Need your help.

I'm not entirely satisfied with this.  In fact, I'm unhappy on several
levels.  I wanted this to be better than it turned out being.

So please, any and all criticisms you have will be greatly appreciated.

This is the third and final part of my KOR story.  The previous two parts
can be found on my web page at:

http://members.xoom.com/sterman

One important note: this is based on the manga, *not* the anime, which
includes the movies.  The manga ending is significantly different.  I can
fill you in on details, if you wish.

Again, all comments, criticisms, and flames gratefully accepted.

-Richard



Life So Dear

by

Richard Lawson


Part 3

***

Hikaru pressed her hand to her forehead, still trying to adjust to all the
new concepts.  "So tell me again about how this body switch works?"

"The bodies stay put.  It's the minds that switch."  Kyosuke's grandfather
sat next to her in the backseat of Kurumi's car.  He chattered brightly.
"And not really the minds, really.  It's the essence of a person's psychic
energy, 'soul' is the term that usually conveys the concept best, although
that is really inadequate-"

"Grandpa."  Akane spoke in a distracted, irritated tone of voice.  "This
isn't the time for lectures on the Power."

Manami turned from where she sat in the front seat.  "Akane."

Akane shot her a glare, then looked down at her lap.

Hikaru reached across Grandpa and took Akane's hand.  "Hey, your brother
will be okay.  Sempai, too.  You'll see!"

Akane looked at her out of the corner of her eye and offered a quick smile
of appreciation.  Then her face dissolved back into a haunted, frightened
expression.

It echoed emotions Hikaru herself was feeling.  This was quite a scary
situation.  Two of the people she cared about most in the world had somehow
become involved in a macabre nightmare of bizarre powers.  And somehow she
had to help get them out of it.

*Had* to.  She loved them both a lot, and if it all ended in tears, then all
the sacrifices she'd made for them would be for nothing.

Damn, she thought to herself.  You're so selfish.  Is that all you care
about, how this all affects *you*?

It was a question that had haunted her for years.  Kyosuke had done very
little over the years to give her reason to think he was in love with her.
But she'd persisted and persisted, *certain* that he would be hers.  And
she'd *wanted* him, ever since seeing him throw a basketball into a basket a
hundred feet away.  Someone who could do *that* - and so effortlessly, too -
had to be a prize catch.  So she'd set her sights on him, little caring what
he wanted.

She'd had so many hints that Kyosuke only wanted her friendship.  So many
clues that he had really liked Madoka.  But it wasn't the reality she'd
wanted, so she'd ignored those things, ignored everything but the goal she
wanted:  Kyosuke.

And she'd paid the price for her selfishness.  Paid heavily.  Not only had
she lost Kyosuke; she'd been unable to hold on to her friendship with
Madoka.  She'd practically ran to New York to take advantage of the dancing
class.  Anything so that she wouldn't have to face the consequences of her
selfishness.

She suppressed a heavy sigh.  Now was not the time for self-pity.  Plenty of
time for that later.

Almost on cue, Kurumi brought the car to a halt in front of the hotel.  They
all looked through the windows into the lavish lobby.

There was a silence for a minute until Kurumi spoke up.  "Now what?"

"I don't think we should do anything right away."  Manami bit her lip, then
looked around the car.  "I think we need to talk about a strategy for
dealing with Kazuya.  If we can-"

"What?"  Akane said sharply.  "Knock him out?  Subdue him?"

Hikaru squeezed her hand.  "He's the only one who knows where Kyosuke is.
And if Kyosuke hasn't gotten in touch with anyone by this point, he must be
in serious trouble."

Akane sighed, somewhere between fear and anguish.  "Okay.  Just... please,
let's not hurt him."

Manami rubbed her forehead.  "Oh, this is so complicated.  We've got a lot
to work out."

"Then do it."  Hikaru released Akane's hand and opened the door.  "I'll keep
watch here.  Come get me when you're ready."

"Here."  Kurumi rummaged through her purse and produced a business card.
"Page me when you see him.  Don't try to talk to him or anything."

"I know."  Hikaru took the card.

"It may be a while," Manami warned.  She looked at Grandma and Grandpa, who
both appeared to be nodding up.

Hikaru shrugged.  "I can stay up all night.  I'm still on New York time."
She got out of the car.  "Think up something good."

"Right."  Kurumi waited for the door to close, then took off.

Hikaru wandered into the hotel lobby and went into the all-night cafe.  She
took a seat where she could see the elevator, then ordered coffee.  Making
herself comfortable, she focused all of her attention on the elevator doors
and waited for something to happen.  Redemption or damnation, whichever came
first.

***

Ayukawa looked at him with more than a bit of skepticism.  "Your cousin?"

"Yes."  The venom in his voice still surprised him.  He was angry almost
beyond his ability to contain.  It took considerable effort on his part not
to clench his fists.

"But... you look just... just like you did when I first met you."

"We've always looked a lot alike."

"Identical cousins?"  Ayukawa shook her head.  "That's almost as
unbelievable as ESP."

"I don't care how unbelievable it is."  Kyosuke grit his teeth, both in
anger and to keep himself from saying anything that would expose him to an
Ayukawa slap.  After a second, he continued.  "My fingers... someone was
after *him*.  He stole my body so that he could escape them."

He looked into the mirror, at the features that weren't his.  "He stole my
*life*.  And I won't forgive him for that.  Ever."

Ayukawa was oddly silent.  When he finally looked up at her, she was looking
at him with a curious expression.  Her voice was slightly hesitant as she
asked, "Did he send you here?"

"Ummm... no."  The images of torture were still blurred in his mind, but his
anger was sharpening them.  "I'm pretty sure I did that myself.  I was being
tortured, and I had to escape."

More silence as Ayukawa continued to say nothing, which appeared to be her
specialty.  Then she looked down and said in a surprisingly docile voice,
"It's getting late.  You need rest."

"Rest?"  Incredulity flooded Kyosuke's awareness.  "How can I sleep!  He-
he's out there with *my* body.  God knows what he's doing with it!"

"You need rest," she said with slightly more force.  "If he's an ESPer like
you, then he's certainly in better shape than you are.  The only way you're
going to be able to fight him is if you've given yourself a chance to heal a
bit first."

Kyosuke's mind spun in circles for a full minute under Ayukawa's persistent
gaze.  Finally, he had to admit the validity of her observation.  Kazuya was
going to pay, of that there was no doubt - but Kyosuke was in no condition
to fight him.  Maybe never was, a fearful part of his mind said to him.
Kazuya had always been the stronger ESPer, perhaps the strongest in the
family.

With a sigh, Kyosuke lowered himself to the ground against the wall.
Ayukawa reached over and turned off the lamp, plunging the room into
not-quite-total darkness.

Kyosuke heard rustling sounds, which he knew to be Ayukawa undressing.  And
it occurred to him that the room was rather small, and that there was only
one place to sleep, and he was currently occupying it, and when had it
become so hot in here?

There was more shuffling, and Kyosuke felt Ayukawa standing over him.  She
was engaged in some activity he couldn't fathom.  With a snapping sound a
cloth sheet was draped over him, then lifted up.

It wasn't until he heard her lay down that he got it.  She had somehow
arranged for a sheet to be hung as a curtain between them.  Kyosuke was both
relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Silence for a time as he totally failed to fall asleep.

Finally a soft voice from the other side of the curtain, without a harsh
edge.  "Tell me more about your world."

Kyosuke swallowed.  "What can I tell you?"

"Tell me... about your family."

There was definitely a hint of yearning there.  Kyosuke shifted, very
careful of his hands.  "Well... I mean, you know about my twin sisters.
I've got a neat dad, he raised us all by himself."

"He did?"

