[BOOK] ~ VERBRECHEN

[Comrade Texidor]

XI. CROSS ROADS

They just sat there while he ate last, staring, staring for almost an hour and a half. Minako leaned over the table, playing with her chop-sticks, a suspicious little smile on her face, a reflection of the big meal she very kindly asked her friends to share with Koitsumi. Big surprise: the one who had slaved over the meal was none other than the resident sukeban, Makoto Kino. She wasn't as friendly as Mina: indeed, arms crossed, eyes down, nails digging into the table... you get the picture. The girl who had held the knife to Koitsumi's mouth had her fingers drumming on the table, eyes boring straight into Koitsumi's, body tensed up, waiting for something to move. A girl with the biggest odanga Koitsumi had ever seen looked quite disinterested in everything that was happening, instead focusing on filing down her nails. A girl was pouring over a book next to Mina, not really paying attention to anything else. Her shoulders were hunched, body drooping. An ear-perforating, nerve-wrackingly awkward silence fills the whole of the room...

"Why did you follow me?" says Kino, still not looking up from her food.
"Follow you?" says Koitsumi through a mouthful of ramen.
"You followed me after school and you stopped those girls"
"Well, they looked kinda funky, so I followed my gut; saved you, didn't it?"
"You're a bad liar" said the girl with the long black hair.
"How so?"
"Even a dope like Usagi can notice it: you were stalking her"
"Am NOT a dope, you baka!" says the odanga girl.
"He saved her life! It doesn't matter anymore if he's a mappo" says Mina.
"That's where you're wrong, Mina-chan. This guy's a dirty cop" says Rei.
"I'm inclined to agree" says a girl reading the book.
"Well, hold on now: is there a problem?" says Koitsumi.
"You're a cop; you're not to be trusted by anyone" says Rei.
"Now, Rei..." begins Mina.
"No, Mina-chan! Ever since they trashed the Shrine, I knew this to be true!"
"Consider what's at stake if he told someone" says Kino.
"Your family could be persecuted" says Rei.
"Ok, ok... but we can't hold him here, can we?"
"No" says the book girl, "we should let him go"
"Ami, are you nuts?"
"I think we're making this worse for ourselves, Mako-chan"
"Usagi, back us up here!"
"Oh, so now you want the ditzy blond fat girl's advice, huh?"

They bicker for a bit before the white cat speaks up.

"Would you all be reasonable? He is one of you" he says.
"Artemis... should we really tell him?" says Kino.
"Tell me what?" begins Koitsumi.
"Don't tell him damned thing! He's going to get us all killed!"
"He's going to kill us!"
"They're going to kill us!"
"We need an ally on the inside..."
"Ladies... ladies... hey, damn it all to Hell and listen to me!"
They all go silent. "I'm willing... willing to compromise"
"Oh, are you? How about I really slit your throat?"
"Yeah, have fun explaining the blood to my mother, Rei"
"Mina, Rei!" Artemis the cat yells. The two go into anxious silence.

The cat Artemis approaches Koitsumi's chair, from where he sits and, with a nod of his head, beckons Koitsumi down to the ground. Apparently, it is also a signal for the other girls, as they begin to shuffle about, moving the table to a far wall little by little. The black cat Luna lines up next to Artemis, tail wagging from side to side.

"We trust you enough to tell you everything you may want to know" says he.
"Heh, don't suppose it will be pleasant?" says Koitsumi.
"It will be hard to believe" says she.
"One day, they told me my parents were both technically dead and that I'd have to fend for myself; I think I can handle the secrets of a bunch of girls"
"That's the thing: the Senshi aren't your typical girls" says he.
"Yes, I know that; they're fugitives for vigilantism"
"Not just your run-of-the-mill vigilantes, either, officer" says she.
"From what I've seen, they're bratty girls and bad heroines"
"Hey!" one of the girls yells at him from in back.
"Don't you look at your statistics? The Senshi don't deal with ordinary criminals, normally"
"Then, what? Is this a bad sorority joke or something?"
"Ever since Japan became a corporate police state, we've had to adapt"
"That's why you attack criminals directly nowadays, I suppose?"
"Yes... they have blurred the line between enemy and civilian, you see"
"'They'? You talking about the Zaibatsu?"
"Not as you understand them"
"Cat... lady... what else is there to understand?"
"It's Luna! And... there are forces at work you have no idea about"
"Are they funded by the United States? I knew it!"
"No, this goes beyond the petty trusses between nations here..."
"The Russians?"
"They come from unknown parts of the galaxy. I've yet to remember where..."
"Wait... did you just say 'galaxy'?"
"They came here millenia ago... biding their time... waiting for a sign"
"Are you saying Zaibatsu's run by some kinda alien or something?"
"We thought we'd destroyed the last of them..."
"And yet, they just keep on coming... This time, they have a new plan"
"Aliens are controlling Zaibatsu?" Koitsumi stands and begins to pace.
"Evil beings... old enemies from a long time ago"
Koitsumi gives a little laugh. "How long ago?"
"Millenia... from before the beginning of the Earth itself"

The girls were gathering around. Kino walked to the entrance door, standing on the stoop that led into the house. Long-black-hair and the book girl went to stand in the entrances to the room where the cats and Koitsumi were now standing in. Minako went to a wall to the back. Odango girl now stood at the center, hands behind her back. Koitsumi watched them all, and sweat began to pour down his forehead. His left arm was in a splinter, his face half-covered by a bandage.

"Screw turning you in; I ought to throw you all in a hospice" he says.
"There are cats talking to you; it should be you who should be in the hospice" says Luna.
"Shut up... I'm... I'm just hallucinating, yeah..."
"Keep telling yourself that; I hear crazy people don't know they're crazy"
"Let me go, or I swear I'll bring the whole Military Police here!"
"Then believe what we tell you, and swear your secrecy"
"I don't have to swear to you"
"You don't believe in us"
"Of course I don't! I'd have to be crazy to believe it"
"Very well... Usagi, do us the favor"
"Right!" says the girl.
"Do what?"

The odango girl takes a deep breath, closing her eyes, spreading her legs out. Her hand is over a brooch in the middle of her chest, a beautiful golden brooch that her parents were meant to get her. And the brooch opens. And within it is a collection of diamonds Koitsumi had never seen before. He jokes that she must have stolen them and it's supposed to prove they're from outer space and about whether she is going to undress in front of him("moon rocks, I bet"). Instead, she opens her eyes up again, and, letting out that breath, gave a cry that resonated throughout the house.

"Moon... Crystal... POWER"

The room they were in became flooded with white-hot burning light. Koitsumi shielded his face from the blast of air, which made him cry out as he fell down, repelled by an invisible force. The wind blows like a dissonant chord of gamma ray bursts, coming in three waves. The first two slam against him, hot, dizzying, and disorienting. When he looks, he sees the girl engulfed in the rays of a dying sun. But soon, they are cooled off, turning into hues of red and blue. The third wave passes by his ear, almost beckoning him to come further. And there... there stood someone completely different than before. It was odanga girl, alright; question is, what in the name of everything that is good just happen to her?

Instead, the person standing there was one of the Sailor Senshi he had heard about from both his files and from the news. Now it all made sense: there was no mistaking from where that hair was from. By God, it was so simple, so obvious... it's...

"The evil-doers always had standards, codes, honors to uphold... tell me, what do you believe in if not anything at all? I will make you believe. I will make you believe in my faith: that of justice, of truth, and of honor!

For I... I am SAILOR MOON! And in the name of all that is good, I will discipline you!"

