The darkness was vast and endless, falling away forever on 
all sides. Strange things moved invisibly through it, 
writhing and flapping and stalking.

All at once, a flurry of movement erupted, claws clacking 
and wings beating as they scurried away, fleeing from the 
strangest thing of all as it approached in a soft halo of 
light.

Dream Warrior Miwako gripped her sword tightly, looking 
nervously around into the impenetrable blackness. She 
wasn't sure what exactly she was doing here.

But she knew there was something out there. She was 
hunting it. And it was hunting her.

Miwako looked down at herself, only then realising that 
she stood out for miles as the only light anywhere. 
Shutting her eyes, she concentrated and the faint glow 
around her faded away. She opened her eyes again, 
blinking as she waited for them to adjust, but there was 
nothing but void.

She strained her ears, listening.

Leathery scraping noises. Gurgling hisses. A faint snatch 
of something that might have been haunting laughter...

Then another sound echoed over all of it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps. Orienting herself, Miwako moved slowly toward 
it, trying to stay as silent as possible.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The light, measured taps suddenly ceased, replaced by the 
slow, unsteady plodding of heavier feet. Harsh breathing 
cut stagnant air. Miwako lifted her sword, preparing for the 
swing.

Another step. Another--

"_Stay away from me!_" A shout, almost a scream.

CRASH!

Miwako jumped, backing away from the abrupt explosion 
of noise as she brought her shield up defensively, her eyes 
flicking uselessly about for any threats. What was going 
_on_ here--?

A tiny, snapping hum of electricity, and lights blazed all 
around her. Miwako gasped, momentarily blinded. She 
backed up another step, blinking rapidly, and gasped 
again in surprise as something poked her hard in the back. 
She whirled--

And found herself staring at a banister rail.

A whisper of movement from behind and Miwako spun 
again, raising her sword and shield, ready to ward off any 
attack.

Again she stopped, staring in confusion.

Kobayashi Yumeko stared back, her gaze focusing at a 
point through Miwako before dropping to an orange 
blanket, crumpled on the floor. Her eyes were those of a 
lost child.

Miwako took a step forward. "Yumeko?" she asked 
cautiously.

Yumeko didn't reply; the other girl walked straight past 
Miwako, her posture displaying a hesitancy Miwako had 
never seen from Yumeko before. She bent to pick up the 
blanket, whispering something to herself that Miwako 
couldn't make out.

Miwako found herself at a loss. What was Yumeko doing 
here? More to the point, what was _she_ doing in what 
seemed to be Yumeko's house? Suddenly embarrassed, 
she looked around and turned for the stairs, intending to 
let herself out--

"What are you doing in my house?" Yumeko's voice rang 
out, harsh and suspicious. Miwako jumped, turning on 
one heel.

Yumeko's street clothes were gone, replaced by a low-cut 
black dress and gloves. The black stone in her crown 
winked darkly against its silver surface as the Nightmare 
Fighter raised her sceptre, pointing it accusingly at 
Miwako.

Excuses tangled on the tip of Miwako's tongue, but before 
she could blurt out any of them she noticed something.

"Yumeko... where'd your house go?"

"What?" Yumeko scowled. Then her face mirrored Miwako's 
own surprised look as she took a look at her surroundings. 
The void was back, held at bay only by a small pool of light 
from the Dream Warrior's sword. Somehow, Miwako 
couldn't remember willing the light to turn itself back on.

Yumeko kept looking around for several seconds, as if her 
house would suddenly appear back out of nowhere. 
Finally, she turned back to Miwako. "What did you do?" 
she demanded. "What happened?"

Miwako shook her head helplessly. "I didn't do anything. 
And I wish I knew."

"Well, where are we, then?"

Miwako hesitated. "Well, before I ran into you, I would 
have said... my dream." A brief silence. "I've fought them in 
my dreams before. What about you?"

Yumeko ignored the question. "You're saying I'm part of 
your dream?" she asked, almost angrily.

Miwako thought that over. "I don't know." She shrugged. 
"Maybe I'm part of _your_ dream." The Dream Warrior 
chuckled, looking down self-consciously--

"--'Neechan?"

