You're Under Arrest Fan Fiction ❯ One Week of Summer ❯ Until We Meet Again & Epilogue ( Chapter 7 )

ONE WEEK OF SUMMER
Jay Pantig
[chanel_jay@mailcity.com]

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:
Taiho Shichauzo/You're Under Arrest is owned by Kosuke Fujishima and is presented by TBS, Kodansha Ltd., Bandai Visual Co. Ltd., and Marubani Corporation. Japanese manga presented by Kodansha Morning Party Extra, English adaptation brought by Dark Horse and Studio Proteus. "Kokoro no Takarabako" (The Heart's Treasure Chest) is owned by Squaresoft Ltd. I own nothing, zip, wala, nada, (except this fic) so please don't sue me!

DAY SEVEN: UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

Seasons come and seasons go. Some may seem to take long before they pass by, yet most of them take place faster than the blink of a human eye.

For Natsumi, that summer was both the longest and the shortest she ever had.

The hours she had spent playing with her newfound friend seemed to have taken place in such a short time, and yet it also seemed as if a single day they had shared together was already as much as a year full of laughter and happiness.

This made parting even more difficult.

Natsumi sat on one of her mother's baggage as they lined in front of a counter for tickets. Her attention was not on the box where her trike laid. For once, she was not thinking of how much fun she would have when she showed the bike to her friends at home. Instead, her lavender eyes were focused on the staircase leading to the station.

She didn't know if Miyuki's family would actually come and see them off. Yet she had to hope.

A train stopped at the station. It was the train that would take them back to Tokyo. Natsumi flinched, never expecting that the one that would take her back to her home and to her old friends would be the one that would make her heart constrict with sadness.

Never in her life had Natsumi actually hoped to see the cause of her grief. Yet she still sat there, waiting. < One last time . . . > Natsumi thought, looking at the ticket counter, hoping against all hope that they won't be able to get their ticket until the last possible moment. < Just give me one last time. >

*****

Miyuki was running ahead of her parents, clutching a slightly huge box wrapped in beautiful paper. Panting as she climbed up the almost impossibly high stairs, she barely paused to catch her breath, determined to reach her friend before the train that had arrived leaves.

"Miyuki, slow down! We'll make it!" Her father said, taking huge strides just to keep up with his only child.

But she barely listened.

Upon reaching the platform, her parents looked around, trying to search for Natsumi's parents, Miyuki's mother placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder to prevent her from getting lost. Miyuki's heart pounded as her blue eyes darted from one location to another, searching for the familiar face.

Somehow, perhaps through some miracle, the crowd in front of her parted, and their gazes met, just before Natsumi and her family entered the platform. Joy ran through her as she took hold of her mother's hand and tugged it. "Mommy, mommy! They're over there!"

At that same moment, Natsumi shocked her parents by jumping off, running towards Miyuki as fast as she possibly could.

Their parents could only smile fondly as their children embraced. "Don't you just wish that adults could be as innocent as children are, never hesitating to show their affection for each other in public?" Miyuki's mother asked.

"And that wild, yet beautiful sense of imagination . . ." Natsumi's mother chuckled. "If only they could stay as kids forever."

Yet the look on Natsumi's father's face was a look of concern. "Still, Natsumi is going to be pretty lonely for the next few days without Miyuki."

Miyuki's father snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah!" He fished into the pocket of his shirt and took out a small cream-colored card. "My business card. At least you'll have some way of contacting us."

Natsumi's father grinned. "Too bad I'm a wrestler - I don't usually give out business cards."

"We'll just wait for you to write us a letter or such," Miyuki's mother said. "We can reply through the return address."

"If only I have a piece of paper and a pen, then I could give you our current address . . ." Natsumi's father started patting his pockets.

Miyuki and Natsumi watched as their parents conversed, before looking at each other and shrugging. "What are they talking about?" Miyuki asked.

