Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ Twenty Years Later ❯ Desperately Seeking A Baby ( Chapter 3 )

Late summer in Tomobiki . . .

 

In the former town park -- these days, addressed as Tomobiki Heroes' Park; it had been renamed in the wake of the Battle of Uru in April 1985 -- the weather was just starting to cool from the torrid heat of mid-summer. People were dressed in reflection of that change: sleeved shirts and legged pants were currently the order of the day. Located in the centre of the park, close to a reflective pool, stood two impressive statues. Between then was a sign on a pedestal:

 

Nassur of Vos and Shigaten Benten of Fukunokami

To two of the greatest heroes known

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Wherever You Go, You Are There

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Donated by the Moroboshi Clan

 

Reading this, oddly enough, was one of those the statues were erected in honour of. Benten was dressed in her usual grey sleeved battle suit -- a birthday present from Moroboshi Ataru given to her a day before the infamous Spirit-War of Halloween 1983 -- overlaid with a traditional red-and-black battle bikini, a silver chain draped across her chest. After reading the sign, she looked up to her replica.

 

"It's hard to cope with what you've lost when there's things like this hanging around to remind you about it," she mused aloud.

 

She took the opportunity to gaze around the park. To her eyes, Heroes' Park seemed to be filled with young couples accompanied by infants or newborn children, they in strollers or being carried around. So much has changed, she mused to herself. Being Vosian, Nassur's more used to this than I am, but . . .

 

She then took note of a young couple, they having stopped by the fence around the reflective pool across from where the hunters' statues stood. A little girl in a stroller accompanied them. Despite their being Japanese -- to Benten, at least -- they both looked as if they could vaguely pass for the hunters themselves, their daughter a young Junba. Canting her head, she listened in on their conversation:

 

The mother: "Our baby's so cute! Isn't she, dear?"

 

The father: "She's just like her mother. She'll break a few hearts when she grows up."

 

They moved away. Benten's eyes remained locked on them as depression overcame her. No one understands how I feel, the Fukunokami moaned. No one can understand what I've lost . . .

 

A sigh fluttered from her lips, and then she perked on hearing someone calling for her. Benten turned to watch as Junba ran up to her. The younger woman was dressed in her winter seifuku, a dark blue suit with a red scarf tied around her blouse. Her school briefcase swings from one hand. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mom!" she hailed as she stopped before Benten. "Everyone at school was bugging me again."

 

Benten seemed indifferent. "Yeah."

 

"Is something wrong, Mom?" Junba wondered, she quickly noting the lack of excitement in her mother's voice. "You sound sad."

 

"Of course, I'm sad!" Benten snapped. "Wouldn't YOU be sad if you lost something precious to you?!"

 

Confusion flashed across Junba's face. "'Precious?'" she asked. "What did you lose? You didn't lose your wedding ring, did you?"

 

"No, it's not that!"

 

"Then what did you lose?"

 

"You REALLY want to know?"

 

"I'm your daughter. I'm supposed to care for my mother's feelings."

 

"I've lost . . . " Benten then stammered as her voice choked on a sob. "Lost . . . lost my baby!"

 

Silence fell as Junba considered what her mother just said. "No, you haven't!" she cheerfully declared. "I'm still your baby."

 

An angry gaze then came her way from Benten. "That's not the point!" she growled. "The baby I remember -- the one I ejected into an escape pod! -- was only a few months old! You're nearly full grown!"

 

A sigh. "I see."

 

Benten's hands then landed on Junba's shoulders. "Can't you go back to being that child?"

 

A sympathetic look crossed the younger woman's face. "I can't. Vosians are like everyone else. We grow only one way: Older."

 

Hearing that shattered the grip Benten had over her emotions. "Mom!" Junba moves to comfort her. "You've been acting like this for days! Let me help you! I know nothing can make up for those lost years being a prisoner of Elle, but . . . "

 

Before she could finish, Benten turns and flees from the park. Tears marked her passing like raindrops in an autumn shower. "Mom! Wait!" Junba cried out.

 

To no avail; Benten vanished around a corner. Mom, Junba moaned. Why won't you tell us what's bothering you?

 

**** **** ****

Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later
Desperately Seeking A Baby!

By Mike Smith <mcmsmith63@hotmail.com>

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C&C by Fred Herriot <pyeknu@hotmail.com> and Sean Gaffney <sean@centragarden.net>

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Third of a series of fan fiction stories based on Urusei Yatsura, created by Takahashi Rumiko.

**** **** ****

 

At the Miyake home, Junba stepped inside to see her foster mother and her real father waiting for her. Shinobu was busy preparing supper while Nassur was engrossed with a copy of the day's Yomiuri Shimbun. "Oh! It's you, Ju-chan," he called out, glancing over his shoulder to reveal his eyes glowing. "Where's Benten?"

 

"Mom won't come home with me," Junba replied as she removed her shoes and set her pack aside.

 

"What?"

 

She stepped inside to sit beside her father. "I think there's something wrong with Mom."

 

"What could be wrong?" Nassur asked. "She's free from cryo-suspension, she's with her daughter and friends . . . "

 

"I don't know. She said something about being sad that I had grown up."

 

Shinobu stepped in. "I've noticed Benten seems to be harbouring a lot of resentment towards me," she noted. "Could it be she's angry at me for raising Junba?"

 

"Could be," Nassur mused. "I've noticed the change in her behaviour as well. She's become withdrawn and sad. Sleeping with her is like sleeping with an icebox."

 

The nurse/princess took that in with a blink. "Surprising from the girl who used to worship the ground you stood on."

 

"True." A contemplative look crossed Nassur's face as he considered the point. "Benten's never been a brooding girl before. It seems the Benten I married is gone, replaced by a different Benten altogether."

 

"What can we do?" Junba asked. "I know she's my real mom, but physically and emotionally, she's barely older than I am. There's nothing in the school's ethics textbooks to cover this sort of thing."

 

"Unfortunately," Nassur warned, "Benten's not one to keep things inside of her for long. She needs to explode . . . and I'm afraid that the longer it takes for her to do that, the more trouble we'll be in."

 

* * *

 

An explosion!

 

This blast was not caused by the combustion of gas or chemicals, but by the massed collision of a bucketful of little silver balls in a pachinko machine in an arcade. Benten was playing one particular machine, filling her bucket at an almost impossible speed. Her playing skill had come to attract a group of teenaged boys, all of them amazed by how well she was playing this popular Japanese game.

 

"Shit!" one boy gasped. "She's broken the jackpot record!"

 

"About time," Benten muttered as she sat back in her chair, and then she reached down to pick up her prize bowl. "Took me a friggin' hour to do it."

