by James Darcey
"So who might know something about storing energy in crystals?"
He laughed at that, "Why not just ask a spiritualist? Many of them feel that crystals can tune in on the Earth's own energy, or even the energy from departed souls. Is that what you're planning to do? Suck out my spirit so I don't remember you?"
Getting the fuel was going to be a lot harder than I thought. He did mention that a few companies in Sendai were working on specialized power sources; Saikou Industries was one such company with offices not far from his shop. It was quite possible that they could be using some of the very methods I would need.
"Of course modern companies are very adept at keeping secrets. Most of what they know won't be found on the internet, or even in books. At least in the books you can find for sale."
"Saikou Industries sounds familiar."
Sakura laughed, "It should. That's where you leveled the crowd."
Takeru swerved as his head spun to look at me, "You did what?!"
"I... umm..."
"She went to watch a robot demonstration, and some radicals tried to blow it up. She stunned the crowd so the police could sort it out. Also, you might want to avoid running over the bicycle."
He managed to straighten the car out without smashing the bike, and shook his head, "I really need to get out of the shop more often."
Takeru let us out at the train station, explaining that he didn't want to even know which direction we were going. I started to apologize for stepping on his beans, but he waved it aside with a smile, "The beans will recover, though I might not if you don't visit again. Most of my visitors use the front door, and you're always welcome to do just that."
I tried the bow that I'd seen so often for partings, "Which way do we need to go?"
He winked at me, "Super heroes need their secrets, so don't tell me where you go."
"What do you mean by super hero? I am not so hero much."
Sakura cut off my protest, "It fits. You stand up against those that would hurt people. That makes you a hero. You have abilities that are far beyond anything the rest of the people can do. That makes you super. But the thing that makes you a super hero is that you put yourself in danger to save someone else."
True to his desire, Takeru drove away before the train arrived, so that he wouldn't know which way we went. We boarded the train in silence; there were a lot of things to think about, and being a super hero had not been on my list of plans. I could hear the people in the train with us talking about the bank scene.
Just like the day before with the crowd outside Saikou Industries, it had become the only thing on people's thoughts. Many of the other riders thought it had to be some kind of hoax, but a few were cheered at the thought of having a super hero in their city. I don't know how to be a super hero.
The boy standing nearest me mused aloud, "I bet she's like those pretenders -- The Sendai Rangers. Who's gonna believe some girl could pop up with powers like that? They better watch out with smearing the Shinjin Oni name though; those guys are vicious."
The girl next to him picked up on his comment, "Next thing you know, whatever TV company is doing this will have her fighting a giant moth monster or something."
Even the boy with bright red hair had ideas, "She's gotta be real. Can you imagine the budget they'd have to spend to fake that?"
The first boy replied back, "A real Youkai? What next? Gojira walking out of the sea to stomp Tokyo?"
I had grown up alone, or at least alone in the regard of having anyone to compare myself with. Should I compare myself with Teyrn Elon, and his group of lab goons that derived pleasure in finding just what I could endure? How many pieces could they remove before I had difficulty recovering. Maybe I should compare myself to the Selstlak. Those lizards always acted like I was far beneath them, and despised me for the attention I received. Yet a few that had joined me in being the object of Teyrn Elon's attention, had screamed at times that I just gritted my teeth to endure. I knew that screaming did only one thing; it made Teyrn smile.
The girl joined in again, exclaiming, "Man, did you see the way she hit that guy? I bet she could take on Gojira!"
Now they were going beyond a simple recounting of the events. They had begun speculating on battles I should take on, and foes I should confront. I didn't know if I wanted to live up to the expectations, or try to make the whole thing fade away. Being the center of attention has only a tiny span that brings the thrill, followed by pain that lasted much longer. I was encountering people that I hoped would never feel my pain, but like those Selstlaks that got too close, they probably would eventually. Life wasn't going to be easy for the next while no matter what I did. I stared out the window in silence, looking for answers in the scenery flashing past.
Sakura's quiet words cut through the spiraling pattern of my thoughts to bring my focus back to the present. I was going to have to start crediting her with mind reading abilities, "Is the thought so terrible?"
"I was just..."
"You were just thinking about what we said. Just remember that my family loves their mother, and they would have lost her without you."
I couldn't think of a single thing to say to that. I'd stopped the bullet that probably would have hit her at the demonstration, and those robbers had already shown they had a willingness to kill. I couldn't even refute that she might not have been at either place if not for me. She'd wanted to see Akita's work, and she used that very same bank as well. Just... how could I be anybody's hero?
Like the news reporters, the other passengers had many speculations, but nothing in the way of any real knowledge. They were mostly retelling the same thing, and sharing a picture that I'd seen on Rin's television. I pulled my thoughts back to the reality around us. Akita was going to have a lot to say when he got home.
By the time we left the train most of the shops around there had closed for the day. It was a little better after the bus ride up the hill. The shops here were still going fine, and one even had a sale on maki. Sakura laughed when I asked if that meant that it wasn't as good.
