THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE
Chapter 8: "The Roots of Despair"
By Bill K.
As Mamoru finished dishing out breakfast, he and Luna looked up to the figure in the kitchen doorway. There stood Usagi, hair frazzled and falling straight down her back rather than gathered at her sides, still wearing the pajama tops she slept in that only came down to her upper thigh. Her eyes were barely opened and she'd neither bathed nor brushed.
"Goodness!" clucked Luna. "You look a fright!"
"Hnnnnnn," Usagi grunted. She trudged in, her dainty feet covered with her big fluffy bunny slippers.
"Slept a little later than usual," Mamoru smiled, then leaned in and kissed her. It seemed to perk her up just a little bit.
"Sorry," Usagi sighed.
"If you'd learn to wake up at a decent hour, you'd have time to attend to things," Luna huffed. "Personal hygiene for one."
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Usagi barked.
"Don't you have a court appearance this morning?"
"Oh, that's right!" Usagi gasped. She started for the bathroom, but Mamoru stopped her.
"Eat first," he told her. "Otherwise it will get cold."
"Why do they have to make morning so early in the morning, anyway?" She sniffed, then smiled. "Breakfast smells good, Mamo-chan. I'm sorry you always have to make it."
"Now, that's our deal," he smiled as he eased his wife into a chair. "I'm the morning personality, you're the night personality. I make breakfast, you make dinner."
"Buys dinner would be closer to fact," muttered Luna. She received a sharp nudge from Usagi's foot.
Despite her groggy demeanor, Usagi still managed to finish her meal first. Mamoru agreed to do the dishes while his wife cleaned her own act up. She was just finishing up when the door bell rang. Entering the living room in a neutral green skirt and white blouse, Usagi found Mamoru at the door with two men who looked suspiciously like the police detectives who had visited last month.
"We just wanted to ask you a few more questions, Chiba-San," the lead detective said as Mamoru ushered them in.
"Questions about what?" Usagi demanded, flying into the room. She got as far as Mamoru before his arm restrained her.
"About the on-going investigation at the hospital he works at, ma'am," the detective told her.
"Why? Mamo-chan doesn't have anything to do with it!"
"Usako," Mamoru said in a low, warning tone. He sat down across from the detectives. "What did you need to know?"
"Have you ever been under a doctor's care at any time for mental instability or emotional distress?" the detective asked.
"Why?" howled Usagi. Mamoru held up his hand to her.
"I was in a car accident when I was six," Mamoru related. "Because of the accident, I suffered from partial amnesia for about thirteen years. I was under periodic doctor's care for that. Dr. Ikeda was his name. He was hired by the Japanese Family Services Ministry."
"Yes, sir. Do you still suffer from amnesia?"
"No. The problem cleared up when I was eighteen. I saw something that triggered my memory and most of my memory returned."
"Any recurrences or other unusual occurrences?"
Mamoru considered his answer.
"I had a relapse when I was nineteen," he admitted. "I had a period where I was having blackouts. Dr. Ikeda felt it was triggered by an incident in a virtual reality show I had attended with my wife and part of her family. At the time, Tokyo was experiencing a series of attacks by a pair of aliens, if you remember. This was one of those attacks."
"And what happened during these blackouts?" asked the detective.
"I don't know," Mamoru told them. "To my knowledge, nothing happened."
"Could you have done something without having any memory of having done it?"
"It's possible," Mamoru said. "I'm sure Dr. Ikeda told you the same thing when you talked to him."
"Are you trying to say that Mamo-chan is killing people in his sleep?" Usagi demanded. Mamoru's hand came over and patted her on the arm. She looked at him and he tried to silently reassure her.
"We're just trying to cover every possibility, ma'am," the detective told her. "Chiba-San, have you had any blackouts recently?"
"No," Mamoru replied.
"Would you remember it if you had?"
"I think so," Mamoru said, controlled but thinly. "I remember how it was when I was nineteen. It's sort of like looking at a clock and seeing that it's ten. Then the next thing you know it's three - - and you can't understand why."
"I see," the detective said. He got up to leave. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. That's all we need for now."
