Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Things That Change ❯ A Conversation With a Ghost ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6 ( A Conversation With a Ghost )

            With grumbling stomachs, the four had returned to find that Grandfather amused himself elsewhere and was no longer guarding the doorway.  Relieved, they ended up eating a cold dinner, much to the displeasure of both Aino Minako and Kumada Akina.  Still, the most puzzling part was when Hiroshi and Iku told them of the very interesting talk they had with Grandfather.  To which, Aino Minako exclaimed, "He talks?"  Obviously, Aino Minako wasn't able to get over the lecherous hurdle between the ghost and herself to really get a conversation going.  Nami though, could not help but shudder, stating that the ghost was just as creepy as she thought ghosts would be, but perhaps, she did not think that the word "strange" really extended to the ghost being a hentai* as well until now.

            "I was surprised myself," Iku said as she poured everyone some more tea, herself included.  "I mean, first he was groping you girls," to which every "girl" but Meiou Setsuna grumbled in annoyance, though Meiou Setsuna's face did twitch slightly at the mention of the groping.  "That certainly didn't help his image much when he laughingly demonstrated what else he could do at the doorway," which earned quite a few more grumbles, "however, the moment you girls were gone, he just drifted a bit aimlessly again.  He was calling, "Granddaughter, granddaughter--" over and over again.  Only this time, he really seemed like he was looking for her."

            "Yes," Hiroshi agreed after he sipped his tea.  "The old man really seemed like the moaning ghost in the movies after you guys left."

            "So, I decided to ask him who he was really looking for and why."  Iku explained.  "To my surprise, he actually came over and sat down like he was alive still.  And then, he answered us the way a normal person would."

            "Rei Chan's Grandfather and the word normal are usually not synonymous with each other."  Aino Minako muttered darkly.

            Laughing, Iku waved away the comment with a grin.  "I must agree with that, but he really was a gentleman, surprisingly."  Iku sighed, "If I were younger," Iku trailed off with a dreamy look.

            "Ew," Akina shuddered.  "Mother, he's a ghost for crying out loud!  And he's lecherous."

            Iku grinned, "Yes, dear.  It was very, very bad of me!"

            "So what did you talk about?"  Nami asked in curiosity.

            "A lot of things," Iku clapped her hands together happily.  "I learned a lot about my past rival," Aino Minako and Meiou Setsuna both looked surprised, though the former wore a bit more of an exasperated expression.  "She really was an admirable woman, as I am sure her daughter is today."  Iku looked very joyful though for saying such a thing.  "Thank goodness I didn't know anything about her when I was younger."

            "Why is that, Mother?"  Akina and Hiroshi both asked at the same time.

            "Well," Iku put a hand to her cheek as a depressed expression came over her face, "If I knew then what I know now, I would have plain given up on your father very quickly."  Iku sighed, "It was really not much of a competition if she really did love him.  I would have given up right then and there!  Rei San was too much to compete against, if you know what I mean."

            Akina near fell over the table, "W-What the hell are you talking about?"  Akina demanded wrathfully.

            "I told her Rei Chan was amazing," Aino Minako sighed in defeat, "but I guess none of it got through that thick skull of hers, hm?"

            "Hey!"  Akina pounded the table in a threatening manner.

            "Watch it," Aino Minako retorted back slyly.  "This table is more than you can afford to replace in a life-time," the blonde huffed snobbishly, "So watch what you damage, brat!"

            "Oh," Iku signaled for Hiroshi to restrain Akina before she could do more harm to herself or anybody else for that matter.  "Watch your manners, Akina Chan."  Iku admonished her second daughter sternly.  "Anyway," Iku stated, ignoring any other protests from her second daughter's lips.  "Hino Rei San was indeed an amazing woman, but she sure did have quite a few flaws in her personality as well.  Even Grandfather, ghost that he is, shudders at the mention of her wrath.  So I gathered that the rumor of her temper must have been quite true."

            Aino Minako grinned evilly at this and cracked her knuckles, thinking of all kinds of punishment for the old ghost in the coming future.  Aino Minako really must pay him back for all the groping he had inflicted on her, just to teach him a lesson.  No body groped Sailor Senshi Venus and got away with it without her permission!  "Mm," Meiou Setsuna set down her cup thoughtfully, interrupting Aino Minako's scheming thoughts of revenge. "What was your conversation with this old ghost about?  What did he tell you?  You couldn't have talked just about his granddaughter all this time."

            Iku looked puzzled at her son who returned her glance, "It's all very strange," the older woman nodded with perplexity in her gaze.  "It started out normally enough.  He was saying how great Hino Rei San was and how much he wished he could find her, but then, it all got quite strange in the end, now that I think on it a bit..."