"Yes.  My mother died giving birth."  He swallowed, for some reason the
memory bringing him more pain than usual.  He didn't remember much of her,
just vague images.  "I was the oldest, so I had to help raise the twins.
Not much, since I was only a couple of years older than them.  Actually,
Manami did quite a bit when she was old enough."

"Manami?"  Ayukawa sounded thoughtful.  "She was always the more sober one."

Another icy stab in his gut.  "Yeah, she _is_."  He paused a moment before
going on.  "I kinda acted like a judge between them sometimes.  They were
always fighting when they were kids.  So they'd come to me, only I wasn't
very good.  I hated having to take sides.  They'd both been through so much,
I hated to hurt either one of 'em."

"What exactly had they been through?"

Kyosuke bit his lip, organizing his thoughts.  "Well... us three kids all
had ESP."

"Not your father?"

"Naw.  Mom was the one we got it from.  Anyway, we couldn't let anyone know
that we were ESPers."

"Why not?"

"Because."  He frowned.  Actually, come to think of it, he didn't have a
well-defined reason.  "All my life, Dad was telling us not to let anyone
know we had the Power.  I guess because if someone found out, they'd take us
away to do experiments or something."

"I see."  Ayukawa sounded slightly troubled.  "So hiding your powers was
difficult."

"Yeah.  Everyone once in a while, one of us would slip - usually one of the
twins.  Then we'd have to move far away.  I don't think we stayed in any
place longer for a year up until I was sixteen."  He frowned slightly; had
he been fourteen or fifteen?  He couldn't remember.

"So you didn't have many friends."  There was a peculiar distant quality to
Ayukawa's voice.  "No one to grow close to."

"Well, we had each other."  He stopped and considered it.  The family *had*
been close.  They fought from time to time, but they always stuck together.
"That helped a lot."

"Yes.  Family *would* help."

Now she sounded bitter.  Kyosuke paused, then spoke gently.  "And your
family-"

"Mind your own business, Kasuga," Ayukawa snapped.

Kyosuke made no effort to stifle a sigh of frustration.  He desperately
wanted to roll onto his side away from her, but didn't want to move his
hands.

He was on the verge of drifting when a voice, so soft he barely heard it,
drifted into his ears.  "I was a mistake."

The words jolted him back to awareness.  "A what?"

"Mistake."  Real pain there.  "My parents are world-famous musicians.
They'd had their one child and that was all they needed for social
acceptance.  I did not fit into their plans.  My mother gave birth to me,
although she seriously considered an abortion.  I was given to my sister to
raise while my parents went on to further their own careers.  Unfortunately,
my sister was not necessarily skilled enough to raise a child on her own.
She often let me know her displeasure at being burdened with my upbringing."

The words twisted his gut.  He wondered how much they applied to his Madoka.
They very easily could.  "Surely they loved you?"

"Love?"  Ayukawa sounded indifferent.  "I sometimes have difficulty finding
a frame of reference.  I sometimes would lie awake at night, crying and
crying because I wanted my Mommy or Daddy to be there with me, to hug me or
smile at me or give me *some* indication that they liked me.  Tell me,
Kasuga-kun, is that love?"

Kyosuke couldn't help a bit of irritation from leaking through.  "No, and
you know that it's not."

She returned the irritation in full measure.  "So sure are you?  Tell me,
telepath from another world, what *is* love?"

"It's..."  He sighed.  "If I have to try and explain it, you'll never
understand.  Haven't you ever felt passionate about something, where just
thinking about it would give you peace?"

A moment of silence before she spoke again.  "Music.  I like music.  I could
always make good music, certainly better than my sister and maybe even
better than my parents."

That was good to hear.  He smiled in the darkness.  "See?  You *do* know
what love is.  And I bet it drew you closer to your parents, right?"

She barked a single, bitter laugh.  "How little you know.  True, my parents
found a degree of interest in my music.  They even wanted me to perform with
them.  I refused."

Kyosuke blinked.  Come to think of it, in all the time he'd been with
Madoka, he'd never seen her play with her parents.  "Why?"

"Because I didn't want to become like them."  Now Ayukawa's voice was hard
and angry.  "Because I saw what their obsession with music, and the fame and
money that came with it, did to them.  The world was going to hell, and they
didn't care as long as they could play their music to the elite and get
rewarded for it.  If all they want from me is my ability to play music so I
can enhance their standing in the eyes of their peers, then I want nothing
to do with them.  Or their music."

And suddenly it all came clear to him.  Why Madoka resisted all efforts to
be pushed into the spotlight.  She'd joined her cousin's band only when he
needed help, and had quit as soon as that help was no longer needed.  In
fact, now that he thought about it, perhaps a large part of her desire to
leave Japan during their last year in high school had been to escape from
all the record companies hounding her, trying to launch her career.  All
she'd ever wanted was to write songs in the background and let others find
fame from them.

It all sounded horrible.  He'd always thought of his life as tough and
Madoka's as easy.  Wealthy and secure, two parents, and she had
intelligence, beauty, and talent besides.  Who wouldn't want those things?

But now, at last, he could begin to understand why Madoka had chosen to live
life the way she had.  In a way, it was remarkable that she had become as
well-adjusted as she was.

He floundered for something to say.  "Is... is that why you aren't with your
parents now?"

"When the barricades went up, my parents begged me to come with them.  For
the first time they desperately wanted something from me.  It felt good to
refuse them."  She paused a second.  "I don't want to be a part of their
world.  The elite of the elite, caring nothing for the rest of the world,
caring nothing about their future, only wanting to live the day in comfort.
Quite frankly, they disgust me, all of them.  I felt closer to your
'sisters' than I did my own family.  Hell, I felt closer to *Akane* than I
did to my parents, and she nearly killed me."

Kyosuke tried to think of what he could do to make her feel better.  Nothing
was coming to mind.

After a moment she continued.  "I'm sorry I was so... brusque about the
death of your sisters in this world.  I... would like... I wish..."  She
sighed.  "I wish I loved my family as much as you love yours.  And vice
versa."

This was horrible.  He heard such pain from her, such *needing*.  Carefully
he moved his hand towards the curtain.  With a bit of effort, he lifted it.
He reached underneath it and fumbled about slightly until he had his
bandaged fingers resting on her forearm.

A soft sigh escaped her lips.  He'd heard this sound from time to time
before, always at the beginning of intimacies between him and Madoka, at the
first touch of his hand on her skin or his lips first brushing hers.

It had never occurred to him to wonder exactly why she'd made that sound.
Now, at last, he could understand a little.

Almost subconsciously, with surprisingly little effort, his mind reached
into hers.  He wanted to give her comfort, reassurances that words could not
adequately convey.  He felt her mind recoil at his touch, fear and pain
effectively blocking him out.  He just kept up a steady stream of warm,
happy thoughts, amazingly easy to do given that he didn't have telepathic
abilities back in his home universe.

And then, as if she had hesitantly swung wide the front door, her mind
opened to him.  She grabbed on to his comfort like a life preserver.  And he
felt it inside her, her desperate loneliness.  She'd rejected her family,
and all of her close friends had died in the battles that had followed, and
for long months stretching into years she'd had no one to talk to, to share
any kind of intimacy with.

Now she had *him*, someone she'd actually felt a bit of affection for years
ago, suddenly reappearing, vulnerable and needing her help, and when he'd
awaken he'd wanted nothing from her, had thanked her profusely and talked to
her, tried to break through her walls, offered friendship and expected
nothing in return, and she'd resisted but it had only been token, she wanted
him, wanted him to love her as no one ever had...