 

[Comrade Texidor]

XII. CARPET OVERTURE

"People need to watch out for engineers: they begin with air conditioning and car engines and end up building bombs"

Marcel Pagnol

"Hello, Protectorate 78"
"It's me"
"Who is 'me'?"
"It's... me"
"Son of a... Hiroto? Why didn't you call the principal? This is a public line"
"I know. You can erase the recording later. And I don't trust the principal"
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have had him reassigned "
"There is no need. I have names"
"You're kidding me. Ha! That was rather quick"
"I don't think they're the ones, though"
"Why not?"
"They're very homely for a bunch of terrorists"
"That's how all terrorists start out, my friend. Who are they?"
"You don't seem to understand me, Sarge: I can't hand them over yet"
"What are you talking about?"
"I think they know something we don't. They trust me somewhat"
"Just give me their names, for the record, Hiroto"
"No. I have a feeling this goes deeper than we believe. Just wait for a while"
"Hiroto, we have to check them"
"I said no. I'll call you back when I have more to give you. Good bye"
"Wait a second... Hiroto..."
A click.
Another.
A crash.
Another crash.
And another.
Silence.

---

It was pure genius. They were just there. Sun Tzu would have been proud. Batman himself, even, would have been proud. They were just there. They blended in quite well. There are others like them: girls walking down the street, giggling, chattering, purses around their arms, heels clackering away the afternoon. School was out now, and they popped up from everywhere. And they were together, and they dissapeared into the crowds. Koitsumi knew all of their faces, but otherwise he wouldn't have even noticed them. It was hiding in plain sight what they were doing. It was just... pure genius. Of course, now, a little sneaking around gets things managed.

"Nice uniform, officer" says a voice above Koitsumi.
"I had a feeling someone was watching me" he responds.
"Amazing how you've stood there since this morning"
"I've been thinking"
"About our arrangement?"
"No, about when to turn all of you in"
"I'm not amused"
"Wasn't my aim"
"You shan't turn us in"
"Keep telling yourself that"
"You have questions? Ask them, we have nothing to hide"
"Are you leaders of the riots?"
"Absolutely not. I wouldn't permit it"
"You're their leader?"
"I know most than all of them, and that isn't saying much"
"So this crap about a past life; is it really true?"
"You saw it for yourself. These girls are special"
"I'm sure the Judges will agree when he hands out the sentencing"
"Your courts are corrupted along with your legislation"
"I wouldn't call them legislation, but OK; with what, exactly?"
"We are no longer sure. We thought them eradicated"
"You've faced them before?"
"There were two groups: first the Dark Kingdom, then the Black Moon"
"Threat level?"
"The first, sufficient for me to be awakened and for the girls to reveal themselves"
"The second?"
"Sufficient to be driven away. We were rid of them... or so we thought"
"What makes you think it could be these people?"
"It is their... modus operandi, you could say"
"Infiltration? Bribing? What?"
"Mind control"
"Ok, you lost me again"
"They weaken people in order to control them"
"And how do they do that?"
"By sucking them dry of their life energy"
"Life... energy"
"Life force, life line, etc. They tempt them, then they steal their bodies"
"And why do you doubt their culpability if they can do all this?"
"Again, we thought them done for"
"You didn't finish them off?"
"We made sure of that. But, apparently, it was not enough"
"Who's their leader?"
"Her... it's name is Queen Metalia"
"You mean it's an alien?"
"A being of malignant energy, born of the universal void"
"So, what, she's extra bad or something?"
"She may be using your political leaders"
"I don't believe it"
"That is where you come in; you work for the Corporate Police"
"I'm a para-legal intern, cat... lady... I have as much standing as a bat boy at a baseball game"
"I told you, it's Luna! You have a friend"
"He's already suspicious"
"He can help you set up a meeting"
"With who?"
"Your leaders, of course"
"You're crazy"
"You shall tell them... the Police need more funding"
"They've very busy men"
"They'll eat it up; I know how the businesses of Japan operate"
"Why don't I just turn you in? The meeting will be easier that way"
"I'm not amused"
"Wasn't my aim..."

Luna tutted at him. She leaped away, to where the girls were walking down the street. He wanted to go home and sleep, but when he saw the girls crossing the intersection toward his corner, he stood stiff and still, his hat hiding his eyes. Their giggling seized as they came to where he stood. The black haired-girl, Rei, was the first to speak.

"Are you spying on us, mappo?"
"It's called surveillance, you dirty little shrine fantasy girl"
"How dare you! I ought to smack you silly" she says, waving her fist at him.
"You hit me, they'll charge all of you with treason"
"Rei, you'd better calm down" says, to Koitsumi's amazement, Makoto Kino.
"So, we never caught your name..." says odanga girl.
"It's Hiroto" he says.
"How very interesting" says Rei, "come on, let's go"
"Maybe we should be nicer to him, dolt. He's a cop AND he's supposed to help us"
"Don't tell how to behave, you fat ditz"
"Did Luna find you?" says the shy girl, Ami.
"Yes, she did"
"She explicated our situation to you, yes?"
"Very interesting how this all happens... and there's no proof"
"Our enemies disguise it. That's how they spread their influence"
"Ami, you sent Luna to divulge MORE of our lives to this pig?" says Rei.
"I agree with Luna; he needs to know"
"He is not to be trusted" says Rei.
"He did save Mako-chan's life" says Mina, smiling.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, ladies..."
"You've yet to show us anything about you; I'm not letting my guard down"
"And you shouldn't, shrine girl; your little bed-time monsters are nothing big"
"That's rich. They have taken over the government, fool" says Kino.
"But they're not the ones destroying Tokyo"
"You're blaming the freedom fighters?" says odanga girl, Usagi
"They're criminals; they've killed hundreds of people"
"All government workers. They deserve to die" says Rei.
"Zaibatsu takes no prisoners, only job applications"
"That's a lie. They went there voluntarily, and you know it, pig"
"Either way, you don't understand the situation fully"
"Oh, no? Why don't you educate us, officer?"
"Right now, there are 400,000 documented insurgents"
"Numbers. Yawn" says Usagi.
"Shhh" says Ami.
"Now that's 400,000 terrorists, capable of each constructing a home-made bomb and blowing a building to bits. It's why the government consented to the corporate take-over: riots were present even before the collapse"
"The Nationalist Struggle" says Ami.
"Correct"
"But I thought the Corporations liked the Nationalists" says Rei.
"It was a facade to gain support from the actual political parties" says Ami.
"You're kidding"
"No, I'm not. They keep them today, of course, but they are more their pawns"
"She's the smart one, right?"
"Screw you!" they all chant, in total unison.

His laugh was awkward. Lying on the ground, the callof 100,000,641 more things to worry about impaling his ears, making them ring and tingle and ringle like someone had placed a bell over him and struck it with a sledgehammer; someone falling on him, cutting his breath short; raising his arm above whoever had fallen on him; whoever it was falling on him jabbing him with the point of their elbow right in the chest; the jump each of his blood and skin and nerve cells had taken... all collided and interchanged with the other to make a most strange sound come out of his lungs indeed. He thought he could hear someone screaming.

"... Horror.
Horror has a face.
An ugly mask.
A grafted facade...
To hide itself.
And you must make a friend of horror.
Horror and moral terror are your friends.
If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared.
They are truly enemies..."

