Chapter 18 – Miyako's Story and Dilemma.
It was a day that Sister Miyako dreaded, the day of the funerals for both Hana and Tsubasa. It was hard for her to cope with the loss of two close people. She had to attend both ceremonies, because she was to speak at both of them. Tears streaming down her face, she prayed to the Lord, asking for much needed strength.
"Lord, please be there for me today. I need your strength more than ever. Two people that I know very well are gone, and I am going through my own trouble as well."
What was going on was that she had received a letter the other day, stating that she will have to leave the country in the next three months. Japan has been recently sending back some foreigners to their home countries, due to job scarcity and the ever-lasting recession. Japan has rather strict laws in regards to immigrants from countries like Brazil and Peru. For instance, they have to be of Japanese descent. Miyako was, but since she hasn't become a citizen, she can still be sent back.
For Miyako, that means going back to her homeland of Peru. Which would have been fine, if she wasn't considered a fugitive over there…
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Meanwhile, there was another person praying to God.
"God, please look out for Chikane-chan. I know she doesn't believe in you, but please be there for her, she's going through a hard time, like everyone else here. This really isn't her fault." Himeko shared to Him as she started to weep. "I don't know why you let a nice, caring, guy like Hana-chan die. It's not in my position to question you, but I just feel like it's unfair for him to die the way he did. He didn't deserve to die like that. He was a sweet and caring man, God. With the way he died, it makes me scared as well."
Chikane then walked into their room. "Himeko – Sorry, I didn't know that you were busy. We got to go to Hana-chan's funeral."
"No, I'm not busy, I'm ready." Then she quickly ended her prayer, "Talk to you later God."
Chikane then asked Himeko, "Were you talking to God?"
"Yes, I was."
Chikane hung her head down low and sighed. "He probably hates me now."
"No he doesn't Chikane-chan! He loves us all, no matter how much wrong we do. He will always be there for us, no matter what, until the day we die, or the day his Son comes back to save us. People have done far worse things than what you did, but God saved them as well. There's always hope and salvation Chikane-chan, believe me on that one."
"But you don't really understand my situation."
"Maybe not, but I do know what it's like to feel hopeless, like God has abandoned me. That's how I felt while I was living with my relatives, but there really always is hope Chikane-chan, there is."
"I hope so…"
Then they heard Kazuki's voice shouting from the other room. "Kurusugawa-san, Himemiya-san, let's go, we're leaving now!"
"Okay Oogami-sensei!" Himeko, replied back. "Come on, let's talk some more in the car."
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It was eleven o'clock already when the funeral got started. It was held in an Adventist church down at Shibuya. The reason why it was held at a rather remote location is because after they did an autopsy of Hana, they found out that he was HIV positive. Many churches turned his funeral down because of it. Nekoko went so far as to ask the Buddhist temples to hold his funeral, even though he was not a Buddhist, but they refused as well. It wasn't until Natashi found a church that was willing to have a funeral and to cremate him.
Nekoko and Sister Miyako were in charge of the funeral, but Sister Miyako had to run a few errands, so she wasn't around. Many people from the streets came to pay tribute to him; they dressed in their best attire – well as best as they could since most of them were homeless. The "girls" were there as well.
It was a closed casket, since his body was burned badly, and they hadn't cremated him yet. There were pictures of him on top of the casket, showing his joyful moments to offsets the somber mood in the church, yet it failed miserably.
During that time, a man came in, who somewhat resembled Hana. He didn't dress like Hana, nor had his hairstyle like him, but he has his facial resemblance and his height. Natashi saw this man and greeted him.
"Thanks for coming. May I ask who are you?"
"I'm Masaki Yoshi, Hana-chan's brother."
"Oh, nice to meet you."
"Thanks." He bowed.
"So where are you parents and the other siblings? I know that he also had another brother and a sister."
Yoshi closed his eyes for a bit and told him, "They didn't want to come. They're ashamed of him."
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
"My parents put him out when he was 18. It's a long and unnecessary story to tell you right now." He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Well thanks for coming. Unfortunately, it's a closed casket since the burns on him were serious. The morticians tried their best but they told me it wouldn't work."