And then desire blooming through her, through her and into him.  And it felt
wonderful.  They were two minds intertwined, filling each other with love
and lust.  He'd never felt either so strongly before, and he drew her in
more deeply, they became inseparable, and the passionate kiss they were
sharing seemed wholly inadequate by comparison but it nevertheless helped
intensify the desire they felt.  It had never felt like this before, he and
Madoka had never been able to share with each other these feelings, not like
*this*, and he wanted-

Madoka.

With a wrench he pushed her away.  The pain that flared in his arms was
strong enough to sever the link to her mind.  He suddenly became aware of
his surroundings, Ayukawa lying on top of him, the ersatz curtain tangled
around them.  With frantic efforts that made the pain worse, he was able to
rise to his feet, his back to her.

"Kyouske!"  She sounded surprised.  Surprised, and hurt.  "What is it?
What's wrong?"

"I... can't."  He closed his eyes tightly.  "I'm sorry."

"Why not?"

He swallowed heavily.  "I can't... I can't betray..."

"But you love me!"  Her voice was almost a plea.  "I saw it in your mind.
You love me, I know you do!"

"No, you don't understand."  His heart was hammering in his chest.  "I don't
love... *you*."

One heartbeat of dead silence.  Two.

"Oh God.  Oh God oh God oh God oh God."  He heard her standing up.  "I'm an
idiot, I'm such an idiot.  That's how you knew I had a sister.  That's why
you called me 'Madoka'.  It was so *obvious*.  But like an idiot, I left
myself open *again*, and you walked all over me.  Oh God."

He turned around, peering at her dark shape.  "Please, Ayukawa.  I'm sorry.
I didn't mean for... for *that* to happen.  I only... wanted to... help you.
Because... because I know you... you deserve better than what's happened to
you."

"Spare me, Kasuga.  Spare me the condescending speeches.  I got enough of
them from my parents."  She reached down for something at her feet.  He
watched as her outline began to put on some clothes.

Kyosuke shook his head in denial.  "I wasn't trying to be condescending.
I... if things were just a little different-"

"It things were just a little different, I'd've been born in your world and
your Madoka would be the one stuck in this hell of a universe."  She
evidently finished dressing.  She moved away, and he heard the sound of the
door being unlocked.  She opened it, took one step through it, then turned
to face him.  "Don't try to leave.  Even if the gangs don't find you
stumbling about, if I see you I'll kill you myself."

The door was slammed shut, and the locks were reapplied from the outside.
Kyosuke stared at it numbly, his whole being agony, from the throbbing of
his hands to the cold lump in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into the darkness.

The darkness didn't answer.  Eventually, he lay on the mat and went to
sleep, the sound of her words echoing through his skull.

---

The tall man stood in the cool night air and considered the problem of
taking the girl.

The hotel was popular and crowded, that couldn't be helped.  This Madoka
would be taking an early flight to Hawaii in the morning, and it would not
do to have to try and kidnap her in America.  It had to be here.

Still, it would be easy enough, with the right operatives in place.  The
only problem might be if her new husband also happened to be an ESPer.
Still, he had some ideas.

An idea forming in his mind, he strode down the street.  He couldn't help
the smile that spread across his face.  Kazuya would soon be his, and he'd
have his vengeance.

---

Kyosuke, as before, woke to the smell of food cooking.

He opened his eyes to see Ayukawa sitting with her back to him.  She was
evidently fixing more stew.  He realized that her food options were probably
severely limited.

"Good morning," he ventured.

No response.  Not that he really expected any.  He lifted his hands and
looked at them.  What skin he could see under the bandages was interesting
colors.  They ached horribly, but the pain wasn't as sharp as it had been
yesterday.  He moved his one good thumb experimentally and decided it was
still somewhat functional.  Still, his hands were useless and would remain
so for some time.

But it wasn't his hands he would need in the near future.

He moved his thoughts around and decided he was thinking as clearly as he
ever did.  As an experiment, he used the Power to lift himself into a
sitting position.  It was surprisingly easy.  He grunted in satisfaction.

Ayukawa turned, a bowl of stew in her hand.  Kyosuke recoiled slightly; her
face was frightening.  Her eyes were red and her cheeks were a little
hollow.  She seemed exhausted and angry at the same time.  A horrible
feeling of guilt stabbed through him.  What he'd put her through - not just
last night but eight years ago - had to devastating.

They stared at each other for a few moments.  Without a word, she began to
feed him the stew.  He took it in gratefully, feeling the warmth spread
through his stomach, feeling the nourishment bolster his reserves.

When he was finished, she set the bowl down without serving any for herself.
"You're going to leave now."

He nodded.  "Yes.  You- Madoka might be in trouble."

"Naturally."  Her voice was neutral with just a hint of hostility.

"Umm..."  He thought for a minute.  "Can you take me to the roof?"

She lifted her eyebrows slightly.  "Why?"

"I think I'm going to jump off of it.  I... seem to only be able to teleport
between worlds or through time when I'm in a panic."

"Ridiculous."  Now her voice was contemptuous.  "And if you're wrong?  What
good will you do your Madoka if you're lying in pieces on the ground?"

"Yeah, I know.  What choice do I have?  I've never been able to do this
voluntarily.  Only Grandpa could."

"If your grandfather can, then you can too."  She folded her arms.  "What is
it that allows you to do this teleportation?"

"I don't know!"  She was beginning to irritate him.  Still, she was trying
to help, which was much more than he expected after last night.  He
considered for a moment.  "Panic.  Sheer panic."

"Self-preservation.  Need."  She nodded.  "The trick, then, is to try and
recreate those emotions without putting yourself in mortal danger."

Kyosuke poked his tongue in his cheek thoughtfully.  "Yes.  Plus... I think
I need to be thinking of Madoka.  I always seem to be driven by a need to
be... near her.  I think it's how I found you this last time, even if you
weren't exactly the Ma... Ayukawa I was looking for."

She snorted.  "Well, I suppose I should be flattered.  But I'm not."  She
stood up and helped him to his feet.

They stood facing each other, very close.  Kyosuke swallowed against the
ache in his throat.  This was going to be difficult.  He liked Ayukawa a
lot, and would miss her.  He opened his mouth to thank her.

"Take me with you."

Kyosuke's mouth froze in the open position.

His surprise seemed to irritate her.  "You owe it to me, Kasuga-kun.  I've
got nothing here, nothing at all.  My one attempt at rebellion left most
everyone dead.  There's no future for a woman on her own on this side of the
barricade.  I've been studying ways to fight back, but nothing will work,
not for years anyway.  I want out, and you can provide a way."

Kyosuke finally found his voice.  "I... I can't."

Her face mottled in rage.  "Why the hell not?"

"I... I've never teleported more than one person across time or dimensions
or whatever it is that separates my world from yours."

"Have you ever teleported more than person from place to place?"

"Well..."  The bolt of lightning striking the boat, Kyosuke grabbing Madoka
and hurriedly teleporting with her to the island.  "Yes."

"Then this should be no different."  She grabbed his shirt.  "Like I said,
you *owe* me."

"B-but..."  He swallowed.  "This is different.  It's going to take a lot of
concentration to accomplish this.  I don't... know if it'll be safe to do it
with someone else, too.  And I'm not in the best condition right now
anyway."

Ayukawa growled and pulled him down until their faces were very close.  "The
truth, Kasuga-kun.  Tell me the truth."

Half-formed protestations died on his lips.  She was right, he did owe her -
and himself - the truth.  "I... I don't think it would be a good idea for
you to... exist in the same universe with... Madoka."

"I see."  She shoved him violently away.  He nearly fell over backwards and
used the Power to right himself.  Ayukawa spoke through clenched teeth.
"Can't have the ugly stepsister ruining the fairy tale, can we?"

Would someone please stop twisting his stomach so tightly?  "I... my
grandfather is very good at this kind of thing.  He's taken me through time
before.  When... when I get everything worked out back home I... we'll come
find you."