After escorting the two detectives out the door, Mamoru turned and found Usagi there. She was clearly worried.
"Mamo-chan," she squeaked. "Those blackouts you were talking about . . .?"
"It was when I was becoming the Moonlight Knight," he admitted. "I also blacked out the first few times I became Tuxedo Mask, too."
"You're not sick again, are you?" she asked, and Mamoru felt his heart rip for even giving her a hint of anxiety.
"No," he told her.
"And you'd tell me if you were," Usagi asked, for they both knew his history, "wouldn't you?" Mamoru folded his arms around her and pulled her to him.
"Yes," he said, his hand gently rubbing between her shoulders. And he wondered then if he sounded convincing.
Haruka and Michiru walked down the hall of the municipal courthouse. Even though it was eight in the morning, the hall was already buzzing with workers and with outsiders there as plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, jurors or interested parties. As they passed, Michiru noted with her artist's eye a shared emotion in many of them. They were all uneasy in the unfamiliar halls of the courthouse and uncertain as to how events would go that day. It was an emotion she could identify with. As they walked, Haruka silently sought out her hand. Michiru clutched onto it firmly, trying to reassure her love that things would be all right, for naturally Haruka was expecting the worst.
"I didn't know so many people got up this early," Haruka murmured. She was dressed in a fashionable man's suit that was cut to drape handsomely on her lanky figure. Michiru wore a sensible light blue jacket and skirt with a white blouse.
Once, several days prior as they planned for this court appearance, Haruka actually proposed buying and wearing a dress. After the moment's shock, for Haruka hadn't worn a dress since she was twelve and always mulelishly refused to even consider the idea, Michiru smiled. She told Haruka to be herself, to be proud of herself and to show the judge that there was nothing wrong with who she was. The look of gratitude that sprouted on Haruka's face, unarticulated for that was her way, but there, made Michiru feel ten feet tall that day. It still brought a smile back to her face - - as did the fact that, given the way Haruka looked and carried herself, it had been the right call.
"What are you smiling about?" Haruka asked.
"Oh, just a pleasant memory," Michiru replied cryptically.
"It better not be of another woman," Haruka teased.
"I'll never tell," Michiru responded. That was always her response to being teased that way, because it was her revenge for all the flirtations with waitresses and sales help she'd endured by Haruka's side. Haruka was ninety-nine percent sure of Michiru's fidelity and Michiru knew that. The one percent was what kept her in line.
Approaching the Domestic Relations Courtroom, the pair spotted Jiro Kuwazuki waiting. When their attorney spotted them, he brightened. Michiru nervously smoothed her powder blue jacket and skirt as they approached.
"There you are," Kuwazuki nodded. "Thank you for being punctual. Judge Yamazaki is known to be a stickler for proceeding on time."
"So how do you think we'll do?" Haruka asked. They'd both heard Kuwazuki's summation of their case and their chances, but she needed to hear it again.
"We have a very strong case and I'm very confident in our chances," the attorney reassured her. "Just remember to keep control of your emotions and let me handle the proceedings. I understand in cases where family members are on opposite sides that emotions can run high. A family brawl is not going to look good to Judge Yamazaki for either side. Quiet confidence is the rule."
"I'll do my best," Haruka said, though Michiru could sense the doubt in her love's voice.
They were about to head into the courtroom. Then Haruka spotted Junko over Kuwazuki's shoulder. The girl was dressed in a conservative dress in muted colors. Their eyes locked across the hall and for a moment it looked like Junko was going to crack. They hadn't seen each other in a month and Haruka had spent the entire time worrying about how things had gone between Junko and her parents. Clearly the same worry and longing had been part of Junko's month as well. But the girl forced her emotion down, flashed Haruka a timid smile, then headed in.
Haruka also caught the acid looks of Gert and Himeko as they protectively followed their daughter in.
"Haruka?" Michiru inquired. Haruka looked down at her and saw the concern she had.
After a moment, she gave Michiru a tentative nod. Then they entered the Domestic Relations courtroom.
