text44769;"""I woke up in that terrible state where you feel fine only so long as you're lying horizontal."""
text44770;"""The moment you try to get up — before even thinking of anything more complex — you're overcome with dizziness."""
text44771;"""The only good thing was that I hadn't drank enough for a real hangover, so my condition would improve after a couple hours."""
text44772;"""And another one — my thoughts from the previous evening didn't return right away."""
text44773;"""The empty bottle of vodka stood on the table in the kitchen."""
text44774;"""I poured some water into a glass, drank it in one go, and winced at how cold it was."""
text44775;"""I had no plans, neither for today, nor at all."""
text44776;"""Except for running away from Tokyo and never looking back!"""
text44777;"""But now it felt seemed like I'd always have the time for that."""
text44778;"""The hangover numbed all my emotions, including anxiety."""
text44779;"""(Which itself was strange.)"""
text44780;"""I fidgeted with the empty bottle, trying to figure out whether I should go to a store for another."""
text44781;"""Who the hell is it?!"""
text44782;"""I staggered to the phone, vaguely attempting to figure out who would be calling me on the way."""
text44783;"""Even if it was Ellie, Kyosuke, or Irina — all that seemed to be completely irrelevant."""
text44784;"""And what if it was Kagome…?"""
text44785;"""Hello."""
text44786;"""I must have gotten the wrong number."""
text44787;"""I heard Catherine's voice on the other end."""
text44788;"""No, you haven't."""
text44789;"""What did she want from me?<w> What did she want from me at this exact moment…?"""
text44790;"""Are you okay?"""
text44791;"""Never better! What do you want?"""
text44792;"""Let's talk another time."""
text44793;"""No, wait! Sorry…"""
text44794;"""I gave myself a couple of good slaps in the face to come to my senses."""
text44795;"""I'm just in a bad mood this morning. Didn't sleep well and all that."""
text44796;"""Doesn't seem like it."""
text44797;"""I swear on my heart!"""
text44798;"""Are you sure I'm not distracting you from… something important?"""
text44799;"""I could almost hear her smirk."""
text44800;"""What's so <i>important</i> I could be doing on a… uhhh… what day is it today? You know me!"""
text44801;"""I used to think I did…"""
text44802;"""And now?"""
text44803;"""Catherine just sighed and didn't reply."""
text44804;"""I really didn't expect a call from you. Especially after everything that happened."""
text44805;"""What happened with you?"""
text44806;"""She asked nonchalantly."""
text44807;"""With me?!"""
text44808;"""Only then did I realize that Catherine didn't know what had been going on in my life for the last few months."""
text44809;"""So much that I couldn't possibly summarize it in just a few words."""
text44810;"""Is that so?"""
text44811;"""She replied with a somewhat forced indifference."""
text44812;"""Well, so… what did you want?"""
text44813;"""I tried to hide my irritation."""
text44814;"""It's just that we haven't talked in a while. And you haven't been to school for a while."""
text44815;"""I haven't been to school for a while?"""
text44816;"""I grinned."""
text44817;"""Don't you know what kind of rumors have been circulating there about me… and Iwamura?"""
text44818;"""I do."""
text44819;"""She replied imperturbably."""
text44820;"""Well, so?"""
text44821;"""Silence."""
text44822;"""I'd like to think you don't believe all that…"""
text44823;"""Do you want to talk about this?"""
text44824;"""With who? A psychologist? Thanks but no, thanks!"""
text44825;"""With me!"""
text44826;"""Ah, with you…"""
text44827;"""Just like that?"""
text44828;"""Just a second ago all I could think about was how my life had gone so wrong."""
text44829;"""So what exactly do you want to talk about?"""
text44830;"""I'm not forcing you."""
text44831;"""She replied briefly."""
text44832;"""No, of course, let's meet up!"""
text44833;"""In the city centre in two hours. And don't be late!"""
text44834;"""Affirmative."""
text44835;"""I hung up and sunk heavily to the floor."""
text44836;"""What if my life was going to take an unimaginable turn and I would lose Kagome just to get Catherine back?"""
text44837;"""Maybe I'd fly with her to the US, where the Corporation could never find us?"""
text44838;"""Was I seriously considering the possibility?"""
text44839;"""Especially after thinking yesterday that nothing could have ever worked out between me and Catherine?!"""
text44840;"""…"""
text44841;"""It was somehow too quiet at home, and also outside."""
text44842;"""I was just sitting in the hall and staring at the wall across from me, occasionally glancing at the clock."""
text44843;"""I didn't want to go to the meeting earlier than Catherine and then just stand and wait there like an idiot."""
text44844;"""For once I'd show her that I wasn't the one who needed it most!"""
text44845;"""I heard the sound of a car engine nearby."""
text44846;"""I looked out the window — it was Himitsu's father, Ryunosuke-san."""
text44847;"""Fortunately he couldn't see me."""
text44848;"""I barely remembered Himitsu's mother, but it always surprised me how they'd ever managed to get together."""
text44849;"""If I had to describe Ryunosuke-san, he was…<w> a typical Japanese man?"""
text44850;"""Maybe even a bit too typical, if you ask me!"""
text44851;"""A respected government employee and an — almost — exemplary head of the family."""
text44852;"""It was a wonder that Himitsu hadn't grown into some sort of <note=note150>yamato nadeshiko</note> under his care!"""
text44853;"""…"""
text44854;"""Well, now it was time…"""
text44855;"""I stood up with some effort, put on my shoes, and walked outside."""
text44856;"""The cold November sun was unbearably blinding to my eyes, and my head — although the headache had passed — seemed to be swelling from the inside."""
text44857;"""God, when would I feel normal again?!"""
text44858;"""People on the street cast weird looks at me, and I was almost certain they were judging my anti-social behavior and appearance that dishonored the proud title of human being."""
text44859;"""Of course, that wasn't the case."""
text44860;"""Maybe my face was a little swollen, but I didn't reek of alcohol and I didn't wobble as I walked."""
text44861;"""No matter how hard I'd tried to get there right on time, the clock on the office building told me I was twenty minutes early."""
text44862;"""City centre.<w> Monday."""
text44863;"""I'd expected that there would be a lot of people, but not this many!"""
text44864;"""Hi."""
text44865;"""I turned around and saw Catherine."""
text44866;"""You're early."""
text44867;"""So are you."""
text44868;"""But it's normal for me."""
text44869;"""…"""
text44870;"""So, what did you want to talk about?"""
text44871;"""She looked like she'd been dragged along on a boring field trip."""
text44872;"""Both the meeting and her morning call seemed strange to me."""
text44873;"""Though, acting weirdly was normal for her."""
text44874;"""I'm leaving soon."""
text44875;"""Leaving?"""
text44876;"""Yes, back to the US."""
text44877;"""What about Michael?"""
text44878;"""What about him?"""
text44879;"""Well, I heard you two went on a date…"""
text44880;"""…"""
text44881;"""She fixed her hair with a light gesture and turned away as if looking for something on the other side of the street."""
text44882;"""This whole conversation seemed like a forced formality."""
text44883;"""My hangover and other serious personal, criminal, and existential difficulties prevented me from understanding what I was supposed to be feeling and doing at this moment."""
text44884;"""So, you've come to say goodbye?"""
text44885;"""Something like that."""
text44886;"""Won't you even ask me… how I've been all this time? Where I was and what happened?"""
text44887;"""…"""
text44888;"""I laughed sincerely."""
text44889;"""You know, the fact that I was home when you called was itself incredibly lucky."""
text44890;"""Because I was also going to leave Tokyo… indefinitely."""
text44891;"""Oh, is that so?"""
text44892;"""Yes, it is!"""
text44893;"""With that girl… Iwamura?"""
text44894;"""Yes, with her!"""
text44895;"""I blurted out but immediately caught myself."""
text44896;"""I was…"""
text44897;"""Well, good luck to you two, then."""
text44898;"""Is that all?"""
text44899;"""What else is there to say?"""
text44900;"""Catherine finally looked at me — her face was still like a wax mask, and I could see poorly hidden sorrow in her eyes."""
text44901;"""But I didn't know how to react — I didn't know whether I even wanted to say anything."""
text44902;"""If that's what you've decided…"""
text44903;"""Yes. Good luck to you. Maybe we'll see each other again one day."""
text44904;"""Bye…"""
text44905;"""I forced out a farewell and then stood there for a while, watching her leave."""
text44906;"""…"""
text44907;"""Life, you might say, is like a chain."""
text44908;"""It spins, and spins, and spins, occasionally losing its links."""
text44909;"""Sometimes you notice it — if the links is important to you — and sometimes you just realize at one moment that the chain has become shorter than before."""
text44910;"""I could clearly hear a rattle, clang, and crunch after Catherine left."""
text44911;"""I could see the sparks all around me and smell the burnt metal."""
text44912;"""But the chain continued its merciless rotation, just now a little shorter."""
text44913;"""But coincidences are indeed absolutely indifferent — they can be good or evil to whoever they come upon."""
text44914;"""I was about to leave when I noticed a black foreign car right at the entrance of the Kobayashi Corporation building."""
text44915;"""As if there was anything unusual about it!"""
text44916;"""But I still stopped to see what bigwig it was this time."""
text44917;"""First, a few bodyguards in dark suits exited the car."""
text44918;"""They carefully, meticulously examined their surroundings, then one of them opened the door and…"""
text44919;"""I saw Kagome!"""
text44920;"""From this far away it was hard to see the expression on her face, but that wasn't necessary anyway."""
text44921;"""The impulse worked ahead of thoughts."""
text44922;"""There's a theory that consciousness is just an intricate attempt of the primate brain to rationalize the workings of the much more ancient structures of the nervous system."""
text44923;"""Kagome!"""
text44924;"""I shouted while running."""
text44925;"""But Tokyo's business district was too loud on a Monday morning, and my voice was lost in the sound of car horns and people talking."""
text44926;"""Kagome…"""
text44927;"""I gasped."""
text44928;"""It wasn't that easy to cross the road — the nearest pedestrian crossing was a hundred meters away, and meanwhile the guards had brought Kagome into the building."""
text44929;"""I ran straight ahead and almost got run over by a car."""
text44930;"""Once, twice."""
text44931;"""Nobody wanted to give way to a kid trying to cross the road without any regard for traffic laws."""
text44932;"""But finally, having slid over the hood of a car that slowed down for me, I ran into the Corporation's offices."""
text44933;"""Kagome."""
text44934;"""It was much quieter here compared to the outside, and Kagome and her guards had already reached the turnstiles."""
text44935;"""Kagome! Wait!"""
text44936;"""Finally, she heard me and turned around."""