 

[Comrade Texidor]

XIII. HER MAJESTY

"Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer -
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom"

T.S. Eliot, THE HOLLOW MEN

She was sitting alone on a park bench. Her eyes were small and loathing, and she waited for the sun to pose at it's highest point in the sky, whence she could emerge from the shadow to walk without interruption. He dared not move; she shifted in her seat for every little pinch, as if ready to sprint to some distant corner of the city to evade him. Thus he waited for her to move. But soon, he instead found himself inching ever closer to her. And for every shift of his feet, she would flinch and her eyes would set themselves on him. And as he stared at her, she averted his eyes, those big blue eyes of hers, the abyssal hearts of galactic oceans lying underneath a puerile membrane, under the pupils of faith and love and supplication to untenable, unreachable, unmentionable spirits. And now as he stood before her, she has renounced herself to speak:

"Would you kindly meander the ******** off?"
"It's called 'suspicious behavior'. Need I remind you I can arrest you for it?"
"I'm waiting for my friends"
"No you're not; you've skipped, and the only friends who'd also skip are half-way across town"
"... So?"
"So, it'd take them hours to walk here, of all places. You're waiting for someone else"
"Is it any of your business anyhow? I'm getting kinda creeped out about you"
"The brass is impatient; needs to look like I'm doing some work"
"I guess that makes sense; I pretend like I'm working in school all the time, so it's probably alright"
"That's not right at all; my case is different from your education"
"That's what they all say"
"It's probably for a good reason, figure?"
"If it were, why is it so damn boring?"
"You're not supposed to like it"
"That's just stupid; doing something you don't wanna do..."
"That's just how it works"
"Yeah, well, it sucks"
"You can't just cast aside something just because you don't like it anymore"
"It's easy; just take one swing of your arm... poof, it's gone"
"Did you just threaten me?"
"No... Yeah. Get the ******** away from me, I told you"
"Who's this friend of yours?"
"Go away"
"Oh, wait, I know: is it a boy?"
"He's a man, the kind you'll never grow to be"
"What's he do?"
"He's a model, a big hunky model!"
"That obvious? Jeez, why don't you hang a sign around his neck that say 'HOBO'"
"Why would I do that?"
"Nothing. I'm going behind that tree now... enjoy your penniless life"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't throw your pennies out just because they're rusting!"
"I DON'T GET IT!"
"..."
"PLEASE EXPLAIN IT TO ME!"
"..."
"Oh... Oh! YOU COP JERK, ******** YOU!"

The park lies in Roman wilderness, a desperate land out of an empty Medieval haiku poem. The mildew crawls up the walls of the sand platform. The moisture has rusted the assortment of riding toys and swing sets beyond repair and usage. They now lie abandoned, swaying in a whispering wind with nowhere to blow to. The green paint on the many benches now fades as mold grows upon the wood. With an itching hand, Koitsumi brushes away the dust and sits down, listening to the creaking of the iron railings of the city within the park. He does not sit long before he is approached by a tall, dark, handsome man.

"Excuse me, officer? I'm looking for a young woman" he says.
"I'll bet you are. Don't think you'll find her soon, though" says Koitsumi.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, she's a frickin' b***h"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm late for..."
"Excuse me if your business is so important you can't spare the Police a second"
"I mean no affront"
"We protect you, and this is the respect we get?"
"Please, what has Usagi done?"
"Nothing I haven't found out yet, apparently"
"No, sir, you are mistaken; she's done nothing illegal"
"Jeez, who knew you'd commit perjury so suddenly? No wonder you're a model"
How did you... why?"
"You'd suck as a lawyer, or anything requiring intellect for that matter"
"Are you calling me dumb, sir?"
"You bet your candy a** I am. Why else would you be a model?"
"Well..."
"Oh, it doesn't matter. I know your Usagi, that's how I know"
"You do? Oh, wait... she has spoken of you, of course"
"Really? Good things, no doubt"
"Absolutely..."
"What kind of things?"
"Well... she says you have... a great sense of humor"
"You're a bad liar, too"
"I couldn't tell a lie, sir"
"Stop trying to suck up to me. There is a reason I am a friend of your girl"
"Clearly. She is..."
"Down the stairs, down the lane. Under the spreading chestnut tree"
"Where I sold you and you sold me. Goodbye, officer"
"Yeah, yeah... see you around, candy a**"
"On the darker side of planets, I presume"
"Screw you and your girlfriend"
"And a good day to you"

---

"Don't you walk away from me, Endymion!"
"Torah, I have to go now"
"Your people have spoken: you are to hold your conference..."
"Torah..."
"...with the Queen..."
"... Torah, you don't..."
"UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE" Torah yells over him.
"What do you intend to get out of her?"
"The truth"
"What truth? She cannot tell a lie"
"I'll be the judge of that. Pollution haunts the throne..."
"That's preposterous..."
"And I have been asked to investigate"
"What did you tell her, huh?"
"What do you speak of, old friend?"
"Did you tell her about us? About how we see each other alone?"
"What are you talking about... Let me through, now"
"No! I will not allow that. You have no endorsement"
"What do you mean I have no endorsement?"
"The other Senshi must approve of it; it is your law as well, you know"
"I already have Venus's blessing"
"The others must be included"
"You're kidding me, right?"
"Does it look like I'm joking?"
"Listen... listen... listen to me..."
"Torah... my friend..."
"Listen to me, my dear prince... damn you..."
"Torah, please..."
"Be quiet! Damn you and your precious little Queen. Damn you and your endorsements. The petition and the approval are clear: you must grant me access or pay for encroaching a public matter"
"Fine; drag me away, shorty"
"Endymion, step aside... I'm warning you"
"To hellwith you and your petition; I'm not moving"
Endymion's stomach lets out most of the air, forcing him to his knees.
"So much for that, pretty noble boy. Cuff him! We're going to Mars"  

[Comrade Texidor]

XIV. PREACHING BLUES

Their reckoning draws nigh to men,
and they turn away in heedlessness.

There comes not to them a new Reminder from
their Lord but they hear it while they sport,

Their hearts trifling. And they -- the wrongdoers --
counsel in secret: He is nothing but a mortal like yourselves;
will you then yield to enchantment while you see?

Holy Qur'an, Sura 21, ayyat 1-3

The droning of ages past make the painted red wood resonate and shiver with fearful nostalgia. Paper leaflets hang on crusty old rope, decayed from being left out in the city air with no money to buy it new. Such is the life of the old religious folk. The temple grows old in the new age. Old age has come to it, and it's face wrinkles appropriately. Koitsumi walks into the shrine, observed by the spirits hanging from the rafters. Their whispers are threatening. With each of his steps, the wood creaks, and the sound of the outside becomes muted and distant. The walls are blocking it out. . As he reaches for the shrine, he sees the steel grating and the great tombstone. There is no more outside sound, only the pressure of silence. The bell's rope is new. The great wood strikes the metal and the sound makes every hair on Koitsumi's body stand up and make his heart skip a beat. He cannot turn his eyes away from it. It is... mesmerizing. There is nothing but the ringing of the bell.

"Who goes there?" a female voice calls.
"The Devil. Who wants to know?" Koitsumi returns.
"Your maker"
"I struck out for a reason. I mock you now as I did then"
"Jeez, you're dumb for coming in here"
"Teach me, o holy one"

A steel blade emerges from the shadows, barely missing Koitsumi's neckline, instead embedding itself in the wood pillar of the small temple shrine. Splinters fall to the ground as an old man rises out of the shadows. The top of his head is covered in patches of red, and his hands tremble on the hilt of the embedded blade. His eyes are wide. His whimpering is shouting in the silence of the temple.

