Chapter 11: A Small Surprise

Tuesday, 11:09 AM, JRCS Regional Headquarters

After climbing the four flights of stairs, Taichi pushed open the fire door and stumbled into the side hallway of the Trauma Center. No one was nearby. He trotted to the corner and peered down the long main hallway. At the far end of the hall he spied a security guard standing in front of one of the private suites.

Taichi was about to rush up to the guard, but then he caught himself. He thought a moment. What would Inaba do in a situation like this? He thought further, then he smiled inwardly and nodded to himself.

First step: Calm down. He re-entered the stairwell and hid for a minute until his rapid breathing slowed. As he did so he slicked his hair back and composed his facial features. He then mentally rehearsed his lines.

After another minute he re-entered the side hall again. Nobody saw him. Then he took a deep breath and marched around the corner into the main hall. He walked with purpose past the nursing station. The nurse on duty did not look up. He proceeded to walk right up to the guard, who started to look him over.

He said, "Hello. I am here to see the suspect. I'm on staff here."

The guard saw that Taichi's JRCS employee badge was hanging from a blue lanyard around his neck.

Blue, not red. The guard knew that meant he was not on the medical staff. Hmm.

The guard raised an eyebrow. He slowly lifted up Taichi's official JRCS employee badge and looked at it carefully. He verified that the photograph did indeed match its owner. "Who's your boss?"

Taichi replied, "My superior is Akira Kurosawa-sensei."

The guard nodded. "Oh, you are one of Kurosawa's people. I see. Are you the chaplain?"

Taichi thought quickly. He didn't want to lie. "Well, I was just hired you see. They are still working on my paperwork." Both statements were technically true.

"Oh, I guess it's all right then."

"Thank you, sir."

The guard unlocked the door and opened it. Then he said, "Hey.."

Uh-oh. Taichi stopped and turned, trying to hide his nervousness. "Yes?"

"Try to talk some sense into that girl, will ya?"

Taichi gave a knowing smile. "Don't worry, sir, I will."

The guard then added, "I don't think it will help, though..."

Taichi asked, "Uh, why not?"

The guard then glanced furtively up and down the hallway before he leaned forward and said quietly, "Because I know that girl's type. Look, I'm not a cop - I'm just a private security guard - but I've been doing this gig for long enough that I know their kind. They're all addicts, hookers, drug mules, or worse. Mark my words, that poor girl will be dead before she reaches 25."

Taichi sighed, "Well, I can only try to reach her."

The guard nodded and approved. "You are one of Kurosawa's folks, all right. Good man. Go on in." After Taichi entered the room, the guard shut the door behind him and remained outside.

Taichi waited until the door was fully latched behind him. Then he turned and faced the hospital patient. It was indeed Iori. He saw that her left arm was heavily bandaged and immobile. Her right wrist was handcuffed to the rail of the hospital bed. A standard BP/heartrate monitor clip was clamped on one of her fingers. She was awake and sitting up. She had dark circles around the eyes and looked tired. Thankfully she did not appear to be in any sort of serious physical distress.

When Iori saw her new visitor she was startled. She was a bit confused for a moment, then she spotted Taichi's badge. She grinned at him with a bemused expression, "Wow, you really are becoming like Dereban. Now she's got you doing the whole Mission Impossible thing all by yourself."

Taichi put his finger to his lips. Sssh. He pressed his ear against the door and listened.

Iori read his mind. "Don't worry. The guard can't hear us."

Taichi ignored her and continued to listen until he was satisfied that their conversation would not be overheard. He nodded to himself, then he finally turned around to face the hospital patient.

He paused. He wasn't sure what to say to her. Part of him wanted to yell at her and demand that to know what the hell she was doing getting arrested with a drug dealer. A second part of him wanted to simply rescue her and whisk her away from the clutches of her captors. And a third part of him wanted to understand what kind of terrible personal demons she must be fighting to have brought her down to this low state.

Iori watched his mental deliberations carefully. Then she said slowly, "You are supposed to say, 'Iori, how are you doing?'"

Taichi blinked his eyes. "Oh, uh.. Iori, how are you doing..?"

Iori gave Taichi a wan smile. "I'm fine." She made a motion with her head towards her bandaged left arm. "The bullet went through-and-through. Clean. No major blood vessels or nerves were hit."

"Good.. I'm glad."

"It's good to see you too, Taichi."

"Uh, yeah.." There was a pause as Taichi was still trying to process his thoughts.

Iori looked at him conspiratorially, "Hey, we're alone together. All alone. Just you and me. This is the first time we've totally been alone like this in, what, three years?"

"Uh, yeah, I think.."

"We should celebrate. Want to go out for a drink, just you and me?" Then she pulled up her right wrist until the chain went taut and clinked. "Oh wait, I'm kind of tied up right now."

