Chapter 8: Denial
When I wake up, I find my body completely soaked with sweat. It is shaking as well. Images of my nightmare flash across my mind. I am finally able to calm down after a minute or two. It was just a dream. It didn't really happen. I am unsure of myself though, as I have never had a dream as vivid as the one I experienced just now.
The dream was like a scene from a horror film, or rather, more like multiple scenes from multiple horror films. I was forced to watch as the friends, that I have come to know and love, begin to turn on each other. I watched as Keiichi murdered Mion and Rena, and later himself, because he thought that they were trying to kill him. I saw Shion become deranged and murder them all in grotesque ways. Only Rena survived Shion's onslaught. I saw as Keiichi and Rena murder people who I am unfamiliar with. The last thing that I saw was Rika.
In almost every scenario, Rika is killed by some unknown entity. I am always unable to make out her murderer, because they are completely enveloped in shadow. Rika is killed by this person every time, except for once. Shion, was the one to kill her, rather Rika killed herself by repeatedly stabbing herself in the neck, to avoid being tortured to death, by Shion. Every time Rika is killed, I see the school. In the school, lie the bodies of the entire village. I watch as the entire village is shoved into the school, and gassed to death. Those that escape are immediately shot.
My stomach churns from seeing the scenes in my head. I can't understand why I dreamt of such a horrible thing. The main focus seemed to be on Rika though. When I think about it, I feel that Rika's deaths are what are the most important.
I'll have to ask her about it later today.
I look at the clock. It reads, "3:38 A.M." I'm up really early today. I decide not to go back to bed as I am afraid that I will begin dreaming of the murders again. I tell myself that it was just a dream, and that my friends would never do anything like that.
Since I have a while before training, I decide to get up for the day. I put away my futon, and prepare some tea for myself. As the water is heating, I do some stretches to loosen my body up. When the water is heated, I pour myself some tea and drink it. I then wait till it's time for training.
At training Sensei comes up to me.
"I heard that you got some good out of your training the other day."
Remembering the incident with the punks, in town, I reply, "Yeah. They were just a bunch of punks who thought that they could do whatever they wanted. I tried to reason with them, but they didn't listen."
Sensei chuckles a bit. "Perhaps you should have taught them their lesson before they tried anything."
I consider what she said for a second then answer, "No, I think that it is better to try to reason something out before you resort to violence. Only when everything else has failed, should you use violence, and only for defense, at that."
"That is very wise." She replies. "What do you think about the dam war then?"
Her question takes me by surprise. I think about it for a second before answering.
"I know that negotiations weren't working out, so I believe that it was right for the villagers to band together and fight the government. I have just recently come here, but I would have fought the government as well, because I consider this my home. I don't think it was a good thing that the dam worker was murdered though."
"I see Mion has filled you in on what happened." She replies.
"Yes, ma'am."
"It is unfortunate that the damn worker was killed, but it all seemed to work out in the end." She continues.
It seems to me that Sensei wasn't behind the murder. She definitely has the power to have such a thing happen. I am glad though, since it seems that she didn't order this one.
After we finish our talk, we begin training. Today is a martial arts day, so Shinji begins by showing me a technique and then he has me repeat it. After I have learned how to do the technique well, we begin to spar. After being pinned to the floor a third time, Shinji makes a comment on my performance.
"You don't seem to be on the top of your game today."
"I didn't sleep well last night." I reply.
We continue to spar a bit more, till Sensei tells us that training is over for the day. My body is sorer today than it usually is, because I was unable to defend myself as well. I head to the kitchen for some breakfast. Like usual, Mion is there waiting for me. She smiles as I enter and says, "Good morning." I do the same.
"Breakfast is almost ready so, go sit down." She orders.
"Kay." I reply.
I sit down and watch Mion. She finishes in about five minutes and brings me some breakfast. Before I dig in, I say "itadakimasu". When we finish our food, we head off together. We skip the bike, since it's a work week for Mion. We walk together to the school. When we arrive, I am careful not to spring any traps. It seems that the ones, that are set, aren't meant for me, since they are easily spotted, if one is looking for them. I check my chair before sitting, just to make sure. If I start to let my guard down, I'm sure Satoko will take advantage of it. As I sit in my seat, I let out a loud yawn. Rika walks over to me; Hanyuu is right behind her.