text44937;"""And there was so much sadness, pain, and pleading in her eyes that I immediately forgot all the theories I'd come up with not so long ago."""
text44938;"""No, she couldn't have willingly abandoned me and just forgotten everything that had happened between us!"""
text44939;"""I didn't know what sequence of events had brought us to this point in time and space, but her eyes told me everything!"""
text44940;"""We were separated only by few dozen metres, but she may as well have been on the other side of the planet."""
text44941;"""Niko…"""
text44942;"""Kagome tried to shout, but one of the guards grabbed her roughly and all but threw her over the turnstile."""
text44943;"""Kagome!"""
text44944;"""When I ran to the turnstiles, it was too late — Kagome had been carried away and the only person left to welcome me was a goon twice my size."""
text44945;"""It's pointless to argue with people like that or try to prove anything to them."""
text44946;"""I was feverishly looking around, seeking support."""
text44947;"""A few girls, hanging at the reception desk and not busy with anything, looked at me in surprise."""
text44948;"""The few visitors were exchanging confused looks."""
text44949;"""Tell your boss this isn't over yet!"""
text44950;"""I growled and ran for the exit."""
text44951;"""It was too dangerous to stay here any longer — at worst, they could capture me right there in the middle of the day, bring me to some forest, and bury me there alive."""
text44952;"""I had to collect my thoughts and come up with a plan."""
text44953;"""Now I was at least confident that I had a chance — Kagome had given it to me herself."""
text44954;"""…"""
text44955;"""But my heart was beating like crazy, drops of sweat were running down my face, and everything floated before my eyes."""
text44956;"""I wasn't in the best condition to think up a plan to assault the headquarters of the biggest corporation in Japan."""
text44957;"""I sank heavily onto a bench and tried to catch my breath."""
text44958;"""They must be expecting me there now, that's for sure!"""
text44959;"""\""Thanks to Catherine\"" — I suddenly thought."""
text44960;"""Indeed, if it hadn't been for her, I would've been far away from Tokyo, carried away by a train, mindlessly staring out at the countryside."""
text44961;"""But not that much had changed, really."""
text44962;"""All I learned was that Kagome was effectively being held hostage by Kobayashi Jun."""
text44963;"""He clearly knew best what was good for his granddaughters!"""
text44964;"""But how was I, a simple high schooler who only yesterday had been drowning in vodka and depression, supposed to stand up to the might of Kobayashi Corporation?"""
text44965;"""Nevertheless, deep down inside, a warm, pleasant feeling had already appeared, began to take root in my soul and spread further through my body with every passing second."""
text44966;"""Its source was Kagome's face with a plea for me written on it, her eyes wet with tears that were louder than any words."""
text44967;"""And even if I only had a one in a million shot to rescue her, that was enough!"""
text44968;"""But in addition to my desperate desire, I also needed a plan."""
text44969;"""Suddenly I started remembering scenes from all the American movies I'd watched in my life."""
text44970;"""Blow up the Kobayashi Corporation building…?"""
text44971;"""If had any explosives, I would have done it!<w> Although, wait, Kagome was in there…"""
text44972;"""In any case, I had to somehow get in past the security guards."""
text44973;"""If I couldn't blow up the building, I could at least threaten to!"""
text44974;"""And then, in all the panic, maybe I'd manage to find her."""
text44975;"""I quickly located a pay phone, but I couldn't summon the courage to grab the receiver and dial the number."""
text44976;"""My hands were shaking, and it felt as if someone had put my head in a vice and was crushing it."""
text44977;"""Although I soon realized I didn't even know the number."""
text44978;"""Operator."""
text44979;"""Of course, getting the number of Kobayashi Corporation ended up being much easier than looking for some Akira Shinji guy who owned a restaurant…"""
text44980;"""I memorized the number given to me by the girl with a pleasant voice, hung up, and…<w> I froze."""
text44981;"""It was clear <i>what</i> I had to say but not <i>how</i>."""
text44982;"""I couldn't just blurt out that there was a bomb planted in the building!"""
text44983;"""Who was I and why would they believe me?"""
text44984;"""If that worked, every idiot would call them a dozen times a day!"""
text44985;"""In the end, it would be a prank call — the police would probably get involved too."""
text44986;"""Although they probably had more than enough questions for me as is."""
text44987;"""I caught my breath and finally grabbed the receiver, dialled the number, covering the receiver with my hand to distort my voice at least a little."""
text44988;"""Hello, this is Kobayashi Corporation?"""
text44989;"""A girl just as nice as the last said on the other end."""
text44990;"""In your main office… I mean, in the building with your main office."""
text44991;"""In my mind, I was already beating myself up."""
text44992;"""The explosion is in an hour. I advise you evacuate everybody!"""
text44993;"""What kind of terrorist would <i>advise an evacuation</i> of his potential victims?!"""
text44994;"""I couldn't handle the shame and was about to hang up, but the girl on the other end replied in a cold, uncompromising voice:"""
text44995;"""Is this some kind of joke? Who are you? Identify yourself!"""
text44996;"""That was when I realized that my plan had failed."""
text44997;"""Indeed, why would they believe every idiot who decided to prank them?"""
text44998;"""After all, we were in Japan out of all countries…"""
text44999;"""Maybe, once the cyberpunk dystopia finally rolled around, they'd take this sort of threat more seriously, but now…"""
text45000;"""Blowing up a building in the centre of Tokyo — few people were capable of that."""
text45001;"""And the ones who could definitely wouldn't warn anyone in advance."""
text45002;"""I walked out of the telephone box and looked around — the business district kept living its own busy life."""
text45003;"""The secretary — or whoever she was — hadn't taken me seriously, so I didn't have to worry about the police."""
text45004;"""Powerless, I sank to the nearest bench and put my head in my hands."""
text45005;"""When you face failure, disaster, your entire world comes apart at the seams, your very perception of reality becomes distorted."""
text45006;"""There's no black and white anymore — there's only black, and all the good things that ever were in your life look like a discolored children's picture book, and that's at best."""
text45007;"""Not that I'd had anything good in the first place — to be frank, I was in deep shit."""
text45008;"""I only had to wait for someone to knock from the bottom."""
text45009;"""Then something unexpected happened."""
text45010;"""Could you tell me where the offices of Kobayashi Corporation are?"""
text45011;"""I raised my head — a young man wearing a uniform and a baseball cap with the logo of a logistics company stood in front of me."""
text45012;"""He had a strong Chinese accent."""
text45013;"""But the most surprising thing was that he was asking for directions while standing across from Kobayashi Corporation's offices."""
text45014;"""That's when I got an idea — it was just as wild as the bomb call, but perhaps slightly more realistic."""
text45015;"""Wanna make a bit of extra cash?"""
text45016;"""What do I have to do?"""
text45017;"""The Chinese guy didn't even hesitate for the sake of decency — his eyes immediately lit up."""
text45018;"""What do you deliver?"""
text45019;"""Paper, paper clips, that kind of stuff… There's my car."""
text45020;"""He gestured toward the sidewalk, where a little truck was parked."""
text45021;"""I'll give you…"""
text45022;"""I took out a wallet and counted the money."""
text45023;"""Moriyuki-san sure hadn't held back!"""
text45024;"""This much… If you lend me your jacket, your hat, and a couple of boxes of the stuff you're delivering."""
text45025;"""What do you need it for?"""
text45026;"""Now he finally showed suspicion."""
text45027;"""Doesn't matter."""
text45028;"""I waved a wallet full of cash in front of him."""
text45029;"""The guy's internal conflict ended fairly swiftly."""
text45030;"""I have spare uniforms in the car."""
text45031;"""His lips stretched into an idiotic smile."""
text45032;"""Great, that's even better! Then, I'll give you half now and half in the elevator, once we're inside."""
text45033;"""Deal."""
text45034;"""…"""
text45035;"""The jacket was too small for me, as expected, but I still managed to fit into it somehow, although it must've looked weird."""
text45036;"""Although the two huge but surprisingly light boxes allowed me to hide well from inquiring glances."""
text45037;"""When we entered the Corporation's building, I asked the Chinese guy:"""
text45038;"""You know what you're doing, right?"""
text45039;"""Just follow me."""
text45040;"""He walked to reception, gave the girl there a сlipboard with some papers, and said something."""
text45041;"""I wasn't listening to him, but instead carefully looked over the boxes, watching for those guards in dark suits or, God forbid it, Kagemaru."""
text45042;"""But this time I seemed to be in luck: none of the people on the first floor of the Kobayashi Corporation building were paying any attention to me."""
text45043;"""Finally, the guy was done with the paperwork and carefully poked me in the back."""
text45044;"""Follow me. But don't run."""
text45045;"""When we approached the turnstiles, the guy nodded to the man standing next to the farthest of them, and he let us pass without saying a word."""
text45046;"""Was I already halfway there?!"""
text45047;"""I was rejoicing internally, and had to struggle to keep my face straight."""
text45048;"""Before we entered the building, we'd agreed that I'd go up as high as possible in the elevator, and then go our separate ways."""
text45049;"""The wait for the elevator to arrive was painfully long."""
text45050;"""Or maybe the second seemed like hours just to me."""
text45051;"""I could feel my hair get sweaty under the baseball cap, the tight jacket restricted my movements, and the boxes that had seemed light a minute ago weighed my arms down."""
text45052;"""You're not planning anything bad, are you?"""
text45053;"""Since when had he started using casual Japanese…?"""
text45054;"""No. Actually, you might instead call what I'm doing noble."""
text45055;"""I barely managed to reply."""
text45056;"""People doing something noble don't sneak around."""
text45057;"""Do you want the rest of the money or not?!"""
text45058;"""I grew angry."""
text45059;"""Fine, fine, I'm silent."""
text45060;"""His expression grew dark and he lowered his head."""
text45061;"""Naturally, I hadn't planned anything beyond this."""
text45062;"""I could run into Kagemaru at Kobayashi Jun's office."""
text45063;"""The old man himself could be somewhere else."""
text45064;"""There were millions of other possible outcomes, and only one of them was in my favor.<w> That was if he even decided to hear me out."""
text45065;"""And if I wouldn't be that lucky, in the best case they'd just kick me out again, and then I'd end up not just alone but also without any money, with it all being in some Chinese guy's pockets."""
text45066;"""I gave the guy a hateful glance, but, really, what had he done wrong?"""
text45067;"""He was just as much of a foreigner in Japan as I was."""
text45068;"""In many senses he probably had it harder than I."""
text45069;"""Trust me, I'm not going to do anything bad."""
text45070;"""I slowly said, in a rush of good will."""
text45071;"""I need to get somewhere… And talk to someone."""
text45072;"""I just hope he'll listen to me and understand."""