"Oh, my..."
"A very eventful afternoon this one... am I right?"
"Oh, sir, I... I'm so sorry... it was all my mistake... a thousand pardons..."
"... There's no need..."
"... Oh, dear, please, sir, I didn't mean it, honest, I..."
"... I understand, it's quite alright..."
"... Please, don't do anything I'd..."
"Sir, sir, it's quite alright. It was a common misunderstanding"
"Can I offer you anything?"
"Oh, no, of course not..."
"I insist, sir"
"Truly, nothing at all"
"I insist"
"I must be going anyway..."
"Some coins, perhaps"
"Well... in that case..."
"GRANDPA!" a girl's voice cries out.
"Oh, damn it..."
"That's all the money we have left, what are you..."

The Sailor Soldier Rei's pace seizes. Her eyes are wide. They settle on Koitsumi's own.
"Good afternoon, my holiest"
"Get out"
"Rei, what is it?"
"Sir, I know your..."
"I said get out"
"Rei, how dare you treat a guest in this way?"
"Is she always like this?"
The tip of the sword is now inches away from Koitsumi's nose.
"Can you not hear me?"
"Rei... please, put that down... don't do anything drastic, I beg you..."
"Sir, it is fine; she does not want me here, I understand"
"Why do you continue to torment me, mappo?"
"Rei, you know this policeman?"
"Yes..."
"I know he is filthy and a devil. I warn you again, get out"
"Please, sir, for your own safety..."
"I hear the anger in your voice. Did my foot kick in a nail somewhere?"
"I will cut you down, pig"
"No, Rei, no!"
"Why do you not trust me? The others do so with enthusiasm"
"I will have no patience with a government demon"
"Oh, dear, oh my, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."
"Rei... you fear me. I can feel it. I see it... what has happened here?"
"None of your business"
"They came here"
"Who?"
"Grandpa, be quiet"
"But Rei..."
"It's better to come out with it; trust me, it's on my resume: 'good listener'"
"You dare joke and tell lies in a holy place? You make me sick"
"The Police..."
"We came here?"

His head smashed against one of the many columns. The blade was cold. It was a lot like a shaving razor you have at the barber's. He could feel it pulling and cutting away the little hair that was left on his chin. Her chest pushed against his. Her breath singed the very soul within him with heat.

"You... your friends thought it would be funny to threaten me"
"What do you mean?"
She let go, walking towards the red of the sun. She was now covered in blood light, the requiem of light of forgotten spirits.
"Listen... it is better if you spoke..."

"When the riots started, I knew everyone would be affected. My... dear father, the great and noble politician, made a point to bend over for all that the Zaibatsu asked for. 'For the people', he said, 'everything is allowed; nothing is out of bounds'. That was his little slogan for the past two years.

"He blurted it out from every newstand, every speech podium. He asked so many favors from the CEOs and the owners and their officers... Soon, we were buried deep in a dank, dirty, political black hole. One day, they asked my father to pass a resolution. Whatever it was, it was so horrible, my father refused to vote for it.

"When it didn't pass, the... the MP showed up at the shrine. It was a raid of the festival of some sort. When some idiot old monkey asked what they were being frisked for, they beat him senseless and dragged him into a van. I locked grandpa in the closet and went out... Every filthy cop there turned to look at me. Each and every one. The chills I got then... I knew that they were after me. They grabbed me and they tied me to a chair and they... they started asking me things. Things I didn't know.... They'd... they'd "tickle" me every time I got something wrong. They'd... they'd touch me... I wanted them to stop... They told me: the riots had already started. They overtook the shrine all of a sudden. The worshippers and the cops all fled, with the rioters after them. One cop was tossling around with one of the rioters... that man was crazy... he opened that cop's skull all over the wood. He wouldn't stop... That cop... that cop shot him. Then the cop stopped moving... and that man was screaming. It was his stomach... I couldn't move... he threw up all over me; threw up blood. He started..."

She was starting to break down.

"He started screaming to the winds... 'God isn't real. God doesn't exist. God doesn't care about us. God doesn't exist. God isn't real, he isn't real, he isn't real... He tossed me down..."

She was crying now.

"He... he got all of his blood on me... he died on top of me. Grandpa eventually got out the next morning and helped... but... Oh, God, I don't know what to think anymore..."
"Think about what?" asked Koitsumi.
"That man... he proved something to me. Nobody gives a s**t anymore... nobody gives a s**t anymore. It's not even about God; it's God, no God, good, no good, evil, no evil... people just don't give a damn anymore. At first, it made me sick to my stomach... but then it happened to me: I couldn't get out of bed, I couldn't walk, I couldn't... couldn't stop crying. There wasn't anything to live for. That man... I hate him... I hate his ******** guts. I ******** hate him... DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Her grandfather had tried to take hold of her arm.

"No, I can't take it anymore! I won't take it, I won't! He's in my head... he's in my head. Why won't you take him out, why? Don't you get it, you stupid old man, God isn't real! You ******** bastards, you killed him!"

She was shouting to the winds.

"Kill me! ******** kill me too! I wanna die! I wanna die! Can't you hear me now? I'll die with you! How could you take it away... my faith... my faith was all I had. Come tear up the planks! This place is useless to you! Here, here!"

She broke through the wooden floor of the shrine. She began to throw the splinters to the street, tossing around her grandfather and Koitsumi.

"Use it for kindling! You've no use for morals, so ******** kill anyone that isn't useful. I wanna die... I wanna die... I'm useless... God, I'm useless to them... I'm useless"

She was on her stomach. Her grandfather hoisted her up to her thighs, and she wept in his sleeves. Koitsumi realized everything was under control. He walked down the street. She was right; the murmurs and chants had stopped.

---

"I always took you for a witch"
"You never were much of a holy man"
"Stand down. Your palace is surrounded. You're not going anywhere"
"You dare submit a holy place to a bloody siege?"
"Now that you've shut me away from the men, this won't be that bloody at all"
"You would stick me? I thought you loved me"
"Not you"
"So that letter you sent me was..."
"Not meant for you. After all, you haven't helped my political career"
"Then... it's..."
"Who knew someone had a better set of thighs?"
"Perhaps you'll get to enjoy them in the next life, pig"

The wall of fire gave way to a thick smog that made Torah hack and cough. The doors behind him splintered as the many soldiers subordinate to him smashed against them. Her strike was direct, powerful, graceful. With a jerk, Torah made Mars miss his heart, barely grazing his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have gone in before them" Mars spoke in his ear.
"You were expecting me to die?" responded Torah, smiling.
"No, I'm expecting you to suffer," She yanks at the scepter, stuck in the ground, held there by a foot and a sword.
"I always did like that about you: you weren't just warm, you were on fire"
"Or maybe you're just that cold and soul-less"
"Hmm... no, I'm quite sure you're just a wrathful little thing"
"I'm not a little thing. I'm not your thing"
"'Corpse' is a noun..."

She gave little gasps as her stomach was opened, inch by inch, by the dagger hidden underneath his belt. Her grip loosened. Her legs shook and then gave way. With his good arm, Torah set her down on the ground. He pulled the dagger out of her. With care, so as not to cut the skin underneath, he revealed her heart. The hand that held the scepter now covered it, shaking, closing into a fist.