The carpet pressed softly into Yumeko's cheek.

"...unh?" Yumeko shook her head groggily, pushing up into 
a sitting position. "Wha... Shinichi?"

"'Neechan, are you all right?" her little brother asked 
worriedly. "I heard someone coming up the stairs, so I 
came out to see who it was but it was dark. Then there was 
this big crash and I dropped my blanket and closed the 
door..." He reached down, tugging the orange comforter 
from under Yumeko's knees. "And then the lights came on 
and I came out and you were just lying there, asleep... and 
you wouldn't wake up." Shinichi looked at her, concern 
flooding his wide eyes. "Are you okay, 'neechan?"

Without thought, Yumeko hugged him, drawing him close. 
"'Neechan's fine, Shinichi. You go to bed now, 'kay? You 
need your sleep if you want to wake up for school 
tomorrow." She turned to look at the scattered gleams of 
glass fragments in the carpet, the oily trails of liquid 
seeping down the wall. The harsh, chemical scent of the 
cologne hung mockingly in the air.

"I'll go to sleep as soon as I've cleaned up," she told her 
brother gently. "You go ahead."

Shinichi nodded. He went back into his room... then 
turned. "I love you, 'neechan."

"I love you too." Yumeko watched his door close, then 
sighed and started hunting bits of glass. She swore under 
her breath as a particularly cologne-slippery fragment 
eluded her, groping for it amongst the carpet. Finally, she 
got hold of it, lifting it up with a tiny feeling of triumph--

And knelt there, staring, at the strand of orange-red hair 
nestled in her palm with the forgotten piece of glass.


* * * * *

Nightmare Fighter Yumeko

Chapter 11: Strain

* * * * *


A pale sun rose over a vast landscape of grey, concrete on 
steel on asphalt. Here and there, the odd pocket of green 
was visible, a park or a tree amidst the urban sprawl. Neon 
lights sat dark and quiescent, offering no challenge to the 
sunlight. And a lone white dot circled, lonely, overhead.

Chie soared above Tokyo on gentle wingbeats, pursuing 
her quest to find and punish the naughty, naughty, 
terrible girl Miwako. A quest which, however, had run into 
a small snag.

Namely, she had no idea what Miwako looked like.

She squawked in frustration. She would have to find Hiro 
again, then. Find him, and follow him... and wait until he 
led her to Miwako. She knew where his school was; but 
he'd been alone when she'd watched him. Someone had 
come to join him just before Chie had left, but then she'd 
had eyes only for her pretty, pretty Hiro.

That someone had to have been Miwako. The Dream 
Warrior and her spirit guide would never be far apart. She 
would find Hiro, and then she would find this Miwako.

And then...

She banked away over the buildings, vanishing into a 
dreamless grey dawn.

=====

It was the end of another day, and students were 
streaming through the front gate, laughing and chatting 
and otherwise just having fun. Even for those who had to 
attend cram classes or club activities, the few minutes 
after school were relaxing, a chance to unwind and snatch 
a welcome respite from the day's tension.

Arai Miwako badly wished she could feel the same way.

"Hiro, I want a straight answer," she persisted, grabbing 
the white-haired boy by the shoulder. "What's wrong with 
you lately?"

"What do you mean, Dream Warrior?" Hiro asked. His eyes 
didn't stop their wary scanning of their surroundings, 
though.  She might have passed that off before as concern 
for her "secret identity," but now...

Miwako shook him, forcing him to focus back on her face. 
"I mean this!" she told him, trying to suppress her 
exasperation. "You're sticking to me like glue and jumping 
at every shadow!"

Hiro looked distinctly uncomfortable now. "Dream Warrior, 
I--"

"Hey, Miwako!" a voice called.

Miwako turned, leaving Hiro to breathe a sigh of relief. 
"Misako?"

"Hi, Miwako!" the blonde girl replied cheerfully, waving. 
"Want to go for another round with staves again?"

"Huh? I thought martial-arts club was on Mondays. Isn't it 
Thursday?"