"Mii, it seems Mikey is a bit tired today. Did you go to sleep really late last night?" She asks.
Mion appears to be listening, as I can see her turn our way, through the corner of my eye.
"No, I just had a nightmare last night, is all." I reply.
She pats me on the head. "Poor Mikey. Dreams are supposed to be happy. Nipah!"
Mion chimes in.
"At least it was just a dream, right Mike?"
"Yeah, I guess." I reply, still unsure about it.
After a while, Chie-Sensei enters the room. Later, Shion comes in and takes a seat. We greet her as she comes in. We then talk for a bit, but are interrupted by a loud, clanging sound. Moments later Keiichi rushes in.
"Who was it?!?" He roars.
"That would be the "Trap Master" over there." I say, as I point to Satoko.
"You traitor, Micheal-kun!" She bursts out.
I laugh as Keiichi take off after Satoko.
With the morning antics coming to a close, class begins. The lessons today are pretty difficult so I find that I am not able to finish in record time like normal. I am also called to help out so I just barely finish my work, in every subject, before lunch begins. I need to get some sleep tonight. I head over to Rika and tell her I have something to ask her about.
We meet out back. I am starting to think that this is my secret meeting place.
"What did you want to talk about Mikey?" She asks.
"Well actually, it's about my dream last night."
"Your scary nightmare?" She asks.
"Yeah, it was pretty disturbing."
I begin to explain what I saw in my dream and how Rika seemed to be the focus of all of it. She looks stunned. After a couple of seconds she looks at me, smiles really big, and says, "It was just a dream Mikey. There is nothing to be worried about. Nipah!"
I am unsure about her reply. She seemed to know what I was talking about when I was explaining it. As I look at her though, I am convinced that she is not going to tell me about it.
"Alright then, thanks anyways." I begin to head back to class, but then think of something else to add. "If you need someone to talk to, I would be willing to lend you an ear, Rika."
"Mii, I'll keep that in mind Mikey. See you later!"
I turn and head back to the classroom.
"Hau, au. Rika! Why did you say that?!? You know that Mike's nightmare was true!"
"I know Hanyuu!"
Rika stares at the ground. Her feelings are conflicting inside of her. She feels that this boy is special, but she has grown attached to him. He is a part of their group. It's like he's always been there. She doesn't want to involve him in this. She doesn't want to see him get hurt.
"It's best that he doesn't know. I don't want him to be involved in this mess."
"Hau, but Rika! What if he doesn't come with us to the next world? What if this is the only world that Mike will be in? He is different from us. If he dies, then it will probably be all over for him."
Rika's heart is hit with the impact of her friend's words. She begins to break down. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want this new friend to die. She can't ask for his help, because he will be an obstacle for her murderer, and he will be removed. She can't ignore his help, because she knows that he will be killed with the rest of the village after her death. She begins to weep.
"Au, Rika."
Hanyuu goes over to her friend, trying her best to comfort her.
The rest of class goes by quickly. By the time I realize it, class is already over. After waving goodbye to everyone, Mion and I head off to work. As we walk, Mion asks me a question.
"Mike, what was your nightmare about?"
I look down, sadly.
"I'd rather not talk about it. It was just a dream."
She spins herself so she is now standing in front of me. I am forced to stop. She has a sad expression on her face.
"Come on Mike. Don't you trust me?"
I sigh.
"Of course, I trust you. I just really don't want to talk about it right now."
She still has a sad expression on her face. Wanting to make her feel better I compromise with her.
"Tell you what, I'll tell you tonight when we review the day, if you remind me, okay?
She brightens up. Only just a little though.
"Okay."
She returns to my side and we resume walking. The remainder of the day goes normally. After I finish work, Mion and I walk home together. I eat my dinner, take a bath, and I head to her room. We embrace when I enter. Feeling her close to me makes me feel warmth and happiness again. After a minute, we release each other and sit down. I start to tell her about my nightmare. She stares at me with a serious expression the whole time as I explain about every scenario I saw. After I finish she moves closer to me and hugs me. I return her hug.
"It's just a dream, Mike."
"I know it is, but I just can't shake the feeling of how real it was to me."
She looks at me for a second then asks, "You went off with Rika at lunch today. Did you ask her about it?"
"I did. She said the same thing that you said." I reply.