 

A handsome young Japanese boy, looking about the same age as Junba chronologically, walked up to her. "Hey, lady," he called out in a flirting way. "Wanna go somewhere and celebrate with your prize money?"

 

An amused look answered. When I was born, Benten thought, That kid's parents were probably still wetting their diapers! "Sorry," she spoke with a light smile as the hand with her cygnet eye wedding ring came up so he could see it. "Already taken."

 

The group of boys, on seeing that, quickly dispersed. "Shit!" one hissed. "Already taken?!"

 

"So young, too," another lamented. "Our youth's crumbling away!"

 

Benten watched them go, and then she headed over to the cashier. After getting her prize money, she then headed out of the arcade -- and nearly walked right into a very pregnant, red-haired Seishin-Urusian woman. "Oh, Ran!" the hunter gasped, she instantly recognizing her old galactic middle school classmate.

 

The former Aruka Ran -- currently Seq Ran; "Mrs. Rei" as Urusian tradition normally demanded other people address her -- these days looked pretty much the same as she did seventeen years before, save for the obvious affects her third pregnancy was forcing on her. She was dressed currently in a yellow maternity gown. Her eyes narrowed as she peered at Benten, and then, as recognition [and no, we don't mean the Vosian type!] came to her, a sneer then curled her lips. "Oh, it's you," she coldly noted. "Still hanging around arcades, I see. Isn't that a little young for you?"

 

Benten jolted as her old rival's words sank in, and then a smirk crossed her face as she crossed her arms. "Hey! You're just jealous of the fact that I still look like a teenager and you're old and frumpy!"

 

Ran's cheeks flushed. "Who's old and frumpy?!" she roared, her fangs barred, and then she harrumphed as she looked away from Benten. "I'll let you know that I still have young men asking me for dates," -- she turned to gaze back on her old rival. "Even now that I'm soon due to give birth!"

 

"What do you do with their walking canes?"

 

Ran shuddered. "Why don't you go home and bug Shinobu?"

 

"I'm having too much fun bothering you," Benten said. "Can we talk?"

 

Ran took that in, and then she breathed out, "Oh, I suppose so. I could use the company." She then glared at the hunter. "But any stupid jokes about stretch marks, thunder-thighs, or anything like that and I'll make you wish you stayed frozen on planet Elle! Understand?"

 

Benten clearly wasn't impressed. "Jeez! You're touchy when you're pregnant, aren't you?"

 

* * *

 

At the Moroboshi home, the family was finishing up a serving of sukiyaki. Lum, she noticeably pregnant and wearing a tiger-striped maternity dress, stood up to begin clearing dishes. "That was good, Mom," Amora declared before a burp escaped her; she had finished first.

 

"Glad you liked it, Amora," Lum said, smiling. "How about you, Darling?"

 

Another burp from the head of the household was all the answer she needed. "Excellent, Lum," he declared, grinning. "Hard to believe that you were once such a terrible cook."

 

"Well, even with Noa's help through the Dreamscape after we bonded, it took me a while to get used to cooking Earth food. It's a lot different than Oni food."

 

"That's for sure," Amora mused before her eyes began to glow.

 

Ataru noticed. "Who is it? Not Seiteki or Jehovah's Witnesses, I hope."

 

"It's Junba," the empath answered.

 

The front door then opened and closed. "Konban wa!" Junba called out from the foyer as she slipped off her shoes, and then she stepped into the living room. "I'm here for my lesson."

 

"Konban wa, Junba," Lum called over. "We were just finishing dinner."

 

"I'll clean up, Mom," Amora volunteered as she took the dishes from Lum.

 

"Thanks," Lum said as the younger woman carried them away. "I'll go change into my leotard."

 

The Oni then flew upstairs to her bedroom. "If it still fits her," Ataru muttered under his breath before he turned to gaze on Junba. "How's living with your real parents been lately?"

 

"Well," Junba mused as she moved to sit beside him. "I've had no real problems having my father around, but . . . " She frowned. "I am having problems with my real mother."

 

An eyebrow arched. "What's wrong with Benten?"

 

"I think she's having trouble accepting me as a teenager."

 

Ataru considered that for a moment. "I'm not surprised," he then noted. "She's had over seventeen years of her life cut away from her -- and there's no way for her to reclaim them."

 

"She knows that, Uncle Ataru," Junba said; outside school, the class representative for this year's Class 2-4 could relax with the formality. "Still, I really don't think she's accepted it yet!"

 

He nodded before stretching himself. "Well, your mother needs time to cope with her new surroundings, Aiotoga. Just be patient with her. Losing a child is hard." A sigh. "I should know."

 

Junba nodded; like everyone of her generation currently living in Tomobiki, she had heard the awful story about how Ataru and Lum had lost their first natural child -- a girl they were planning to name Koishii -- thanks to a miscarriage at the Battle of Uru. "I know. But how long do I have to wait before she realizes that?"

 

Before he could answer her, Lum came downstairs, she wearing a pair of tiger-striped bicycle shorts and a baggy T-shirt. "I'm ready!" She then breathed out. "Too big now to fit into my leotard."

 

"Don't worry, Sensei! That'll do!" Junba declared.

 

The two then moved to head into the back yard. "Hey, Aiotoga!" Ataru called out after them. "Please be gentle with my wife! She is pregnant, remember?"

 

"I'll try!" Junba vowed as Lum grinned.

 

"Oh, another thing," he added. "If you need help coping with your real parents, we're always here."

 

Junba beamed. "Thanks!"

 

* * *

 

Ran's residence had always been her pink-hulled scout ship, it having been grounded for some time. The lawns and gardens around it were well maintained. Inside, the ship was decorated with beautiful furnishings and plants, clearly set up with an eye for tranquillity. In the living room, Ran was serving tea to Benten. "There you go," she cheerfully announced. "So what do you want to talk about?"

 

Benten took the cup, she giving Ran a look. "Ran, how many kids do you have?"

 

"This'll be my fourth," Ran reported as she sat down, her hand gliding over her stomach. "Rin and Ren are the oldest. Ron-chan's been the youngest and my only daughter. Until this one's born."

 

"Did you get to raise them all?"

 

"Of course," Ran answered before she giggled. "Who else is going to raise my kids? Besides, Rei-chan's always in space with the Urusian Defence Force."

 

Ran then took notice of Benten's change of expression into one of outrage and jealousy. "What's that face for?!" she defensively asked. "It's scaring the kid!"

 

Benten bolted up, the suddenness of her action making her host cower. "Ran, I hate you!"

