Author's Note: I'm really sorry for the long hiatus. X.X Bwah wah wahh... DOOM. The words spoken at the funeral are from Dirge Without Music by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Aria_Sunset, thanks for pointing out my plot hole. The intermission... "a tale of the impossible" apparently really was "impossible'"so it has been blended into this chapter here. Doing the "ef - a tale of melodies" thing. The remaining chapters will spell "solace" backwards with the first letter of the word. This chapter is "Empty". Many thanks also to Jisu. I got her to beta the rough draft of this chapter, and so picked up on a few of my common mistakes. Review! Please?
'Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.'
- Mary Elizabeth Frye (Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep)
It has been difficult. When this first began, I couldn't be certain of what I was looking for. Eventually, that something became quite clear.
When I first saw Ryou - the "grown-up" Ryou - I was unsure of what to do. Here was a teenager who was self-sufficient and confident in his abilities. He had also accepted full responsibility for the girls, and despite the occasional complaint from their end, they seemed to be doing well. Perhaps too much time had passed already to make any difference whatsoever. Perhaps he no longer needed any guidance. He had gained a voice and leadership skills. He was a role model in the scientific community. He was no longer cringing away from the world, but facing it head-on. Still, after observing him for a few months, it seemed like there was something missing in his life. Something about his demeanor suggested that he was not completely satisfied. He seemed to be waiting for something. What it was precisely, I didn't know. In time, however, the answer would surely reveal itself. Not only to me, but to everyone.
TOMORROW'S SOLACE
-- Ch. 11; Act 01 - Empty. (version. Jishou)
"The truth is that... I'm Ryou's father."
"WHAT?!" six mouths gaped. If you included the robot, that is.
"How is that even possible? Pardon me, but, you died, didn't you?" Retasu's eyes were wide in disbelief, the whites showing, and she glanced around timidly for a sturdy surface to rest her weight against.
"Aside from that, shouldn't someone be keeping an eye on Shirogane? Again." Zakuro seemed incredibly annoyed about the entire situation, yet she didn't miss a beat. Her brow was furrowed slightly, the corners of her mouth tugged down. Of course, this reaction could perhaps be traced back to having her sleep interrupted. I imagined the entire group, myself included, was exhausted by now.
I watched them in silence for a moment, trying to decide whether I now felt better or worse about this whole situation. Since the image of Ryou running away was still freshly lit in my mind, I came to the conclusion that I felt worse. Much worse. A guilty conscience nagged in the back of my head, and an accompanying migraine threatened to cross the threshold into reality.
Ichigo raised her hand weakly. "I-I guess I can go. I mean, it feels like part of this was my fault anyway." She bit her lip, but tried to plaster a convincing smile on her face a moment later. It failed to reassure the others.
Ichigo continued, "I'm not really sure what's going on, so someone explain this to me when I get back, okay?"
"Very well, Ichigo," Minto was trying to tease her, "I'll be sure to use small words." As soon as she said this, the sarcasm in her voice died and she scooted closer to the wolf girl as if she were the fire.
"Ichigo, be careful," Aoyama cautioned.
"Mhm, I'll be okay." Ichigo grinned weakly before walking off in the direction Ryou had gone. Before she was completely out of sight, she was pumping her legs faster, her loosened pigtails bobbing at the sides of her head like ears.
"Now then, Max dear, if you'd care to explain everything!" Minto raised her voice. She stepped away from Zakuro abruptly, thrusting her thumb and forefinger in my direction. I imagined a spotlight turning on to shine in my face and prevent my escape.
"Minto, calm down," Zakuro sighed, turning a gaze eye on me, "It's not like he has much choice. If he doesn't answer to us now, he'll have to answer to Shirogane later."
I shrugged my shoulders in defeat, knowing I would be doing both in due time, "I would explain, but I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to accomplish that task. I'm not even sure of all the details myself."
Minto scoffed, "I'm sure you don't."
"Minto-san, please!" Retasu coaxed, glancing between her friend and myself, "Um, um... Shirogane... Shirogane-hakase, could you please tell us what you do remember at least?"
"Just calling me 'Jishou' or even 'Shou' is fine," I replied, "No need for formality at this point. And I suppose I can give it a try."
As simple as that, I suddenly had their full attention and their silence.