           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;           *           *           *           *

            "Matsuko Masakazu San," Iku called out from the inner room.  "Are you looking for your granddaughter, Hino Rei San?"  She asked, curious to see if the ghost would respond.

            "Granddaughter?" Matsuko Masakazu's ghost turned his head towards them, much to the surprise of Hiroshi and Iku both.  "You know her?"  The ghost asked, coming over swiftly and all of a sudden appearing in a kneeling position right next to Hiroshi.  The poor Hiroshi jumped out of his seat in surprise and looked ready to jump out of his skin at the scare as well.  But the ghost didn't seem to take notice of the other's predicaments.

            "What's wrong with you, boy?"  Matsuko Masakazu asked instead, casting a glance at Hiroshi who shuddered but straightened considerably under the old ghost's scrutinizing gaze.  "You look like you've seen a ghost!"  At this the not so old looking ghost laughed uproariously at his own words before he patted the seat next to him.  "You got nothing to be afraid of, boy," at this Matsuko Masakazu's face turned sly, "that is unless you wish to court my Rei Chan!"  Hiroshi quickly shook his head at this to which the Matsuko Masakazu sighed in relief.  "Phew," the ghost sighed, "one less person to scare around here.  You know, this ghost business is really hard?"  At this, the old man began to rotate his shoulder as if his phantom body could feel strain.

            "Wh-why are you searching for your granddaughter, Grandfather San?"  Hiroshi asked timidly.

            "Grandfather San?" The blonde ghost looked surprised, "Oh, call me Masakazu San, please.  I hope I don't look like an old man anymore.  Being a ghost has its advantages, you know?  And it's hard to keep up appearances though, not when you can't really see your own reflection."  The ghost primed, "Still, I hope I got ride of all my wrinkles," Matsuko Masakazu smoothed his face as if he was smoothing a piece of clothing, searching for an imaginary wrinkle.

            "You look very handsome and young," Iku commented with a happy smile.

            "M-Mother!"  Hiroshi hissed but ended up looking more confused and shocked than admonishing.

            However, Matsuko Masakazu looked relieved, beaming happily at the compliment once he stopped smoothing his face in the strange manner he was going about it.  "Good, good!"  The ghost grinned, "It's always good to get a second opinion from the opposite sex, though young girls do seem really frightened by my dashing good looks.  Maybe they just don't want to give themselves away, those sly females!"  Matsuko Masakazu began to laugh uproariously again, much to the utter exasperation of his table companions.  However, Hiroshi soon discovered that he was the only exasperated table companion when it came to this ghost.  His mother really didn't seem to mind the old ghost's cluelessness and found what Matsuko Masakazu said equally funny, though, perhaps for a completely different reason.  Still, she giggled along like a young girl at Matsuko Masakazu's sometimes lecherous jokes and comments as they finished dinner.  It was very startling and quite disturbing in Hiroshi's opinion.

            Not that there was much he could do though.  "So you know you're a ghost?"  Iku asked surprised.

            "Well," Matsuko Masakazu looked quite insulted at this, "after one can walk through walls and anything else for that matter, and there is the matter of seeing your dead body -- very disenchanting, might I add -- it's quite obvious, you know?  I'm dead.  The end.  Only, there's no heaven and no hell, no redemption and no judgment," at this the old ghost sighed, "and no second chances."  The room seemed to darken as the candles flickered slightly, "I thought at first that if I was a ghost then perhaps my wife was standing by my side all along.  I searched high and low for my Sakura Chan, but alas, her spirit has left this place and this old, old man."  He petted his chest a bit, though his words created quite a strange effect since his appearances gave no indication of him being an old man.  "But I'm young and beautiful now!"  He added cheerfully, shaking off his earlier gloom and the candles brightened in response.

            It was very surprising that the very atmosphere of the room responded to the up and down feelings of the resident ghost.  "Do all ghosts know their dead?"  Hiroshi asked curiously, remembering the one they passed on the street.  Well, that particular ghost more or less ran them over, but that was not something Hiroshi wanted to elaborate on.

            "Some know," Grandfather nodded.  "I would guess some don't, or don't want to face the fact that they are dead now.  It's very hard to not notice that your body is quite transparent if you put your mind to it," Matsuko Masakazu nodded, "but there are always those who are unwilling to accept the truth.  I guess, there's really not that much difference between the dead and the living in the end."

            "Can you, leave this place?"  Iku inquired again after some silence.