"You damned sneak... Damn you..."
"Nouns are things, dear Mars"
"I'm not your thing... I'm not a thing..."
"You are a soldier; that is a noun, too"
"I'm not a thing... I'm not... I'm not your little thing, you b*****d"
"They made me do it"
She spits in his face. "You always were a bad liar"
He cleans the spot. "I'm not lying"
"Stop it..."
"Listen, don't talk..."
"Just do it already. I don't want to hear you speak"
"Please... speak to me"
"So... so you did love me"
"Who doesn't love you?"
"It has been forgotten"
"What has? What do you mean?"
"The past... the past is... gone to us"
"What do you mean? What past?"
"No stars. Nothing there... never... nev... never..."
"Make sense! What are you talking about?"
Her eyes fill with tears. "You made me forget"
"Forget what?"
"Kill me"
"Mars..."
"Kill me"
"I'm not done with you..."
"Yes you are"
"I..."
"KILL ME!"

She grabs the hand and pulls it to her chest with an unrivaled force. Torah struggles to pull it back up. Slowly, but surely, the dagger sinks low enough that flesh splits and tears. Her grip on the dagger crushes Torah's hand. Soot and blood mix beneath her. Torah releases himself, unable to breathe. The soldiers eventually breach. Her eyes stare at the ceiling. There is blood spreading throughout the chamber floor. Her hands remain clasped to the dagger. They remain that way well into the occupation of the planet.  

[Comrade Texidor]

XV. BOOK WORM

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?


John Keats, ODE ON A GRECIAN URN

Her hand slides up the spine, a delightful caress, reserved, intended only for special moments. Her eyes glide over the words, pressed deep, dark, smudged. It was a compilation copy of Leaves of Grass, the opus of Walt Whitman, American poet, and a charlatan with no rhyme, if you believe Americans. With one hand above her heart, her lips mouth the words Koitsumi cannot recognize. Her free one hand lowers the book, so that her hair-line can be seen. Her eyes do not dash sideways and back; they stare straight ahead. They catch Koitsumi's own; like a pitching wave, they roar in blue fury, washing away earth and rock and sand. With a double-back, Koitsumi feigns unawareness, glancing book titles of the few that were left. Her eyes follow him as he pulls a black book and opens it, and watches it fumble in his hands as he is repulsed to find an Emily Dickinson book.

"If you would kindly relate to me: how much of an idiot are you?" she says.
"You remind me of my school librarian" he responds, patting his hands together
"Did you really think I would not spot you?"
"Well, I didn't..."
"You should know that there was no one else in here; you're a police officer"
"Despite what you might have heard, we didn't close down the libraries"
"You may as well have; the librarian couldn't come to work today"
"Is she sick?"
"They wouldn't pay her for running it; she is in court right now"
"And she gave you the key? Speaking of..."
"There aren't that many responsibilities; I need only keep dusting"
"When was your last check-out?"
"Besides you wandering in, no one has come anywhere near here for months"
"That bad, huh"
"Yes, 'that bad'"
"You don't like me either? I'm actually a bit surprised"
"How can I not like someone I haven't met yet?"
"So, which is it, then? You have a problem, speak it"
"I don't trust you; none of my friends do"
"Yes, they've told me enough about that"
"Yet Luna and Artemis insist you are on our side"
"Trust me, I don't get it as much as you do"
"Do you read, officer?"
"Were you assuming I didn't?"
"Why would you assume that?"
"Probably because I'm too short to reach the American poetry shelf"
"Ha, yes, Rei would have probably made a joke about your lack of intellect"
"Alleged"
"What do you find so appealing about American poetry?"
"They're not like Japanese poets. I could never find out why"
"I suppose they're not; they're from different countries, oceans between them"
"There are no physical barriers between artists, poets and writers"
"How so, would you say?"
"Kind of like what Karl Jung said, about us sharing our deities and our characters"
"'The Collective Unconscious'. An acceptable thesis, I suppose"
"But not so: Americans... it's like, they hold nothing back"
"You speak of Whitman, yes?"
"It is like he is shouting the words out. I feel that way every time I read him"
"To shout the words? But what is so unconstricting of him?"
"I always thought it was his grand choice of words. He was unfettered"
"And this coming from a nationalist headsmashing police grunt"
"Obviously I'm not one"
"Archetypes, Officer, archetypes; hard to get over them"
"So ingrained they are. Read him, then, and see I speak the truth"
"You want to hear me speak, then?"
"Of course, you've a lovely voice. Looking at you, listening to you, it becomes clear"
"What?"
"You're the quiet one of the group; you speak in whispers and hushed tones"
"Yes, all that; I'm 'The Scholar', one of your eternal characters"
"Read him, I tell you; let your voice ascend in crescendo. You shall see."

She looked down at the book, attentive to some words he'd like to hear. He sat, and she watched him do it. Half-glances she shot in his direction, all the while turning pages, shaking or nodding a bit, depending on what she'd find. Finally, she stopped at one place in particular. She laughed under her voice, placing a hand above her mouth. With the nail at the tip of her index finger, she spoked her lip, dragging it down, pouting, showing her bottom teeth.

"For the sake of freedom" she said. "I dedicate this... to everyone involved in all this, this grand mess".

She stood, book cradled in between both hands. Koitsumi took a deep breath. He was remembering one of the new laws passed by the Zaibatsu: "ill-speak of the government, whether in private or public, is to be considered an issue of national security. Suspect(s) to be apprehended immediately". He closed his eyes as she opened her mouth.

"Pioneers O Pioneers!
COME, my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? Have you your sharp-edged axes?
Pioneers, o pioneers?
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march, my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
O you youths, Western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and the lesson,
Pioneers... O pioneers..."

His hand was held up. Her mouth shut immediately. What great statue of immovable power stood before Koitsumi soon became a down-trodden young girl. Her eyes went to the side. The book clapped upon the table. Her arms crossed across her chest as she sat down. The two remained there, silent for long, dragging seconds. Koitsumi looked at her. She felt his eyes on her cheek, so she looked as well. He gave her a standing ovation, making her smile a little and put her a hand to her cheek.

---

The music, coming from nowhere, scared the clackering mountains of armor that were Torah's soldiers. They called it "sorcery", which is what it was, but it was as if they had discovered it for the first time. Torah took his leisure and sat at one end of the table. She was not looking at him, not looking at anyone. She stared at the many books on the sky-scraping tower she called a shelf. It was all around them, all the more reason for someone to be impressed. Nobody was looking at anyone except him; they were entranced by the books. She broke the spell, like a snap of the fingers.

"I know why you're here"
"You do?"
"You want my support"
"But I won't get it, will I?"
"What made you think that?"
"Mars thought the same way. She tried to kill me"
"And yet here you are... she's dead, isn't she?"
"Stuck herself. I wonder if your blood will be blue; would go nice with my current outfit"
"You have my approval"
"I'll... wait, what? What's your game?"
"I don't care what you do to me; I won't try to stop you"
"Why is this? Why are you so strange about this?"
"I... I'm tired, Torah"
"Of what?"
"Of this"
"'This' is what?"
"This: this palace, this planet, this kingdom... this feeling in my heart"
"You, of all people, should not feel that way"
"Why? Because I'm loyal, because I was the first to fall under the Queen's wing?"
"Yes! How can you feel fine with betraying her?"
"How can you?"
"What do you care so much? I killed your friends"
"In politics, there aren't that many friends at all"
"You're speaking crazy"
"I speak truths; you are not my friend"
"I... I know you. I workwith you. You are a good person"
"Don't you see the horror of it? I'm filled with joy that you think that of me"
"So... Oh... so it was you then, who Mars suspected"
"She was the rouser of spirit; she set off sparks within me"
"You should have been there... but you shut yourselves away"
"I just don't know what to do"
"Give me your word; I need you now"
She turned to look at him, holding her arm. "Oh, you silly man"
"What, what is it?"
"You'd dare to abuse my state to earn your way"
"No... Mercury, please"
"I've forgotten why I loved you"
"I know why you love me"
"The words, Torah; the words don't mean anything anymore"
"That can't happen; Mercury, keep your faith, I beg you"
"I can't help it; I stare, I read, I think... I can't bear it anymore"
"Yes you can, Mercury; please, reconsider"
"... I will not hinder you. Go"
"Understand my motives"
"There is your beloved and your friend, shrouded in the shadows; fly away to her. You've nothing of importance here"  

