Author's Note:
At this point, my overbearing optimism helped write the plot. Hurray! And I'll pretty much shatter all the horrible, point-making devices the writers took the whole season to develop with one chapter.
I'm posting this chapter now to celebrate the arrival of a very special book: the first ever Speed Grapher graphic novel! I preordered it about a month ago, and it arrived yesterday. Needless to say, I've already read it twice. Check out the Funimation store to get it! It's amazing! It's sort of an abridged version of the TV series, so there are some new scenes and dialogue, which makes me extremely giddy.
The next novel isn't coming to a shelf near you until December 2, though. Urgh.
All the characters (and their ailments) belong to Gonzo.
. . .
There was a line winding through the Los Angeles airport terminal, double-checking passports and luggage. Kagura was fascinated with all the sights.
"This is so much different than Japan!"
Saiga tapped a cigarette from its carton and held it in his lips. "I still see the same people—just with different hair and bigger bellies."
A security guard approached them and began waving his arm and babbling in English.
"What's he want?" Saiga asked Kagura.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, you'd better give it to him." She stepped behind Saiga.
"Look," Saiga held his hands open. "I don't speak much English, pal. Slow down."
The man pointed to his mouth.
"Maybe he's hungry?" Kagura mumbled.
Ryogoku looked up from his newspaper and blanched. "Saiga! Put that out!"
"What?"
"He wants you to stop smoking!"
Saiga frowned and put his unlit cigarette back into its pack. The guard shook his head and walked away.
"Can they do that?" Saiga turned to Ryogoku.
The doctor smirked. "Welcome to America. They put rules on whatever they want. Besides, smoking is terrible for you. You know that."
"I have a feeling it's not going to be a cigarette that kills me." Saiga replied sarcastically.
Two hours later, they were free from customs and climbed into a cab outside the airport. Ryogoku gave the driver instructions in English.
He pointed out a few sights to Kagura, then explained the shorter version of the itinerary. "We'll go back to the hotel for now. Tomorrow morning we'll run over to the lab and do some preliminary tests. You guys can go do something for the rest of the day; Disneyland is close by, so maybe you can go there?"
Kagura grinned at Saiga. "Can we?"
He chuckled. "I could probably be persuaded to do that."
. . .
Ryogoku treated Saiga and Kagura to their first American meal: pizza.
"I know we have pizza in Japan," Ryogoku said. "But Americans make their pizza differently."
"It's called fat." Saiga commented dryly.
Ryogoku smiled. "Maybe that's it. Whatever it is, it's good."
Kagura nibbled her food. "I don't think I can eat this whole slice."
Saiga finished his second piece. "So, doc. How'd you get a hold of this place you're taking us to? You got friends there or something?"
"A colleague of mine just transferred here a few months ago. We still keep in close contact, and I mentioned some of the DNA work I needed to complete. He's very interested in that kind of thing and is usually the first to know any breakthroughs—if he doesn't make them himself. He was very excited to hear about your case and eager to help."
"I'm not sure if 'excited' is what I want him to be." Saiga frowned. "We're not some kind of experiment. We need help."
"I know." Ryogoku reassured him. "One of the reasons I accepted his offer to help is because I know how attached he is with his patients. He almost became a surgeon, but he couldn't stand the thought of losing someone on the operating table."
"Sounds like a good guy." Kagura said.
"He is. You'll like him; trust me."
Saiga sipped his beer. "What are we supposed to do in the meantime? It's not like they're going to find a cure overnight."
"It depends on what kind of information we can get from you tomorrow. We may have to have you stick around for awhile."
"This is such a large city," Kagura smiled at Saiga. "I'm sure we can find plenty of things to do here."
"You're just itchin' to go to Disneyland." He laughed.
She giggled.
They finished their meal and called another cab to take them to the hotel. Kagura borrowed one of Saiga's small, point-and-shoot cameras and sat by the window to soak up all the sights.
. . .
"And your room is just across the hall." Ryogoku handed Kagura a plastic room key.
She took it hesitantly. "I'm not rooming with Saiga?"
"Oh, well…" Ryogoku looked over his shoulder at the photographer. "I thought maybe you'd like some privacy."
"Not really." She mumbled.
"We haven't been apart for awhile," Saiga explained. "And when we are apart, it's because someone split us up."
"How about I take the room across the hall and you two can share this room?" Ryogoku suggested.
Kagura smiled. "Thank you, doctor."
"See you in the morning," Saiga called as he shut the door.