"The beginning is rather fuzzy," I confessed, "One day I was, and the next I... wasn't, and then I was again. It was a long time before I realized I had even died, but when I couldn't find my home or contact my family, I knew something was wrong. While passing people on the street, I happened to see that a calendar said the year was 2005. That was when things became strange. Nothing was as it should have been. There were roads where none had been before, and stores that had been bustling with customers when last I visited them were left vacant. It was like waking up from a nap only to find that years had passed by instead of mere minutes."
"So, you're saying you were revived?" Zakuro raised an eyebrow.
"I really don't know," I replied in exasperation, "It is the only deduction I have that seems to fit."
"But, isn't it possible that Shi... that Jishou-san could have been brought back to life when Aoyama-san released the Mew Aqua?" Retasu suggested.
"I don't think so. Even though it brought people in Tokyo back to life, it didn't restore other sources of damage. The subway systems were out of commission for months after that battle and lots of people were out of jobs. I know it's powerful, but could it really revive people back in America who died years before Tokyo Mew Mew was even formed?" Aoyama recalled.
"It seems a little too convenient," Zakuro stated firmly, "I'm nearly certain that the Mew Aqua was not responsible for this one at all."
"Would you like for me to continue or not?" I asked cautiously.
"Keep going," Zakuro ordered.
"Right, well... I had nothing. I went to the police to ask about my family and was sent away. I suppose they thought that I was intoxicated or crazy, or perhaps both, considering my... less than appealing appearance..."
I heard Minto cover a snicker with the back of her hand, but I continued on without stopping.
"Later that week... I suppose it was the same week... I happened to overhear two girls in the bookstore talking about Tokyo Mew Mew. When I researched it, I found out that it was based on the Mew Project. I thought maybe if I could find a way to Japan, the people continuing my research would at least know what had become of my family.
"I had no money, so I snuck onto an airplane using a forged ticket. I was later discovered, so now I have the American police force after me, believing me to be a terrorist, and perhaps obviously, for forging the ticket and not paying. I honestly would have paid if I could do so, however, given the sitation..."
"You really expect us to believe this story?" Minto wrinkled her nose in mild disgust.
"Minto-san!" Retasu hissed in a shocked tone.
"It's not like I'm claiming to have been kidnapped by sky pirates, Minto-chan. This was before the beard took over completely, so I think that they may not have recognized me had they discovered me whereabouts. I went to some of my old aquaintances in the Japanese police force to find more information on Tokyo Mew Mew. Since the police were already highly interested in Ryou, they were quite willing to assist me in exchange for my own information. I was heading across the city towards Cafe Mew Mew, and that was about the time I bumped into Ichigo-chan in Harajuku and asked her to take me to her leader."
"Ichigo said you blackmailed her," Minto corrected.
"Ah, but see, I did nothing of the sort. I only said I could reveal her identity, not that I would actually do it," I explained casually.
"That sounds like blackmail to me," Minto retorted, frowning slightly at the way I was explaining things so lightly.
"But it wasn't," I insisted.
"And so?" Zakuro prompted, "Then what?"
"I didn't expect to see Ryou so soon. I was a bit shocked at the time, to be frank. However, Akasaka-kun was able to figure out who I was, and that's why he agreed to let me stay at Cafe Mew Mew. I wanted to tell Ryou who I was, but after all this time, and considering the way things unfolded, we... I didn't know how to break it to him, and so..."
"I see..." Minto rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Um, Jishou-san, if you're here, then what happened to Shirogane-san's mother?" Retasu asked.
"...I have no idea. I looked for them both back in America. Of course, there was no way I would have recognized Ryou at first, but... I never found her. Nobody I asked knew her."
The green-haired girl bowed her head, her hair falling into her eyes, "I'm sorry for asking."
"So, now what do we do?" Zakuro folded her arms in front of her. "We still have the aliens to deal with."
"So glad you didn't forget us!" Kisshu chuckled as he appeared suddenly.
"What took you so long?! Is it that difficult to teleport?" Minto complained, finally returning her hand to her side.
Kisshu's face turned grave as he shook his head. At that time, the taller alien appeared behind him, dropping the upbeat boy, Tasuku, heavily on the ground.
"Ow! Take it easy, why don't you?" he brushed the dirt from his face with the back of his hand.
"Tasuku-san!"
"Yo!" Tasuku greeted Retasu's cry of concern with a "thumbs-up" signal, but the smile soon died from his face, "Berii and the others..."
"They were apparently kidnapped. The restaurant is now empty," Pai clarified.
"Kidnapped?" Retasu gasped, her hands finding their way to her cheeks as her eyes began to flood.
