Chapter Eighteen: A Hard Life 一种困难的生活

"Ah me, how sweet is love itself possessed /When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!"-The Tragic Tale of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Fighting the kirema anima had really taken a toll on me. When I woke up, it was one o'clock, and the sun was shining with its full intensity in my face.

"God, I want more sleep." I murmured into my pillow, willing myself to go back to sleep. Today's gonna suck big time… A soft knock tapped on the door.

"Komori, are you awake?" Keiichiro's voice came from the other side. I groggily sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"No." I yawned. Keiichiro walked in and gave me a big smile.

"Goodness, you slept in awfully late, didn't you? I have a surprise for you downstairs." Keiichiro continued to smile quietly.

"A good or bad surprise?" I asked, grouchily climbing out of bed.

"I'm pretty sure it's a good surprise." Keiichiro laughed. When we bounded down the stairs, I didn't see anything that would really resemble a 'good surprise', which usually meant 'gift', and 'gift' usually took the shape of a box with ribbon on it.

"Um, where is it, Keiichiro?" I asked, still looking around.

"On the phone." He said as he handed me the phone.

"Uh, hello?" I said into the phone.

"Hey, honey! It's Mom!" Mom squealed into the phone. The connection wasn't very good and she sounded like she was talking via radio.

"What do you want?"

"Well, I just wanted to see what you've been up to." Mom said, sounding a little hurt.

"Nothing that you would be interested in."

"Oh, come on! You can't be mad at me forever... Tell me what you've been doing in school."

"…Okay. Most of the time I sit there in class plotting world domination and checking my recent heroine and cocaine sales, but lately I've tried to focus more on a pending alien invasion." I replied. Well, half of it was true.

"You've still got that bad attitude and your sense of humor. Tell me what you've really been doing in school." Mom snorted. I did tell you!

"Fine. I'm on the fencing team." I sneered.

"That sounds fun, Komori. I'll have to come over to visit some time! I'd love to see you!" Mom said excitedly.

"I don't think I could bear the excitement."

"Well, how have you been, then?" she asked, changing the subject. Let's see: yesterday I was nearly murdered by a giant bird and an alien, but other than that, I've been relatively unhurt to some extent.

"Okay, I guess." I lied.

"Any boyfriends?" Mom pried, still excited. I paused for a while to contemplate the question.

"……Not really." I blushed, trying to keep the fangirl squeal from coming out.

"Komori, it's just a simple 'yes' or 'no' question." Mom snapped.

"Well, he hasn't--. You know what? I don't think it's any of your business."

"I'm your mother, Komori. It's definitely my business." She retorted.

"Well, it was absolutely lovely talking with you, mother, but I have to go save the world from a pending alien invasion way across town, 'Bye!" I said and hung up before Mom could say anything. I'd forgotten how much I hate that woman. Keiichiro came behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"That was…very creative. But you really should have been nicer to her, Komori." Keiichiro pointed out.

"I've never been that fond of her." I waved my hand lazily and trudged into the kitchen. Kish was sitting at the table peering over Pai's shoulder, who was working on some sort of small microchip-like device.

"Komori, I need to talk to you." Pai whispered urgently, motioning me to come over to him.

"What?" I asked, looking over his other shoulder.

"Ryou has asked me to make a tracking device to insert into the Mew the next time we see 'her'." I thought it would be wise to warn you in advance of the device." He said.

"Can't you just make it malfunction?" I asked.

"I wish. Ryou doesn't trust us, so I know he's going to test it before it's used. I have also made him a device much like your watch. So you must start being even more careful than before." He continued.

"Damn it! What does he want me for, anyway?" I whispered, banging my fist on the table.

"Not sure." Kish shook his head.

"God…" I muttered, sighing. Keiichiro walked in and noticed us whispering and the tracking device on the table.

"Ah. Is it ready yet, Pai?" Keiichiro asked, still eyeing us suspiciously.

"Almost. How are we going to insert it into the Mew?" Pai asked.

"Leave that to me and Ryou. Follow me to the lab." Keiichiro said, taking the aliens out of the kitchen. They're going to discuss plans to capture me and I can't even hear them! I wasn't about to let Ryou insert some freaky tracking device into my bloodstream. Hm…Wait! Masha has a built-in camera!

"Masha!" I beckoned. Masha flew to me with a delighted 'Tweet'.