"Sure, but I can get us into the gym. So how about it?"

"What about Yumeko? Don't you usually walk home with 
her?"

"Oh, she'll get back fine by herself." Was that a hint of 
anger in Misako's voice? Miwako suddenly felt a bit 
uncomfortable. She didn't want to end up in the middle of 
Yumeko and Misako...

...but she couldn't really refuse, could she? "All right." 
Before leaving, she gave Hiro her best _We'll talk about this 
later_ look.

But he missed it, scanning the sky apprehensively.

=====

Hiro broke from his reverie, in time to see Miwako 
following Misako away. He almost started to follow... then 
wavered. Miwako wouldn't appreciate that at all.

Damn it, why couldn't she just trust him? He was her 
spirit guide, and anyway this wasn't--well, it _was_ 
Miwako's business now that Chie was out to hurt her, 
but... when should he tell Miwako? And how?

He almost called out, then stopped, defeated. He wouldn't 
be able to talk to her alone until she and Misako were 
done. Shaking his head, he quickly checked to make sure 
no one was looking.

Seconds later, a white bird circled over the pair of girls, 
watching them. Was Misako a threat, too? She was very 
close to the Nightmare Fighter, from what he'd seen, and 
lately she'd suddenly become a good friend of Miwako's. 
Was there some scheme at work? He dipped, swooping 
around Misako's head in a low, tight arc, studying her face.

Then he caught sight of Miwako's look and silently cursed 
himself. He'd have to talk to her later. He did owe her an 
explanation.

Hiro flicked one wing over and glided smoothly away, 
leaving the girls and the school behind.

=====

"Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Miwako asked, lowering her staff. "Sorry, I 
didn't think I got you that hard..."

Misako winced. "It's okay. I'm still a bit sore from Seiko 
working me over."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Miwako asked sympathetically. 
"I mean, we could just take it easy..."

Misako shook her head. "No, I'll be fine." A fluttering from 
the window drew both their attention. "Hey, isn't that the 
same bird that flew all around my head just now?"

Then Misako blinked. What was that expression on 
Miwako's face? "Look, I'm feeling kind of thirsty," the red-
haired girl said quickly. "Why don't you rest for a bit? I'll go 
get a drink... you want one?"

Misako waved casually. "I'm okay. You go ahead." She 
watched Miwako go, a faint frown spreading across her 
face. Yumeko, Miwako... was _everyone_ acting weird these 
days?

She went back to a couple of basic staff exercises to pass 
the time. She obviously needed the practice, anyway; 
Miwako was still wiping the floor with her. Really, that girl 
was way too good--

"Misako?"

Misako turned to see Yumeko in the doorway. "What's up, 
Yumeko?" she asked, trying to conceal her mixed feelings. 
The way Yumeko had blown her off the other day... but her 
friend didn't look very good at all. Dark smudges beneath 
her eyes testified to a distinct lack of sleep.

Yumeko gestured indecisively. "Someone told me you'd be 
here... I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I meant to 
come, but--"

Misako bit her lip. "It's okay, Yumeko. But what 
happened? Where were you?" Something occurred to her. 
"Is everything all right at home? Is it Shinichi?"

"No, not really. Yesterday... I just needed to think." 
Yumeko took a breath. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you 
I'm sorry. I'll see you later."

"Yumeko--"

But she was gone.

=====

"Mi... ako?"

"What's up, Yu...?"

"Som... ne told me you'd--"

Chie hardly heard the rest, though. She'd just seen Hiro 
circling around this girl, and now this--she couldn't hear 
through the windows very well, but it _had_ to be Miwako!

Spreading her wings, she took off, flying around to the 
front of the building and through the door, hugging the 
ceiling to avoid attracting attention. She extended her 
wings in a silent glide as she passed the girl Miwako had 
been talking to--was the conversation over that quickly?

Never mind. She would catch the naughty Miwako alone. 
All the better.

=====

Miwako hurried back inside, forcing down a growing 
feeling of irritation. What was Hiro up to? First he was 
acting weird, and now he'd just yanked her out of a 
perfectly good afternoon with her friend only to vanish 
before she could find him.