Taichi rolled his eyes. "Your jokes are still as awful as ever."

She smiled again. "I just do that to break the ice."

Another pause. She could see that Taichi was still trying figure out what to say next. He still hadn't decided which of the three approaches he wanted to take.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence Iori decided to make the decision for him. "Look, Taichi, let me help you out here, okay? I will carry on both sides of the conversation. You just sit back and watch. That sound good?"

"Uh.."

Iori sighed, "Thought so. Here goes."

She then started her performance. She swung her head to the left and right*:

T: Iori, what the hell is wrong with you?

I: My arm got hurt so they took me to the hospital.

T: That's not what I mean. Why is there a guard standing outside your hospital room?

I: Uhm, to protect me from a former boyfriend who was trying to sneak into my hospital room to get alone with me without his wife knowing, maybe?

T: No, dammit! I mean, why are you handcuffed to the bed?

Iori continued her conversation with herself. She instantly switched roles back and forth with each turn of her head. Taichi was fascinated with her performance. It was an amazing act. Each time she turned her head, her facial expression would completely change: On the left side, her face was that of a person who was wide-eyed and innocent, who was filled with concern and worry, and who was starting to get angry with person he was talking to. On the right side, her face was that of a person who was bemused and sardonic.

I: I guess they're really strict around here about paying the bill before you get discharged.

T: Stop fooling around! Tell me, what happened to Goru?

She looked down.

I: He's dead.

T: Dead?

I: He was an idiot. Suicide by cop. A complete dumb-*ss.

T: What, he shot at the police?

I: No, of course not. He simply thought someone else was trying to rob him. He didn't know it was a police raid. When he heard the door crash open he pulled out his gun. Idiot.

T: So they shot him.

I: He was dead before he hit the floor.

T: That's awful.

I: He didn't even have a real gun. Do you know how hard it is to get a real gun in Japan? It was all a bluff to keep from getting robbed. I told him a hundred times that fake gun was soooo stupid, and that if there was ever a raid that stupid toy would get himself killed. And it did. Damu baka.

T: But why did the cops shoot at you too?

I: They didn't. I dived under the table as soon as I heard the door get smashed in. During the shooting a random ricochet bounced off a concrete stud on the wall behind me. The bullet hit my arm, nothing vital. I was lucky.

T: Like hell! What the [bleep] were you doing getting involved with a scumbag like Goru anyway?

Taichi finally raised his hand. "Iori, please stop.." She did.

Then he sighed. "All right, fine, I admit I'm a little angry with you right now.."

Good, mission accomplished. He won't blow up at me now.

".. and thank you coming clean with me about what happened." He pulled up a chair and sat close to her.

She smiled back at him. "Just trying to save us time. I don't know how many more seconds we have alone together before they figure out whatever scam you used to get in here. So who do they think you are, anyway?"

He smiled back, "Chaplain."

Iori was impressed. "Chaplain? Really? Wow, good choice. We might have more time that way. And that explains the privacy. Nice job, Taichi."

Taichi enjoyed receiving such high praise from the master thespian. "Heh, thanks. But still, you haven't answered my question that you posed so skillfully while pretending to be me: Why were you living with that scumbag?"

She thought a moment. "Hmm."

She thought some more. "I am afraid I am about to make a bit of a speech. Are you ready?"

He leaned forward, his eyes earnest. "Sure."

"Well, here it goes. First let's start at the beginning. You see, it all began back after my father died and my mom married her second husband. He was a nasty drunk. Anything could set him off. He'd smack my mom on any pretext. I just wanted him to stop hitting my mom.

"I was only 6. I discovered that when he was drunk I could entertain him. I'd do little play-acts with my dolls, or do silly things with my playhouse, basically little performances to keep him distracted. And it seemed to work.

"Then one day mom knocked over a teacup in the kitchen and it broke with a loud crash. I knew, I just knew, it would set him off. He would beat her terribly for it. He came stomping into the kitchen in his boxers demanding to know what had happened.

"So I moved quickly in front of mom and I said that I broke it, and that I was very sorry and would clean it up. He really wanted to hit somebody that day, but I guess even he couldn't bring himself to smack a 6-year old girl. So he just swore loudly and walked out."

"And so you protected your mom."

"Yeah. Later I learned to fetch his newspaper, bring his cigarette packs, and fetch his booze so that he'd stay in his laz-y-boy recliner chair until he passed out. As long as he was sitting all fat and happy in that big stuffed chair he couldn't smack my mom, you see? He'd grin at me and call me his perfect little helpmate, then he'd turn and yell at mom, 'Why can't you be more like her, you worthless b*tch?'

