IMPORTANT NOTES: "Otou-san" in Japanese means "Father" and "Onii-san" means "Older brother."
Also, one quick shout out to Dream Weaver Dili: Thank you for your review! I'd be happy to let you translate Sweet Rewards as long as you credit me and link back to this story. And you know what? My ethnic heritage is actually a quarter Spanish! Pero no hablo mucho español. XD
Now let's get down to business.
Chapter 5: Old Devices
Ayase sat on her wheelchair surrounded by children eating their lunches. It was a beautiful Sunday noon, perfect for a picnic such as this. The flowers bent with the wind and the green, green grass swayed all around them. Behind this picturesque scene loomed Angel's Refuge, a shabby old building which used to be a public school before it served as a home for orphaned children.
She watched over the energetic youngsters. She remembered her own childhood and the moment that changed her life.
Her father, with his long red hair tied back into a ponytail, drove their small beat up car along a mountain road on the way out of Tokyo. It was Christmas Eve, year 2029, and they were going to take a short vacation. He was a painter but not a famous one, which was probably why his wife left him and their daughter for a richer man. Young Ayase had been an ace athlete in her school, and the two of them lived a simple but happy life.
Then it happened. The sky went dark and her father's hands began to transform into dark purple stones. He lost control of the wheel, and the car headed for the road's edge. Ayase screamed and closed her eyes.
When she opened them, she was in her father's embrace. Their car had collided into a concrete road barrier, and he shielded her from the impact. His pale blue eyes smiled at her one last time before the purple stones completely engulfed his face. The little girl broke down and cried when he shattered into a million shimmering crystals. She suffered spinal damage, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
After the accident that robbed her of the use of her legs and the life of her only family, she was sent to Angel's Refuge. Shibungi back then worked as teacher at the orphanage.
"I hope you don't mind, Ayase," the white-haired man pushed her chair along the sterile hospital corridor. "But we're going to take someone else with us. Is that okay with you?"
She silently nodded as they entered a room. On the hospital bed laid a boy about her age. He had fair hair and, as he opened his eyes to welcome them, she saw that they were an incredible shade of blue. They were as blue as a cloudless midsummer sky, just like her father's eyes.
Shibungi approached him, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you ready to come with us, Gai?"
As soon as Ayase and Gai arrived at the orphanage, they made friends with Ogumo, Argo, and the other children who would eventually become members of the Undertakers. It started as a wild dream, but they slowly began to build up their plans for a revolution. Years later, when Kenji, Inori and Tsugumi joined the children's home, their team became complete.
Ayase looked up at the sky that spread itself up above her. It was the exact same hue as the eyes of the two men she once loved.
I'm twenty-five now, Otou-san. I'm the same age as you were when we had to say goodbye.
"Knight to E4." Shu whispered to a chubby little boy, who moved the tiny white horse in an L-shape across the chess board.
His opponent, a tall fourteen-year-old boy with hair the same cappuccino brown as his eyes, reached for his own black token. "Bishop to C3."
Shu smiled and declared another move, "Knight captures bishop at C3."
"King to C1." The teenager relocated his king defensively.
"Rook captures knight at C2. Checkmate."
The chubby kid clapped his hands and said, "Onii-san beat you again, Ryo!"
"I can't believe how a blind man can be so good at this." Seishi Ryo picked up the pieces one by one and placed them back on their starting positions.
Shu felt around for a piece with his left hand. "It takes a lot of practice and a good memory. It took me years to learn how." He carefully placed the black queen into what was surprisingly its correct position. "The key is to always think multiple moves ahead to defend your most valuable pieces, Ryo-kun. The goal is checkmate, not annihilation."
"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Ryo put the last few pieces in position. "Best of five?"
"No, no, not another game please." Ayase rolled in, her dark auburn red hair swaying. "I can't believe how you guys can enjoy such a boring game."
Shu turned to her, "Sorry, did we take too long?"
"It's okay, but Haruka wants you home by four o'clock and it's almost three-thirty."
