Chapter 6: Waking Up
Iori kicked back on the enormous L-shaped couch. She held the TV remote for the big flat-panel in her left hand, then she picked up the brochure that was laying next to it in her right. "Wow, did you know this thing has over 800 channels?"
The two men continued to stare at Iori. Taichi finally was able to force out some words. "What do you mean.. 'she might not be coming back'?"
"Eh?" She was busy clicking through the channels.
Taichi then walked around the couch and stood in front of her, blocking her view of the enormous screen. She tried to lean around him. "Hey, your mother wasn't a glass maker. Move it, will ya?"
Taichi put his hands on his hips. "No. First you explain that remark."
She turned off the TV and looked at him. Then she sighed.
"Okay, you better sit down."
Taichi sat on the couch. Aoki discreetly moved back a few steps behind them, but not so far away that he could not listen.
Taichi was now sitting just a couple feet away from his first love. He was finally able to get a good look at her. She was very thin, almost anorexic, with dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not slept in a couple days. He saw a faded mark over her left eye. Then he noticed her wrists had what looked like bruises.
He became alarmed. "Iori, what in the world happened to you? Are you okay?"
She shrugged, "Who, me? I'm fine."
"No you're not. Did someone strike you?"
She frowned at him. "It's none of your business."
"Yes it is! If someone hurt you then.."
She interrupted him. "Then what? You have to jump in and stop it? You have to rescue me?"
"Well, uh, yeah. You need help.."
She shook her head. "Oh, Taichi. Just look at you. I can almost hear the gears whirring in your head. You want to save me, just like Inaban."
"Is that why she brought you here?"
"I guess. I'm still not sure why she didn't just drag me over to her place."
Originally Taichi and Inaba were living in separate dorms at Kyosho University. They had graduated at the end of the spring term, about a month ago. Inaba was temporarily staying at her father's house, while Taichi had moved back in with his parents. Rina, of course, was absolutely thrilled with the situation, much to Taichi's chagrin.
After a two week hunt they had finally found a modest two-bedroom apartment that was in a good location and overlooked a park. They had jointly signed the lease. The move-in date was the first of the month, right after their mini-honeymoon.
He frowned. "Nevermind that. The point is, you can't go back to where you were living. Not if you are being hurt. Look, you can stay with me. Stay here in the suite for now. It's rented for two more nights. Then I'll talk to Rina and see if I can get her to share her room with you. Our new apartment isn't ready yet, but it has two bedrooms. The second one is supposed to be Inaba's new home office, but for now we can put you up in there with a futon. Nobody knows the address. He can't hurt you if he can't find you."
She looked at him sympathetically. "Taichi... you are so innocent. It's very touching. But frankly you need to wake the hell up."
"Huh?"
She put her hands in her lap and decided to come clean with him. "It is so easy to play your heartstrings, and I wasn't even trying. Any girl can play you like a fiddle."
"I don't understand."
She patted his head. He flinched a bit. "Taichi, you're such a wonderful man. You have this wonderful selfless streak that is very admirable in its own way. But it makes you really, really, vulnerable. Any girl with half a brain can take advantage of you in a minute."
He just looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Ok, I'll level with you. Here's the thing: You are the kind of guy who can basically fall in love with any girl, no matter how flawed she might be. You will put up with endless crap and always remain faithful no matter what. That is as rare as hen's teeth. If Inaban slept around with ten men a week you'd still be faithful to her. That kind of dedication in a man is so incredibly rare.
"And girls can sense that. It's a very powerful attraction. You're a shiny diamond in a mudfield of rotten men. So what happened is that the first girl with enough guts to approach you grabbed you, the very first girl, going all the way back to high school when you were only 16. I'm sure it wasn't deliberate or calculated. It just happened. It was natural, really. She was the first girl that confessed to you. And you've stayed faithful ever since."
He remained silent.
She looked up at the ceiling. "I admit that right at the start I had this unreasonable feeling that she somehow 'stole' you from me. It was ridiculous, of course. You actually confessed your love to me first, and I turned you down. That's my loss, my fault. It was because I wasn't ready. You weren't either, by the way, but no matter."
She gave him a wan smile. "Don't worry. I won't steal you away now. I wouldn't do that even if you invited me to sleep in your honeymoon suite, or even if you asked me to move in with you."
Then she gave him a sly grin. "Oh wait, you actually did both of those things already..."
His eyes widened at the realization.
She giggled, "Hee hee. I'm just kidding. Taichi, you are so easy to..." Then she looked down. "Don't worry, I won't. It's too late for me anyway. I'm damaged goods."