"Then one day he was gone. Poof. Mom claimed that he died. She was lying of course. You remember what happened years later. Anyway, shortly after he was gone she brought in the next man. Then later the next, and then the next."

Tachi said, "And so the pattern was set: You grew up learning to wear masks to protect your mom, and yourself. And it wasn't until you reached high school, during Heartseed's emotional transference phenomenon, that your secret got exposed to the rest of us: that you were always hiding behind a personality mask when dealing with us, or with your family, or with anyone for that matter. It was a lifelong psychological shield that you had created for yourself. But you had been doing it for so long that you feared that you had no real core personality anymore, that behind those masks was basically, well, nothing."

"Wow, that's a good summary, Taichi. Let me applaud. Oh wait, my arm is shot, nevermind."

Taichi crossed his own arms. "Iori, stop fooling around. We might not have much time left. Just tell me what's really going on with you. What's going on right now, I mean. This little history lesson doesn't explain why today you are shacking up with losers like Goru."

"Actually, it does."

"Huh? How?"

"Tell me, Taichi, in your opinion do you think that in high school I was a popular girl?"

"Well of course. You were really popular with the other girls. You were the center of your social circle."

"And why was that, exactly, hmm?"

"Because you were so outgoing and fun to be with. You were so nice, so energetic and happy, and.. oh.. I get it.."

"Yeah. Look, Taichi, let me level with you. The real Iori isn't a nice individual. She's a cynical, sarcastic, dour, and unpleasant person. She's not nice to be around. Certainly not with a nice guy like you. The real Iori doesn't have any friends. She never did."

"Oh, c'mon.."

"You know that for years I believed that I had no center, no 'self', nothing, and that the real me was an empty shell, a fraud. It was all part of my feelings of worthlessness. Taichi, that kind of.. damage.. is permanent. And you can't fix it. I know you want to, but you can't. It started me on my train wreck of a life. And all the stupid choices that I made that followed. Those choices were my own. I make no excuses for them."

"Iori, you're wrong about one thing: you still have friends. Real ones. We're back together again, the five of us. You saw the miracle. Yui came back. You saw it yourself."

"Taichi, miracles don't happen for people like me. For Yui maybe, and Aoki, sure. Even for you and Dereban. But not for me."

"And why not? Why can't a miracle happen for you too?"

Iori fell silent. Finally she said quietly, "Because they just don't."

More silence.

Taichi's heart was breaking. His rescue instincts went into overdrive. He had to save Iori. He just had to. Had to. He felt that in every fiber of his being. She had to be saved. But how?

What was it? What was Iori's actual problem? Her real problem? What was that one, single, crucial thing that was really missing in her life? It had to be something basic. Taichi felt it instinctively.

What was it? He thought about everything Iori had just said. It had to be something simple, so simple that it could be completely overlooked, even by someone as perceptive and observant as Iori.

Then suddenly he knew. His eyes lit up.

He knew.

It was so obvious.

All she needed was someone to love her.

To really love her.

Her. The real Iori.

Of course.

That was the whole problem.

Iori felt that she had never been loved by anyone in her entire life. Not even as a child. Not by her mother, not by anyone.

People loved her personality masks, not her. Her mother loved Iori's mask as the perfect obedient daughter. Back in high school, Taichi loved Iori's mask as his charming pixie girlfriend. Her friends in her social circle loved Iori's mask as the outgoing and fun leader of her clique.

But not her.

And now Iori believed it was too late.

Even in the StuCS, in that tightly knit nakama of forged bonds of friendship that were stronger than steel, of which she was its very center, its heart, its leader, she was still the outsider. Taichi loved Inaba and Inaba loved Taichi. Aoki loved Yui and Yui loved Aoki. She was the fifth wheel. Unloved.

Alone.

The real Iori was never loved.

Ever.

By anyone.

Taichi understood. He understood it in a way that few men could, for Taichi's capacity for love was deeper than even he himself knew, as he would discover later.

He said it so softly that Iori could barely hear it.

He said the words that Iori had never heard before. Never in her entire life.

And this is what he said: "Iori, I love you. The real you."

And Iori saw the utter conviction and sincerity in that man's face. And the master thespian knew that Taichi was as sincere and honest in his declaration as anyone could be.

She saw it. He loved her. The real her.

Iori completely broke down. She began to sob bitterly.

Taichi tried to hold her hand. She yanked it away almost violently. He saw a blind ferocity in her face. "STOP IT! STOP DOING THAT!"

He remained unperturbed, his eyes kind and caring, "Iori.."

"DON'T SAY THAT! GO AWAY! I HATE YOU!"

Taichi was not shocked by her violent response. Indeed, he had more-or-less expected it. It was because Taichi had seen it with Inaba. Had he seen several violent outbursts from Inaba just like this one. It had happened many times before. Usually it was in reaction to exactly those same three words that he had just spoken to Iori.

