We've been sitting that way, holding onto each other for dear life, for what seems like hours, but was really only a few minutes. Suddenly, I feel a shiver go through Hikaru. It occurs to me that the only reason she isn't sitting directly on the snow is the pine branches I put down earlier. Otherwise, the only clothes on her are the mittens I left at the tree a year ago. Why those and nothing else can wait for another time.
"Oh no! You must be freezing, Hikaru-chan!" I pull away, and she wraps her arms around herself. Quickly I pull off the backpack I brought with me. It's got a few things for emergencies, including a two-way radio to call the ranch. I put that aside for now, and dig up the emergency blanket. It's the shiny foil kind, so it's very thin, but it's supposed to keep you warm, and it's huge. Hopefully it will last until we can get some help. I take off my scarf too, and wrap it around her head like a turban. It might look silly, but there's only one set of clothes between us, and I need to stay warm too.
Tenmaru woofs, and I get an idea from something I learned on a class trip a few months ago. "Wrap up with Tenmaru, he'll help keep you warm. I'll go back and get some help."
Hikaru-chan looks panicked. "You're going to leave me here?"
I frown. It was usually me who didn't want to be left alone, but Hikaru-chan has been missing for so long, I've gotten used to it. "I don't want to, but you can't walk through the snow with no shoes!" Then, I remember something else, and I smack myself in the head. I'm supposed to be smarter than this! "But if we were Figure 17..."
"Tsubasa-chan, that's a great idea!" We take off our mittens, and I put both pairs in my pockets. Then, we clasp hands.
The feeling of becoming a Figure is almost indescribable. It's like you're burning, but it doesn't hurt, and every part of you feels stronger, faster, better. But the best part of becoming a Figure is the voice. It starts in the back of your mind, just a little tingle, and then the two are connected. I guess it might be like what a baby feels in the womb, but I can't remember what that's like. Then, after what seems like an eternity, you can see again. Our Figure is different from others, because normally the Figure isn't in charge, but with us, Hikaru-chan does all the moving, and I provide the strength of will that makes us so powerful. We don't feel the cold any more, and I can hear Hikaru-chan's voice in my head as I look around the little bubble I seem to be floating inside.
"Are we still livening in the house?" she asks.
"Only for the weekend, Otousan moved back to Tokyo, remember?" I smile. Of course she doesn't, but she ought to remember we were planning that.
"Oh yeah! How is that going for him?"
"I've never seen him so happy. He's even got apprentices now, and he's been asking if I want to learn."
"Do you?"
"I don't know. It was too easy to let my mind wander, before, and I always came back to you. Now, I don't think it'll matter so much."
"What about school? Did you get to see Tomo-chan again?"
"No, the shop's in a different part of Tokyo, so it's a new school. My new classmates are kind of stuck up, but now that you're here it won't matter any more."
I can feel her frowning, even though it's just a mental connection now. "Tsubasa-chan, I thought you got over that kind of shyness."
"It's not like that!" I protest. "The girls look down on me because Otousan can't afford to buy me the latest clothes, and the boys are just stupid. All they care about are their gadgets and toys, and they won't let me play with them because I'm a girl."
"So you don't have any friends at all?"
"No, there's a few girls who don't get all snotty with me. Reiko-chan is nice, but she's busy a lot of the time. Her dad works at a shrine downtown, and she's learning to be a Miko. She's helped me a lot when I was feeling down, and she doesn't pry for details."
Hikaru reaches down to fold up the blanket and put it in the pack. It looks much smaller now that I'm seeing it from a Figure's point of view. "Anyone else? We didn't exactly have a ton of friends here at first, but how long have you been there?"
"It's been one year to the day since you disappeared, Hikaru-chan." I can feel her surprise as I say those words.
"No wonder you looked different! I was really surprised, until I realize it was you."
I blink in confusion. "You don't look any different..." Wait, that's not right. "Yes, you do look different, but it's just that you still look exactly like me. I'm so used to looking in the mirror and seeing you look back, I didn't realize how much I'd grown up. But you grew up too, somehow."
She laughs. Hearing that sound makes me feel so happy, after going without it for so long. "Even DD and Orudina couldn't figure me out, so why shouldn't things be odd like that?" There is a pause, and now her voice is hesitant. "Did... Did they erase me?"
