jazz was not really his forte.
There was polite applause as the piece ended. The brunette went back onstage and announced that the next musical number would be one composed by Nino Rota, the famous Italian child prodigy and composer. Mr. Ayukawa had arranged it, and the Japanese title, as Madoka expected, was unfamiliar to the audience.
Maestro Ayukawa removed himself to a corner of the stage, where a stool awaited him and a cello. Yoshiko, meanwhile, had taken her precious violin out of its case and was testing it. There was to be no singing for her this night, it seemed.
Kyousuke, sitting there holding the guitar, gulped nervously. He was to play a prominent part in the upcoming piece's rhythm. Any mistake would be heard—and felt—immediately by the audience, not to mention by his fellow musicians. He looked at Madoka, sitting behind the baby grand, adjusting the Korg synthesizer sitting at right angles to her on her left. As if she had read his mind, she stopped her work and gave him a thumbs-up sign, blowing him a kiss as well.
Mr. Ayukawa cued them. "One, two, three…"
As they began to play the fast number, Kyousuke found his tension evaporating as he concentrated on his playing. Yoshiko stood up as her violin carried the rhythm with Kyousuke; Madoka's piano alternated between punctuating passages and helping move the rhythm along. The melody was played by the other musicians, who had traded their other instruments for mandolins and bandurias, 12-stringed guitars with an especially jangly sound.
The audience murmured as they played. Evidently they recognized the piece, even if the title was unknown to them. Some began to clap in time with Kyousuke. One or two patrons even started to sway in their chairs.
"Sounds like you could tango to it," remarked Manami to Hikaru. "Go onii-chan!"
"Go sempai!" yelled Hikaru.
When they were finally let down off their music-induced high as the tune ended, everyone cheered and clapped vigorously.
When the applause had died down, Madoka spoke into the microphone. "This last song will be sung by none other than our emcee herself, Emiko Mochizuki." During practice, she had made friends with the brunette and learned that she was in fact half-Japanese.
The emcee shyly walked onstage and took the microphone from Madoka's hand.
There was feedback as she adjusted it. "Wish me luck," she nervously commented. Scattered laughter sounded in the dining room.
It was a piano-only song. "Mochizuki-san?" Madoka cued her. After a few bars for the intro, the brunette in the velvety black gown—now assuming a serious air—began to sing.
I met my love, one eternal summer
While chasing my hat, on the top of the stairs
I met my true love, that eternal summer
A summer that seemed like a dream
A dream that came to life
Long will I remember, that forever summer
The wind through the leaves, the blue of the sky
It will live in my heart, that eternal day
When I first saw him, when he first smiled
The world seemed so bright
Kyousuke looked Madoka's way, quietly raising an eyebrow. She responded by giving him a quick, embarrassed smile. He bowed his head and continued to listen.
I keep it in my heart, that eternal summer
When I met him, I lost my heart
I still recall, how he looked that day
My hat in his hands, the wind in his hair
And a laugh in his eyes
I will never forget, that eternal summer
Before the leaves turned brown, and were swept away
I will always be with him, in that eternal day
I will never forget, though I grow old and gray
I remember it well, that blessed day
Hikaru found her eyes misting over as she looked down at the yellow straw hat in her lap, remembering another straw hat long ago, red in color, that had given away Madoka's relationship with Kyousuke. Manami had told her then what her brother had said about it, causing the triangle to start unraveling: "I fell in love with her, but I didn't even know her name." She knew it was Madoka's hat.
I will bring with me, that forever summer
Wherever I may be, whatever may happen
I will always hear, what that summer did say
I found my one true love, in that eternal day.
------oOo------
"Here, here, take a picture of it before we go!"
It was early next morning, and Madoka had dragged Kyousuke through the garden to just outside Andrei Pagott's room. They had spent the night baring their souls and making tender love to each other, their hearts full of emotion from the revelation of Madoka's song. At long last, Kyousuke knew one reason why his beloved cried sometimes when they made love.
"What? Where?" He picked up his camera.
"It's gone? I swear it was here yesterday." She was looking at a vine-like growth on the garden wall.
"There aren't any flowers there," said Kyousuke. "Here's some nice ones…"
"Good morning!" called a voice, and Andrei Pagott emerged from his room, trailed by his imperturbable butler.
"Uncle, where did the flowers here go?"
"Oh, you mean the big yellow ones on the wall?"
"That's right. You know where they are?"
Andrei smiled. "I had them removed."
"You what?"
The old man made a gesture. Cardiff stepped forward, bearing something in his hands.
"I had them removed to make corsages for you… and for Hikaru. For you to notice them… your taste is impeccable, Madoka."
"What do you mean?"
"In all the whole wide world, there are only two places this plant exists. One is on a hillside near a ruined castle some miles from here. The other is in this garden."
Madoka took it from Cardiff. In the bright sunlight the blooms seemed blinding.
"It's beautiful," she said. Kyousuke pinned it on the lapel of her dark blue blouse.
"Thank you, Godfather." She held his hand. "We also came to say goodbye."
"Well, goodbye, then. I'm happy to have met you, Kasuga-san." Andrei gestured for Kyousuke's hand, which he laid on Madoka's. "Take care of her. I don't want all of my pains over the two of you wasted."
"Yes sir," said Kyousuke, smiling a smile tinged with sadness.
"Hikaru!" Andrei called.
A figure wearing a royal-blue minidress emerged from the room. She was pale, quiet and composed, wearing a corsage identical to Madoka's. A yellow straw hat was on her head.
She walked up to Andrei. "My dear," he said as he sensed her beside him, "it's time for you to leave."
"Madoka-san. Sempai." She bowed to them.
"Hikaru. We're going. Are you coming with us?"
She nodded. "Yes." Turning, she touched Andrei on the shoulder.
"Well…" she said, "goodbye, Andrei."
"Goodbye. Don't forget your promise to me. And take care of Era and Atlas here."
She smiled. "I won't forget." She leaned down and gave him a heartbreakingly chaste kiss on the cheek, whispering something in his ear. He, in return, pressed the back of her hand to his lips. When he let go, she turned and nodded to Madoka and Kyousuke.
As one, the trio stepped out into the harsh Adriatic sunlight and walked away.
------oOo------
Andrei sat there for long minutes, unmoving. Still he heard her voice, whispering in his ear words he had hoped he'd never hear her say.
Our summer love is over. But that doesn't mean my feelings for you have ended as well.
His old heart pitied her. Long they had talked about it, but it seemed her decision was made, and her fate set. His old heart pitied, pitied her.
"Well, she's gone," he finally spoke. He felt something pressed into his hand and sniffed. "Ah! Medicinal-type brandy?"
"Yes sir. Thought you might need it."
He took an appreciative sip. "If it's not so much trouble, old friend, could you bring me to the veranda?"
As he sat there listening to the sound of the waves and the cries of the gulls, waiting for the sound of the horn that would signal the ferryboat was underway, Andrei thought of all he had done and commented to himself that it was a life well-lived. As he thought, part of a song came to his mind. It was in his mother's voice; the same song Yoshiko had sung that night on the stage.
J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises,
c'est de ce temps-la que je garde au coeur une plaie ouverte,
et Dame fortune en m'etant offerte
ne pourra jamais calmer ma douleur.
J'aimerai toujours le temps des cerises,
et le souvenir que je garde au coeur.
I will always love the time of cherries,
it's from those times that I hold in my heart an open wound,
and the offerings of lady luck
can never soothe my suffering.
I will always love the time of cherries,
and the memory I hold in my heart.