            "Yes," the old man nodded, "but something doesn't want me to go.  Don't you feel it, Miss?  That pull of gravity upon your body that doesn't want you to leave Earth also exists in this shrine, the Hikawa Jinja, and all throughout Tokyo."  Iku looked confused and shook her head.  "Well, I guess it isn't gravity per se, but it's like gravity," the old ghost elaborated.  "Something in this place and every place in Tokyo wants and desires for everything to remain the same.  This desire is so strong that the city, and even the dead, stands still.  Each of us can move on, but to break the chains that hold us down is very difficult indeed."

            "I'm not really a resident of Tokyo," Iku explained.

            "You're returning though," Matsuko Masakazu replied easily.

            Iku blinked surprised, "H-how do you know?"  She asked shakily.

            "I know that, as well as I know that the boy here has never been here before.  I also know that some of the girls that jumped out today, your daughters, right?"  Iku nodded in response, "Well, one of them is in the same situation as this boy and the other has been here once before, but after the incident."

            "After the incident?" Iku asked but Matsuko Masakazu only smiled mysteriously at this.  "That's not possible, neither Nami Chan nor Akina Chan's been here before, not to my knowledge anyway."

            "The girl with the breast like this," Matsuko Masakazu made a gripping action with his hands, "and a bottom like this," he turned his hands and made another gripping motion, "she's been here before, I'm sure of it!"  Iku blushed to the tips of her hair and Hiroshi was outraged.

            "You pervert!  Don't talk about my sister like that!"  Hiroshi tried to smack the ghost but his hand only went through the other's head.

            "O-oh," Matsuko Masakazu exclaimed as if pained, "that's not very nice!  How would you like it if someone went through your head like that?"  To which the old ghost demonstrated and Hiroshi nearly fainted from the sensation of an overwhelming brain freeze.  Hiroshi ended up twitching on the floor instead while Matsuko Masakazu looked very sheepish at the other's reaction.  "Oops," the old ghost sighed, "I guess I overdid it a little." 

            Iku looked worriedly over her son as she knelt by Hiroshi's side and felt his cool forehead.  But the old ghost waved her off, assuring her that Hiroshi would be fine.  "He'll recover, I've seen it a million times before in the streets to tourists!"  Matsuko Masakazu nodded with what he hoped was a reassuring grin, "Some of them had really bad heart problems too, and they didn't die at all!"

            "I'll never forgive you if he gets brain damage from this," Iku bluntly told the ghost with a wry look in Matsuko Masakazu's direction.

            "Hey, hey," Matsuko Masakazu protested, "don't give me such a fierce and threatening look.  He won't get brain damage, okay?"  The old ghost muttered something else under his breath but Iku let it slip.  "Anyway," Matsuko Masakazu tapped the wooden ground beneath him.  "This place is very good at keeping its residents safe, my granddaughter made sure of it before she left."

            "Eh?"  Iku sat back on her heels, "You know she's not around?"

            "Well," Matsuko Masakazu smiled sheepishly, "Why else would I be going around calling for her?  If I did it when she's here, she'd really purify my poor, ghostly behind."  The old ghost sighed fondly at the memories.

            Iku was exceptionally surprised by this turn of events, "So, why do you call for her?"

            "Why, if Minako Chan gets annoyed with me enough, maybe she'll be able to convince Rei Chan to come back!"  Matsuko Masakazu answered cheerfully.

            "Is that why you keep groping helpless girls too?"  Hiroshi asked from the floor unhappily.  "That's your ultimate plan?"  Hiroshi sounded more than a little bit irked and not really believing a word the ghost was saying.

            "Partially," Matsuko Masakazu answered airily.  "Young girl really feel lovely though, even under these ghostly hands!"  The old ghost declared with dreamy determination.

            "Don't say it like it isn't weird, you old man!"  Hiroshi growled at the ghost.

            "Don't take for granted such chances of youth by being a prune!"  Matsuko Masakazu argued back.  The two growled at each other threateningly.

            Iku smiled, Matsuko Masakazu sure turned out to be quite an energetic ghost indeed.  "Why don't you look for Hino Rei San then?  You can leave, after all."

            "As I said, the force of this place makes me very uncertain about leaving.  A lot of times I want to go float off and look for Rei Chan, but I get confused, sometimes I forget, sometimes I get filled with fear..." Matsuko Masakazu looked very perplexed at this.  "Since the incident forty-one years ago, everything's been very strange."

            "You even know the date?"  Hiroshi asked, shocked.

            "Idiot boy," Matsuko Masakazu sighed and pointed towards the wall, "There's a calendar there, you know?  Who do you think I am?  It's not like I was born yesterday and I, for one, certainly didn't die without a brain!"

