Where I Belong (part 3 of 4)

YOUR HEART, WHERE I BELONG

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In his run-down apartment, on a floor littered by cigarette butts and empty beer bottles, beneath a window the glass of which was stained by smoke and the dust that accrued after months of neglect, Shouji Ichitaka sat, his eyes glued at the dark ceiling, his head a mess of fear and desperation. Life had been cruel toward him during the last two days, as his electricity, gas, and water service had been cut off due to the fact that he had no money to pay the bills. Yet, bad as the situation was, the worst had yet to come. A couple of days from now, the landlord would come to collect this month’s rent... and unless Ichitaka found money in time, he was going to be kicked out of here. Once that happened, Ichitaka would have to spend his nights on some bench in the park, homeless, friendless, jobless, penniless, and without a chance of regaining what he once had. He shuddered. Oh Gods above, why did they land him into this predicament?

Despair turned into anger. Yes, all of this was his Gods-damned daughter’s doings. It was the girl’s bad luck that killed his wife. It was the evil who had accompanied her since birth that led to the downfall of his business career. When Shouji An fell into a coma and ended up in a vegetative state, Ichitaka had thought in glee that he could finally get rid of the disease that had plagued the last seventeen years of his life. Every day he prayed to the Gods that the girl would kick the bucket, every day he hoped to receive a phone call from the hospital which would inform him that his source of misfortune no longer troubled him... and every day he was disappointed. Apparently An refused to draw her last breath even though she was almost as dead as a corpse. Not knowing how long he was going to have to pay the hospital to preserve his daughter’s life, which he never wanted them to, he had tried to pressure the girl’s assigned doctor into pulling the plug of her life-support machine. That chicken of a physician, however, refused to, so Ichitaka was infuriated no end.

One day, he decided that he could wait no more, that he had to take matters into his own hands, so he sneaked into his daughter’s room in the hospital. There, he shut down the life-support machine and watched in cold satisfaction as An’s pulse started to weaken. He was so close to success, so close, when the doctor stepped into the room and discovered that Ichitaka was trying to kill his patient. Of course, since Ichitaka was outnumbered, he could do nothing except from watching the SVR-865X Unit coming back to life, An’s pulse becoming stabilized, and his hope being washed down the drain. Well, despite the fact that he was stared at disgustedly by the doctor and nurses at the hospital, he wasn’t tossed into prison for his attempt of vandalism and threatening a patient’s life, so he guessed Lady Luck still favored him somewhat.

His real trouble, as if he hadn’t had enough of it, started, ironically, when Shouji An woke up from her coma. On that very morning, he waited at home for the girl, knowing that the moment she stepped one step past the door would also be the moment he grabbed her hair, like he always did, and beat her with all his might. That afternoon, he considered the idea of murder, for he didn’t believe he could tolerate the girl’s repulsive existence anymore. By the time the evening descended upon the sky of Tokyo, he had already figured how to dispose of his daughter’s corpse without arousing any suspicion from the neighbors or the police. Oh how he had been disappointed when he opened the door four days later to see that it wasn’t the abomination who had rung the bell, but a bear of a man who was accompanied by a lawyer in grave black suit. It was the instant that he felt as if he had just put his head into a noose.

That man introduced himself as Sakuma Ryo and announced he had taken all legal actions necessary to “deliver An out of the hell hole” that was Ichitaka’s beloved home. Taken aback, he could only stare as the lawyer, a woman who looked at him the way one would filth, presented him with the paperwork that clearly showed that he no longer had the power to affect his daughter’s life. Not just that, according to the last sheaf of paper in the darn woman’s folder, the Superior Court of Tokyo had also issued a restraint order, which forbade him to approach Shouji An under any and all circumstances. Apparently, Sakuma had brought An to the police and let her testified that she had been subjected to both verbal and physical abuse by Ichitaka. How his jaw had dropped knowing that had the girl pressed charge against him, he would have been in deep yogurt.

After Sakuma and his lawyer left, Ichitaka sat back down on his couch and became so happy that had he not tried his best not to dance around the apartment, he would have. For the first time ever, he felt as though a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders. ‘Finally, my misfortune has left me for good,’ he had thought on that day and gone ahead to buy a cask of beer just so he could celebrate his daughter’s departure from his life. He had not slept so well since the day his wife gave birth to the brat.

Eventually, he realized that even though Shouji An was no longer nearby, her bad luck was still there, haunting him as tenaciously as ever. For some reason, his neighbors, whom he was on good terms with, had managed to listen in on the conversation between him and Sakuma Ryo, inevitably learning of the fact that he had been punishing his daughter in his own home. As a result, they ostracized him and treated him with contempt even though he believed that what he did to Shouji An was but just. Well, he didn’t care so much about those good-for-nothing slobs anyways, so he ignored them and went on with his daily life. Never once did he imagine that the incident would get blown up beyond his control. Never once did he expect to find a reporter at his door one Saturday afternoon, wanting to interview him. Of course, Ichitaka slammed the door on the fellow’s face immediately.

It was a bad idea.

The next morning, as soon as he picked up the newspaper, he saw a picture of himself on the front page. He didn’t know whether the reporter was just enraged by Ichitaka’s action or the guy was determined to become famous at Ichitaka’s expense... but the damnable man had clearly done his best to smear Ichitaka’s reputation. Aided by his helpful neighbors, the reporter managed to sprinkle a few specks of truth onto his article... yet the rest were ill-willed lies. True, he admitted that he once beat up An so badly that he had to keep her from going to school for fear someone would notice the bruises. True, he often showered the girl with all sorts of profanity with the intention of forcing her to learn just exactly how she had affected his once perfect life. True, he even tried to kill her by disabling her life-support system... but for crying out loud, he never applied medieval torture devices on her, nor did he starve her for such a long period of time that the girl ended up in the hospital for weeks. It was an article more vicious than anything he had had the chance to read in his life.

The trouble didn’t end there.

When Ichitaka came to work a couple of days later, he was summoned to the office of the chairman, who told him flatly that he had been fired. It turned out that the higher-ups in the company had heard about the incident and decided that they needed to get rid of him as soon as possible. Since they were about to launch an advertisement campaign that was supposed to raise their popularity with the public, they couldn’t afford anything that might taint the company’s name. That was the simple reason to Ichitaka’s downfall. On that day, he left a company where he thought he would work and continue to rise until he reigned on top of everybody else.

During the following weeks, Ichitaka sought employment from other eminent companies. Of course, since he had such an awesome résumé, he expected that anyone who had a little bit of sense and intelligence to leap at him and offer him a position no lower than that of his last job. What he faced at the interviews, unexpectedly, were rejection and disgust. The first question they asked him was always related to the article on the newspaper in which he was accused of child abuse. He denied it as fervently as he could, obviously, but no matter how hard he tried, he failed to clear his name. As a result, no company would hire him. After every day that passed afterwards, he sank a little bit closer toward hell.

‘And I must be at its door right now,’ he thought bitterly. He only wondered when it would open and let hell suck him in.

Just as Ichitaka was about to wallow himself deeper and deeper in self-pity and hatred for the ungrateful world, someone knocked on the door and made him give a violent start. Instinctively, he pressed himself against the wall and began to tremble. The landlord... he couldn’t have decided that he wanted to collect this month’s rent early now could he? Ichitaka dearly wished that it wasn’t the cold-blooded, money-loving old man... but aside from him, who would come to this Gods-forsaken apartment to look for Ichitaka? His so-called friends had deserted him since his fall from grace and pretended that they didn’t know him even if they saw him on the streets. Even solicitors refused to knock on the door of his apartment, which was called a hell hole by Sakuma Ryo and Ichitaka’s neighbors, so the landlord was the only one who would possibly....

“Shouji Ichitaka-san,” a woman’s voice, soft, melodious, and icy, called and cut off his train of thoughts, “I know you are in there. Please open up.” Chills slithered down his spine. How the heck did the she know?