"Yes, I've heard. I can't believe someone would do this to him. I lost contact with him two years ago and tried desperately to find him, but now I see it's too late…" He put his hands to his face as he started to cry. Natashi comforted him.
"Now there, it's not your fault whatsoever. He was always a bit ashamed of being homeless. He didn't want you or anybody else in his family to know that he was homeless."
"Yeah, that was always his problem – pride."
Natashi had a small smirk. "He sure had a lot of that. Anyways, I'll leave you to pay your final respects to your brother."
Yoshi smiled while wiping his eyes. "Thanks."
He went up to the casket and spoke to his decease older brother.
"Onee-chan. I wish that you had let me know that you were homeless. I could have taken care of you until you got on your feet again. I know you have a sense of great pride for yourself, but there was no reason to be ashamed, I would have done anything for you. You were always there to help me when I was young."
He started to sob again. "I just wish otou-san and okaa-san cared for you the way they should have. It disgusts and angers me bitterly at what those evil men did to you. It disgusts and angers me even more that our family won't come here to pay their final respect for you. However, I want to let you know that I will always remember the times we had together, always. I still remember that time when you gave your last 100 yen to buy me that tofu, even though you were hungry. I also remember you telling me stories at night, just so I can go to sleep. I knew that maybe one day you will leave this earth before I did, but not like this." He couldn't continue as his sobbing got in the way.
A few minutes later, Nekoko came back. She saw Yoshi, but not knowing who he was, she asked Natashi.
"Who is that man? He looks rather similar to Hana-chan."
"That's Yoshi-san. He's Hana-chan's brother. He's the only one from his family who came."
"Oh. That's all?"
"That's all. None of the other family members wanted to come. They pretty much disowned him."
Nekoko closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess it won't hurt to introduce myself to him."
She came up to him and greeted herself. "Hi, I'm Nekoko, Hana-chan's friend. You must be his brother?
By then, he already finished his weeping, so he looked at her rather peculiarly. "Yes I am. Glad to meet you." He bowed. "May I ask what are you?"
Nekoko was used to it by now, so she simply explained to him, "I'm a catgirl, half-cat, half-female human. I'm a product of a sick and twisted experiment." At the same time, she was hoping that her seizures wouldn't show up today.
Yoshi didn't really know what to make of her. "That's very interesting…"
Not wanting to talk anymore about herself, Nekoko quickly changed the subject. "How did you find out about the funeral?"
"I saw it in the papers. The police told me about his death the day after it occurred, since I'm his only relative in this area."
"I see. Where do you live?"
"I live in Aoyama, but it's been only a year since I moved to Tokyo. How long have you known my brother?" He asked.
"Almost two years ago. It seems like yesterday when we were fighting over this scarf that someone left on a bench at the park." She chuckled. "He got it. It was for the best, it looked better on him."
Yoshi smiled, then chuckled. "That's him alright. He always had to look good."
"I got to get some more stuff. Come outside with me please, and tell me more about your brother."
"Sure, thanks for having the funeral for him."
"No problem; anything for a great friend of mine."
Then came Kazuki, Souma, Makoto, Himeko and Chikane. As soon as everybody saw Chikane, the whole church went silent. There were people seething at her angrily, while others took pity for her. At that moment, Chikane was starting to feel uncomfortable being at the funeral.
As soon as she saw the casket, Himeko started to cry. The fact that it was a closed casket made his death even harder for Himeko and Chikane.
"I don't know if I can go through this Himeko." Chikane hesitated while she started to get nervous from the cold glares and empathetic stares the people were giving her. While clenching her right hand, she was also starting to feel ashamed and avoided any direct eye contact from the people. Himeko noticed and tried to help her as best as she could.
"You can. It will help bring some closure for you. You can't let this affect you forever." She suggested while gently rubbing Chikane on her back
They went up together to the casket and paid their final respects to Hana. As they walked to the casket together, HImeko grabbed Chikane's hand in comfort. Chikane squeezed hard that Himeko felt pain, but she did her best not to let it affect her. She knew that Chikane was hurting inside and that Chikane had to let it out.