"Okay, Masha. I want you to go down into Ryou's lab to see what they're talking about and record it all. But stay as inconspicuous as possible. Understand?" I ordered. Masha tweeted in confirmation and followed Keiichiro and the aliens down into the lab. Now to wait and hope that Masha doesn't get caught… It was nearly two o'clock when Masha quietly twittered up to my room, where I had been waiting.

"It's about time, Masha. Let's see what we got here… Masha, access recorded laboratory tapes." Masha buzzed and a hologram projected from his eyes: Ryou and Keiichiro were standing in front of Kish, Pai, and Tart. Pai stepped forward and presented the tracking device to Ryou.

"You can be certain that there are no flaws in the design or programming." Pai said certainly.

"We'll see. I still don't trust you from all that Tokyo Continental Renaissance stuff you pulled." Ryou's eyes narrowed as he took the tracker to his computer to scan it.

"So, what's the plan?" Kish asked curiously, almost as if he knew I would be listening.

"Well, we're planning on creating our own kirema anima to attract the Mew. During the battle, our kirema anima will inject the tracker into the Mew. We can track all her actions, and eventually capture her." Keiichiro said.

"And you're just going to make this kirema anima and let it attack all those people? That's so unlike you, Ryou." Tart stated.

"No. We're planning on taking it to some deserted area in town. We're leaning towards the dump." Keiichiro replied.

"But a few people are bound to be hurt in the process, you know." Kish said seriously.

"We're hoping no one will be around. But we've already started to anticipate some people getting hurt, not including the Mew, of course." Keiichiro said. Oh god…

"And what if she destroys the creature before the tracker can be inserted?" Pai asked, somewhat amused by the plan.

"And you also forgot to factor in how long it takes to make a kirema anima." Kish pointed out.

"Heh, well, we've actually already made one that's ready to be used. And, Pai, if she destroys it first, we can just move in and capture her with a device I've recently made." Ryou answered from the computer.

"Hm, sounds pretty good, I guess." Kish said, looking away thoughtfully. The hologram fuzzed out.

"Hey! What gives, Masha?" I asked, annoyed. Masha gave a small shrug and a tweet. "Oh, well. At least we know the plan, right?" I said, trying to look at the brighter side. I had to find a way to thwart Ryou's plan.

"Komori!" Ryou called from downstairs, "Someone's here for you!" Probably Takara… I bounded downstairs to find Kiyoshi standing by the door. Kish was standing in front of Kiyoshi, staring at him in the eyes.

"What's your problem?" Kiyoshi asked, pushing Kish away.

"You're sending off a negative, but familiar aura." Kish said, still analyzing Kiyoshi.

"You're sending off a freaky aura." Kiyoshi said, backing away from Kish.

"Um, Kiyoshi, what are you doing here?" I asked from the stairs. Kiyoshi looked up at me and smiled gently.

"Well, I just wanted to surprise you-- But I guess I came at a bad time." He said, looking over at Kish, who was nearly foaming at the mouth and twitching.

"Oh no, no! He's always like that. Couldn't have been better timing!" I said walking over to Kiyoshi. Ryou came up behind us and cleared his throat.

"I'm guessing you're Kiyoshi?" he said with a disdainful tone.

"Yes. Are you Komori's brother or something?" Kiyoshi replied with the same tone.

"No, I'm her older cousin. What are you here for?" Ryou replied.

"I'm just here to take Komori out. Is it a problem?" Kiyoshi asked, with a fake politeness oozing in his tone.

"No, I guess not...Have fun." Ryou said, waving his hand and walking away. I waited for Ryou to be out of earshot.

"Sorry about Ryou. He's not very social." I apologized.

"Kind of like you?" Kiyoshi asked.

"What? I'm social!" I whined.

"No, you're not… Anyway, let's get out of here." He said, grabbing my hand.

"You're not going to drag me halfway across Tokyo again, are you?" I winced, preparing to have my arm virtually ripped off again as we stepped out the door.

"Nah. I just thought we could go for a walk. Is that cool?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Yeah! Sounds great!" I replied. Anything was better than being locked up in the house all day.

"Cool." He smiled, holding my hand. The bright sun beat down on us as we walked the streets of Tokyo, talking and laughing. I hadn't ever remembered having this much fun with anyone before.

"So, what was up with that freak back at your house?" Kiyoshi asked. Think fast…

"Oh. He's just…a family friend. I'm not that big of a fan of him either." I replied. It was sort of true, I guess. It was at the point where I nearly loved to hate Kish.

"Is he on some sort of medication?" Kiyoshi joked.

"He should be." I chuckled. A zephyr picked up and gently rolled the hair out of Kiyoshi's face. Oh, the temptation.