Ryogoku gave him a bewildered look. "Good night."
. . .
Saiga didn't talk the whole way to the research lab. He had a terrible pit in his stomach, a result of the increasingly loud nag in the back of his mind: he should've told Kagura about both of their afflictions. It was too late to tell her now. Besides, what would he say? 'Oh, by the way, you've got a tumor that's slowly killing you; and I'm going blind.' Pushing his forehead into his palm, he sighed.
Kagura, sitting in the front seat of the cab, turned to look at him. "Are you nervous, Saiga?"
A feigned grin spread loosely across his face. "Nah, just a little tired."
"There's nothing to be nervous about," Ryogoku added. "It's just a few blood tests and such."
Saiga and Ryogoku exchanged glances. While Kagura was still in the shower earlier that morning, Saiga had explained to the doctor that he hadn't told her about anything about their recent discoveries.
The research lab was surrounded by a high-level security fence, and Ryogoku had to show his passport to the gatekeeper before the cab could pull into the parking lot. The white-washed building, even in its plain appearance, was ominous enough to make Kagura latch onto Saiga's hand in fear.
A Japanese man was standing outside the double-door entrance, waving and calling to Dr. Ryogoku.
"It's wonderful to see you again," Ryogoku shook his hand.
"The same to you!"
"This is my friend Saiga; and this is Kagura."
"I'm pleased to meet you," the man bowed, "though I do admit I wish we could've met by another circumstance."
"Thank you for working with us." Saiga returned his bow.
He led them into the lab, through fluorescent-lit corridors and several security checks. Finally, they met a nurse who took Kagura to get CAT scans and MRI scans. Ryogoku trailed Saiga to get his eye exams. Two other doctors received them in a small room.
"You'll also get CAT scans, but we only have one machine," they explained, smiling.
. . .
Two hours after their testing, Kagura and Saiga were reunited in a waiting room. Kagura sprang to her feet when Saiga entered the room.
"Look!" She shoved a couple tickets into his hand. "Disneyland!"
He chuckled and turned back to Ryogoku. "So we'll see you this evening?"
"Absolutely. We should have collected sufficient data to give you some answers tomorrow." He put a gentle hand Saiga's shoulder. "Relax and have a good time today."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Kagura beamed.
. . .
Kagura turned the plush Mickey over in her hands, smiling to herself as she recounted the day's adventures.
"What was your favorite?" she asked her bench partner.
Saiga flicked ash from his cigarette onto the pavement. "I liked all of it. What was your favorite?"
"I liked meeting Donald. He's so funny in the cartoons." When Saiga didn't give a response, she scooted closer to him and peered into his face. "You're upset."
"Hm?" He looked up. "No. I'm just worried about what Ryogoku has to say."
"Worrying won't solve anything." She leaned into him. "You know, I read in a magazine article some things that help clear anxiety."
He rolled his eyes mockingly. "I can only imagine what it said."
"Want to know?"
"Sure."
Kagura tugged on his jacket collar, pulling him down to her for a kiss. His eyes flew open in surprise: no matter how many times she did this, he never got used to it. She smiled as she released him.
"Kissing was one of the things."
Saiga swallowed. "Huh."
"Feel better?"
He flushed, itching the back of his neck to hide his embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess so."
Kagura giggled and pressed herself into him again. Slowly he adjusted to her persistent rhythm and wrapped one arm around her, cradling her face with his other hand. They were so engrossed with each other that neither noticed when a cab pulled up to the curb in front of them; Dr. Ryogoku opened his door and stood awkwardly, coughing behind his fist and hoping they'd notice him before they got any more involved.
Saiga broke away to take a breath and yell at whoever was staring at them. His words died in his throat.
"Oh," he muttered.
Kagura blushed. "Hi, Doctor."
"Sorry to interrupt," Ryogoku replied.
. . .
No one spoke in the cab ride back to the hotel, and Saiga and Kagura avoided each other in the elevator—both thinking of the irony that Ryogoku had prematurely assumed them to be a couple when they had first met in Japan.
In the hall, Ryogoku caught Saiga's shoulder as he tried ducking into his room. Saiga flashed a pained expression at the door before turning to face his friend.
"Could I speak to you for a moment?" Ryogoku said quietly.
Kagura disappeared into their room before she could be roped into the conversation. Saiga sighed and followed the doctor into the opposite door.