"Beats me. I can't hear them," Natsumi answered. "Say, have you ever been inside a train? Would you like to see what's inside?"

"I don't know . . ." Miyuki looked skeptical.

"It's just for a while. Oh, mom," Natsumi said, tugging at her mother's sleeves. Her mother did not even so much as look at her. "Mom, I'll be taking Miyuki inside the train, okay?"

Her mother, while browsing through her bag in search for a pen, just made shooing gestures and absently said, "Don't go too far."

"We won't!" Natsumi assured, eagerly grabbing her friend's free hand and dragging her towards the train.

A policeman saw them entering the passenger only area, and he made his way towards them, blocking their passage. "Hello, mister!" Natsumi greeted.

"Hello, little girl. Are you going to go inside the train?" the policeman asked amusedly.

Natsumi nodded. "Uh huh. My ticket is with my mom over there!" she said, pointing to where her parents stood.

"Uhh . . ." Miyuki stammered.

The policeman looked up, just in time to see a brown haired woman waving towards them. He tipped his cap, then smiled at the two kids in front of him. < The kids must have been too excited to wait for their mother. > "Okay, I'll let you go in."

Miyuki was about to comment that she did not have any ticket when Natsumi started to drag her inside. "C'mon!" her friend said.

The policeman continued to look at them amusedly, failing to notice that another man approached the woman who had been waving earlier, a small, year old, brown-haired child in his arms. The woman took the baby from him, and they left the station together.

*****

"Wow . . . !" Miyuki said as she moved around the wide corridors of the train, her eyes wandering as she marveled at the site before her. "It looks just like in the picture book daddy gave me!"

"Isn't it cool?" Natsumi asked, hopping on one of the comfortable chairs. "It does get kinda boring though, 'specially if we make long trips."

Miyuki sat beside her friend, the box she was carrying placed gently beside her. "Daddy likes giving me picture books with cars and trains and airplanes in them," she said. "I always ride on daddy's car, but sometimes I wish I could go on airplane and train rides."

"I always ride on dad's big motorcycle. It's so fun, that I want to have one when I grow up!" Natsumi informed her. Then she grinned mischievously at Miyuki. "I don't think you're going to get a car, though."

Miyuki pouted. "And why is that?"

"Remember when we played the car at the game place? You hit the huge truck!"

"It was just a game!"

"But isn't it, if you're bad at that one, then you're also bad at real driving?"

"Hmph." Miyuki crossed her arms. "Fine. I'm going to be a great driver someday, you'll see!! Besides . . ." She looked at Natsumi with a lop-sided smile. "Who was the one who won in our race?"

"That was still unfair of you, you know!" Natsumi argued.

"You never asked if my car had a motor!"

The sound of a loud whistle echoed through the air. Miyuki and Natsumi looked up. "What's that?" Miyuki asked.

Natsumi shrugged. "Don't really know."

"Oh, well." Miyuki, seated beside the window, looked outside and saw their parents talking near the platform. "Look! There's mommy and daddy! Do you think they'll see me here?"

"Let's pretend that the train is leaving, and that we're waving goodbye!" Natsumi suggested.

And so, Miyuki and Natsumi waved and tried to catch their parents's attention, failing to notice the train whistle once more . . .

*****

Natsumi's father looked at his watch. "There goes the second whistle. We have to get going if we don't want to be left behind," he said.

Miyuki's father shook hands with him. "It was good knowing you. Too bad we can't find a pen . . . Tell Natsumi-chan to write - Miyuki doesn't really have that many friends, and she'll be happy to hear from her."

"Speaking of the kids, where are they . . . ?!!!" Natsumi's mother gasped.

Her husband looked at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She pointed wordlessly at the train carriage. Both Natsumi and Miyuki were inside, smiling widely as they saw all four adults staring at them in shock.

"We have to get Miyuki out of there!" Miyuki's father said as they ran towards the train, the Tsujimotos dragging their luggage behind them. Before they could even step on the platform, however, a policeman stopped them.