I'm not sure what to say at first.
"I mean, you remember me, right? But what about Otousan? Our friends?" She sounds scared now. Hikaru never gets scared! It's really unnerving.
"You, you'd already disappeared, so they thought it would be better if they erased you, and themselves. It's what they were supposed to do to me, too, but they asked if I wanted to remember, and I said yes." I sniffle a bit, and rub my nose. "I couldn't give you up, no matter how much less it would hurt to just forget it all."
"No one remembers..? At all?" She sounds like she's about to cry again.
That strikes a chord in me. "I remember you!" I yell. "I remember everything, and that should be enough! What would Otousan have done if he thought he'd lost one of his daughters? What about our friends? DD and Orudina thought you were gone, so they tried to spare everyone that pain. But I said no, and I had to bear it all alone, because no one would believe me if I said I missed my sister!"
"I-" Hikaru stops, then says softly, "I didn't think of that. Poor Otousan, he would have been so upset if he knew... And right after we'd just gotten everyone cheered up about Sho-kun, too..." She gasps. "What are we going to do? If no one remembers me, how can we explain you coming home with me?"
I shrug. "I don't know, and I don't care. What matters is that you're here, and we need to get you dressed. Now let's go!"
.o0O0o.
It's barely any trouble at all to get back to the ranch. As a Figure, we're like a superhero, fast and strong. A walk that took me half an hour could be over in just a minute or two, but Tenmaru wouldn't be able to keep up. So we take our time, walking in the tracks I made on the way to the tree. Thinking about that makes me wonder about how Hikaru came back, and why, but I dismiss the thought almost as soon as I think it. It doesn't matter now, and the important thing is that my shining light is back.
When we reach the edge of the woods, Hikaru stops. "It's daylight, how are we going to sneak back to the house?"
I've been thinking about that, too, but I'm not sure it'll be a great idea. "Otousan is probably still talking to everyone, so there shouldn't be too many people outside. Do you think you'll be all right walking back from here? I'd rather go back alone and get a spare pair of boots, but there aren't any."
The response is quick. "I can walk. Let's just have a bath once we get there, okay?"
I giggle. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine!"
"Deal!"
There is an odd sucking sensation, except it's in the back of my mind, and then there are two of me. I giggle again. "You're still naked, Hikaru-chan!"
She scowls at me, then takes the scarf I gave her before and wraps it around her hips. It's not much, but it's a start. "Stop laughing and get that blanket, it's freezing out here!"
I do one better, and take off my coat. "Wear this instead, it's not as flashy." She puts it on, and I say, "Now I'm going to run ahead, then you follow a little ways behind. If we get seen together, it'd be suspicious, but separate it's not a big deal."
"I'll go first," she counters. "You take your time, run around a bit. They'll think you're chasing Tenmaru." The dog in question woofs quietly, and Hikaru is off, running as fast as she can over the well-packed snow path that leads to the house. I wait for her to get past the windows before I run off toward the barn, Tenmaru at my side. I swoop around a few more buildings before dashing to the front door. I quickly take off my boots, and follow the wet footprints to the bathroom.
Hikaru is already there, drying her feet with a hairdryer. "The warm helps more," she says when I look at her. I shrug, and start to peel off my own clothes. They're soaked with sweat from my running, and I realize I need this bath almost as much as she does. The tub is still filling, but it wont be long now. As I'm about to take off my shirt, I remember something else.
"I'm going to go put a note downstairs. I don't want Otousan to worry." Hikaru nods, and concentrates on drying her feet. I leave, sans pants and socks, and head down to the main room. There's a pad of paper on the table, and a pen, so I quickly scribble off a note.
Otousan-
Stepped in a frozen puddle while hiking and got wet, taking a bath to warm up.
-Tsubasa
Then, I go back up and get a towel, and wipe up the rest of the snow from the floors. Best to handle that now, before it stains. Returning to the bathroom, the water is almost done. Hikaru holds up some soap and a washcloth, grinning. "I haven't had a bath in a year, so I really need one, huh?" I giggle, something I haven't done much the past year, and get the rest of my clothes off. It's really nice to have someone to scrub my back for me again.
.o0O0o.