“Who the hell are you?” he shouted and heard the fear in his voice. Once, he was a man who knew of no such thing. Once, he was a man confident that he was but invincible. Now, he didn’t think so anymore. “What do you want?” The fear grew stronger.

“My name is Minamoto Iriya,” came the reply. “I am the Director of the Public Relations Department of CyberConnect Corporation. I am here today to offer a contract with my company to a talented man like you. Do you not want it, Shouji-san?” Somehow, he was under the impression that the woman outside his door was smiling.

Ichitaka’s breath caught. Everybody knew that CyberConnect was the most powerful of the corporations in the world. If Minamoto Iriya was telling the truth... then he had a chance to rise from the mud and regain what he lost and more! He was about to leap up from where he sat and open the door when suddenly suspicion struck him. What could CC Corp possibly want with a man whose reputation had been stained forever, whose life had been reduced to this helpless state? If they truly wanted talented people, they could have recruited a truckload of Toudai graduates any time they wanted. The fact that they came here for Ichitaka meant that something fishy was going on. Furthermore, he couldn’t exclude the possibility that the woman wasn’t what she claimed to be. He was desperate, but he wasn’t a fool.

As if Minamoto could tell what he was thinking, she said in an amused tone, “If you keep being so cautious, Shouji-san, how could I show you the contract? A look would not hurt now would it? Or are you afraid that a frail woman like me would hurt you?” The mocking note in the woman’s voice was so loud, so obvious that it made Ichitaka’s blood boil.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, he rose to his feet and opened the door, at which point he realized that his visitor was a handsome woman in formal black suit, who was young enough to be his daughter, whose hand was holding a bag that seemed almost too heavy for such a small woman to pickup. His face hardened. How could someone with so few years on her have been able to climb to such a high position in CyberConnect unless she was lying about it?

“Pleased to meet you, Shouji-san,” Minamoto said with an incline of her head.

“Come in,” Ichitaka commanded roughly. The Gods knew he should have slammed the door on the woman’s face the way he did the nosy reporter a couple of months back... but some part of him desperately wanted to believe the woman’s claim, so he only clutched the door handle and waited until she had stepped inside before he closed it.

“Charming place,” she commented casually and sat down on the ground in a prim seiza fashion. His mouth thinned in anger. Was she mocking him again?

Still, he got to admit that the woman was regal. Even with the empty bottles and burnt cigarette butts around her, she still made this dump seem a palace.

“Show me the papers,” Ichitaka growled after he had settled down opposite her.

“Here you go, sir.” She smiled a very icy smile as she opened the bag, took out several sheets of papers, and laid them neatly upon the tatami mat.

Ichitaka picked them up and studied them carefully, as expected from a professional businessman. He, more than anyone else, was well aware that unless he paid every scrap of his attention and pondered the meaning behind every single line of the contract, he risked being taken advantage of for the rest of his life.

After a few minutes of reading, he gasped aloud. According to the contract, he was to assume the position of Marketing Director of the Tokyo Division of CyberConnect Corporation. Along with the position also came the annual salary of fifty million yen, four weeks of vacation a year, and other benefits that his old company couldn’t afford paying for. All in all, it was a contract made of pure gold, one that any person who sought employment would kill to have.

“This is... too good to be true,” Ichitaka mumbled.

“As I said,” Minamoto Iriya said with a satisfied smile, “you are a talented man. We are always in dire need of people like you.”

“People like me,” he repeated. “You must be kidding. I’m not going to beat around the bush, Minamoto-san. Tell me now, why did you want me for such a high position when you’re well aware that I have been pushed down to the lowest level of society. You, a Public Relations Director of all, must have done your research beforehand, right?” He focused his eyes on the handsome face of the woman in black suit. “You know what they said about me. Shouldn’t you care?”

“Oh we sure do,” she agreed. “However, the value that our company needs is talent. For that, we are willing to turn a blind eye to whatever had happened to our employees as long as they prove... useful to us.” She gave him a meaningful glance. “Besides, it is not as if we give you this position freely, Ichitaka-san. There is a price you have to pay before you can start working for us.”

“I noticed,” Ichitaka said dryly. “The contract specified that unless I fulfilled a certain condition, the position won’t be mine.” He put down the papers. “What is it that you want me to do?”

“We want you to deliver your daughter, Shouji An, into our hands, by whatever means you can think of.” Minamoto smiled viciously. “The day you succeed is also the way we at CyberConnect would welcome you with open arms. Of course, we will also take measures to clear your name. We will give you a life a thousand times better than what you once had.”

Ichitaka narrowed his eyes. “An? What business do you have with that girl?”

It was then that Minamoto Iriya started to tell him the true story behind his damned daughter’s hospitalization.

***

“And that is why we need your daughter, Shouji-san,” Minamoto Iriya concluded after half an hour of telling the story to the scum of society sitting opposite her. Despite the fact that she had been praising his talent and trivializing his fall from grace since the beginning of the conversation, she did believe that people like him should be executed on the spot. She never liked Shouji An to begin with... but it did not change the fact that she felt for the girl and resented what was done to her during the first seventeen years of her life.

“You are hiding something,” the lowlife observed. “Out with it.”

“What do you mean?” she asked innocently.

“You conveniently left out the fact that with less than a fraction of what you offered me, you could hire any thug in this city to do your biddings,” Shouji Ichitaka said coldly. “Why me?”

“Because they are not the girl’s father, you are. You know her best,” Iriya answered matter-of-factly. “Using you would ensure that we have the highest chance in capturing her. And of course, you being a talented businessman was a fact that we couldn’t possibly fail to notice. I can never stress enough that we are always in need of capable employees.”

That was the truth... just not all of it. The true reason why the Revolutionists wanted Shouji Ichitaka for the job was that he was the easiest to put the blame on. Paying thugs to kidnap Shouji An would cost a whole lot less, that much was granted, but thugs were always treacherous, and they could be traced back to CyberConnect and mess up everything that was about to come to fruition. This lowlife of a man before her now, on the other hand, was much easier to deal with. He was all by himself, he had no one to rely on, thus he could be quickly eliminated should need arise. And once he was silenced forever, it would be a piece of cake to make sure that the police’s investigation would go no further than his death. In the end, he had the perfect motive. Anyone could see that his hatred toward his daughter was what drove him toward whatever actions he might take against her in the future. Even a dummy would be able to deduce that the man’s situation was hopeless, that he only wanted to exact revenge from Shouji An before he ended his own life. They would never be able to realize that the Revolutionists were behind the scene and pulling the strings on the puppet.

“That’s all?” Shouji demanded suspiciously.

“That is all,” Iriya agreed.

“Very well,” the lowlife said. “I accept the condition. I’ll give An to you as soon as I can lay a hand on her. But I’ll need her personal information, such as address and cell phone number.”

“You will have them.” Iriya nodded. Oh how quick he was in deciding, how nonchalant he was in saying that he would hand his blood daughter to them so that the girl could be experimented on, how heartless this man was. Still, she said nothing. Once she had given Shouji what he asked for, she left the building, marveling to herself how amazingly easy it was to deceive a man in a hopeless situation. For all the suspicion that Shouji Ichitaka had tossed at her, she was certain the man never once seriously tried to find out whether Iriya’s claim, or even the contract, was valid.

It, obviously, was not.

The contract was merely a piece of paper that had absolutely no legal effect. True, it was written by one of the top members of the Revolutionist, in the careful and precise wording of any contract offered to any new employee, but that did not mean that it was worth more than any other piece of trash that Shouji Ichitaka could pick up on the street. Were the man to bring it to any branch of CyberConnect, they would tell him immediately that he was holding in his hand a piece of forgery, however intricately wrought. But surely, the man was not going to do that, or anything that might destroy his faith. He was desperate. He needed something to believe in. He wanted to be assured that he was going to be alright. No matter whether he was aware of it or not, the lowlife had wagered his life on the possibility that Iriya was telling the truth.