"I'm sorry, sirs, madams, but I need your tickets," he said politely.

The Tsujimotos immediately handed him their three tickets, without even bothering to explain for whom the third one was for. While the policeman was scratching his head about the ticket - which allowed a child to be admitted, though there was no child in sight - the two adults quickly rushed towards the train, while the Kobayakawas looked on worriedly.

Natsumi's mother and father had just barely stepped inside the train when the door suddenly closed automatically behind them. "Oh, no!" Natsumi's mother exclaimed.

Outside, Miyuki's mother fainted.

*****

Later on.

Natsumi and Miyuki quietly sat in front of Natsumi's parents, staring at them with looks that said "We're in trouble, aren't we?". Natsumi's father was leaning forward with his hand on his forehead, while Natsumi's mother sat still with her hands on her lap. One of the train's attendants stood beside their couch, having been called to address the problem.

"What are we going to do with the two of you?" Natsumi's father asked in an exasperated voice.

Natsumi fidgeted on her seat. "Well . . . when I asked mom, she didn't say 'no' . . . so I didn't think anything was wrong."

The attendant found himself smiling. Once a child gives a reason such as that, there's no way the adults can place the blame on them.

Natsumi's father looked at his wife, who had a very guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry. I was distracted," she apologized. He sighed.

The attendant cleared his throat and finally spoke. "There's nothing we can do about this now. We're just going to have to drop Miyuki off at the next station."

Natsumi and Miyuki leaned forward, startled. "But why?!" Natsumi demanded.

"Natsumi, Miyuki has to go back home," her mother reasoned.

"So? Can't she just come home with us and let her mom and dad pick her up there?"

Her father looked at her sternly. "First of all Natsumi, Miyuki shouldn't even be on this train - it's very bad if you go inside without tickets."

Miyuki flinched.

"Secondly, I don't want Miyuki's parents to wait that long before they get her back."

"What your father is saying, dear," Natsumi's mother gently said, ". . . is that he does not want Miyuki's parents to get very worried about her. Would you want us to get very sad and worried if you had disappeared?"

Natsumi looked down at the floor. "No."

Miyuki fidgeted on her seat, a scared look on her young features. "Am I . . . am I going to get into trouble?" she asked meekly.

"No you won't, Miyuki-chan," Natsumi's father gave her a reassuring smile. "We're just going to ask somebody to take you home."

"Somebody?"

"Somebody who will take really good care of you, and bring you back to your parents. I promise," he said, reaching out to hold Miyuki's hand. He then turned towards the attendant. "Can we get in contact with the police?" he asked.

The attendant nodded. "We can call the railway police now. We'll be needing information, though . . ."

"All right." Natsumi's parents stood up. "Don't you kids go anywhere now. Understand?" her father said.

The two kids nodded, and watched as the adults moved towards the front carriage.

As soon as the doors closed behind them, Natsumi guiltily looked at Miyuki. "I . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean . . . that you . . ." She sniffed.

"That's okay. It's my fault too, I guess. I really wanted to see the inside of the train . . ." Yet Miyuki looked extremely worried.

"I still wish I could take you home with me. Then you don't have to go home with a stranger, and you can see my house, and I can get my friends to meet you if they're there already, and . . ."

"Natsumi . . ." Miyuki said gently, catching her friend's attention.

"What?"

Miyuki bit her lip. "I . . . I want to go home."

Natsumi looked at her with shock. "But why? If you come home with me, we can still have lots of time together! I don't want you to go yet! I want us to play some more!!"

"But Natsumi . . . I'm scared. I want my mommy and daddy . . . I want to go home . . ." Miyuki said, trying hard not to let her feelings of fright and helplessness carry her away.

Disappointment clearly flashed across Natsumi's face, and she turned away, afraid that if she looked at Miyuki more, she would start crying.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Miyuki gently fingered the ribbon her mother had placed on the box she held. Then she lifted it and gave it to Natsumi. "For you."