 

"Benten," Ran asked, her voice sweet enough to mask her fear. "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

 

Hands slammed into the table. "Why does a vindictive airhead like you get to raise her kids from birth to teenage years and I don't?!"

 

"What?!"

 

The table quaked again from the Fukunokami's fists smashing into them. Ran could not help but notice the aura of anger surrounding her guest. "You've got a happy family that you've grown up with! All I've got is a grown-up daughter raised by someone else!"

 

Hearing that, Ran rose to glare her former classmate down, fangs barred. "Well, excuse me for not getting trapped in a cryo-chamber for seventeen years like you did!"

 

"That's a low blow!"

 

"Look, Benten," Ran snapped, she slamming her hands on the table. "Obliviously, your brain must still be frozen to keep from understanding that time doesn't stand still for you or anyone!"

 

That was enough to deflate Benten's outburst. "Sorry, Ran," she apologized as she sank back into her chair. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I guess I've been a rotten guest." With that, she rose to exit. "Excuse me." And with that, she disappeared through the quarterdeck hatchway.

 

"Benten," Ran whispered. "Let us help you . . .!"

 

Rain echoed on a nearby window.

 

* * *

 

The rain continued to fall as Benten trudged through the streets of Tomobiki. Her battle suit gave her some protection from the downpour. Some protection, not all. Stopping at a bridge over the raging Tomobiki-gawa to watch the water pass under, she sighed. Why couldn't things have stayed the same?

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Benten returned to the Miyake house. The lights were on but it was quiet. Pulling out the key to unlock the door, she moved to open it -- just as the door whipped open to reveal Nassur standing there, he holding a sleeping Junba in one of his arms, she still clad in her leotard. The older hunter's eyes shifted from glowing green to blue. "It's late and you're soaked to the skin," he stated without preamble on seeing that Benten had been standing out in the rain for a long time.

 

"Will you quit sneaking up on me like that?" Benten muttered as she stepped into the house, closing the door behind them.

 

"I stayed up waiting for you," Nassur reported as he watched Benten remove her drenched jacket. "Junba tried to do the same, but she conked out hours ago. Shinobu's also in bed."

 

"Sorry, I was busy," she apologized as they entered the living room. "Lost track of time."

 

"You know Junba was worried about you," he sternly reminded her. "She's upset by your behaviour recently. She's not the only one. Ran was also upset about that little visit you gave her. I know that you aren't the best of friends, but at least you should be civil with her."

 

She spun on him. "Since when do you care about Ran? You and her NEVER get along."

 

"I care ever since you started acting like you've got a bigger-than-usual chip on your shoulder," he replied. "What's up?"

 

"You wouldn't understand what I'm going through right now."

 

"I can try. I AM your husband, remember? And this is our daughter," he announced as he shifted Junba in his arms, he nodding towards their child.

 

"She's my daughter in terms of birthing," she coldly announced. "But she's Shinobu's daughter now."

 

"Benten, don't say that!"

 

"It's true!" The Fukunokami then sneezed. "Look," she muttered as she wiped her nose clean. "I wanna take a hot bath before I catch a cold. Put Aiotoga to bed and we'll talk about this in the morning."

 

"Fine," the Vosian replied. "I'll be waiting."

 

Benten watched him carry Junba into her room. At least he doesn't have any competition to be her father, she mused to herself. Like I do with being her mother.

 

* * *

 

The next morning after breakfast, Benten and Nassur headed down to the Tokyo Starship Construction Yards. The slipways hummed with activity as crews busied themselves with several vessels. Included among them was the Lum-san's sister ship, the future U.N.S.S. Ran-san. Benten yawned as she and her husband passed through the main gates, the former looking like she had gotten little sleep the previous night. On the other hand, Nassur was fresh and alert.

 

"You awake, Benten?" he prodded her with a nudge of an elbow.

 

She stifled another yawn. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

 

"Maybe that'll teach you to stay out in the rain until the wee hours of the morning."

 

As they walked along, Benten took a chance to inspect her surroundings. Quickly noticeable to the Fukunokami was the usage of the large robotic exoskeletons, known in Japan and elsewhere as "labors," being used to aid the construction crews. "So what're we doing here?" she then asked.

 

"We're looking at the new version of the Renegade, remember?" he reminded her as he led his wife towards one slipway. "The old one got totalled."

 

A groan. "Don't remind me!"

 

They soon arrived at Slip Nine, both stopping to take a chance to gaze on the newest version of the Independent Starship Renegade. Although barely more than a duranium skeleton, Renegade looked quite impressive. Crews, both in labors and on feet, busily worked together under the guidance of the starship's primary designer, Kakugari Daremo, he currently standing beside a foreman. "Keep those beams as straight as possible and fuse them together using the lasers," the heavyset member of Lum's bodyguards reminded the yard worker beside him. "If they're off even by a micron, it can affect the ship's performance."

 

"Yes, sir."

 

The foreman headed off. Kakugari then turned to see Nassur and Benten. Grinning delightedly, the architect rushed over to them. "Nassur! Benten! Glad you both could make it!"

 

He nearly crushed them with a bear hug. "Thanks," Nassur groaned. "Could you let us go now?"

 

"You're crushing us!" Benten moaned.

 

"Sorry," Kakugari apologized as he released them. "I'm just glad to see you two."

 

"Right." Nassur took a deep breath. "How's it going?"

 

Their host pulled out a datapadd from his jacket pocket. "Fine," he replied as he keyed the machine to show what was there to his guests. "We're working on Renegade as fast as possible."

 

"She looks good so far," Benten noted.

 

"Despite the change of looks from what you had," -- Nassur and Benten knew the new Renegade would be wedge-shaped, blessed with flared wings and a twin-tail assembly akin to the American Lockheed F-22 Raptor -- "She's basically an updated version of the old Renegade. We're having engineers from Vos come here in a few weeks to install the warp drive and all the weapons systems. Nobody here knows how they work, though we hope to change that in the next few years as people finally start graduating from warp engineering and military engineering courses at the major universities on Uru and Noukiios."

 

"What are the improvements?" Nassur asked.

 

Kakugari swelled up with pride as his fingers danced over the padd. "If all goes according to what we have in mind, this version of Renegade will be ten percent faster, possess shields that are fifteen percent stronger, and her engines will be twenty-three percent more efficient than her predecessor."

 

"We'll be a match with any ship of our type," Benten noted, a gleeful look crossing her face.

 

"We're fitting her to house a crew of twelve," Kakugari added. "Nagaiwakai-sama insisted on it; she guessed you'd want some of the hybrids to work with you."

