Chapter 5: Admissions and Accusations

It was morning. Inaba ate her eggs benedict in silence. Iori's mother, Reika Nagase, had insisted that Inaba stay the night. At first Inaba politely declined her gracious offer. Then she realized that she had literally nowhere else to go. She couldn't go crawling back to her father, and she certainly wasn't going back to Taichi. And she had no money, no cellphone, and no ID. And Heartseed was probably still lurking around out there, although she couldn't see anything from the front window.

So she acquiesced and slept in Iori's old bedroom overnight.

After breakfast was over, Mrs. Nagase arose to begin cleaning the kitchen. Inaba jumped up to assist her. Her hostess smiled at the homeless bride. "Oh, thank you. My, you are so quick to help. You really do remind me of Iori."

Inaba understood. It was because Iori had always molded herself to fit into any situation. At home she was always quick to help her mother, always the perfect helpmate. At school she was the cheerful girl that everyone liked. With her step-fathers she was always subservient and obedient.

She was always wearing the mask.

The previous night Inaba had helped Iori's mother clean up the mess on the floor from her dropped teacup. It happened after the stunning revelation that the woman she was babbling in front of for 20 minutes was not in fact Iori.

Mrs. Nagase had apologized to Inaba for not revealing the fact sooner. She had explained that at first she did not recognize who Inaba actually was, having only seen her a few times several years prior. Then through the window of the front door she spied the ripped wedding dress and decided to admit the strange panicky bride into her home. It took several minutes of listening to Inaba's non-stop babble before she realized who her visitor actually was.

After the revelation and the cleanup, Inaba bowed with endless apologies and turned to leave, but then she realized that she had nowhere else to go. So she agreed to stay the night.

Iori's mother had some questions for her new guest. The first question was about this 'Heartseed' character. Who was he? Inaba's response was evasive. She explained that he was a stalker who had harassed them all in high school. The answer seemed sufficient, and it made Mrs. Nagase all the more determined to keep her as a guest for the night.

She then asked how her other friends were doing. Inaba explained that as far as she knew Aoki was still in prison, and there was no change in Yui Kiriyama's status at the long-term care facility. She was still in a coma.

Mrs. Nagase tsk-tsked as she recalled the terrible incident in her mind.

What she did not know was that it was the stress of that awful event that had indirectly led to the falling-out between Iori and Inaba. Each blamed the other for not catching it sooner, that it could have been prevented if they had only been more watchful, if they had only paid attention to the signs. Taichi also blamed himself, of course. They all blamed themselves and each other. Aoki blamed himself most of all.

Mrs. Nagase reflected on the incident while drinking her tea. "It was such a shame that your nakama broke up. Iori was never the same after that."

Inaba tilted her head, "Nakama?"

"I'm sorry. Have you not heard the term before?"

Inaba shook her head.

"The term literally means 'friends' or 'companions'. Colloquially it refers to a very tight-knit group of friends who, through their shared experiences, have forged bonds that make them closer than family."

Inaba smiled inwardly. Closer than family? Were they that close? Yes, we were. They had learned each other's innermost secrets, faults, and desires. Because of Heartseed they knew more about each other's secrets than even between a husband and wife or between a parent and child.

And they survived the experience.

Forged bonds, indeed.

Mrs. Nagase went on. "That was certainly true in Iori's case. I have to admit that she and I were never close. I thought we were, but Iori later told me it was just her mask, that I never really knew the 'real' Iori at all."

Now it was Mrs. Nagase's turn to look down. "And perhaps she was right."

Inaba leaned forward in earnest. "I'm certain she loved you. I know she did, and I'm certain she still does."

The older lady smiled. "Oh you are right, she did love me and still does. But there was always a separation between us. She was always keeping her distance from me. I blame myself for not realizing it sooner."

Inaba recalled the confrontation that she and her friends had with Mrs. Nagase's abusive second ex-husband when he attempted to return. Together they gave Iori's mother the strength and support to throw the bum out for good.

Mrs. Nagase nodded. "Yes, after you helped me get rid of him I ended my serial relationships. Iori changed as well. I had no idea that she was so unhappy or that she had such low self-esteem."

Inaba put down her cup. "May I ask, where is Iori now?"