[Comrade Texidor]

XVI. LIVE WIRE

With schools churning out more runners, jumpers, racers,
tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of
examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word
'intellectual', of course, became the swear word it deserved to be

She sent for him, in particular. He was in a meeting when the "Congressional page" (read: market corner office chimp) opened up the door and told the Sergeant all about some pretty-looking thing calling for Officer Koitsumi. The Sarge's moustache bristled. Sitting next to him was the Police Commissioner. Speaking of pretty things, she shook her head, pursing a smile and rubbing the Sarge's back to calm him down. She was a towering woman, taller than the Sarge himself. Such tallness was made even more stark by the tall heels and long skirts she wore. The lines around her eyes were overshadowed by great, sharp cheeks and an impressive endowment. Koitsumi always imagined the two married.

"Perhaps I should start writing a eulogy... for your funeral"
"Now, now, such a thing is below such harsh punishments"
"How gracious of you, Madam Commisar"
"Yes, how gracious of you, Mikuru. And how stupid of you, you idiot"
"Who is this girl, if I may ask?"
"She is... an athlete, a great martial artist"
"How effeminating of you. She suits you well"
"What is her school?"
"I'm not sure, although she might teach me soon"
"Yes, I'll bet. Mikuru, your secretary was calling, wasn't she?"
"You want to be rid of me so soon, Tarou?"
"Yeah, you big, meaty homo, you"
"The Constable is on a special assignment dealing with Yakuza"
"Again? No tattoos this time, Hiroto?"
"Unfortunately. I mean, who doesn't enjoy stabbing ink into their skin?"
"Who knew you liked it so much"
"Be nice to each other, now"
"Of course, Madam Commisar"

And as she stepped out, Koitsumi looked at the Sarge.

"Why haven't you tapped that resource pool?"
"I'll ignore that"
"I'm sure you will; what's the matter?"
"They have grown tired of this"
"Who has?"
"Zaibatsu, that's who. They are inquiring into the investigation"
"What for? I give all my reports in time"
"You're not doing anything to further the investigation"
"What do they want me to do, pull evidence out of my a**?"
"They want you to stop stalling"
"You TOLD them?" Koitsumi stood, throwing the chair back.
"No, they figured it out for themselves"
"Oh... well, tell them we don't have enough evidence to convict the Senshi"
"They don't care. They want an arrest"
"Of course they do. They gonna make 'em 'dissapear' and what not?"
"What, were you hoping they'd get a spanking instead?"
"I'm going to ignore that"
"I'm sure you will"
"Fine. I'll tell you who they are, then"
"Wait... you will?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Well... I thought you were stalling"
"I was, but that's because they may suspect me"
"That's not a good reason"
"So? I'm telling you who they are"
"Right. You know, you're a regular oppressionist"
"I hate it when people think. It's in my blood."
Koitsumi smiled, bearing his teeth.

---

Her shorts are so tight you can almost see through them, and the white top she wears is becoming wet with sweat. But she is not tired. He is. She takes his hand as if she were helping him up some steps and twists it behind his back. She kicks at his feet, making him fall down hard and, again, trying very hard to pull his arm out of his socket without actually doing just that. He was scratching at the floor with his feet, but the socks he wore just slid across them. She was leaning in, cracking his arm socket more and more, laughing all the while. With his left leg, he pushed against the floor, rolling up on top of her, wrenching his arm away from hers. He stood, and so did she. Her form was an odd mix of Taekwondo and Judo, allowing her freedom of movement while making sure she had the power for grappling and throwing. The Sambo Koi was taught at the Academy now seems foolish, stale, and inappropriate.

His footwork is lightning, and the punch he was aiming at her face was powerful enough to knock her out right then and there, out of his own desperation. However, she swats it away. And with the same power, she returns the punch, crushing the middle of his chest. He flies a few yards, before crashing unto the pads and sliding with loud shrieks for a few more yards. He comes to a halt in the middle of the dojo, amid cheering and cries of awe and groans and gasps of relation.

"Whoo!" Kino yells out, "Ha! I win!"
"Jeez... ugh..." Koitsumi says, clutching his chest.
He looks at the dojo master. He is shaking his head. "Winner, dojo!" he shouts.
Those gathered cheer. "Banzai! Banzai!" they cry, raising their arms.
"Banzai!" Kino joins in, shoving a fist into the air.
"Break now, children. Officer, my thanks for being here to give a demonstration"
"Damn it..."
"Mako-chan, help him, for all that is good"
"Fine, fine..." Kino gives Koitsumi a hand at standing up.

"Who knew that you would be an incredible weakling?"
"Who knew that you would be so powerful... you're inhuman"
"So you think. But only people are capable of what I just did"
"Of being inhuman?"
"Of course. We're human, after all"
"We're only human"
"No. We're human. We are capable of anything"
"You serious? You high or something, girl?"
"Browny?" He looks at it; it is lush and wretchedly chocolatey and delicious.
"Sure. Oh, ohm.... gohm... mmm... Jeez, these are good! Who made these?"
"I did"
"Bullshit"
"No bullshit. I made those. Like I said, I'm human; I'm capable of it"
"A kick-boxing, browny-baking Karate master? I need to get me one of those..."
"In your department? I'm afraid I must reject your offer"
"Already? I kind of got the other girls half-convinced"
"I doubt it. My friends hate the Police as much as I or anyone in this country does"
"But you don't hate me?"
"Of course I do"
"Oh..."
"I'm joking! I only hate you a little bit"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence"
"Ha! You're a funny little man, huh?"
"Why do you only hate me a little? And don't say it's because I'm little"
"You're eating my brownies. You've gotten this far without me beating you unconscious"
"... I think I just s**t myself"
"Everyone at my school is stupid and ill in the head... go change your pants"
"Just kidding! I have seen them up close, you know"
"Thanks for not reporting me, funny man"
"Those girls got what they deserved. It's two less people I gotta worry about"
"How can you say that? I killed that girl dead"
"Actually, she was half-alive. You got lucky"
"I feel guilty about it..."
"Glad to have alleviated some of your pain"
"I didn't know I was..."
"Capable of murder? Back to my point: you weren't capable of it"
"Yes, I was. If you hadn't been there, more than one would have been dead"
"That's a nice thought to have... brownie?"
"I'll get bloated. Besides, we have to get back on the mat"
"What, now?"
"Yes, now. Don't you see the people coming in?"
"I thought..."

Too late, she yanks him up. Everyone has settled when the gong rings out. She is ready, he isn't. The master shouts, the two bow. She is the first to strike. He sees it. He trips her, and the punch she had narrowly avoided before hits her square in the jaw. She may have gone down, but she's not there for long. He reminds himself not to overdo it when he tries that again.  