 

"Can hardly wait!" Nassur said, smiling. "How long until she's ready, Daremo?"

 

A far-away look crossed the architect's face. "She'll be complete by the start of December. We'll aim for a launch/commission date around Christmas Day. Definitely before New Year's."

 

"That quick?"

 

"We're having the Vosians helping us, remember?"

 

Both men laughed. Benten then breathed out, "I'm heading out."

 

"Where are you going?" Nassur asked.

 

"I'd thought I'd go visit Aiotoga at the school," Benten replied. "Then maybe look at some air bikes. I wonder if Earth's developed any good models yet. See you!"

 

She waved as she headed off. "Have a good time!" Nassur called out as he returned the gesture.

 

* * *

 

An hour later, after a quick trip up through Tokyo's intricate subway network, Benten stepped through the front gate of Tomobiki High School. It was easy for her to take note that, though the faces of the students and teachers may have changed a lot since she was taken prisoner by Elle, the school itself looked the same as it always did. Walking towards the front doors, Benten quickly spotted Lum and Ataru sitting on the front steps having tea together. "Yo!" the hunter called out as she waved to them both.

 

"Hello, Benten," Lum hailed back.

 

"Hi, Benten," Ataru chimed in turn. "What brings you here?"

 

"I just thought I'd look in on Aiotoga and see how she's doing. You know where she might be?"

 

Ataru considered that for a moment. "I think she should be in gym class," he announced. "They're probably at the baseball diamond."

 

"Thanks," the Fukunokami said with a nod as she turned to head off.

 

"Hey, Benten!" Ataru called after her. "If you see Amora around, tell her to get to gym class!" On seeing their friend's eyebrow arch in curiosity, he added, "She keeps skipping it!"

 

Benten gave them a wave. "Sure thing!"

 

Minutes later, Benten walked to the baseball diamond. There, she saw that the girls of Junba's class -- they dressed in blue gym shorts embossed with the Tomobiki High school logo over the left leg, plain white T-shirts and white running shoes; the school had done away with bloomers five years ago -- playing an impromptu game of baseball. Benten positioned herself behind the backstop. Junba was playing shortstop. She likes to play baseball. Wonder if she's any good?

 

A batter slammed a fast ground ball between second and third bases. Junba ran over, snaring it in her glove, and then she threw it to second base to tag out a runner. The girl at second base then tossed to first base to tag out the batter for a double play. "She's good!" Benten declared with a whistle.

 

That ended the inning. Junba's squad went to the dugout to wait for their turn at bat. The class representative was too caught up in the game to notice her mother standing nearby. Benten, however, had come to notice Fujinami Dansei working on the grounds some distance from the backstop. The hunter walked over to her. "Hey! Aren't you Dansei?" Benten hailed. "Ryuunosuke's daughter?"

 

Dansei looked up. "That's right."

 

"Why aren't you in gym class?"

 

"Well," Dansei breathed out as she put her hand shovel down. "Thanks to that stupid granddad of mine, I got signed up for BOYS' physical education instead of girls'."

 

Benten instantly moaned as she remembered her own encounters with the patriarch of the Fujinami family. "Is that senile old goat still around? Didn't Ryuunosuke ever beat him?"

 

"Not without lack of trying."

 

"I hear you're good friends with Aiotoga."

 

Dansei nodded. "Ever since kindergarten."

 

Benten smirked. "Not surprised. Did your mom ever tell you about the time I was attracted to her because I thought she was a guy?"

 

"According to Mom, you weren't the only one," the younger woman noted with a grin. "It must've happened a dozen times . . . until she finally married my dad. Sure glad I haven't had any problems like that. And I hope that the gods will strike me dead before I do . . . "

 

Almost in answer, something DID strike her . . . in the face: A baseball hit by Junba. Dansei fell like a marionette with her strings cut. Over at the diamond, Junba was quick to see what she had done.

 

"Ooops!"

 

* * *

 

Benten fireman-carried the unconscious Dansei to the nurse's station. Inside, Shinobu was busy examining a skinny, sickly-looking boy with a medical tricorder. As the hunter stepped inside, she watched as the nurse finished her scans -- and then she clobbered the student with a large mallet! "There's nothing wrong with you, Byooki-kun!" she barked. "Get out of here!"

 

"I'm sure I've got the Egyptian Flu!" he whined . . .

 

He found himself tossed through the doorway, his body barely missing Benten! "Nobody's had that in fifty years!" Shinobu screamed at him. "Quit reading those old medical journals in the library!"

 

"A-are you always like that with your patients?" Benten stammered as she gazed on the nurse.

 

"That was Byooki Itsumo," Shinobu reported, she rolling her eyes. "Week after week, he's in here saying he's got some disease that -- more often than not -- is impossible for him to catch. So, what's up?"

 

Benten gently slid the still-dazed Dansei onto a nearby bed. "It's not me who's in need," she announced. "It's Dansei here. She got hit in the face with a baseball."

 

Shinobu looked at the welt the baseball left on Dansei's left cheek. It had already started to turn into a bruise. "Dansei forgot to duck?" she asked as she scanned the injured area with her tricorder. "She's lucky. It's only a bruise. It could've broken her cheekbone. Was she playing baseball?"

 

"Nope. She was talking to me when it happened. It was an accident."

 

Shinobu slipped a bandage onto Dansei's cheek. "This bandage will help protect it. What are you doing here, Benten?"

 

"Oh, I was just visiting Aiotoga."

 

With a moan, Dansei's eyes fluttered open. "Where'm I . . .?"

 

"You're in the nurse's station, Dansei-kun," Shinobu reported. "Benten brought you here after you got hit in the face by a baseball."

 

The tomboy then jolted as an arc of discomfort surged through her face. "Ouch!" she groaned as she moved to tenderly feel her cheek. "This calls for some C. C. Lemon."

 

"Oi!" Benten chimed; she had seen that commercial, too.

 

"You'll be fine," Shinobu assured her current patient. "Next time, learn to duck."

 

Nodding in understanding, Dansei then staggered out of the nurse's station. Shinobu sighed as she walked over to sit down at her desk. "What a morning!" she declared. "I'm glad it's lunchtime." She then looked at her guest. "Hey, Benten. Wanna go out together for lunch?"

 

"Sure," the Fukunokami replied, nodding. "As long at it's dutch."

 

* * *

 

Minutes later, Benten and Shinobu walked into Big Belly Burgers, the latest American fast food restaurant chain to come to the Land of the Rising Sun. Like any other fast food place, it was a tacky-looking restaurant staffed with teens and young adults. Most of the patrons were salarymen or high school students. After getting their orders, they went over to a booth to enjoy their lunches. "So, how are things?" Shinobu then asked before she took a bite of her burger.