Himeko was the first to speak to him. "Hana-chan, I hope that you will be in heaven someday. The world is not good enough for you." She sniffled. "I just want to thank you for being a friend to me. Thank you for accepting me when all the others on the streets didn't, and thank you for being a positive influence in my life. May you finally rest in peace, and most important of all, may God bless your soul." Then she told him goodbye for the last time. "Sayonara Hana-chan." She turned and shuffled away sobbing. Makoto was there comfort her.
"He's gone, Makoto-chan. He's gone!" Himeko bellowed out in misery.
"I know Hime-chan, I know."
Then Chikane whispered to him, while trying her best to keep herself from breaking down, "I'm so terribly sorry. It's all my stupid fault, if I didn't give you that stupid necklace, you wouldn't be here. You would still be trying to put makeup all over me. You would still help me out with my clothing. I wish I -."
"What the hell are you doing here?" snarled a seething and furious Nekoko behind her, who came back in with Yoshi.
Rudely interrupted, Chikane turned around and looked at the pissed-off catgirl.
Slightly irritated, Chikane responded, "I came to pay my respects to the late Hana-chan. Can I at least do that?"
Yoshi asked Nekoko, "Who is she?"
"She's the bitch who is responsible for your brother's death." Nekoko then focused her rage on Chikane. "Hana-chan wouldn't have been dead if it wasn't for you, you thieving bitch!"
Kazuki came up to her and tried to stop it.
"Nekoko-san, this is really unnecessary. Show some respect."
"Oh it's very necessary and this bimbo deserves no respect whatsoever. Not only did she put herself at risk, but she also put all of us at risk." She dropped everything, and then she pulled out a letter and read it out loud. "To Nekoko. Your okama friend is dead because that stupid orphan girl stole our jewelry and gave it to that dick sucker. Plus he was getting on our nerves with his pathetic 'vengeance' against us and his shameful girlish ways. Now we are coming after that koji bitch and her rezu girlfriend. If you try to stand in our way, we will take you out just like what we did to him. Chikane-san and Himeko-san, if you are reading this, we will hunt the both of you down and make you wish that you were never born. What we are going to do to you two rezus would be even worse than what we did to that okama. The question is when?"
Himeko was now frightened and Chikane was extremely worried. "I'm very sorry about all this, honestly!"
"Oh you'll be sorry about this alright, when I get done with you..." Nekoko then exposed her claws and let out a screeching yelp. "NNNYYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!" And she lunged at Chikane. Chikane fell hard to the floor.
Both girls were on the ground, tumbling all over as Nekoko and Chikane had their hands on each other's necks.
"Stop it you two. Stop it please!" Himeko begged.
Eventually Kazuki and Souma ran up to them and were able to pull the two women from each other. They did their best to hold them back.
"Let me go! Let me go, nyah!" Nekoko argued as Souma was struggling to hold her back. He was quite amazed at how strong she was.
Then Kazuki yelled, "Enough!" Everybody then became quiet and all attention was on Kazuki. "I know that there's a lot of anger and frustration in this room, but let's not make this worse than it already is."
"I can't see it getting any worse. The man is dead because of her! I don't want you to be in my presence ever again!" Nekoko spat at Chikane.
Just when Kazuki was about to respond, Chikane paused him with her hand and spoke up.
"Fine with me, I'll leave. It seems that the service is better off without me."
Kazuki tried to talk her out of it. "No Himemiya-san, you shouldn't have to."
"No, it will be better this way. I'll just make the funeral even worse."
As she was about to walk out, Hiemko pleaded with her, "Chikane-chan, wait for me!"
Nekoko couldn't believe that Himeko will stand by Chikane even though her life was in danger because of Chikane. "You're still sticking with this murderer even though she's responsible for Hana-chan's death?" Nekoko growled.
"She's not! She didn't expect this to happen. I love her, Neko-chan."
"Well fine, leave with her then. I don't want to speak to you ever again. As far as I'm concerned, our friendship is over!"
Himeko was shocked when she heard that. "No Neko-chan! No!" She begged.
"It's over, Kurusugawa-san!" And then she turned her back to her.
Himeko started to cry even more, and Chikane spoke to her. "Let's go, Himeko."
