Figure 17: Tsubasa and Hikaru

Bonded

Chapter 14:Can I reach for the impossible?

Part 2: When the impossible reaches you

The mention of the name made her eyes widen. It was the first time she'd heard it being spoken for so long. That only added to the feeling that it was just a dream. "O-okay." She said, hesitantly opening the door. Her heart was pounding harder than she deemed possible. It reminded her of the first time she'd seem the green haired alien.

"Long time no see." The tall man said with a faint smile. It was unusual for him to smile so it felt strange for him and for Tsubasa. However, he couldn't help but doing so at the time. Such human reactions had started to become more common for him.

Tsubasa figured she should smile too, after all, she owed much to that man too. He'd not only brought Hikaru to Earth, but he'd willingly broken the rules of his planet to let her keep her memory. "Please come in." She said, making way for the visitor to enter.

D.D. Studied the little appartment as he walked in. It was very unlike the house in Hokkaido. Much smaller and devoid of life. The same could be said for Tsubasa's smile. Clearly, she was still suffering. He smiled to himself, he was now more certain than ever that he had done the right thing coming back.

"I'll make some tea." She said looking for something to fill the silence. "Please, make yourself at home. Otou-san is not here right now, so it's okay."

"I see..." He took a seat at the table. Tsubasa making tea was a vision as surreal for him as him sitting there was for the girl. None of them ever expected meeting the other again, yet, so little time latter there they were. "Is your father at work? I recall you moved to Tokyo to start a new bakery."

Tsubasa shook her head. "He's at Hokkaido. Even though he's not an apprentice anymore, Shinichi-san still has many things to teach him, so he visits there once a month."

D.D. nodded. "I see. And you stay alone here?"

Tsubasa's expression fell. "I don't know if I could handle going back there." Rather than feeling like a dream now, that conversation had become the most real experience Tsubasa had ever had since going back to Tokyo. She could barely contain herself.

"I understand."

Silence set in while Tsubasa brew the tea. When it was finally done she served it and sat on the table facing the alien. "Thank you." He said, sipping the drink. Tsubasa's heart started pounding faster. She could feel he was about to anounce the reason of his visit. She knew it regarded Hikaru, but it couldn't possibly be what she was thinking could it? She'd seen Hikaru disapear before her. Hikaru herlself had told her she was dying.

"Tsubasa, I have no intention of getting your hopes up since I have no way of being certain, but I believe that Hikaru is alive and well."

D.D. wasn't surprised as a trembling smile and lots of tears took hold of Tsubasa's face, however, he nearly jumped when she hugged him and buried her face in his chest.

"Thank you, thank you..." She kept repeating between her sobs. Her voice had a quality to it that D.D. couldn't possibly define, but he knew that was the sort of quality that had made him come back to Earth. He'd never heard something like that in his planet.

He wondered if he should hold her. He imagined the situation asked for it, and he somewhat felt like it was the right thing to do. However, he restrained himself to patting her gently in the back. "Don't thank me." He said. "The only explanation for this is the fact that your fusion with Hikaru was unique."

Tsubasa raised her head to look at the man. "Huh?"

"We were never able to understand why it was like that, but the fact is that a transformation like hers has never happened with a Ribers before. Something in fusing with you made Hikaru special." D.D. explained. "Maybe that something is what brought her life signs back."

Tsubasa smiled. Hikaru is still alive. She knew it was true, even if D.D. had said he couldn't be sure. She'd always known, but she couldn't believe it before. Now it was clear to her. She could even feel Hikaru was somewhere out there. The link between them was there telling her so. There was only one thing she could do now.

"How do we find her?" She asked objectively.

D.D. didn't respond for a couple of seconds, he was comtemplating the girl before him. Tsubasa had suddenly gained confidence and that amazed him. She seemed frail like a little doll just a few minutes ago, now she was strong again, like she'd be back in Hokkaido.

Finally reallizing he should say something he placed a device that seemed like a laptop on the table. Tsubasa had no idea where he'd been carrying it, but it wouldn't really surprise her if it involved some sort of advanced technology. It had a screen showing three lines that resembled the ones she'd seen on TV in medical shows. The ones that showed a person's heartbeat.

"What's this?"

D.D. felt that he should explain the whole story to Tsubasa, so he started at the beggining. "When Hikaru's state started to get worse from the fights against the Maguar, she came to me for help. I couldn't find anything wrong so I decided to implant a chip on her that would allow me to monitor her life signs. By that I mean her heartbeat, her brain activity and her Ribers'activity, which is similar to brain activity." The alien explained.

Tsubasa was surprised. "So Hikaru-chan knew all along that something was seriously wrong with her." Why did she hide this from me?To protect me of course. She'd always sacrifice herself for me.

"After that final battle, her life signs disapeared completely." He sighed. "I think it's what you would call a miracle here on Earth, but for some reason I never switched off the monitoring equipment." D.D. paused. "No matter why I did that. The important thing is that because of it, I eventually picked up life signs from the Ribers activity. That was a two weeks ago in Earth time."

"So she's still alive as a Ribers somewhere?" Tsubasa asked feeling even better now that she understood D.D.'s discovery.

"Theoreticaly." He replied. "At first I though the equipment was malfunctioning, but after checking for every possible reading error I still got the same results."

"That means she must be alive right?"

"Like I said, theoreticaly." D.D. cotinued. "Then, on my way here, a few hours ago, her heartbeat and brain activity started to show too. Which can only mean that she's back in a biological body."

Tsubasa could feel the warmth inside her growing in a way she hadn't felt in three months. That familiar feeling of security and tranquility was nostalgic, but new in a way too. Back then she'd hide behind Hikaru's presence and let herself be comforted by it. Things were different now. She didn't need to hide from anything. She didn't want to. She just wanted Hikaru by her side.

"Then, if she's got a heartbeat, that means..."

D.D. didn't let her finish. He interrupted her with a smile on his face. "She's most likely alive somewhere, back on her body."

A/N: Short and just presenting the plot, but still sweet in it's own way... Wait... You're the one who's supposed to review. Sorry.

Hope you review this time though... Figure 17 readers are not exactly an abundant resource. Just the fact that you're here makes you one among a very small group of people, so, if could just take a bit more of your time to write a few words, you've got no idea how precious that would be. Thank's for understanding.

Bye