CHILDREN OF SARJALIM

by Angela

 

Wednesday, Day Three:

         

The phone rang three times before a pleasant-sounding woman picked up.  Alice took a deep breath; she hated phone calls.  "May I please speak with Kasama Haruhiko?" she asked politely.  "This is Sakaguchi Alice."

         

His mother asked her to wait on the line.  Alice's heart pounded.  She hoped he would speak to her.  She wanted him to understand about Rin--about Shion--and he had a right to know about the others from the mother planet.  After a few minutes, the lady's gentle voice returned.  "I'm sorry, Miss Sakaguchi," she began kindly.

         

"Please," Alice interrupted.  "Please, Mrs. Kasama, I need to speak with Haruhiko.  It's important."  She softened her voice and willed the woman to understand her.  "I promise, I mean him no harm." 

         

"Just one moment," she answered, her voice a little gruff.  "I think Haru needs more friends his own age--he's too shy, really."

         

Alice waited again, anxious and nervous.  If he refused again, she had no choice but to give up.  She crossed her fingers and wished.

         

"Sakaguchi?"  Haruhiko's soft voice was her reward.  "Sakaguchi, this is Haruhiko."

         

She smiled.  "Hello," she greeted him softly.

         

Five minutes later they had arranged to meet.  Alice felt as light as air.  When she hung up the phone, and turned around, she was startled to see Hajime watching her from the couch.  He grinned, making her cheeks flush with embarrassment.  "Nice to see you taking the initiative, Alice!" he jeered playfully.  "It's not many girls who are bold enough to call a guy they're interested in!"

         

"But--but I'm not--" Alice stuttered, mortified.  "He isn't--isn't--"

         

Hajime laughed, leaving the room before hearing her out.  "Have fun on your date, Alice!"

         

She took a few deep breaths.  It was just Hajime; he was only teasing.  She glanced at the clock on the wall.  She had just half an hour to get to the library to meet Haruhiko.  She wrote a note for her mother and ran out to the balcony to get her hat.

         

Rin was there, standing quietly beside the open door, a subdued look on his face. 

         

"Rin!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing her hat from the chair where she'd left it.  "I thought you were out playing!"  She felt awkward and conspicuous, running off to meet another boy while Rin was there at home.  Her heart beat wildly and she felt just a little bit ashamed.

         

"I'm glad you could reach Shukkaido," he said quietly.  "He should listen to you, Alice."  He leaned against the wall, looking out over the skyline.

         

"I hope you're right," Alice responded nervously.  Rin's lack of energy worried her.  She wondered how much of Hajime's teasing he'd heard, and what he thought of it.  He should know better than to think she might . . . .  "Well, I'll see you later, Rin."

         

She turned to leave, but was frozen by Rin's thin arms wrapping around her, by the force of his narrow body being thrown against her back.  He leaned his forehead between her shoulders, his breath hot through her dress.  "I know that he's your age, and I know you think he's handsome," he said quickly, squeezing her tightly against him.  "But don't--" he broke off, clenching his fists in frustration.  "Just remember me, Alice."

         

She wrapped her arms around her middle, holding herself more securely in Rin's embrace.  Her hands found the skin of his forearms, his wrists.  So warm.  Her heart skipped erratically, then relaxed to a peaceful rhythm.  There was something so right about this, about Rin.

         

"Don't worry," she whispered, aware of the rise and fall of his chest against her back.  "I'll be home soon, Rin."  She stepped forward, out of his arms, but let her fingers twine with his for a moment.  "Don't worry about anything."

         

She heard the sigh of his breath, felt the squeeze of his fingers, and suddenly was very shy.  Without turning to look at him, she hurried through the apartment and out the door.

         

*****

         

It was late afternoon by the time she reached the library.  Alice hurried up the cement steps, anxious to talk with Haruhiko and get home.  The afternoon sunlight slanted bright and golden across the sky, making her thankful she'd remembered her hat. 

         

Rin.  The memory of his slender arms, his trembling voice, made her smile.  He was so unlike Shion, yet he was starting to evoke the same warm tenderness within her.