text45073;"""My job is just to accompany you to whatever floor you want to get to. That's all. After that, we're strangers."""
text45074;"""The Chinese guy replied in an unexpectedly rough tone."""
text45075;"""True. You're right."""
text45076;"""I'd been too quick see him as an ally — like most people, he was only taking the risk for money."""
text45077;"""Not out of love for those around him."""
text45078;"""Look who's talking though…"""
text45079;"""Finally, the elevator arrived."""
text45080;"""We let the people out and entered."""
text45081;"""Of course, in such a large building, we couldn't be its only passengers."""
text45082;"""I took a second, picking the floor."""
text45083;"""Not too high, but not too low, either."""
text45084;"""Let it be the eighteenth — I poked the button randomly."""
text45085;"""The elevator stopped on almost every floor, letting passengers in and out like a blue whale filtering water to extract plankton."""
text45086;"""The Chinese guy stood still without saying a word, looking straight ahead."""
text45087;"""I, on the other hand, was shifting from one foot to another."""
text45088;"""Fifth floor…"""
text45089;"""Last time I'd been here, this amount of time was enough for us to get to the penthouse!"""
text45090;"""Sixth…"""
text45091;"""Blood pulsed in my temples, the boxes about to fall out of my hands."""
text45092;"""Finally, I got tired of it and pushed the boxes to the guy."""
text45093;"""Here, take it! This is yours anyway."""
text45094;"""He accepted the load without any objections."""
text45095;"""Twelfth floor…"""
text45096;"""There were fewer and fewer people in the cabin."""
text45097;"""I took off the jacket and the hat and dropped them on top of the boxes."""
text45098;"""Alright, good enough. Thank you!"""
text45099;"""Then I all but kicked him out of the elevator."""
text45100;"""The penthouse button stood out surrounded by a great many nondescript buttons with numbers."""
text45101;"""I summoned my courage and pressed it, but nothing happened."""
text45102;"""I pressed it again, but to no avail."""
text45103;"""God damn it!"""
text45104;"""I'd suffered so much and almost reached the end, only to fail because the fucking elevator was malfunctioning!"""
text45105;"""Then I noticed a little keyhole next to the button."""
text45106;"""How come I hadn't noticed it before?"""
text45107;"""When I'd taken the elevator with Kagemaru last time, I had things on my mind other than studying the details."""
text45108;"""On the sixteenth floor, a middle-aged European-looking man entered the elevator together with a Japanese guy, apparently a Corporation employee, carrying a badge on the side of his jacket."""
text45109;"""Which floor, sir?"""
text45110;"""He asked as politely as possible."""
text45111;"""Well, errr…"""
text45112;"""I realized that I didn't look like one of Kobayashi Jun's typical visitors."""
text45113;"""Was I better off ignoring him, getting out of the elevator, and finding another way up to the penthouse?"""
text45114;"""No, that was too dangerous!<w> That enthusiastic guy would definitely report a suspicious individual."""
text45115;"""You aren't Japanese."""
text45116;"""The man suddenly said in English."""
text45117;"""Obviously."""
text45118;"""I replied, surprised."""
text45119;"""Forgive my rudeness."""
text45120;"""He smiled politely."""
text45121;"""You weren't rude at all…"""
text45122;"""What floor do you need to get to, young man?"""
text45123;"""I decided to take the opportunity."""
text45124;"""The penthouse."""
text45125;"""The penthouse is a bit…"""
text45126;"""The white collar guy immediately got nervous."""
text45127;"""Do you have a meeting with Mr Kobayashi?"""
text45128;"""Yes."""
text45129;"""I didn't really understand what was going on, and what that strange man wanted from me, so I decided to speak honestly but as little as possible."""
text45130;"""What a coincidence! So do I. Shall we go together?"""
text45131;"""By the way, my name is Mikhail."""
text45132;"""Nick."""
text45133;"""I replied still in English."""
text45134;"""It was hard to tell if he was Russian or from another Eastern European country, and at this moment I didn't much care, so I deliberately avoided a <i>warm</i> welcome with one of my countrymen."""
text45135;"""But sir…"""
text45136;"""The Japanese employee said timidly."""
text45137;"""See, Nick also needs to get into Mr Kobayashi's office. Let's not hold the elevator."""
text45138;"""The Japanese guy hesitated, sighed deeply, took out a key, carefully turned it in the keyhole, and stepped aside."""
text45139;"""Please."""
text45140;"""Mikhail confidently pressed the penthouse button."""
text45141;"""…"""
text45142;"""The elevator's ascent was again accompanied by an awful tune I hadn't paid any attention to when I'd entered with the Chinese guy."""
text45143;"""The closer we got to the floor I needed, the more uncomfortable I felt."""
text45144;"""There wasn't enough air in the cabin, and the pressure was rising, even though we were supposed to be going higher above the ground."""
text45145;"""On what business are you here, Nick, if I may ask?"""
text45146;"""On what business… what?"""
text45147;"""What do you want to discuss with Mr Kobayashi?"""
text45148;"""Well, uhhh… a personal matter."""
text45149;"""When we finally started going up to the penthouse, my newborn confidence faded away like fog above Kobayashi's skyscraper after rain."""
text45150;"""A personal question, huh?"""
text45151;"""He squinted for a moment, losing his friendly look, but then smiled again."""
text45152;"""I understand."""
text45153;"""Nothing lasts forever."""
text45154;"""Even though some things seem to last for an eternity, one instant, no matter how long it drags on, inevitably gives way to another."""
text45155;"""Even stars, on the galactic time scale, die to then be reborn in a new form…"""
text45156;"""Finally, we arrived, and the elevator doors opened with an unpleasant sound."""
text45157;"""Mikhail and the employee accompanying him walked out, while I remained in place."""
text45158;"""Are you coming?"""
text45159;"""Oh, yeah, sure…"""
text45160;"""I wouldn't have known what to tell Kobayashi Jun even if he'd been alone, and had even less of an idea about what to do now."""
text45161;"""The old man was indeed sitting at his desk with his back turned to us."""
text45162;"""After a couple seconds, he turned around and prepared to greet his guest cordially:"""
text45163;"""Ah, welcome! How was your flight, Mr…"""
text45164;"""He said in broken English, and then noticed me."""
text45165;"""Nikolai."""
text45166;"""His mood immediately soured."""
text45167;"""What are you doing here?"""
text45168;"""We need to talk."""
text45169;"""I managed to force out."""
text45170;"""Mikhail turned around and looked at me with surprise."""
text45171;"""Don't you see that this isn't the best moment? I have a meeting."""
text45172;"""There won't be another time!"""
text45173;"""I blurted out and grit my teeth."""
text45174;"""I don't want to interfere. I have plenty of time, and if this is something urgent…"""
text45175;"""Yes, sorry, it really is urgent!"""
text45176;"""I finally pulled myself together."""
text45177;"""Nikolai!"""
text45178;"""The old man raised his voice, but his Japanese manners wouldn't let him start an argument in front of his guest."""
text45179;"""He was clearly troubled and didn't know what to do."""
text45180;"""Calling security and kicking me out would've been appropriate had I shown up in his office alone."""
text45181;"""But reputation is everything for the Japanese, so he couldn't do so in front of Mikhail — that was obvious."""
text45182;"""Had I finally come into some luck?"""
text45183;"""Although, I also couldn't start talking about Kagome while Mikhail was here."""
text45184;"""Even if I were to put aside my manners, Kobayashi Jun would react even worse than if we were alone."""
text45185;"""Mikhail, I'm sorry, but I really need to talk with Kobayashi-sama."""
text45186;"""I said in Russian."""
text45187;"""I understand."""
text45188;"""He replied briefly without an accent, but that in itself didn't prove anything."""
text45189;"""The next second, he bowed to Kobayashi Jun and headed for the elevator."""
text45190;"""Wait…"""
text45191;"""The CEO tried to stop him."""
text45192;"""It was nice to see that even this all-powerful old man could find himself in a situation in which he was powerless."""
text45193;"""Happy now, Nikolai?"""
text45194;"""Once the doors of the elevator closed, he nodded at the chair in front of the desk."""
text45195;"""I walked over and sat down, inwardly feeling something akin to triumph."""
text45196;"""Kobayashi-sama, first I want to ask you: Kagome… Are you forcing her to stay here?"""
text45197;"""Nikolai, there are still some aspects of our culture you fundamentally misunderstand."""
text45198;"""She's still a part of the family, I can't just <i>force</i> her to be here!"""
text45199;"""He frowned, locked his fingers together and leaned forward."""
text45200;"""It doesn't matter how you phrase it, the point remains the same."""
text45201;"""I know that Kagome decided to turn to you because we simply had no other choice."""
text45202;"""If she'd wanted to, she would have brought you along."""
text45203;"""She couldn't!"""
text45204;"""I raised my voice but immediately caught myself and shrunk back."""
text45205;"""And why is that?"""
text45206;"""Why…? Well, because…"""
text45207;"""In reality, I didn't know the answer to that question — yes, Kagome could've at least discussed her decision with me."""
text45208;"""Because she's your family, just like you said. And who am I? Especially after Ellie's kidnapping. At best, I'm just an annoying pest. At worst…"""
text45209;"""I'm glad you can so soberly judge your own capabilities."""
text45210;"""He suddenly smiled."""
text45211;"""I just don't understand one thing: earlier, why couldn't you…"""
text45212;"""I hesitated for a moment, picking the right words."""
text45213;"""Her mother, and then her father… Kagome told me everything — is that really how a <i>family</i> acts?"""
text45214;"""I wasn't in any position to criticize him, but it stubbornly seemed to me that Kobayashi Jun paid more attention to <i>how</i> a person spoke rather than the actual meaning of their words."""
text45215;"""As soon as he was bored of our conversation, I'd be kicked out of here forever and might never see Kagome again."""
text45216;"""And you, on the contrary, know all about the perfect family?"""
text45217;"""He suddenly changed the subject."""
text45218;"""Me? What do I have to do with this?"""
text45219;"""Your parents worked for Soviet intelligence. From the very beginning, the whole time they'd spent in Japan."""
text45220;"""That's not true…"""
text45221;"""I forced myself to object, although deep inside an understanding was growing that this person wouldn't throw around baseless accusations."""
text45222;"""Did I really know my parents that little?"""
text45223;"""In any case, what does it have to do with Kagome?"""
text45224;"""You think I'd allow my granddaughter to be with a Soviet spy?"""
text45225;"""<i>A Soviet spy</i>?"""
text45226;"""I smirked powerlessly and flung my arms up in the air."""
text45227;"""Kobayashi-sama, what are you talking about? I'm just a high schooler, and not even among the best."""