Later, we're both dry and wrapped in fluffy towels, looking in my bag. I have two more sets of clothes besides the one I wore this morning, but one set is the things I wore yesterday. I decide that it won't hurt to wear those another day since all I did was sit, so I put those on while Hikaru puts on the clean ones. In one of the side pockets is a hair tie, which must have been left from when we moved back to Tokyo. Soon, we're not perfect mirror images anymore, but there's still a lot to do, as Hikaru reminds me.
"What should we tell Otousan?" she asks. "We don't have DD to brainwash him into thinking I'm his other daughter, this time."
I frown. "Do you remember if we checked to see whether we had the same blood types?"
Hikaru giggles. "DD said that any medical technique Earth could think of would say I was your identical twin."
"Well, that's one thing helping us. Why not tell the truth?"
"You think he'd believe it?"
Probably not. "Maybe you're the spirit of the sister I should have had if 'Kaasan hadn't died, and the kami used me to make you?"
"Wouldn't explain why we're so attached to each other, but it's more believable than the truth." She frowns. "No matter what we say, it's going to raise questions. You're not sure where I came from, but you found me in the forest, and you don't want me to go, because you've always wanted a twin?"
"That's pretty much what happened anyway, so yeah, that should work. As long as we don't contradict each other, we'll be fine." I feel confident now. We're together, and there's nothing that can stop us. I've missed this feeling, drawing strength from my Hikaru-chan. If they try to take her from me, I'll just have to run away. I love Otousan, but Hikaru-chan is everything to me, and I won't give her up now that I've got her back. No one could stop us anyway, if we became Figure 17. I smile to myself. I sound a lot like her, with that sort of attitude. Meeting Hikaru-chan was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I won't let anyone take that feeling away again. No matter what.
There is a noise from downstairs. Otousan! He must be reading the note! Oh no, what if this doesn't work? What if he freaks out? What if- No, this has to work. Otousan is a nice person, he'll understand. He has to! Oh, he's coming up the stairs now. I stand, and open up the door. Hikaru-chan is right behind me, just out of sight. I can feel her trembling, but she has a good reason to worry. This time, I'll be the strong one. That's one of the most important things I learned from my sister, that I can be strong when I need to be. I take a deep breath. Otousan is just now coming around the corner.
"Otousan, could you go downstairs and wait? I-I've got something really amazing to tell you."
He raises one eyebrow, and asks, "Why can't you tell me here?"
I scramble for an answer, and come up with something I saw on TV once. "Because I'm worried you'll fall down, it's that amazing!"
He chuckles at me in his deep voice, but nods. "Okay, okay! I'll wait downstairs for your 'amazing' news." He turns and leaves.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and Hikaru does the same behind me. It tickles my neck, and I have to struggle not to shiver. I reach back and take her hand. "Don't worry, Hikaru-chan. We used to beat up ugly Maguars all the time, this can't be any worse." She smiles at my joke, and says, "Shall we then?"
.o0O0o.
I pause at the bottom of the stairs. Otousan is sitting at the kitchen table, with some papers, but he hasn't looked up at me yet. I don't want to let go of Hikaru-chan, but we can't just both walk into the room. I settle for stopping just around the corner, so I can be seen but Hikaru is still out of sight. It's now or never, and I can't bear the thought of having to hide my other half from the rest of the world. I take another deep breath, and calm myself. Reiko-chan-my friend from school-taught me a little about meditation, and I find my center, pushing all other thoughts away. Then, opening my eyes, I call out. "Otousan?"
He turns, and sees me on the stairs. "So, what's this amazing news, Tsubasa-chan?"
I swallow past the lump in my throat, and suddenly think of the perfect line. "You remember when I asked you about the name Hikaru, and you said it was the other choice for my name?" He nods, obviously confused now. "Well, I met someone while I was hiking in the forest. She's really afraid right now, so promise me you won't freak out or anything." Before he can reply, I hear a loud, "Hey! I am NOT afraid!" from behind.
"Tsubasa-chan? Is there someone else with you?" Otousan asks, looking concerned.
I take a step down, pulling Hikaru partway into view. "Otousan, I'd like you to meet Hikaru-chan." I take another step, and she is fully in the light. I look back to her, and she manages a timid smile.