         

"Sakaguchi!"  Haru's voice pulled her from her contemplation.  He'd grown.  He looked stronger.  Alice was startled by how much more he looked like Shion.  He hurried across the wide steps, his arms full of books.  Alice glanced at the titles.  Astrophysics?  Genetics?  Chemical warfare?  She looked up at the young boy who smiled shyly at her.  There was clearly a lot more to Shukkaido, to Haruhiko, than she'd thought.

         

They made awkward conversation as they walked down the steps and to the street.  Alice realized that she knew almost nothing about the young man, that she had no idea what kind of things he cared about.  How was she supposed to make an appeal if she didn't know how?

 

When they reached the street, Haru paused.  He looked down at her, his face serious.  Alice stumbled over what she had been saying about the weather.  His gaze was soulful--almost wounding.  "What did you want to talk about, Mokuren?" he asked quietly.

         

His directness flustered her.  She felt very aware of the busy street and the sound of the traffic.

         

"Um, this isn't a good place," she explained.  "Do you want to go somewhere, get a cup of coffee?"  A quiet coffee house would be the perfect place to tell him about the others.

         

He agreed.  Within ten minutes they had their coffee and Alice couldn't think of any other way to stall the inevitable.

         

"There are others coming to Earth," she said quickly, not knowing how else to say it.  "Enju has been receiving messages, and Shion," she stumbled over the name of Mokuren's lover, afraid of upsetting the boy.  "Shion has had a feeling that something big is going to happen.  With the moon, I mean."  Alice suddenly had the feeling that she was the worst person to try to describe this.  "The others--the others want to know if you've felt anything."

 

Haruhiko looked at her over his coffee, then looked away.  A faint blush tinged his cheeks.  "Last year, Shion wanted me to--"  He blushed as he stirred the liquid in his cup.  "When I look at you, I see her, you know.  You're just like Mokuren."

         

Confusion pierced Alice's chest.  With her limp black hair and dark eyes, she never felt as different from her former self than she did right then.  Mokuren would have known what to say to Shukkaido.  Mokuren wouldn't get flustered.

         

"Really, Shukkaido,  I don't think--"

         

"Haru!"  A deep, masculine voice interrupted her.  "How have you been?"

         

Haruhiko jumped to his feet, smiling awkwardly as the taller man hurried over.  He was followed by a beautiful woman.  Alice's breath caught in her throat.  Except for her black hair, the woman could be an exact replica of Mokuren.  She seemed terribly familiar. 

         

Haru was involved in introductions.  "This is my friend, Sakaguchi Alice.  Sakaguchi, this is Tamura Kazuto, my--my mentor, and his fiancée," his voice almost questioned the word.  "His fiancée, Ayako."

         

Tamura clapped Haruhiko on the shoulder.  "Haru, my boy, why didn't you tell me?  She's a very pretty young lady."  He smiled at Alice.  She looked down, embarrassed by the misunderstanding.  "No more secrets!  Got it?"

         

In a whirl of Haru's stammering and Tamura's booming voice, Alice thought of Rin.  Wasn't this just the kind of thing he'd been worried about?  But as suddenly as it had begun, everything was over.  Tamura and the beautiful woman were leaving, and Haru could barely meet her eyes.

         

"I'm sorry," he whispered.  "I'll explain to him later."

         

She suddenly got the impulse to ease his discomfort.  "It's all right," she smiled.  "Let's be friends, okay, Shukkaido?"

         

"Please," his voice was low; Alice had to lean close to hear him.  "Please call me Haruhiko.  I'm not--I'm not him anymore."  He took a long drink of his coffee.  "Shion must've told you.  I don't want to be him anymore."

         

"I understand."  In a way, she really thought she did.  It was difficult coming to terms with her previous incarnation.  For a long time she'd denied it, just like him.  "But Shu--I mean, Haruhiko, there's so much--"

         

He clenched his eyes shut.  "No!  I can't!"  Suddenly looking at her, his eyes startlingly fierce, he stunned her into silence.  "I know what you're going to say, but I can't!  I won't meet them.  It's over!  I don't care about Nadeshiko, or Ayame, or Hinagiku!  It's not my life anymore!"

