Shelf #035

Lory's car arrived in the street outside, drifting skillfully and swiftly to a halt. They all piled into the car inside.

"If anyone and anything gets in our way –– we have small nuclear devices," Lory said, quickly fastening his seat belt.

"And we intend to use them however we please!" Max added.

"Everyone inside?" Lory called out. He started the engine.

For a few moments Max checked all the passengers and noticed someone missing.

"Wait– where the hell's Bella?" Max said.

"She's not coming," Honey pointed out. Max quickly opened the door on his side.

"Sod that. Spike –– in the back!" he shouted. He shot out of the car, rushed round and grabbed Bella out of her wheelchair.

"No, no Max–– I'm fine!" Bella protested. "I'm fine you guys go."

But Max ignored her completely. Carrying her in his arms, he kissed his wife.

"Come, on babe. Let's go and get neesan!"

A few minutes later, Lory's car was shooting up Kanshi-kan Crescent. Everyone inside the car were anxious to get to the destination right away.

"Where the heck are you going?" Bella asked, gripping her seat belt at Lory's front passenger side.

"East toward Route 50 Prefectural Road, then 29, then 187," Lory muttered. The car swiftly drifted on the road, going to Route 50.

"Crazy. Head south. . ." Bella quipped.

"That's right –– then 129," Honey added from the back, beside Kuu. Max's head popped behind Lory.

"–Or you could go right down to Higashiyama Marutamachi Intersection, head left at Higashiyama Sanjo and stay at 143," he blurted.

"NO–!" shouted the rest in unison.

Suddenly the car slammed to a quick halt. Everyone were pushed forward from their seats.

"Stop right there! Stop–!" Lory snapped out loud. He breathed heavily to his temper that rose incredibly high. A nerve popped at the side of his forehead.

"I will decide the route–! All right? DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"

"Yeah– All right. ." the rest replied politely.

". . . Sorry Lory," Max said tenderly.

Lory stepped on the clutch and pushed his hand to third gear.

"James Bond and Fujiwara Takumi never has to put up with this sort of shit," Lory murmured.

The car went as Lory had suggested first. After staying onto Route 143, the car turned illegally right across the road of Higashiyama Sanjo the wrong way down a one-way street and ended up outside the Westin Fuwa Hotel.

Kuu darted out from the back side of the car, slammed the door and sprinted straight into the hotel.

"Max! Quick- take over the driver's seat!" Lory shouted as he got out of his car and shot at the road, following Kuu.

"Right–!" Max replied, hurrying inside the driver's seat and shut the door. "Everyone fasten your seatbelt! We'll go to the parking side!"

Max quickly drifted out of the wrong way behind Kuu and Lory, who were illegally crossing the other side of the road, rushing past running cars, swiftly avoided them.

"Haha! Bloody hell, Kuu– this is fun!" Lory exclaimed, adrenaline rushing all over his body.

Kuu and Lory finally arrived at the hotel and darted across the lobby, straight to the reception desk.

"Is Miss Scott staying here?" Kuu asked, catching his breath. Lory bowed to his knees, clutching the stitch on his waist.

It was the same man who also answered Kuu's phonecall and showed him the way to Julie's suite. The receptionist shook his head calmly.

"No, sir. Not here," the Westin Fuwa man answered.

"How about Tsuruga Ren?" Kuu tried.

"No, sir."

"Miss Mogami Kyoko?"

"No, sir."

"Or Mrs. Tsuruga. . . Or, I don't know– Cinderella or Belle?"

The receptionist shook his head.

"No, sir."

Kuu blinked and tried again, this time all the Disney Princesses.

"How about Aurora–?"

"No, sir."

"–or Miss Snow White–"

"–What the fuck's all that password for, Kuu!" Lory complained in fury.

"–No, sir."

"–Ariel? Jasmine?"

"No, sir."

Then Kuu tried to remember other Skip Beat! characters.

"–How about Kanae then?"

The receptionist shook his head.

". .No–? Well, Mimori –– Mio–? Natsu–? Setsuka? Muramase?"

All the answers yet the receptionist still shook his head.

"No, sir," he said.

Kuu gave up.

"Right. . Right. Fair enough," Kuu said. "Thanks, though."

He bowed and turned back towards the lobby, completely despondent. He took two steps when the Westin Fuwa Man stopped him in his tracks.

"There was a certain 'Miss Mogami Kyoko' in room 126. . ."

Stunned, Kuu turned back to the receptionist. The Westin Fuwa Man smiled calmly.

"–– but she checked out an hour ago, sir," he continued. "I believe she's holding a press conference right now at The Kyoto Hearton before flying to America."

There were no words to express how deeply grateful Kuu was right now. Smiling broadly, Kuu jumped from the desk and kissed the Westin Man's cheek. Lory also felt very grateful. He followed suit and kissed the receptionist too.

"We have lift off!" Lory said, beaming.

Kuu and Lory were gone, and a male Indian guest assumed this was the Japanese way to behave and the Westin Fuwa receptionist got kissed a third time.

"Hi. Is Mahavir Akbar Acharya here?" the Indian asked.

The car sped through Kyoto, going Okazaki Intersection. It got totally stuck at a junction where it was completely impossible for any one to get through traffic. No one will let them in.

Spike moved from the baggage side of the hatchback.

"Bugger this for a bunch of bananas," he murmured.

Spike quickly got out of the car and boldly stopped the traffic coming in the opposite direction. Lory's car shot out of the road and went past him.

"Go go go!" Spike roared, moving his hand in the air.

The car left him behind, and Honey –– deeply touched and excited, leaned out the window and shouted out loud. . .

"You're my hero! I love you!"

She threw him a kiss in the air, and Spike waved wildly –– finally losing concentration and was very nearly hit by a car.

Finally they pulled to a stop in front of the Kyoto Hearton Hotel. Kuu leaped out and shot to the entrance.

"Go go go–!" Max called out.

"Go get her!" Lory added.

Kuu entered the gold, revolving doors and rushed up to the main desk.

"Excuse me– where's the press conference?" Kuu asked, breathing heavily.

"Are you an accredited member of the press, sir?" the man of Hearton said.

"Yes. . ."

Kuu grabbed the wallet from his pocket and picked one out. He flashed a card by a second and placed it back.

"That's a Blockbuster video membership card, sir," the receptionist said, amazingly noticed with sharp eyes.

"That's right. . . I work for their in-house magazine," Kuu said. He mimed quotation marks in the air. 'Movies are our business.'

The receptionist shook his head. "I'm sorry sir. . ."

Honey shot into the lobby, pushing Bella's chair.

"He's with me," Bella spoke strictly. Her sharp eyes pierced straight at the receptionist.

". . .And you are?" the man at Hearton said.

Without blinking, Bella blurted furiously fast.

"Writing an article about how Japan hotels treat people in wheelchairs."

Sadly, the receptionist's ears were not as sharp as his eyes. He blinked in amazement.

"O-of course, m-madam," the receptionist said. He bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, it's in the Lancaster Room. I'm afraid you're very late."

Honey turned to Kuu.

"Run Onii-sama! You can still make it– go!"

Kuu started to rush across the lobby. He ran and ran, searching. He found a glass door, pulled it yet it was stuck. He shot towards the corridor and into a corner. There was a flight of stairs and he went up, missing two to three steps. At long last, he found the only door at the far end of a corridor. There was a silver script on a black sign on top of it.

LANCASTER ROOM

Kuu ran towards it, reached the two levers, and pulled the doors. True enough, a conference was going on. Carefully, Kuu entered inside.

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