She started to leave with Chikane, and Nekoko never looked back.
Everybody was shocked by the turn of events occurring. Kazuki was about to speak, but Nekoko spoke before he could say a word.
"Not a word Oogami-sensei. I am sticking with my decision."
Silently Chikane and Himeko walked out of the church. Everybody looked at somewhere else besides them, especially Nekoko, who still had her back turned on them.
"This is not good onii-san." Souma commented.
"No it isn't. We will have to watch those two, especially Kurursugawa-san. We don't know when they will strike."
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There were people who were walking in the church, ignoring them with bitter disgust on their face, while others gave them sympathetic glances. The two girls saw this and quickly hustled out of the area. Nobody knew where they went.
When they were away from the church, both girls were very sad, but Himeko was really wailing.
"I lost two of my best friends, Chikane-chan." She sniveled on Chikane's shoulders. "Hana-chan is dead, and Neko-chan doesn't want to speak to me anymore."
Chikane didn't respond back, she was wallowing in her own sorrows. "This is biggest fuck up I've ever done." Chikane said out loud to herself. "She's right, Hana-chan is dead because of me. It's really is all my fault."
Himeko looked at her soulmate and told her, "No it isn't. It's not your fault. Stop saying that, it's not true! Hana-chan could have not accepted the necklace. Did he know where it came from?"
"He knew, but he didn't seem to care."
"Well then, it's also his fault. He knew he was also taking a risk when he got it from you."
"He did… Yet, I feel like it's all my fault." Chikane continued with her wallowing.
"It's not, okay. Remember we had this discussion earlier?" Himeko reminded her partner. "Don't let Neko-chan words get to you. Please."
"I wish it was so easy Himeko. I wish it was."
"It's not, but remember, it's not all your fault."
On their walk, Himeko started to share something that was really scaring her inside. "After what they've done to Hana-chan, I'm terrified."
Chikane then looked at her partner through her cloudy eyes and asked, "What do you mean, because they're coming after us?"
"That's part of it, but what I really mean is," she paused to take care of her sniffles, "is this what's going to happen to us, because we're gay?" Chikane was stunned for a bit, knowing the answer wouldn't be so easy as Himeko continued. "I mean, do people really hate us so much just because we love differently? Not only that people want us dead, but they also want to torture and maim us, just to punish us for being lesbians? I'm terrified Chikane-chan, I'm really terrified that people want us dead." She then broke down, and bawled on Chikane's chest. "People hate us for something we have no control over. People want us dead." She kept on crying as Chikane was trying to find an answer. Eventually, Chikane figure it was best to tell her truthfully how she felt.
"I wish I could tell you that it wasn't true, that your fear is unfounded, but I can't Himeko, I can't. I wish I could." Eventually, Chikane couldn't hold it much longer and started to break down in tears. In all that was going around them, at least they had each other, but for how long?
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Sister Miyako came about an hour later, just in time to give her eulogy. Natashi was the first to meet her.
"Greetings Sister Miyako. You just got here in time."
"I know, but I was extremely busy trying to get Tsubasa-san's memorial ready. What's up?"
"Well, you just missed an altercation between Neko-chan and Chikane-san."
Sister Miyako eyes raised in shock. "What?"
"Chikane-san and Himeko-san came to pay their respects, even though Neko-chan didn't invite her. She was terribly upset to see Chikane-san there, so while Chikane-san was near the casket, Neko-chan went up to her and yelled at her, then those two started to attack each other. It was bad, Sister Miyako. The priest and his brother had to break the two up. Chikane-san decided to leave and Hime-san left with her. We don't know where those two went."
"Oh no… how long ago was this?"
"About an hour ago. Things have calmed down since, but Neko-chan still looks infuriated."
"Great. I really wanted to see Chikane-san."
"Why?"
"I'll tell you after the funeral. I think it's about time for me to deliver my eulogy."
Miyako headed to the podium, thinking about what Natashi told her. Now it made her even more determined to talk to Chikane, before it's too late.
As she got on the podium, memories of her and Hana rushed through her head, like they just happened yesterday.