            Hiroshi laughed nervously, "Sorry, just not something they teach us about ghosts in the movies."

            "Youngsters these days," Matsuko Masakazu muttered.

            "Can you really feel?"  Hiroshi asked curiously.

            "What do you feel when I touch you?"  Matsuko Masakazu asked with a sly expression on his face.

            Hiroshi shuddered, "Icy cold."  Hiroshi answered honestly.

            "Well, the girls and even you," though Matsuko Masakazu didn't say Hiroshi's part quite so enthusiastically, "feel very warm and lively to me.  So I guess, you can say a ghost is drawn to the living as the living is repelled by the dead."  Matsuko Masakazu looked very sad as he said the last of his words though.

            "I don't think your granddaughter left because of that," Iku told him reassuringly.  "The Hino Rei San that my husband told me about, who have friends that believe in her as much as Aino Minako San and perhaps even Meiou Setsuna San, seems like someone who is very responsible, fair, and kind.  She wouldn't leave because of fear of you, Masakazu San."

            Matsuko Masakazu sighed dreamily, "To hear the voice of woman uttering my name!  Ah, the beauty of such things should never be forgotten!"

            "P-pervert!  Don't think like that about my mother!"  Hiroshi commanded.  But the ghost only laughed at him.

            "That's why," Iku suddenly spoke up, "I think you should go find her if you can, Masakazu San."

            Matsuko Masakazu shook his head, "You know a lot for such a young thing," to which Iku blushed at the compliment.  "But, you do not feel this pull that all ghosts in Tokyo feel.  You do not understand the flow as I and many others of the dead community understands.  It is not time yet for this old soul to leave this old place.  There are memories that must be maintained till the time comes for the memories to be forgotten and we, from ghosts to people, are wakened from our years of sleep."

            "When will that be?"  Hiroshi inquired.

            Matsuko Masakazu smiled mysteriously, "A far off time from now," the old ghost answered vaguely.  "It was far beyond your lifetime, boy, further than the eye can see!"

            "Will you be here till then?"  Iku asked.

            "As long as the flow that brought me here leads to this shrine, gathering time and something I do not understand.  So long as this be true, I shall remain here."  Matsuko Masakazu answered truthfully.  "But, I had hoped that Rei Chan will return to me before my dream is over.  That is my dream within this dream.  Even in death, even ghosts, even we try to make a ripple or two with our temporary bodies that can only be seen by the living but not acknowledged by anything else.  How sad," the candles began to dim.  "How very sad..."

            And then, the voice trailed off and the lights died. "Mother?" Hiroshi called out timidly from the dark.

            "I'm right here, Hiroshi Chan."

            "Let's go home, Mother," Hiroshi shuddered in the dark that suddenly seemed very deep.  Even the light from the kitchen didn't penetrate through to this darkness.  For once, in a very, very long time, Hiroshi found himself afraid of the dark as if he were a child again.

            This place really was too much of a place of memories.  Even they, strangers as they were to the city, were drawn in with their own memories of emotions and actions, into this place.  The sooner they get away from this place, the better.  Hiroshi felt all of a sudden very restless, as if his legs were itching to move and walk and run.

            "Yes," Iku agreed in the dark.  "Let's go home."

           &nbs p;            & nbsp;           &nbs p;           *           *           *           *

            Evening had deepened around them when the four of them left the shrine behind with Aino Minako waving them off with Meiou Setsuna coolly standing next to the blonde.  The other woman's ear was pressed to the latest gadget line of phones.  Apparently there had been a revival of old time cell phones, though mostly just the shape of the objects and not really the technology behind it.  In the end, even Tokyo must change a little bit at a time, no matter whose memories the people inside the city lived within.  However, Akina turned back at the last minute to give one last happy wave at her new found friends.  She was surprised to see that there were genuine smiles on both women's faces as she looked up from the bottom of the hundred steps, so far away these two women suddenly seemed, as if the meeting was but a lifetime ago.  Still, in the city of memories, Akina found her own answers.

            "They're really amazing women," Akina murmured as they got into the taxi that they called over.

            Surprised, but pleased, Iku nodded her head in agreement.  Kumada Iku was satisfied because after dinner, Aino Minako and she had gone over the details of Kumada Yuuichiro's request.  A lot of decisions were already made, but both women thought it wise to leave the final placing up to Hino Rei once the woman had returned from her tour.  Having successfully completed what she had set out to do, Iku felt a weight lifting from her shoulders.  "There are still a lot of things we don't know about this place," Iku smiled as they piled up into the car with the driver.  "But I'm kind of glad for that.  I think it's good what we learned from them what they were willing to share with us.  Sometimes, the more painful memories are best left buried..."