 

"Fine, I guess," Benten replied. "I didn't know Junba was such a gifted athlete."

 

"She gets it from you and Nassur-kun, I guess." A reminiscent look then crossed the nurse/princess' face. "Five years ago in the summer, she worked as a batboy at Tokyo Dome for both the Giants' and the Fighters' home games. They invited her back the next year. All the players gave her a few pointers."

 

"No kidding. I didn't know that."

 

"She even gave flowers to players who hit homeruns one year . . . before she got too old for the job."

 

"There's a lot I've missed of Aiotoga's life," Benten sadly noted. "I feel as if I abandoned her."

 

Shinobu reached over to give her friend's hand a squeeze. "Unfortunately, events got out of hand."

 

"I wish I could change history . . . " Benten then snarled. "So that I could raise Aiotoga myself."

 

"You can't, Benten. You have to make do with what happened." An eyebrow then arched. "Why are you so upset? Junba's accepted you. Work with her and you won't have any problems."

 

"I'm trying to," the Fukunokami then admitted. "Seventeen years is a long time to breech." With that, she moved to finish lunch, and then she stood to clean up and depart. "Thanks for having lunch with me. I'm gonna look at some air bikes. See you."

 

"Go ahead."

 

Shinobu remained in her seat, her eyes following the Fukunokami as she left. All of this is bothering Benten, the nurse/princess mused as she turned back to her meal. We've got to find a way to help her cope with this before it gets ugly.

 

* * *

 

After school, Junba visited the Fujinamis to check up on Dansei. Entering the cafeteria -- the Fujinami family's apartment was located in a pair of converted store rooms beside the kitchen -- the class representative was quick to see that Dansei was busy helping with the clean up with a bandage fixed on her cheek. Her grandfather Fujimi was busy counting up the money made during the day while Ryuunosuke and Nagisa were busy closing the kitchen. "Another successful day ends!" the elderly teashop proprietor cheerily announced as he closed up the moneybox and moved to secure it in the safe. He was quick to spot who had just come in. "Hello, Junba-san!"

 

Dansei looked up on hearing her grandfather's words. On seeing Junba, she then gave her best friend a wave. "Hey, Aiotoga! What're you doing here?!"

 

"Hi, Dansei-chan," Junba said, an apologetic look crossing her face. "I'm sorry for hitting you with that ball. I thought I had that hit under control."

 

Dansei's eyes rolled. "Willya knock it of, Junba?!" she snapped. "You've apologized at least twenty times for that! It was an accident, for Buddha's sake!"

 

Ryuunosuke stared at them. "If it's anyone's fault, it's yours, Dansei. Why didn't you duck out of the way like you normally do?"

 

An embarrassed look crossed the younger tomboy's face. "Well, I was distracted by Junba's mom."

 

Suddenly, a huge tsunami appeared behind them. "Oh, the shame of it!" Fujimi sobbed as his "son," "grandson" and his "grandson's" friend ducked. "My grandson has an Oedipus complex!"

 

"That's not true, Oyaji!" Dansei snapped. "You're twisting it all around!"

 

"How can she have an Oedipus complex . . .?" Ryuunosuke growled. "When she's a girl?!"

 

Fujimi's tsunami ran into Ryuunosuke's breakwater and was destroyed. "Old fool," Ryuunosuke said as she returned to normal.

 

Fujimi then appeared behind both Junba and Dansei and shoved them together so they're face-to-face. "Why can't you be happy with girls like Junba here, Dansei?" he then yelled as he did this. "Maybe her real mom will allow you two to get married like you should. You've been friends since childhood."

 

He then grabbed a microphone and a stylized painting of a sun setting behind Fuji-san appeared behind him. The sound of trumpets and celebration was heard in the background. "Oh," Fujimi yelled into the microphone, "They've been together for so long and yet they won't think of getting married! How shy can you get?!"

 

Dansei and Junba both got angry and punched him through the roof. "I'm a girl!" Junba yelled as she threw her punch.

 

"And so am I!" added Dansei as she threw her punch.

 

Fujimi blasted through the roof like a rocket to crash into the ground a mile away like an air-to-surface missile hitting its' target. "That old fool!" Dansei said with a sigh. "I'd do anything to be rid of him permanently!"

 

"I agree," Junba said. "He's been trying to get us to marry since we were old enough. At least, my father and both my mothers have seen through his delusion!"

 

"If only I had beaten him before Dansei was born," Ryuunosuke lamented.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Benten was checking out an air bike dealership somewhere in Tomobiki. The dealer had several brands and styles of air bikes from various planets around the Galaxy, not to mention examples from a few Earth-based producers. Benten looked impressed by how many of them are around. Some of these air bikes look real neat, she thought to herself. There's even some from Earth as well.

 

A young Japanese salesman in a business suit walked up to Benten and asked, "May I help you, miss?"

 

"Do you have any Fukunokami models?"

 

"There's some over there," the salesman said as he pointed to across the showroom.

 

Benten rushed towards them and sat on the first one she liked. "This one is nice." She then looked at the sticker price and nearly had a heart attack because it was nearly 500,000,000 yen. "F-five hundred million yen?" she stammered as her mind automatically did the conversion between the local currency and uniCredits. "What happened to prices in seventeen years?"

 

Reluctantly, she got off the air bike and continued to look around. She soon noticed an air bike that looked similar to the one she owned before she disappeared with her husband. "Oh, I love this one," Benten said as she sat on it happily, and then she looked for the price sticker. Not finding one, she gazed at the salesman. "Hey! How much is this one?"

 

The salesman walked up to her. "I'm sorry," he said with a frown. "It's not for sale."

 

Benten's face dropped. "It's not?"

 

"It's a display piece," the salesman explained, "The company that built it no longer makes this model. The last one was made sixteen years ago."

 

Benten looked disappointed as she dismounted and walked out of the dealership with a look of gloom on her face. "Funny! Seventeen years ago, that model was the state of the art," she mumbled to herself. "Now it's a piece of history. I feel old."

 

Benten walked down the street and heard what sounded like rap music coming from nearby. "What's that noise?" Benten said while trying to find the source. "It sounds like the mating call of flatulent starwhales."

 

She noticed the music was coming from a building with the name called The Lying Bastard. "A dance hall?" Benten asks herself as she made her way towards it.

 

Benten was stopped at the door by a huge sumo wrestler-sized bouncer with his hair in a ponytail. "Hold it, chickie," the bouncer said. "It's a four hundred yen cover ta get in."