She stepped through the front door and turned down the 
corridor to the main gym area, and stopped in her tracks.

Standing a half-dozen paces between Miwako and the 
door, Yumeko regarded her coldly.

Silence.

=====

Alone again, Misako sighed, absently spinning her staff. "I 
guess I was right," she muttered to herself. "People 
change." She glanced in the direction of the door--

--and staggered forward, her head ringing from the hit 
she'd just taken. The staff slipped out of her grip, clattering 
across the floor. Recovering, she spun on reflex, eyes 
searching for her opponent.

"People don't change," a voice hissed into her ear, ice on 
crystal. Misako started to whirl again, but the blow was 
already landing on her ribs, on tender flesh and half-
healed bruises; she choked on a breath and folded 
sideways, barely keeping her balance.

Twisting, Misako threw a hasty swing in the direction of 
her opponent, trying to win some breathing space. It 
missed, but she used the momentum to spin herself 
around, finally managing to get a look at her attacker.

She was fairly young, probably a few years older than 
Misako, blonde hair shining almost white in the sunlight. 
A wicked, short trident gleamed darkly, a vicious contrast 
to her thin white dress.

Misako blinked. _Why does she remind me of Hiro?_ Then 
she shook her head, trying to clear away the fuzziness. 
That hit must have been harder than she'd thought. Who 
_was_ this person, and why was she coming after Misako 
with that weird weapon?

The woman pointed her trident menacingly. "People only 
_seem_ to change. Because naughty ones lie to them." Her 
laugh was crystal shattering on concrete. "Chie will punish 
you for lying to Hiro, naughty girl."

The shock of hearing this strange person echoing her own 
thoughts froze Misako for a crucial split-second, and she 
barely managed to raise her guard before Chie was on top 
of her. She sidestepped a vicious slash, trying to circle the 
other girl as her heart pounded. This wasn't just another 
schoolyard brawl with Seiko and her flunkies, this crazy 
woman was trying to _kill_ her--

_Stay calm, Misako,_ she told herself as she avoided a 
quick thrust, analysing the situation. Chie really didn't 
seem to be much of a fighter. The other woman might have 
the advantage of a weapon, but Misako was stronger and 
faster, and as long as she kept her cool she could still win 
this. Anticipating the next slash, Misako lunged forward in 
its wake, trying to get inside the trident's reach--

She stumbled, her dropped staff rolling away from under 
her foot, and cried out as the butt of Chie's trident jabbed 
hard into her solar plexus. Off balance and winded, Misako 
flailed and crumpled to the floor.

As she started to roll away, three sharp points nestled 
against her throat, under her chin. An instant later, a pair 
of wide blue eyes filled her vision, innocent and insane.

"Now, naughty girl... what shall Chie do with you?"

=====

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"Practicing with Misako." Miwako's eyes dared Yumeko to 
make something of it. "She's my friend too."

Yumeko took a step forward, glaring. "If I find out you and 
Hiro are just using her, I'll--"

A pained, breathless cry fled from inside the gym, past 
them into the corridor.

Yumeko glanced from the door to Miwako, seeing her own 
apprehension reflected on the other girl's face. "Misako--!"

=====

Misako held her breath, not daring even to twitch. If Chie 
would just ease the trident off an inch, she might risk 
making a move. But with three uncomfortably sharp tines 
pressing delicately on her throat, Misako would probably 
be bleeding to death if Chie's arm shifted even a fraction.

"How shall Chie punish you, then?" the insane young 
woman mused to herself. "Shall Chie simply kill you? Or 
perhaps--"

The door banged open. "_What_ are you doing to Misako?" 
Miwako's voice demanded angrily.

"Misako?" Chie echoed, puzzled. The trident's tines 
wavered, relaxing their pressure a fraction. "Chie thought 
this girl's name was Miwako--"

"_I'm_ Miwako!" Miwako shouted. "Misako's my friend! 
What do you want?"