"Is that so?" Shu stood up as Ayase guided him. "I'll see you again next week, Ryo."
"You, too." The boy replied.
Ayase and Shu said their goodbyes to the children before they made their way to Shu's apartment.
"Isn't it lame that my mother still gives me a curfew?" Shu walked beside her, tapping his walking stick ahead.
She pushed herself along and imitated Haruka's whining tone, "That's what you get for staying out late, Baby Shu!"
He laughed at her pitch-perfect impersonation. "She sounds exactly like that!"
"I know, right?" Ayase smiled up at the blind man. She looked up at the sky again.
Ogumo, Gai, Otou-san! Wish me luck!
Tsugumi and Daryl took a walk around Shinjuku Gyoen. Once a private garden reserved only for the Imperial Family of Japan, the hundred acre park was opened to the public during the 1990's. Featuring several cedar trees, cypresses, roses, chrysanthemums, and several man-made ponds, it was a patch of paradise in the middle of Tokyo City.
They sat quietly on a bench for a while, shielded from the mid-afternoon heat by a large tree. Beams of summer sunshine filtered through and danced around them with every cool breeze. Daryl drank an ice-cold can of soda as he gazed at Tsugumi. Her deep ocean eyes twinkled with her shiny metal cat ears. She held her pink bunny stuffed toy on her lap and was bouncing it up and down like a baby. Her blackcurrant tresses bounced along, soft and smooth from her double fringe to the very tips.
Daryl asked, "Where'd you get that toy?"
"Where'd you get THAT toy?" She countered, pointing to his comfy black shirt under which was a glowing steel disc.
He placed his hand upon the solid metal on his chest, "Instead of a human heart, I have this." He grinned.
"Come on, Daryl, pleeease. I'm dying of curiosity here!"
"Fine, fine. It's a Void Genome Emulator." He hesitated, remembering how he tried to kill her during that battle. "Connected to Gespenst, it let me use my own void."
"Ah, so that's where the reflecting shield came from!" She intently listened.
"Yes," he nodded. "That's my void. It's pretty practical. Offense is the best defense, after all."
"That's not true. When someone hurts you, you shouldn't hurt them right back. If everyone did that," she stopped playing with the bunny. "Then no one would even try to understand each other."
She took in the beautiful view in front of them. The lush greenery and gleaming skyscrapers in the distance made her wonder what kind of horrors Daryl had to face as a child to think that way.
Hey, my life wasn't all fun and games, but I stuck through it!
"So what about that rabbit?" Daryl asked, changing the topic.
Tsugumi waved the plush toy in front of him. She merrily sang, "This is Daryl~!"
The flustered blonde snatched the plush toy away and held it up by the ear. "Why'd you name it after me?"
"It's cute and fluffy just like you!" Tsugumi stole the bunny right back.
"I'm not cute!" He ran his fingers through his damp hair, faked a frown and leaned back on the bench.
Tsugumi pulled out a comb from her pocket. "I was supposed to go somewhere with my friends today, but I wasn't feeling well," she said, brushing through her own pin-straight hair.
"Are you sick?"
"Ney, ney. I just wasn't feeling up to it." She put the comb back in her pocket and remembered what Haruka said. "Give this boy a chance."
"Hey, Daryl. Last night, in front of my apartment building, I saw you with a girl."
"Oh that? That was my mother's twin sister." He smiled. "I let her borrow my car that day, so she returned the favour by giving me a ride home. I hate public transportation." He scowled.
"Your aunt!" Tsugumi puffed her breath out like she'd been holding in it all along.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I believe that is what you call the sister of your mother."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Really funny." She felt so relieved and flashed him the most radiant smile he's ever seen.
Daryl was caught off guard by her pretty face and the way she looked at him. His heart throbbed as fast as it could. "Must you always look at me like that?" He said in disbelief.
"Like what?"
"Like…" He thought about how confident she was during their first encounter. She still is, but now the flames of her inner strength gave the impression of a brighter glow.