Wrong choice.

Not only would Iriya disabuse the lowlife of his wishful dream once he had accomplished the task, she was also going to kill him. The secret must be protected. They could not very well have him going berserk after learning that he had been deceived and thoroughly taken advantage of, now could they? And besides, it was not as though anybody would grieve for the man’s death, least of all his blood daughter. After all, Shouji Ichitaka was the lowest of the low, a man who could not compare to an insect. When someone like him vanished, this world became a little bit better. Not much, of course, but it would still please Iriya greatly to make that happen with her own hands.

***

“Wait here a little bit, ne, Mariko. I’ll go get some ice cream,” An said before she dove into the sea of people milling about the attraction spots of the Tokyo Dome City.

Sitting on her wheelchair near a gushing fountainhead, eyes glued at her lovely girlfriend’s retreating back, Misono Mariko couldn’t help but wonder in amazement what could have taken over the girl who had cried uncontrollably in Mariko’s arms a week ago. An had seemed so depressed and so heartbroken then, so when she showed up at Mariko’s door on this glorious Saturday morning and invited Mariko to go out on a date while looking as vibrant as a little bird in spring, Mariko could only gape in surprise. Not in the least did she expect that the high school freshman would answer with such a brilliant smile on her wonderful face that they were going to go to Tokyo Dome City when asked.

Never once after the accident that cost Mariko the ability to walk did she ever imagine that she would be here one day. Why should she, when she knew full well that she was going to be denied the service of most attractions in the amusement park due to her disability? Why should she, when she was aware that her mother, Misono Madoka, feared that Mariko would end up wallowing in self-pity were she to see people do things that she could never do? Somehow, Madoka never found it in herself to believe that her daughter didn’t care much about such things anymore. True, she would inevitably feel a trifle sad having to sit here, on the ground, on her wheelchair, while other visitors had such fun on the Linear Gale rollercoaster or the Tower Hacker, a structure that offered the experience of a two-hundred-and-sixty-feet-freefall, but she was definitely not going to let those negative feelings weigh her down for the rest of her life. An was the sole person who understood that.

As she raised her head to look around for any sight of her sweetheart, Mariko’s eyes found her. With the winds caressing her short brown hair, with a healthy color on her full, smooth cheeks, with an ice cream cone in each hand, she looked every inch an angel on earth. Even amidst a sea of people, even when her outfit was but plain – An claimed she was so used to her shirts and short pants that wearing anything else would make her decidedly uncomfortable – while those around her apparently had pulled out their best clothes from the wardrobe, she still shone as brightly as the sun on high.

As Mariko gazed at her girlfriend’s approaching figure, she couldn’t help but smile. Yes, unlike Madoka, An understood that Mariko had better use of her time than brooding over a fate she couldn’t possibly alter. Others might have a hard time believing it... but instead of envying the people around her, she was actually happy for them. Of course, she wasn’t as fortunate as they were in that she couldn’t walk on her own legs under the vast heavens... but in that she had a girlfriend whom she loved, who loved her more than anyone else in the world.

“Here you go, Mariko,” An said with a smile as she gave Mariko the ice cream cone. It had green tea’s flavor, her favorite.

“Thanks, An.” She returned the smile and watched in blessed silence as her girlfriend sat down on the bench next to the wheelchair and nibbled on her own cone. Yes, all signs of depression and sadness had vanished off the seventeen-year-old, leaving behind the cheerful and childlike Shouji An with whom Mariko had fallen in love. She only wondered what had happened....

“It’s only ten o’clock, so we have another hour to go. Mariko, do you want to go somewhere before they let us into the LaQua building....” The high school freshman trailed off as she turned to Mariko and noticed that Mariko’s eyes had been on her all along. The girl’s complexion went slightly pink. “Why aren’t you eating yours? It’s melting,” she pointed out, her face a mix of embarrassment and delight, her deep blue eyes two brilliant gems that reflected all the glory of the cloudless heavens. Mariko knew that her love for An didn’t make her exactly impartial... but she still believed that no other girl in this world could be as cute as her sweetheart.

“I’m going to.” Mariko chuckled and began to sample her green tea-flavored cone. It tasted very good.

“As I was saying,” An said, “we have another hour to go before the LaQua building opened. Is there somewhere you want to go before that?” She spread the Tokyo Dome City map across her lap and glanced a question at Mariko.

In TDC, there was a high-class spa and restaurant resort called the LaQua Center, where visitors could immerse themselves in the natural Koishikawa Hot Springs, rumored to be highly effective for skin care and curing shoulder discomfort and some other kind of physical ailments. On the fifth floor of the building was the restaurant, where only the best cuisines were served along with a breath-taking view of the Tokyo Dome at night, when the stars on high and the lights of the entire amusement park fused into a spectacular scenery. LaQua, in other words, possessed the features that made Tokyo Dome City one of the most popular attraction centers in Tokyo.

The famous spa resort, in fact, was the reason why An took her here today. An’s father, Sakuma Ryo-san, had gifted them with two VIP one-day passes for the Tokyo Dome City, which granted free service in all the attraction spots within TDC, including every floor of the LaQua center itself. The novelist claimed that one of his connections – the man accidentally let slip that it was a lady – received the VIP passes as bonus for her job, but she didn’t want to go so she gave them to him in the end. Mariko somehow... doubted that. Since he was an utterly indulgent and doting father, it was highly likely that he had purchased the passes himself and lied that they came from another person as a gift. She hoped she was wrong. The passes were extremely expensive... and Ryo-san’s financial situation wasn’t looking so well lately... so she would feel really bad if that were the case.

“Mariko?” An’s concerned voice jerked her back to reality.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” she murmured ruefully, “I was thinking about something.” She took her girlfriend’s vacant hand into hers and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Say, would you like to ride that Ferris wheel over there?” Mariko suggested. “I’d like to have a look at the whole Tokyo Dome City from above.” That was one of the reasons, yes. Almost instinctively, her eyes darted toward the great oak tree about thirty feet or so to her right. She gave a quiet sigh, almost unheard. She knew it was necessary, that it was the right thing to do, but it didn’t necessarily mean that she liked it.

Mariko suppressed a second sigh.

“Shall we go?” An’s voice spoke softly while she was no where to be seen. Turning her head, she saw that the high school freshman had positioned herself behind the wheelchair with her hands on the handles, a bright smile gracing her lips.

“Yes,” she answered, and An wheeled her toward the end of the long, serpentine line of people waiting for their turn on the Ferris wheel.

***

“Don’t you think this place is really pretty, Mariko?” Shouji An murmured softly as she peered out of one of the glass panels on the gondola. From here, a hundred feet above the ground, everything looked so small. The visitors, mostly adults who were half as tall and nearly twice as wide as her, now appeared tiny ants roaming around in chaos. Down there, they were rude, loud, noisy, and apparently blind the way they kept stepping on each other’s feet and bumping into one another’s front. Up here, they seemed to be on another planet.

Truth be told, An disliked amusement parks the way she did any other sort of crowded places. Had it not been for Mariko, the one she loved, she would never have come here even if she was threatened by a dozen grownups armed from their teeth to their toes. She couldn’t help but smile. Oh how much she had changed. Several months ago, up to the time she first found herself trapped in The World, she had been a brat whose heart was not large enough to house anybody except herself and whose world comprised only of the room in which she lived. Now, her heart beat for Mariko alone, and her world was where the young woman was.