            When they got back to the hotel, they separated once more with Iku going to her own room as well as Hiroshi to his, and Nami and Akina going to the room they chose to share.  "Hey, Older Sister," Akina gripped Nami's arm with both her own.  Nami looked over to Akina questioningly, "I'm really glad," Akina said shyly.  "That we came on this trip."

            Smiling, Nami nodded.  "I can see why Kiyoshi Kun like this place as well."

            "Ah!"  Akina blinked at her sister, "You called him Kiyoshi Kun instead of Kiyoshi San, Older Sister!"

            "Oh?"  Nami blushed but the smile did not leave her face, "Did I really?"

            Happily, Akina nodded.  "Yeah, and I guess," Akina sighed to herself a little.  "I can understand why Father must have loved Hino Rei San and this city very much."  Nami glanced over at Akina with a rueful look.  "When she smiled in that memory film we saw, even thought it must have been through Aino Minako San's eyes...  But I felt it too, the pull she had.  Aino Minako San has it too, and so does Meiou Setsuna San.  All those women have it."  Akina grinned, "I remember then, Father once smiling at Mother with that same expression.  I guess, after awhile I never really considered too deeply how much he cared about us," Akina looked very sad at this.  "I was always just so worried about how he felt for other women, and the people outside of our house.  I guess, I wasn't into sharing any of the affections I had from Father, even when it was Mother."  Akina was very sheepish and a little saddened by the realizations of her own admissions, "That sounded strange, didn't it?"  Akina suddenly asked with a nervous smile.  Nami nodded with a happy smile of her own, much to the total chagrin of her younger sister.  "Nami Chan, you're not supposed to agree so easily!"

            "Oh?  I didn't realize," Nami answered apologetically.

            "Tomorrow," Akina grinned at Nami from across their hotel room, after both sisters were ready for bed. "Let's really enjoy the last day in Tokyo with some real shopping!"  Eagerly agreeing, the lights went off and both sisters went to sleep, dreaming of discounts, sales, and all the wonderful things they'd be bringing back home to Kobe.

            * Hentai -- means lecherous, pervert, etc.  But in Japan, bad things tend to also be considered hen -- "strange" -- so you'll often hear in anime the "hen" part of hentai (where tai may mean "body, party, company" it can also mean "to wish to do something") during a conversation (to be a hentai also means strange in a way).  I'm not sure exactly all the ways it can be used since I've not studied Japanese, but strange can be interpreted to equate to bad in a conformist type of society like Japan, so Nami was saying that ghosts are "strange" -- meaning creepy and scary and weird/unnatural -- but can also extend to Matsuko Masakazu ghost being a pervert.  Aye, it's hard to translate it into English.  I hope you understand what I meant...

            * Why are they not more disturbed by all the events of ghosts and strange hostesses?  I was reading over this and took note of the fact that no one's taken to screaming into the hills.  Well, there is that "dead husband's final wish" thing to fulfill.  And living people are living normally... I'm asking you to stretch your imagination here a little.  I mean, it's not like the Kumada family wants to stay, but something is pulling them to anyway.  Call it destiny, call it fate, call it the writer's desperate attempt to make this plot work...  Whatever you want to call it, at least the Kumadas do recognize the bizarre world they are in and can't wait to get out.  I'm really putting my money's worth on their determination to see Yuuichiro's ashes properly taken care off... that and their curiosity for the absent owner, Hino Rei.

         &nb sp;  * The reason why the lies about Hino Rei (be her stuck in a 22 year old body or she's the daughter of another Hino Rei) aren't consistent is because most of the people Aino Minako and all the rest of the Senshi know on a personal basis are dead, or ghosts, so I don't think they've thought of a suitable lie for why Rei is so darn young.  I mean, she's a pop star right now, so Minako probably thought her friend's story's taken care of.  I doubt Minako thinks anyone would really believe that the Hino Rei from over 41 years ago is the same as the one now, who uses the stage name Mars Reiko.  I didn't want there to be consistency in what Aino Minako was saying, the lack of consistency is intended, if you are wondering why the stories don't always match up -- jumping from Hino Rei being a mother to a daughter and back again.  I don't want it to look like Aino Minako was ready for the questions the Kumadas may have for her, this lack of factual balance is to show how unprepared Minako is for the situation.  And no, it's not just because she's an airhead.  I mean, I don't think a lot of people came up to her and went, "My husband -- your best friend's old love interest -- is dead and have a request to be buried here."  Yes, it's an excuse, but I'm sticking to my story! >p