Iori was undergoing an emotional breakdown just like Inaba typically did during one of her many fight-cycles with Taichi. Those one-sided fights had happened so many times that Taichi had gotten complacent about it, which of course had driven Inaba to even greater heights of anger and fury.

Iori was sobbing and inconsolable. Then the guard opened the door and poked his head in. "Everything okay in here?"

Taichi quickly turned around in his chair and gave the guard a reassuring smile. "I think we are making progress. Can you give us a few more minutes, please?"

The guard took one look at Iori and understood perfectly. "Don't worry. I'll keep everyone out until you're finished."

Taichi nodded thanks. Just before he closed the door the guard gave him a quick thumbs-up. The door was closed and locked again.

By now Iori had regained enough composure to form coherent sentences. She was furious with him. "You creep, you think you can say those words and touch my heart like that? Just by saying those words?"

"Iori.."

"You are a damn fine actor, mister. Better than me even."

"I'm not acting."

"You're not? Then tell me, Taichi, now what? What happens next, huh? You going to toss Inaban over a bridge and throw yourself at me? Or did you forget that three days ago you got that nice shiny golden ring on your finger?"

Taichi was patient. He had learned such patience from dealing for years with Inaba's basic insecurity. Wow, Inaba and Iori are so similar. I wish I had figured this out earlier.

"Iori, I see it now."

"You see what?"

"Deep inside you and Inaba are much the same. The only difference is that Inaba feels insecure whereas you feel unworthy and fake. But those feelings drive both of you in much the same way."

"Wait, are you serious? You are actually comparing me to Inaban?"

"Well, yeah, I am."

"But Inaban is a mess!"

Taichi smiled.

Iori stared at him for a moment, then she did a facepalm. "Touché, you bastard."

Having been bested by her master, she looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "God, Taichi, when did you suddenly grow a brain.."

He smiled again. "I'll take that as a compliment."

She muttered to herself, "Inaban has no idea how lucky she is.."

He laughed, "Another compliment? Careful or you'll give me a swelled head."

Iori sighed. "Okay, you win. I can't believe this, but you win. You actually touched my heart. You're like a goddamn miracle worker or something."

"Oh, what was that you just said? A miracle? See, even you can get one."

She sniffled, "God, I hate you.. or I love you.. or.." She plopped her head down on the pillow in exasperation. She looked up at the ceiling. "Honestly, I don't know what I feel anymore.."

"Iori, let me make an observation."

She sighed, "Go ahead, Doctor Yaegashi."

"Ok, look. You see, I believe that when you have been cut off from directly experiencing real love for as long as you have, and by that I mean in the deep sense of ai, that is, selfless or self-sacrificing love, that what happens is you have no real sense of judgement, no real guide, for when it actually happens to you."

"So.. you're saying I have no frame of reference for what real love is like.."

"Exactly! Basically here is what I think has happened: Throughout your whole life you have never experienced any kind of sustained deep selfless love. And without that frame of reference you don't know what it actually is. And so you made due with inferior substitutes. That's why so many girls who come from broken homes, without fathers I mean, often confuse sex with love. Without a father figure, a young girl has no real role-model for receiving and experiencing ai, that is, selfless love, in a non-sexual way. And that is why those girls allow men to take advantage of them so much. It's a poor substitute for ai, but it is the only kind of love that these girls have any experience with."

Iori remained silent. She was thinking about all of the men that she had slept with. And what happened after.

Taichi went on. "You blew up at me because, for probably the first time in your life, a man showed ai to you. And you literally didn't know how to react to that. It was because you conflated with ai with koi. You thought I said that I wanted to leave Inaba for you. And if I had actually wanted to dump my wife like that, you knew I wouldn't be worthy of your love for doing such a rotten thing. So you exploded at me in anger. Inaba has done exactly the same thing. She is basically insecure inside. She thinks she doesn't deserve my love. And when I tell her I do love her, she conflates with ai with koi just like you did, and so she thinks that I'm merely patronizing her or being a spineless wuss, and then she gets all riled up just like you did."

Iori turned and looked at him. Another tear started. "Okay.. yeah.. I think I'm getting it.."

Taichi lightly touched her head. "Iori, you are so perceptive, so observant. You can practically read other people's thoughts as they think them, all while adjusting your personality to match. But for all your marvellous gifts of observation you missed something that was so clear and obvious about your own self. But now that you are aware of it, I think you can change. Not everyone can do that. But I think you can."

Iori continued to think. He was right. I didn't know. She shed more tears, but they were happy ones now. "Taichi, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"Would you mind it if.. if I said.. if I said that I really do love you? I mean, in the ai sense?"