"What do you think she wants?" Yumeko's voice chimed in 
scornfully. "She wants a fight." Misako stared at the 
trident. It was still poised over her throat, but there was 
just enough space to turn her head to look over at the 
door... and there was Miwako, looking about as angry as 
she sounded. And Yumeko next to her, outwardly calm... 
but her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Chie wants to punish naughty Miwako, of course. For 
taking Chie's Hiro away from Chie." Misako studied her 
friends' faces, and saw nothing but confusion. What was 
going on here?

Miwako whispered something out of the corner of her 
mouth, and Yumeko's expression hardened... but she 
nodded. "What do you mean?" Miwako asked Chie, taking 
a tiny step forward... and edging to her right. Scowling, 
Yumeko did the same to her left. "I don't know what you 
think I've done, but we can talk about it. Just let Misako 
go, and..." Miwako took another step, mirrored by Yumeko 
on the other side.

Cloth rustled lightly as Chie rose to her feet... but the 
trident's points still rested dangerously on Misako's neck. 
"Chie doesn't want to talk to naughty Miwako," she said 
coldly. "Miwako will come with Chie to those who whisper, 
_now._ Or Chie will kill her friend." The trident's points 
dug slightly into Misako's skin, and she gasped.

Miwako paled. "You don't need to do that," she soothed, 
her expression strained. She took another step, this one 
more to the side, and Chie's dress rustled again; Misako 
looked back up to see that Chie was turning slightly to 
track Miwako's movements, keeping her eyes locked on the 
girl.

And with a start, Misako noticed that her dropped staff 
was now lying nearly at Miwako's feet. "All right," Miwako 
continued. "Whatever you want. Just let Misako go first." 
Another small step, and Miwako had the staff right in front 
of her. There was a quiet footstep from behind them--

"This girl's other friend had better not come closer," Chie 
hissed; her dress swished around her ankles as she turned 
again, probably to glare at Yumeko. Misako started to turn 
her head, but the three tines pushed slightly into her 
throat, forcing her to keep looking at Miwako--

And in one fluid motion, Miwako scooped up the staff from 
the ground and lunged, faster even in their friendly 
sparring sessions; the end of her slim staff darted like a 
lance, blurring upward to strike Chie just under the pit of 
her arm holding the trident. For an instant, the sharp 
pressure on Misako's neck deepened painfully--

Then it was blessedly gone, sheer relief flooding over 
Misako as she saw Chie's arm slapped upward by the staff. 
The white-clad woman's elbow bent involuntarily with the 
force of the blow, pulling the trident away from Misako; 
and gathering herself, Misako prepared to roll away, back 
to her feet and into the fight.

But it quickly became clear that Miwako had exchanged 
speed for balance in her sudden lunge. Overextended, the 
red-haired girl was falling helplessly forward, unable to 
regain her footing. She twisted herself to land on her back, 
but her momentum carried her flying forward to land with 
a painful thud, right on top of Misako. Air whooshed 
convulsively out of Misako's lungs.

Gasping for oxygen, Misako could only watch as Chie 
regained her balance, preparing to drive the trident down 
into Miwako's neck. Miwako was trying to pull her staff 
back to defend, but her grip was too close to its end from 
the lunge of a moment before and she wasn't going to get it 
into position in time--

--and then Yumeko's fist darted in out of nowhere, 
hammering into Chie's midsection and sending her 
stumbling back, her attack forgotten. Miwako used the 
extra time to scramble back to her feet, leaving Misako still 
gasping for air on the floor.

"Who are you?" she dimly heard Yumeko demand. "Who 
sent you?" She and Miwako were advancing slowly, their 
expressions grim and set. Chie had backed off out of 
Misako's line of sight.

There was a sudden flurry, a beating of wings that seemed 
to rise over them all; then it receded and was gone. 

And then both their faces were peering worriedly down at 
her, as they helped Misako to her feet. "Are you okay, 
Misako?" Miwako asked breathlessly; Yumeko shot the 
red-haired girl a look of annoyance.