"That's right," Kisshu said, "Even the cook is gone. We think we know where they are, but it's too dangerous to go there alone. We were able to track them that far thanks to Taruto."
"This just never ends," Zakuro's mouth was tight.
The green-haired alien seemed to finally realize that the object of his affections was missing. He frowned, kicked up some dust with the toe of his boot, and began speaking without looking at any of us, "Guess we'll be waiting for Ichigo and that blond guy to get back. So you're his dad, huh? You're just like the blondie. Sneaky!"
"You knew?" Minto asked incredulously.
"I had a hunch. Not bad, huh?" I wondered for a moment if he had simply been listening to the conversation before showing himself.
"Such a pain, all of this drama," Kisshu muttered, curling up on the ground and resting his chin in his palm.
Tasuku whirled on him then, grabbing the alien by the front of his shirt and giving him a shake, "We can't rest now! Berii and the others are in trouble!"
"Hey, don't blame me. Two of your guys are still missing and we'll be doomed if we run in there like this. You humans have to sleep, don't you? As much as I'd love to wring Silver's neck right now, I can't do it by myself." Kisshu shrugged and shut his eyes, but if I was correct in my assumptions, he was also very concerned about his missing comrade.
Tasuku let him go reluctantly, rubbing his head as he shuffled towards the glow of the campfire, "They better not do anything to her..."
Pai shook his head at his companion's careless behavior, "Indeed. In the meantime, perhaps we should come up with a strategy. The chance of things getting more dangerous from here on out is extremely high. I suggest we approach things with care or else failure is inevitable."
"Agreed," I replied.
-- Ch. 11; Act 02 - They Go. (version. Ryou)
"Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave..." the pastor continued in a politely distant voice that seemed hollow and void of much comfort. The sound echoed across the chapel, silent but for a few surpressed sobs in the crowd. Keiichiro sat beside me, stiff-backed and expressionless. He could have easily passed for a statue if not for the warm pressure of his palm on the back of my right hand. I imagined I could feel his pulse through it. Ever since that night he'd hardly taken his eyes off me. Worried, perhaps, that I would disappear too.
"Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
"Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
"I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned."
I heard the neighbor's wife burst into tears. The whole congregation was at a loss for words, and the most even her spouse could manage was to rest his arm across her shoulder and draw her closer to himself.
No words, but there were still those tears and the wandering through the fog of our own thoughts.
That scene was perpetually etched into my mind. The empty caskets, the empty eyes, the empty voices.
Now the hourglass had been tipped over onto its head. The entire event was being overwritten by some unexplainable glitch. But for how long were the effects of this glitch supposed to last? Suppose "Max" was a ghost, or a figment of my imagination...? Perhaps some long lost relative or someone completely unrelated who looked exactly like my father. It was a coincidence... or maybe some experiment the government was doing... a trick, a trap... a miracle?
My eyes were heavy and my thoughts muddled; my body ached, almost insisting that I take the time to get some much-needed rest. It would have to wait. I couldn't sleep now.
"That man is my father..." I mumbled quietly to myself. The noise was lost in the atmosphere. The stars seemed so crowded, so close, that for a moment it felt claustrophobic.
I know.
But I do not approve.
The next thing I noticed was Ichigo coming up behind me, her breath catching in short little gasps from the effort. The humidity had ruined her hair, and her pigtails hung limply on each side of her head; one was higher than the other.
She looked about as tired as I felt, but apparently I looked even worse than I felt, because when she saw my face she immediately frowned her disapproval.
"Hey, Shirogane?"
-- Ch. 11; Act 03 - How to listen. (version. Ichigo)
The night seemed to be dragging on forever and ever. My eyes were heavy and I had to hold back a yawn. Shirogane... and Max... No. Jishou-san, was it? As I trudged along through the middle of nowhere looking for my boss, I tried out the idea of them actually being father and son. They were both smart, that much was for certain, but were there any other similarities? Well, there was one other thing I could come up with. It dawned on me now that Jishou-san actually softened up around Shirogane. He seemed to let his guard down, almost. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed obvious. Jishou-san had been looking out for him from the very beginning... He knew all along that Ryou hated him and was trying to get rid of him, yet he played along just so that he could remain close to him. Jishou-san was actually here for the sake of his family, wasn't he? And he never turned down Shirogane's food no matter how terrible he made it. It reminded me of my own dad, in a way. As violently overprotective as Dad was, he did it for me because he didn't want me to get hurt.