"Hajimemashite." Nice to meet you, she greets, bowing slightly. "Watashi wa Hikaru desu." My name is Hikaru.
Otousan doesn't say a word, but I can see the shock on his face. I tug gently on Hikaru's hand, and the two of us walk down to stand near Otousan. The first question he asks is simple. "Who are you?" We both giggle.
"She just introduced herself, Otousan! How did you forget so fast?" I'm laughing as I say it, but Otousan looks confused, and a little frightened. I smile at him, and say, "Don't worry, Otousan. Hikaru-chan is the piece of me I left behind in Hokkaido, and now I've found her again." I don't know why I said it that way, but it sounded right, and it's the truth. Hikaru gives my hand a squeeze, and bows again, deeply.
"I went away for a while, and everyone forgot I was ever here, but Tsubasa-chan brought me back." Hikaru seems to have caught on to my idea. "I-I was worried when Tsubasa-chan told me no one remembered me, but I missed you, Otousan."
That seems to have gotten his attention. "But, Tsubasa wasn't a twin..."
I've gotten pretty poetic when it comes to my Hikaru-chan, after all the haiku I put together while I was moping, so I supply the answer. "Hikaru-chan is the Shining Light to my Soaring Wings. The heart of my heart, the other half of my soul, the mirror of my form. My Sister, my Twin, my Most Precious Person." I look into her eyes, the unconditional love reflected between us. "My Everything."
Otousan looks concerned. "But where did she come from? How did you find her?"
"We don't know," we both say, and giggle. I add, "One day, not long after we moved to Hokkaido, she was just here. We were best friends, sisters in every way that counted."
"But why wasn't she here before? I think I would remember my daughter having a sister."
"One year ago today, Hikaru-chan disappeared. Nobody remembered her, and everything was gone: her bed, her shoes, all of it! We shared clothes, so those were here, but the only other thing left was-"
"Mittens!" he interrupts. "You said you traded mittens with a girl from school, and that was why yours were different colors. But it was her!"
I nod. "It was all I had left of her. So I kept one of her mittens, and left one of mine behind, by a tree out in the woods. I knew nobody would believe me if I talked about Hikaru-chan, but I missed her so much..."
"And that's why you wanted to come this time, but not before. Because today was the anniversary." Maybe we won't have to explain anymore than that, because Otousan seems to be handling that on his own. "And you don't know where she came from?"
Hikaru answers this time. "The only things I can remember from before I met Tsubasa-chan are her memories of herself. It's like we were the same person until that moment." That's the truth, more or less. We never did figure out how she made herself look like me, and when we became a Figure the first time, I was too frightened to notice anything.
Otousan is rubbing his head. Poor Otousan, it must be really hard for him. "So, you met in the forest, but you aren't sure where you came from. Why didn't I ask you about all this before? And why wouldn't anyone remember you?"
"At first, we tried to hide Hikaru-chan," I answer. "But after a little while, you found her, and you didn't think anything was different. I was really confused, but you brought Hikaru-chan to meet everyone on the ranch, and you said she was my twin who had been staying with a cousin of yours, because you weren't sure you could take care of both of us. After that, none of us ever really thought about it."
"As for nobody remembering me, I don't know," Hikaru adds. "I can remember being really dizzy and sick for a while before I apparently disappeared, but I don't remember anything between the day we were out hiking and waking up in the snow a little while ago. I only know it's been a year because Tsubasa-chan looks different."
"No records, no photos, nothing at all?"
I shake my head. "I looked, when I realized she was gone. Even her homework was gone, and her files at school. Everything she'd put in the daily log was signed with my name. I knew I couldn't say anything, because the only proof I had was her mittens, and everyone would think I was crazy."
Otousan is frowning again, but he looks less upset and more concerned. He puts his hands down on the table with a little bang, and Tsubasa-chan flinches at the noise. He locks his gaze with mine, and I shiver a little at the intensity. "Tsubasa-chan, you trust this girl?" he asks me. What a silly question! "I trust Hikaru-chan with my life and my heart, Otousan." He nods, and turns to Hikaru. I can see that she is afraid, but only because we're so much the same. Otherwise, she is the picture of confidence. "Hikaru-san," he asks, using the more polite, distant honorific, "You are not here to harm my daughter, or my family?"