[Comrade Texidor]

XVII. SLOW RIDE

"Do you like giving rides to pretty girls what tried to kill you?"
"They're the best kinds of girls"
She laughs. "How so?"
"They're the most honest, most powerful, most fearfully respectful..."
"The best of women?"
"The best of the best"
"You are a strange little copper"
"Don't think too much of it; you were on your way, and I'm just doing the kind thing"
"I can still thank you. Until they make a law against talking to cops..."
"That one's actually unlikely"
"Yeah, Ami explained it: you're the only castigates of power the Zaibatsu have left"
"'Vestiges'. She said vestiges, probably"
"Sure, whatever. I'm not that good at Japanese, anyway. English, now..."
"Good at English and not Japanese? Helluva freak of nature you are"
"Like... aishite masu. That must be my favorite phrase"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Oh, you can probably figure it out yourself"
"I had to drop out of school and take a job, remember?"
"They don't teach you?"
"They have to appropriate funds; guns, riot gear, all that nice stuff"
"Are you one of those people that can't find Japan on a map?"
"I'm sorry, what's a map?"
"You're kidding"
"Yes, yes I am"
"You're not very funny"
"You're the first girl to say that"
"Nowadays girls find illiteracy and poverty funny?"
"You have to laugh at your defects, otherwise you'd be miserable"
"Oh, wait, let me guess, without the whole 'poverty' thing, right?"
"Bingo. Not that you should escape it, you're not so rich yourself"
"But I can read"
"I believe you"
"Shut up"

She laughed. They were driving down an empty street doing 40 and her hair was whipping all over the car. She was skipping again, and had invited him to the Game Room again. As much as Koitsumi wanted to see Takeshi again, he turned her down. The way she looked was beyond compare. The moment had to be brief, lest something more happen. Her house was just down the block, according to her. He remembered the gate as he passed the arcade. She was looking at him all the while. Looking at him with bright blue eyes and a smile. It made him shift and sniff, but she didn't move at all. She wasn't ashamed of staring. How rude... how cute.

"Something bothering you?" he asks.
"I'm wondering about you" she says.
"Maybe you can ask me something..."
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why are you doing what you're doing"
"What am I doing?"
"You're masquerading as a fascist pig for what?"
"It's what's open right now"
"I don't believe that; I don't believe you could be cruel and sadistic"
"Everyone is, a little bit. It's why this is happening"
"Ton-ton macoute"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"'Boogeyman'"
"Oh, yeah, sure. I'm your boogeyman nowadays"
"I'll bet. I'm real scared of you, you know that?"
"Oh, shut up"
"Really, though, I'm scared FOR you"
"You are? What for?"
"I'm not as stupid as you might think"
"I figured as much..."
"You aren't cut out for this line of work"
"What made you think that?"
"You drove me all the way to my house" she points to Koitsumi's side.'
He looks. "Oh, yeah, well, I told you I'd take you here"
"But now..." Her voice lowers to a whisper as she runs her finger up and down his neck.
He stretches it to the slow rhythm. "Umm... now... I... I'll..."
"Now you'll get out of the car..." she's whispering in his ear, "and open my door for me"
"Yeah, right... I'll do that..." and he does so.
"Give me your hand" she says.
His head snaps upwards. He looks about. "Oh, yeah, sure..."
The clasp made Mina rise. She wasn't smiling anymore. "You see?"
He's looking at her straight in the eyes. She looks worried. "See what?"
"You're too kind. You're not sincere about this all. You should get out"
"I can't, don't you see?"
"They're holding us all hostage. You need a new career"
"Well, you know that old song they always played during the depression"
She laughs. "'Career Opportunities are the ones that never knock'"
"'Every single day they've got you running against the clock'"
"... You have to go now"
"Yeah, I do..."

He notices all of a sudden that she is very close to him. She's got her finger on his chin again. She raises it and she is getting closer. The kiss feels warm against his cheek. Her hands are so tender... she's walking away now. He can only stare. All of a sudden, he sees the police station and strobing lights. They're here. And she's looking at him again. His heart isn't beating when he sees her face blank. But then, then she smiles. And he is spirited to take off his cap and covers his heart. She waves at him with her fingers and he's taken a step forward. The door closes, leaving him with an orange spotlight that is going to turn off soon. The next act is coming up. It's only a matter of time. The radio is jittering and crackling.

"Yeah, this is car UV-98"
"Koi, report to HQ"

---

They offered me an office
Offered me a shop
They say I'd better take anything they've got
Do you wanna make tea at the MPD
Do you really wanna be
Do you really wanna be a cop?
There's got to be a way out, got to be a way
Every time I'm asking they're telling me to stay
Every other where has gone to hell
Didn't you learn anything at school?

Career opportunities are the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you off the dot
Every single day they got you running against the clock
You gotta keep running, you can't never ever stop
Career opportunities ain't never gonna knock

 

[Comrade Texidor]

XVIII. CLAMP DOWN

You don't have to burn books to be rid of them;
just get people to stop reading them.

The rooftop is a canvas and they are the paint pots and the great Ship is the brush. 12 men all in a line and the rotors almost blow them off in the cold air. Koitsumi is the shortest among them and he is under a heavy coat, hiding his shivering. He was curiously desperate to know whether they were all shivering as well, and then forgetting about it because they were all bigger and stronger men than himself, if not taller. From it's bowels emerge six little blobs of black and they rushed past the men, away from the blowing wind and the crashing rain and the freezing cold. Koitsumi extends an ear at them: their pockets are jingling with golden coins. He smiles as they enter the building.

The halls are red satin and silk and they are tinted with gold and bellboys guard them. At the very end, the light is pink and all horrible bright colors allowed by the white. They are bowing a full sixteen inches. The six Captains pat their heads, each and every one, and limply raise a hand in salute. The bellboys don't move an inch upwards. After it was all over, they may shoot them all, or not. The hall at the end is cavernous and on the left sit the civil servants. Accountants, cops, tax collectors, bus drivers, garbage managers, bureaucrats, all silently and stiffly sitting on tiny plastic chairs aligned in rows of Congressional congruence. To the right were round tables bedecked each with flowers and a sign that read "Captains". Their occupants were in different fits of laughter, chatting, and big, toothy grinning like dead men on a wasteland. Their dresses and suits were bright and golden and glistening in the grand moonlight of a crackling storm-night.

They were clapping as the little old man stood up at the podium. They were all aligned at one end, rusted figures of old and new. They were all there, representatives from Sumitomo, Mitsui, Asano, Fujita, Yasuda, Nakajima, Furukawa, Nomura, Okura, Nomura, Riken, and Shibusawa, equals in the struggle of wealth and capital. A lightning struck, it's roar deafened by the thick glass ceiling, and bathed them all in light. They did not recoil, as one might expect. The one on the podium is called The Ghost. That is because he is the owner of all of the property of the Old Guard, The Big Four that were broken up in the new government. They were now called Suzuki shoten collectively, having risen from the dead. His eyes were focused on his paper, his stance to his left and his hand raising to his right.

"Captains of Industry, servants of the State, I am heart-struck to see you all here in this, a decisive night for a decisive committee. For here, we face the dark storm what has been brooding o'er our heads. The country, my friends, is in peril. Smoke obscures the sun; the cattle and the crops die; our children disobey us and run amock in the streets, causing death and destruction and in euphony to whatever demonic aura has overcome them. It is our will that this state shall endure for a thousand years. We are happy to know that the future is ours entirely. Our freedom in this dark hour is challenged. And we must take up that challenge. We must smite it. We must seize by the throat and we must end it. In one swift strike, we, the State, must rise up to finally quell evil. THIS is our beckon. For this very purpose we were borne. Nothing out of the state, nothing against the state, everything FOR the State! Everything for the people!"