And yet... why was Jishou-san alive anyway? Akasaka-san had made it quite clear that the professor had died with his wife in an accident in their home. A fire caused by a Chimera Anima that the professor had been studying. So then what exactly was going on? Trying to think on the subject like Shirogane might have made my head spin. I figured I would leave the thinking to him and simply voice my own opinion later.
I had just come to this conclusion when I spotted Shirogane sitting with his back to me. He hadn't gone far after all, and knowing that there were rangers somewhere out there, and plenty of sinkholes and other dangers, I guessed it was silly of me to have been worried in the first place. Still, concern tugged at me and made me close the gap between us.
I made my way over to him cautiously, still trying to catch my breath.
"Hey, Shirogane?"
No response. I could tell he was awake, because he was watching me, but he wasn't answering.
I waited until I could breathe normally and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a slight nudge, "Shirogane? Hey!"
Shirogane's eyes turned up to stare at my face. Even though he hadn't said a word, it made me feel nervous.
"Um, well... I..." I jerked my hand away and fumbled in my head for the right words, "Uh... I'm sure I'm the last person you want to see, but we were worried about you, so I thought... Well, what I mean is..." I had lost my nerve already. It couldn't have been more than two minutes! I scratched my nose and looked around at nothing, hoping my grand "cheer up" speech would return to me. It didn't.
"Stop rambling nonsense, you silly catgirl." he muttered, "If you have something to say, say it. If not - go back to camp and sleep."
"Uh, right, yeah... well..." I spluttered helplessly. Darn it.
"You can sit down if it'll make you quit babbling," he added with a sigh, turning away from me and resting his elbows on his knees to create a support for his head.
"Oh...kay..." With that I plopped down beside him, folding my arms neatly in my lap and cutting him a cautious sidelong glance. He seemed to be intentionally avoiding looking at me now, retreating into his antisocial shell.
Unreadable. Always unreadable. His eyes were looking at something far away, and his jaw was tight. He looked completely worn out - but then, who could blame him. It had been an extremely long night.
"Maybe you're the one that needs the rest." I blurted, "You look awful."
"You came here just to tell me that I look awful?" he questioned calmly.
"No!" I shot backwards again as if he had bitten me. He was impossible to talk to. I gritted my teeth and dug my fingernails into my palms, trying to work up some resolve through the pinching sensation on my skin. Well, it worked when I was angry. Now that I wasn't really mad, it didn't help much.
"What do you want?"
"I don't know..." I admitted sheepishly.
Shirogane sighed in exasperation before I could continue.
"I don't know," I repeated, "I guess I thought maybe even someone like you would be grateful for some company. Maybe I was wrong." I made a production of turning away from him on purpose and stared off at some random rock that was conveniently laying there in my field of view - at least I wasn't staring at nothing. I imitated him.
I heard the brush of fabric, guessing that he had shifted his position to stare at me or something. I kept my mouth shut and waited for his people skills to kick in.
Shirogane sighed again, but this time he just sounded tired.
"I'm sorry," he said finally, sincerely.
"I-it's fine," I blurted. It was the first response that came to my mind.
"I'm sorry," he repeated after a beat.
Two apologies in a single night was too much for me to manage. I felt my cheeks grow hot and looked away from him quickly.
"Don't worry about it, I mean, everything's been happening so fast, it's pretty hard to take it in."
"Well that's an understatement." If he was feeling well enough to be sarcastic, I figured he was recovering from his funk somewhat. Secretly I was glad that he wasn't too sad or shocked to be his usual rude self.
"So, are you feeling a little better?" I asked hopefully.
"Not really," he denied almost immediately, studying the palm of his hand, "Given everything that has happened tonight, things will only get more complicated from here on out. I'm ashamed at myself for not being able to handle it - especially since I'm the one who should be protecting everyone. I can't allow myself to wither like a flower when things get hard."
"You know... I mean, I know you feel responsible for all of us, but you chose to carry that burden. I don't think it's really your place to have to do all that."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Shirogane shot a cold, hard, possibly very angry glare in my direction, his hand swinging outwards rapidly.
I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut, but the only thing I felt was a light thump on the roof of my head. When I peeked my right eye open to see, the moment was gone. Shirogane was watching me quietly, the back of his hand resting in the air about three inches from me.
He had only bopped me on the head.
"I know that," he said, "And it may be something that I can't do, but it's an improvement from being able to do nothing at all."
I opened my other eye and relaxed, "You mean about your parents, right? I don't think you could have done anything back then. Listen to my advice, okay?"