Hikaru looks slightly offended. "I'd rather slit my own throat." Whoa, that was a bit more than was necessary, Hikaru-chan! Even Otousan looks a bit pale from that, but Hikaru-chan isn't done. "After Sho-kun died, Tsubasa-chan and I had a fight. When she got mad at me and told me I wasn't really her sister, it hurt so much I wanted to disappear. I would have done anything to make her happy again, even if it meant the end of me." Some of her old courage is back in her voice and her posture as she stares right back at Otousan, and says, "I'd fight Shinigami himself for Tsubasa-chan, if she needed me." Claiming she'd fight death itself for me... Kami-sama, she means it too! I can see it in her eyes.
Otousan must see it too, because he nods, and says, "It might take some getting used to, but I'm happy to have another girl to call my daughter." I'm so happy I could cry! I'm going to have my Hikaru-chan back, and Otousan is going to help! This is the second-best day of my life!
The best day, of course, was when I first met Hikaru-chan.
.o0O0o.
Otousan tells us not to leave the house, while he thinks of what he's going to say to Shin-ojisan. He also says that we're going to have to take Hikaru-chan to a hospital when we get back to Tokyo, and work on getting her identity established. If we can prove that Hikaru-chan is my twin, maybe we can convince people that the paperwork for her was lost, and we didn't know she existed until we found her in Hokkaido. At least, that seems to be Otousan's plan: Okaasan actually had twins, but there was a mix-up at the hospital and Hikaru-chan got misplaced. If Hikaru-chan's right, no one will be able to argue with that, even though it's a lie. I don't really care, Otousan is an adult, and he can deal with the other adults. Right now, I've got so much to tell Hikaru-chan about Tokyo, and the store, and Reiko-chan, and all the things she missed out on! Why would I need to leave the house just to see people who have mostly forgotten about me anyway? I've gotten a couple letters from my old classmates, but they obviously weren't really interested in writing them, they just felt obligated.
Hikaru-chan is more important.
I start off with our new house. The bakery takes up the entire first floor, with tables for the customers to sit and enjoy their food. We sell cheeses and jams too, that get shipped to us from the Ibaraki ranch. Those always sell out quickly, but they're difficult to ship from Hokkaido to Tokyo, so we don't get as much of them as we'd like. Otousan put in a soda machine two months ago, and it's already paid for itself. So many people come in and buy a snack or dessert, and want something to drink with it, I'm surprised we didn't think to get something like it before. The smells are amazing, too. Otousan spends time every night experimenting with variations in the recipes, or new shapes for the bread, and the other bakers and I end up testing most of his inventions. Some of them are just plain awful, but sometimes he comes up with a great idea. My favorite is called the 'burger-bun', it's a hamburger inside a fried bread roll. It's really hard to get them to bake exactly right, though, so Otousan never put that one in the store. "It's easier to just make a roll and cut it open," he said when the third batch in a row turned out badly, and I think he's right.
The apartment above the bakery has a main room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom, but no kitchen. When we cook dinner, we use one of the smaller stoves in the bakery downstairs, or a hotplate on the table in the apartment if the shop is busy. The other people who work in the shop are nice, but I try to stay out of the way. We have two shifts of workers, one that comes in really early to finish the morning baking before the salarymen come in to buy a quick breakfast, and another one that comes in for the afternoon, to make things for people going home after work or staying out late to do things. Our pastries are really popular with older girls, and they like to sit and talk at our tables. Sometimes you see couples on dates, but we're not really a romantic sort of place.
I'm learning how to run the register, and I help out during the evening rush by carrying baskets from the bakery to the front of the shop. Hikaru-chan thinks that the two of us should get little uniforms and be waitresses, but I tell her we'd never keep up. As busy as the shop here on Ibaraki ranch gets, our shop in Tokyo can get twice as bad. Hikaru-chan thinks uniforms would still be fun, but I can't help but think it would just attract perverts. Maybe we'll try it.