“Mariko?” she asked and turned around after a few minutes of no reply from her beloved. She froze. Although the twenty-year-old, clad in an unbuttoned white blouse, a blue collar shirt, and a pair of black jeans, was the one who suggested that they ride on the Ferris wheel in the first place, she currently paid no attention to the scenery. Sitting opposite from An, the blue-haired beauty merely gazed ahead, her shiny amber eyes fixed on nothing other than An’s face. She blushed. When she was still Tsukasa in The World, she never had problems looking at Mariko or even holding the woman in her arms... but in the real world, every look Mariko sent her way never failed to quicken her heartbeat. And when Mariko kissed her....

She had never figured out why it made such a big difference in real life.

“I thought you wanted to go up here to look at the scenery,” she accused. She only wished her voice had been strong and stern enough to match her words.

“Yes, but only partly.” Mariko laughed softly into her hand. “Will you come over here, please?” She patted the vacant spot on her bench.

“Sure.” An swallowed audibly, which made her girlfriend’s laughter grow a little bit louder and more amused, then moved to Mariko’s side. As soon as she settled down, she found Mariko’s head resting on her shoulder, and the former’s soft and fragrant body leaning against the left side of her own. Despite the fact that it should be the thousandth time or so that Mariko showed her affection through physical contact, she still couldn’t prevent her heart to leap up her throat and race fast enough to beat a horse when it came down. Only very dimly did she feel herself wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s back, put a hand on the hollow of her waist, and snuggled much closer. The contented sigh issued from Mariko’s mouth told An she appreciated it.

“Do you want to know the real reason behind my wanting to ride the Ferris wheel?” she heard Mariko speak very softly with the voice she used only in private. Musical, sweet, and very soothing.

“Yes.”

“It’s because up here, I don’t have to be afraid that Satou-san would see me being intimate with you and report to Ryo-san,” Mariko’s voice dropped to a quiet whisper that only made the flames on An’s cheeks burn even more fiercely. Worse, the warmth radiating from the body the lovely young woman threatened to overload her senses. “Just several minutes alone with you... but it’s going to be enough.”

Satou-san was the name of the man whom the famous hacker Helba charged with the duty of protecting An’s beloved. When her dad reported to Helba, Balmung, and Lios what had happened between her and the stern woman who claimed to be the Public Relations Director of CC Corp, they had decided that something needed to be done. Amongst the four, the mysterious Helba alone possessed the power to dispatch men – assistants she called them – as she wished, so she took on the responsibility of guarding An and Mariko. As a result, they now had a professional bodyguard for a tail, who would make sure that no one suspicious would come within ten feet of either. Sure, that felt really assuring when she thought in horror that Minamoto Iriya was lurking somewhere nearby, scheming to make her sign that contract... but at the same time the protection had caused them all sort of inconveniences.

An and Mariko were no longer able to show their affection for each other outside of their rooms without risking Ryo discovering their relationship.

Not that Mariko cared too much about the whole secrecy business, she simply respected An’s wish that neither of the parents should learn what was going on until An felt comfortable enough to tell them. Well... maybe she could do that with Ryo first... or she thought she could. Ryo was an open-minded man, and she was truly glad to have him for a father... but this was rather sensitive... and she couldn’t be certain that he wasn’t one of the people who had a heart attack as soon as they heard about two girls being more than just friends. After all, they had just been an official family for several months. There were still a lot that An didn’t know about the novelist. Mariko believed that Ryo probably wouldn’t see it as an issue... but An couldn’t be so sure.

And then... there was still Misono Madoka to deal with. An loved her girlfriend with all her heart... but she had to admit that the young woman’s mom had but a fraction of Ryo’s affability. No matter how hard An tried to approach her, the middle-aged office lady never seemed moved by her efforts. Madoka, despite being the mother of the cheerful and ever so lovely Misono Mariko, had never greeted An with a friendly face. There could be no mistake. All that the woman ever harbored toward An was hostility. The explosive kind. She could see it in those tired amber eyes, she could hear it in Madoka’s curt words, and she could feel it very clearly every time she went near her. It was one of the mysteries in her life to which she never found an answer. How in the Gods’ names did she manage to make an enemy out of the mother of the woman she loved without trying?

An shivered. If she was unsure how Ryo would react to the news that she were dating Mariko, she was but certain that the young woman’s mom would fetch a knife as soon as being told. Not the wisest thing for An to do... evidently.

“An,” Mariko’s voice and the feel of her smooth palm against An cheek brought her back to the interior of the slowly rising gondola. Her lovely girlfriend was gazing at her, slightly worried. “Is there anything wrong?”

“I’m thinking about your mom,” An confessed.

“You shouldn’t,” her girlfriend said softly and soothingly as she once again laid her head upon An’s shoulder. Her arms tightened around An’s own “Everything will be alright. My mom always wants the best for me... and when she realizes that I need you more than anything, she’ll accept you.” She didn’t sound half as convincing as she should... and An doubted that Misono Madoka would give up her daughter to a girl, one she especially disliked at that, without putting up a bloody fight.

“Okay,” An told the older woman, trying to sound cheerful.

Smiling, Mariko lifted her head, pressed her hand gently against the back of An’s neck, and kissed her. When her girlfriend pulled away, An thought her face was on fire once more. “Don’t you wish that this ride won’t be over for another hour or so?” the blue-haired beauty in her arms whispered before she leaned in again. Their lips stayed pressed together much longer this time... and they didn’t part until the gondola approached the ground. When An left the circular compartment with Mariko in her arms, she noticed that the operator was studying her with an odd expression on his face. He had the look of someone who had seen something he shouldn’t have.

Face aflame, An tried to ignore the man, wheeled Mariko away, and never stopped until she realized that she had reached the LaQua center without meaning to.

“We still have the rest of the day, An,” Mariko commented with a smile. “No need to come straight here.”

Deciding not to tell her girlfriend about the Ferris wheel operator but not really having a good excuse, An fumbled hurriedly in her mind, trying to find one. She finally did.

“The spa will be open in just a couple of minutes,” she explained. “If we come early, we may not have to share the Hot Springs with other people.” Mariko knew perfectly well that An wasn’t very comfortable around strangers, especially in this place, where she had to enter a spring naked, so the young woman would most likely believe what An just said.

“Well... it’s good you think that far ahead...” the blue-haired twenty-year-old hesitated and looked up at An with her beautiful amber eyes, “but do you really want to be in the onsen alone... with me?” She lowered her gaze and started fidgeting with her blouse’s buttons.

Shock seized An. For all the planning she did last night, she never questioned herself what going to the spa with Mariko would mean. And worse, since there was nobody around the Center at this moment while it was about to open any time soon, chances were that the excuse An came up with would come true. Her blood started to boil. For all the kissing and embracing they had done in private, they never attempted to go any further... and now... they were going to see each other in nothing but their skin. She wasn’t really sure if it was what she really wanted to happen.

Silence passed between them, with neither dared to look the other in the eye, until An decided that backing out at this point would be really stupid and wasteful.

“I’ll be alright,” she managed weakly, “I think.”

“Okay then,” replied Mariko in a voice that was no stronger.

At that moment, the “Open” sign behind the double glass door flashed into life and signified that the Center was now functional. A minute barely passed before a female assistant, in blue and white uniform of LaQua, appeared and bid them welcome with a deep bow. Stuffing hesitation into the deepest corner of her mind and locking it there, An wheeled Mariko inside the Center, hoping that she wasn’t going to die from the embarrassment.

Fifteen minutes later, she panicked.

Mostly immersed in the hot water under the wooden rafters that allowed a limited view of the cerulean sky, surrounded by the rocks that lined the somewhat rectangular outdoor bath, accompanied by her girlfriend, An decided that it was a bad idea to come here in the first place. Well, sure, it was really soothing and relaxing in the onsen... but the comfort of the body couldn’t compensate for the unease of her mind. In fact, she thought half of her existence was screaming at her and urging her to get out of here immediately. As for the other half... it was whispering in a very alluring voice and suggesting that she moved closer to the wonder sitting but half a hand to her left.