He learned forward in earnest, "What, no! You're not!"
She gave him another wan smile. "No, not in your eyes. That's what makes you so wonderful. You can love anybody. That's precious."
She looked up at the ceiling again. "Anyway, back in high school I got over myself and became happy for you two. You seemed to be one of those opposites-attract couples. I thought it would really work out.
"But then she was always picking fights with you. And I couldn't help but notice that the intensity of those fights always seemed to be in direct proportion to the amount of time she spent with you. It happened over and over. Eventually she'd leave you for a while and things would cool off. And then, during the time you spent apart, her feelings would slowly rebuild. She would miss you more and more, day by day, until eventually she'd have a teary confession and come back into your open arms, and everything would be forgiven. It's been that way ever since, including in college, am I right?
He nodded slowly.
"Uh-huh. And I bet that the most intense love-making between you two usually happened as soon as you got back together. Am I right again?"
He remained silent.
"Yep. And so then things would go swimmingly for a bit, everything hunky dory. But then after a few weeks or months she'd get mopey, then she'd become distant. Then she'd get cranky. Then something trivial would happen that would set her off, so you try to be reasonable and accommodating, which makes her even more mad - because you don't get mad. And that sets up the next big fight and she splits again. And so the cycle goes on and on."
He held his head in his hands. "What you do expect me to do? Pretend to get mad?"
She touched his arm. "No. That wouldn't be you. You're a wonderful man, Taichi." She sighed, "You're a wonderful man who is in love with a very mixed up girl."
He looked at her with pleading eyes. He knew that she understood him. And she understood Inaba. After what had happened during Heartseed's many trials almost seven years ago, he knew that she understood their faults and weaknesses better than anybody.
He needed her help. "Okay. I think you might be right.."
Oh Taichi, it would be so easy for me to grab you. I could do it right this second. It would be effortless. But no, it's too late, and I'm too damaged.
But in another world, if we had started all over? If I understood you, if I understood myself? Sigh. I would have taken care of you, protected you.
Loved you.
"But, Iori, this doesn't explain why you think Inaba might not come back. Why do you think that?"
She thought for a moment. "It's a pity she ran out. I wish she was here. I could counsel her, maybe even help save your marriage. Oh well, that's Inaban. She's a runner."
"What do you mean, a 'runner'?"
"What I mean is that Inaban knows she is usually the smartest person in the room. And so she's strong, independent, sarcastic, even aloof. But that creates its own set of vulnerabilities. If she has a personal problem that she can't handle, she breaks. At first she pretends the problem doesn't exist, and when you ask her if something is wrong she denies it. But when her weakness gets exposed, when the problem becomes so bad that it becomes obvious to everyone around her, she panics. She runs away and hides."
"But why is she running now?"
"Isn't it obvious? Don't you see it?"
Taichi just looked at her helplessly.
"C'mon, Taichi. I've given you enough clues, so wake up and think. Think about what I just said. Then think about what she said when she ran. C'mon, work it out. I'll wait."
He furrowed his brow in concentration. "You forced her to admit to herself that she was unsure if she loved me..."
"Uh-huh."
".. and she has doubts about herself. But she couldn't handle those doubts, not alone..
"Keep going."
".. but she refused to share her doubts with anyone, or ask for help .."
"Yes."
".. and so you forced her secret doubts out in the open. You exposed her. So she ran."
"Very good. I think there's hope for you yet, Taichi."
He looked at her in earnest. "But what can I do?"
"For now, nothing. Let me do the rescuing this time, okay? I have a theory about what her real problem is. But I need some time alone with her to be sure. Basically I need some time to talk with her in private."
"To talk about what?"
"I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway. I'm not 100% sure yet." And if I'm wrong, Inaban, you can slap me. Slap me as hard as you want.
"Sure about what?"
"Sorry, that's classified."
His eyes continued to plead. He's like a sad puppy..
"Ok, here's a hint: I need to confront her about something. She won't like it. It needs to be a situation where she can't run away from me, at least not until I finish my confrontation. I might need your help to arrange that."
Taichi leaned forward and nodded vigorously. "Okay, I'll give you anything. Anything you need. Anything at all."
"Thanks." He's such a lovable pushover.
"All I care about is that she stop hurting. I now know that if anyone can save her, it's you."
Hmm, very good. He's deferring to someone else to rescue her this time. He's not just leaping in blindly himself. Maybe there's hope for them both.
Meanwhile Aoki was listening with rapt attention. Iori turned and smiled at him. "You taking notes back there?"
Aoki was startled. "Uh, no.. Should I? I'm learning a lot."