"I'm... I'm okay," Misako gasped, drawing in heaving 
breaths as she got up. She brought a hand up to her 
throat, then studied her palm and was mildly surprised to 
see no blood. "Just winded."

"Here." Yumeko's arm was steadying around Misako's 
shoulders, as she was helped over to the nearest wall, 
leaning back on it. "Just rest here, okay?"

And then, in a move that made both other girls' jaws drop, 
Yumeko grabbed Miwako by the arm and hauled her, 
protesting, out of the gym. As Misako took deep breaths, 
steadying herself, she could hear faint murmurs of 
animated conversation from behind the doors.

Yumeko? And Miwako? Talking behind _her_ back?

That shook her as much as anything else that had 
happened.

=====

"All right," Yumeko growled as the door swung shut behind 
them. "Who was that crazy bitch, and why was she here 
after Misako?"

Miwako pulled free of Yumeko's grip, looking Yumeko 
straight in the eye with a helpless shrug. "I know as much 
as you do. It sounded like she thought Misako was me--"

"_Sure_ you don't know," Yumeko snapped. "Hiro's 
psychotic jealous magical bird ex-girlfriend is in town 
looking to kill someone named Miwako, and he didn't tell 
you a thing about it?"

"I'm telling you he didn't!" Miwako insisted--then stopped 
short. Was this why Hiro had been acting so strangely 
lately? Had he known and not told her?

She shoved the thought aside. That could wait until she 
saw him next. "--some spirit guide he is, then," Yumeko 
said harshly. "And you wonder why I don't trust him? Or 
you, working for him?"

"Maybe he didn't know," Miwako protested, but even to her 
own ears it lacked conviction. It fit together too well--he 
_must_ have known.

But as she'd said to herself, that would wait. "We'd better 
get back in there," she told Yumeko. "Misako'll be 
wondering what's going on."

=====

"What were you two talking about?" Misako demanded as 
the other two girls walked back in.

There was a tiny flinch from Miwako... but it was gone just 
as quickly as she gestured to Yumeko. "She wanted to 
know if I knew anything about that crazy woman."

"Uh huh. And I'm the one who almost got killed, so you 
both had to discuss it without me hearing?"

"Yes! I mean, no! We, we thought--"

"Who is this 'we'?" Misako asked suspiciously, folding her 
arms. "Suddenly the two of you are best friends?"

"I--we--" Miwako took a deep breath. "We're both your 
friends, Misako. Whatever Yumeko and I might think of 
each other, you're more important to us than that."

"I... I see," Misako replied slowly. It sounded believable. 
Sincere, even. And she wanted to believe it. But...

She took a deep breath. "If I'm that important to you... tell 
me what this is about."

"We don't know," Miwako said quickly. "Neither of us knew 
who that woman was, or what she might want--"

"She said something about 'Chie's Hiro,' Miwako. And 
about _you_ taking him away from her."

Miwako shook her head. "I'm as confused as you are, 
Misako."

"Fine. Let's go to Hiro and ask him."

"Um..." Miwako hesitated. "Why don't I ask him? He's my 
cousin, after all, and--"

Misako closed her eyes. "And I'm obviously not as 
important to you as you're saying." Letting her shoulders 
slump, she walked between the two of them, heading for 
the door. "When you're ready to talk about it, I'll listen. See 
you guys around."

She kept walking, waiting for them to call her back, to 
explain and make everything right.

But they never did.

=====

They stood there in silence for a while, long enough for 
Misako to be well and truly gone... and then Yumeko 
shook her head, in a gesture of bitter defeat, and started to 
leave herself. And Miwako knew that neither of them was 
going to go after Misako. What could they say?

"Yumeko--" Miwako began. Misako was their friend; 
whatever their differences, maybe she and Yumeko 
together could think of something...

"Shut up," Yumeko said bitterly. "This is your fault."

And she walked away, leaving Miwako standing alone.

=====

Standing outside the Red Eye's door, Yumeko almost cared 
enough to be surprised. She hadn't expected to hear this 
particular voice until she'd gotten inside the bar.

"Please don't do this, Yumeko," Keiji pleaded from behind 
her.