I leapt to my feet, brushing off my pajama bottoms. My speech, or some small fragment of it, had returned to me.
"Just do what you can, when you can. Put forth the effort, but don't push yourself too hard or you'll collapse. When you can't do it by yourself, call on your allies."
Shirogane cocked an eyebrow at me.
"We're all in this together, Shirogane, so stop acting like it's just you!"
"Okay."
I tilted my head to the side, "'Okay?'"
He nodded, "Okay."
"Okay," I agreed. He made no move to leave his place on the rock. As for me, I could barely keep my eyes open and decided to stick to at least part of my plan and not let him stay there by himself. I extended my hand towards him.
"Let's go back to the others. I'm really sleepy."
Shirogane rolled his eyes at me, but he did push off the rock, standing over me.
"Okay, Ichigo. Let's go."
I was about to put my hand away, but that's when he finally took it and began guiding me back the way we had come.
Everyone looked up as we returned to the camp site, their faces illuminated by the reddish glow of the fire that had been fed while we were gone. I realized then that Kisshu and Pai had returned, and among them was Tasuku, curled up on a sleeping bag and tossing restlessly.
"Berii-san, Akasaka-san and the others have been kidnapped by the other group of aliens," Retasu voiced sadly.
"We were just saying that we should all try to get some rest while we still can," Zakuro-san spoke up before anyone could add anything else or ask any questions, "If we're going to help the others, that is. We've already worked on formulating a plan to rescue them, but it would probably be best if we went back over it in the morning before we leave. Let's save the dramatics for another time." She looked pointedly at Shirogane, but he said nothing, just stared back at her in silence, not even bother to acknowledge her condescending tone.
Things just wouldn't let up. This was going to be tough.
In the following minutes I noticed two other things - that Shirogane's grip on my hand tightened slightly and that he kept his eyes diverted from Max's face.
'That's right... it isn't "Max" anymore. It's the dad he thought was dead,' I reminded myself.
I took the opportunity to pry away from Shirogane's vice grip, lest the girls or Masaya get any weird ideas. He shot a quick look at me and let go abruptly so that I almost tripped.
"Sh-she's right, Shirogane!" I blurted, "You should definitely take it easy, okay? I'll see you in the morning." I backed away quickly and trotted over to where Masaya was sitting a short distance away, grateful to get away from the blond and the storm I could still see raging behind his eyelids.
Masaya greeted me with a weary smile, "So, how'd it go?"
I made a pouting face and plopped down beside him, "Not as well as I had hoped. He's just so stubborn! I'm not even sure he took a word I said seriously, but I tried."
Masaya wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him, "I'm sure that isn't true. Shirogane may be difficult to talk to, but I'm sure your feelings got across to him."
"How do you know?" I asked him.
Masaya grinned at me, making me smile in return.
"Hey, come on, tell me!" I teased, batting at him.
"Just wait and see," he suggested by way of an answer. I pouted further and he laughed. I could tell that begging was useless, but he was warm, and I found myself resting my cheek against his chest. My cat instinct were already kicking in, and I felt a wave of drowsiness.
"So..." I mumbled, growing serious, but no more alert, "How did things go while I was gone?"
"Not too bad," Masaya said, "Although I think Zakuro-san especially was having a hard time believing Jishou-san's story."
"What did you think about it?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure," he confessed, releasing me. When I finally sat back upright, he was resting his arms on his knees, "But I have an odd feeling about this whole thing."
"What do you mean, Masaya?" I studied his face, trying to read further into what he meant, but like Shirogane, Masaya didn't reveal anything that he didn't want to. With Masaya, it might have been even more difficult. I felt a wave of guilt as I realized I probably now knew more about Shirogane than I did about my own boyfriend.
'But,' I soothed myself, 'Masaya doesn't know much about himself, and most of what I learned about Shirogane was from Akasaka-san and not Shirogane himself.'
"I feel like I've seen Jishou-san somewhere before. I'm not sure where from, but..."
"But you've never been to America, have you? That's where Shirogane grew up, so I think they must have been living there since he was born."
"I don't know, I don't remember much about my past. It's possible, but I can't be sure. I'm not even sure if..."
"If...?"
Masaya shook his head slowly, smiling apologetically, "Nevermind. There's no use in guessing. I'm sure things will become clear soon enough."
"Yeah, you're probably right," I agreed.