"For me? Really??" Natsumi temporarily forgot her displeasure towards her friend. As one who absolutely loved receiving presents, she practically pounced at the box. "It's not even my birthday . . ."

Miyuki watched, smiling as her friend enthusiastically tore through the paper she had painstakingly wrapped around the gift the previous night. "It's a helmet," she said as Natsumi lifted the dark blue helmet from the box where it was held. "I noticed that you were not wearing any, and daddy and his friends say it's not good if you ride on a bike without protecting your head, so daddy and I got you one last night." She leaned back at the train seat, still looking at Natsumi. "I just wanted to give it to you. Daddy says its like a good-bye present."

Natsumi's eyes were filled with guilty tears. "T-thank you . . . I wish I had something to give to you, too . . ."

"You already had."

"Huh?"

Miyuki's own eyes were wet as she looked at Natsumi. "You gave me a wonderful friend."

Natsumi was speechless. Lower lips quivering, she bowed her head, and wept silently.

Miyuki slowly reached out and hugged her friend, which Natsumi fiercely returned. "I don't want to say goodbye . . ." Natsumi cried.

Her friend could not answer. Miyuki just embraced her closer as they both wept with heartfelt sobs.

*****

A young cadet made no effort to cover his mouth as he yawned, clearly displaying his discomfort. He leaned against the wall, his legs and arms crossed, the expression on his face representing complete boredom.

His superior officer, who stood right beside him, looked at him shortly and smiled. "Stand straight."

The cadet groaned. "Oji-san, we've been standing here for a while now!! When is that train coming anyway?"

"It will come soon," the officer patiently answered.

"Why do we have to take the kid home anyway?" the cadet grumbled. "Can't the railway police handle it?"

"The railway police handle railway events. This is a case of a lost child. That is our duty."

"Aww . . . can't you just dump her in another train headed for her home?"

"Why would you want to scare the kid into going home by herself?" Seeing his nephew's bad posture worsening as he slouched even further, he gave him a knowing glance. "Hey. Straighten up. If Arizuka sees you . . ."

The cadet immediately shuddered upon hearing the name of his instructor. "Please, oji-san. Don't say such bad words. I'm having a difficult enough time at the academy as it is."

The officer chuckled. "Well, when I retire, you're going to have to deal with him on your own you know."

"That won't be for many years." The cadet stared at his superior, a doubtful look on his face. "Hey, wait a sec. You're not really serious about actually becoming a Buddhist priest, are you?"

A train whistle caught both policemen's attentions as the train came to a complete stop at the platform a few meters in front of them. The cadet pushed himself from the wall.

"We'll see," the officer said with a smile. "Now come on. We have work to do."

"Finally."

While his uncle spoke with the attendants and the railway police, the cadet's eyes landed on the two little girls that stood between two adult civilians, holding hands and looking very much depressed. The eyes of the black-haired girl wandered towards him, and he smiled. This seemed to have made her uncomfortable, as she shyly turned away.

He watched as his superior officer approached and conversed with the two civilians. And just when the cadet thought he was going to yawn again, he saw the two little girls hug before letting go of each other's hands. He smiled.

His uncle and the male civilian walked towards him, the same girl who looked at him earlier with them. "This is the girl you'll be taking home," the officer told him.

The cadet kneeled down and gave her the gentlest look he could manage. "Hello. What's your name?" he asked.

The little girl bit her lip and looked at him shyly. "Miyuki," she answered meekly.

"Here's her address," the male civilian said, handing him a small piece of paper, all the while forgetting that that was his only copy of their newfound friends' address.

The cadet looked at the business card and almost choked. "Ka-Katsuura City, Chiba Preferecture?!?"

His uncle grinned and patted his back. "Happy driving."

"From Bokuto to Katsuura and back . . . I won't have a demerit if I come home late at the academy, will I?" the cadet asked weakly.