"Hana-chan had lived an amazing life, even though it was unfortunately cut short. Hana-chan was a great friend; he was always there for you when you needed somebody to be there. He was like both a brother and sister to me." She joked. People in the room chuckled. "He was one of my closest friends here. He didn't care that I was not pure Japanese or that I came from another country. All he cared about was the person inside of me.
He stood up for others, even though others might not have stood up for him. He lived his life in his own terms, even though others met it with disapproval. He believed in the Church, even though the church didn't want to believe in him.
People who knew him, knew that no matter how hard you pushed him down, he kept coming back up. His sense of pride was great. He was of course, very vain." She chuckled. "He still had to look good despite being homeless. He would sometimes spend hours looking for the best blouse in our church's donated clothes boxes." She laughed.
"I still remember the first time I met him two years ago. It was at the CHO (Catholics Helping Others) Food Service. He was standing in line with the others. When it was his turn to get his food, he saw my earrings. I remember him asking me, 'Darling, where did you get those earrings?' I told him I got it from my mother when I was living in Peru, and from that point on, we started talking, much to the chagrin of the other people in the line."
There's another reason those earring means a lot to Sister Miyako, it was the last gift her mother gave her before she died tragically.
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It was summer of 1994, and Sister Miyako was staying at a vacation home with her parents and her brother. She was only twelve years old and Girochi was only ten. The vacation home was a big villa on top of the hills in Peruvian Amazon. They were enjoying their dinner when they heard knocks on the door.
"Okay I'll get it." The father said as he left the table and opened the door.
"What do you want – oh no!"
There were two men outside with guns. One took a shot at the father, right at his chest. Instantly, her mother screamed. Miyako and Girochi were in shock as the man ran into the house. Miyako got over it and pulled her brother with her. They sprinted to their room as one of the gunmen chased after them.
The other gunman came right up to her mother, pointing his shotgun right at her. She got on her knees, begging for her life.
"What do you want? Why are you doing this?"
The gunman only responded with "It's time for you to die, you scum!" Then he aimed right for her head, and pulled the trigger.
Miyako quickly locked the door. The gunmen shot through the door to make a hole. Miyako and Girochi climbed out of the window. Fortunately, their backyard was not too far away from a jungle. Immediately, they ran into it, hoping to lose the gunman through the thickness of trees and plants. The gunman saw the open window, and knew they went into the jungle. The jungle was too thick for him to see where they went.
The reason for the killings was that the gunmen were part of a left-wing militia who were bitter rivals with then-Peruvian president, Roberto Motofuji. They call themselves "La Revoluciones." Just recently there was a coup, and they overthrew the president. Miyako and Girochi's parents were close friends and loyal supporters of the president, helping him to win the presidency. Their mother worked with the Peruvian police in capturing the militia men. The militia had targeted the parents for years, even since Motofuji came into power. This was not the first time Miyako and Girochi been in trouble. Two years earlier, they came close to being victims of a car bomb.
Miyako knew that the gunman would still be looking for them, so she made a suggestion to Girochi.
"We should climb up one of those trees, so it will be hard for him to find us."
"Great idea!"
Miyako climbed up one of the trees and Girochi followed. There they stayed still for hours in steamy and humid jungle while the gunman was still in the area. He passed them twice but he never spotted them. They were fortunate that they didn't slip out of the tree or accidentally knock something off the tree to call attention to their location.
When he finally left the area, Miyako and Girochi were relieved.
"Thank God, he's gone now." Girochi whispered.
"You're right about that."
"But where are we going to go?"
"I think I know a place."
Quietly, they left the place. Girochi followed his sister, still terrified and scared. So was Miyako, but she did her best not to show it. Finally they arrived at a house. Miyako knocked.
"Who is it?"
Miyako didn't reply, just continued to knock. Finally a woman opened the door and
"Oh what are you two doing here, where are your parents?"
Miyako told her "Mama and papa were killed by the militia, and they are coming after us. You got to help us, please!" She tried not to cry, but a few drops of tears leaked out of her eyes.
The lady was shocked. "Well… Come on in."
They entered, and she quickly closed all the blinds in the house. It was a one-story small house, so there weren't many.
She started to ask the kids questions. "So please tell me what happened."