An glanced sideways.

There she was, the love of An’s life, gazing straight ahead so intensely that it was obvious she was trying not to look in An’s direction. Thanks to the hot spring’s water, which bore the green color of the the pool’s floor, most of Mariko’s naked figure was safely concealed. All An could see of her lovely girlfriend was the blue flowing hair glistened from the moisture of the steam, her pearly neck, her slender shoulders, and a part of her firm, ample chest, the sight of which whipped An’s head back to where it was. Her breathing quickened considerably, as did her heart pulse. Whatever people might believe... being a girl did not help in this kind of situation... at all.

The voices in her head were still struggling against one another in a fierce battle. On one hand, she wanted to pull the young woman into her arms, embraced her as tightly as she could, and relished the feel of her sweetheart’s bare body, a feel that she never experienced. On the other hand, she was so ashamed at the thought that she wished she could bang her head against one of the rocks. Hugging her knees, she dipped her head under the water surface, hoping the hot spring would somehow help her cleanse her head and snuff out the fire beneath her skin.

It didn’t. Gods, but she wished her dad hadn’t offered her the VIP passes.

The sound of splashing water caught her attention and turned her head. Mariko, her hands on the floor, was trying to shift her body into a more upright position. She slipped and lost her balance. Before An could think, her arms had already reached out to catch the one she loved. That was how she ended up with the young woman in her embrace afterwards. Her breath caught, her blood rushed to her face, and her mind went numb as she looked down and found Mariko’s amber eyes gazing upward, the tips of their noses so close together they almost touched. Her breaths on An’s face were searing – pleasantly so, oddly enough – even amidst the steam rising from the water, her flesh hot enough to make her breaths seem cool.

Eyes riveted on her girlfriend’s beautiful face, decorated with droplets of water that shone like gemstones under the sunlight, An felt herself trembling. This was certainly not good.

Yet... even though she knew that anyone could step into the outdoor bath at this moment, she couldn’t seem able to peel herself away from Mariko’s slender frame. Worse, as if she had lost the control over herself, she could only watch as her arms tightened around the body of her girlfriend, as her hand started to wander the young woman’s back... lower... and lower still.

When Mariko’s upper body suddenly tensed up, the fear that she was going to be mad at An stayed her hands completely. That was why she was taken aback when her sweet girlfriend nuzzled her nose against hers, moved in, and claimed her lips. As she sensed Mariko’s arm fasten around her waist and remove the distance between their bare bodies, however little it was, she closed her eyes and let her passion shatter the fragile rein she had placed on herself from the beginning. Without any reservation and embarrassment to hold her back, An poured her heart and soul into a kiss that was much more intense than any they ever shared. Her tongue, as though possessing a will of its own, entered her sweetheart’s mouth, seeking warmth, sweetness, and reciprocation.

The intimacy probably was too much for her beloved girlfriend to bear.

The young woman suddenly withdrew her lips, put her hands on An’s shoulders, and pushed herself away. Instinctively and almost unconsciously, An tried to pull her sweetheart back into her arms and kissed her again for all she was worth. She couldn’t, for Mariko had pressed a hand against An’s lips and halted her dead in her tracks. Panic was all that filled the young woman’s deep amber eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Mariko whispered, her breath ragged, her voice sheepish. “I have to stop. If I don’t...” she paused and swallowed hard, “I can’t imagine what’s going to happen.” She gave an apologetic smile. “I don’t want the management to charge you with public indecency.” Afterwards, she gazed at An and let her fingertips trail down An’s cheek in a most loving and longing manner. That facial expression, regretful and unbelievably cute at the same time, did not help, at all.

Accepting the VIP passes, An thought bitterly, was the greatest mistake in her life. It made her realize that deep down, she craved for Mariko’s body as much as she did the young woman’s soul, a desire she never thought she possessed. The knowledge was very... disquieting... especially when she knew that she was going to stay over at Mariko’s tonight.

The entire night, with no one else there to interfere should the two of them decide to continue where they left off.

***

“We’re home,” Misono Mariko murmured when the wheelchair pulled to a stop in front of her apartment on the sixth floor of the Kanagawa Place. “Here you go.” She handed her girlfriend the key, which An took and used to unlock the door. Gazing at An’s back, Mariko’s mind reeled. Earlier today, when the sun was dawning upon the skyscrapers of Tokyo, Madoka had left for the Tokyo Station so that she could catch a train to Saitama with her supervisor. She wasn’t going to return until tomorrow evening, if then. An knew this... so she had offered to stay with Mariko until her mom came back. She had only been grateful toward the high school freshman in the beginning, knowing that the love of her life was very worried about her.... Yet... after the episode at the LaQua Center... Mariko was having second thoughts.

Would she dare let An stay overnight when just several hours ago, she nearly jumped out of her skin trying to kiss the girl forever? In fact, had she not invoked every ounce of her willpower to stop herself from going any further, she would have. The very thought was frightening. Never before did she realize how strong her yearning toward An was. Never before did she fully understand that the closer she was to her girlfriend, the more likely it would be for her to want to consummate their relationship. It was human nature. It couldn’t be helped.

The door creaked open, revealing an interior lit by the light that came pouring in through the glass windows. While An was wheeling her inside, Mariko surreptitiously studied the girl she loved over her shoulder. Based on the way uneasiness grew on her face after every step she took, Mariko would say that the high school freshman was deeply disturbed. Not that it was rare to see An so whenever she visited Mariko, of course. Madoka, might the Gods bless her, had always treated An with such coldness and hostility that even Mariko became extremely unsettled as soon as her girlfriend and her mom came within five feet of one another. Still, at this moment, Mariko was under the impression that An’s uneasy mood had been greatly augmented. She but wondered if the girl was still thinking about what had happened in the hot springs.

Mariko let out a quiet sigh and hoped that the rest of the day wouldn’t be as... exciting as the time they spent in Tokyo Dome City.

Fifteen minutes had barely passed when her heart assured her that what she wished for wasn’t going to come true.

It all started when they sat down to watch a DVD An rented on the way home. An told her that the sempais in her acting club hailed this movie as the ultimate romance flick ever brought to the screen. Mariko never found out whether the claim was justified or not... because during the first hour that followed, in which An gazed at the TV intensely, she couldn’t keep her attention on anything else except the lovely girl who was sitting on the same couch, a good arm’s length away. At first, Mariko didn’t understand why she was so restless... and it disturbed her greatly when the reason finally dawned upon her.

She was longing desperately for physical contact with the high school freshman. She fervently wanted to be touched.

Granted, the need was always there; she was head over heels in love, after all. Still, it was but a tiny spark of emotion that was perfectly controlled under other circumstances. Now, it was a bonfire that couldn’t be doused. The intimacy moment they shared in the onsen had taken its toll. She wasn’t sure its damage was going to be repaired... if ever.

Toward the second half of the movie, it dawned on Mariko that unless she did something, she was going to be driven insane. Sighing, she reached for An’s hand. At the contact, the brown-haired girl gave a start that nearly lifted her from the couch. Despite the flame that was burning her inside out and putting her on edge, Mariko laughed at her girlfriend’s reaction. Sheepish and shy as the girl was, she had never been so jumpy before.

“Yes?” the seventeen-year-old asked afterward, her face reddening, her voice anxious and tight.

“Can I rest my head on your lap?” Mariko asked, voice slightly sheepish. “I’d like to lie down for a little bit.”

“Sure.” The answer was hesitant, but it did come.

The high school freshman rose to her feet and helped Mariko lie down on her side on the couch. Then as requested, she settled down near one end and laid Mariko’s head on her lap in a most gentle manner. Sighing again, this time in contentment, Mariko rubbed her cheek against An’s thighs, covered by her short pants, and unintentionally elicited a small gasp from her lovely girlfriend. Smiling inwardly, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sense of serenity that slowly enveloped her entire self. Shortly afterwards, she felt An’s hand on her head, stroking it slowly, tentatively, and awkwardly. Cooing softly with her eyes still closed, she took that warm, tender hand into hers and brought it to her mouth, where she placed light kisses on its palm and fingertips. Then she pressed it against her cheek and kept it there. Her girlfriend showed no sign that she wanted to take it back.