-- Ch. 11; Act 04 - Firelight. (version. Ryou)
While Minto, Zakuro, and Tasuku slept, Retasu summarized the conversation that I had missed. This was accompanied by a sampling of Minto's bubble tea that Retasu had heated to a boil over the fire.
"Are you certain you're feeling okay?" Retasu asked for about the fifth time, her eyes prodding my face for lies as I took another sip of the warm tea.
My mouth was dry, and the tea helped substantially. I could feel it gliding down my throat and warming my body which had become quite cold.
"I'm okay," I insisted, "Just need some sleep. You should rest up too."
Finally, she nodded, "All right. Sleep well, Shirogane-san." She bobbed her head automatically, smiling softly before retreating to where the others were asleep.
I took another swallow of the tea, taking in the scenery and the bright spotlight of the moon. I was both too tired and too awake to even attempt sleep. Instead, I kept vigil. In the distance nocturnal animals called out and were answered by others of their kind. A slight wind blew in from the Southwest, causing the firelight to flicker in protest. Though it was probably 3 A.M. in this timezone, and I didn't even want to think of how many hours I had spent awake since we arrived, the surrounding area seemed alive and watchful.
"Can't sleep?"
He was standing a safe distance away, making no attempts to get any closer or to even tap my shoulder as he might have a few days ago. Any trace of smugness or sarcasm was gone. Instead his mouth was set in a solemn line and his eyes held a look of sincere worry, perhaps regret was there too.
"It's impossible," I muttered, although I wasn't sure if I meant sleeping as much as the possibility of him actually standing there.
He watched me quietly for a moment and finally sighed.
"I'm sorry, Ryou. I'm not going to ask you to trust me, but..." he stopped speaking then, contemplating what he was saying and apparently deciding that he didn't deserve even to speak.
The silence thickened and filled the distance between us.
"But?" I provided finally, not really wishing to drag the encounter out longer than neccessary. Wasting time like this was only allowing the chilling sensation in my body to spread. I fought back a shiver and wished I had asked Retasu to leave the teapot behind.
He finished slowly, reluctantly, "But it would be nice if we could cooperate... for now, at the very least."
"Is this a part of your brilliant plan too?" I inquired guardedly. I felt my temper simmering not too far from the surface.
He studied the sky for a moment, uttering a "no" that was barely detectable in the darkness.
"I'm sorry," he added.
"You said that already," I pointed out irritably.
"Yes, I know, but what else can I say at a time like this?"
"A lot of things, but I don't think any of them would make a difference."
"Probably not."
I ran a hand through my hair, so tired that the landscape around me seemed to be warping just enough to make my head spin. "I mean, nothing you can say now will change what's already happened."
"I suppose you're right about that too."
I ducked my head and said finally, "I have a request."
"What is it?"
"Until I can decide what to make of all this, don't disappear again."
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything," he said after a moment. The moon's glow made his skin appear pale and papery. There were shadows playing across his face where wrinkles might be forming, and the night's activities had snuffed out much of the natural glow from his eyes.
I nodded my acceptance, "Good enough."
-- Ch. 11; Act 05 - Wish. (version. Ryou)
The morning came early. I awoke with the knowledge that I had actually managed to doze off at some point. The fire had sacrificed itself to its own ashes sometime after my conversation with him, yet we still ringed it as we went over and modified our plans and drank spring water.
I tried to assure myself that the plan would be carried out without problems while the girls gathered the last of their belongings and Aoyama and Meguro worked to scatter the ashes from the fire and cover all evidence of our camping grounds.
The sun was overhead when we were finally ready, aware that we could be heading into a trap, and even planning on that. Aoyama kept the Mew Ore on his person as we gathered into a circle with Pai and Kisshu flanking us.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked. Around me there was a chorus of silent nods.
"Let's go, then," I said to Pai, who was closest to me. Before I could even gather a full breath, the lighting had dimmed and the cafe dining area blinked into view.
"Nobody seems to be here..." Minto observed in a hushed tone.
"Yup, it's deserted, just the way we left it," Tasuku confirmed somberly.
The room, however, was not as I had left it. Several tables had been shifted about and half a dozen chairs had been knocked over or broken. Clearly there had been some sort of a struggle. My only relief came from the absense of blood or lifeless bodies. They must have been captured alive, or so I willed myself to believe.
It had been just like this, in the dim light of the cafe, the stained glass painting rainbows across the floor and illuminating dust particles in the darkened room, when I had first voiced this wish.
'If only my father was alive. I wish I could have shown this to him.'
Now, in that same pool of colored light, I would discover its consequences.