"Well…" Miyako tried to explain though her emotional state. "Those militia men came into our house and killed papa first, then they shot mama and tried to kill us, but we hid in the jungle. After we knew that they left, we came here, because we know you're the only person we knew who could help us."
"I don't know if I can help you. My life will be at risk if I do." She worried.
"Please help us, please! We really have nowhere to go to and those evil men are after us."
"Okay, I think I can arrange something with my brother. He lives in Japan."
"Really? That will be wonderful!" Girochi elated like his life depended on it. Well, it did.
"Oh thank you so much!" Miyako said as she hugged the older lady. After she was done, the lady spoke.
"But for now, we got to keep you two hidden. Maybe tomorrow, we can take you two to the church, and Father Sanchez can watch you two. I'll try to have you two gone from this country in no time. It's too risky for you kids to stay here."
"Thanks again Sister Hidelgo. You're the greatest!" Girochi thanked, with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Sister Hidelgo started to cry too. "You're welcome. So you two saw your own parents die?"
"Well… Just dad. We ran into the room, and then we heard a loud bang, I think that one killed mom." Miyako muttered to her.
"Oh Dios mio! Those evil men, thinking they can have a revolution by killing people. Well, just go to my spare room for now and rest." She pointed to her room. "I will make sure that you two will be safe."
They went to the room but they couldn't rest, they just cried nonstop, knowing that their parents were no longer living. Miyako comforted her little brother, who was crying.
"Don't worry Girochi, we will make it, somehow…"
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The thoughts of her parents started to affect her during her eulogy. Eventually Miyako broke down and cried.
"Sorry, I can't continue on."
She then left the platform and went to the back, starting to howl. Moments later, Girochi then entered and saw his sister.
"Onee-chan? What's wrong?"
"It's everything, having to deal with two deaths at the same time, plus my other problems. It feels too much for me to handle."
"I understand, but I know that you're a strong sister, and that you will be able to overcome it."
"I don't know Girochi-kun, I don't know."
Girochi came up to her, and hugged her to give her the needed support that she was reluctant to admit.
"We've been through worse, onee-chan, we've been through worse…"
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There was still Tsubasa's funeral to take care of. It was done at Kazuki's shrine, where he lived a good part of his life. A small shrine was built to celebrate his life. A photo of him during better days was displayed. His body was already cremated. There were friends and families who stopped by to pay their final wishes and respects to the late Tsubasa Oogami, leaving candles, flowers, cards, small jewelry, card, and other items. Himeko and Chikane were not there, nobody knew where they went, and Kazuki was concerned.
Souma was there, crying his heart out for his late brother, and Makoto was there to comfort him as best as she could. Kazuki was even crying, losing what he felt was his brother.
Miyako and Girochi were not much better, as they were in tears as well.
She still remembers the day she first met Tsubasa, like it was yesterday...
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It was in Tokyo and she, along with Girochi, had been living in Tokyo for three years. She was now 15. She was living with Sister Hidalgo's brother, who was a priest for a local cathedral in Shinjuku. He had just moved there from Ota.
One day, he needed some necklaces for gifts, so he went to Kazuki's temple, which was nearby, with Miyako and Girochi. When they were there, Kazuki greeted them.
"Hello, welcome to the Temple of the Sun and Moon. What are you here for?"
"We are here for some necklaces to give as a gift to a few people."
"Really, what type of necklaces are you looking for in particular?"
"One that shows appreciation. We just moved here and these people help us with the moving."
"Oh I see. I take it that you're not a Buddhist or Shinto?"
"No, I'm a Christian, so I'm not too familiar with stuff like that."
Kazuki chuckled. "No problem. I think I got something for you. Tsubasa-san!" He shouted.
"Yeah?" He shouted back.
"Can you get me some of our necklaces?"
"Okay." About a few minutes later, Tsubasa came back with the necklaces in hand, but at the moment he saw Miyako, he stopped. Miyako noticed him as well. It was an instant attraction as the two were fondly gazing each other. Kazuki didn't notice, and neither did the priest and Girochi.
Finally, he came back to reality. "Here are your necklaces, miss." He politely handed her the necklaces while flirting at her.