Another smile. "Not at all."

"Then I do. I love you."

"And I love you too."

She giggled a bit. "Ugh, I still have trouble with hearing you say those words to me. I mean, I think I get it, but it feels just so.. weird.."

"Give it time."

"Okay.."

"Time is the key. And so here's another observation of mine. You see, I believe that love works in a circle, where it flows back and forth between two people, growing stronger and stronger with each cycle."

"You mean like the Taijitu with the yin and yang."

"Yeah. It's why any real love relationship grows deeper over time. Because it flows back and forth, reinforcing itself, growing stronger and stronger. And it also flows up and down between levels, between the ai level and the koi level. And when they cycle and flow like that, back and forth and up and down, together it creates kokoro, which is the strongest form of love of all. And that's when it starts to become magical."

"Kokoro.."

"Yes, that's what Inaba and I try to have. But for some reason she isn't quite there yet. And frankly, I don't know why."

That surprised Iori. For here Taichi was revealing all these marvellous secrets about how love really worked, showing all this seeming deep wisdom, and yet he had just confessed that he was still clueless regarding a basic part of Inaba's personality.

Iori said quietly, "Taichi, I think I can help you with that."

He leaned forward. "Really? You can? How?"

"I only suspect, I don't know. I need to talk with Dereban about it first."

"About what?"

"I really can't tell you until I talk to her privately and confirm it. It wouldn't be right."

"I understand completely."

Another pause.

Iori sat up again and smiled. "Well, this was a very good therapy session, Doctor Yaegashi. Thank you."

Taichi leaned back. "Just remember that you have four close friends who love you, who have shared their most intimate secrets with you, who have fought alongside you just to survive, and who have strived to help you and protect you with everything they had. Just as you have protected them in return. We are your friends, your real friends. Friends of the real Iori Nagase."

"Yeah.. you are.. thank you.." Then she added, "You know, I never would have believed that this could happen, that we could come back together again as a group. Certainly not after what happened to Yui and Aoki. But I guess miracles really do happen."

"They happen every day." He got up to leave.

Iori spoke up, "Uh, hey, Taichi.."

He turned, "Yeah?"

She pulled up her arm until the cuffs clinked again. "I still kinda have a little problem here that I need help with."

Taichi slapped his head. "Gah! I forgot! We need to get you a lawyer! Dang it.. maybe I should talk to Inaba about it. I'm sure her father knows some.."

"Uh, yeah, about choosing a lawyer. Can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

Iori then told him the name of a criminal law attorney. Taichi was stunned.

"Iori, no way. You're kidding."

"She just passed the bar exam as a new defense attorney. And she'll be a damn fine one too." Taichi knew that her father had moved up the ranks from police captain to police commissioner.

"But she's so weird. Iori, she practically sexually assaulted you back in high school!"

"Actually, she tried to assault you. You were the one inhabiting my body when she wanted to grope me. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. But that's not important. What I mean is that girl is really freaky."

Iori shrugged. "So what if she's a bunny-ears lawyer? She's as smart as a whip. And when she finds out I'm available, I just know she'd light a torch for me again. She'd do anything to help me. She's perfect."

"Well, uh, all right. I'll contact Fujishima. Maybe I can get things arranged in time for your bail hearing. If we're lucky you might be out as early as Thursday."

"Good. Oh, and, uh, I need one other thing.." She told him.

"Oh.. right.. of course. I did offer that to you, didn't it?"

Iori grinned, "Yes, you did."

"Fine. But it's only temporary."

"Of course."

Oh dear. Inaba is not going to like this.

Tuesday, 11:08AM, bus stop

Inaba ran and caught the bus barely in time. She collapsed on the bus seat still panting. As she was catching her breath her cellphone chimed.

She pulled out her cell and looked at the screen. It was an SMS text message from Aoki: Found her. Shot by cops, in hospital trauma ward. Condition unknown. Arrested with guard outside. No info on status. Taichi is checking. Sorry.

Inaba slowly lowered the phone as she absorbed the information.

Then she bitterly hated herself.

She hated herself not because she had failed to keep Iori protected at the hotel and away from Goru. Nor was it because she blamed herself for Iori's sad and long descent down to becoming nothing more than a drug-dealer's moll.

It was because at that moment, when she had read the text message that Iori was arrested and might possibly even die, that Inaba experienced a completely unexpected and unconscious emotion. An utterly shameful one.

It was relief.

Relief that her rival was either going to prison or going to die.

And so Inaba hated herself for it.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she tried to suppress it. If there is a God, please forgive me... please, please help me stop this awful feeling of relief.

She felt morose. It was because her knee-jerk reaction to Iori's predicament seemed to confirm all of her own worst self-doubts: she was a terrible, awful, selfish person. All of her guilty feelings about Iori came flooding back, that it was all her fault that Iori had self-destructed.