Her mother looked down again. "She's living with a man. Not a good man. I worry about her. I hardly ever see her."

Inaba's eyes narrowed. Low self-esteem.. living with a bad man.. uh oh..

She knew that daughters often relived their mothers' lives. Her mind raced in thought. Oh no.. She is living in an abusive relationship just like her mother..

Then her eyes widened in guilt. And it's all my fault.

She knew what she had to do.

"Mrs. Nagase, do you know exactly where Iori is living right now? The address?"

"Why, certainly."

Goru jumped when he heard the knock on the door to his run-down public-housing unit. It wasn't the coded knock. He grabbed his weapon then looked through the peephole. It was some young chick with messy dark hair. He opened the mailslot an inch. "Whatcha want!?" The door was reinforced with steel.

The strange girl bent down and spoke through the mailslot, "I'm here to see Iori Nagase. I'm a friend of hers. I know she lives here."

Dammit, that girl knew better than to invite her friends here! "Iori, you stupid cow! I told you a million times, ain't nobody comes here without my say-so!"

There was a voice in back. "Who is it?"

He scowled at the mailslot. "What's yer name?"

Inaba throught for a moment. "Tell her that Dereban is here."

"It's Dereban! Tell her to get lost!"

There was a pause. A girl quickly came out of the back room. "It's okay, Goru. I know her. She's safe."

"I don't care. Tell her to go away."

"She's an old friend. Just give me a few minutes, okay?"

"You have two."

Iori opened the door and made a sardonic smile. "You know, I could have made a list of fifty people who could have knocked on that door just now, and your name would not have been on that list."

Inaba put her hand behind her head. "Uh, yeah. I'm sorry. Can I come in?"

"Uh, no, sorry. House rules. I'll come out instead."

Iori came out into the light.

Inaba gasped.

She was gaunt, with sallow eyes. Her face was that of a person who was utterly defeated. There was a faded bruise over her left eye and what looked like fresh bruises on her wrists.

I was right.

Inaba checked her over quickly. Was she using? Hmm. No needle marks. No rotted teeth. No bad breath. Maybe she's okay.

"Why are you here?"

Inaba decided to distract her. "Heartseed is back."

"What? You're kidding."

"No. He's back. We're all in danger."

Iori made an odd grin. "Really now. So he thinks you and I are 'interesting' again? You maybe. Not me. I'm definitely not interesting. I'm a nobody."

Inaba's face was a strange mixture of heartbreak, concern, regret, and determination.

She chuckled. "You know, I can't believe what I am about to do."

Iori raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"I've turned into Taichi. I am going to act just like that stupid impulsive idiot..."

"Inaban?"

"... and rescue you."

She grabbed Iori's wrist and dragged her down the stairs and into the street.

Goru yelled, "Hey!"

He took a few steps out into the sunlight, then looked around nervously. He would not leave the safety of his lair. The spider would not leave its web. He then yelled at the retreating pair, "Iori! Get your sorry ass back here! Or so help me I'll whup it 'til there's no skin left on it!"

Iori paused. Inaba yanked her arm. The pair kept moving away.

"I'll track you down, you [bleep]!" He slammed shut the steel door.

Iori didn't resist Inaba's forced march. Instead she was rather bemused at being dragged down the street by her former rival. "And what do I owe the pleasure of this little kidnapping?"

Inaba stopped. Ugh. Where do we go now? I can't take her to her mother's place. That bastard knows the address. "Uh, do you have a cell?"

Iori gave her a sad look. "Wow. You haven't thought this through at all, have you? You're right, Taichi must be rubbing off on you. Here you go." She gave Inaba her cellphone.

Inaba dialed the hotel - not the room, the front desk. She asked if the suite was still occupied. It was. Two occupants. Wait, two? No matter.

Iori took another look at her former rival, a person she had not seen in three years. "You look good. Hey, why are you wearing one of my Mom's old dresses?" She recognized the repair work on the sleeve.

"Uhm, your Mom loaned it to me. And enough money for bus fare."

"Wow, I didn't know your father's business was doing so badly."

"Very funny."

Inaba sighed. She knew her options were limited. Okay, Taichi, I'm coming back. But you are still in the doghouse.

