The End Of The Road! Ojii-chan's Revelation, Madoka's Heartache
Much later, at the height of the party, a pair of figures stood in the semi-darkness outside ABCB, looking unobtrusively though the large glass windows, watching as the teenagers inside listened to Madoka's soulful saxophone rendition of Kanako Wada's 'Jenina.' One of them was Takashi Kasuga, Kyousuke's photographer father, who stared at the scene through his steel-rimmed glasses. The other was Takashi's father-in-law.
"You see, my son?" Ojii-chan said. "At least they're happy enough now."
"I still don't understand, otou-san, why you had to erase their memories."
The old man let out a great sigh. "I didn't want to influence your son's love life the way I did. I want him to make his own choice: Madoka-chan or Hikaru-chan." The elder Kasuga smiled sadly. "If he ever finds out about this, he'll thank me for it. No true love can ever come about under the interference of an old man as stupid as I."
"Otou-san... did you ever do anything like this to Akemi and me?"
"No, I didn't," answered Ojii-chan solemnly. "Even though I really wanted to because I hated you for taking her away from me, I knew your love for each other was true. So I left you alone."
Takashi looked at his father-in-law. "You've never really forgiven me for that, have you?"
"You're wrong, my son." Ojii-chan patted Takashi's shoulder. "I forgave you a long time ago. You made my daughter happy. What more could a father wish for?" He looked down at the pavement. "Except to have her here with us now, possibly. But wishing won't change anything, and not even I can bring the dead back to life. But you know, Takashi, I'm sure she would have approved of the way you raised your children—her children. Kyousuke has a fine head on his shoulders, and his heart's in the right place. Even if he does seem to be a bit indecisive and cowardly at times, he's still an honest, caring young man. There's so precious few like him nowadays." There was a long pause, and the filtered sound of Madoka's sax, plaintive and lonely in the nighttime, came through the window glass. "My daughter was right in choosing you to be her husband. And I... I was wrong."
Takashi blinked away a sudden rush of tears. "T-thank you, otou-san. You don't know how important your words are to me... thank you so much."
"Don't mention it."
There was the sound of a throat clearing, and they looked behind them. A curly-haired, mustachioed and bearded man was standing there with parcels in his arms and a glowing cigarette in his mouth, and looking at them suspiciously.
"Pardon me," he said. The cigarette wiggled. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, good evening. I'm Takashi Kasuga, Kyousuke's father." The photographer bowed and gestured. "This is his grandfather. Are you the Master of this place?"
"Ah! Kasuga-kun's dad? Please, come in, both of you! Welcome!"
The two younger men made to enter ABCB, but Takashi realized his father-in-law was still standing in the middle of the pavement.
"Otou-san?"
The old man shook his head. "No, you go on ahead. I have to get back to Obaa-san. She's all alone in the house." He nodded briefly. "Have fun." He turned and started to walk away, down the silent, shadowy Orange Road, and the notes of 'Jenina' drifted away with him into the darkness.
Takashi watched him go and looked up at the stars. For a moment he wondered if Akemi was watching him, and if he'd ever see her again. I did my best, love, he thought. And I'll continue to do so, for as long as Kyousuke and Manami and Kurumi still stay with me and need me. They're all I have left of you. Then, sighing, he went into ABCB and was greeted by a chorus of welcomes, and he put on a happy face and shut the door behind him.
oOo
"I can't believe the guy who composed the song 'Tori No You Ni' actually dropped by a while ago," Kyousuke was saying to Hikaru as he retreated into the ABCB changing room.
"Well, we're just a lucky bunch of kids, Darling. I know I am," she replied, blowing him a flying kiss just before she went back to collecting the little strips of paper that had magically appeared on the bamboo stalks on the ABCB wall.
"Hey, Kyousuke," said his father as he helped Komatsu and Hatta with returning the chairs and tables, "don't forget the baseball team tryouts tomorrow!"
"Yes, Dad, I'll do it!" Kyousuke replied positively before ducking inside the back room.
The party had just ended, and everyone, including Takashi and Master, was cleaning the place up. It had been a wonderful gathering, especially when the chance visitor had consented to playing a duet with Madoka, with her on the alto sax and him on a guitar Master had managed to dig up from his little room above the pub. The only part Kyousuke didn't like about the party was when Komatsu tried to once again utilize his infamous 'follow-the-instructions-on-the-random-piece-of-card-given-to-you' game to get to his sisters. He had to surreptitiously employ his powers to change the 'Kiss the boy sitting next to you' card of Kurumi to 'Kick the boy sitting next to you.' Hatta wasn't very pleased with Komatsu after that.
