I will write a lot today, too. A lot is happening.

Shirojima-sensei is an environmental lawyer, not a personal injury lawyer. But she has experience with shuudansoshous - she is right now taking a break from a large lawsuit involving TEPCO and the radiation cleanup around the Fukushima reactor areas after the Touhoku disaster. She is willing to help when she can, for almost no money beyond her expenses.

She said right away that she thinks Niko is in a class of people that deserve extra damages beyond medical and pain and suffering, and she is going to have them meet with an old judge that JR East wanted as a mediator for the special cases. They are admitting some fault because, apparently, the driver did not slow down even though Japan's law says when the wind is getting as fast as it was the day the train left the tracks they must.

The judge who will mediate is very conservative. He would like it, ideally, if Japan were to change back to 100 years ago or so.

But nonetheless Shirojima-sensei believes compensation for me can be included in any settlement.

"First of all, you should thank your parents, Nishikino-san. They have given me complete access to all of Yazawa-san's medical records, with her mother's permission, of course. And they have expedited it so I received it immediately."

"We are going to get some money immediately for the Yazawas from the prefectural government, Maki," Eli said. "I have the paperwork all done, and Nozomi and I ordered a little light wheelchair for Niko. It has a battery that's small and doesn't last long - she has to plug it in. But it will fit on the train better." It seems it will be delivered to the Yazawa house today. It was not our prefecture involved in the derailment, this is just help because the Yazawas are poor. Most of Niko's hospital stay was for free for the same reason. Our hospital took her on for obvious reasons.

Normally, but nothing now is normal, I would just take a taxi to school and pick up Niko along the way. But such sensible things will have to wait till after we meet. At least in a week or so Niko can get to the train and get on with help. Nozomi will be gone. Maybe I can arrange to be there as her tutor and help her if we have a morning session.

"I understand you and Yazawa-san were doing duets, Nishikino-san? Had you established a name and been scheduled anywhere? Somewhere you would be paid for appearing?" is what Shirojima asked me.

Well, we had. Quite a few places, considering we didn't promote it and were new at it.

"Nishikino-san, you lost your partner and you are going to make expenditures of your precious time and your money to help her. That is a loss, also. The judge will consider that. The other thing would only hurt you."

The other thing - that made me jump. "You are talking about our relatiohship?" I was very surprised.

"I am," Shirojima-sensei said, and very calm, too. "This judge is so conservative the fact you are going to be sacrificing yourself to help your same-sex person might make him want to give her as little as possible. That's simply a fact."

I got it. I told her "fine, I never would have brought it up anyway. And it's beside the point, anyway."

"Yes, Nishikino-san, I understand. You know, that's why I want to include your suffering, though. I do, I really do, sympathize." She looked at me with kind eyes.

"If you reestablish a romantic relationship before the mediating is done, you should emphasize to Yazawa-san that she must not mention it, either."

Then she actually laughed. She put her hand in front of her mouth like she'd yawned or coughed.

"You know, a hundred years ago in Japan, we had douseisha couples?"

I didn't understand, as we had just dismissed the whole subject.

"Yazawa-san is ... two years older?"

"Two-and-a-half. My parents convinced my elementary school to accept me even though i was too young."

"Then, do you know what they did, almost a hundred years ago, if two women wanted to marry?"

My guess was they jumped in front of a train, but I didn't say that.

"If you could convince Yazawa-san to adopt you, that would help your case."

To adopt me? I must say I had nothing to say to that.

"It would bring up the issue of you losing your special someone, without defying society. It would show the judge your seriousness and sincerity. It would be a declaration that you both bow to Japan's social rules. All Yazawa-san has to say is that her mother convinced her, that she doesn't remember you but she trusts you to support her loyally."

We are two years apart - who adopts someone under those conditions? Worse, Niko is mentally almost a year younger than I am, now. If you are reading this, kouhai, don't make a fuss, okay?

She explained that adopting meant you were in the family registry. It gave you the right to visit in hospital, to share property and inherit it automatically, and to be buried together. You would take on the new family name. That isn't optional.

I said that my family would never agree to that - Nishikino is becoming a well-known name, with two doctors married to each other and owning a large hospital.

"Then you say just that, Nishikino-san. I hope Toujou-san told you that possibly the victims need not actually sue?"

I said she had. Then Shirojima said, "well, you don't have to go through with it. Just Yazawa-san saying, on her mother's advice, she offered to adopt you, then you saying, due to objections by your family, you were forbidden to accept. Both of you are dutiful daughters in that scenario. A great deal of the law in Japan is carried out not in the courtroom but at a kissaten or a ramen shop. Or in a private meeting at a judge's office. And you don't always have to do something, just plan to do it."

We exchanged information after that and she told me roughly how she wanted to proceed. If we wanted to play up Niko's tiny, little moe waif quality, she'd dress one way. If I could convince her to try the adoption ploy, we'd go the other way and make her as grown-up looking as possible. I honestly think Niko can be a good show-woman if she needs to, so I was optimistic. We agreed to talk by phone very soon. I bowed and took my leave as I had a lot of work to catch up on already when I got home. And that's how my day surprisingly ended. Hanayo was silent the whole time, Nozomi, too, mostly. Rin - not so much. But I can mention that tomorrow.