         

It was as though the world had stopped.  Alice knew those names.  Ayame.  Hinagiku.  Was he really coming here, to her planet?  "Haruhiko," she began desperately.  She reached across the table and grasped his trembling hands.  "Please, you have to tell me more!"

 

*****

 
Rin sat by the gate, squinting in the dim light of the streetlamps to read his book.  His mother had already come out twice to ask him to come inside, but he couldn't.  Not until Alice came home.  He remembered the way she'd stared after Haruhiko that day at the store.  He remembered the light in her eyes, the bewildered half-smile on her face.  It wasn't that he didn't trust her, the problem was that he was just a kid; she had no reason to wait for him.

His eyes were beginning to hurt.  It was foolish of him to keep reading--anyone could tell he was waiting for someone.  Maybe he should wait for her on the balcony.  He glanced down the deserted street.  Ten more minutes.

Just as he'd decided to wait five more, after those ten had passed, Rin heard footsteps.  He peered over the top of his book.  Alice!  He jumped to his feet, trying to calm the rapid pounding of his heart.

She saw him and hurried the last half-block to their gate.  "Rin!" she called out, smiling.  "You didn't have to wait for me!"  He could see through her smile.  Something was bothering her.

"How did it go with Shukkaido?" he asked, pushing aside his nervousness.

Alice sat on the steps, looking up at the stars.  "Not well," she answered evenly.  "He won't come."  She wrapped her arms around her knees.

Rin looked down at her, noting her defensive position and the sad, almost frightened expression on her face.  "What else did he say?  Did he know anything?"

She looked up, and Rin's breath caught in his throat.  Her serious eyes looked just like Mokuren's, and for an instant he thought he saw the four red dots on her forehead, marking her as a Sarjalian.  Whatever Haruhiko had told her must have bothered the part of her that still was Mokuren.  "What did he tell you?"

She sighed.  "He named the others.  Nadeshiko, the captain of the ship; Ayame, a doctor and genetic engineer."  A long pause stretched out before she continued.  "Hinagiku.  He's a Sarjalian.  Haruhiko said they were on a mission from the Mother Planet, like ours but different, that somehow our research supported their work."  She shook her head and shivered.  "They're coming here.  To the moon, to Earth."

The elation from before was long gone.  In its place Rin felt a cold stab of dread.  He'd been wrong to be carried away by Jinpachi's enthusiasm.  Even from the mother planet, aliens were aliens--invaders, perhaps.  They had to find out what these others wanted.

He sat on the step next to Alice, wishing he could put his arm around her, wanting to comfort her.  Instead, he tucked his hands behind his knees.  "Then we need Shukkaido more than ever."

*****

Haru was in his room, reading his library books, trying to forget about Mokuren and what she'd said to him, how she'd made him feel.  He remembered what Shion had said before, a long time ago--how hard could it be, to seduce a pretty girl?  He almost laughed.  Pretty close to impossible, if she sapped his confidence the way Mokuren did.  She'd almost made him break, almost made him promise to come to their meetings and rejoin the aliens.  She'd come close to destroying every barrier he'd built in the past year.

A knock on his bedroom door lifted Haru's eyes from the pages of his book.  It was just as well; he hadn't really been reading it anyway.  With a sigh, he tucked the unwieldy book under his bed, along with the other science books that he read instead of his homework.  "Yes?" he called, flipping open his notebook.  His mother had chastised him once already for not studying; he didn't want to upset her.

She opened the door a crack and peered in.  "Haruhiko," she began softly.  "Someone's here to see you.  He says his name is
Yakushimaru."

Haru's breath caught.  "Mikuro?"  He was the last person he'd expected.  A nervous flutter disturbed his stomach.  He put away his homework and sat up, straightening the bedspread.  "Please, bring him in," he asked his mother.