"There you go, Mike. You say that Rika seems to be the focus of the dream, so if anyone would know anything about it, Rika would."
"I guess so." I reply.
I am still unconvinced about it all. I have a feeling that Rika is hiding something from me.
Not like I can force it out of her though. She knows I'm there for her. If she wants my help, she'll ask for it.
We finish up our review of the day. I give Mion a good night hug and kiss and head off to bed. I can only hope that my dreams will be free of murders and death tonight. Sleep begins to take hold, and my mind shuts off, so my body can perform its daily repairs. A smirk appears on my lips as I dream of the antics of our beloved club.
The rest of the week went normally. I did not have any more nightmares about murder or anything like that. I was able to enjoy life as it came. There was one point in the week though, that wasn't quite normal.
Shion had asked me if I could meet with her, after school, one day. It appeared that something was bothering her, so I agreed to meet her. I apologized to Mion, telling her that her sister needed me for something. Her only reply was, "Don't do anything stupid okay? Shion's a sly one." I comfort her by saying, "You can trust me Mion. I don't think that she wants to do something like that. Something's really bothering her." She agreed with me and went on ahead.
After everyone had gone home, I went back into the school to see what was up with Shion. When I entered, I saw her sitting on a desk. Her head was hanging, and it was obvious that she was in a lot of pain.
"I'm jealous of Nee-san." She told me.
"Jealous that she has a boyfriend?" I asked.
"Not exactly."
She begins to tell me about her experience with Satoshi, and how his family was being looked down upon since ever since the dam war. They supported the dam's construction and now are being shunned by the village.
She also told me how she shouldn't even be alive right now.
"There can only be one heir to the Sonozaki family. I was supposed to be strangled to death at birth, but I was shown mercy. I was lucky to even be allowed to move here."
I started to understand her situation. She was an unwanted child, so she was sent away to boarding school, and practically ignored. It would be looked down upon for her to be with Satoshi, because the village had him, and his family, branded as traitors. I also see why she is so jealous of me and Mion.
"Your family wouldn't have a problem with me and Mion being together, because she is the heir."
"Exactly." She replied, as she hung her head even more.
I became angry.
"That's not fair!!!" I yelled.
She looked up in surprise.
"It's not your fault that you were second to come out! The fact that you should have been murdered at birth is ridiculous! Your life has value, just like anybody else's! That's total bullshit!!!"
Shion looked down again, but seemed to feel a bit better as she had a slight smile on her face.
"I'm glad you agree with me, Mike-kun."
I made a promise to her then.
"Shion, when Satoshi comes back, we will go to Sensei and together will fight for your right to be with him. You are a person, just like everybody else. No one can take your right, to love, away."
She began to giggle a little, which then turned into a laugh.
"Mike-kun, think about what you're saying. You want to go against oni-baba. You shouldn't think that she will go easy on you, just because you're her student. She made me rip off three of my fingernails, just to live here, and come to your school, and I'm her granddaughter."
I am reminded of what Shion had to go through.
"Then I will rip my own fingernails off for you; even if I have to do, every, single one of them. I will continue to do it until she sees that you also deserve to be treated like a human being."
She stared at me for a couple of seconds, in complete shock.
"Mike-kun…" After her pause, she continued. "Don't be stupid! You can't do that for me! I'm not Mion; I'm just her sister!"
"I know that you aren't Mion, but you are something to me." I paused before I continued. "You are my friend, Shion. Friends take care of each other and fight for each other. If you tell what you have told me to any of our friends, I'm sure that they would be right behind me, when we go to fight Sensei."
She began to cry. My words touched her. She saw the truth in them. She then ran over and hugged me. I gently return the hug. She whispered in my ear, "Thank you, Mike-kun. Thank you so much." I held her till she was finished crying, then she released her hold on me. She then told me, "I'm so glad that you came here. I've never had a friend as good as you. Mion's so lucky to have you."
I smiled at her and replied, "Yeah, just make sure that when you and Satoshi get married, I get to be the best man."
She stared at me for a second then begins laughing. I began laughing as well. After we got a hold of ourselves she teased, "Nah, I thought that I was going to make Kei-chan be the best man."
"Ah Shion, you're so mean!"
We laughed again. When we were both finished, she turned to me.
"Thanks for hearing what I had to say Mike-kun. I'm really glad that I have you to talk to."
