Eru walked slowly into her room then sat heavily on her bed. The day's events had been very long and frankly, very tiring. But in the end, she never did learn what Hotarou's intent for going out to Mars was. She only remembered him having some kind of sack, but its contents were never discussed. She rolled on her back and pulled the life-size doll from under the covers and replaced it back in the closet.
She changed into an airy evening dress then went out on her balcony. She could see the stars and breathed in the cool fresh air of the night. She sat on a chair and closed her eyes. Technically she had been gone for two days, or to her servants, sick for two days. Her lids were heavy, but she wanted to do some research on something before she went to bed. She tapped the chair's arm twice. A little cylinder popped out of the arm. She pulled the cylinder apart like a scroll to reveal a digital screen, green in color. Eru wiped her hand across the surface, turning the screen a pastel purple.
She typed in a subject on the search bar and instantly a list of products appeared as holograms. She swept her hand through them until she found something that looked promising.
"Hair dye…" she read to herself. "For those with extremely dark hair. Not recommended for those of higher status." But are not those of higher status usually those who have darker hair? she pondered. "Details: apply as liquid to roots or hair leave to set for 5 minutes then rinse immediately. Warnings: strips hair of color for 5 weeks. May cause hair to thin. May cause burning or peeling of the scalp." All that just to dye your hair? That is rather bothersome. Oh well, may as well order it.
She pressed the purchase button on the screen and a little box popped up. "How many would you like?" asked a little robotic voice. Eru thought for a moment.
"Twelve please."
"That request has been denied, Eru Chitanda."
Eru started a little. "Why?"
"Not specified."
"Oh, well then, what is my limit?"
"This product is off-limits to Eru Chitanda."
Eru was slightly offended, but mostly curious about why she wasn't allowed to buy that product. I'll have to ask Oreki about it tomorrow…she noted to herself. "Thank you anyway. Good evening." She closed the cylinder and snapped it shut then replaced back in the arm of the chair.
She walked inside and lay down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling thinking about life. With her parents still gone, the house was very quiet and she felt a little lonely. She turned and opened a drawer on her dresser. She pulled out an old cassette player and with it a set of headphones. She took a bag full of cassette tapes and found one that she hadn't listened to for a while. She pressed play then reclined against her pillows and closed her eyes.
"My dearest Eru, I miss seeing your smiling face every morning end even though it has only been two weeks I wish I could return to you. I hope to do so soon, but I am a bit tied up at the moment.
"I am on Pluto exploring the place and scouting for…well nothing that you should really worry about. My apprentice is quite the fast learner; I hope that you could meet him too. I think you may have met once before, many years ago, but I doubt that you will remember him. He would not be able to remember you; he was so young as well. His sister is also a good friend of mine. I want you to meet her someday as well.
"You should really see Pluto. It is spectacular, albeit, a little barren, but the views from the surface are exquisite! You should see it as the sun sets at some point. I think you would love it! There is hot springs here as well, but not natural ones sadly enough. But they often remind me of Earth with how hospitable the people are. Out here they don't see many others because no one seems to want to a cold place out in the far reaches of the galaxy.
"They do not have much money and I think this is the closest any one will see of a legal middle class. Talking with the people here, they are content as they are because they have hope. 'Hope of what?' you may ask. Well, these people believe that there is a planet inside of the galaxy that the Organization cannot touch. Anyone who ventures out to find it, though, has never returned and no trace of them is ever found. It is a frightening idea, but I wonder if it may be true…
"Enough of that. I hope you are having a lovely time on Dione and that you are paying close attention to your studies. Make sure to thank the servants every day for their service. With great love, your uncle."
Hotarou sat outside with a lamp hung just over where he was working. The night was cool, but at least it wasn't raining or snowing. He had almost finished the interior welding, the shell having already been built and simply taken from a junkyard that an acquaintance by the name of Nakajou owned. He still hadn't put a door on, and was regretting it when he suddenly heard footsteps. Hotarou shut off the light then froze in place, hardly breathing.
The footsteps echoed as the person walked up the steps then stopped as a figure leaned in the doorway. "Whoa! I didn't know you were an engineer!" cried an all-too-familiar voice.
"Sis?"
"The one and only!"