 

"Four hundred yen," Benten said to the bouncer with surprise. "Just to hear that noise?"

 

"'Ey," the bouncer shrugged. "A hundred people an hour can't be wrong."

 

Benten looked in the door and noticed the dance hall packed with mostly Japanese young people dancing, drinking, and socializing to the flashing lights and ear-shattering music played by a disc jockey. Benten also saw a bar. "Four hundred yen, eh?" she said as she passed the money to the bouncer. "I need a drink! Noise or no noise."

 

The bouncer took the money and let Benten inside the dance hall. "Geez," the bouncer muttered as she entered. "Wot drugs is she on ta not like rap music?"

 

* * *

 

An hour later, at the Miyake house, Nassur, Shinobu, and Junba were sitting down to supper. Noted by her absence was Benten. "Mom's late again tonight!" Junba noted as she ate some food.

 

"She said she was going shopping for air bikes," Shinobu said while eating.

 

"How many air bike sellers are there in this city?" asked Nassur.

 

* * *

 

At the Lying Bastard, Benten was downing drink after drink and her face was flushed with intoxication. She shoved an empty glass to the master and looked at him drunkenly. "Shay, Master," she slurred. "Hit me ag'n. I gotta lotta pain ta ferget!"

 

The master refilled Benten's glass and handed it to her. "This is the last one, chickie," he warned as he handed the drink to her. "After this we're cutting you off."

 

"Gimme it!" Benten grabbed the drink rudely out of the master's hand.

 

As Benten began to drink her drink, someone slapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Benten," a female voice yelled.

 

The sudden jarring caused Benten to spill her drink on herself. Naturally, she wasn't very happy about that. She turned angrily behind her to confront whomever it was that slapped her on the back. "Why you . . .?!" Benten snarled as she turned around ready to fight.

 

She was surprised to see a black-haired Fukunokami girl dressed in a Fukunokami battle bikini that looked similar to Benten's, save that it had gold chains, denoting she was of a different clan. The girl looked like an older version of Benten except she kept her hair in two side ponytails instead of in a bun like Benten did. "Who're ya?" Benten said with a note of surprise.

 

The girl sat beside Benten and smiled. "It's me, Hyooga Kakitori. It's been a while since we saw each other. I was still a kid when you and Nassur disappeared."

 

"Hyooga . . . Kakitori?" Benten mumbled to herself as she tried to remember where she heard the name. "Oh, I rememmer! Hyooga Ebisu's kid! So, ya grew up too."

 

"Well, seventeen years is a long time. I couldn't stay a child forever."

 

Benten put her arm around Kakitori. "So, how's ol' Ebisu annieway?" she drawled. "He still girl chasin'?"

 

Kakitori looked sad. "Ebisu died ten years ago in battle."

 

Benten felt terrible. "S-sorry, Kakitori," she stammered in remorse. "I didn't know. Livin' inna freezer for years means not being tol' 'bout these things."

 

Kakitori smiled a little. "That's okay. I've gotten over my dad's death a long time ago."

 

Benten removed her arm from around Kakitori. "So whattaya doin' on Earth? No kid of Ebisu's goes nowhere wit'out a reason."

 

"Oh, I'm just hitting the clubs around here while I'm visiting Moroboshi Amora," Kakitori said. "I'm just seeing what the guys are like on Earth."

 

"Ya know Amora?"

 

"Yeah, we're in the Intergalactic Boy Chaser's Club together. I'm the member for Fukunokami and Amora's the member for Elle."

 

"I didn't think they were still 'round. How come Amora's not the member for Earth?"

 

"She's of dual heritage. We had a member for Earth already when she joined, so she became the member for Elle."

 

The Intergalactic Boy Chaser's Club was a group of girls who were dedicated to finding lovers -- or at least attempting to find lovers. Limited to one member per world and they could only be members until the age of thirty (or their physical equivalent for long-lived races) or until they get married, whichever comes first. The I.B.C.C. was old, nearly two hundred years old to be exact, predating the Galactic Federation by nearly sixty years. To be a member, a girl must love boys and be willing to be temporarily sterilized as long as they were members. Kakitori was one of the current leaders in active service after joining the group in her teens after her predecessor married.

 

"Who's runnin' them now?" Benten asked.

 

"Senba is," Kakitori answered. "And I'm soon in line to replace her should she ever get married."

 

Benten laughed. "There's no doubt that yer Ebisu's kid. Always chasin' the opposite sex like there's no tamorra."

 

"It's a living," Kakitori stated with a giggle.

 

The master walked up to them both and leaned over to Benten. "Yo! Your sister gonna order anything?"

 

"No thanks," Kakitori said to the master. "I'm driving . . . but we're not sisters."

 

The bartender looked surprised by Kakitori's pointing out she's not related to Benten at all -- even though they did look like enough to be sisters. "Sorry," the master said. "You both look like you could be sisters."

 

Benten offered her glass drunkenly to the master. "Hit me ag'n!"

 

The master looked at the drunken flush on Benten's face. "You had enough, chickie."

 

Benten looked upset. "Who sayz?" she yelled as she tried to grab the master by the shirt.

 

"I do!" the master said tauntingly to her.

 

"Why you . . .!" Benten yelled as she tried to jump over the bar to get at the master.

 

Luckily, Kakitori grabbed her and began to drag her out of the dance hall before any further incident could occur. "Excuse us. I'll settle the bill then I'll take her home."

 

* * *

 

Minutes later, after the bill had been paid and Benten removed without any harm to anyone else or themselves, Kakitori took Benten to a parking lot nearby. "Whaddaya doin'? I coulda taken him!"

 

"Do you want to go to jail if you try to?" Kakitori calmly asked.

 

"Well . . .!" Benten then paused as she tried to get a hold of herself. "Point taken. I've been inna 'nuff cages in my life."

 

"Come on, I'll take you home," Kakitori said as she escorted her to a nearby air bike. "You're in no condition to walk."

 

Benten looked impressed by the air bike. "Now, that's an air bike!"

 

Kakitori took the driver's seat while Benten struggled to get on the passenger's seat. "So where are you staying?" Kakitori asked Benten as she started up the motor of her air bike.

 

"At Miyake Shinobu's place on Kyoojin-doori, just right behind where Moroboshi Ataru and Lum live," Benten said drunkenly. "I'll wanna be rida that child stealer."

 

"Right . . . " Kakitori said as she sighed. I hope that woman she's staying with isn't thin-skinned if she hears that.