Hikaru-chan asks me about school, since she remembers my memories of living in Tokyo, and one part of the city is a lot like any other. My new school is a brand-new building that just opened two years ago, when termites got into the old wooden building. Our shop is in a more upscale neighborhood, so a lot of the kids come from pretty wealthy families. The school has all kinds of fancy technology in it, because the school board wanted to try and use it as a test before they spend a lot of money upgrading other schools. All the classrooms have a computer and a projector for the teacher to use, and the board the projector shines on reacts to touch, so you can write on the projection like a chalkboard. The library has a bunch of computers in it, and we use them to look for books instead of looking through a bunch of cards. The teachers expect us to type up any papers we write, so I spent a lot of time in the library until Otousan got us a computer. We had classes on how to type better, but Hikaru-chan says she can probably handle that, since she used DD's computers all the time when she was helping him. I hope she's right, because I still have trouble with it sometimes. I usually write my assignments out by hand, then type them into the computer after I've finished. The school is trying to save paper too, so we hand in our assignments on disks instead of printing them. It's a good thing, too, because we don't have a printer at home, and I'd have to get to school extra early to print out my assignments.
Hikaru-chan asks about my classmates, and I have to sigh. There's only a couple of girls who aren't rich snobs, and one of them is rich, but nice. Reiko-chan is my best friend, and her family doesn't have a lot of money, but that's because they're priests at the local Shinto temple. I already told Hikaru-chan that Reiko-chan is training to be a Miko-san, but we still have a lot of fun together when she isn't busy with her duties as a Miko and I'm not working in the shop. Reiko-chan likes to draw and paint, so we go to the nearby park and draw things together, or we draw things in the temple if nothing really important is happening. The temple is up on a tall hill, so you have to climb a lot of steps to get there, but Reiko showed me an elevator they have hidden in one of the buildings, for when something heavy gets delivered, or someone in a wheelchair comes to the shrine, or when they get groceries. We aren't allowed to play in it, of course, but it's neat to know something nobody else knows.
Reiko-chan's family have been priests going back a long time. She told me once that her family knows a lot of spirit magic, mostly things to make the charms and seals work right, and part of her training is getting ready to use that magic. Sometimes, she'll point toward something, and say that there's a spirit there, even though I can't see it. Other times she'll be able to tell when someone is unhappy, or sick, just by looking at them. She says she's reading their auras. I wasn't sure I believed her before, but after what happened with Hikaru-chan, I'm not as skeptical. If there's anyone I would be willing to trust with the truth, it's Reiko-chan. It's part of her duty as a Miko not to talk about secrets.
"But Tsubasa-chan, we can't tell people about the aliens, and that I'm not really human!" Hikaru-chan objects.
"If she's not just making things up about seeing spirits and reading auras, she'll know anyway. If we don't tell them the truth, the priests might try to seal you up like a demon or something. And they might be able to do it, too." That would be a disaster!
"Oh, all right, but only if someone figures it out on their own," Hikaru-chan says. "We're supposed to keep it a secret."
"Why are you so nervous, anyway? You were always the brave one, Hikaru-chan, never afraid of anything." Teasing her was always really tough before, but maybe I'll get through now.
Hikaru blushes angrily. "Being dead isn't the best way to build confidence," she mutters.
I feel horrible. I never thought of it that way! I was too excited to have her back to even think about how she must feel. After all, I've had a year to distance myself, even if I never really got over it. "Gomen ne, Hikaru-chan. It must be really hard for you." I pull her into a hug.
I can feel Hikaru smile. "Not as hard as it was for you. I just went to sleep for a while, you're the one who had to suffer for a whole year."
I give my twin a squeeze. "But that's all in the past now. I might have been sad before, but I have you back. And when one of us starts moping, the other one can cheer her up, right?"
We stay that way for a while, just enjoying being together, reveling in the knowledge that we could hold each other again. An idle thought flits through my mind, wondering what will happen when this sort of thing becomes boring, routine, and I squash it ruthlessly. There's time enough to think about that when it happens. Right now, in this moment, the only thing I can see in the future is my Shining Light smiling at me, and knowing that what we share is more precious than anything else in the world. Tomorrow and all its worries can wait its turn.
Today, nothing can go wrong.
Today, I have my Heart back.
.o0O0o.
Author's Notes:
Another chapter done, though it took me a while to get it potable. I hope no one minded the delay.
