Figure 17: Tsubasa and Hikaru

Bonded

Chapter 14: Can I reach for the impossible?

Part 1: Regarding deeds and rewards

A tranquil song filled the living room of the Shiina family. It wasn't a large room so the music had no problem filling every corner of the place. There, sitting on the sofa of the apartment which she was starting to accept as home, Tsubasa let a few tears escape her eyes.

Though very pretty, the music itself wasn't enough to bring her to tears. What had moved her was the movie she had just watched. Now, as the credits rolled and the theme for the picture was played, she realized how long it had been since she had watched a movie.

Last time was with Hikaru-chan. She recalled, feeling a sting in her heart. Had it really been three months already since she moved to Tokyo?

She looked around herself. The new place was still not too familiar. She didn't like it much, but that was probably because she was alone there most of the time. It had been the same when they first moved to Hokkaido. Her father, who was already busy when he was an apprentice, didn't have any free time anymore if not for sleeping. That particular weekend he'd gone back to Hokkaido leaving Tsubasa to take care of the house for a couple of days.

Suddenly the music stopped and the menu from the DVD appeared on the TV screen. Tsubasa got up from the couch and, as she ejected the disk, her mind went back to the movies.

For such beautiful plots and characters to grow into her in no more than a couple of hours, that was truly amazing. That probably happened because of the way those movies were made.

That got her thinking. How movies could say so much in so little time. In her life, for that much things to happen it would take months.

In the movies everything happens for a reason. Sometimes they create events that serve no purpose in the story, but even then, that event has a reason, that's usually distracting the spectator from the important thing to surprise him latter. Nothing is plain pointless.

Also, the characters in the movies usually develop throughout the story. They face difficulties and overcome them, becoming better persons. That's how it often goes. If a character goes through an apparently impossible trial of his courage, it probably means that once he beats it he will receive a great reward.

Tsubasa's life had been very similar to a movie in many ways. There were aliens, monsters that threatened the earth and it all seemed like a fairly obvious plot. In it, she was the heroine who had to face trials in order to grow. It all followed well according to the basics of storytelling.

At first she was introduced to things she'd never considered possible. Soon, she had a new person to help her through the hardships of the plot, the said trials. Hikaru was not only her sidekick though, she was her equal. Also, she didn't limit herself to help defeating monsters. Her influence in Tsubasa's personal life had been absolute. It didn't take long for affinity to grow between them. As far as both of them were concerned they were true sisters.

During the time they spent together Tsubasa was faced with many trials, some in the form of huge monsters, some as simple as throwing a ball or speaking loudly.

Like in the movies, as she got over these difficulties, she grew more than she had ever imagined herself to be capable of and she got precious rewards. People started talking to her, noticing her. She felt truly happy for the first time in her life.

In an ordinary movie, things like throwing a ball and speaking loudly would be boring so they'd all be summed up in one huge problem. The solution of such problem would coincide with the climax of the film and lead to the happy ending. Up to that point, Tsubasa had been enjoying her happy ending. Then it all went haywire. All of a sudden her life wasn't following the karmic order of movies anymore.

It all started that day.

"Aizawa Sho-kun passed away."

It was so sudden that she didn't have time to process the information. She didn't know how to deal with it. But she had Hikaru then. Hikaru was the one who helped her overcome yet another trial. This brought them closer than ever. Maybe if she raised her head and continued to be strong like Hikaru she would be rewarded, she'd think. So she swallowed her tears and decided to move on. Little did she know then, that was only the beginning of her bad fortune.

"We'll have to move back to Tokyo."

That was quite a punch. But she had grown stronger now. She could overcome it, with Hikaru by her side. Better times would surely come wherever they were.

But then, all of a sudden, the strong pillar that Hikaru represented started to feel weaker. Her sister seemed to be avoiding her, and now that she was facing so many challenges, Tsubasa needed her more than ever.

The fights with the Maguars were getting harder and more painful every time and it seemed as if Hikaru couldn't really deal with them anymore. Tsubasa's fear of the fights had only increased, but still...

"If Hikaru-chan does it, I'll do it too."

She never lost her faith in her twin and she never ran from the fights. Once again she stood against the hardships. But they just kept coming.

"D.D. told me we cannot remain on this planet forever."