She grunted.  "*If* you beat this cousin of yours.  *If* your grandfather
can find my world again.  *If* I'm not killed before you get around to
rescuing me."

He swallowed.  "Yes.  But I think-"

"Spare me, Kasuga."  She whirled and savagely opened the locks on the door.
She flung the door open.  "Get out and never, ever come back.  If I see you
again I will kill you, that's a promise.  I hope you and your Madoka rot in
hell."

Ayukawa ran out the door, leaving it open behind her.  Kyosuke stared after
her, feeling as wretched as he had that one day in the airport.  How did he
keep managing to put himself in these kind of situations?  If he could find
the answer to that, one of the great mysteries of his life would be solved.

He shook his eyes to clear them of the tears.  He needed to concentrate, on
his world, on Madoka.  He needed to return to her.

He needed to straighten out all that had gone so wrong in his life.

With a terrible resolve, he began.

---

Kazuya woke up with a start.

He was lying in a very large bed.  Alone.  A glance around the hotel room
told him that Madoka was nowhere to be found.  Damn.  He'd been hoping to
have some fun with her.

On the bedside table was a note.  He picked it up and read a syrupy plea for
him to meet Madoka down at the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

Kazuya growled.  He'd have to try and adjust her attitude a bit more; this
childlike affection was annoying him greatly.  Still, he did have to be
careful and not burn her out too quickly.  He needed time to adjust to this
new body, this new life, before he made any radical changes.

He showered and dressed, luxuriating in the freedom of it all.  Not having
anyone trying to kill him was a wonderful feeling.  Kazuya surprised himself
by whistling as he rode down the elevator.  This was an okay life.  Once he
had Madoka more agreeable, it would be even better.

The doors opened and he strode out into the lobby.  He heard Madoka before
he saw her; the delighted squeal she made grated his nerves.  She would
definitely need adjusting.

Madoka flung herself into his arms.  "Good morning, Kyo-chan!"  She kissed
him quickly.  "I've got a wonderful table and a great breakfast ready for
you, only you have to hurry because our plane leaves in three hours and he
still have to check out and get over to the airport."

Kazuya sighed.  Maybe not this morning, then.  Definitely when they got to
Hawaii, though.  He smiled and walked with his arm around her waist towards
the restaurant.

Someone came between him and Madoka.  With surprising ease, that person
separated them and put his arms around each of them.  The man began to move
them towards the hotel's front door.  He tilted his head down - the man was
very tall - and spoke conversationally to Kazuya.  "I have two guns, one
pointed at your head, the other pointed at your pretty wife's heart.  I've
had them specially modified.  I've got the triggers fully engaged; all I
have to do is relax my grip the slightest bit and the guns will fire.  So
if, for example, someone tries to knock me unconscious or take over my mind,
I fear what will happen to you two."

His heart pounding, Kazuya turned his head slightly.  The man did have a gun
in his hand, and it was pointing right at Kazuya's forehead.  He broke out
in a sweat.  His mind raced with possibilities?  Fling the gun away with
telekenesis?  Could he do it fast enough to keep the gun from firing?  Take
over the man's mind?  Could he gain fine enough control to keep the gun from
firing?  Probably not in time.  Teleport away?  It was the one think Kyosuke
could do that Kazuya couldn't.

And all the time his mind was racing, the tall man was quickly guiding them
out of the hotel.  At the curb, a car stood waiting.  Another man took the
confused and frightened Madoka and put her in the front seat.  The tall man
indicated that he should sit in the back.  Kazuya, dazed, complied.

The tall man got in and arranged himself so that he sitting against the car
door, both eyes and both guns trained on Kazuya.  The car was driven away.

The tall man spoke in an even tone of voice.  "Don't panic, Kasuga, and
don't try anything stupid.  We don't want to hurt you or your wife.  In
fact, you may be useful to us.  Do so much as breathe the wrong way,
however, and my underlings have a long, arduous task in front of them
cleaning out the insides of this car."

Kazuya forced himself to remain still.  Amano's men had found him, but they
thought he was Kyosuke.  They needed him for some reason.  *What* they
wanted he wasn't sure.  At a guess, Kyosuke had told them that the whole
Kasuga clan had ESP.  Amano was just making sure that people with the Power
were either serving him or dead.

Kazuya's heart finally began to slow down.  If he played his cards right, he
could actually parlay this into a useful position within Amano's
organization.  And he wouldn't make the same mistakes as last time.

Still, he definitely did not like the feeling of those two guns pointed at
him.  He was still at quite a bit of risk right at the moment.  But at some
point in the future the tall man's guard would be down, and Kazuya would
make him pay.

---

"Um... this is going to sound strange, but... could you follow that car?"

The car driver turned around and looked through the plexiglass separating
the front and back seats.  "We don't do that."

Hikaru sighed and dug through her purse.  She pulled out a crumpled wad of
twenties.  "Would you take a hundred dollars American?"

The cab driver considered this for a moment.  "Two hundred."

Hikaru quickly sifted through the money.  It would about bankrupt her, but
she could do it.  "Okay."

With a satisfied grunt, the cab driver pulled the cab away from the hotel
and fell behind a dark sedan a hundred feet ahead.

Hikaru sat back and tried to think.  She was *so* tired, but the sight of
Madoka ordering breakfast for two had managed to infuse her with a bit of
energy.  As had the sight of Kyosuke - or Kazuya in Kyosuke's body, anyway.
That had all paled, though, before the panic that had coursed through her
veins as some sinister-looking man had taken Kazuya and Madoka out of the
hotel.  She'd been so afraid that she was going to lose them.  Fortunately,
she hadn't.

Now that the first rush of panic was over, she felt like falling asleep.
But she couldn't afford to, not yet.

Hikaru forced herself to keep her eyes open.  The cab had a pay cell phone,
and she dug through her purse again to find the card Kurumi had given her.

---

Kazuya examined the men surrounding him in the small, dusty office.  The all
had their attention fully focused on him.  Including the tall man, who
always kept at least one of his modified guns trained on him.

Kazuya had come up with a couple different ways he could attempt to escape.
Probably could, if he wanted to and didn't care about Madoka.  But he still
wanted at least one chance at her, and in any case there was no need, not at
present.  Best to see what they wanted, and how he could turn it to his
advantage.

The door opened, and Amano walked in.  Kazuya's eyes widened in surprise.
Amano himself was braving the possible wrath of an ESPer.  Which meant they
wanted something from him.  Something badly.

"Kasuga Kyosuke."  Amano spoke in a cultured, pleasant tone of voice.  "You
come from a remarkably talented family.  Or so we suppose.  Your cousin, at
least, can do some amazing things.  I was wondering if you know some of
those same tricks."

Kazuya studied Amano carefully.  He wanted to try and slip inside his mind,
but was afraid that they'd somehow find out he was doing it and shoot him.
Best to play it safe.  Also best to play it cagey and not give in too
easily.  "I... I don't know what you mean."

Amano smiled.  "Perhaps not.  But you *do* know where your cousin is, don't
you?"

Kazuya blinked rapidly.  They didn't know where Kyosuke was?  If they didn't
have him, where was he?  The knowledge that Kyosuke was unaccounted for
was... disturbing.

His reaction was not lost on Amano.  "You do know something, don't you?
Tell me.  Tell me now."

Kazuya's mind was spinning in circles again.  He had to come up with
something.  He couldn't tell them the truth, obviously.  But he had to find
a plausible lie, and quickly.

Amano gestured, and one of the men walked over to where a very frightened
Madoka was sitting in a chair.  "Your new wife is very beautiful," Amano
said casually.  "It would be a terrible shame if something were to mar that
beauty."  The man standing over Madoka produced a long, thin knife and began
to caress her cheek with it while Madoka whimpered.