text45228;"""Sins of the father…"""
text45229;"""He said admonishingly."""
text45230;"""Would you want your grandchildren to answer for your sins?"""
text45231;"""Apparently, I'd hit the target — for a second, a hint of annoyance flickered across his face."""
text45232;"""You haven't always been honest as either, even with yourself."""
text45233;"""Circumstances forced you to pretend you didn't have a daughter, and then a granddaughter. That being your profitable marriage."""
text45234;"""How do you know that?"""
text45235;"""His cheekbones bulged on his face — Kobayashi Jun looked like he was about to lose it."""
text45236;"""But a near century of life experience wouldn't allow the old man to lose face in front of a child."""
text45237;"""He managed to restrain himself, leaned back, and smiled."""
text45238;"""I didn't think Kagome knew about it."""
text45239;"""But she does."""
text45240;"""This changes nothing. Those are matters of days long gone, and you and I are discussing much more pressing questions."""
text45241;"""So, what do you want, Nikolai?"""
text45242;"""<i>What do I want</i>…?"""
text45243;"""I repeated as if there were a key to Wonderland in the answer to that question."""
text45244;"""I want you to let us live like we used to! Kagome hasn't done anything wrong…"""
text45245;"""Well, apart from kidnapping Ellie, of course."""
text45246;"""People make mistakes. Teenagers in that sense outmatch everybody else. But everything's fine now."""
text45247;"""Fine? How exactly do you define <i>fine</i>?"""
text45248;"""Kagome had managed to fool me up to a point, but no more. Yes, I'll be frank, I didn't realize that she harbored <i>such</i> a deep grudge against me."""
text45249;"""And knowing all that, you still want to…"""
text45250;"""He raised his hand and stopped me."""
text45251;"""But she and I had a thorough conversation and settled everything"""
text45252;"""Ah, so that's what you call it now!"""
text45253;"""Kagome's scared face and the way she'd been carried over the turnstile appeared before my eyes."""
text45254;"""Although, the old man must've had a different view on the situation."""
text45255;"""Nikolai, remember your place."""
text45256;"""I was in fact crossing the line."""
text45257;"""Kobayashi Jun had decided to talk to me as if I were his equal for a moment — and I'd begun to believe that there was a chance…"""
text45258;"""But it was just a game of cat and mouse — the cat releases the mouse, lets it run away a little, only to catch it again between its claws."""
text45259;"""Kobayashi-sama, there is nothing I can do to change your decision. I'm surprised I'm even sitting here talking with you in the first place."""
text45260;"""But if you've decided to hear me out…"""
text45261;"""Did I really think this cruel old man's heart would suddenly soften, touched by my fiery speech and give his blessing to me and Kagome?"""
text45262;"""That sort of thing only happened in Kyosuke's manga!"""
text45263;"""Don't be mistaken, Nikolai. Your parents were spies, and I'm simply interested in the limits of audacity the KGB is prepared to go to…"""
text45264;"""Do you really think that I came here as a Soviet spy?! Or a Soviet citizen?!"""
text45265;"""Unable to hold back anymore, I shouted and jumped off the chair."""
text45266;"""Not a muscle twitched on Kobayashi Jun's face."""
text45267;"""I've come here for the girl I love!"""
text45268;"""Because I believe that we can still be together, and after everything that's happened… well, it happened because it did!"""
text45269;"""But it's not the end! And I know that Kagome loves me too. The fact that you happen to be her grandfather is no less of an accident than that we ended up in the same class!"""
text45270;"""You've never been involved in her life! If her mother hadn't told her about you, that's how it would've stayed!"""
text45271;"""Why do you need Kagome?!"""
text45272;"""Yes, I understand that she… that we kidnapped Ellie… But that's in the past — and Ellie herself has forgiven us, I'm sure of it!"""
text45273;"""Then why can't you just let us live a peaceful life?!"""
text45274;"""Kobayashi Jun listened to my hysterical outburst quietly, and when I was finally done, uttered coldly:"""
text45275;"""Have you asked her what she wants?"""
text45276;"""…"""
text45277;"""I didn't know what to say to that."""
text45278;"""Deep inside, there was a hope that my feelings were mutual, but I couldn't be absolutely sure."""
text45279;"""You're right, Nikolai, I don't need to listen to all this and I should've called security long ago…"""
text45280;"""But somehow, I like you. You remind me of myself in my younger years. I'm ready to turn a blind eye to that little incident with Elizabeth if you leave the country immediately."""
text45281;"""Don't you understand yet that I won't go anywhere without Kagome…"""
text45282;"""I whispered in desperation, but the old man somehow managed to hear me."""
text45283;"""Fine. Let's ask Kagome herself, then."""
text45284;"""He grabbed the receiver of one of the phones sitting on the table and said briefly:"""
text45285;"""Bring Kagome… Iwamura-san in."""
text45286;"""I knew that he was playing in the open and was fully confident in his cards"""
text45287;"""I also knew <i>what</i> Kagome would say."""
text45288;"""And yet, morally I wasn't at all prepared."""
text45289;"""Long minutes passed by in silence."""
text45290;"""Kobayashi Jun was studying some documents, while I sat in the chair, looking outside the window at Tokyo spread out at the foot of the Corporation's building, like Gorgoroth at the foot of Mount Doom."""
text45291;"""Finally, Kagome seemed to appear out of nowhere in the office."""
text45292;"""I hadn't heard her footsteps, nor a knock at the door, nor even the sound of the elevator going up."""
text45293;"""Did you call for me?"""
text45294;"""I turned around and looked at Kagome as she was giving a respectful bow."""
text45295;"""Niko-san…?"""
text45296;"""For a moment, I could see astonishment on her face, but she immediately regained control of herself."""
text45297;"""Come closer."""
text45298;"""The old man drew himself away from the papers and made an inviting gesture, indicating that Kagome should come next to him."""
text45299;"""She passed by me, and I immediately felt that the girl was shaking — maybe not physically, but I could sense it mentally."""
text45300;"""Please tell Nikolai everything you told me before."""
text45301;"""Kagome started without even raising her head:"""
text45302;"""Niko-san, it won't work out between us. You would be better off leaving Japan since you don't like this country and don't understand its culture."""
text45303;"""I'm grateful for the time we spent together, but grandfather Kobayashi has explained what is better for me."""
text45304;"""It's to be with him, father, and grandfather Moriyuki."""
text45305;"""Kagome…"""
text45306;"""I knew immediately that she would have never said any of that of her own will!"""
text45307;"""So this damned old man was threatening her family again!"""
text45308;"""But that knowledge didn't change a thing — I was still powerless to do anything."""
text45309;"""What's the point of this charade?"""
text45310;"""I asked Kobayashi Jun."""
text45311;"""Why bother calling her in to read your bullshit script?"""
text45312;"""Do you really think I haven't gotten to know Kagome well enough to realize that's not how she really feels?"""
text45881;"""Yet this move of his turned out to be quite effective."""
text45882;"""Even if Kagome's words didn't come from the heart, hearing something like that from a person you love was still hard."""
text45313;"""Niko-san…"""
text45314;"""She weakly tried to object only to let out a sob and fall silent."""
text45315;"""Yes, I suppose that wasn't the best idea."""
text45316;"""The old man said, either seriously or simply mocking me."""
text45883;"""No, wait a minute!"""
text45884;"""If I was put before the fact anyway, it would've been stupid not to make use of the situation."""
text45885;"""What are you planning to do next then? Do you want her to renounce her family, her father, the memory of her mother who you abandoned?"""
text45886;"""You understand nothing, Nikolai!"""
text45887;"""For a moment, extreme frustration flashed across his face."""
text45888;"""I stole a glance at Kagome, but it was as if she hadn't heard my words about her mother."""
text45889;"""I don't have to be a genius to understand <i>what</i> your top priority is!"""
text45890;"""If the circumstances were different, would Kagome be standing next to you right now?"""
text45891;"""Niko-san!"""
text45892;"""Kagome raised her eyes to me, pleading."""
text45893;"""Don't, you're only making it worse for everyone."""
text45894;"""Sorry for trying to…"""
text45895;"""I stopped short, bit my lip, and looked out the window, past Kagome and her grandfather, at the skyscraper across from Kobayashi Corporation's headquarters."""
text45896;"""I wondered if there was another petulant old man sitting there, ruining others' lives."""
text45897;"""Why are you even doing this?"""
text45898;"""I addressed Kobayashi Jun once again."""
text45899;"""Let us go, and you'll never hear from us again."""
text45900;"""Let you go?"""
text45901;"""He smirked and caressed his beard."""
text45902;"""Nikolai, you're all grown up now and must understand what is and isn't acceptable in this country."""
text45903;"""I…"""
text45904;"""But the accursed old man was right from any point of view you'd consider \""adult\""."""
text45905;"""If he had been so desperate to hide the fact that he had an illegitimate daughter, then… here's an idea!"""
text45906;"""Kobayashi-sama…"""
text45907;"""I started, a devilish smile on my face."""
text45908;"""If you were so against people finding out you had children out of wedlock, why do you need Kagome? Her existence alone is proof!"""
text45909;"""Are you so sure about that?"""
text45910;"""He smirked once again."""
text45911;"""Well, I…"""
text45912;"""Really, what did I know about Japan's clan system?"""
text45913;"""Daughter, granddaughter, was there any difference between them or did sins of the father not automatically transfer to the next generation of the family?"""
text45914;"""What arguments did I even have left?"""
text45915;"""And you, what are you just standing there for? Say something! It's you we're talking about!"""
text45916;"""Niko-san…"""
text45917;"""Kagome still avoided looking at me."""
text45918;"""You know, I understand why you're doing this, I do, but this… this is just damn wrong!"""
text45919;"""I don't need this kind of protection, believe me!"""
text45920;"""I was ready to snap, furiously whipping my head from side to side, unable to fix my gaze on either Kobayashi Jun or Kagome."""
text45921;"""Nikolai, your hysterics are inappropriate."""
text45922;"""The old man said calmly."""
text45923;"""And if that is all…"""
text45317;"""Go."""
text45318;"""He told Kagome, tilting his head slightly."""
text45319;"""The girl obediently followed his order."""
text45320;"""This was probably the first time I'd ever seen Kagome so helpless."""
text45321;"""Even after her father had been kidnapped, even after their restaurant had burned down, even when we had to escape Tokyo, Kagome had always kept fighting."""
text45322;"""But now she looked like a sailor facing the thirty meter tall wave bearing down on his schooner."""
text45323;"""Defeat, desperation, fatalism."""
text45324;"""Could <i>this</i> be the fate she'd been talking about?"""