"Hey, I wanna show you something." Kiyoshi whispered to me, his voice almost lost in the wind. His expression gave me a feeling of eerie excitement as he tenderly led me down the sidewalk. He didn't break into a full-on sprint, but instead a steady trot. The sweet tang of salt and musty seaweed mixed into the air as I realized we were nearing the harbor. Kiyoshi put his finger to his lips as he stealthily led me to a cylindrical building that towered over the docks. On further inspection, it was an abandoned lighthouse that seemed to be as old as the hills: vines and weeds enshrouded its outer wall, making it impossible to determine its original color; rusted rivets dotted the sections of wall that were visible. The sun was beginning to set; the lighthouse gave off a tall shadow that landed directly over Kiyoshi and I. Kiyoshi led me to the rear of the lighthouse, the side that was facing the sea. He reached into the lighthouse's armor of weeds, apparently looking around for something.

"Um, Kiyoshi—."

Kiyoshi motioned for silence as he intently continued to search the never ending tangle of weeds. A few seconds later a Kiyoshi smiled in triumph as he latched onto a brass hook with his hand. He tackled the area above the hook and with a few jabs, a 'door' pushed in.

"Right this way, Mademoiselle." Kiyoshi said as he chivalrously held the door open for me to walk in. The lighthouse smelled of sawdust and rust. Spider webs draped over every object in the room and each step I took kicked up handfuls of dirt into the air. A scraping noise echoed through the lighthouse as Kiyoshi pulled in the door.

"Well, yeah…this is really…beautiful, Kiyoshi." I managed to mutter through mouthfuls of dust. Kiyoshi wiped the dust and dirt of his hands and gave me a look.

"If you think that this is beautiful, then wait until I show you what I took you here to see." He said. I blushed, realizing my utter stupidity.

"Come on."

He grabbed my hand and ushered me up a twisting flight of stairs that lay hidden in a dark doorway. The steps were made of solid concrete, but were so coated in dust that our footsteps were inaudible. We continued our silent trek up the stairs for what seemed like several eternities. Kiyoshi stopped me as we came to the top of the stairs; he shouldered open a wooden door that I had just now realized laid in front of us. A wave of warm orange sunlight washed over us coupled with the sweet aroma of the sea. I came to my senses and saw that we were at the utmost top of the lighthouse, looking out over the sea. I drew in my breath in amazement.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kiyoshi said, hypnotically gazing into the sea's azure waters.

"Yeah." I exhaled.

The royal blue and emerald waters of the sea was filled with the jubilant movements of marine life and the cacophonous, yet soothing whirs of boat engines. The setting sun added a tranquil veil of fiery orange to the scene. By far, it was the most breathtaking view I had ever seen; it seemed to have a personality and life all its own. We both stared out at the sea, leaning over the rusting rail of the lighthouse. Kiyoshi quietly cleared his throat to get my attention.

"Hm?" I asked. Kiyoshi scratched the back of his head and started to fidget.

"Well, um…I want to say…I brought you here to tell you…That I, That I—." he attempted.

"I'm not going anywhere." I said, feeling a flood of excitement. He took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to say that…I really like you, Komori." Kiyoshi looked down, blushing furiously. Oh my god, he's so adorable! "I like you a lot, too, Kiyoshi." He looked up with a look of complete surprise on his face.

"You…do?" he asked, dumbstruck.

"Well, of course! Don't you think I would've rejected you today if I didn't like you?" I said, gently punching him in the arm.

"You're right." Kiyoshi whispered, leaning over me, taking my face in one hand. Our eyes closed and I felt his breath on my face. He's going to chicken out… I felt his suave lips lock with mine as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I wasn't sure how long we kissed, but the sun had already sunk halfway down the horizon by the time we had pulled away from each other. I glanced at Kiyoshi, who now was making the 'lovesick frog' face. I giggled. He clasped his hand around mine and murmured in my ear. "Let's get you home. I don't want Ryou to have a bad impression of me." Kiyoshi winked. Kiyoshi escorted me to the front door and gave me a quick hug good-bye. My life's not as bad as I thought… As I walked in, I found Ryou fuming by the door, beginning his interrogation as soon as he caught sight of me.

"Where were you?", "Do you know what time it is?", "Something could've happened to you!", "Your Mom would kill me if something happened to you!" etc.

"At the lighthouse. Don't care. Health insurance. You deserve it." Was my answer.

Okay, just a few parts of my life suck…