Thoughts flew through Kazuya's mind.  If it came down to him or Madoka, he
didn't much care what happened to her.  But if he seemed too unconcerned
with her welfare, they'd begin to suspect something.  So he had to do
something to keep her from being hurt.

No choice, as he saw it.  There really was no way they should be able to
fight him off.  He began to spread his mind, bringing it in contact with
everyone around him.  Madoka's was locked in a loop of fright over what
might happen to her 'Kyo-chan'.  Most of the men were split between enjoying
their feeling of power over helpless prisoners and careful observation of an
ESPer's movements.  Amano's thoughts were filled with plans, strategies for
dealing with the dangerous ESPer in front of him and the even more dangerous
ESPer that was unaccounted for.  Kazuya began to probe gently, more deeply
into Amano's thoughts, trying to find something that would satisfy him.

_Kazuya_

His attention was ripped from Amano.  Someone, another mind nearby, had
spoken to him.  Spoken to *him*, not to Kyosuke.  They knew.

He focused his attention a little more carefully, and found the familiar
shape of his sister's mind.  _Kazuya, be ready._  Through her, he felt the
thoughts of others of the Kasuga clan, perhaps half a dozen people very
nearby.  _We'll get you out of there._

He felt someone's mind link with his, look through his eyes.  And, without
further ado, all of the guns in the room vanished.

Most of the men in the room cried out in surprise, but the tall man didn't
waste any effort.  As quick as a cat, he had a knife out and was swinging it
at Kazuya.

As quick as a cat, but not as quick as thought.

Kazuya reached out and seized the tall man's mind.  With a gasp the tall man
collapsed, his blow going wide.

Kazuya stood up to see two other men also collapsing.  Three appeared to be
held in place by invisible bonds.  Amano himself was being attacked by a
particularly tenacious broom.  Kazuya brought that battle to an end by
rendering Amano unconscious.

That quickly it was over.

Kazuya's relief was short-lived.  Various Kasugas entered the office.  His
twin cousins.  His father.  Two great-uncles.  And his sister.  All looking
at him warily.  And angrily.  They knew.

He tried to speak with a mouth gone dry.  "I... it's not what you think.
I..."

"Where is he, Kazuya?"  Kurumi sounded absolutely furious.  "Where's
Kyosuke?"

A twinge in his gut.  "I don't know, I swear."  He looked at his sister, who
thinned her lips and looked away from him.  He swallowed.  "I'll help you
find him, I swear."

They all felt it at the same time.  A strong psychic backlash.  Reality
being ripped asunder by the Power.  Somewhere very close.

The others turned in surprise, and Kazuya took his chance.  He seized their
minds with his, and battle was joined.

They were strong, all of them.  His great-uncles were especially powerful.
But no one had his strength, his experience at twisting minds to his will.
They fought him, they all fought him with all of their strength, but the
surprise had been his, they had lost before the battle had begun.

Not that it was easy.  Never had he pushed himself to such limits.  But he
*knew* he was the strongest ESPer in the family.  He could take them all on.
He felt their growing despair and used it to fuel his confidence.  He had
them, and he could do with them as he pleased.

What that was, he didn't know yet.  A cyclone of emotion was tearing through
his brain, fear and guilt combining, sucking him down into a quagmire, an
overwhelming voice asking him what he was doing.  With a shuddering breath
he tried to calm himself, tried to think of something.

"Kazuya!"

He'd closed his eyes during the mental battle.  He opened them again to see
himself standing in the doorway.  His confidence faltered, and he nearly
lost his grip on everyone's minds.

His body looked to be in horrible shape.  His hands were horribly mangled,
swollen and swathed in bandages.  He was dirty and unshaven.  But his
eyes... his eyes burned with fury.

Not his eyes any more.  Kyosuke's.

Kyosuke looked around the room, his fury growing at the sight of his sisters
standing rigid, obviously being held against their wills.  "One warning
only.  Let them go.  Now."

Pure fear shot through his nerves.  The fear fueled irrational anger.  "SHUT
UP!  This is all *your* fault, Kyosuke!  If you weren't such a wimp, I'd
never have had to... to..."  He couldn't find a way to end the accusation,
so he attacked Kyosuke instead.

Kyosuke's mind was much more powerful than he'd thought.  Anger, unchecked
anger powered Kyosuke's thoughts, gave his counterattacks devastating force.

But Kyosuke had just performed some act with the Power that had left him
drained.  He fought ferociously, but he too was going under, was slowly
coming under Kazuya's control.

A movement behind Kyosuke drew Kazuya's attention.  Madoka walked into the
room.

Kazuya's jaw dropped open.  He looked to the side, to see Madoka still
sitting on the chair, looking at him with adoration mixed with fear.  He
looked back towards Kyosuke, and Madoka was striding towards him, her face
angry and determined.

He reached out to seize her mind - and it was *wrong*.  He couldn't explain
it.  There was something odd about the way her mind worked, and his mental
fingers skidded across the cold surface of her brain.

And as his panic and confusion grew, one of Kyosuke's attacks broke through.
For just a second, Kyosuke had him and held him still.

"Kasuga-kun."  The new Madoka's voice could freeze lava.  "I've been wanting
to do this for eight years."  She reached her hand back, formed a fist, and
punched him in the jaw.

And Kazuya's world came crashing down around him.

---

Ayukawa looked at the crumpled form on the ground.  She felt as if all the
anger and regrets she'd felt all her life had been concentrated in her fist,
and it had felt very, very good to release that energy.  Her hand was
hurting quite badly, which she supposed was just as well.  Such actions
should not be without consequences.

The growl made her look up.  Kyosuke surged forward, his face still furious.
"Damn you, Kazuya!"  He reached down for the body, looked at his bandaged
hands, and shouted inarticulately in frustration.  He reached his foot back,
preparing a kick.

Ayukawa grabbed his shoulder.  "Oh come on.  Try to think clearly, Kasuga."
She smiled sardonically.  "Don't kick yourself."

He blinked at her, anger replaced by surprise.  After a moment, he lifted a
corner of his mouth.

"Kyo-chan!"  A woman knelt over the unconscious body at their feet and
cradled it.  "Kyo-chan, speak to me!"

Ayukawa dropped her gaze and examined the panicky, distraught figure beneath
her.  She sniffed, spun on one foot, and strode away.

---

Amano and the tall man sat in the car, heading back towards Tokyo proper.
Amano looked out the window, frankly bored.

The tall man shifted in the seat next to him.  "A shame, all that effort."

Amano nodded.  "Yes.  A shame to discover that the boy was dead already.
Still, the object lesson is valid.  No one may cross us and live."

"And what of the other?"  The tall man appeared to be struggling to form a
thought.  "This... Kyosuke and his wife?"

"Harmless."  Amano spoke with utter conviction.  "We don't need to worry
about them at all.  It's best to quickly forget them and move on to other
business."

The tall man nodded.  "Yes, that does sound right."

Amano shook his head.  "Still, it is a pity we could not have caught the boy
sooner and turned him to our purposes.  Imagine all the time and effort he
put into making us think he had ESP."

The tall man snorted.  "I don't know why he expected us to believe such a
ludicrous thing."

"I know.  But he was able to fool a lot of less observant people than you
and I.  Imagine if we could have harnessed such creative energy."

"Perhaps."  The tall man shrugged.  "But he was disloyal."

"Yes," Amano said as he settled back, already thinking of the other things
he had to do when he got back.  "And he paid the price for his disloyalty."

---

Kasuga Akane felt safe.  For the first time in what seemed like ages.

She looked around the house.  More a cabin than a house, really; the
dwellings of the village were quite often over a century old.  Earthquakes
and typhoons were less a hardship here than anywhere else in Japan.  A few
minds working in concert could repair a lot of damage.