After a routine morning on the wards, Ami sat down for a late lunch in the hospital cafeteria. Despairing at the look of her tuna salad - - the healthiest choice on the buffet - - she unwrapped her chopsticks as she mentally calculated the additional calories and fat added by the cafeteria cooks to make it palatable to a mass consumption audience. Then, unbidden, she flashed back to the last time she'd visited Makoto. Makoto had, naturally, insisted on feeding her. As she put some of the food in her mouth, Ami recalled the succulent flavor of Makoto's meal. It was a memory that made this meal even more unappetizing. Ami grimaced, then forced it down. She could feel the oil in her throat and frowned.
At that moment, her cell phone sounded. Pulling it from her belt, Ami opened it. The caller ID flashed Minako's cell phone number.
"Hey, Ami, you got a minute?" Minako asked.
"Certainly. I'm just sitting down to lunch."
"Lunch," sighed Minako. "I remember what that was like."
"You haven't had lunch?"
"Too busy! The shoot is behind because, um - - well, 'somebody' - - kept blowing her lines this morning. I only got the chance to call you now because they're relighting the set. So, you got anything new on the murders? Because Superintendent Sakurada is really getting impatient."
"Nothing concrete," Ami sighed. "It seems like the more I look into this, the more possible suspects I find. And if that's not enough, I got a frantic call this morning from Usagi. The police were there again this morning questioning Mamoru. They apparently learned of his mental health history."
"Oh, wow," groaned Minako. "Bet that was a real lousy way for Usagi to wake up this morning - - not to mention how Mamoru feels." Minako paused. "So, you don't think maybe he is having another wig-out session, do you?"
"Minako, must you put things so crudely?" Ami frowned.
"That's crude?"
"I haven't seen any evidence of recurrence of Mamoru's amnesia or blackouts. Looking back, it was quite obvious to anyone who knew what to look for back then. I don't see that now."
"Yeah, but," Minako began hesitantly, "suppose he was. Could he possibly - - well, do something like that? If he was having blackouts again?"
"I couldn't even begin to comment on such a theory without at least a CATscan to work with," Ami told her. "Based on his history, I would say 'no'. His previous blackouts were usually induced by a desire to protect Usagi, not to harm anyone else. Unless there's some proof of a change in the brain or the surrounding bone or tissue, I'm inclined to doubt it."
"OK. Just supposing," Minako said. "So how about Derek Johnson? Anything that clears him - - because I don't want to be the one to tell Rei that she's dating a mad slasher."
"I spoke with Artemis after he reviewed the crime statistics from both the Seattle area for the time he played there and for the Tacoma, Washington, area after the Seattle club reassigned Derek. There are several unsolved murders for both areas during the time frame, but no evidence to link them. And nothing else besides proximity links Derek to any of them."
"So there's nothing that positively clears him, but nothing that moves him up the list, either," Minako commented. "Man, we need a break in this case soon! Because I don't think we could get lucky enough to have the murders just stop."
"Unfortunately, I think you're right in that respect," Ami agreed. "The fact that no other murders have occurred could indicate that the murderer is either out of Tokyo or somehow incapacitated. But it could also indicate that the motive for the murders is some paranoid or delusional psychosis that needs a trigger act to initiate another attack. Until we know more, all we can do is persevere until the clue we need is found."
"Yeah. I'll pick Artemis's brain tonight. That shouldn't be hard." Minako paused. "Whoops, got to go! Got to make some magic! See you!"
"Good-bye," Ami murmured. Once more she was lost in thought, pondering the problem, turning it over in her great mind. Absently she took another bite of tuna salad.
The taste wrenched her back to reality.
Usagi, Rei and Makoto were outside the Domestic Relations courtroom. Akiko was with Makoto, fidgeting impatiently around the bench area. She wore a harness around her torso that was attached to a leash that Makoto held onto. Usagi was on the other side of the bench area, also fidgeting impatiently.
"Makoto, do you have another one of those leashes?" Rei asked. After a moment, Usagi realized what Rei had said and stuck her tongue out at the priest.
"What's taking so long?" Usagi fussed.
"It's not a simple decision, Usagi," Rei replied. "The judge has to take all of the testimony in, review it and reach a decision."
