Chapter 30
"Are you sure that I can't convince you to stay in Japan, Kevin?"
The American shook his head, never letting his eyes leave the screen. "Sorry, Artemis. I'm pretty committed to going back to America."
"But why?"
Kevin spared the time to give Artemis a disbelieving glance. "I don't know...small things I guess. Like family and graduating college."
"Pfft." The cat waved his paw. "Aren't university students supposed to be super independent and all that stuff?"
"Not this one." Kevin flipped through a book and then tapped the quote out. "I like going home. I like my parents. And I haven't seen them for seven months. It's been quite a while."
"Well, a break is coming up...you could easily go see them then. And then come back and stay for another semester or two."
"What about college, Artemis? I can't simply drop all that to live in Tokyo. Not to mention living here is disturbingly expensive."
The cat offered quickly, "Well you could transfer to the University of Tokyo--"
"It's not quite that simple, Artemis." The man sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I appreciate the sentiment, but I really have to leave."
Artemis stared at him disbelievingly. "You can't leave! There is so much left to do. Have you ever thought what might happen if the enemy comes when you're away?"
Kevin shook his head. "Look, I'm really busy now. Can we talk about this later? I've still got seven pages left to write and I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."
The white cat paused for a moment, then nodded rigidly. "We will talk of this later."
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Ami waited patiently at the thre -star restaurant, engrossed in 'The Bonfire of the Vanities' by Tom Wolfe. She was wearing a dark blue dress cut off just at the knee over which she had slung a fashionable white jacket. She was a naturally elegant person, exuding the confidence and mystique of a woman far more mature. She had already received several invitations to dine with various male patrons of the restaurant, all of which she had coolly declined.
The choice of the restaurant had been hers, a high-ceilinged faux-French salon with a reputation for wonderful strawberry crepes. She had, perhaps, overdressed for the occasion but admitted that she had to indulge her girlish side now and again.
Ami glanced at her watch then returned to her book. Minako was running a little late it seemed, but all was easily forgiven on a lazy day after exams. Her high school and college end of term exams had both gone very well. Ami had claimed the top scores in her high school exams and had placed in the top ten percent of her college course. To her chagrin, the indomitable Kevin had placed ahead of her by a wide margin, tying for the second highest score in their class of two hundred.
She admitted to herself that she had underestimated the American, never seeing him as a threat until he had clearly outperformed her. Ami supposed that was part of his charm. There was no feeling of false modesty accompanying his victory, no exclamation that he had just gotten lucky this once. He was secure enough in his abilities and intelligence to not feel the need to flaunt it in any way.
Minako trotted into the restaurant and spotted Ami from the entrance. Ami waved languidly at her.
The blonde pranced over and sat down. "Oh lah lah. You're looking nice today!"
Ami shrugged. "I was just in that sort of mood." She grinned. "I heard you did pretty well on your exams."
The blonde betrayed a quiet grin. "Third in the class. I was surprised too."
Her friend leaned over, tapped Minako on the forehead, and smiled. "Told you there was more going on in that blond head than you were willing to admit."
She laughed. "I had a little help in the matter."
"That in no way diminishes your accomplishment." Ami paused for a moment. "How is Kevin doing?"
Minako shrugged. "Don't know. I haven't really had a good conversation with him for a while. I suppose he's doing okay."
"He's been under a lot of stress lately. What with tutoring and juku...he's been a real wreck."
"Hmm."
Ami reached out to retrieve a glass of water. She relished the condensation on its rim before replying softly. "Now, that doesn't sound much like an answer to me."
Sharply., "Well, what am I supposed to say? That I'll go and cheer him up? He's an adult. He can manage."
"I see. I take it that the outstanding problems with Bin-kun haven't been resolved?"
"Nope." Minako sighed. "We've just drifted apart. I don't know what went wrong, Ami-chan. We were so good."
"You can still be good. It's not like anything has changed. You're still the same people. You just have one more complication to deal with."