text45325;"""Kagome had decided to sacrifice herself for the sake of her grandfather, father, and…"""
text45326;"""I could keep arguing with Kobayashi Jun, could probably even jump over the desk and try to strangle him."""
text45327;"""But it would all end the same way — with my defeat."""
text45328;"""And, most importantly, wouldn't it make her sacrifice obsolete?"""
text45329;"""Kagome would remain in his hands, but if I kept resisting, she'd know that a part of it was for nothing."""
text45330;"""Fine. I understand."""
text45331;"""I stood up without looking at Kobayashi Jun and dragged myself to the elevator."""
text45332;"""I'm delighted we managed to find a solution that satisfies everyone, Nikolai."""
text45333;"""I heard his mocking voice behind my back."""
text45334;"""Before I had time to press the button, its doors opened themselves, and Mikhail walked out of the cabin accompanied by a few serious-looking men of European appearance clad in suits and a couple Japanese, clearly not Corporation employees."""
text45335;"""Are you done already?"""
text45336;"""He asked me in English in a much less friendly tone than before."""
text45337;"""Yes."""
text45338;"""Good. Then it's our turn."""
text45339;"""I suddenly felt it in my guts that this wasn't just a business meeting."""
text45340;"""This grim-looking group needed something from the old man, while he'd prefer not to meet them."""
text45341;"""So instead of obediently walking into the elevator and going down to the hall, I walked out of the office on tiptoes, held the door with my hand, and started to listen."""
text45342;"""Mr Kobayashi, you know who we are. We're going to have a difficult conversation…"""
text45343;"""What are you doing here?!"""
text45344;"""Somebody put his huge hand on my shoulder and roughly pulled me away from the door."""
text45345;"""Kagemaru stood before me."""
text45346;"""Nothing, I'm actually just leaving."""
text45347;"""He squinted, but still relaxed his hand and let me go."""
text45348;"""Go, then."""
text45349;"""…"""
text45350;"""So, Kobayashi Jun had enough problems of his own?"""
text45351;"""I went down to the first floor, walked out of the elevator, and sat on the sofa opposite the reception desk."""
text45352;"""And yet… <w>These guys looked dangerous!"""
text45353;"""What could Kobayashi Corporation have done?"""
text45354;"""In any case, the old man had more important matters to deal with than his newfound granddaughter."""
text45355;"""But first I needed to speak with Kagome!"""
text45356;"""Somehow, it seemed to me that after the show organized by the old man in his office, she wouldn't be guarded so heavily."""
text45357;"""I walked to the reception desk and asked them whether they saw a girl, describing Kagome to the best of my ability."""
text45358;"""Luckily, they told me that a girl like that had just walked out of the building."""
text45359;"""I ran to the exit, then out of the building, crossed the road, and saw Kagome sitting on a bench in the square."""
text45360;"""I've finally caught up with you!"""
text45361;"""I came closer and stood next to her."""
text45362;"""Niko-san…"""
text45363;"""For a moment, she looked up at me with eyes full of sadness."""
text45364;"""I guess we have nothing to talk about anymore…"""
text45365;"""That's not true! I know why and for who you're doing all this!"""
text45366;"""But you don't have to sacrifice yourself and our love!"""
text45367;"""…"""
text45368;"""I just saw a few serious-looking guys entering old man Kobayashi's office, and it didn't look like he was particularly happy to see them!"""
text45369;"""…"""
text45370;"""Does that tell you anything?"""
text45371;"""No, should it?"""
text45372;"""She responded weakly."""
text45373;"""Well, of course, I don't really understand what's going on, but <i>something</i> is definitely going on!"""
text45374;"""Think for yourself: your father's work, the Project, the documents we saw, my parents."""
text45375;"""Kobayashi Jun claimed they were Soviet spies — and he clearly believed what he said…"""
text45376;"""To be honest, I'm not ready to claim the opposite right now, no matter how much I'd like to."""
text45377;"""Slowly but steadily, pieces of some sort of large puzzle had started to come together in my head — on a subconscious level, for now."""
text45378;"""It was like I could feel the big picture, the texture of the canvas, the roughness of its wooden frame, the unevenness of the oily paint — but I couldn't see yet what was on it."""
text45379;"""Kagome, I need to meet your father. They must've released him by now."""
text45380;"""Why?"""
text45381;"""She asked me in a lifeless voice."""
text45382;"""It doesn't matter. I just need to! Trust me."""
text45383;"""If I'm wrong, if nothing works, I'll leave Japan without any objections, just like your new grandfather wants."""
text45384;"""Niko-san, I don't know…"""
text45385;"""She looked even more helpless than in Kobayashi Jun's office."""
text45386;"""So, has he been released?"""
text45387;"""Yes…"""
text45388;"""Can you call him?"""
text45389;"""Yes…"""
text45390;"""It seemed she was giving me and our love one last chance."""
text45391;"""Then do it!"""
text45392;"""…"""
text45393;"""I said goodbye to Kagome and told her I'd definitely find her when everything was over."""
text45394;"""Akira Shinji was waiting for me in the park, in the quiet place where Catherine and I used to spend time together."""
text45395;"""I noticed an older man sitting on a bench, came closer, and greeted him."""
text45396;"""Akira-san?"""
text45397;"""Nikolai-kun?"""
text45398;"""He stood up, gave me an appraising glance but didn't reach out to shake my hand."""
text45399;"""Of course, that would've been normal if I'd been Japanese — but I wasn't, and Akira Shinji must've known my father."""
text45400;"""We finally meet!"""
text45401;"""I've heard about you from my daughter. About everything you two have been through for me."""
text45402;"""And I'm grateful."""
text45403;"""Much to my surprise, he bowed briefly, then frowned again."""
text45404;"""However, I don't understand, what did you want to see me for?"""
text45405;"""You're right — Kagome has gone through a lot for you. And she's in a difficult situation now. I gather you understand?"""
text45406;"""Kobayashi Jun?"""
text45407;"""Yes, it's mostly about him."""
text45408;"""I don't know whether it's about his newly-found grandfatherly feelings or something else, but Kagome has become just another employee in his Corporation, at best."""
text45409;"""And at worst…"""
text45410;"""I sighed and shifted my gaze to the pond that now looked cold and lifeless."""
text45411;"""I understand."""
text45412;"""Akira-san lowered his head and avoided looking at me."""
text45413;"""I told her before… But what is there to do now?"""
text45414;"""I have a solution."""
text45415;"""What kind?"""
text45416;"""He looked at me, confused."""
text45417;"""You were pretty high up in the Project, right?"""
text45418;"""Right…"""
text45419;"""Kagome's father responded with some effort, like a person who'd been keeping a secret for many years but was finally forced to share it with someone else."""
text45420;"""I was in Kobayashi Jun's office earlier, and he got a visit from some serious-looking people, Europeans."""
text45421;"""What?"""
text45422;"""Akira-san straightened up, which even seemed to make him look younger."""
text45423;"""The thing is, my father was an engineer who escaped from the USSR. He also used to work on the Project, too."""
text45424;"""Yes, I knew him."""
text45425;"""Well, finally, a woman from the KGB has been following me for some time now."""
text45426;"""He opened his mouth, apparently about to say something, but, in the end, couldn't seem to find the right words."""
text45427;"""You see, I couldn't piece together all the details before, see them as the full picture in my head."""
text45428;"""Yes, something's going on — something important and serious… But what do I have to do with it and what can I offer?"""
text45429;"""I'm sure that my parents' death wasn't an accident, and I can't forgive Kobayashi Jun for that, but right now we're talking about Kagome."""
text45430;"""I'm afraid to even imagine what you were doing for that Project of yours, and it doesn't matter now."""
text45431;"""But you know! And that's what matters! And information is the most important resource in the world."""
text45432;"""Where are you going with this, Nikolai?"""
text45433;"""Akira-san's expression was growing darker and darker as he gradually figured out what was on my mind."""
text45434;"""That woman from the KGB wants to obtain any information about Kobayashi Jun and Corporation…"""
text45435;"""And meeting the head of the Project…! That'd be an excellent bargaining chip."""
text45436;"""Do you understand that this is treason?"""
text45437;"""He spelled it out slowly."""
text45438;"""Treason of what? Japan's national interest? And what you did back there, didn't that go against basic human values?"""
text45439;"""I took a risk — after all, Mikhail and co. clearly had a reason to be interested in Kobayashi Corporation."""
text45440;"""And yet…"""
text45441;"""Akira-san turned away, and it immediately became clear that it was hard for him to look me in the eye after everything I'd said."""
text45442;"""If old man Kobayashi knew that you've become a…<i>turncoat</i>…<seq ak_surprise>"""
text45443;"""He flinched as if someone had run an electric charge through his body."""
text45444;"""I understand what it sounds like, but just listen to me! My parents fled the USSR. Of course, they had their reasons…"""
text45445;"""Maybe in part they did it for me."""
text45446;"""Think about Kagome — is <i>this</i> the future you want for her?"""
text45447;"""Kobayashi Jun has already shown he isn't going to do her any harm."""
text45448;"""He objected timidly."""
text45449;"""Maybe not physically. But what about Kagome's own dreams for her future?"""
text45450;"""You weren't kidnapped for no reason! He'll just keep using you to threaten her."""
text45451;"""It's a vicious equilibrium, a cruel system of checks and balances — to force one to be silent and the other to obey."""
text45452;"""Of course, you're right — Kagome is no stranger to him, he'll cares for her — in his own way."""
text45453;"""If it had been anyone else but her, I'm sure you wouldn't have seen daylight again for the rest of your life."""
text45454;"""Was that a bit too much?"""
text45455;"""What will happen to me in the USSR?"""
text45456;"""Akira-san asked all of a sudden — it seemed like he had thought about something like this before."""
text45457;"""To be honest, I don't know."""
text45458;"""I responded, trying to be as open and sincere as possible."""
text45459;"""But I think valuable people are valuable everywhere. At least, that's what that major from the KGB told me."""
text45460;"""And that was indeed true."""
text45461;"""We remained quiet for a while, and finally Akira-san said:"""
text45462;"""Nikolai-kun, I'm not going to lie to you, I'd already been thinking that we wouldn't really have a life under the boot of Kobayashi Corporation. I've also thought about my daughter's future."""
text45463;"""But what you're suggesting…"""
text45464;"""You know, life isn't linear — who knows what will happen tomorrow?"""
text45465;"""I tried to force a smile, but made a shitty job of it."""
text45466;"""Maybe you'll meet again soon, just in a few years!"""
text45467;"""It's you two who are just beginning their lives."""
text45468;"""He smiled in turn — sadly, but still better than me."""
text45469;"""At least talk to her! I'm confident nobody will try to kidnap you in the center of Tokyo in the middle of the day!"""