“You don’t like this movie,” the seventeen-year-old observed.

“Do you?”

“No, it was really boring.”

“But you seemed to enjoy it the way you glued your eyes on the screen.”

Silence.

Mariko was surprised when she realized that the hand on her cheek was growing hotter and a little bit sweatier. She opened her eyes, turned around, and looked up. Her sweetheart was blushing. She suddenly understood. An did have her eyes fixed on the screen, but she didn’t do so because the movie was interesting. ‘She was just avoiding looking at me,’ Mariko thought. The incident at the LaQua Center had unnerved her so badly that she forgot that it could have affected the other girl, too. In fact, since An was the more bashful between the two of them, she must have been shocked to the base of her foundation.

“I’m sorry, An,” she murmured as her hand rose and placed its palm against her sweetheart’s cheek. “I must have upset you. I... lost self-control back there in the hot spring so I.... I’m sorry. I really am,” she repeated her apology in great apprehension, hoping with all her heart that An wasn’t angry with her. She wished she hadn’t kissed An in the LaQua Center’s outdoor bath. She wished she had been able to exert a little more control on herself and not let her impulse take over.

“Well... to tell you the truth,” An said after a moment of silence, during which she did nothing except gazing deeply into Mariko’s eyes, “I didn’t fare any better.” The color on the freshman’s face deepened. “You looked so beautiful back there that I couldn’t help myself. If you hadn’t stopped first, there was no telling what I would have done.” Toward the end, her voice dropped so low that had Mariko not strained her ears to listen, she would never have heard. Once she realized what An said, though, she felt herself blushing furiously.

Silence descended once more... only that this time, it made Mariko extremely uncomfortable. Despite the fact that she was trying her best to refrain from recalling the torrential current of love and desire she experienced in the onsen, An’s honest words laid all her efforts and determination to waste. The memory rose in her mind stronger than ever. It was as if she was still immersed in the hot water of the outdoor bath. It was as if she were still being held within the curve of An’s arms. Even now, she could still recall the texture of An’s moist and silky skin, the firmness of her breasts, the fragrant scent of the shampoo she washed her hair with before entering the onsen, and the incredible sweetness of her lips and tongue. Mariko’s body started growing hot, her throat dry, her breath uneven, and her mind numb. She could feel liquid desire coursing in her veins. She could hear it sing endlessly in her ears. She knew what it was urging her to do.

‘This is bad,’ she thought in alarm.

Knowing that An felt the same way as her surely didn’t help. In fact, it just made the situation decidedly more awkward and disquieting, for while her head was buzzing with thoughts more indecent than any that she ever had in her life, the target of those thoughts was within her arm’s reach. Worse, as she looked up, she realized that her own longing was mirrored in the deep blue eyes of the girl she cherished. That was when she fully registered the fact that resistance was futile.

It wasn’t very clear whether Mariko lifted her head or An lowered hers first. All that Mariko knew was that their mouths met afterwards in a kiss that was soft, light, and tentative in the beginning but grew so intense so quickly that it could easily put the one they had in the Koishikawa Hot Springs to shame. And so they lips remained locked together, parting only ever so quickly to replenish the air in their lungs just so they could kiss again. Dignity cast aside, inhibitions forgotten, embarrassment damned to the deepest layer of hell, the only thing Mariko desired at this moment was everything that her lover could offer... everything she possessed....

With her entire consciousness submerged in the ocean of bliss, only very dimly did she feel An’s hand fall softly upon her cheek, where it stopped momentarily to caress her in a most loving manner before it descended down her face, her neck, and then her breast. Surprised, Mariko’s eyes sprang open as she broke the kiss. As if struck, the brown-haired girl recoiled, regret and embarrassment but evident across her face.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, her head hanging in shame, “I... I presumed too much.... I really shouldn’t have.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” Mariko frantically assured the high school freshman. “I was just surprised, that’s all. I love being touched by you, An,” she added once she noticed that her girlfriend didn’t give any indication that she believed. “Besides... don’t you think we should retire to my room? I’d much prefer... my bed to this couch.” Mariko couldn’t even force herself to imagine how her mom would react if she heard her say such an embarrassing thing... to another girl. Madoka wouldn’t disown her... would she?

“Are you sure, Mariko?” An asked worriedly after a while. “I don’t want you to regret later just because of my selfish wish.”

The response brought a little smile to Mariko’s lips. Cupping An’s chin with one hand, she quietly pulled the brown-haired girl’s face a little bit lower just so Mariko could place a soft peck on the tip of her nose. “I’m not going to regret it, An,” she whispered, “because... that’s what I want from the bottom of my heart, too.”

“For real?” An asked wonderingly. She sounded unable to believe her own ears.

“Yes,” Mariko answered. “A thousand times yes.”

An said nothing and gazed at her for a good five minutes before she gently scooped Mariko into her arms and carried her toward her room. Joy and love were all that could be seen on the freshman’s wonderful face. ‘I love you so much, An,’ was the only thought Mariko had before she was laid gently upon the soft mattress of her bed.

***

Sitting in the hotel room that she shared with her supervisor, a woman who already gray in the hair and long in the tooth, Misono Madoka quietly dial her daughter’s cell phone number. Because of her job, she had had to leave the child home all alone today, something she had not done during the last ten years of her life... and within every second that she spent on this trip, she grew more worried and restless. It was high time she called and made sure everything was alright with Mariko. She wished she hadn’t been so busy ever since she stepped onto the train that departed from Tokyo. She only hoped nothing had happened at home.

Deep down... she had a terrible feeling that something already did.

***

Embraced by the sickly orange light of the bed lamp on the small table nearby, Misono Mariko was under the impression that her life, ripped to shreds by that terrible accidents ten years in the shadow of the past and newly mended several months ago by the appearance of the one girl who was trapped in The World, had just been made anew. She turned her head and found herself unable to breathe.

Reclining against the headboard of the bed was her beloved girlfriend, Shouji An, whose tender arms wrapped protectively around Mariko’s waist, whose hands laced atop her abdomen, whose front rose and fell most seductively against her back, whose chin rested on her shoulder, whose heart beat in a quiet but alluring melody along with her very own. Under a blanket that guarded their bodies against the cold weather and augmented the warmth that stemmed from every fiber of their existence, Mariko felt as though she had been melted into one single entity as the one she loved. At this moment, joy and contentment were all that filled her soul... and if someone told her that her legs were going to stay disabled for the rest of her life, her spirit still wouldn’t be dampened one bit. Nothing mattered except An... and as long as she remained by Mariko’s side, this world would always remain her paradise. ‘Where I truly belong,’ she thought.

“Mariko?” An called, her voice a soft whisper that spoke volumes of love, her warm breath a caress on Mariko’s face. She gazed at her lover in utmost wonder. It was as if the magical encounter they had but a moment ago had removed the last shreds of reservation from An. It was as if the girl’s innate shyness had never existed.

Misono Mariko had never been drunk except that one time a few years back, when she was so depressed she decided to use alcohol to make herself forget the torment of living. She knew that Madoka always had a in the fridge a bottle of red wine, from which she once in a while would drink one or two cups at night to overcome her chronic insomnia and ease her way into the world of dreams. That day, when her mom was still at work, she had taken out the bottle and consumed half of its content. She never woke until a full day had passed, and once she did she immediately suffered from a massive hangover and a serious scolding from Madoka at the same time, but she never forgot how the wine had elevated her from depression and erased all her sorrows. Just now, that one word from her lover, a simple call of her name, reminded her exactly how it felt to have half a bottle of wine infused in her blood.