Ryogoku sank onto the corner of his bed. "As a friend, I don't want to know what's going on between you two. It's none of my business, anyway. But as a doctor researching your conditions, I need to know because I may have a hunch."
Saiga clutched his cigarettes in his pocket. "What do you need to know?"
"Was that the first time you two have. . . "
"No."
"So how long have you been. . . "
"Hell, I don't know." He scratched his head. "A couple weeks maybe?"
Ryogoku leaned forward on his elbows. "Interesting."
"What's your hunch?"
"I won't say anything yet." He stood and shoved his arms into his jacket sleeves. "I don't want to jinx it, but if what I think is true, then we could very well be. . . " He ushered Saiga out of the room, closing it tightly and bustling down the hall.
"Hey! You'll tell me what you've found, right?" Saiga called.
Ryogoku was too occupied with his theory to hear him, and he rushed around the corner as he zipped up his jacket.
. . .
Saiga answered the door with his eyes half open.
"It's five thirty," he mumbled as he allowed Ryogoku to enter the room.
"I know it's early," Ryogoku's eyes shone with excitement. "But we have very good news to share with you. Get dressed immediately."
. . .
Saiga forced Kagura to wait in the hall while he, Ryogoku, and two other doctors discussed the results of the previous day's lab tests.
"At first we only had data," Ryogoku explained excitedly. "But after I posed my theory, we understand the results of the tests, and we can predict what's going to happen to both of you."
Dropping into a folding chair beside the door, Saiga rubbed his eyes. "Can you please stop beating around the bush? What's going to happen to us?"
"Not only can we tell you what—we can tell you why!"
"Listen, my nerves are about as shot as they're going to get. What's going on?"
One of the doctors clipped pictures to a light box on the far wall. "Take a look at this: Kagura's brain. These here," he gestured to a couple scans on the left, "were taken four weeks ago. As you can tell, the tumor is quite large. The other scans were taken yesterday."
Saiga crossed the room and studied the depictions with his jaw agape. "They shrunk."
"Yes," Ryogoku answered. "And your test results had the same conclusion: your eyes are even stronger and more perceptive than the last time we checked you. When I came back to the lab last night, we did some more work with the DNA samples to see what a prolonged exposure to the catalyst would do to another person's DNA. The DNA continued to change. It was less dramatic the next few times, and the person wouldn't feel the effects—like you did the first time you came into contact with the catalyst. Rather, the DNA made very slight variations."
"In other words. . . " Saiga prompted.
Ryogoku smiled. "In other words, when you continued to expose yourself to the catalyst, er rather, to kiss Kagura, your DNA continued to change."
"So," Saiga passed his hand over his eyes. "That's good, right?"
"That's excellent." One of the other doctors cut in. "We believe your optic nerve, which was deteriorating and causing your eyes to eventually fail, has started strengthening—meaning you can go ahead and take picture."
Judging by the blank look on Saiga's face, Ryogoku decided he still didn't understand. He gripped Saiga's shoulder. "You're not going blind."
Half of the pit in Saiga's stomach vanished, but another small part still nagged him. "What about Kagura? I know her tumor has shrunk but. . . What does that mean?"
Ryogoku continued beaming. "In the same way she's saved your eyesight, you've saved her life. The tumor growth was caused by an unnatural block of hormones. By taking her under you care—away from whatever Suitengu was doing to her and giving her a relaxed environment, normal hormone production has begun; and eventually her tumor will be completely gone."
Saiga felt as if he would collapse. His voice shook as he asked, "So she's okay?"
"She's more than okay. In fact, she's quite the healthy girl now—even gaining a little bit of weight from muscle growth."
Saiga fell silent, glancing at the other men in the room, smiling at him as if they had awarded him some sort of prize. He stumbled to the door and found Kagura waiting down the hall; her brow crinkled when she saw him, and she rose to embrace him.
"You're crying."
He wordlessly squeezed her to his chest, dripping tears onto the top of her head. "We're okay. . . We're okay. . . "
. . .
Author's Note:
When I finished watching the entire season, I was shocked that Saiga was blind. I mean I knew it was going to happen, but my inner child was just begging for Ryogoku to pop up on the rooftop in the final battle and say, "I found a cure!" and then Suitengu would get so caught up in their joy that he'd forget his whole 'destroy society' plan and join in a big group hug. Tsujido would live. Kagura would find a less annoying voice and a time machine to advance her age to about twenty two instead of fifteen. And Ginza would drop off the face of the Earth.
However, none of that happened, so I wrote this fan fiction. Tada!