That could have been the final blow. Tsubasa was defeated. Until that moment, Hikaru had been the source of her strength. The one helping her through all the challenges and always telling her she could do it. If she didn't have Hikaru to turn to, she was no one. She was tired of trying to fight the sorrow. It was getting too hard. So she just cried.

"The only one who can protect Hikaru now... Is you, Tsubasa."

D.D. had no idea how much that had meant for Tsubasa when he said it, but it was what made her stand up once again against all odds. That was the last Maguar. Her final trial. If she could be strong that time she would surely be rewarded after having to go through so much, she felt that if she protected Hikaru then, things would somehow work out and they would be together in the end.

Indeed, she managed to do it and it made her grow so much. She had finally understood that as much as she needed Hikaru by her side, she was capable of standing alone if needed and she could be to Hikaru as much as Hikaru was to her. All that was left was returning to the surface of Earth.

"It seems my life is about to end."

Once more, she thought she wouldn't hold on. She broke into tears again. The world hadn't been fair with her. She had done her best. She had faced all of her worst fears and ended victorious. Why did the bad things keep happening? What was the point in growing if it would only bring her more suffering?

Then, she was faced with the choice of forgetting everything ever happened. It was tempting to be able to just forget all that pain. It was so much pain and it would be so easy, why shouldn't she? She had already given up on everything else, hadn't she? She had just been faced with the hardest trial in her life and as a reward Hikaru was taken away from her, so why bother to keep trying? What good would come out of it?

Hikaru's smiling face came to her that moment and she regretted ever considering the possibility of forgetting it. Hikaru would always tell her never to give up on herself, what would she say if she knew the ideas that were running through her head that moment? She couldn't let those memories disappear, even if she didn't have any strength left anymore, she'd face the pain somehow.

Throughout the months that followed, there wasn't a day she wouldn't think of Hikaru. She was lonely in Tokyo. Even though she'd met Tomo-chan again, and made new friends too. She felt as if she wasn't even there, as if she had stayed in the past, in Hokkaido. Nothing felt real enough anymore.

Whatever was it that pulled her out of bed every morning and helped her smile, even if it was a sad smile, towards her father? She didn't know.

Hope could be a good answer. But was there even anything to hope for? Hikaru was dead and the dead don't come back. She'd learned that from her mother who, despite the unfairness of her death, never got to see her daughter. So why did it feel different now with Hikaru? What sort of invisible rope was she clinging to that allowed her to stay like that for so long? Unlike the movies, live wouldn't give her Hikaru in return for being brave and wanting really hard.

Why can't I just accept reality? I want to say goodbye to you, Hikaru-chan, but I keep expecting the impossible to happen. Even in my dreams you're always talking to me. I want to move on with my life but at the same time… I don't want to… I can't leave you in the the past. If I take a step forward I'll be walking away from you.

As she slumped back on the couch she wondered how life would feel like a year from then. No matter how hard she tried to move on and get over Hikaru, it didn't seem believable that she'd never see her twin again. How was it possible that, even after three months, she still felt as if she was just waiting for Hikaru to show up at the door and say: "Hey, Tsubasa-chan! It's been a while."?

That's why, when the doorbell rang, she was rather nervous. Cause in her life, anything out of the ordinary, anything that wasn't routine, would somehow bring her closer to Hikaru. That's how it had been so far. It was certainly out of the ordinary for someone to ring her bell at such a late hour.

Maybe she already knew deep inside who was at the other side cause, when looking through the peep-hole, she contained her gasp easily and was less surprised than she'd expect herself to be.

"Tsubasa, it's me, D.D." Indeed, his hair was green again, but there was no mistake it was him. "We need to talk, and we must hurry." Never in the past three months had she felt Hikaru so close to her. Her memory seemed to burn stronger than ever now that this man who was never supposed to show up again appeared before her with an anxious expression. For a couple of seconds she had no reaction. It was all too surreal. If D.D. was there, did he expect her to fuse with another Ribers and fight monsters again? I can't do that. I can't fuse with anyone besides...

"Please, I don't know if we have much time. It's about Hikaru."

A/N: I may have written a boring chapter just now. I'm not too sure. I don't really think that's much of a problem since it fits into my story just the way I wanted it to and writing it has helped me get more excited about this fic, meaning I liked it very much. I'm having lots of ideas right now, so I don't think writer's block will bug me so soon. Even if I don't get many readers, I'll keep doing this one so long as I'm still enjoying myself.

Next chapter will be up in a week or so.