"I thought you were out leading a gang or organized crime or something."
"Nah, I dumped that gig a long time ago!"
Really now? Hotarou sighed, turning on his light to continue working,"So what do you want?"
"Just stopping in to check on my little brother!"
"I'd prefer if you didn't."
"Aw, don't be mean. I know you missed me!"
"As if. Keep dreaming, Sis," he replied as his sister approached him. She squatted down next to him and examined his work.
"You're pretty good at this aren't you?" she joked, tussling her little brother's hair.
"Stop," Hotarou said curtly, jerking his head away. His sister giggled.
Tomoe Oreki was Hotarou's blood-related sister. Yes, Hotarou went into an orphanage, but not with his sister. Tomoe, when she was about 7, was actually kidnapped by a group of 'dealers'. No one really knows who they were, not even Tomoe, but she was raised by them and because of this she really has been a 'free-spirit' for lack of a better term.
To give a brief explanation of whom 'dealers' were an observation of their activities and who they are should suffice. In general these people did what one would think the name 'dealer' should imply-they made deals. The majority are drug deals for the rich and the poor who just aren't completely happy (sometimes this happens-the system isn't flawless). Sometimes, but very rarely, they deal with things other than drugs, like children such as Tomoe, but in the end they generally end up taking care of the kids and adopting them or returning them back to their parents after some money is offered. The majority are poor folk, and once in a while a rich person looking for excitement, who often are orphans and think outside of the system. In short, they are the unspoken and illegal middle class.
The particular group that abducted Tomoe was a group of young rapscallions just looking for extra cash. But when they had gone and taken her, they realized that she didn't have parents to come after her. So, those urchins who obeyed a woman whose name was 'Suzie,' took on Tomoe as a sister. And Tomoe became Suzie's 'daughter.' Such is the story of Tomoe (and through a series of events she found Hotarou, much to his dismay, but that's for another time).
"So what are you here for anyway?" Hotarou grumbled as he finished.
"Like I said, I'm here to visit. Bounty's been kind of slow lately so I thought I'd stop by!" This is another point to understand. After growing up, Tomoe decided that a life of crime isn't really her thing and so became a sort of 'bounty hunter' who looks for the worst of the worst criminal scum. And because of her links in the 'middle class' she was a pretty efficient at her job. Of course she rarely ever meddled in the affairs of the group that raised her, especially as they were truly a harmless group. "But I do have something you might be interested in."
"Hmm?" Hotarou sighed irritably. Tomoe turned and tossed him a bag that he didn't remember her having in her hand. He shifted it in his hands trying to figure out what it was. "What is it?"
"Well open it and out!" Tomoe grinned from the shadows.
He glanced sharply at his sister then slowly pulled apart the opening and stuck his hand in the bag. Pulling his hand out he found an old tape. "What are these?"
"Cassette tapes silly!"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "I know what a cassette tape is, but what are they supposed to have on them? You don't find these laying everywhere anymore."
Tomoe shrugged, still with a smile on her face. Hotarou figured she knew what was on them, but wouldn't tell him.
"I've been looking for those for a long time!" she explained as she walked towards the exit. "I enjoyed listening to them, I thought you might too."
Hotarou sighed in response. "You'll thank me later," Tomoe said with a wave of the hand. "I'm going to take a bath!"
"Clean the tub after you're done," Hotarou called after her waving his hand in dismissal. He set the bag aside then turned back to his work. But he couldn't pull his mind off of its contents. After struggling against himself for a bit he relented and put his things away.
He took the sack back to his room and rummaged around until he found an old tape player. He blew the dust out then pulled one of the tapes out and clicked it into the player. He listened for a while to the tape.
"…I've done a lot of research over the years and have found that the further away people are from the Sun the friendlier they are. I guess it's like the old saying goes "cold hands, warm heart. Hahaha.