text45470;"""…"""
text45471;"""Akira-san thought hard about it."""
text45472;"""Obviously, it wasn't a very fair play — I was forcing Kagome's father to make a sacrifice for his daughter, basically was putting him in a position where he simply couldn't refuse."""
text45473;"""But the sacrifice itself was terrible — I didn't know what <i>Motherland</i> and <i>patriotism</i> meant to Akira Shinji…"""
text45474;"""But clearly they were more important to him than to me — a young man who hadn't really lived in the USSR and, according to Kagome, hadn't really assimilated into Japan either."""
text45475;"""And what if…"""
text45476;"""He didn't finish the sentence and just stared at me with suffering in his eyes, as if expecting something."""
text45477;"""It's just a talk."""
text45478;"""I tried to smile as sincerely as possible and immediately realized that I was acting almost like Irina, trying to persuade someone to cooperate with the KGB."""
text45479;"""But at this point I really had no choice."""
text45480;"""Fine."""
text45481;"""He finally agreed."""
text45482;"""Wait here, I'll be just a moment!"""
text45483;"""…"""
text45484;"""I ran to the nearest telephone box, found the telephone number of the Soviet embassy from an information center, called them, and asked them to tell Irina Mostovaya that I'd be waiting for her in the park."""
text45485;"""Of course, they told me that there wasn't and had never been anyone with that name at the embassy, but I was sure the KGB took messages of this sort seriously."""
text45486;"""And so they did, because Irina appeared in the park just forty minutes later."""
text45487;"""Akira-san, this is Irina…"""
text45488;"""While I'd been waiting for her, I'd started to feel confident that everything was going to go smoothly, but when the KGB major finally appeared, I suddenly got scared."""
text45489;"""Akira-san, pleasure to meet you."""
text45490;"""She bowed deeply, but Kagome's father didn't react like a polite Japanese man ought to and just tilted his head squeamishly."""
text45491;"""Nikolai, we need to talk in private."""
text45492;"""What… but… I…"""
text45493;"""But I quickly realized it was foolish to argue with her."""
text45494;"""For something like that, I couldn't even pretend to be a middleman."""
text45495;"""I was, at best, a delivery guy, to who a generous client might give a tip."""
text45496;"""(Although that wasn't the custom in Japan.)"""
text45497;"""…"""
text45498;"""They talked for a while and kept their voices down — I tried to listen in but couldn't hear a word."""
text45499;"""Irina re-crossed her legs a couple of times, but generally remained still."""
text45500;"""Akira-san, on the other hand, somehow bent over unnaturally and mostly studied the park's flora."""
text45501;"""Finally, Irina cast a glance in my direction, smiled and called me over with a gesture."""
text45502;"""I walked to her and stood next to them."""
text45503;"""Thank you, Nikolai, for organizing this meeting."""
text45504;"""Her smile had become even cuter, but I already knew there was nothing pleasant behind it."""
text45505;"""I don't know what you've agreed upon and I guess I'm better off that way. But there's also something I want out of this!"""
text45506;"""I tried to speak confidently, but my voice kept breaking, like I was a vassal begging to his sovereign."""
text45507;"""Yes, of course…"""
text45508;"""She replied absent-mindedly, took a pack of cigarettes out of her bag, opened it, but, apparently changing her mind, <seq ir_hands2>put it back."""
text45509;"""Akira-san will take care of everything. Right, Akira-san?"""
text45510;"""Kagome's father nodded quickly without looking me in the eyes."""
text45511;"""Take care of what if I may ask?"""
text45512;"""I'll call Kobayashi Jun and handle… what we've talked about."""
text45513;"""I…"""
text45514;"""<i>Knew you'd make the right decision</i>?"""
text45515;"""<i>Am so grateful to you</i>?"""
text45516;"""<i>Am indebted to you for life</i>?"""
text45517;"""But nothing I could say would sweeten the pill I'd practically shoved down his throat."""
text45518;"""Maybe I'd done the right thing, what I had to do."""
text45519;"""But there are situations where both parties are right in and of themselves, but not in regards to each other."""
text45520;"""Two minuses make a plus — the correct action is born out of something that hurts both parties."""
text45521;"""I just lowered my head and mumbled:"""
text45522;"""Thank you."""
text45523;"""I turned around and slowly walked towards the exit of the park."""
text45524;"""Take care of my daughter. Take care of Kagome."""
text45525;"""I heard him call after me."""
text45526;"""I stopped for a moment, but immediately continued my mournful walk, saying goodbye to that brave man forever."""
text45527;"""…"""
text45528;"""Twilight was slowly descending upon the square in front of the Kobayashi Corporation building."""
text45529;"""I was sitting on a bench for no real reason waiting for God knows what."""
text45530;"""It was all over — the KGB knew what they were doing, and Akira-san would keep his word."""
text45531;"""So, there was nowhere to hurry anymore — Kagome was safe."""
text45532;"""Except how was I going to explain to her what had happened?"""
text45533;"""How could I explain her that she'd probably never see her father again…?"""
text45534;"""Niko-san?"""
text45535;"""I raised my head and saw Kagome, who was slowly approaching the bench."""
text45536;"""Hi. I was waiting for you!"""
text45537;"""Waiting for me… here?"""
text45538;"""She said with surprise and stopped a few steps away from me."""
text45539;"""Yeah. I hoped that after everything that happened, you'd get some freedom of movement."""
text45540;"""She said nothing, only gave me a strange look — as if I'd counted her change at the supermarket wrong."""
text45541;"""I've handled everything…"""
text45542;"""It was hard to look her in the eyes."""
text45543;"""Handled what?"""
text45544;"""I've solved the problem."""
text45545;"""What problem, Niko-san?"""
text45546;"""Kagome started to get annoyed."""
text45547;"""You know what problem! It's just hard for me to say it out loud!"""
text45548;"""So, you're going to say nothing?"""
text45549;"""No, of course I won't… it's just…"""
text45550;"""I sighed, stood up, and walked closer to her."""
text45551;"""Everything's going to be alright now. We can be together again."""
text45552;"""You met with my father."""
text45553;"""She said monotonously, as if stating the fact."""
text45554;"""Yes, and he…"""
text45555;"""I wanted the ground to open and swallow me, just to avoid this conversation."""
text45556;"""He did what he had to do! He… we had no other choice!"""
text45557;"""Kagome's facial expression changed from indifferent to surprised, and then scared."""
text45558;"""Dad? What happened to him?"""
text45559;"""Do you remember I told you about that woman from the KGB…?"""
text45560;"""I began to babble, stumbling over my words."""
text45561;"""This afternoon, I accidentally ran into some important-looking people in Kobayashi Jun's office and figured out that the old man has his hands full with other problems."""
text45562;"""<i>The Project</i> your father used to work on, and mine too… This wasn't a coincidence!"""
text45563;"""Where's dad?"""
text45564;"""She asked me sternly."""
text45565;"""Well, I don't know where he is right now, but I think he'll be in the USSR soon."""
text45566;"""What…? Niko-san…?"""
text45567;"""I was prepared for her to try and hit me, but Kagome started crying and threw herself into my arms."""
text45568;"""How could you do this, Niko-san?!"""
text45569;"""She wept."""
text45570;"""It was his decision. We simply had no other choice."""
text45571;"""As long as he stayed in Japan, your father would have remained hostage to the Corporation. And you, too…"""
text45572;"""But… the KGB…"""
text45573;"""Do you think Kobayashi Corporation is any better? After all, <i>they</i> were the ones who killed my parents!"""
text45574;"""…"""
text45575;"""Although, we weren't talking about me."""
text45576;"""Sorry. I don't know what else to say."""
text45577;"""It seemed that on some subconscious level Kagome had been prepared for this."""
text45578;"""Of course, she couldn't have guessed that I'd send her father to meet Irina…"""
text45579;"""But when I'd told her I wanted to meet him, it wasn't difficult to figure out that the outcome would be bad for all of us."""
text45580;"""Bad — but necessary…"""
text45581;"""Kagome was quietly crying into my chest."""
text45582;"""I thought you'd just ask him for some documents…"""
text45583;"""In a situation like this, the best document there can be is a living person."""
text45584;"""What will happen to him there?"""
text45585;"""Irina's told me many times that people like him are of enormous value to them."""
text45586;"""After all, when we first arrived in Japan, we were met appropriately."""
text45587;"""But it's…"""
text45588;"""I knew she was referring to the words about the evil empire spoken by a mediocre actor who achieved more success in politics than on the screen."""
text45589;"""And though I'd only recently been pondering the concept of patriotism in my mind, it still rubbed me the wrong way."""
text45590;"""If you think we have bears walking the streets with machine guns in their paws—"""
text45591;"""No, that's not what I mean."""
text45592;"""She interrupted me with a sniffle."""
text45593;"""It's just that your country is so far away, it's cold there and… Will we ever see each other again?"""
text45594;"""You will! I'm sure of it!"""
text45595;"""And what will happen… to us?"""
text45596;"""I couldn't believe that Kagome wasn't angry at me, or, at least, she wasn't showing it."""
text45597;"""Perhaps she'd just had to deal with so much lately that the poor girl had burnt out and just threw herself at the mercy of the closest person left in her life."""
text45598;"""(Except for Moriyuki-san — but the old man would barely be able to help.)"""
text45599;"""Akira-san and Irina are supposed to resolve the Kobayashi Jun problem. That was the condition."""
text45600;"""And yes, your father, he… already thought he would have to leave Japan, one way or another."""
text45601;"""Niko-san, you shouldn't justify your actions…"""
text45602;"""Am I justifying anything?"""
text45603;"""I started arguing for some reason."""
text45604;"""I know that you did what you believed was right. And my dad also did the right thing, in a way."""
text45605;"""It could've ended much worse for all of us. And I'm thankful that you're with me now."""
text45606;"""She hugged me tighter, and I felt a tear run down my cheek."""
text45607;"""This is horrible… It shouldn't be… <i>like this</i>… the whole world…!"""
text45608;"""I guess Kagome had a difficult personality.<w> No, it definitely wasn't an easy one!"""
text45609;"""But at just the right moment, she understood everything as clearly as possible."""
text45610;"""And supported me."""
text45611;"""I guess I also had reasons to be angry — for abandoning me then."""
text45612;"""But this sequence of mistakes, wrongdoings, deception, and pain we inflicted on each other brought us to this square under the rays of the beautiful setting sun."""
text45613;"""In this square with only the two of us — because the ever-present scurrying grey suits had all disappeared somewhere."""
text45614;"""So had the ugly Kobayashi Corporation building and all the other skyscrapers in Tokyo's central business district."""