"C'mon, let's go."

Four hours earlier

Taichi blinked his eyes at the morning sun that was now streaming in from the huge french windows in the suite's bedroom. He yawned and put on his bathrobe. He put a K-cup in the Krups machine and waited for the coffee to fill his mug. He then walked out through the french windows to gaze at the magnificent view of the city skyline and the surrounding environs.

He realized that they had failed to close the curtains overnight. Oh well. It's not like there was anything for anyone to see in here anyway.

After admiring the view he came back inside. Then he walked around the enormous bed and kicked Aoki's still slumbering form. He was snoring loudly. "Wake up, bozo. It's morning."

Originally they were going to play rock-paper-scissors to see who was going to be exiled to sleep on the couch. But they were both too tired to really care, and the bed was so big that it really wasn't necessary. Aoki could have been sleeping in another room given the distance between them.

Aoki yawned and blinked his eyes in the sunlight. He sat up and started to rub his fingers across his teeth. "Hey, you got an extra toothbrush?"

"Check the bathroom." Taichi then noticed in the mirror that his hair was sticking up in crazy angles. "I need it too, so hurry up."

Aoki, who was wearing Hawaiian-style boxers, slowly shuffled into the bathroom. Meanwhile Taichi watched him from behind. He was still shaking his head.

It was because Aoki, the wimpiest of the five members of the StuCS, the one who was afraid of his own shadow, the one who was so terrible at sports, was now ripped. With the Hawaiian shorts, his toned arms, and his powerful legs, he looked like a champion surfer just walking off Waikiki Beach.

The previous night Aoki had explained it rather succinctly: "When you are in prison there is not much else to do besides work out." Taichi shrugged. It made sense.

Taichi knew Aoki wasn't a bookworm. Indeed, he barely graduated on time from Yamaboshi Academy with the rest of his class. College for him was out of the question.

After high school, Aoki had landed a job as a sanitation engineer. He often cited his job title with pride, saying "I'm an engineer!" The job paid rather well given the type of work that was involved. It was because Japan was a country that prided itself on cleanliness and tidiness. On his route he drove an advanced refuse-collection truck that sported an enormous robotic claw for picking up trash containers and dumpster bins. He was quite deft at quickly grabbing and flipping the containers into the truck, making the best use of his excellent eye-hand coordination from a lifetime of playing video games.

Meanwhile, Yui Kiriyama had enrolled in the local community college to study criminal law. She said she wanted to become a police officer. She aspired to eventually work her way up to becoming a police detective. Yui was again doing advanced karate training at the local dojo while also leading her own training class for young inexperienced female white-belts. In her class she emphasized defense and self-protection.

But soon all that would come to an end.

It was because her life had effectively ended only six months after her graduation.

Her life was over.

Taichi drank his coffee as he checked the call log on his cellphone. No calls had come in during the night. Again he debated whether to call Inaba's father. Again he decided to wait to give her the opportunity to call first. That was always the best way. Inaba operated on own her schedule, her own rhythm. He knew it was never wise to try to rush her.

Still, he was concerned for the well-being of his new wife, particularly after what Rina had told him. But he knew that Inaba was a smart woman who was very resourceful and fiercely independent. She knew how to take care of herself.

He decided he would wait. He didn't want to leave the suite in case she returned unexpectedly.

A few hours later he was watching the TV again.

Meanwhile, Aoki was exploring the opulent accommodations and poking his head into its various nooks and crannies.

He was slowly working his way through the kitchenette area and opening various cabinets. He opened an upper cabinet and noticed with appreciation various fine wine glasses, champagne glasses, and water goblets.

Then he opened another cabinet. He raised an eyebrow. Its contents were clearly not provided by the hotel. He started to dig through the items he found.

He yelled, "Hey, Taichi?"

He was in the next room. He yelled back, "Yeah, what?"

"Does your wife have a red cellphone and a black purse?"

"Uh, yeah..?"

"Well, I found them."

Taichi jumped up and ran to the kitchenette. Aoki had pulled out Inaba's purse. Taichi opened it and confirmed that it contained her ID, driver's license, checkbook, credit cards, everything.

He shook his head. "How could she leave everything behind like that?"