The esper wasn't able to prevent himself from being caught between Hikaru and Madoka again, however. Hikaru drew a card that said 'Kiss the person on your right.' Naturally, that had to be him. He quite literally went out of his mind figuring out how to escape his predicament, while the hostile looks given him by Yuusaku and Madoka only added to his nervousness and consequent inability to use his Power. In the end, Manami saved him, by changing the instruction to 'Give the person on your right an electric massage' when Hikaru wasn't looking, and convincing her she must have misread it. A painful, but nevertheless infinitely preferable alternative to kissing the sweet blond girl right in front of the irritated Madoka.
He was just about ready to call it a night. Kyousuke closed the changing room door and took his apron off, tossing it into his open locker, then turned around. Madoka was also there in the room, kneeling on the floor, rummaging through her locker for something.
Grabbing the opportunity to be alone with her, Kyousuke brought out from his pants pocket the little gift that Manami had inspired him to buy for Ayukawa that day. He approached the moody girl with trepidation, afraid she was still angry at him over the game.
"Ayukawa? May I speak with you, please?"
She looked up at him. "What is it?"
"I-I want you to have this." Kyousuke held out the little giftwrapped box.
Madoka raised her eyebrows. "Are you trying to bribe me, Kasuga-kun?"
"What? I'm not, Ayukawa. It's... it's just my way of saying 'I'm sorry' for what happened on the train some days ago, and I guess... for tonight as well. Please accept it."
Madoka, after a moment's consideration, took it from him, her expression brightening somewhat.
"Go ahead, open it, please," Kyousuke prompted her.
There was a metallic crinkling sound as Kyousuke's inamorata removed the wrapping and opened the cardboard container within it.
"Huh? What's this?" She held up a silver necklace with little links and a bronzed feather hanging from it.
"Well..." Kyousuke blushed and hung his head. "I always did consider you an angel with a chip on her shoulder and some missing feathers." He laughed embarrassedly. "Sorry it's so kitsch. I didn't have enough money or time to find something better, so..."
"Oh, no, I think it's fine." She stood up and unscrewed the tiny fastener. "Angel with a chip on her shoulder, huh?" Madoka looked at Kyousuke, an unnamable expression on her face. "What a coincidence, Kasuga-kun. I was just thinking about the lyrics to that man's 'Tori No You Ni.'"
"Which part?"
"Oh, nothing
in particular." Madoka wasn't about to tell him that she was dwelling on the
end
stanza, which went
I'd like to rest my wings
Inside your gentle love
But I'm a bird chasing after dreams
Made to fly until I fall apart.
She sighed. "I'm no angel, and I'm not really mad at you, Kasuga-kun. I just wish..." Her voice died away, and she averted her eyes from the boy who had come to mean so much to her, an awkward silence filling the little room with its heavy presence.
I'm not an angel, she wanted to cry out and tell him. I'm a bird, a bird about to fall out of the sky, tiring itself—myself—out waiting for you... How much longer will I have to wait, Kyousuke, until I can finally call you my own and tell you how I feel about you? Until I can have your arms around me and feel your lips on mine?
Madoka found Kyousuke looking oddly at her. "Kasuga-kun, why are you staring at me like that?"
"A-Ayukawa? Why... why are you so sad?" he asked, frowning.
"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all," she replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Kyousuke wasn't the least bit convinced, but there was no prying the truth out from the enigmatic stranger Madoka could be when she wanted to keep a secret. Why aren't you happy, Ayukawa? Doesn't my presence—my little trinket—make you even the tiniest bit happy? Please tell me. I'd do anything to see a smile on your face. "Oh, here, let me do that."
Wanting to do something to escape the maudlin mood he felt was standing between them, the young esper took the necklace and put it around the ebon-haired girl's neck. He fastened it, then looked again at her, seeing how the little feather glistened while lying against her soft, pale skin. Gods, how I wish that were me.
Madoka touched the feather with her fingers and felt a sudden rush of comfort. If she couldn't have Kyousuke to herself, at least he was still here with her. She looked up at him and smiled gently, her spirits buoyed by the thought. Her smile was a salve on his wounded soul; his presence was a balm to her hidden sorrows.
"Thank you, Kasuga-kun," she whispered, hoping that the pain—and the joy—wouldn't show too much in her voice. "For an indecisive boy... you can be very sweet." She stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Apology accepted." Then she swiftly exited the room, hiding the little quilled construct under her shirt.