Then she heard a second chime. She looked at her cell. It was Aoki again. I dont have a place to stay tonight. Please?

Inaba sighed. She texted back to Aoki the address of her new apartment that she and Taichi had just signed a lease on, and that she would meet him there in a couple of hours. The apartment had a second bedroom with a nice view of the park. It was going to be Inaba's home computer office. But she knew Taichi would insist they let Aoki stay with them, so she decided to just short-circuit that little argument and agree to let Aoki live with them, at least until he could get back on his feet again.

What Inaba did not know was that at that moment Taichi was making the same offer to Iori.

Tuesday, 12:05PM, outside of Hokkoku Bank

Inaba departed the transfer bus in front of the location for her job interview. Traffic was bad and she was already late. She looked up at the tall building. This would be her first step into the world of business. No more school, no more training. This was it, her first step into the real world.

Then her stomach heaved. Ack! She blocked her mouth with her hand. She looked quickly and saw the driveway apron on the north side of the building. She ran around the corner to hide herself just in time before she heaved out a good portion of her breakfast onto the concrete.

Ugh. Serves me right for pigging out on that fancy hotel breakfast. She checked herself. She was relieved that she didn't get any vomit on her interview outfit.

Why am I so nervous? Get a grip.

She knew she had to calm herself down. But how? She knew that whenever her father was anxious - say, because a high-stakes business deal was going sour, or if her wastrel older brother was exasperating him again - that her father had an effective technique for dealing with stress. Her father would invite his longtime friend, Baso, to his home. They would each wear traditional Buddhist robes and sit side-by-side in the lotus position on a pair of mats and do zazen together, their eyes closed in deep meditation. Sometimes they would do it for hours.

Normally Inaba didn't believe in that kind of thing, but at that moment she admitted that it did seem handy to have that kind of emotional support system, something to fall back on in times of trouble. At that moment she would have given anything to have something like that.

She pressed her forehead on the wall of the alley. Her life was in such turmoil. First there was the wedding disaster and her walkout and subsequent reunion with Taichi, which was all part of the seemingly endless cycle of her moody breakups and reconciliations with him. Then there was the self-inflicted damage she had caused that created her father's low opinion of his new son-in-law. It was her fault that her father now disparaged Taichi's motivations and character. Next, there was her deep feelings of inadequacy, that she was unworthy of having such a good man as Taichi as her husband, and that she had coerced him into marrying her. Finally, there was Iori's sudden return into their lives, a rival whom she believed was far, far more suited for Taichi in every meaningful way: more perceptive, more caring, more easy-going, more steadfast - someone she felt could love him properly, without her own selfishness.

And she knew that Iori's arrest and hospitalization had to be pulling strongly on Taichi's rescue instincts. Again she felt a pang of fear in her stomach. Iori could easily play the role of a damsel in distress. Indeed, it would be child's play for her. And her pleading to be rescued would be irresistible to Taichi. She could have Taichi wrapped around her finger in days, if not hours, if she really wanted him.

Inaba glanced at her watch again. Ugh. She smoothed out her suitcoat and skirt, then she picked up her small leather attaché case and walked quickly back around the corner to the main entrance.

Tuesday, 12:09PM, inside Hokkoku Bank

Inaba entered the elevator. It was paneled with rich mahogany wood and had a glittering mirrored ceiling. As she rode the elevator up to the 25th floor she heard the muzak playing quietly in the background.

To everything, turn, turn, turn

There is a season, turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to keep silent, and a time to speak

A time to love, a time to hate

A time to be born, a time to die**

She closed her eyes again to try to calm herself. The next time I meet Baso, I'm going to ask him how he does it.

The elevator door opened.

She walked with confidence up to the reception desk.

Tuesday, 12:25PM, outside of Hokkoku Bank, side alley

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

Inaba then pressed her head against the alley wall in wretched misery.

It was because she had thrown up right in front of her interviewer.

"Dammit! Damn it all!"

To his credit, the manager was understanding. He even confided in her that he had seen it happen before. After she had cleaned off her blouse and skirt in the ladies restroom, the manager graciously offered to reschedule, but Inaba knew that he was just being polite. She gave him a perfunctory thank you and left the building as quickly as she could.

And then, back in that small side alley, all alone, with no one watching her, she turned around and leaned her back to the wall. And then she slowly slid down to the ground in despair.

Despite all of her years of education, all of her thousands of hours of training and study of advanced business finance, of watching a dozen of her father's high-powered business meetings, she had failed her very first job interview in the most embarrassing way possible.

She put her head in her hands as she sat there, utterly defeated.

A cloud parted and a small ray of sunlight shined on her head.