"Thank you very much," she flirted back with a small smile.
The priest then paid Kazuki, and thanked him. "This is a great gift, I think they will like it. Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it. My name is Oogami-sensei."
"You run this shrine?"
"Yes indeed."
"But you're so young."
Kazuki chuckled. "Well, my parents left for Okinawa last year. They retired and are currently setting up a new shrine down there, so I ended up running it."
During the conversation between the two priests, Miyako struck up a conversation with Tsubasa.
"What is your name?" She asked.
"My name is Oogami Tusbasa. You can call me Tsubasa-san."
"Nice to meet you, Tsubasa-san. My name is Martinez Miyako, and you can call me Miyako-chan."
"Thanks, Miyako-chan. Do you live around here?"
"About three blocks away. Why?"
"I was thinking… Maybe we can hang out sometime."
Miyako giggled and responded, "Of course. I guess you want my number?"
Tsubasa smiled, a rather rare event. "Sure."
He pulled out a piece of paper and grabbed a pen from the desk. She wrote it down with a note a bottom that said, "Call me after 6 PM."
Finally, the two priests wrapped up their conversation.
"Thanks again. I'll be looking forward to seeing you again." The priest smiled.
"Same here. Have a good day." Kazuki replied.
Sister Miyako had to leave with her brother and the priest, but on the way out she looked back at Tsubasa, who was still smiling. She will never forget that day as long as she lives.
Kazuki saw him there smiling. This totally surprised Kazuki because Tsubasa was not the smiling type. Then he figured it out and grinned in return.
"So I see that something, or better yet someone, caught your eye?"
Tsubasa looked at him and blushed, he didn't have to say a word. Kazuki chuckled and told him, "Come on, let's get back to work. You can tell me when we have dinner."
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After the small funeral for Tsubasa was over, Kazuki then asked Souma where Himeko and Chikane were.
"They haven't been here since early this morning, and it's getting late. Where are those two?"
"I have a hunch where those two could be."
"Really? Where?"
About thirty minutes later, they were at the Shinjuku subway, near a vending machine. Himeko and Chikane were sitting there, still dealing with the loss of Hana.
"Hey, were you two here all this time?" Kazuki asked.
"Well, we walked around for a bit, then we decided to come here." Himeko informed.
"Why didn't you come back?" Kazuki asked.
"Because we didn't know if we would see some of the same people for Tsubasa-san's service." Chikane responded back. "And Sister Miyako would be there."
"She was, but she's back at home. I talked her out of staying at my place. Come on, let's get back."
"Why?" Chikane asked. "We've been enough trouble for you."
Kazuki came up to Chikane and touched her on her shoulders to reassure her. "Not really, but you'll be more trouble for me if you run away. There won't be any good in running away. The police might find you and send you two back to Mahoroba, or those thugs will find you. If you stay with me, at least I can help protect you two. You will need all the help you can get."
"Yeah, and we will do our best to protect you two, you can guarantee on that." Souma added.
"They're right. We have a better chance staying with them than going back to the streets." Himeko advised Chikane.
Chikane felt a little bit defeated and accepted to return back. "I guess you two are right. Let's head back home."
The four left the subway and returned back home. They talked and watched TV together, but the two deaths were still heavy on everyone's minds.
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When Miyako went back to her apartment, she went straight to the kitchen to make some tea.
Meanwhile, her brother saw the letter on the living room table and read it. He was stunned about her forced departure. "What… Why didn't you tell me about this?"
Puzzled, Miyako came out of the kitchen, and asked, "What are you talking about."
"This!" He showed her the letter. Silently, she took a deep breath and responded, "I didn't want you to worry about it. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."
"Are you crazy? I am worried about it! I don't want you to go back, you're the only sister I have."
"I know that, but if it's God's will, I'll be able to stay here in Tokyo."
"But Sis-."
"Please Giro-kun, let's not talk about it anymore. Do you want some tea?"
Girochi knew his sister well enough not to argue over about it. Her strong-willed nature can lead to stubbornness. Girochi however wasn't going to let his sister do it all by herself.