Koitsumi leaned in and whispered to the Sarge under the thunderous applause.

"So what he's saying is, we have to make people less free in order to make them free" Koitsumi said.
"It is a wise teaching" the Sarge said.
"Yes, wise indeed. The Chair should abdicate immediately for being a security threat"
"Yeah, like that'll happen"
"Hey, nothing else is happening"
"Koitsumi, don't you dare"
"Sarge, they're going to leave the floor to questions"
"No they're not"
"It's traditional, and to expected; they can't shut it all out"
"Koitsumi, don't..."

Too late, Koitsumi has stood. His feet shake. His mouth and throat dessicate to an ashy crisp. He is shivering. He is sweating profusely. His eyes dilate and everything grows blurry. His clenched fist now opens into a sweaty palm. When they notice and fall quiet that someone has stood and raised his hand, his heart skips a bit. His whole body twitches. He is smiling now.

"Most esteemed Chairman, leader of Industry, if I may ask a question?" he said.

Murmurs sprang up all over. It was about as loud whispering and hissing could get. They drowned out another lightning flash in the night sky. The members of the board all looked down at Koitsumi from their pedestals. 26 eyes, glaring, silently observing. The little Chairman looked down on him as well. His lips pouted before he spoke.

"Speak freely, my child. This is a forum, after all, as endorsed and protected by the State"
"Then, I shall inquire as to your contradiction: to free ourselves of bondage, we must break our chains, not add further restrains"
"My child, you misunderstand the situation, clearly; restrain shall liberate us of vice. It is what we are a prisoner of, don't you see?"
"Yes, I do. I see it everyday. But it is the crackdown of the State that has purged the cities of evil. It what causes the upsurge, no?"
"These evils existed long before the State-"
"You mean before the corporations bought out the government"
Murmuring becomes louder. "Where did you learn it like that?"
"I was alive at the time. All in here were"
"Do you question the State freely all the time, Constable?"
"Only in my own business. Innovation is one of the constants of the State, and I feel it is my duty to be innovative"
"A proud and upstart citizen; an entrepeneur, ha! How pledgeful"
"It is my duty, sir. It is also my duty to be wary of danger"
"Danger? What sort of danger?"
"The sort that will rattle the windows and demolish the walls and splinter the doors"
"I'm sorry, but what ARE you talking about?"
"The House is to be attacked by a mob very soon"
"Wait... how do you-"

Koitsumi fell to knees as a violent quake shook his very shins to shattering. All of a sudden he realized it had stopped raining when the explosion didn't let any water in. The roar was too atonal, too out of sync with rain. It was the roar of a few hundred thousand. And the earth shook as they marched forward, feet in, feet in, left, right, left, right. Every cop in the building took out his sidearm and began to fire blindly out of the hole. Koitsumi looked around for the heads of Zaibatsu and saw they weren't there. He ran away from the break-in and out into the quiet of the halls of the House of Parliament. And there on the floor was blood-red carpet and the silhouette of blood, framed in eternity. The Chairman was crawling away and gasping like a woman. Koitsumi unholstered his pistol and went to where the lay. The Chairman was a wisp of corner dust being swept away by his broom the heart. His eyes were laden with cataracts. His teeth rot out in a cadence of agonizing sloth. His hand is the hand of Death and his fingernails are lye-ridden like an old country woman's. And his flesh is rended from his bone. His flesh, his flesh is in bits all over the floor. The blood on the floor was now his blood and soon it was all a flood, a flood of brain and skull and mind. Koitsumi's hands were wet with it.

A spoonful. A spoonful of blood was cradled in his hands. And he looked up and he saw Venus there. And she was in stance. And she smiled at him. His fists, his fists clenched tight and he felt the blood in them and out of them and within them. His heart was now in his hands. He felt it there, beating, pouring spoonfuls of truth and lies all over the carpet. He smiled back at her and grabbed her wrist and pulled her down to her knees. She cried out and he grabbed ahold of the opened lips and he fell down on her chest. His leg was on her neck and her mouth was still wide open and her eyes were wide open too. He was still smiling. And she smiled. And he was glad to see that the smile didn't stay for too long. Her whole face went limp and her whole body went limp and he was still strong. And still he smiled.

Tears rolled down his eyes and he tasted them and they tasted sweet. A spoonful of tears was all he saw, but he knew there was more to come.  

[Comrade Texidor]

XIX. WHITE RIOT

"Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom"

T.S. Eliot, THE HOLLOW MEN

Is this it? Is this what it has come to? Talk about desperation. You couldn't believe it if you tried. What men will do to stop from dying out; it will amaze you and it will break you and it will make you laugh and it will make you cry. You stick a man in a room and sometimes he'll just lie down and wait until his heart stops beating. Sometimes, he'll scratch at the walls, trying just a little bit each time, a little bit each time, slowly, slowly, trying to win the race the old-fashioned way. And others will scream and yell and roar and bleed until the end, like animals, starving, scared, and angry. You let them out, some will hug you and thank you and some will even kiss you. The others will just look at you. And, of course, some of them will try to kill you and choke you and spit at you. So many people and so many faces... covered in stupid.

The real question isn't why people do what they do: it's more like, why were they in the room in the first place? How did you get caught? Why did you get caught? You should be more careful, more aware of your world and your ways. You shouldn't have someone else trying to figure it out for you. That is everyone's weakness; they do not look within. They just don't, simple as that. They look outside, because the outside is just pure freakin' awesome. With the outside, they can dream and wonder and gasp at the beauty and the eclectic crashing of color and sound and sensations, like a carnival of life. What about themselves? Are they so dull they must look elsewhere? I won't ever forget it. I just won't. It will be with me, in my heart, in my head... and on my tombstone: who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

Well, they were cussing and spitting and wailing at him. They saw her in his arms and their eyes grew red. He ran to the east, and it was boiling, he ran to the east, and it was boiling. They got her, too. So he ran to the west, and they turned him away, he ran to the west, and they turned him away. They pushed him away with sticks that bumped against the sun. He ran to the north, and they blocked him, he ran to the north, and they blocked him. It was a wall of them and their arms were crossed and the Sun Banner was draped over their faces. He ran to the south, and they rushed him, he ran to the south, and they rushed him. They smashed against the protesters and they made them bleed on the ground with their boots. The rain was falling heavy already and the plastic riot shields made them buckle backwards and trip and slip. They were pushing them apart. And Koitsumi ran through and he felt him stepping on her hair a bit. The van was rushing through on the other side and the floodlight was pointed right at Koitsumi and it focused on the girl in his arms. He made in time so that the mob clamped down and engulfed the riot cops. Their shields buckled and cracked and splintered.

They were chasing after him and one of them took a swing and clocked him right on the eye. They were shrieking like the wind forcing itself through an open window only a few inches wide. If anyone's window was that small, though, I guess you'd fight like that. Or you'd give up, wholly.  

[Comrade Texidor]

XX. THE WHIRLWIND

THE WHIRLWIND, THE WHIRLWIND!
THE WHIRLWIND, THE WHIRLWIND!
THE WHIRLWIND, THE WHIRLWIND!

The helicopter soared above the city  

[Comrade Texidor]

XXI. ABSALOM, ABSALOM

The artist, the artist, the odyssey wrought. All of this makes me anxious... Sometimes unbearably so.

What lies under my skin? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn.

S7levin, 5, nine, what am I fighting for?

I ain't go time to wonder why, WHOOPEE!! I'm gonna die!

Supergirl, I hardly knew ye.

A penny for the old girl.