The sensation of the brown-haired girl’s naked body pressed against hers only served to increase the intoxicating effect.

“Yes?” she answered with a voice that was equally soft.

“It’s time for dinner,” An said after a glance at the clock on the desk sitting opposite the bed, near the computer. It read seven thirty in the evening. “Do you want me to prepare something for you?”

Mariko shook her head. “It’s okay, I’m not hungry. Stay here, don’t go anywhere.”

Her traitorous stomach decided to contradict her words by rumbling slightly beneath An’s interlaced hands. The girl tightened her arms around Mariko’s body and laughed softly against her neck. She blushed hotly.

“It’s not good for your health to stay hungry, you know,” her sweetheart told her. For some reason, Mariko was reminded of her mom. She could only shake her head in wonder. How in Heaven’s name could two persons on opposite sides of the spectrum sound so much alike? “What do you want to eat?”

Knowing that she couldn’t get out of this no matter what she attempted, and that An only wanted the best thing for her, Mariko tried to think of a dish which didn’t take too long to prepare, and which wouldn’t require An to go to some nearby grocery store to get the ingredients. She suddenly realized that her girlfriend didn’t have to cook at all.

“My mom left me a large pot of beef stew that she made last night,” she said. “It’s in the fridge.”

“Okay, I’ll heat it up.” An unlaced her hands and withdrew her arms from Mariko’s waist. The girl’s vanishing touch elicited a deep, regretful sigh. “Wait just a bit, ne? I’ll be right back. Or do you want to eat in the kitchen?” By the time the brown-haired girl was done saying that, she were already standing on the floor and pulling on her white shirt and pants, leaving Mariko lying on her side on the bed, her bare frame safely concealed beneath the thick blanket. The Gods standing witness, Mariko had lain alone on this very same mattress, in this very same room during the last ten years... but right now, she decided that she hated it. It took most of her strength just to refrain herself from pulling her girlfriend back to bed and never let go.

“Here’s okay,” she replied. She really didn’t want to put An through the trouble of carrying her to the kitchen just to bring her back here a while later. She was slightly taller, and heavier than what a frail young girl could carry without tiring herself out in the end. “And just pop it into the microwave. No need to use the stove,” she called before An could open the door to her room and leave.

Standing at the doorstep, An turned around and mumbled, her face stained by blossoming colorful spots, “You just want to have me back here as soon as possible, don’t you?” She grinned afterwards.

“Can you blame me?” Mariko answered softly with a smile. “Who would want to be apart from you?”

The color of the spots deepened. “Well, I can think of a number of people,” her grin faltered a little bit... but it grew wider after a look at Mariko’s face. “But no, I’m not going to let you follow dad’s bad eating habit. Even though I keep telling him that microwave is bad for his health, he never listens.” She shook her head exasperatedly. “Well, he I could do nothing about... but you...” a mischievous gleam appeared in her deep blue eyes, “I’ll make sure you eat properly.”

With that, the girl left.

“She does sound like mom,” Mariko muttered ruefully to herself.

After fifteen minutes, which stretched so painfully long that Mariko would have sworn she had waited for more than an hour, An reappeared in the room with a tray in hands. On it sat a bowl of beef stew from which smoke was still billowing. It smelled so good that it made Mariko’s mouth water, much to her dismay. Madoka seldom had time to prepare anything for her daughter – they, like Ryo-san when An was in school, lived mainly on canned food – but when she did cook, she wouldn’t lose to most restaurant chefs in Tokyo. Mariko’s mom could turn a simple dish into exquisite cuisine, and she knew it for fact. This beef stew was proof enough.

“Here you go.” An placed the tray across Mariko’s lap after she had helped her sit up straight on the bed with the blanket wrapped around her person. “Eat while it’s still hot.” From An’s tone, anyone would have said that between the two of them, she was the older. Mariko could only let out a quiet chuckle and let it slide. Besides, it felt good to be babied by the one she loved. She wasn’t going to admit it to the girl’s face any time soon, though.

“Is it good?” An asked once Mariko had a chance to eat a few spoons. The girl was sitting on her knees on the floor, arms folded on the mattress, chin propped on one hand, lips curved upward in a fond smile that lovers reserved for each other.

“Try it and find out,” Mariko said and fed her sweetheart a spoonful she already blew on to lessen the heat.

“Your mom’s good!” An exclaimed afterwards.

“She is,” Mariko agreed. “Want more?”

“It’s okay, I can get my own bowl.” The seventeen-year-old shook her head. “It’s your portion.”

“You brought me too much,” Mariko protested, “I can’t finish it anyway. Help me, ne?” She was telling the whole truth. Judging from the size of the bowl that she was given, her girlfriend must have thought that Mariko had been starved for days.

“Okay.” The Touyou Eiwa freshman rose to her feet and sat down on Mariko’s left, where they shared the rest of the stew. Who would have thought that the simple act of feeding her lover with her own hand could make her so happy? Who could have figured that just by sitting by one another’s side, watching each other eat, could provide a contentment that even wealth and fame would fail to give?

“Do you want more, Mariko?” An inquired. The bowl, along with the tray, now lay atop the table, its content now generating a source of warmth deep within Mariko’s stomach.

“Gods, no!” She laughed. “What do you take me for, a glutton?”

“You ate so little when we had lunch in LaQua,” An said, her tone reeking of disapproval.

“So did you,” Mariko countered, more amused than ever. Did the girl honestly expect that one could keep her appetite after the incident in the outdoor bath? While they were dining in the high-class restaurant on the fifth floor of LaQua Center, the only thing that Mariko felt was the need to throw the knife and fork away and find a hole to bury herself under. She suspected that the other girl must have experienced the same problem the way she insisted on murdering and mutilating her food before she ate it.

“Uh... well....” She scratched her head in slight embarrassment.

“You’re too green to play the parents game with me, young lady.” Mariko pulled her girlfriend into a snug embrace and tickled her. They both laughed. It was only then did a question she had earlier suddenly resurfaced. She stopped her tickling and quietly held her sweet girlfriend tight. In response, An snuggled deeper into Mariko’s embrace and rest her head against Mariko’s chest.

“Can I ask you something, An?” she murmured atop her sweetheart’s head.

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you so cheerful today?”

“What do you mean?” The girl looked up at Mariko, nonplussed.

“Remember last week? You have seemed so depressed then,” she explained, then stopped, not really knowing how to proceed. Perhaps she shouldn’t have voiced her question at all.

Luckily for her, An understood. “I’ve been thinking about us during the last week, Mariko,” the girl said, her expression growing melancholic, her voice distant. “The more I considered, the more I realized that I’d been doing the wrong things all along.” Her hand rose to comb through Mariko’s flowing tresses. “In two weeks, you’ll be half a world away,” she continued, “there are better things for me to do than brooding about your departure. I finally understood that it’s more important that I spend these two weeks having with you instead.”

Mariko gazed at her lover, sensing warmth welling in her soul.

“I’ve been very childish, haven’t I? I’m sorry,” An murmured, her voice racked with shame. She turned her head away.

“No, don’t be!” Mariko told her sweetheart. “It just shows how much you love me, and I truly appreciate it.” She cupped An’s face and turned it so they could look into each other’s eyes. Then she kissed her. “I’m very proud of you, An,” she whispered tenderly. “Do I have to keep telling you that having you for a girlfriend is the most fortunate thing that has ever happened to me?”

“Well...” the love of her life whispered back, “I won’t mind if you say that every once in a while.” A smile blossomed on her lips and lit up her face.

Mariko laughed and moved in to kiss the high school freshman again. Quickly enough, the meeting of lips grew passionate and rekindled the flame that had practically burned Mariko inside out before An carried her to the bed. Almost soundlessly, the blanket that had been hiding her nakedness was untied and fell to the bed. Before she knew it, her hands were tugging at the hem of An’s shirt, trying to lift it up and reveal to her once more the wonder lying beneath the thin fabric.