The shop keeper glared for a moment as though I had said the wrong thing, "Not only is it good; it's so good that I want everyone to share in the fortune of tasting such fine fish."
We found some nice fruit as well, that smelled like it would be a good morning meal. He did look at me odd when I was smelling one of the prickly ones, and showed me how I should smell the bottom instead of the side. I grabbed a second one since he was so friendly. If one pineapple was good, two would be even tastier.
As he was adding the prices together, Sakura laid a small book along with the fruit. She thought I might enjoy the story about a colorful hero. The cover showed the guy in fancy red armor with a big sword shooting lightning at an equally fancily dressed opponent. She told me that Tsukune used to save money from chores that he'd do, just so that he could get books like that one. Sendai Rangers; Red vs. Shoyokuni. Maybe I could find out what those kids were talking about.
Thankfully I didn't have to try my hand at slicing again when we arrived home. Dinner was already waiting for us inside. Mr. Masema had gotten delivery from Yum Yum Ramen House.
It was a wonderful meal that still left my stomach feeling empty as I finished off all the last bits of sushi rolls, and four bowls of the ramen. As we ate I heard all about how something called a blog had spread the news almost faster than the news reporters could do. The picture of me in the bank had become a viral thing, which Hiro and Sai both said was a great thing. Not to be confused with medical maladies.
Mr. Masema let them ask the questions, but kept reminding them of their duty to protect a guest by not telling anyone else. So I told them a simple version of throwing the arcs to stop the men, and how one of them called me a cosplayer. That comment drew laughs all around the table. Even Akita smiled for that one. I skipped over the details, and omitted Sakura even being there as I told the children about the bank.
It wasn't long before all of the little boxes were empty. All of the
rice balls were gone, along with the sushi, so I pulled out a banana from the fruit that we had bought to fill my stomach that was still grumbling about being empty. After a few bites, and laughter all around, I learned that you are supposed to peel them before eating. I remembered that trick for the next three that followed as I fielded the rest of their questions.
At long last Akita reminded them that it was later than they were supposed to be awake, and shooed them up the stairs. A full ten minutes ensued of sounding like the world was ending and they'd miss it, before they were finally off in their rooms.
When it was finally quiet, Akita mentioned that Mr. Motogawa had stopped by asking for Sakura. He had asked about some fish rolls.
Sakura nodded. I was supposed to fix him some rolls in exchange for getting Ion's identification forged. I'll have to take care of that tomorrow."
He almost smiled, "At least your arm is feeling better so that you can."
I stood up, thinking that I could go rest, "I spent a lot of energy today."
Akita's hand raised toward me, "Wait. You need to hear this. The video of what you did at the demonstration has been the top subject of talk all today. The engineers figure it would take a battery the size of a large steamer trunk to do what you did. Not only that, but somebody recognized Sakura in that clip."
"A battery? Can't they see I didn't have any battery?"
He sighed, "That's the big problem. They want answers. Since Sakura was right there with you, they thought she might have seen something. They will go to great lengths to find out how you did what you did. Mr. Atsuura offered a reward if I could find you to bring you in."
"What would they do with me?"
"The company is a good company, but I don't know that I can trust all of the people within it to do the right thing. Ten million yen would do a lot, but I can't betray my guest."
With that said, he seemed to collapse in on himself, "I wish I could have been on top of it as fast as the bank was. Somehow in the confusion of the police arriving, all the recording equipment erased any images during the robbery. All the reporters could get were the things people snapped with phones. It took all of a minute to tie you to the incident at Saikou."
"I didn't do anything to the bank equipment; I just ran."
"It was the bank manager. He's the only one that could have. He's protecting their reputation. How many customers would want the bank talking about them?"
"He opened the back door for me."
Akita nodded, "It took one reporter about thirty seconds to dub you Raiju, and the name stuck. They can talk of nothing else, but speculate how you could fit batteries and electrical gadgets under a body suit that looks so good on you."
His comment drew a short glare from Sakura, before softening, "Well, it does look good on you. He's just not supposed to notice such things. I think Takeru liked it as well."
"Takeru?"
"I stomped all over his beans, and he tried to patch the hole in me before we went to Rin's Barn."
Sakura filled in some of the gaps, "Takeru has a book store, and tried a little first aid before taking us to his friend the veterinarian. She managed to pull out the bullet and make sure everything was ok. Not to worry my husband, neither of them has any information on us."
"How can you think Takeru liked my shipsuit, when it was covered in blood?"
She smiled, "I just saw the way he looked at you is all."
"I couldn't tell." An idea occurred, "Do you think if I prove to them that I don't have any battery stuff, they will forget about it?"
Akita shook his head, "They wouldn't want to stop until they knew how to recreate it."
"Would it help if I gave you the money so you didn't have to worry about what they offered?"
Akita stood and paced, "For ten million yen you could buy that temple up there where they found you. Nobody around here has that kind of money to give away!"
"It can be purchased?"