I replied, "No problem. I'm glad that I could be some help."
We then headed our separate ways. Later that day, I explained to Mion what we talked about.
"I see. She's okay now though right?"
"Yeah, I was able to help her out."
"Are you really sure about going to Baa-chan like that? You have no idea how much it hurts to have your nails ripped off like that."
"I'm sure Mion. Shion is my friend. I have to fight for her if she is in need, just like I would fight for any of my friends, if they needed it. No amount of pain can stop me. I wouldn't be much of a man if I wussed out because I was scared of a little pain. Pain is only temporary anyways." I explained.
"I'm just saying; I also ripped three of my nails off, because it wasn't fair for Shion to have to go through that alone. We're twins after all. It was not fun though; not fun at all."
I smiled at her.
"You're a good sister, Mion."
The weekend came and Mion invited me to hang out with her and Rena. Apparently they were going to give Keiichi a tour of the city. I had to decline though, since I told my boss that I could come in and work a little on my day off. I suggested that they stop by, if they were in the neighborhood. Though sad that I wouldn't be able to come, she was happy when I suggested that they visit. When they came in, I asked Keiichi how his tour was going. He told me about where they had gone and how it went. When they were told that they were going to visit me at work, Rena became ecstatic. She wanted to look at all the antiques in the store. Sure enough, I saw her moving from antique to antique going, "Hau, Hau! It's so cute! I want to take it home." At everything she comes across. I explain to her that she has to buy it, if she wants to take it home, or else it's stealing.
It was near time me to head off so I joined them on the rest of their tour. It was around noon so we headed to Mion's place to grab some lunch. She had me help her make lunch, and we pack it in a picnic basket. We then headed back out, to tour Hinamizawa. We set up our lunch at the Furude shrine. Seemingly out of nowhere, Satoko and Rika appeared.
"Mii, looks like they are having a picnic and we weren't invited."
Mion then told them that they could join us.
We all agree, except for Keiichi, who claimed that there wasn't enough for Satoko. As the two began their squabbling, the rest of us began eating. In the end, it turned out to be a very good meal. Even the pieces, that I made, turned out well. After lunch, Mion suggests we have a club meeting. I pointed out that we needed Shion if we were going to have a club meeting, and Keiichi hadn't agreed to join yet. She pouted a little then decided that we were just going to continue the tour. Rika and Satoko, thanked us for the meal, but were unable to join us as they had things to do.
After the tour, we walked Keiichi and Rena home. Mion and I then headed back home, ourselves. We finish the day up with our usual activities and then head to bed.
The only thing special, about the next day, was my appointment with Irie. Mion walked with me to the clinic. I went in to take my x-ray, and then waited till they were ready. He then called me in to take a look.
"There seems to be some abnormal growths in your back." He explained, as he pointed to the two blotches, attached to my spine. "I believe the pain that you are feeling is probably from the growth of these…things."
"Can we remove them?" I asked.
"I don't know. They are attached directly to the spine. The possibility of damaging the spinal cord during the operation may be too great." He explained.
"Is there a chance that these things will kill me?"
"I am also unsure about that. We have no idea what those things are. If you like, you can come back in and we can check on its progress."
I was forced to accept his offer. There was nothing else I could do. We agreed on a time, and I would be coming in, a couple of days after the Watanagashi Festival. I then headed out to let Mion know the news. She nearly broke down right there. I did my best to comfort her.
"We don't know if it's terminal. It's not like I'm going to die from this."
"You don't know that! You said that he couldn't tell what it was. For all you know, you could die tomorrow!"
She was convinced that she was going to lose me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her. I repeated, "I'm right here." Into her ear, until she stopped crying. It was all I could do for her. She was completely right. I could die at any second. I was scared; scared for her, and for myself. I didn't want to lose her anymore than she wanted to lose me.
The next day I decided to tell my friends the truth. Mion was against it at first, but I explained that if I was killed by this thing, I want my friends to know beforehand, instead of being blindsided by it. When I finished explaining, my friends could only stand there, in shock. The first to move was Rika. She walked up to me and hugged me. When she lifted her eyes, I could see tears flowing down her face.
"Don't go Mikey!!!" She yells at me. "We love you too much for you to go!"