"…You'll have to tell me some of your stories, Tomoe, about Suzie. I heard she's actually from Earth, but looks more American than African…
"…It bothers me that plants grow so strangely on other planets and moons due to gravity. But what really fascinates me is how in the world science has advanced enough to go into the far reaches of space and build new homes. Why would they want to face that challenge anyway? If even one tiny thing goes wrong BAM! The entire population is dead! Am I right? But it's thoughts like that that keep me so interested in science…
"I found a cat the other day, and guess what I named it? Tomoe. After you, my dear! I know you like cats because they are so independent. I tend to think that if ever you were an animal you'd either be a cat or a fox. But I like cats better than foxes, so I think you'd be a cat…"
Hotarou sighed grumpily as the second tape ended. There was no specific order to the recorded sessions, some were complete and some cut off like the tape had been cut. Worse of all it sounded like it was some guys love tapes to his sister. And frankly with all the talk about his sister and strange things this man thought science was, bored him to tears. He decided that he would go to bed, having stayed up late enough for his own liking. But as he began to pack up he noticed a disc with a green label that read "To H.O." on it. He paused and looked at it. It was the only disk in the batch. For something like a CD to last this long even after they were no longer produced surprised him. It looked slightly scratched, but playable. He found a disc player among his things and synced it with an old television set. He pressed play then sat back to watch.
Mountains of black and silver ice glimmered in the background, but it was obvious that they were outside of some transparent wall. They person recording was on the edge of the dome of a city, but which, he couldn't tell. A person appeared, on older man who was going bald but still had some black hair. He wore a thick leather jacket and pants both of which were well-worn and had a kind, but slightly sad smile.
"March 29, 20-, I'm here with you, my boy. I hope you're watching this!"
Hotarou's eyes widened. It was his old mentor. He was the one who made those tapes?!
A small girl crawled out in front of the camera, followed by another, slightly older boy. The girl had surprisingly long black hair for a little girl her age and the little boy had short, but messy hair.
"Can you two smile and wave to the camera?" the man's voice said as he gestured to them.
The two turned and smiled. The little girl had chubby, rosy cheeks and clear, big violet eyes. She smiled a wide joyful grin in full face of the camera. The little boy glanced, or rather glared with his green eyes, at the camera then looked away.
"Come on, Hotarou! Smile!" coaxed a woman's voice from behind the camera. "Let us see your pretty smile!" the little boy turned away even further and refused to make eye-contact. The woman came from behind the camera toward the children; she was clad in a light pink and yellow dress with a diamond-studded belt at the waist and jet black hair that was loose. Close behind her was a girl with slightly darker hair also in a light dress, but one that came in array of colors. "Tomoe, can you make him smile?"
The girl nodded with a big smile herself then moved toward the little boy grabbing him around the stomach and tickling him. And to the boy's distaste, he began laughing and smiling. "Stop! Stop!" he gasped beaming from ear to ear. The girl released him and gave him a kiss on his forehead. The girl then scooped up the smaller child in her arms and cradled her. The boy crawled over and sat next to her.
"Can I hold her?" he asked quietly. The older girl nodded and gently handed him the baby.
"Be careful," the woman said patiently as he tried to adjust her in a comfortable manner. The little boy stared in amazement at the little creature he held in his arms. The baby reached up and grabbed his finger and brought it close to her face. The boy turned and looked at the woman.
"I do not like babies, they are weird." The woman laughed and took the little girl from him and handed her to the man.
The clip then cut out and was black for a moment. Hotarou sat in shock, trying to understand, and recall, this event. Then the camera flashed back on, but it was a while later.
"Hotarou, when you get this I'm sure you'll be older than you are now." It was the man again, but he looked aged and wearied. The background was dark and only the outline of another celestial orb could be seen.
"I hope that you are well at this time. There are many things I wish I could still tell you, but I don't have the time. This clip may be attached to another with a little girl with purple eyes. If you ever find her, protect her. I feel like you two are bound to find each other again for she is a curious girl and you and intelligent enough to figure out her questions.
"Times may become pressed for you, but keep moving forward. You don't always need an exact goal and often you will need to decide things as you go. But Hotarou, you are a smart boy with good friends that I have seen and known. I know you think now that friends are not important, but you may find that to be a mistake in your logic later on.
"If there ever is a time where you are pressed to leave your home, go toward 'Tanomi no Tsuna'. You will learn where that is as you go. Be wary, Hotarou. But have hope."
Hotarou felt his chest tighten up and his eyes begin to sting, but a smile crossed his lips and a sigh of relief escaped him.
Thanks, Sis. He whispered mentally. And it's good to see you again, Teacher.