"The rift is too big, Ami-chan. I wish we could just go back to what we had. I wish I had listened to my own advice and skipped that ball." She paused for a moment then smiled goofily. "I wish."
Sympathetically, the senshi of water reached out to grab her friend's hand. "I know."
Minako sighed. "He actually wants to go out tomorrow night. Wants to say goodbye."
"One more chance to make amends?"
"I don't know if I even want to go, Ami-chan. It's just such a messy situation...and there are so many things that I need to say to him."
"Like what?"
"Like..." Minako's voice trailed off and her face twisted into a pained expression. "To ask him what went wrong with us. To ask how we could let something so small wreck everything we had. To ask him why we haven't talked and why we aren't friends anymore. To ask him to make me laugh again. To apologize...for not being the friend I should have been."
Ami smiled. "That's beautiful. But I'm not the one you should be saying it to.
"Just talk to him. Everything will work out."
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Kevin sipped at a Japanese energy drink, a subtle acknowledgment that coffee no longer worked at waking him up. As things went, he felt comparatively good. A quick transformation had restored calm to his shattered nerves and was now helping him power through the last bits of the paper ahead of him. Now that exams were over, he could afford to devote his entire attention to his paper. He had managed to churn out five more pages over the past couple of hours and only had the last pages of the conclusion to batter out.
In retrospect, he hadn't really needed to go all out on this one. Sixty pages was pretty excessive, even for a study abroad project. He admitted that he had attacked this one with more than his usual zeal to isolate himself from the more difficult questions in his life.
He sighed and tapped out a few more words. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to like conflict. Something in his nature forbade him from engaging in confrontation, pushing him to seek compromise and consensus rather than carnage. Even when joining his high school debate, he had shied away from the more combative forms of debate and had specialized in oratory and individualist speech events. It was a character flaw, he realized, but one he could not easily abandon.
Perhaps Artemis had seen it best. The cat's words were infused with a machismo spirit which inspired him to take charge and fight through life. Kevin appreciated that Artemis had taken the time to cultivate him in that manner. Timidity is a great weakness in a warrior.
The only other who had changed him as much as the cat was Minako. Kevin grimaced. He had clearly failed there. Minako was his friend, one of the best he had ever had. The blond girl had understood him like few had, worming into his psyche and trying to figure out how he worked. She had forced him to experience Japan fully and for that small favor he would be forever grateful. He was offended by the pettiness of the issue that had come between them and was shocked that it had grown so large.
He resolved to make amends in any way he could and accept any costs it might incur.
Kevin glanced at the clock on his nightstand then stood up to stretch. He had a meeting for later that night. It would not do to be late.
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Sailor Venus walked up from behind him, making no effort to mask the sharp sounds of her heels hitting the concrete. "Hey you."
The man turned and a smile sprang onto his face. "Evening, ma'am. How are you doing this evening?"
"Fine. Just fine. And you?"
"I have been better." The Retainer smiled. "Then again, I have been far worse."
"That's good." Venus sidled up next to him and stared out over the cityscape. "It's a beautiful night."
"It is. This city is so vibrant, so alive. Even at this time of night."
She nodded and laughed softly. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the view."
"I don't think I'll have that chance."
Venus looked at her partner and a strain of concern ran through her voice. "You're leaving?"
The man nodded. "I am. In a couple of days."
"That's too bad..." She smiled. "I kinda wish I had the chance to get to know you better."
The Retainer glanced at her mischievously. "What? No exclamation that I shouldn't leave? No lassoing me with that chain of yours?"
Venus giggled. "Nope. None of that. Just a little sadness that you'll be gone soon."
"Then thanks, milady. I'll miss you when I'm gone."
"We'll be seeing each other again. I'm sure of it."
The man shot an amused glance at her. "How can you be so sure?"
Venus replied with a twinkle in her eye and a wistful happiness in her voice. "Oh I just have this feeling we'll be bumping into one another. Just call it a feeling."