"Well . . ."

"Oji-san!!"

"Mister Tsujimoto . . ." Miyuki said quietly, a scared look on her young features as she gently tugged on the sleeves of her friend's father.

Natsumi's father crouched down beside the cadet so that he could address the young girl. "I've already called your parents. They'll be waiting for you back at your house," he said gently.

Miyuki hesitantly looked at the cadet, who was still arguing with his uncle.

"Don't worry. He'll take good care of you," Natsumi's father assured her, sensing her fear.

"All right, all right. I'll make sure Arizuka won't be chewing on your back," the officer said, still grinning at his nephew. "Now go already, before you get back here *too* late."

Scratching his head, he sheepishly looked at the child in front of him. "Sorry about that. Anyway . . ." He reached out and shook Miyuki's hand. "Nice to meet you . . . Miyuki, is it? You can just call me kanchou -"

His uncle snorted. "Dream on, kid."

Miyuki smiled a bit.

"Actually, he's a soushi, so you can just call him that," the officer informed the young girl as he placed a hand on the small of her head.

The train behind them whistled, indicating that it was about to leave. "We have to get going . . ." Natsumi's father said. "Please take care."

"No problem, sir," the cadet said, saluting crisply.

Miyuki looked back. Natsumi was standing just inside the train, where she had been lead by her mother earlier as Miyuki was brought to the policemen. Natsumi never did say goodbye . . .

"See you . . ." Natsumi mouthed.

Miyuki nodded. "Until then . . ."

*****

"Are you okay?"

Miyuki turned from staring blankly at the dashboard towards the policeman who was driving her home. She shook her head silently, and then gazed at her hands.

"Don't worry. I'll take you home to your mom and dad in no time," the policeman assured her, freeing his left hand from the steering wheel and placing it on her head.

Miyuki smiled slightly before bowing her head further.

The cadet looked at her worriedly. "Is there anything else wrong?" he asked.

Miyuki's shoulders hunched. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then spoke in a soft voice, "I'm just sad to see my friend go."

"Oh." The policeman slowly braked upon reaching an intersection, his free hand moving towards the clutch to shift the car to first gear. "Is she moving to Tokyo?"

"No . . . she already lives there. We just met when they went to our place . . ."

"It's nice that you get to meet friends from places other than home."

"But . . . !" Miyuki looked up to him, her eyes filled with melancholy. "We might not see each other again! And she might forget about me!"

The cadet remained quiet.

The traffic light changed to green, and the vehicle started to move once more.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he finally said. "There will come a time when your friend could not even remember your name. And that you could not remember hers either."

Miyuki bit her lip and turned her head away.

"But whatever significant memory the both of you had shared will linger on in your dreams. Though you will not remember the name or face, you would remember when you grow up that once, there was somebody from Tokyo who played with you for a time, and had almost taken you back to Tokyo with her. That once there was a policeman who took you back when you got lost . . .

"And when you see each other again someday, and there comes a point when the both of you realize that you share a certain recollection . . . from there you attempt to recall and deep further . . . piece fragments of previous joyful moments back together . . . remembering again.

"As long as the person had made a huge impact on your life, that person will never be forgotten."

The cadet smiled at her. "After all. It may seem big, but you'll soon discover that we live in a very small world . . ."

In truth, Miyuki did not understand half of what the cadet had said. But she had understood enough to know that Natsumi would remember her again. That, and his calm reassuring voice, somehow managed to put her feelings at ease.

Miyuki was four years old.

And, she counted, she had 96 more years to look for Natsumi again, as was the typical belief of some children that people could live up to a hundred years.

That's a long, *loooong* time.

And maybe, by then, she'd be everything she promised Natsumi she would be.

Miyuki leaned back comfortably on her seat, satisfaction running through her.

She never stopped smiling during the entire trip home.

EPILOGUE

Summer, several years later. Bokuto District, Sumida-ku . . .