What, then, to do when the mind itself was damaged?

She sat on the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her
arms around them.  She rested her chin on her knees and considered the form
of her brother.

He had been considerably cleaned up.  The bandages on his hands had been
more professionally applied.  The look on his face was peaceful.  She
remembered all those years ago when her mother presenting to Akane a new
addition to the household: a tiny form, cradled in her arms, sleeping.  She
remembered the incredible feeling of affection that had come over her.  And
love.  And responsibility.  *This* was her baby brother, and she'd have to
help raise him.  And she'd sworn then to do as good a job as possible.

Somewhere along the way, she'd lost sight of that.  Somewhere along the way,
she'd become so focused on her own problems that she'd overlooked the signs
that her brother was succumbing to temptations that were warping him.
Kyosuke had actively disliked her brother, and she'd decided that Kyosuke
was being unfair rather than admit that he might have good reason for his
dislike.

She'd failed.  So badly it hurt.  What had nearly happened to Kyosuke - what
*had* happened to Madoka - those things were as much her fault as Kazuya's.
And she was going to do all she could to make up for it.

Kazuya stirred.  Akane brought her mind back from the years and the shame
and the guilt and focused on her brother.

He opened his eyes.  He stared at the ceiling and tried to sit up.
Unfortunately, he tried to use his hands.  He shouted in pain and fell back
to the mat, holding his hands and staring at them.

Akane cleared her throat slightly.  "They'll heal.  In time.  Then, of
course, you'll have some physical therapy.  Great Aunt Mariko thinks it will
be three months before you can properly use them again.  But don't worry,
you will regain full use."

Kazuya looked at her, his eyes wide with confusion and panic.  After a few
seconds, they widened even further.

Akane smiled in apology.  "They took away your access to the Power.  Right
now you won't be able to do the slightest thing with it.  I'm told that you
can get it back.  Eventually.  If they let you."

His eyes narrowed, and she could see a calculating look in them.  "Sis,
there are people after me, trying to kill me.  If I don't have the Power-"

She shook her head.  "They're not after you any more.  We made them think
you were dead, and that you never really had the Power to begin with.  No
one will come after you.  Not that they could do anything here in the
village."

The conniving look left his face, to be replaced with uncertainty.  And a
fair amount of fear.  Akane sighed slightly; he shouldn't be afraid.  Of the
Kasuga clan.  Of her.  "Kazuya, we- *I* am going to guide you through this.
You... made some mistakes.  You-"

"What the hell are you talking about!"  The anger in his voice had a tinge
of panic.  "I... was just... making a living.  Protecting the Kasuga family
interests.  It's not like you haven't done lots of stuff like that before.
I've seen you use your Power to fool people all the time.  Why don't they
take away *your* Power!"

"Perhaps they should."  She looked down at her feet.  "Kazuya, I'm not about
to cast stones here.  Believe it or not, taking the Power away from you
isn't about punishment.  It's about healing.  Healing for you.  Healing for
me."  She gazed into his eyes once more.  "What I hope is that we can talk
about what happened together and help each other figure out the mistakes we
both made along the way."

Kazuya growled.  Once again he tried to sit up and failed.  "Games.  I won't
let any of you play any mind games with me.  I did what I had to do.  You'd
do the same."

She sighed.  "Would I?"  The question was not exactly rhetorical.

He stared at her in surprise.  For a long time they held that tableau.
Akane felt her eyes burning with the effort to keep them lock on his eyes,
but on this she was not going to back down.  She needed an answer from him.

With a sound of disgust he turned his head away.  "Hell, of course you
wouldn't.  You don't have the guts."

Beneath the contempt, Akane heard a sliver of... envy?  Reconciliation?  She
wasn't sure.  What she was sure of was that she was going to stay here in
the village as long as it took to find that part of her brother and bring it
to life again.  For his sake and her own.

For now she sat next to him, and they said nothing, and that was a
beginning.

---

Kyosuke stared at his hands, flexing them over and over again.  Strange how
he had never appreciated their mobility until it had been taken from him.
Unfortunately there was a trade-off; his jaw ached.  Still, it was a small
price to pay.

"I don't understand."  Kurumi was sitting across the bonfire from him.
After the battle, they had all been teleported to the Kasuga clan village
deep in the mountains.  A large number of people were sitting around the
fire, waiting.  "Why did you let them go?  Why didn't you... I dunno... turn
them into good guys or something?"

Great-Uncle Kaneto spoke from where he stood near the fire.  "And what would
that have accomplished?  If others had seen them so radically changed, after
having been told about a boy with ESP, what conclusion would they have come
to?  Or if they had shown up dead or with no memory whatsoever?"  He sighed.
"What choice did we have?  All we can do is hope that they believe this all
to be an elaborate hoax and to allow them to return to the lives they've
chosen to leave.  Anything more threatens to destroy the life we've made for
ourselves here."

Great-Aunt Mariko stirred from where she sat near to Kurumi.  "Why is it
that you think we want you all to return here to the village?  The longer
you spend in the outside world, the more certain it becomes that someone
will discover the Power and destroy our clan trying to acquire it for
themselves."

"And what are we supposed to do?"  Manami had her head cupped in her hands.
"Hide forever from the world?  Allow fear and uncertainty to confine us to
this village?  If the world is not yet ready to accept our ability, we must
*make* it ready?"

Akane lifted her head from where she'd had it hung between her knees as she
sat on the ground.  She'd spent much of the afternoon with her brother, and
Kyosuke could see the strain in her face.  "How?  By forcibly altering the
mind of everyone who disagrees with us?  Do we all become like my brother?"

"No."  Manami frowned at Akane.  "I wasn't saying that at all.  There are
people who find out about us but treat us with kindness and friendship."

Kurumi nodded.  "Dad was one.  He fell in love with Mom even knowing she had
the Power."

"Madoka is one of those people, too," Kyosuke murmured.  "And Hikaru-chan."

"Um."  Hikaru was sitting next to him.  They hadn't spoken more than a dozen
words to each other since coming back to the village.  Kurumi had been the
one to tell him the whole story of what occurred while Kazuya had taken over
his body, and Hikaru's role in events and what she'd been told.  "Is... is
anyone going to change my mind?  Make me forget?"

Kyosuke looked up at Great-Uncle Kaneto.  "Well?  If it hadn't been for
Hikaru...  My body might be dead now, and Madoka... and other bad things
might have happened.  Do we reward her by altering her mind?"

Great-Uncle Kaneto sighed.  "You all misunderstand me.  And, at the same
time, reinforce my argument.  I agree that altering someone's mind is evil,
and should be done only out of the greatest need.  But when one is young,
and growing into the Power... temptations happen."  He looked around the
bonfire.  "Tell me that at one time or another, you have all not used your
Power to play with an innocent's mind."

No one met his gaze.  Kyosuke drew a line in the dirt with his shoe.
"When... when I had the ability to read minds, I... found great delight
in... in delving inside and feeling what they felt, especially when it was
good.  I... I think I could see myself... abusing that power.  Becoming like
Kazuya."

"Sempai!"  Hikaru clutched his arm.  "You'd never become like that jerk!  I
*know* you, Sempai!  You're too nice to do bad things like that."

Kyosuke looked at her and cocked a self-deprecating grin.  "Can you say that
truthfully, Hikaru?  After all I did to you?  You don't know half of what I
did with the Power that ended up hurting you so badly."

Hikaru flushed but pressed on.  "Sempai, you only did those things because
you didn't want to hurt my feelings.  You spend a lot of time feeling what
other people, and you do whatever you can to make them feel as good as
possible!  I... know that you never meant to hurt me.  I mean... yes, what
you did hurt, but it wasn't your intention, you didn't know that it would
all end so badly.  Kazuya... from what little I saw of him, he never had a
thought for anyone but himself."