"What's to decide? Haruka has the right to see her sister! There's nothing to decide!"
"And I agree with you," Rei said. "But we both already know Haruka. The judge doesn't, so he has to be convinced."
"OK," Usagi scowled, flopping down on the bench next to Makoto. "I hope my testimony helped. I get so flustered when I'm speaking in front of people. And then I start rambling and pretty soon I sound like a complete idiot!" She glanced up at Rei. "And DON'T you say anything."
"Spoil sport," Rei smirked.
"You were fine, hon'," Makoto said. "You spoke from the heart. The judge was eating out of your hand. Hell, I think you were even beginning to convince Haruka's dad."
"Funny the effect she has on men," Rei chuckled. "You did fine, Usagi. I think your testimony was what pushed the case over the top."
"Mommy, can we get some ice cream?" moaned Akiko.
"Not yet, Sweetie," Makoto told her. "We have to wait for your Aunt Michiru and your Uncle Haruka."
"But I'm bored!" Akiko argued, as if that statement trumped any other consideration.
"Play with your puzzle."
"I did that already!"
"Come here, Sweetie," Makoto said, hauling the two-year-old up on her lap. "It won't be much longer. Can't you be a good little girl for Mommy?"
Akiko scowled. She didn't say anything, but it was another impingement on her freedom and she didn't like it. And, because of Makoto's distended abdomen, there wasn't as much of her mother's lap for her as there used to be. One more black mark against "the intruder".
"Here, Akiko," Usagi said. She had a piece of candy in her hand. The child reached for it, but received a tap on her shoulder from her mother.
"If you take that, you can't have ice cream later," Makoto warned. "You decide."
"But Mako-chan!" whined Usagi.
"And if you give it to her, YOU can't have ice cream later, either."
"Now you sound just like MY mom," Usagi huffed. Rei giggled.
The Domestic Relations courtroom door opened and Haruka and Michiru emerged. Usagi sprang up and ran over to them. Rei paused long enough to help Makoto off the bench.
"How'd it go?" Usagi asked.
Haruka responded with the widest smile anyone could ever recall seeing on her. Usagi squealed, jumped up and hugged Haruka. Then she remembered herself and backed away. Michiru twittered with amusement.
"Congratulations," Jiro Kuwazuki offered, leaning in from behind. Both parties turned and bowed to him.
"Thank you for your efforts on our behalf," Michiru said.
Just then, there was the hurried clop of shoes on linoleum. Everyone looked up and found Junko racing over to them.
"You won!" she gasped, grasping Haruka by the hands. Her eyes were dancing with excitement. "I'm so happy! And you were right, Haruka! You were right about everything!"
"Wow," smirked Haruka. "Never thought I'd hear that come out of your mouth."
"Yeah, well don't let it go to your head or nothing," Junko shot back playfully.
"How are Mom and Dad taking it?"
"They don't like it," Junko shrugged. "But there's nothing they can do about it. Can I come over tonight?"
"Call me," Haruka countered.
"Why?"
"Let's take it easy for the next couple of weeks," Haruka advised her. "We won, but there's no sense in rubbing their faces in it." Junko was about to protest. "You can still see me. If you want, we can spend Saturday together. But you've got other friends, too. Don't neglect them. And don't neglect your family. If I know Mom, things will be chilly for a while. But the fewer reasons you give them to dislike this set up, the less likely they'll be to dislike it."
Junko's shoulders sagged. "OK. I'll call you tonight."
Just then, Himeko Tenoh approached. Everyone could see the disappointment in her face. But more importantly, everyone could see her gaze was one of righteous anger and deep loathing, and everyone could see that gaze was fixed directly on Haruka. Haruka slid behind her mask of indifference.
"Himeko," she nodded. "So how about we bury this - - for Junko's sake?"
"Come along, Junko. We're leaving," Himeko said curtly. Then she looked squarely at Haruka. "This isn't over yet. I will find a way to protect my daughter from you."
She turned and headed toward Gert, expecting Junko to follow. Haruka stared silently after her. Michiru reached up and put her hands on Haruka's shoulders. She could feel the muscles knotted like steel.
Continued in Chapter 9