text45615;"""So had the capital of Japan itself."""
text45616;"""There we were, outside of space and time, drowning in each other's arms, hoping that this moment would last forever."""
text45617;"""Just like two cripples — blinded and with tied legs — we crawled to the finish line hand in hand."""
text45618;"""Because, and not in spite of."""
text45619;"""I knew I'd made a lot of mistakes.<w> I knew that Kagome had too."""
text45620;"""Kobayashi Jun and his entire damned Corporation had made even more."""
text45621;"""I didn't know what was going to happen to him now, but Akira Shinji had partially paid for his mistakes."""
text45622;"""I didn't know what Akira Shinji's fault was — there was probably something, too."""
text45623;"""But I knew one thing — Kagome and I had suffered a lot to have this moment, we deserved to be here and now, to be together!"""
text45624;"""The sun had almost disappeared behind one of the office buildings, marking the end of the day."""
text45625;"""Niko-san?"""
text45626;"""What?"""
text45627;"""Shall we go home?"""
text45628;"""Humans aren't made for happiness as such."""
text45629;"""Only when looking back do we realize whether a certain moment was happy or not."""
text45630;"""Oftentimes, utterly trivial situations may appear happy after a time, even though there was nothing special about them in the moment."""
text45631;"""The first rays of warm sun in spring, still weak but so longed for after winter, the melting snow banks and a warm breeze — the breath of the awakening nature."""
text45632;"""The usual view outside the window of a train: forests, fields, villages and stations passing by."""
text45633;"""A beautiful sunset, a sky gradually filling with stars after it's over."""
text45634;"""Such moments may seem totally banal when you're living through them, but they become priceless after a day, a week, a month, or a year."""
text45635;"""I would've never thought I'd recall the time when Kagome and I had been living in that mining village with nostalgia."""
text45636;"""But so it turned out to be."""
text45637;"""Kobayashi Jun had to comply with our demands and free Kagome."""
text45638;"""I didn't know how the situation with Mikhail ended, but the old man disappeared from the front pages of newspapers and seemed to have stepped back from actively leading the Corporation."""
text45639;"""Moriyuki-san suddenly received a substantial insurance compensation for his restaurant."""
text45640;"""It was enough to buy a small house in the same district on the waterfront."""
text45641;"""Of course, after all that Kagome couldn't go back to school, so she had to transfer."""
text45642;"""I barely managed to pass the graduation exams and complete the school year."""
text45643;"""Catherine returned to the US; Himitsu and I didn't see each other often, only talking about boring everyday stuff when we did."""
text45644;"""She seemed to have come to terms with the fact that I was with Kagome, but still indicated that she was doing me a huge favor by keeping in touch whenever she could."""
text45645;"""Well, I let it be — a bad peace is better than a good war."""
text45646;"""At school, people looked at me like I was a terrorist."""
text45647;"""Not many of them had talked to me before, but now they would go out of their way to avoid me, giving me a wide berth, and only talking to me if absolutely necessary."""
text45648;"""Including Michael…"""
text45649;"""Only for Kyosuke nothing seemed to have changed, which was strange given his indirect involvement in the whole incident."""
text45650;"""Waiting in the car at the mailbox, visiting Moriyuki-san, the threats from the Corporation."""
text45651;"""Maybe my chubby friend had more nerve than I'd thought."""
text45652;"""Or maybe he just enjoyed our friendship that much more…"""
text45653;"""The KGB disappeared from my life as suddenly as they'd entered it."""
text45654;"""That was understandable — Irina had gotten what she wanted and no longer had any need for me.<w> I was nothing but happy about that."""
text45655;"""Naturally, we weren't getting any news from Kagome's father."""
text45656;"""Kagome herself had been very depressed about that at first but seemed to have somewhat calmed down after we graduated from school."""
text45657;"""There was no reason to assume that he was being treated badly in the USSR."""
text45658;"""(There was no reason to believe the opposite either.)"""
text45659;"""Kobayashi Jun seemed to have left us alone forever, but sometimes his unseen presence could still be guessed at."""
text45660;"""Kagome did indeed get into Todai, which was much more difficult after she'd left our prestigious school."""
text45661;"""I, on the other hand, didn't have such an opportunity — even if I'd wanted to continue studying, we had to live somehow, since the money I'd gotten from my parents ran out."""
text45662;"""Mining experience wasn't particularly useful in a city, so I was constantly rotating jobs — a shop assistant, a cleaner, a courier, and so on."""
text45663;"""I guess, on a conscious level I was prepared for it to be that way — someone with no education, knowledge, or skills isn't of much use to anyone."""
text45664;"""But psychologically it turned out to be much more difficult…"""
text45665;"""Of course, Kagome supported me, but I had to watch her strive for something and pursue clear goals, while I would get up just to go to a job I hated every morning to earn the money we needed to buy the cheapest groceries and pay the bills."""
text45666;"""A hundred years ago, the vast majority of people lived like that, but that wasn't a particularly comforting thought."""
text45667;"""Being in the shoes of an ancient Japanese peasant at the end of the 20th century in Tokyo wasn't at all satisfying."""
text45668;"""When there are only poor people around you, being poor yourself is natural and acceptable."""
text45669;"""When skyscrapers grow all around you like mushrooms after rain, and the average bill at a restaurant easily exceeds your monthly salary, you feel crippled and flawed."""
text45670;"""And, most terrifyingly, you don't understand what you're lacking — whether you just lost the genetic lottery, or luck isn't on your side, or if you're to blame for it all."""
text45671;"""Or maybe all that at once."""
text45672;"""I'd finally found love, but not self-realization or even self-actualization — I had no understanding of what I wanted to do in life."""
text45673;"""Even if someone gave me a well-paying job — there was no guarantee I'd be happy per se."""
text45674;"""I had to run as quick as I could just to stay where I was — which made it hard to think about or plan for the future."""
text45675;"""Although before that, back at school, I'd had much more time by wasted it just the same."""
text45676;"""Horsing around for years, knowing I'd have to pay the price sooner or later."""
text45677;"""And then finally find myself facing the need to pay it, flailing around in a puddle face-down, all just not to drown."""
text45678;"""…"""
text45679;"""But as time passed, Kagome finished one course after another, and her grandfather decided that he was too old for life in the capital, sold the house, and went live with his sister in Hokkaido."""
text45680;"""Kagome also received some of the money from the sale, and I, for my part, kindly offered to let her move in with me."""
text45681;"""You could say we became a family, but in reality not much changed, except maybe that household matters were easier handle together rather than alone."""
text45682;"""However, the longer we lived together, the more I realized that something had to change."""
text45683;"""Our relationship, tempered by many challenges, would last for a long while, but I couldn't rely on that alone."""
text45684;"""One day Kyosuke and I went to a manga exhibition and then to a bar with a couple of artists he knew."""
text45685;"""I really liked the art one of them drew, but the plot to his manga was just terrible!"""
text45686;"""After yet another mug of beer, we made a bet that I'd do a better job and that if he liked my work, he'd draw illustrations for it."""
text45687;"""Of course, at first it was just a joke, an entertaining experience, an opportunity to distract myself from the routine that was slowly killing me."""
text45688;"""But it turned out surprisingly decent!"""
text45689;"""Our work was first appreciated by friends and acquaintances, then at the manga club at Kyosuke's university, and finally at some local gatherings of anime fans."""
text45690;"""I've never been inspired by the stories about superheroes or <i>allies of justice</i> that were popular in Japan."""
text45691;"""My long-standing love for Dostoevsky influenced my perception of literature and writing — the protagonists were never black and white to me."""
text45692;"""It was much more interesting to work in a grey area, elegantly balancing between absolutes, revealing characters' personalities from all perspectives, not just those necessary to achieve the intended ending of the story."""
text45693;"""If I'd been such a one-sided protagonist, there was no way I would've won Kagome's heart."""
text45694;"""Maybe I'd have ended up way worse than Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, or maybe I'd have accepted my status as just a normal person, preferring death of the soul to death of the body."""
text45695;"""I guess the additional factor that played a role in our success was that our manga was quite unusual for the time."""
text45696;"""Instead of witches and giant battle robots, I came up with a story about a pioneer camp and a guy from the future who ends up in it."""
text45697;"""A bit of mysticism, a bit of Soviet atmosphere, some memories I had left from my childhood…"""
text45698;"""In short, our manga was popular, even though we were printing it ourselves in small editions."""
text45699;"""Soon enough, a not particularly popular magazine offered to publish <note=note151>a oneshot</note> from us, with the possibility of further serialization."""
text45700;"""Of course, I was beyond excited!"""
text45701;"""I don't think that Kagome ever loved manga but still fully supported me — financially as well."""
text45702;"""Publishing manga required significant investment, and my salary was only enough to buy food."""
text45703;"""Kagome, on the other hand, had the money from her grandfather, and she also took a part-time job at a renowned law firm."""
text45704;"""At that time, I already knew my personality wouldn't allow me to live off my girlfriend's money for long (especially if she were to become my wife one day)."""
text45705;"""The money didn't flood in at once, and at first rather resembled not particularly generous tips, but I didn't think of it like the steady salary of a handyman."""
text45706;"""Somehow, my income from manga felt <i>well-earned</i> instead of just being a handout, the financial equivalent of a contract between me and society, with me pretending to work and society pretending to pay me a worthy salary."""
text45707;"""Maybe it wasn't so much about the money itself, but the fact it was the economic equivalent of acknowledgment, popularity."""
text45708;"""People liked my work, and I could feel that I was doing something good was where I belonged."""
text45709;"""Anyone could have replaced me at my previous job, but not now!"""
text45710;"""My story existed in a single copy, reliably hidden from the world in my head."""
text45711;"""Nobody could continue or finish it, except for me."""
text45712;"""At least, the way it had to be continued or finished."""
text45713;"""If Leonardo Da Vinci had suddenly died while painting the Mona Lisa, some other artist could, perhaps, have finished it, but the world would have lost the masterpiece we all know now."""
text45714;"""No, of course, I didn't take myself for a genius — I just liked what I was doing, found satisfaction and fulfillment in it, a proof that it wasn't for nothing."""
text45715;"""Over time, my revenue grew, along with my popularity."""
text45716;"""Naturally, I couldn't help but give credit to the artist — my co-author, to who our manga owed at least half of its success."""
text45717;"""Although deep inside I still believed that a beautiful picture without the proper meaning behind it…<w> is just a beautiful picture."""
text45718;"""I didn't know how serious Kagome had been about my work at first or if she only supported me because she loved me — but soon enough even she had to acknowledge that I wasn't just a useless boyfriend anymore."""
text45719;"""Of course, in Japanese society, so-called \""real\"" professions are held in higher esteem — whether that's a miner or an office worker."""