When she woke up with her girlfriend sleeping soundly within her embrace the morning after, which was heralded by the sunlight beating on her window’s blinds and the digital clock that read seven thirty atop her desk, she reached for her cell phone nearby to check whether she had any new messages.

To her surprise, she saw that the thing had been shut down, which she didn’t recall doing. Frowning, she turned the power back on, flipped open the electronic device... and was informed by the log that twenty-seven calls had reached it last night, at least ten of which were before the phone itself went offline, which were never picked up. She knew why. Her reckless abandon with An must have occupied enough of her attention to render her oblivious to the ring tone. Yet... she didn’t believe it mattered whether she had heard or not, though. She doubted she was going to answer the calls in any case.

Mariko felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she stole a quick glance at the stunningly beautiful figure being snuggled warmly in the curves of her arms. ‘How could I let go of her just because of a phone call?’ she thought. The Gods standing witness, even if the Prime Minister knocked on her door last night, she would still leave the man standing there until she had time for him.

After placing a soft peck on her girlfriend’s forehead, she checked for the identity of the callers. She froze. All twenty-seven calls were placed by only one person... and that person was her mom, Misono Madoka. The smile slipped off her lips in an instant while a feeling of unease wormed its way into her mind. In her euphoric state, she had but forgotten that aside from solicitors who just wanted to advertise new wheelchair models each month, Madoka was the one person who called from work every day to make sure nothing had happened to Mariko at home. Madoka must have been worried sick last night to have placed this many phone calls. With guilt nettling her heart, Mariko dialed her mom’s number.

While she was waiting for the line to be connected, she took another glance at her sweet girlfriend and considered withdrawing her arm. She rejected the idea almost instantly. Although it might feel terribly weird for her to talk to her mom with a girl sleeping naked in her arms, she didn’t have the heart, or the will, to let go of her sweetheart, who was clinging to Mariko with such a blissful expression on her adorable face. Sighing, she held An even closer, pulled the blanket up a little bit higher to make sure the girl wouldn’t get cold, and waited for Madoka to pick up the phone.

“Where were you last night?” Madoka demanded, concern and fury warring in her voice. She hadn’t sounded this angry since the time Mariko drank half of her wine bottle.

Swallowing uneasily, she answered with a voice as low as possible so that she wouldn’t wake her beloved, “Home, mom.”

“Then why didn’t you pick up the damn phone?” her mom’s voice thundered and made her give a small start, which in turn caused An to stir softly in her arms. Thankfully, the brown-haired girl continued to stay in the world of dreams, absolutely oblivious to the disaster that was descending on Mariko’s head.

“I’m sorry, mom,” she said ruefully.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it!” Madoka fired back. “Can you imagine how worried I was?”

“I’m sorry,” Mariko repeated, feeling worse with every second that passed. Here she was last night, having fun with her girlfriend while her mother, the one who had cared for her with utmost devotion during the last ten years, tried to reach her all night in the fear that something had happened to her. Madoka deserved better than this.

There was a moment of silence on the phone, during which Mariko was under the impression that her mom was trying to calm herself down. Madoka’s deepening breaths only confirmed her guess. Mariko’s heart went out to her. Madoka, ever since the death of her husband and the disablement of her daughter’s legs, had been subjected to great stress, which led to her high blood pressure. As a result, she needed to take her medicine every day or she wouldn’t be able to endure the amount of work that was piled upon her shoulders. Mariko only hoped that her negligence last night didn’t antagonize her mother too much.

“What happened?” Madoka asked, sounding much calmer despite the steely and thin quality of her voice.

Mariko found herself at a loss for words. She never lied to her mom in her entire life, and she never wanted to.... ‘Yet do I dare reveal the truth?’ she thought bitterly. ‘Do I dare tell her that I ignored her calls because I was making love to An?’ Being aware of just exactly what kind of emotions Madoka harbored toward the Touyou Eiwa freshman, Mariko couldn’t help but realize that the knowledge might just become a knife that plunged into Madoka’s already fragile heart.

“Mariko? Are you still there?” she demanded.

“Ah yes,” Mariko hastily answered. “Nothing happened, mom. I just had a terrible headache yesterday so I switched the phone to vibrate mode and went to sleep. I’m sorry, mom.” ‘For lying to you,’ she finished mentally.

“Are you feeling okay?” Madoka’s voice softened immediately, which made Mariko feel even more terrible. “Did you eat enough? Did you take medicine afterwards?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. I had the stew you left before I went to bed. It was delicious, mom.”

“It’s good then.” She could almost picture her mom smiling in relief on the other side of the phone. “Do try to take care of yourself, Mariko,” Madoka added, concern once again back in her words.

“I will,” Mariko promised. ‘For your sake, for An’s sake, for my own sake,’ she thought.

“I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon,” Madoka announced. “The stew should be enough to cover you until then.”

“Not tonight, mom?”

“No. The business meeting was lengthier and more complicated than what we expected,” we, meaning Madoka and her supervisor, “so it’ll take a little bit more time.”

“I see,” Mariko said, trying to guard her voice as much as possible. On one hand, she was slightly worried that Madoka had to spend extra time and effort on her job. On the other hand... she was happy to know that she could still spend another day... and another night with the one she loved. She wasn’t very proud of herself... but she couldn’t help but feeling the way she did.

“Oh, my boss is calling for me,” her mom said. “I have to go. Remember what I said, Mariko. Take care of yourself.” She hung up.

After she put her cell phone back where it was, she looked at the cuddly girl in her arms and was surprised to see that her girlfriend was looking at her with those adorable deep blue eyes.

She greeted the love of her life with a light kiss on her lips. “Hi there.”

“Good morning,” An said and burrowed deeper into Mariko’s embrace. “Did you sleep well?” the seventeen-year-old murmured drowsily against Mariko’s neck.

“Very,” she answered, smiling inwardly. ‘With you here by my side, how could I not?’ “How about you?”

“Not well at all,” her girlfriend said and gave a tremulous yawn. She sounded very tired. “Every time I managed to close my eyes, your cell phone rang and woke me up. I’m a very light sleeper, you see.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mariko apologized, feeling blood suffusing her cheeks. Why was it that only she got a good night sleep when the two people dearest to her barely slept a wink?

“After the tenth time or so,” An continued, seemingly unaware of what Mariko just said, “I turned it off. It’s partly because I was growing irritated... and partly because you seemed to be sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t want it to wake you up.” Her voice grew sheepish toward the end. It was as if she was ashamed of what she did. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds.”

Mariko chuckled softly and assured her girlfriend, “Don’t worry about that. It’s okay. But next time, be sure to wake me up if the phone kept ringing, ne? It could be some emergency.” She brushed An’s hair affectionately.

“Okay.” The high school freshman smiled up at her. “But who was it that called you?”

“You didn’t hear me talking?” Mariko asked, surprised.

“No. I woke up moments before the call ended.” An shook her head.

“It was my mom,” Mariko told her

“Oh.” The brown-haired girl’s body, cuddly and soft just a second before, tensed up at the mentioning of Madoka. “What did she say?” she inquired uncomfortably.

“She said she wasn’t going to be home until tomorrow afternoon,” Mariko whispered into her sweetheart’s ear and placed a quick peck on the girl’s cheek. “That means you can stay here for another day... with me.” Then she kissed An deeply on the lips and tightened her arms around the Touyou Eiwa freshman’s relaxing frame. One more day to spend by the side of the one she loved, one more day to strengthen their bond before Mariko left for the U.S., and one more day to relive the magical encounter that had kept them spellbound. She only hoped their time together would be enough to help her survive the one year she was going to spend apart from the one girl who had grown to be more than a half of her existence.