Before he could put it to words, she already figured what he'd say.
Time and loss forged in Tsugumi a quiet courage. She lost so many people throughout her lifetime, but losing him seemed like the hardest. She only just met him, but she saw in him a sliver of warmth behind a cloud of indifference.
It was difficult for her to help Ayase defeat Daryl during the battle of the Fourth Apocalypse, but she heard the agony in his voice as he struggled to fight. At that point, she accepted there was no turning back for him.
Still, she thought, "If I could have seen that boy just one more time and shown him one more act of kindness, would that have made a difference?"
She sat sobbing on the ruins of GHQ when she finally gave up on searching for him. She blamed herself for what happened. She knew that there was something she could have done to make him turn around and join them. He saved her from the other Endlaves when a resurrected Gai sliced off Shu's arm. She cried her heart out thinking, "That meant something, didn't it?"
She told herself that this time around, she could make a difference. She stared into his confused lilac eyes with her newfound conviction.
Daryl, as expected, said "Like you know me." He leaned his head back and faced the clear blue sky. "Like you're not afraid of me."
"Because I'm not."
"How can you not be scared? Don't you understand? I'm a demon." He massaged his temples as if he was getting a headache.
"I'm a mass murderer. I've slaughtered hundreds, no, thousands of innocent civilians," he spread an arm along the edge of the bench and almost glared at her. "I'm Kill-em-All Daryl."
"Not any more, right?" She smiled.
He was dumbfounded.
"I tried to kill to you!" He shouted, banging his fist in frustration down on the wooden edge. "Damnit! I tried to kill you!"
She laughed like it was the funniest thing she's heard in days.
"Didn't we just have this exact same conversation last night?" She tossed her head back to rest it on his outstretched arm. It felt strong yet soft.
Daryl sat still and didn't say anything. What is wrong with this girl? What is she thinking cuddling up to me like this?
He observed how tiny her body was next to his. How can someone so small have such a big heart? She looked so relaxed, and he realized that she really wasn't afraid of him. Not even a little bit.
How can she just accept me like that?
His eyes brimmed with tears. He blinked them off, but he still felt an uncontrollable gush of emotion building up inside him. He wanted to thank her or hug her or something. He wanted to do anything to tell her how he felt.
He draped his arm around her shoulders.
"You're impossible, runt."
Tsugumi felt an electric pounding in her heart at this sudden show of affection. She hated his outbursts of rage, but she loved how he kept on trying to be a kinder person.
She gently wrapped an arm around his waist and tapped the metal disc on his chest.
"You too, sprout."
"Samukawa-san," Charlotte offered a gloved hand to Yahiro. "It was a pleasure to speak with you again."
It was early evening and the two of them stood in front of the Genome Biotech building. Charlotte looked as impeccable as always in a dark pencil skirt and a chic tweed jacket, long layers of her palest blonde hair braided neatly. Yahiro could tell that she was a cautious woman, as he had a hard time charming her into locking down a sponsorship.
"I wish we could talk a little more, Lady Charlotte," he suavely said, barely kissing the black pearl silk. "I would love to go in to more detail on our upcoming projects."
"Yes, Samukawa-san," the older woman smiled. "But as I've said, I'm more interested in your more archaic technologies."
"And as I have mentioned, that's strictly confidential, my lady." Yahiro moved in for the kill. "However, I'm sure that with a healthy investment, we can arrange something."
A black limousine stopped in front of them. A smartly dressed chauffeur opened the door for Lady Gespenst, as Yahiro guided her into the backseat. He shut the door firmly, but before driving away, the window rolled down half-way.
"Young man, I must admit that I was truly impressed by your presentation," her dark mauve feline eyes looking straight at him. "Will I see you at the party this Saturday?"
"Of course, my lady," He bowed deeply. "Arisa-san is a good friend of mine."
"First name basis, huh?" she nodded in respect and rolled up the tinted car window. "Very interesting."