 

The air bike lifted off. When it was high enough, it flew away. Nearby, Megane Aisuru watched them go. A wind blew by him. "I sense something ominous is going to happen soon to them," the monk declared as he went into a praying position. "I pray it won't be serious."

 

* * *

 

Minutes later, Kakitori's air bike landed at the front door of the Miyake family house. "This must be the place," Kakitori quipped as she read the sign on the door, which said MIYAKE: Shinobu, Junba.

 

Benten tried to get off the air bike, but more or less fell off of it. Kakitori noticed and tried to help her up. "Are you okay?"

 

"I'm fine," Benten said as she staggered drunkenly to her feet.

 

"Do you need help to the door?"

 

"I need ta know which door it is," Benten replied after looking at them and seeing several double-images of the door in her drunken mind.

 

"There's only one door," Kakitori said as she helped Benten to it.

 

"There is?" Benten remarked. "There's not fifteen of them each wit' a pink elephant as a doorman?"

 

By time the two young women got to the door, it swung open and Nassur stood there. He immediately noticed Benten's drunkenness. "It's about time you got back!" he quipped. "I see you must've really enjoyed air bike shopping."

 

"Hello, Nassur-san," Kakitori said. "Remember me?"

 

He glanced at her, his eyes brightening. "Oh, hi, Kakitori! Long time, no see."

 

"I found Benten drunk at a dance hall so I brought her home," Kakitori explained as she helped Benten to the door.

 

"I see," Nassur said then he turned towards inside the house. "Shinobu, you want to get some coffee ready? Benten's drunk!"

 

"Okay!" Shinobu yelled from inside the house.

 

Benten looked upset when she heard Shinobu's voice. Nassur helped Kakitori bring Benten into the house. "Let me help you with my wife."

 

Minutes later, Benten was sat down on the couch and waited for Shinobu came with coffee. "Just sit here for now, Benten," Nassur ordered.

 

Shinobu walked in with tray that has a pot of coffee and a cup on it. "Coffee's ready," Shinobu said cheerfully.

 

Shinobu walked up to the table and was just beginning to put the tray on the table, when Benten gave her an angry, cold glance. "There's the bitch who stol' m'kid away!" Benten announced . . . loudly.

 

The effect of such an announcement was immediate. Shinobu dropped the tray on the table nearly spilling everything on it over the floor. A hurt look crossed the nurse/princess' face. Nassur and Kakitori looked shocked. "B-Benten . . .!" the Vosian stammered as he moved to break the tension.

 

"Do you MIND repeating that again, Benten?" Shinobu said, a battle aura appearing around her.

 

Benten did not look impressed by the growing anger Shinobu was developing. "Ya know what I said," Benten said cruelly. "BABY-STEALER!"

 

Nassur tried to calm Benten down. "Benten, you're drunk . . . "

 

Benten only turned to Nassur coldly and said, "I'm sober 'nuff ta speak m'own mind, ya know!"

 

Suddenly, a volcano formed on top of Shinobu's head and it erupted violently. Nassur and Kakitori looked nervous. Shinobu stared angrily into the eyes of Benten. "What do you mean that I'M a baby-stealer?!" she growled. "I wasn't the one who put Junba in an escape pod and ejected her seventeen years ago!"

 

Benten did not look impressed by Shinobu's rage against her. "I hadda reason ta, bitch!" she slurred. "What's yer reason?"

 

The aura around Shinobu darkened considerably. Quick to see this, Nassur moved to calm her down. "Now, Shinobu . . . "

 

"So!" Shinobu snapped. "The truth is finally told! Benten, it's time we fought this out once and for all!"

 

Benten stood up and got herself ready to fight. "Whaddaya gonna try ta do, bitch? I betcha planned this wit' Elle just so ya could have a kid 'cause nobody wants a bitch like ya!"

 

Benten stuck her tongue out at the Shinobu. The latter winced, her eyes glistening with tears, and then her jaw tightened. "Why, you . . .!"

 

Before she could attack, a voice then barked out, "Benten!"

 

Everyone turned and saw Junba at the doorway leading from the living room to the hallway dressed in her pyjamas. She stood there with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. "A-Aiotoga?" Benten said all of a sudden feeling embarrassed by her behaviour.

 

"What's the meaning of this?" Junba icily asked.

 

Benten walked up drunkenly to Junba. "Don't yell at your mother . . .!"

 

SLAP!

 

Benten blinked as her hand reached up to touch her now-reddened cheek and looked shocked at the fact her own daughter, the child she gave birth to and ejected in an escape pod to keep safe from enemies, had just slapped in the face as if she was a total stranger. "Y-ya hit me? Yer own momma . . .?"

 

"I was once happy that my real parents came back," Junba said as she fought back her own tears. "Now, I wished you stayed away!"

 

With a sob, she ran off to her bedroom. "Junba," Benten stammered as she dropped to her knees. "A-Aiotoga . . . I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to . . . "

 

Staggering to her feet, she moved to follow. Nassur's hand stayed her in place. "Let her alone, Benten," Nassur said as he put his arms around his wife. "I'm afraid you've done too much already."

 

She turned around to weep into his chest. "I've alienated my own daughter!"

 

Nassur turned to Kakitori, quickly noting the nervous look on her face. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Kakitori."

 

"That's all right," Kakitori said as she turned to leave. "I've seen this many times. I'll go back to my hotel, if you don't mind."

 

Kakitori rushed out of the house without trying to be so obvious about it. Shinobu walked up to Nassur. Nassur could still see the anger in their host's eyes. "What's worse is Benten deserved that," she noted before she turned around to clean up the mess.

 

"I agree," Nassur said, nodding. "I'll put her to bed and make her apologize to everyone in the morning."

 

* * *

 

Later, everyone in the Miyake home had retired for the evening. Nassur and Benten slept together nude in a futon laid out in the guest bedroom. Although they were in the same bed together, they laid as far apart from each other as they can get, their backs turned to each other. Unfortunately, sleep could not be had this night for the pair of hunters. Nassur finally turned his head to speak to Benten.

 

"Benten . . .?"

 

"Forget it!" she moaned, her pillow wet with tears. "I'm not in the mood!"

 

He turned towards her. "I'm your husband. Talk to me!"

 

"What can I say?" she wondered. "My kid hates my guts and I can't say that I blame her. I've treated her and Shinobu like shit! But . . . no one seems to take in account how I feel!"

 

"I do," he affirmed, sitting up. "You're my wife and Junba's my daughter as well. She's the only child I've got that's lived to see adulthood. I feel the same loss you do in not helping to shape her life."