Kyosuke's smile was a little wider, a little more genuine.  "You really
believe that, Hikaru-chan?"

"I believe it because it's true."  She looked around, her manner at once
pleading and peremptory.  "Everyone, tell him it's true!"

Akane chuckled ruefully.  "It *is* true, Kyosuke."  Her smile faded.  "I...
know the difference between you and my brother.  Kazuya... for various
reasons, he couldn't figure out what he was doing was wrong.  At least you
knew when you made mistakes, and tried to correct them.  What Hikaru says is
absolutely right."

"See!"  Hikaru's voice rang with triumph.  "I wouldn't have fallen for
anything less than the best possible guy around!"

Gentle laughter greeted her statement.  Great-Uncle Kaneto, however, didn't
join in.  "This is why the village is the best place for those with the
Power.  We could have taught you the right and wrong ways to use Power.  We
could have detected and disciplined those who tried to use the Power to
alter other people's mind.  If Kazuya had been raised in this village, none
of this would ever have happened."

Kurumi sounded a little unsure.  "What's going to happen to him?"

"He'll stay here while his hands heal."  Great-Aunt Mariko sounded grim.
"We'll also work on mending his mind, on undoing what years of undisciplined
upbringing have done to his psyche.  I won't lie to you, dear; he may be
here for years.  Maybe for the rest of his life.  He may never be allowed
the use of his Power again, and that is a very difficult thing for one with
the Power to accept.  But he's still young.  There's still hope that he can
be taught responsibility and discipline.  In time."

Akane wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  "I'm going to stay and
help.  For as long as it takes."

Great-Aunt Mariko smiled.  "Of course, dear.  I think Kazuya will come to
appreciate that."

The front door of a nearby cabin opened.  Kyosuke looked up to see Grandma
walk out.  He surged to his feet.  "Grandma?"

Grandma smiled.  "Hello, Grandson.  It's good to see you back in the
village."

"Grandma," he said patiently.  "How is Madoka?"

"She's fine."  Grandma sounded happy.  "We've undone all the alterations -
well-intentioned or otherwise - that were done to her mind."

Kyosuke closed his eyes and muttered a prayer.  A sound like a breath being
released passed through the people sitting around the bonfire.

Then Kyosuke felt something grip his mind just strongly enough to get his
attention, like a hand grabbing his chin.  "But no one is to ever tamper
with Madoka-chan's mind again.  Do you understand?"

>From the hurried agreements behind him, Kyosuke guessed that everyone with
the Power had felt the same pressure.

He shook it off and opened his eyes.  "Can I see her now?"

"Of course, Kyosuke."  She stepped aside.

Kyosuke stepped into the small cabin.  He paid little attention to the
simple furnishings, concentrating solely on the figure lying atop the covers
on the bed across the room.  He stepped quickly to her side, sitting on the
chair next to the bed.

He watched her face for some timeless period.  Then she stirred, woke.
Looked around in confusion, focused on his face.  And screamed.

Kyosuke immediately reached out for her, only to see her shrink away.  He
pulled his hands back and swallowed down his anguish.  "It's me, Madoka.
It's Kyosuke."

Madoka sat up in the bed and looked away.  He could see her gather herself.
"Yes.  Kyosuke."

"It wasn't me who did those things to you.  It was Kazuya."

He watched her face set into an all-too-familiar mask.  "Yes.  It was
Kazuya.  I know that."

Kyosuke sighed.  "I'm so sorry, Madoka."

She looked over at him.  "Sorry for what?"

"I dunno.  For not protecting you."

She quirked a smile.  "How positively medieval of you.  Is that what you
consider to be your husbandly duty?"

He held up his hand and looked at the ring on his finger.  "Our wedding... I
have no memory of it.  It's the one thing I didn't want to miss, more than
anything.  For that, I'm sorry."

She sobered.  "I'm the one who should apologize, Kyosuke.  I shouldn't have
made light of the farce of a marriage I went through."

"They... the clan wants us to marry here.  A traditional Kasuga wedding."

Madoka nodded slowly.  "Yes.  That would be good.  Anything-" she flinched,
"-to put that last wedding behind us."

"Madoka..."  The words were incredibly difficult to say.  "Are you sure?
You saw what being this close to the Power can do.  And someone may find out
one day, perhaps take me away.  Or worse, take our children away.  Do you
want to risk that?"

She looked at him steadily, her face blank.  Kyosuke felt the blood leaving
his face but tried to keep his eyes on hers.

Her gaze faltered, and she shook her head violently.  "No."

The word had the force of a bullet.  He squeezed his eyes shut against the
sudden burning.

A hand grabbed his forearm.  "Kyosuke."

He opened them again, to see that Madoka had swung her legs around and was
now sitting on the edge of the bed.

She spoke with intensity.  "I wasn't answering your question.  I was talking
to myself.  I-"  Suddenly she squeezed his arm tightly.  "I'm not going to
shut myself away again.  I could feel the walls going back up, and I am not
going to allow that."

Her voice caught.  "I am not going to shut the world out ever again.
Because... if I do I'll lose you and... and everything good that's happened
to me these past few years has begun with you, because I... opened myself
the tiniest bit to you."  She looked steadily at him, and she began to
tremble.  Kyosuke reached out for her again, and this time she fell into his
arms, hugging him tightly.

She spoke in a soft but still intense voice.  "I was so scared.  You have no
idea.  I couldn't think my own thoughts, my mind was so twisted around,
because of that damn Power."

"Oh, Madoka..." he breathed.  "I... if only..."

"And the thought of one of my children going through something like that...
yes, it worries me, Kyosuke.  But..."  She looked up at him.  "Will you
believe me when I say that you're worth the risk?"

He couldn't help smiling.   He'd learned something through all this.  The
conversations he'd had with the other Ayukawa had answered a lingering doubt
raised by his friends at the bachelor party.  Actually not so much raised as
reawakened.  Truth be told, he'd always felt a little inadequate in
comparison to Madoka, ESP notwithstanding.  She outclassed him in so many
ways, he had difficulty sometimes accepting that she could really love
*him*.  Then, through Ayukawa's tales of what her family life had been like,
he'd found a glimpse about what in him Madoka could find attractive.

"Yes, Madoka.  I believe you.  I love you.  Let's get married and make it
real."

She smiled.  "I want nothing more in the world right now."  She reached up
and kissed him.

He kissed her back, and let the nightmare of the past few days slip away,
and gave thanks that Madoka still loved him.

---

Ayukawa leaned against a tree at the edge of the village, looking through a
window a fair distance away and watched herself kiss Kyosuke.  It filled her
with equal parts anger and longing, and she turned her head away.

"Madoka-chan, you look sexy even when you're so angry.  No wonder my
grandson fell in love with you."

She glared at Kyosuke's grandfather, wondering which part of his statement
she should yell at him about first.  She gave it up with a tsk.  "He was
right, it was a mistake to come here.  I don't belong in this world any more
than he belonged in mine."

The older man sobered.  "Yes, you're right.  Your mind... it doesn't belong
here.  I can take you home."

"Home?"  She shook her head.  "I left my door open.  My home's surely been
ransacked.  My only choice would be to go back to my parents, and what kind
of choice is that?"  She sighed.  "What is it that gentlemen wish?  What
would they have?  Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at
the price of chains and slavery?"  She shook her head.  "May almighty God
forbid."

Kyosuke's grandfather looked confused.  "Eh?"

"Something someone said long ago.  In my world, anyway.  But it has
applications even here.  This cousin of Kyosuke's, for example.  He decided
that his life was so important that he'd sacrifice Kyosuke's life and my...
Madoka's sanity to keep it."  She turned to face him.  "Me, I know that I'd
rather die than force myself to accept certain things."