A moment later, the taller boy was there, leaning against the doorframe as his eyes scanned the room.  He hadn't changed much.  His build was the same, thin like a teenager despite being almost twenty-two.  His hair had grown--he wore it tied back in a short ponytail now, though it still hung over his eyes in the front.  Those eyes narrowed as they rested on Haru's picture of the moon.  "I thought that place gave you trouble," he commented, finally walking into the room.  "Why the hell do you want to remind yourself of that?"

 

“I--I like the moon.  I like astronomy," Haruhiko stammered, thrown off balance by Mikuro's lack of a greeting.  That picture reminded him of good things--of Mokuren's singing and Gyokuran's grin.  Of Shion, tinkering with the computers at all hours of the day or night.  There were plenty of more local places to remind him of the bad stuff.

 

"Won't you sit down?" Haru asked, motioning to a chair in the corner.  He wondered why Mikuro had come tonight, after being in town for almost four months.

"I'm worried about you," Mikuro said, answering his thoughts.  "I came to see what the hell's been bugging you so much today."

Haru stared at his guest, flabbergasted.  He knew Mikuro was psychic, but he could read minds that clearly, too?  "How long," he asked, shaking his head, "have you been able to read my thoughts?"

The pale boy laughed.  Haruhiko had never heard him laugh before.  "Kid, I've been doing it since the first time I ever saw you.  I watched you at the aquarium, listening to your mental babble for fifteen minutes before talking to you.  I'd hoped you would've calmed down since then, but clearly that's not the case."

Calmed down?  Haru felt panic rising in his chest.  How was he supposed to stay calm when his mind being stripped bare by a virtual stranger?  He strained to remember how they'd dealt with Enju on the moon base--there had to be some way to block his thoughts.

 

"Easy, easy!"  Mikuro laughed again.  "I'll stay out, if that's what you want."  He sat down, crossing his long legs.  "I was just concerned 'cause you've been having a rough time."

Haruhiko was discovering that he liked to hear Mikuro's laugh.  It was relaxed, boyish.  The tightness in his chest gave way to relief.  Maybe they could be friends.  "It hasn't been too bad," he protested weakly.

 

"Don't lie to me," Mikuro threatened with a grin.  "I could feel your angst clear the hell on the other end of town.  I called Tamura, but he seemed to think you were fine.  That's when I decided I had to come see you myself."  He leaned over, his elbows on his thighs and hands cupping his chin.  His eyes flashed, peering intently into Haru's.  "So, what's such a big deal that you can't tell Tamura?"

Nothing.  Everything.  Tamura was too happy to notice him anymore, and now aliens from the mother planet might be coming to invade the Earth.  He'd sound like a whiny brat who had lost touch with reality.  Mikuro would think he was crazy; or worse, that he was making it up to get Tamura to pay attention to him.

Haru laughed, his eyes watering and his chest constricting painfully.  It sounded insane, but it was true, and seven kids were the only people who could save the planet.  Six.  Haru's body began to shake as his laughter broke into sobbing.  Only six kids, because he didn't count.

Mikuro was beside him in a moment, not touching him, but comforting with his presence.  "Hey, Kid," he said softly.  "Nothing can be so bad that you can't talk about it."

Haru shook his head, falling backward onto the bed and covering his face with a pillow.  Tears were streaming from the corners of his eyes, running across his cheekbones and into his hair.  Mikuro was wrong--some things can be that bad.  Some things are worse, so bad that you can't do anything about them.

 

Except talk.  Haruhiko realized that was what he wanted, to share his lunacy with another human being.

Without looking at Mikuro, without even moving from where he lay on the bed, Haru started talking.  He told the whole story: about Ayame, about his dreams, about the way he just knew about Nadeshiko and Hinagiku.  He talked about Mokuren and Shion, and how Shukkaido--how he would watch them, not knowing who he envied more.

A long time later, they lay together in the dim room, both very quiet and still.  Mikuro stared at the ceiling, at the tiny plastic stars that formed constellations that no one on Earth had ever seen.  "Haru," he began in a low, almost reverent voice.  "Do you think that these beings dangerous?"

Haruhiko closed his eyes, shutting out the room, the stars, even Mikuro.  Friend or foe?  He couldn't remember that much.  "I don't know," he whispered.