Then the sun was blocked by a shadow.

A voice spoke in a quiet monotone. "Himeko Yaegashi, you do not look well."

Inaba didn't look up. "Happy now, you bastard?"

Heartseed remained silent.

She finally lifted her head and glared at him with fierce eyes. "Rot in hell."

Heartseed ignored her retort. Instead he tilted his head. He was puzzled. "Hmm. This is odd. Why is your mind blocked to me?"

Hah! Inaba's eyes became triumphant. It was because she knew that she was soon going to destroy that rotten bastard once and for all. She merely gave him a cryptic smile and said nothing.

Heartseed's eyes narrowed. "I see. Inaba, be careful. You should not trust her."

Well. So he knew.

The fact that he had just called her by her preferred name did not register with her. Instead, Inaba spat back, "Why not? She never harmed any of us, at least not like you have."

"I have never harmed any of you."

Inaba exploded at him, "Bull[bleep]! You made Iori jump off a bridge! Then while she was in the hospital, listed in critical condition, you forced us to decide which one of us would volunteer to die in her place!"

He sighed. "Ah. That. Well, you see, I knew that Nagase would not suffer any permanent injury from the fall. She was never in any real jeopardy. None of you were. But I do admit that particular test was, well, possibly a bit.. excessive."

"Possibly a bit excessive? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, I did apologize, if you recall." He did. And he never did anything like that ever again.

"God, I hate you. Your timing is impeccable, you know that? You always show up when I am at my lowest."

He made a small smile again and said nothing.

Then Inaba looked up at him, "So what is your 'test' this time, anyway? You never told me."

"The test this time is a very simple one."

"Well?"

"I want to see what would happen if I brought the five of you back together again - if you could reconstitute your nakama. Then I want to see what would change in the group dynamics and inter-relationships after several years of separation. I must say, it has been a very interesting experiment so far."

"Experiment? Experiment!? We're not goddamn lab animals, you [bleep]-hole!"

"My, my, such insolence. If anything you ought to be thankful to me. After all, I brought the band back together, so to speak. Are you not happy about that? And surely you must be grateful for the little miracle that I requested on behalf of Kiriyama and Aoki, yes?"

"Feh."

Heartseed was silent again. Inaba continued to sit on the floor of the concrete alleyway with her arms crossed, looking at the ground in angry silence. She intended to simply wait him out.

Finally he said, "Very well." He turned to leave.

And then, just before he left, he turned back briefly. "Inaba, please heed my warning. Do not trust anything she says or does. She is a master of deception. She will mislead you."

"I don't trust anything you say or do either."

"You don't have to."

"Go away."

He left.

Tuesday, 12:39PM, 10G Express Bus

Inaba sat on the bus. She placed her attaché case on her lap to hide the vomit stains. She was lost in thought. Then her cellphone chimed again.

She looked at it. This time it was an SMS text message from Taichi. Iori wound not serious. Getting Fujishima as her attorney for the bail hearing. Iori is messed up. Really needs our help. Ok if she stays with us?

Inaba looked up from the phone. Iori live with them? Was he serious? Of course he was serious. It was classic Taichi.

Oh that's just great. So now Taichi, Aoki and Iori would all be living together in a two-bedroom apartment. Wait, all four of them? Ugh.

Inaba began to bang her head repeatedly against the bus window. As if things can't get any worse.. this is going to be.. so.. so.. oh brother..

Wait, what about the sleeping arrangements? Aoki and Iori can't be put together in the same bedroom. Aoki would freak out. She suspected that Iori would simply be amused, but still, no, the sexes would need to be separated. And that meant...

That meant she would be sleeping alone with Iori.

Argh!

She stared up at the wrist straps that were dangling overhead, then she closed her eyes to try to stop the beginning of a migraine headache. The last thing she wanted was to share a bunch of embarrassing and awkward pillow-talk with her rival.

Well, this is just great. Just great. Gosh, why don't we invite Yui too and make it an official StuCS Reunion Slumber Party?

She let out another big sigh.

Then she sat up in her bus seat. Wait.. She thought for a moment. Hmm.. A reunion get-together.. That summer house from the H-S stock acquisition.. maybe.. hey, yeah..

It was because her father had recently bought majority stock ownership of the small but well-known firm of Hanabishi-Sakuraba, the high-end textile and retail zaibatsu. H-S was famous for its exquisite traditional Japanese garments: beautiful kimonos, hakamas, obis, happis, and other traditional Japanese attire that were produced by Hanabishi and sold through the Sakuraba retail store chain. H-S was particularly known for its beautiful handcrafted silk kimonos, which were widely regarded as the best made in Japan. H-S had a relatively small capitalization for a zaibatsu, but the merger of the Hanabishi and Sakuraba firms had created a near monopoly in its narrow market sector of traditional Japanese fashion, and Inaba's father wanted to take advantage of it.