He stopped his pacing to stare at me, "First off, that was ten million Yen, a one, followed by a whole lot of zeroes. As for that rickety old temple up there, I think you'd have to go to the Prefecture offices to find out. I know those coins you had are worth a lot, but nowhere near the ten million. We will be fine without the reward. Never fear."
"You should have seen the bank manager's face when she dropped twenty-two point four kilos of gold on his desk."
Akita just stared at me for a moment before nodding. I could tell that he was feeling better knowing that Sakura was safe. And if I could really hide the ship it would remove that fear as well. He could begin to relax. I assured him that I would get the entire fabric shop to cover the ship with, just as soon as I found out about purchasing the temple.
When I got ready for my bath I took the time to arrange my pouch with a bottle of tanning. I was going to be prepared the next time. It was my responsibility, not Sakura's to make sure that I didn't endanger them with my presence. From now on I'd wear the shipsuit under whatever else, so I didn't reveal myself without clothes.
I brushed the wig so that it no longer looked like I'd been in a wind storm. She had shown me some of the items in the bathroom so that I wouldn't feel so lost in the low tech house. At her suggestion I applied conditioner to the wig and brushed it until it gleamed. That should keep most of the static down as well -- no more black halo.
TOC
JU SHI
I arose with the first rays of sun through the window, though it wasn't really the sun itself. Sol was coming from the other side to light up the mountain, and what bounced back toward the window woke me.
I liked the shipsuit's ability to dry rapidly after a thorough washing last night, and it had even mended over the hole. If I got the chance while in the city to stop by Takeru's shop, then I wanted him to see me looking better. Maybe he could tell me more about this Raiju that people were calling me.
I went down and started cutting up the pieces of fruit that we had bought on the way home. I managed to get most of it cut up without bleeding when Akita walked in on me. He told me that Sakura was still in bed; her ribs were hurting again, and she had asked him to help me get the fabric for my project. He joked that at least he could keep me out of trouble this way, "Fabric shopping shouldn't involve armed robbery or violent crowds."
While he was helping the children dish out what was left of the fruit, I went up to check on Sakura. After her time with the bio bed yesterday, her ribs shouldn't have been hurting. I found her lounging in bed without a sign of pain.
I was puzzled, "You don't look in pain."
"It was the best way to get Akita to take you shopping. This way he can see that you're not a problem. Just try not to get in the middle of some big catastrophe or whatnot."
If I hurried I could get to the prefecture offices to see about the temple. Now that I knew that there was a chance that it was purchasable, I could discover what forms that would require. I think I already had all of the identification I needed, so it was a matter of probably ten or fifteen forms to make the office workers happy. If Akita was correct, and they would accept a mere ten million for the forms, then I could become the new owner today.
I wanted to hurry so that I could get back to Izumi's shopping district in time to buy the fabric. Akita wanted to take the car, but this was a chance for me to use the motorcycle and feel the rushing wind as we rode. Plus, I had been wanting to try it out.
Akita seemed hesitant, "There aren't any helmets. What happens when you hit something?"
"It has a gyro stabilization strong enough for the hover mode, and active shielding for low speed impact. I'll keep it under two-hundred kilometers per hour."
When I'd mentioned to Sakura about riding the hover bike, she gave me a scarf to hold the wig in place. It blended in with the scarf dress that I'd donned again. The one surprise was that I hadn't expected his arms to wrap around me.
Akita had to hold close to me as we sped off down the road. Luckily the signs were readily visible, and pointed me toward the c
ity without getting lost. The bike was great in that it could squeeze between some of the other vehicles on the road. Twice he had to remind me that there was a limit to how fast vehicles could travel on the road; that was what had caused trouble for my friend that first night.
We were winding around a corner toward the beginnings of Sendai when a car sped around us going even faster. I glanced over and noticed that the two men inside were dressed in black with those fancy masks. It was like those men in the bank yesterday, only without the weapons shooting me. Their car swerved around another corner, barely missing another oncoming vehicle.
There was barely time for a breath before the pursuing police cruiser skidded around the corner, cutting even closer to us than the first car. Lights on the top were flashing red, casting the lights from the buildings along the road in sync with the oscillating alarm blaring through the morning stillness.
Mere moments later, the alarm siren was joined by a loud squealing, and then crashing glass and metal. The siren died away in a long descending wail to near silence.
As we rounded the next corner we found the source of the crashing noise. The car had collided with a bus full of children not much older than Hiro. According to the sign on the side, they had been headed for the beach from Kunai Academy. Both of the Shinjin Oni men were collapsed against the control panel for the car, and looked like they had passed out from the impact. I could deal with them in a moment.
The police car had swerved and missed joining the collision with the bus. Instead they had stopped their movement by ramming a power transfer pole. The force had severed the pole, and dropped the live wires right across the bus. All of this I saw in the second before I nearly joined in the multiple collision.
With only meters to spare, I swerved the bike between two buildings, bringing it to a stop in the alley behind.