Kyousuke stared at the changing room door, which the girl with the catlike eyes had left ajar. Whoa. Two kisses in a day, one from Hikaru-chan, one from Ayukawa. My luck's certainly changing. His eyes widened. A kiss? A kiss! He slapped a hand to his cheek, suddenly feeling branded by what Madoka had done. Hey, that's the first time she's ever kissed me for real! His heart leapt in his chest, and an idiotic grin appeared on his face. That must mean...
"Ayukawa! Wait for me!" With the silly pastiche of a smile still on his face, he hurried out the door.
oOo
At around the same time, miles and miles away in Nerima, a black-haired martial artist with a braided tail on the back of his head was quietly sitting at Okonomiyaki Ucchan's counter, watching tiredly as the coal-eyed, long-haired proprietor wielded her spatulas with accustomed skill, humming 'yappa paa, yappa paa,' as she did so.
"Thanks for letting me hide here, Ucchan," he said. "Those guys are crazy. I mean, I wasn't the one who invited the girls to the house! They invited themselves!" He snorted disgustedly. "And as if I didn't have enough problems dealing with Ryouga, Mousse, and Happousai, Kunou came looking and demanded—" the boy pulled himself upright and began spouting bombast in a suitably changed voice "—'Where did you hide my love, the pig-tailed girl, you fiend? Answer me or I shall set the fury of the Blue Thunder of Fuurinkan upon you!'"
Ukyou Kuonji stopped her humming and giggled. "My, you certainly had a busy day, didn't you, Ran-chan?"
"Oh please, don't remind me any more about it," Ranma Saotome pleaded, following one of her okonomiyaki as she deftly scooped it from the flat range to a dish. "When I get home I'm gonna sleep like the dead. I just hope it doesn't rain tonight. There are too many holes in the roof."
Ukyou turned off the grill, slid the plate towards Ranma, and placed some condiments on the counter in front of him. "Here, Ran-chan. You need to keep your strength up, just in case you need to deal with them again soon."
"Thanks so much, Ucchan." Ranma dug into his pocket, but Ukyou held his arm and stopped it.
"Uh-uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "Consider this my ai no puresento for you tonight, Ran-chan."
Ranma froze, an alarmed expression appearing on his face. "Ucchan..."
"Oh, don't look at me like that, Ran-chan. I don't mind you thinking of me only as an old friend." She released him and leaned against the counter. "Who knows, maybe someday you'll wake up and realize that I'm the one best suited for you." Putting her head in her hands, she smiled a winsome smile at him.
Ranma swallowed. "Ucchan, you're making me feel guilty."
Ukyou looked at him, surprised, and tossed her head back and laughed. "At least I've proven you do have a conscience, Ranma. Anyway, think no more about it. I've got just one request to make of you."
"What's that?" Ranma asked warily.
"Stay with me on the roof tonight. I feel like watching the stars."
"And looking for Hikiboshi and Orihime, no doubt." The martial artist smiled, then frowned as he remembered something. "Ucchan, I can only stay a little while. I–I promised Akane I'd be home as soon as I could."
"Aw, come on, Ran-chan. You get to be with her every day. I'm only asking you for tonight."
Ranma looked at her puppy-dog eyes and sighed. "I know I'm gonna regret this... but okay, Ucchan, just this once."
Ukyou smiled widely, and if her counter hadn't been in the way she would have neck-tackled Ranma. "Thanks, hunny."
"What about Ko–"
"Oh, you don't have to worry 'bout him. I don't know where he's gone, but he hasn't shown his face around here all day." The spatula girl's face took on a stern look. "I'm seriously thinking about docking him some pay. I had to handle all the customers by myself."
Ranma looked contemplatively at her. "You know what? You reminded me of something. I haven't seen that girl, that Madoka what's-her-name, around lately." He narrated how an old man had dropped by the Tendou dojo the other day, to interview him and his father Genma about the nature of their curses, saying that he had to know to help his niece find a cure. The old man was so alike in posture and voice to his father that for a moment Ranma had thought he was some distant relative of theirs.
"Ayukawa," Ukyou informed him. "I haven't seen her around too, but she and her friends won't be showing up at Fuurinkan anymore."
"Oh? Why?"
Ukyou owled him. "Didn't you hear, Ran-chan? Their school's already been fixed. Today was their last day here."
"Really? Darn." Ranma took a portion of okonomiyaki and bit into it, chewing and looking thoughtfully at his childhood friend. "I wonder if they ever found a cure for her."
"Who knows, Ran-chan?" Ukyou took a cloth she had stuck in her belt and began wiping her grill clean with it. "Who knows?"