Her father had kept the H-S organization intact as a hands-off independent subsidiary. The original CEO, Kaoru Honjou*** (who was also the majority shareholder) had elected to step down so that he and his beautiful wife, Aoi, could travel the world as international philanthropists. Inaba had heard that their romance was quite a story in itself*4. Apparently they were currently visiting some friends of theirs in Texas.

Before Honjou stepped down, he had nominated his executive assistant, Miyabi Sakuraba*5, as his suggested replacement as the new CEO of H-S. Inaba's father had met Sakuraba during the buyout negotiations and was impressed with her character and business acumen. He agreed that she would make an excellent choice to run H-S for him as its new CEO. It raised some eyebrows, as women rarely ascended to the rank of CEO in Japan, but her father had his own notions about women ascending in the business world, as Inaba knew full well.

The negotiations for the H-S acquisition were held at a grand old western-style summer house that the Sakuraba family had originally built. It was now owned by H-S to host corporate retreats. Hanabishi had graciously invited Inaba's father to stay as a guest there during the negotiations. Her father arranged for Inaba to stay there as well, and she gladly assented. The talks were taking place during her college summer break, and she didn't want to miss the opportunity to observe high-powered business negotiations up close.

Inaba leaned back in her bus seat. She remembered those summer days fondly. She had stayed at that mansion for a week. Taichi was busy with his internship, but he managed to visit her for a couple days and had even slept overnight once in the small servants quarters next door.

It was a wonderful mansion. Her father intended to use it to host and entertain foreign businessmen because the western style architecture fit well with his plans for expansion into the North American market. It had eight bedrooms, a large communal kitchen, and a beautiful mahogany dining table. And she knew it was currently unoccupied.

Yes. It would be perfect.

Tuesday, 1:28 PM, Suragawa Walk-In Health Clinic

Inaba was glad that she was able to see a doctor on such short notice. She spoke to him as she sat up on the examining table while she put her blouse back on.

She said, "Just gimmie some pills to calm myself down, something to relieve all this stress. I don't want to strangle my idiot husband the next time he tries to get himself killed while saving the world or something." She finished buttoning up.

Meanwhile, an assistant entered the exam room and gave the doctor a clipboard. He started to read it.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Yaegashi but I cannot do that."

Inaba looked up. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because it would be harmful."

"Doc, I'm tougher than I look. Just gimme something to calm me down, will yah? Look, if you're worried about legal liability if I O.D. or something I'll sign a release or whatever you need."

"No. It would be unethical."

Feh. Maybe if I tried another doctor..

"Uhm, Mrs. Yaegashi, may I ask you when was the last time you had a medical checkup?"

"Too long. Probably more than a year ago."

"And you say you get tried easily?"

"Oh yeah. Even when just walking I get winded pretty fast. I know I should exercise more."

"Well it's understandable."

"Hmm?"

"All of the nausea, the tiredness, the vomiting, don't you see?"

Inaba blinked her eyes at him.

He patiently continued to explain it to her, "I would have thought it should have been rather obvious to you by now what is happening."

"What?"

He smiled at her. "Congratulations, Mrs. Yaegashi. I have good news.."

She stared at her doctor.

".. you are five weeks pregnant."

A/N:

* In Japan this style of acting is called rakugo (落語). It is performed by a lone actor sitting on a mat in the middle of the stage with no one else present. Each time the actor turns his head he switches characters and changes his voice as he tells a funny story. This distinctly Japanese art form can be dated back to the early Edo era (c. 1600-1750).

** See Ecclesiastes 3

*** See Ai Yori Aoshi (2002-2003). In that story Kaoru Honjou's name was Kaoru Hanabishi, but in the distant finale of the manga Kaoru had legally changed his surname to that of his beloved and dearly departed mother, Honjou, who was his father's secret mistress before he died. As soon as he was of age, Kaoru had repudiated his membership in the hated Hanabishi clan after the terrible physical abuse that he had suffered as a bastard orphan child within that extended household.

*4 See Ai Yori Aoshi. I'm assuming that Tina lives in Texas.

*5 In Ai Yori Aoshi, Miyabi Sakuraba's name was Miyabi Kagurazaki. She was Aoi's guardian until Aoi came of age. In the distant finale of the manga she had joined the Sakuraba clan and had taken their surname. She was last seen as the general manager of the Sakuraba family's flagship store. This story assumes that she had continued her corporate ascent and became the CEO of the whole Hanabishi-Sakuraba (H-S) zaibatsu when it was acquired by Inaba's father. H-S now operates as an independent subsidiary under her exceptional leadership.