text45720;"""Nevertheless, almost everyone younger than twenty-five liked manga, although not everyone was willing to acknowledge it."""
text45721;"""Kagome would often read our <note=note152>manuscripts</note> before they were sent to the editor, occasionally saying that she enjoyed them but always refraining from giving more detailed feedback."""
text45722;"""And even if she did it out of <i>politeness</i>, I was still grateful."""
text45723;"""Without Kagome, I would've never ended up where I did."""
text45724;"""And it wasn't only about her love, moral and financial support."""
text45725;"""Without Kagome, I would have never managed to believe in myself — that I could achieve anything in a field where you're competing not so much with others as with yourself."""
text45726;"""We weren't producing chocolate bars — if you buy one at a store, you probably won't go for another."""
text45727;"""(And if you do, you should think about your blood sugar!)"""
text45728;"""But if you read an interesting manga, that doesn't stop you from reading another one at the same time."""
text45729;"""Of course, there's the matter of limited free time, but that's just details…"""
text45730;"""…"""
text45731;"""And then a few more years passed."""
text45732;"""Sometimes I'd wake up together with Kagome to keep her company during breakfast."""
text45733;"""Of course, there was no need to get up that early — I worked from home (and so found use for the empty rooms — one became my office)."""
text45734;"""You don't have to…"""
text45735;"""Kagome was sitting across me, while I was enjoying the omelette she'd made."""
text45736;"""Yes, she still cooked wonderfully, even though she did it less and less often."""
text45737;"""The business attire fit her perfectly — my memories of her baggy jumper and old jeans brought nothing but a smile."""
text45738;"""But I want to."""
text45739;"""Thank you."""
text45740;"""She smiled cutely but immediately changed the topic:"""
text45741;"""Congratulations on releasing another one of your <note=note94>tankobons</note>!"""
text45742;"""When you say <i>another one</i>, it sounds a bit… We aren't making cars on a production line, you know!"""
text45743;"""If you say so."""
text45744;"""Something had changed about her personality over the years."""
text45745;"""Maybe, not even <i>changed</i> but had become somewhat softer, not so radical and angular."""
text45746;"""And other things remained the same."""
text45747;"""I mean it! You're the first person to say that one has to be a professional at what they do!"""
text45748;"""I'm not saying you aren't…"""
text45749;"""I really liked the latest chapter!"""
text45750;"""Thank you."""
text45751;"""I was really tempted to ask what exactly she liked about it, but I managed to restrain myself."""
text45752;"""What about your work, is everything going as usual?"""
text45753;"""What's \""as usual\""?"""
text45754;"""As usual is… as usual!"""
text45755;"""I didn't want to delve into the boring specifics of a corporate accounting either."""
text45756;"""I was happy enough that she at least hadn't ended up at Kobayashi Corporation!"""
text45757;"""By the way, it had been a while since last we heard anything from about them…"""
text45758;"""You know, there is something new."""
text45759;"""Yeah? Interesting!"""
text45760;"""I leaned on the table and moved closer to her, supporting my head with my hands and making the most stupid grimace I was capable of."""
text45761;"""It's not fully related to work."""
text45762;"""Uh huh."""
text45763;"""Fine, it's not related to work at all."""
text45764;"""Uh huh. That's even more interesting."""
text45765;"""You know that our company works with many foreign suppliers…"""
text45766;"""Uh huh."""
text45767;"""Niko-san!"""
text45768;"""She got annoyed."""
text45769;"""Some things never change."""
text45770;"""Fine, I'll be quiet!"""
text45771;"""So, recently we were contacted by a Russian company. There's a lot of new business there after the USSR fell apart."""
text45772;"""I immediately pulled back and sat more comfortably in my chair."""
text45773;"""Even after the USSR dissolved I hadn't really thought about my homeland much — there were too many things to deal with in my current life."""
text45774;"""But I couldn't neglect the fact that my Motherland fell apart either."""
text45775;"""Well, they want to come to Japan for a preliminary negotiation. And on the list of their delegates I saw a surname…"""
text45776;"""She stuttered and looked away — and then I understood."""
text45777;"""Of course, Kagome would be the last person to regret the failure of the socialist state."""
text45778;"""Let me guess — Akira? Akira Shinji?"""
text45779;"""Yes!"""
text45780;"""Her eyes lit up and a happy smile appeared on her face."""
text45781;"""I don't want to ruin the moment, but don't you think he could've at least called first?"""
text45782;"""Even if there's something left of the KGB, I'm sure they have more important things to deal with."""
text45783;"""We didn't talk much about her father."""
text45784;"""I think, deep inside Kagome held that frail hope that her father was okay and didn't want to destroy it with unnecessary conversations that wouldn't have changed anything anyway."""
text45785;"""I understand, Niko-san, but he might have had his reasons."""
text45786;"""Besides, are there many Japanese with this name working and living in Russia?!"""
text45787;"""She suddenly raised her voice."""
text45788;"""Don't shout. It's not my fault."""
text45789;"""Sorry."""
text45790;"""Of course, first I had to ask myself why her father was even allowed to work for a private company."""
text45791;"""Although, to be honest, I had a very vague idea of what was happening in Russia."""
text45792;"""However, thinking logically, I'd have assumed that instead of searching for a job he'd try to return to Japan if he had the opportunity."""
text45793;"""But I didn't want to disappoint Kagome."""
text45794;"""So, when do they arrive?"""
text45795;"""The beginning of next month."""
text45796;"""October, then…"""
text45797;"""I said wistfully."""
text45798;"""Niko-san?"""
text45799;"""I'm just thinking. How many years has it been? Seven, I think?"""
text45800;"""Yes, seven."""
text45801;"""Kagome grew embarrassed."""
text45802;"""Girls remember these things better."""
text45930;"""What girls, exactly?"""
text45931;"""If you mean Ellie…"""
text45932;"""Just recently she'd met Ellie at some high society dinner party, though I didn't know the details.<w> In any case, Kagome ignored my mention of Ellie."""
text45803;"""Don't you make notes?"""
text45804;"""Notes? What?"""
text45805;"""I asked with surprise."""
text45806;"""Well, notes for manga. Writers make those, don't they? I saw a lot of notepads full of those in your office."""
text45807;"""Well, why would I need to make notes? I remember events from my own life without them."""
text45808;"""I did in fact remember very well how many years had passed, although maybe I'd struggle to name a precise date."""
text45809;"""And the date of what exactly?"""
text45810;"""That time when Kagome was bullied at the gate?<w> Our first kiss?<w> Our escape from Tokyo?<w> That conversation with Kobayashi Jun?"""
text45811;"""Really? So when was it?"""
text45812;"""She straightened out."""
text45813;"""What exactly?"""
text45814;"""You said you remember everything!"""
text45815;"""That's the problem with remembering <i>everything</i>. If I start listing every event, you'll be late for work."""
text45816;"""Yes, after all, I can be late for work, but you can't!"""
text45817;"""Why? If I stay in bed the whole day, I'll skip work, in a sense."""
text45818;"""Niko-san… We aren't children anymore!"""
text45819;"""I'm only twenty five! I've got my entire life ahead of me!"""
text45820;"""…"""
text45821;"""She suddenly went quiet, bit her lip, and turned away."""
text45822;"""What?! Isn't that right?"""
text45823;"""You can't only live for yourself."""
text45824;"""Is that a question, a statement, or an invitation to start a philosophical dispute?"""
text45825;"""…"""
text45826;"""Alright, fine."""
text45827;"""I put my hands on the table, locked my fingers, and made a serious face."""
text45828;"""I also live for you."""
text45829;"""That's good, of course, but…"""
text45830;"""At this moment she really looked like that girl on the roof seven years ago."""
text45831;"""I see you haven't run out of good news for today."""
text45832;"""What are you talking about?"""
text45833;"""It seems to me that you want to tell me something but can't quite quite bring yourself to."""
text45834;"""What makes you think so?"""
text45835;"""I just sighed in response."""
text45836;"""She was embarrassed, and, to be frank, looked quite stupid."""
text45837;"""You know that I'm a writer, right?"""
text45838;"""A scriptwriter, a manga author."""
text45839;"""Kagome got specific for some reason."""
text45840;"""Yeah, right, it doesn't matter."""
text45841;"""But if I had to write this sort of scene, I'd write it exactly like this!"""
text45842;"""What scene, Niko-san?"""
text45843;"""Kagome kept persisting, even though she had been the one who started this with her hints."""
text45844;"""Fine, you tell me when you're ready."""
text45845;"""Naturally, I had a fountain of emotions inside me, but I'd managed to learn over seven years that Kagome needed space in our relationship."""
text45846;"""If she needed time to prepare for something, my job was to give as much of it to her as possible."""
text45847;"""So you aren't interested at all?"""
text45848;"""She suddenly frowned."""
text45849;"""You don't want to tell me!"""
text45850;"""…"""
text45851;"""Alright, you know what…"""
text45852;"""I jumped off the chair, quickly collected the dishes from the table, and brought them to the sink."""
text45853;"""Niko-san?"""
text45854;"""What?!"""
text45855;"""I returned to my seat, and Kagome looked at me in a way that made me remember the time we went to the festival in that mining village."""
text45856;"""I wondered if they still held it."""
text45857;"""They probably did!"""
text45858;"""It would probably be a good idea to go there someday — so many memories…"""
text45859;"""And that yukata had to be lying somewhere in a wardrobe."""
text45860;"""I wondered if Kagome would fit into it now…?"""
text45861;"""Niko-san?"""
text45862;"""Yes…?"""
text45863;"""I returned to reality."""
text45864;"""Kagome reached out to me over the table, and I immediately took her hand in mine."""
text45865;"""Everything will work out for us."""
text45866;"""…"""
text45867;"""During meetings with my readers, I'm often asked who my favorite female heroine is in manga."""
text45868;"""I always respond that all of them are my favorite."""
text45869;"""I guess, that is actually true."""
text45870;"""Would anyone believe me if I honestly said that I don't know?"""
text45871;"""Each has her own charm and magnetism, and it's extremely difficult to pick one."""
text45872;"""Maybe if Kagome were in my manga, she wouldn't even be the main heroine."""
text45873;"""Maybe, a pioneer leader, or a librarian?"""
text45874;"""Perhaps the main character would pay no attention to that quiet girl."""
text45875;"""But luckily we weren't in manga, and, unlike manga, my world wasn't black and white."""
text45876;"""Although perhaps it had been before I met Kagome."""
text45877;"""But she painted it with all the colors of the rainbow and brought me a happiness that I'd once thought could only be found in books."""
text45878;"""(And in manga.)"""