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For the rest of the week, Miyako carried on like the deportation situation wasn't affecting her, but inside the stress was really breaking her. She can't remember a point in her life that she felt so powerless. Back at her apartment, Miyako would go home and pray to God for him to reconsider. Sometimes the praying sessions would last for hours.
"Please God, if it's in your will, don't send me back to Peru. I'm very afraid to go back there, they might kill me, now that they run the country." She begged as she wept. "I don't know if I will live once they find out that I'm back. I seriously doubt anyone can help me there. I'm terrified, Lord!"
During that time, she wasn't eating or sleeping much, the stress was really getting to her. She lost a bit of weight, and she came to the cathedral tired. She didn't really notice much about her appearance; however, people in her community noticed something different about her.
During lunch, one of her fellow nuns asked about her. "What's going on Sister Miyako?"
"Nothing, really nothing."
"I don't know about that. You don't seem to be yourself."
"It's not really a big issue. I can handle it myself, but thanks for asking." Then she went on to eat her lunch. The cathedral director thought otherwise, and wanted to do a background investigation to see what was really going on.
Sister Miyako sat, and ate her lunch alone, thinking about the time she left the country.
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Sister Hidalgo was able to arrange a truck to pick them up. Under a disguise, the truck was a moving truck, and two guys placed two wooden crates in the truck. The two crates contained Miyako and Girochi seperately. The plan was to drive the truck all the way to Quito, Equador; as the two countries were not friendly to each other. That gave the two kids protection against the new party rising from the coup.
Their crates were all the way at the back. There were three rows of crates in the truck and the two siblings hid in the middle, thinking that was the least likely spot they would look. They were in virtual darkness with only a bottle of water along with a few snacks and a sandwich. They spoke to each other in order to pass time and calm themselves, but it did little to calm their fears of being caught. It was a scary ordeal, especially for a couple of young kids who had the unfortunate task of facing this type of situation.
Their hearts beat rapidly in terror every time they reached a checkpoint. The army, who were aligned with the militia, had various checkpoints throughout the country.
At one checkpoint, Miyako and Girochi came close to being detected, as the army men opened up the crates that were on top of them. They could hear the men talking about how it would be a thrill to find them and have them killed. It didn't make things feel any easier for Miyako.
While during the trip, she started to pray to God. After the prayer, she felt a wonderful feeing in her body, like a sense of reassurance. She felt that everything was going to be all right.
Finally they arrived at Quito. There was man who they met and gave them fake passports so they could get on the plane without any problems. Finally, they got to the airport and took a direct flight to Tokyo. They were finally safe. On the flight, Miyako thought about Sister Hidalgo and her prayer to God, how those two saved her life. It was from that point on that she decided to devote her life to God and the be a part of the Catholic church.
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She tried to talk to her boss, her Visa representative, but no one could help her out with her situation. She felt like it was time to accept her fate.
Then one day, Girochi came over to her apartment.
"Hey sis, how are you doing?"
"Could be better, what's up?"
"I got some good news for you." Girochi grinned.
"Really?
"Yeah. Here, read this letter."
He handed her the letter and she read it out loud.
"Dear Martinez-san, we would like to inform you that your planned deportation to Peru has been aborted. Due to political situations, you will not have to go back. Instead, you are permitted to reside in this country. Your visa has been extended for an additional five years due to being offered political asylum."
She instantly started to cry. "Thank you God! Thank you."
"You should also thank my police chief as well."
"Huh?"
"I told him your situation and since he's good friends with one of the members of the Immigration Bureau, he was able to halt the process."
"Wow, I'm amazed."
"Don't be. You see, you can't do everything by yourself, sometimes you need to ask for help. Jesus didn't do everything by himself, he had his twelve disciples to help him out.
"That's true. Thanks a lot."
"No problem." Girochi headed to his favorite place in her apartment – the kitchen.
Miyako looked up to thank God. "God, you work in mysterious ways, but I would like to thank you for using my brother to teach me an important lesson."
Then she looked at the last picture that she and Girochi took while living in Peru on top of the kitchen counter. She grinned, knowing her brother wasn't so 'dumb' after all. She took a deep breath and looked up with that smile still on her face. "We still got each other and I thank you for that, Lord."
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