Yahiro watched the car turn the corner at which stood a familiar figure. He realized who it was by her the short dusky hair, her slim arms that were crossed around her ample bosom and her angrily tapping foot.
"SAMUKAWA YAHIRO!" Kanon shouted at her lover as he walked towards her.
"Hey gorgeous," he leaned in to kiss her but got slapped across the face instead.
"Who was that woman?" Barefaced without her glasses, Kanon looked even more intimidating than usual.
"Youch!" He rubbed a sore cheek. "That was just Lady Charlotte Gespenst, a potential investor. Geez, Kanon. Give me a break."
Unconvinced, she shouted louder. "Give me back my glasses!"
He quietly pulled out a pair of thick-rimmed prescription eyeglasses from his pocket and handed them to her. Kanon put them on, and felt better.
"I waited for you at the hospital. You're a full hour late!"
"I'm sorry, dear," he tried to touch her, but she slapped his hand away. "I wanted to send you a message but I was caught up in a meeting."
"Do you even care about me at all?"
"Of course, I do," he caressed her cheek and this time she didn't protest. "We've known each other since we were kids. No one in this world knows me better than you do. I wouldn't give you up for anything."
"Then why don't you want our relationship to go public?"
"I just don't want to ruin the whole dynamic of our small circle of friends," he slowly slid off her glasses and gave her a gentle kiss.
"Bullshit," she returned his gesture hungrily.
They shared kiss after kiss after kiss on the sidewalk until he suggested, "Let's go upstairs." He stroked her dark blue hair. "I'm sure you'd like to come inside my office."
Back in Angel's Refuge, Seishi Ryo tucked the young ones into bed before retiring to his own room. He quickly drifted off into his usual nightmare.
Wild flowers grew out of broken concrete
This was my playground
Roppongi Fort
This place used to be beautiful
We lived in a nice apartment
Father, mother, and I
But when Christmas came
So did chaos
We stayed there living like beggars
Father couldn't find a job
Neither could my mother
But with a roof over our heads
We made it work
Then one day soldiers came
They took my father and blindfolded him
They made him kneel down
They pointed toy guns at him
Was it a game?
I needed to go pee
So I tugged on my mother's coat
"Mama, Mama. Potty!"
She smiled and patted my head
"Wait a second, Ryo-chan"
She kept talking to the soldiers
She was saying, "Please!"
I think she wanted to join the game too
I hugged her and said "Mama!"
I was so excited
My mother ran to another soldier
He had yellow hair like sunshine
He wore tight white suit
He looked so cool
Then he kicked her down
He called her a "filthy hag"
As he stepped on her face fourteen times
He drew a gun
He said something I didn't understand
Then he shot her
My mother lay on a bed
Of little white flowers
Spattered with blood
"MAMA!"
Ryo woke up in a cold sweat, startled by the loud gunfire from his past. He noticed that the window was open so he wearily got off the bed. As he latched it closed, he felt an eerie presence behind him.
"Seishi Ryo," a dark-haired boy was sitting on his bed.
Ryo stepped back in fear and met the wall with a thud. As the mysterious guy approached him, something seemed to glow purple under his shirt. Then a strange bluish-white light burst out from what looked like a thin knife he held in his hand.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?"
Ryo turned around and rushed to open the window as quickly as he could, but the shadowy figure moved faster and caught him in a chokehold. Ryo was frozen in terror. The man was smaller than him but was much stronger.
The shadow plunged a shining fountain pen into Ryo's chest causing him to lose consciousness.
"My mother needs your Void."
End of Chapter 5: Old Devices
Did he just say "void"?
Last time I mentioned that two canon characters will be returning. Well, I decided to keep one a secret for now, but did you figure out who the other one is?
Ryo is that little boy from Episode 2 of Guilty Crown! When GHQ invaded Roppongi Fort, his mother called him "Ryo-chan" before she ran to ask Daryl for help. As you know, he kicked her down and shot her.
Love Always,
Kinky Robot