The next to embrace me was Satoko. She was followed by Shion. The rest of the gang came to embrace me in a group hug, even Keiichi. They all had tears in their eyes, and were all telling me not to go. I could even see Hanyuu, standing close by. She also appeared to have tears in her eyes.
"Guys, I'm not going anywhere." I tried to comfort them. They cling to me, as if they know that if they let go, I will disappear forever. I am finally able to come up with something to comfort them. "Come on guys. You're starting to make be believe that I'm actually going to die." They released me. "I'm not going to let something like this keep me down. I'm going to fight it."
Mion added her encouragement, as she regains her own strength.
"Mike's right, guys. We need to encourage him on this. We aren't going to let this keep us down."
The club members nodded their heads in agreement.
"You guys can't be any nicer to me, because you think I'm dying or something, okay? I will be seriously mad if I notice you guys treating nicer than usual." They are comforted by my spirit. I then added something, on a whim. "I might just start flipping some desks and throwing chairs."
They all laughed. I smiled as well. I seem to be very good at making my friends laugh in those kind of situations. By the time class is over, everyone has completely recovered. We had our first club meeting with our newest member, Keiichi. We decided to play some "Old Maid". Naturally, Keiichi was singled out, with the rigged playing cards. For his punishment game, we painted his face like a dog, with a sharpie. Rena was all over him, saying how cute he was. He had to restrain her when she threatened to take him home with her. I was glad that everyone was back to normal. The rest of the day was very relaxing.
The remainder of the week went on normally. Keiichi began coming to club every day. Every day, he would be subjected to the punishment game. I was surprised that he showed up every day, but he was a real trooper. He was determined to win against, Shion and Satoko; his biggest opponents.
I was able to use some of my money to take Mion out on another date. We were able enjoyed our time together again. I decided that I would take Mion out, once every week, and save the rest for my other needs. The first thing on my list was a bike, so that I didn't have to keep borrowing Mion's.
Life had become quite the pleasure. I had never had times like this in my old world. I was truly happy here. Nothing could take my joy away. Not even my back could worry me. Everything is perfect.
I find myself on top of the roof, of one of the buildings, near the school. So far I have been completely safe from the zombie apocalypse. Satoko was the first to be infected. She quickly took after Keiichi, who had sacrificed her. Luckily, he was able to escape and find refuge in the tool shed.
While Keiichi hides in the tool shed, Satoko has managed to infect Rika, Mion, and Shion. Though, it seems to me that Mion and Shion are just pretending. If I end up being infected myself, I'll make sure to infect them myself.
I watch as Rika meets up with Rena. Just as she is about to become infected herself, she goes to the tool shed, and begins to beg for Keiichi's help. I chuckle to myself.
That's how to fight dirty
Keiichi is easy prey; he is trapped in the shed; there will be no escape for him. I hear his screams of terror, from the roof, as he is "devoured". A few moments the newly infected zombie leaves the shed along with the other zombies. After falling to the floor in despair, he becomes invigorated, as he seeks his revenge on Rena, for betraying him.
Rika catches sight of Rena as she runs behind the buildings I am hiding on.
Damn it. She might give me away.
She runs to the other side of the building, only to be stopped by Mion and Rika. When she turns around, she finds that she has been cornered. I feel sorry for her. She has been totally backed into a corner. She had it coming though; betraying Keiichi like she did. He begins advancing on her, eager to exact his revenge. Just as he is about to take his revenge, she says, "As long as it's you Keiichi-kun. I'll trust you."
I can barely contain myself. Such an underhanded trick. I never knew Rena could be so cunning. Keiichi is completely paralyzed. Luckily for Rena, his hesitation is just enough for the bell, signaling for class to resume, to ring. She immediately begins jumping for joy as she has survived the apocalypse. Satoko begins scolding Keiichi for hesitating, since she doesn't know why anything about puberty. As she is ranting about his idiocy, Mion announces the winner.
"Alright, the winners of today's game are these four: Rena, Shion, Mike, and Me." She then adds, "Where is Mike anyways?"
There's my cue.
I leap down, from the roof. I perform a front-flip and land in front of the group.
Mion doesn't appear amazed by my grand entrance though.
"That was lame Mike."
I chuckle.
"Mion you're so mean. Everyone else thought it was cool though, right guys?"
They begin taking turns telling me that it lame.
"Thanks guys. Love you too." I reply sarcastically.