After thinking about where to go with Hikaru's reappearance, I came upon a dilemma: hide, or reveal? If I tried to keep Hikaru hidden, things would be very difficult for Tsubasa, not to mention I could use it as a plot device, but then they wouldn't be able to go out in public together at all, and that takes away a lot of options for writing. I thought maybe I could hide her for just a little while, but how would Tsubasa smuggle her back to Tokyo? Which left the other choice, to reveal everything as soon as possible. I also remembered another semi-obscure series that had a similar problem: Seven of Seven, in which the main character is suddenly split into six copies--each with a distinct personality aspect of the original--plus her original self. The writer for that series had a similar dilemma, and when he was later approached to do the manga version of the series, he decided to use the chance to explore the option he had put aside for the anime. Perhaps someday, I'll do the same.
I've decided to take the Shinto thing and run with it for a while, and see where that takes me. One of my favorite parts about the writing of Figure 17 is that it's really just a slice-of-life drama, set to the backdrop of an alien invasion. If it weren't for that, Hikaru wouldn't exist and the series would just be about a shy girl with no living mother who moved to the country: in a word, boring. But the aliens didn't overshadow the daily lives of the characters any more than absolutely necessary, and the contrast and tension between the two types of plot was part of the original show's charm. I'm not sure I can do as good a job at that sort of writing, but I'm willing to give it a shot. This means I'm going to have to start using more Japanese terminology, since some things just don't translate well, but the bulk of my information will come from Wikipedia, so you all should be able to keep up.
Fortunately, the initial part of this chapter was written to be included in Chapter 2, so I'd already thought up something I could use, even if I didn't plan for it at the time. Not all spirits in the Shinto tradition are benevolent or neutral, after all. I'm not going to let this turn into a "magical girl monster-smashing" fest, but the only other use for a Figure would be fighting regular crime, and I just don't see that working for a story. For the most part, this is about two best friends going to school, dealing with normal problems, and very occasionally dealing with a rampaging Oni. Reiko's character, being sensitive to spirits thanks to her family's occupation, will play a role in this. I'm going to have to dig out my mythology books and do some studying.
You probably don't want to know what my other idea for a continuation plot was, but suffice it to say that it was a crossover that would have involved a lot of work (mostly research on my end) in meshing the two plots properly. Maybe I'll write up an omake one-shot for it sometime later.
A second reviewer has shown up, and I'm hoping word-of-mouth will net me more readers as time passes and more chapters go up. A series like Figure 17 deserves more recognition than it appears to have gotten. I only picked up the series myself because I recalled seeing an episode once on TV, and I had a gift card for the amount of the box set. Now I've ordered the manga, and am awaiting it eagerly.
SakuBloss: Thanks, I'm glad to hear you think I've done a good job. Like I said above, some series deserve better than they get here in the States. The fact that people are reading this makes me hope it'll spark something more in the future.
Magma-Dragoon: I'm not terribly surprised to hear that you shed a tear or two while reading, when I consider the fact that I was doing the same thing while writing it. As a male, let me just say that I am very fortunate to have a cubicle near the back wall where no one notices me as long as I'm quiet ;; I can only hope that I continue to meet your expectations: I have a disquieting feeling that I may have set the bar too high for myself, and future chapters might suffer for it. As to the intelligence of my writing, I have always felt that the only reason adults think children aren't intelligent or wise is because the child does not have the experience with sophisticated words to properly articulate their meaning. "I wanna go play outside" and "I would like to go outdoors to relax" both mean basically the same thing, but one sounds more grown up than the other, right? Since this is largely written from Tsubasa's internal perspective, I see no reason not to enhance her vocabulary a bit, at least in her own mind. That, and nobody goes through what those two survived and comes out as childish as before. I'm not sure who said it, but there is a saying that goes something like: "Intelligence comes from books, and is free to any who make the least effort. Wisdom comes from experience, and must be earned through blood, sweat, and tears. If one is really lucky, it will be mostly the second and not the first and third."
Any others who have read, but not commented: you are appreciated just the same. Those hits can't all be from the same two people, after all.
I have no ETA on the next chapter, as Friday and Saturday are usually busy days for me. We'll see what happens, eh? I won't give up on this without a fight, and I'll post a note if I decide to drop it for a while.