"What?" Yumeko retorted. "Can't even wait till I'm drunk 
before you preach at me?" She reached for the door.

He stepped in front of her before she could push it open, 
ignoring her rapidly darkening expression. "Yumeko, 
whatever problems you have, this isn't going to solve 
them."

She scowled... then, with an obvious effort, adjusted her 
expression to something more neutral. "Keiji, don't get in 
my way. I need--"

Keiji gritted his teeth. This was going to hurt... He stepped 
forward, meeting his childhood friend's gaze squarely. "You 
know who you're reminding me of, Yumeko? Your father."

There was a beat of cold, dead silence, just long enough for 
Keiji to reconsider the wisdom of what he'd said. _You had 
to do it,_ he told himself. _She needed to hear it from 
someone--_

The concrete sidewalk was rough and cold, even through 
his shirt. Numbly, Keiji shook his head, trying to banish 
the brilliant spots flitting through his vision. Getting an 
arm under himself, he managed to push himself more or 
less upright and then get to his feet, focusing on the act as 
a distraction from the pain. Ignoring a fresh, aching stab 
from his head, he lifted his eyes and caught a blurred 
glimpse of Yumeko's face, white and shocked.

And then he turned away and started walking, 
concentrating on taking each step without wobbling. 
Waiting for her to call out to him.

Halfway up the block, Keiji turned. Yumeko was gone. And 
the bar's door was swinging shut, a faint breeze whispering 
cold laughter.

=====

Each step felt heavier than the last, as Yumeko turned the 
last corner toward her house.

So many problems. Her father. Misako. Keiji. Miwako and 
Hiro. It was too much to handle. She should have gone 
into the Red Eye instead of coming home, she needed a--

_You know who you're reminding me of, Yumeko?_

--no. Not until she'd given it some thought. She didn't 
want to be like her father. She couldn't afford to be.

For Shinichi's sake.

"Hello, Kobayashi." The familiar voice was enough to jolt 
Yumeko out of her distracted state, her fists coming up 
reflexively into a defensive stance. The girl was leaning 
against Yumeko's gate, her casual posture belying the 
intensity of her glare. "I told you there'd be a third time."

"Seiko." A tiny part of Yumeko wished she could just turn 
and run. Could today possibly get any worse?

"Just wondering if you'd _remembered_ anything about my 
brother," Seiko spat, her tone a barely veiled snarl.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know," 
Yumeko said flatly. "Now, would you mind moving? You're 
in my way."

"If you know anything, you'll tell me, Kobayashi." Seiko's 
voice was dark, almost pleading. "You're a sister, too; you 
should understand. Tell me."

Yumeko winced inwardly. "I... I wish I could tell you 
something, Seiko," she said, and to her surprise found 
herself meaning it. "But I don't know where he is." That 
was even true, as far as it went--she had no idea where Hel 
was, after all. Yumeko took a step toward the gate, 
lowering her hands slightly but keeping them ready; and to 
her surprise, Seiko stepped away as she approached.

"You're still hiding something, Kobayashi. I know it." 
Seiko's voice was ice. "Think about it. You have a brother. 
How would _you_ feel if something happened to him?"

The words were innocuous enough, but something in 
Seiko's tone made Yumeko shiver. She whirled, fists 
clenched. "If you're threatening my brother--"

"We'll talk again, Kobayashi." Seiko was already walking 
away. Not turning, she lifted one arm in a mocking wave. 
"Soon."

With an effort, Yumeko unclenched her fists, fumbling for 
her keys as she went to unlock the gate. She was suddenly 
glad she hadn't had that drink, or the second one that 
would have followed it, or the ones after that.

Because she had a lot to think about. Fast.


Author's Notes:

Whew. This was trickier to write than I'd anticipated. I 
didn't get all that far with the plot, but I hope it works 
anyway. ^_^

Thanks to John for idea-bouncing and being a thoroughly 
understanding admin, and to Ardweden for much 
constructive pre-reading.



Beware the Radish
http://www.mit.edu/~johne/btr/
3/9/01