 

Fresh tears streamed down her face. "It's not fair! I spent four months of hell on Earth carrying her in my body when I found out I was pregnant! You were gone to fight the Mikado with Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Mendou, and Megane! I didn't know if you were coming back or not! Then you did come back just before she was born. I thought I'd be happy forever . . . but Elle captured us and kept us like pets. It's not fair!"

 

A hand touched her shoulder. "There's nothing we can do now," he quietly stated as she tried to wipe her face. "We have to live with this. I've accepted it! Can you?"

 

"I-I'll try . . . but it won't be easy."

 

"Good." He leaned down to kiss the back of her neck. "Until then, talk to Lum."

 

That made her turn around to gaze at him. "Lum? Why her?"

 

"Because I think Lum has more in common with what we're going through than anyone else," he answered as he moved to embrace her. "But before that, apologize to Shinobu. Even if you can't remember what you said when you were drunk."

 

"Okay." She returned his embrace. "I'll do it."

 

"They let's go to sleep."

 

Soon, they drifted off, still in each other's arms.

 

* * *

 

Next morning, after recovering from her hangover and apologizing to Shinobu for what she had said the previous night, Benten headed to the Moroboshi home. Stepping inside, she was quick to see that the only one in residence was Lum. "Oh, Benten!" the Oni called out. "What a surprise! Come in!"

 

"Thanks," Benten called out as she slipped off her shoes in the genkan, and then she stepped into the living room. "I wanted to talk to you this morning. Hope you don't have to go to work."

 

"I'm on my day off," Lum confirmed as she followed the Fukunokami into the living room, her hand falling over her stomach. "It'll give me some time for me and the baby to relax."

 

They sat down. "You're really starting to show," Benten remarked on seeing Lum's abdomen.

 

"Tcha!" Lum said. "It's funny how the baby missed being diagnosed for so long. He seems to be growing fast. I already can't see my toes, let alone touch them." She then gazed on her guest. "But you're not here to talk about me being pregnant," she added. "What's up?"

 

"Well . . . as you know, I've not been the best of friends with my friends lately."

 

"Tcha! Ran told me about what you said to her." Lum then shrugged. "I know I'm probably the last person to talk to you about this but . . . you must accept what's happened to you or you'll go nuts."

 

"I know. It's not easy. I still think of Aiotoga as that baby I ejected seventeen years ago."

 

"Unfortunately, she's all grown up and ready to have her own family."

 

A wince. "Don't remind me! I'm definitely NOT ready to be a grandma when I haven't even gone through a maturity ritual yet!"

 

A giggle. "Hopefully, that won't happen. How about some tea?"

 

"Sure. Can I use your bathroom?"

 

"Go ahead," Lum said as she rose to head into the kitchen. "It's upstairs."

 

Benten stepped upstairs, she recalling what Nassur had said to her that morning: "Don't you find it's a little strange that nobody mentions whatever's happened to Lum and Ataru's child?" his voice echoed in her mind. "Lum was pregnant with Koishii-chan when we disappeared, but the only children they talk about are Reiko, her twin sister Kaneko and Amora. See if you can find out why."

 

Why don't they mention their fourth child? she mused to herself as she neared the bathroom. As she went there, her eyes glanced into the total disaster that Amora called her room. "Shit!" she gasped. "Amora lives in this junkyard?! How can she sleep here?!"

 

Another bedroom, it sitting across from Amora's, was empty. "Nothing here. Must've been Reiko's room."

 

She arrived at Ataru and Lum's room. The door was closed. Benten quietly opened it to walk in. The bedroom was no different than any bedroom accommodating a married couple. A queen-sized bed and a pair of dressers were the primary pieces of furniture, along with a vanity and a nightstand. On the vanity, several pictures sat. Benten gazed on them. One was of Lum and Ataru with Reiko, Kaneko -- Benten knew now that Reiko's twin sister normally wore her hair loose inside of the side pigtails Reiko herself had started to sport during high school -- and Amora, it looking like it had been taken a couple of years ago. Beside that were couple portraits of Reiko and Kaneko with their life-mates, Fujisawa Mina and Miyake Annabelle. There was one of Jariten in his military uniform, taken after his graduation from the Urusian Defence Force Academy. Finally, sitting on the nightstand by the bed, there was a picture of a newborn Oni baby with dark brownish hair and brown eyes. Blinking, Benten reached over to pick it up.

 

"Who's this?" she asked before her eyes fell on the kanji written there. "'Koishii?'"

 

She then read what else was written on that photo.

 

* * *

 

A minute or so later, Lum called upstairs, "Tea's ready, Benten!"

 

Benten jogged downstairs, a forced smile on her face. "Coming!"

 

As tea was served, Benten gazed on Lum. I've been a fool, Lum. At least my child's alive.

 

* * *

 

School came to a close, the staff and students beginning their personal treks home. Junba had an apprehensive look on her face as she approached the front gate. "Guess it's back to the war zone," she quietly mused to herself, and then she sighed just as her eyes changed colour.

 

"Going somewhere?"

 

Junba turned towards one of the trees. "Oh. It's only you, Mom!" she said as Benten jumped down from a branch to land perfectly before her. "What do you want?"

 

Shame crossed the older woman's face. "I came to apologize for my behaviour last night," Benten announced. "I should've known better. It won't happen again. I guess I've been the Mother from Hell lately; I deserved that slap in the face you gave me."

 

"So to speak. Have you apologized to my mom yet?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Fine."

 

And with that, she turned to walk away. Benten dodged in front of her. "Aiotoga, please!" she pleaded. "Please, don't hate me! I just found about someone who's in worse shape than I am." A pause. "You may have grown up . . . but at least you're alive! Please, Junba! I'm . . . I'm sorry."

 

Tears glistened in Junba's eyes as the strength of her mother's plea lanced through her heart. Benten bowed her head, and then she looked up to gaze hopefully into her daughter's eyes. "I need my daughter."

 

"Oh, Mom . . . "

 

* * *

 

Unseen by either of them as they fell into an embrace, Lum was gazing on Benten and Junba from her place close to the school's front gate. You spoke of loss, Benten, the Oni mused to herself. You don't know the meaning of the word. Hopefully, you never will before you're old and grey.

 

With that, she turned and flew off to her home. A trail of tears flowed from her eyes like two rivers, they glistening in the afternoon sun. They then descended upon some fallen leaves on the ground.

 

The End . . . For Now

 

**** **** ****

 

WRITER'S NOTES:

 

1) C.C. Lemon does exist in Japan and Korea; it's a type of lemon drink similar to the lemon version of Crush sold in North America.

 

2) Fans of Superman should recognise the restaurant chain Shinobu and Benten visited for lunch.

 

**** **** ****