I give them a sour expression. Rika gives me a pat on the head.
"It's ok Mikey. I thought that you were cool when you jumped off of the roof. Nipah!"
"Thanks Rika." I give her my honest thanks.
Mion announces that its time for the punishment game to begin. Rika and Satoko are forced to wear maid outfits, while Keiichi is forced to wear a Swan princess outfit. I am enjoying having Keiichi around, since he seems to be the target for the punishment games now. I have found that the amount of times I am forced to do the punishment game has decreased, dramatically.
I tag along as the others walk home. I need to go to work at some point, but I really want to enjoy this while I can. As Rena is going off about how she wants to take Rika and Satoko home with her, Irie comes out of nowhere. He begins spouting off, about how he will follow Satoko and Rika to the ends of the earth, and such. I am unsure if he is thinking through what he's saying, as his words are dancing in the realm of perversion. I am not the only one that thinks so, as Shion and Keiichi make comments about it.
As we are talking, another couple comes up to our group. I examine the two newcomers as they approach. One is a man, with a camera. The other is the nurse from Irie's clinic. I frown as I see her. My feeling of fear and hatred begin to boil back up in me, for no reason.
The two take their time admiring Keiichi's attire. The man is introduced to me as Tomitake. He offers to take Keiichi's photo, but naturally, Keiichi rejects him. Tomitake then explains that he is here to take some pictures of this year's Watanagashi Festival. I am reminded that the time for festival has almost come. Takano then adds that they are also here to see if "the chain of bizarre deaths" will continue this year. I am again reminded about what Mion told me. Each year at the festival; someone dies, and someone else goes missing.
Both Rika and Satoko look down. This is probably not something to discuss in front of these two, as their parents were both subjected to "the curse". Irie appears to be thinking the same, and voices his opinion, after Takano has explained "the chain of bizarre deaths" to Keiichi. She apologizes to Rika and Satoko, but she doesn't appear to be very sorry, at all, to me.
She then turns to me.
"Ah, if it isn't "the boy who appeared from nowhere". It seems that you have been able to adjust to your new life, here in Hinamizawa." Her tone of voice begins to anger me even more. She seems to be mocking me. "It certainly is strange how you just came out of nowhere. Perhaps you are really an alien experiment; sent to earth, to study us."
Everything freezes. I can hardly believe she said that. I stare at the woman in front of me. Her lips appear to be formed into a smile. I seriously want to kill this woman. I use all my effort to calm myself.
"S-sorry. I have to get to work now. Don't want to be late. My boss will whack me on the head if I'm late."
I mount the bike, which I am pushing, and ride off ahead of the group. I come to a small building at the crossroads. I park the bike and punch the building as hard as I can. Blood begins to flow from my fist. Rage flows through my mind.
How dare her! She practically called me an alien, myself! What the hell is wrong with her?!?
My hatred for her seems to have been justified.
At least now I have a reason to actually hate her.
After a minute or two, Mion, Rena, Shion, and Keiichi come running up to me. Rika and Satoko were probably sent home. Mion speaks first.
"Mike, are you okay?" She sees my bleeding hand, and takes it.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." I reply sarcastically.
"That woman; I don't know what got into her, to say something like that." Shion says.
"Yeah, I mean, even if you did come out of nowhere; that doesn't mean that you aren't human." Keiichi adds.
"That was a really rude thing to say to Mike-kun, it was." Rena states.
"Don't take what she says to heart Mike. She's just a stupid woman." Mion tries to comfort me. "We all know that you are human. What she said is just a stupid lie, she made, to make get under your skin."
"Yeah, well she did a good job. I didn't really like her before, but now…"
After a while, my anger finally settles down. Keiichi seems a bit jumpy so I ask what's up. He asks about what Takano was saying earlier; about "the chain of bizarre deaths".
Mion begins explaining what happened in the past. After she finishes, she apologizes to Keiichi for keeping him in the dark, until now. Fortunately, he just laughs it off, and says that everybody has their secrets that they want to keep to themselves.
After everything is sorted out, I head off to work. I'll be a little late today, but I can make up for it over the weekend. When I finish work, I head back to the mansion, perform my nightly tasks, and head off to bed. As I am lying in my futon, getting ready to sleep, I remember what Takano said.
I will never get along with that woman. Never!