Natsumi, wearing a safety helmet on her head, was on her hard-earned Honda Motocompo, pushing it to the limits the law would allow her as she was already running severely late for work.

It was just her extreme bad luck to run face to face with a mini patrol car. And just when she had committed something that actually deserved a ticket, having run a motorcycle on a prohibited place . . . and almost running into two kids, to boot!!

It didn't help matters much when the driver suddenly turned the car around and started to chase after her.

"If that's the case . . ." Natsumi said to herself, completely flooring her gas in an effort to escape. < We're just going to have to use some maneuverability that my little baby has . . . and that car doesn't!! >

The driver of the police vehicle looked amused as her perpetrator had increased speed and had suddenly turned into a tight corner. Having been a traffic police officer in the district since she was transferred there that spring, she already knew the area by heart. < We'll just have to catch her at the other side of her "shortcuts" . . . > Miyuki thought, deftly maneuvering her beloved Honda Today into another, slightly wider side street.

Miyuki smiled as the personally customized car obeyed her smoothly. When the chief had let her choose her patrol car, for some odd reason she decided to use the relatively old modeled Today. Nobody thought she would ever catch any traffic law violator with such a vehicle, but when she managed to gain permission and tinkered around with the car's engine, as was her hobby, nobody ever had doubts about the car again.

Natsumi, never looking back, escaped into another corner, and chuckled to herself. "She couldn't have caught up with me at this rate," she said, her voice full of satisfaction.

She couldn't have been more surprised when, upon hearing the car horn, she saw the same police vehicle that had been chasing her earlier, a small canal acting as the only thing that separated them and preventing the officer from making an arrest.

Miyuki looked at Natsumi. Time seemed to have stood still as their eyes met . . .

Natsumi accelerated once more.

The race was on again. As it would always be . . .

Kokoro no Takarabako (The Heart's Treasure Chest)
Chocobo Racing ED

Wasurenai de ne, boku to asonda hi
Nagai michi o doko made mo itta yo ne
Hashiritsukareta koronda toki wa
Kimi ga itsudemo chikarazukete kureta

Isshou ni itsu made mo hashiritsuzuketeita
Onaka ga suite, kaeru koto mo wasurete
Minna de itsu made mo asonde irareru to
Shinjiteta ano hi ni mata kaeritai

Oboeteru ka na, kimi to deatta hi
Kimi wa hitori, tsumaranasou ni shiteta
Koe o kakeru to utsumukinagara
Hazukashisou ni egao misete kureta

Isshou ni hashiridashi kokoro hatsumasuteta
Kore kara nani ka hajimaru koto yume mite
Minna de itsu made mo asonde irareru to
Omotteta ano hi ni mata modorou you

So yo: kaze, aozora, tomodachi
Minna no egao sono mama ni
Kokoro no takarabako ni irete

Boku wa ima mo hitori hashiritsuzuketeiru
Ano koro no yume wasureru koto dekizu ni
Doko ka de deaetara onaji egao misete

Shinjiteta ashita e mata hashirou yo

Don't forget it--the days you played with me
We followed the long roads on to forever
And when, tired from running, we fell
You always encouraged me

I want to keep running together forever
And forget about hunger, forget about going home
If we all could keep playing forevermore
I'd want to return to that day I believed in

Do you remember the day we met?
You were alone and looking bored
When I called out to you, looking down
You shyly showed me your smiling face

We ran out together and made our hearts burst
I dream that something's beginning from now on
If we could all keep playing forevermore
We'll go back again to that day we've thought about

That's right: wind, blue skies, friends
With everyone's smiles just the same
I put them into my heart's treasure chest

Even now I keep running alone
Unable to forget the dreams of those days
If we should meet somewhere, show me that same
smile
And let's run again to the tomorrow we believed in

----------

"One week of summer, that was fulfilling as a year, seemed as short as a day . . ."

-Morisato Keiichi Ah! Megami-sama OAV 5: "For the Love of Goddess"