She chuckled, then she did a double-take. She stared at his muscular physique. "Woah. Aoki, when did you become such a hunk?"
Aoki started to fidget, his face turning red.
She leaned her chin on the back of the couch. "You know, if we could somehow magically transplant Taichi's personality into that hot bod of yours.. rowr.. there'd be more girls chasing you than Elvis." She smacked her lips at him.
"Really? I'm gonna definitely take notes so I can become more like Taichi!" He ran to find paper and pencil.
She sighed. Cute but hopeless.
While Aoki was rummaging through the writing desk, Iori got up to get another soda from the fridge.
After all, there wasn't much any of them could do until Inaba surfaced again.
Meanwhile, Taichi got up himself and went to the cupboard that contained Inaba's purse and cellphone. He checked her cell. The call log showed five unanswered calls from her father. No voicemail.
Then he checked his own cell. He saw a text message from his boss at the JRCS reminding him about their meeting on Tuesday regarding the ongoing relief project for the victims of the higashi nihon daishinsai. He shook his head. Such a terrible tragedy. The disaster had happened eight months ago. The epicenter was 70km offshore from Tōhoku. It created a tsunami that destroyed over 120,000 buildings and took at least 15,000 lives. Taichi had joined the team that was focusing on the care of the children, over 1,500 of which had lost one or both parents.
Taichi graduated with a degree in Social Work, and with it he had jumped into his new career right out of college. He worked 12 hour days, six days a week. He would have worked there 24/7 if his sensei would have let him. It was his esteemed sensei that had flatly ordered him to take the four days off for his wedding and honeymoon. He cheerfully gave Taichi the time off even though he was just hired and had not yet accrued any vacation time. It was the minimum time off that he would accept.
Taichi looked out the french windows. The sun was beginning to set over the city skyline.
Inaba, please come back. I love you, and I know you love me too. Iori says she can help us.
Then his cellphone buzzed. A couple seconds later Inaba's red cellphone chimed.
There was a new text message waiting on both phones.
He read his, then he checked hers. It was the same message.
He couldn't believe what he saw on the screen. He read the text message again. He stared into space.
Then he absent-mindedly dropped both cellphones on the rug.
Iori saw him do it. She walked over, soda in hand, and picked up Inaba's cell. She read the screen.
"Oh my."
Inaba was sitting alone and brooding.
She was seated by herself in a booth in a small lunch café that was located about three blocks from the hotel. Mrs. Nagase had loaned her enough money to pay for her bus fare, plus a little extra. It was enough for her to buy a cup of ramen noodles. She slurped them up using her chopsticks. As she did so she stared at the formica tabletop, lost in thought.
Why am I such a mess?
What is wrong with me?
She continued to brood.
Her stomach felt a little nauseous. Ugh, I'm so stressed. I need to keep these noodles down.
Then she heard a kitten's high-pitched mew. What?
The mewing sound was coming from inside her pocket. She put her hand in her dress and pulled out the object that was making the cute kitty noises.
It was Iori's cellphone. She had forgotten to give it back to her. The cover of the cellphone was stenciled with a cartoon drawing of a trio of kittens fighting over a ball of yarn.
A new text message had just arrived. It's probably Iori texting me. Taichi doesn't know this number.
But she did not read the message. Not yet.
It was because she now sensed someone sitting in the booth opposite her. She already knew who it was.
She heard a voice. "You are very interesting, Himeko Yaegashi."
She slowly looked up and said, "Go to hell."
Heartseed made a small smile. "Yes, so very fascinating."
Her anger was building. "Go [bleep] yourself."
"Hmm, I do not think that is anatomically possible."
She leaned forward, intending to get up and leave.
He held her arm. She flinched.
He looked at her. "Please wait. I want to give you a gift. Think of it as a reward for being so interesting."
She scowled at him, "A reward?"
"Yes. I want to give you a thank-you present."
Inaba glared and waited. "Well?"
"Read your phone."
She did. Her eyes grew wide.
She fumbled at the phone and re-read the message. It confirmed it. Then she leapt from the booth and ran out of the café.
Heartseed smiled to himself as he remained seated. He could still hear her outside whooping like a madwoman.
She was whooping for joy.
It was because a girl had just awoken after four long years of slumber.
Yes, everything was proceeding according to his plan. He began to think of all the new possibilities that were opening up. This will be quite fascinating. I can't wait to see what will happen between them.
But he did not notice that he was being watched himself.
For someone else was discreetly observing him, unseen. Someone with dead eyes.
Someone whose idea of 'interesting' was very different from his own.
It was Rina.