Aoki gave him a sad look. "Dude, a wedding dress doesn't have pockets."

Taichi eyes grew wide as the awareness of the situation began to hit him. Aoki crossed his arms. "Your wife is running around out there in a wedding dress with no money, no phone, and no ID. That's not good. She has even fewer belongings than I did when I got kicked out of prison."

Taichi tried to head to the door, but Aoki held him back. "Wait! Do you even know where you are going? You gotta think first."

"Uh.. but.. she's in trouble! I have to help her!"

Then, as if on cue, there was a knock at the door. The two men stared at each other.

Aoki shrugged. Taichi frowned. It was too early for Inaba to come back. She hadn't tried to contact him. He was always the one who rescued her and brought her back. This wasn't part of the normal pattern.

Taichi went to the door and cautiously opened it.

It was Inaba. She was no longer wearing the wedding dress.

And standing next to her was another girl.

It was Iori.

Inaba gave the pixie girl a gentle but firm push into the suite. She didn't resist. Then Inaba glared at her new husband. The communication was silent but very clear. Taichi, this isn't over. But we have more important things to deal with right now.

Taichi fumbled the introductions with the unexpected guest, "Uh, hey, hi Iori. Wow, I didn't expect to see you here. C'mon in."

She took a few steps into the suite then looked around. "Hmm. This is pretty lavish."

Inaba walked past him into the room while glaring at him.

Taichi flapped his arms. He gave up trying to figure out what was going on. So instead he just started acting like a host. After all, what else could he do?

"Please, all of you, sit down. Make yourself at home."

Iori looked around. "Nice. This looks like a honeymoon suite."

"It is."

"So who got married?"

"Uh.." Taichi was totally lost. Why did Inaba drag Iori here? And how could she not know they were married? Although the two women had their falling out, he thought for sure that they had mailed her a wedding invitation out of common courtesy if nothing else. Did she not receive it? Or did Inaba remove it from the pile?

Aoki was standing close to Taichi. Iori looked at the pair and giggled. "You two, right?"

Taichi turned to look at Aoki. "Huh? Us? Wait, no!"

That got a chuckle even out of Inaba.

Taichi was flustered. "You got it all wrong! Inaba and I were married yesterday."

Iori then turned. "Inaban, so let me get this straight. You got married yesterday and then, instead of spending your wedding night with your new husband, you go visit my mother for god-knows-what reason. And from there you kidnap me and drag me back to your honeymoon suite? Have I got that right?"

"Uhm.."

"You want an audience or something? You want me and Aoki to cheer you on as you two go at it? Gosh, Inaban, that's pretty twisted, even for you."

"No! Of course not!"

Iori's face was stern. She looked nothing like the cheerful and happy-go-lucky girl of their youth.

The mask was long gone.

"Then tell me, what is going on?"

She studied Inaba's face. Then she looked at Taichi's helpless confusion. Her eyes were sweeping back and forth between the two of them.

"Ah. I think I see it."

She took a step towards Inaba.

"Inaban, I have a question. Do you love him?"

Inaba took a step back. "What?"

Iori took another step forward. "I asked you a simple question. Do you love him?"

Aoki grew alarmed. He tried to intervene in his usual ham-handed way, "Now ladies, let's all calm down here.." He approached Iori.

She shoved him back. Hard. The force shocked the others.

Meanwhile Inaba was backing away from her accuser.

"Inaban! I asked you a simple question! Answer it! DO YOU LOVE HIM?"

There was silence.

She looked down. "I don't know.."

Iori's face was fierce. "Then what the [bleep] are you doing? If you don't know, why did you marry him?"

Inaba looked at all of them in confusion, as if pleading for the answer in their faces. She couldn't find it.

"I.. I.. don't know! I don't know!"

Then she turned and fled the suite.

Taichi lunged to go after her. Aoki held him back. "Leave her be. She needs some time alone."

Iori shook her head sadly. "She needs more than that, I think."

The pixie girl closed the door to the suite and faced Taichi.

"I'm sorry. But you have to consider the possibility that she's not coming back."

The two men stared at her.

Then she flopped on the couch and grabbed a fistful of popcorn from the bowl.

"So, is there anything good on TV?"