"Dear, dear, you needn't say such things."  He smiled widely.  "Come with
me.  We can find a place for you."

She looked back over at Kyosuke, who was still liplocked with his soon-to-be
wife.  She shrugged.  "Oh, what the hell.  What have I got to lose at this
point?"

Kyosuke's grandfather grinned.  "There you go, have a positive outlook on
life!"  With a merry laugh, he led her from the village.

---

Hikaru helped Madoka with the wedding dress.  It wasn't much compared to the
one she'd worn back in Tokyo.  Simpler, more traditional.  But because
Hikaru was one of those helping Madoka into it, it seemed infinitely more
precious.

Hikaru blinked through sudden tears and looked up into Madoka's eyes.  "I'm
sorry," she blurted out.

Madoka smiled gently.  "Everyone seems to be apologizing for reasons I
cannot fathom.  What grievous sin do you think you've committed, Hikaru?"

"I was afraid."  Hikaru looked down.  "Afraid of meeting you and Sempai.  I
know Sempai wanted me to be at his wedding but... but I couldn't be there
for him.  I could only be there for myself.  And I'm sorry."

"Hikaru..."  Madoka sighed softly.  "There are so many mistakes we all made
growing up.  So often in the past few days I've wished I had Kyosuke's
ability to travel back in time and correct mistakes.  There's so much I'd
want to change in how things went between you and I."

"But..."  Hikaru frowned.  "If you changed things, you might not be marrying
Sempai."

"And if you hadn't come to the wedding without announcing yourself, you
might not have been able to catch Kazuya... doing what he did."  Madoka
tilted her head, evidently thinking hard.  "Trying to constantly
second-guess ourselves is ultimately fruitless.  We can only try to make up
for past mistakes and not try to repeat them."

Madoka tapped her chin.  "It... how to say this?  It didn't matter *why* you
came to our wedding, Hikaru.  Only that you were *there*.  If our wedding
could have helped you find some peace, then that's all I could ever wish for
you."

Madoka reached out and clasped Hikaru's hands.  "Hikaru, you were my friend
when no one else would be, and you kept me sane at a time when I was sure I
would go mad.  You were closer to me than anyone else was.  That also means
that we did things that hurt each other.  But... you and I were... *are* so
close that we can understand and forgive the occasional transgression of the
other."

It was Hikaru's turn to smile softly.  "Love means never having to say
you're sorry?"

"I suppose."  Madoka's brow furrowed.  "Is that a quote of some sort from
one of your plays?"

"Yeah.  One of the sillier ones.  I preferred the movie I did with Akane."

Madoka laughed.  "Oh, that was so funny.  At the time I wondered how you
could be so romantic with her."

Hikaru grinned.  "And I wondered when it was that Kyosuke's acting had
become so good."

They laughed together for a bit.  Hikaru felt incredibly good to be standing
here with Madoka, laughing with her like this.

Madoka sobered first.  She looked steadily at Hikaru.  "I missed you."

Hikaru nodded slowly.  "Me too.  Do you think... would it be too awkward
if... if I moved back to Japan?"

Madoka's eyes widened.  "But your play-"

"I was supposed to be on the set this morning.  They've surely fired me by
now.  Anyway, I was getting tired of New York."  Hikaru struck a pose.
"Besides, think of what a hit I'll be on the Tokyo stage!"

Madoka grinned widely.  "I'll write a song for you to dance to.  Maybe I'll
write a whole musical.  'Hikaru's Story'."

Hikaru giggled.  "The tragic story of a beautiful maiden-" she did a
pirouette, getting more and more in the mood, "-who falls in love with a
magic prince, but is betrayed by him and her best friend-"  She ground
abruptly to a halt.  That didn't come across in the best possible way.

Madoka, however, seemed to understand.  She smiled in good humor.  "But the
heroine, through her own great love, saves them both from tragedy, and they
all lived happily ever after."

Hikaru smiled in relief.  "I like that ending."

Madoka reached out to put her palm on Hikaru's cheek.  "Me too."

They smiled at each other for a while.  Then Hikaru took a step back.
"Okay, you look good enough, although I suspect Sempai wouldn't care if you
came to the altar in a burlap sack.  Let's go.  And when you throw the
bouquet, remember that I'll be standing front row, center."

Madoka laughed.  Together, they left to go take part in the wedding.

---

Kasuga Kyosuke wiped the cup clean.  He put it down, then picked up another
immaculate cup and began to wipe it clean.

It didn't help.

With a frustrated sigh, he looked around the empty room.  The AbCb was
normally quite busy, but today was very slow.  Which was terribly ironic.
The one day he wanted to be distracted, he was left alone with his thoughts.

*She* had gone.  They'd been dating for five years now, and then all of a
sudden she'd grown tired of him and decided she wanted to pursue a dancing
career overseas.  So she'd dumped him, just like that.  He hadn't wanted to
believe that it was over, but her plane had left last night, and he had
watched as it had taken off.  That was when it finally sunk in that she was
really leaving him.

It hurt.

He picked up another cup and had to resist every impulse to keep from
smashing it to the floor.

The bell over the door jingled.  He looked up to see one of the most
beautiful women he had ever seen walk into the AbCb.  She had long black
hair, gorgeous green eyes, a figure that sent his heart racing...

...and she was a customer.  He barely remembered that in time.  "Good
afternoon!  Please have a seat!"

She'd been looking around the cafe, an odd expression on her face.  Now she
looked into his eyes.  Kyosuke felt definitely uncomfortable under her gaze.
There was a strange intensity to it, as if she knew his every secret just by
looking at him.

It was times like these that he wished there was such a thing as ESP.
Wouldn't it be neat if he could read her mind and tell exactly what she was
thinking?  He mentally chided himself for thinking such fanciful thoughts.

After a moment she took a seat at the counter.  Kyosuke walked up to her and
smiled.  "What can I get you?"

"Double Espresso."  She was *still* looking at him.

Trying not to look self-conscious, he went about making the espresso.  He
put it in front of her.  She picked it up and took a sip, still not taking
her eyes off of him.

He felt his face burning slightly.  He tried to distract himself.  "So how
does it taste?"

She looked down at it, frowning.  "I... I used to drink another espresso
at... at a different cafe.  And... and I like that espresso very much.  Now
I wonder if I can have the exact same espresso and not be able to enjoy it
without thinking about what I used to have."

Kyosuke frowned.  Rather an odd statement.  He thought about it for a while,
then brightened.  "I have an idea."

He rummaged around behind the counter and came up with a jar of cinnamon.
He took a teaspoon and sprinkled it over the espresso.  "There.  Now it's a
little different.  Still the same espresso, but with just a touch of
flavoring to make it unique to this cafe.  Now you can enjoy it and not be
reminded of your old cafe."

She looked up at him again, her eyes widening.  He kept the smile on his
face even as he was a bit overwhelmed by her reaction.  There was something
going on here he didn't quite understand.

After a long moment, a small smile appeared on her face.  "As you say.  A
very good idea."  She sipped the espresso.  "I may have to come back for
more."

"Good."  He began to turn away to give her a bit of privacy.

"My name is Ayukawa Madoka."

He turned back towards her.  She was still smiling, and she looked a bit
more relaxed.  He inclined his head.  "I am Kasuga Kyosuke."

She bowed her head in return.  "A pleasure to meet you, Kasuga-kun.  I have
just moved into this area.  Do you suppose I could find someone who could
help guide me around?"

He grinned, feeling almost uncharacteristically self-confident.  There was
something about this woman... "Yes, I think I could find someone who could
be persuaded to show you this neighborhood."

She laughed, and they continued to chat brightly over a cup of espresso.

~*~