Chapter Seven: Flames of Passion, Part I

	Church bells rang across the large campus, announcing the end of another 
school day. They were soft and clear, like angels singing, and to one extremely 
bored student, they were the most beautiful sound in the world.

	She thought they would never come.

	Closing the book she had been pretending to read, twelve-year-old Rei 
heard the nun dismiss class, reminding the girls to finish reading Chapter 2 for 
homework over the sound of chairs moving and voices chattering in the usually 
quiet classroom. From the sounds of things, it looked as if she wasn’t the only 
one ready to leave. It was Friday after all, and they didn’t have Saturday 
classes this week. Everybody was excited about the upcoming weekend.

	Everyone, that is, except me, she thought with a frown.

	Sighing, Rei made sure to take down the assignment in her notebook, then 
she stood and gathered her things, not wasting any time heading to the lockers 
to switch shoes. The sooner she could leave, the better. Rei had no interest in 
spending any more time than she absolutely had to at the snotty school.

	Needless to say, her opinion of T*A Academy for Girls had not improved 
over the years. Quite the opposite. Rei hated it with a passion. Well, “hate” 
might be too strong of a word, but certainly she felt a strong dislike toward 
the school her father forced her to attend. There were far too many stupid rules 
to follow for her taste, and the other girls didn’t interest her at all, though 
they seemed to find her fascinating enough, judging by the whispers her fellow 
classmates thought she couldn’t hear. 

	Most of the girls at the Academy fell into one of two groups, as far as 
she could tell. One group, the silent majority, admired Rei from afar, impressed 
by her elegant beauty and mysterious aura, The other group, led by none other 
than her self-proclaimed rival Tanaka Sayo, thought she was a freak. Though 
smaller in size, they were by far the more vocal of the two. Not a week went by 
when Sayo’s group didn’t start some stupid, untrue rumor about her. This week, 
she was the Antichrist, which Rei found amusing considering Sayo herself wasn’t 
even Catholic. Last week, she was an alien. Next week…who knew? Rei didn’t 
really care any more. She learned long ago to turn a deaf ear to anything that 
came out of that girl’s mouth. It was better to ignore the rumors rather than to 
give Sayo the satisfaction of seeing her upset by something so idiotic and 
immature.

	After slipping into her regular flats, Rei headed toward the exit 
without even a wave goodbye to the other girls. A warm spring breeze hit her as 
she opened the door, causing her long jet black hair to flap wildly behind her 
like a cape, and she smiled for the first time that day, glad to be free from 
the stuffy atmosphere inside. 

	“It’s a little windy today, isn’t it?” she remarked to herself with a 
chuckle, struggling to hold down the brown piece of fabric that passed for a 
skirt. One would think the uniform for a parochial school would be a little more 
modest than the one she wore, but it wasn’t her place to judge. If that was the 
image the church wanted to project, then that was perfectly fine by her.

	Rei was no longer Catholic, deciding about a year after her father left 
her at the Hikawa shrine to practice the Shinto religion. She felt more at peace 
at the shrine than she ever felt in a church, though she still kept up 
appearances on the rare times she saw her father. Keitaro knew about the 
conversion, of course, and didn’t seem to care much either way, but Rei was 
aware of the fact her father wasn’t completely comfortable with her religious 
beliefs. She now understood why her mother always preferred to pray to the kami 
in private.

	It was yet another reason why she had grown to dislike him.

	“Rei-chan!”

	Surprised by the sound of her name being called out by a male voice, Rei 
raised her head and looked around the school’s courtyard for the owner. She 
thought it might be one of the more affectionate priests -- there was one in 
particular who called all the students by their first names -- but there were 
none of the black-garbed men in sight. Shrugging, Rei figured she must have been 
imagining things and started walking down the steps in front of the school.

	“Rei-chan! Over here, by the gates!”

	Rei paused when she heard the voice again, her eyes squinting against 
the brightness of the afternoon sun as she looked toward the black iron gates. 
There was something familiar about that voice…

	Her heart skipped a beat when she saw her mystery caller. He was in his 
mid-twenties, with light brown hair and kind green eyes behind a pair of gold 
wire-rimmed glasses. The man wore an expensive-looking business suit, which 
somehow managed to look casual and professional at the same time, and held a 
small briefcase in his left hand. His other hand was raised in a friendly wave.

	Rei’s face immediately brightened upon recognition of the man. Kaidou 
Ace, her father’s top assistant… She wondered what he was doing at the Academy. 
Ignoring the disapproving glare of a nearby nun, the usually quiet and reserved 
adolescent jumped over the last two steps on her way down and made her way over 
to the gate, her walk a little more livelier than usual.

	“Kaidou-san!” she exclaimed once she exited through the gates. Rei 
resisted the urge to give the man she once considered her honorary big brother a 
hug, and instead bowed politely. “Konnichiwa!”

	Kaidou greeted her with a smile and a bow of his own. “Konnichiwa, 
Rei-chan. It’s been a while.”

	“Hai, it has. I haven’t seen you since last Christmas.”

	“Gomen,” he apologized. “I’ve been rather busy as of late.”

	Rei was quick to shake her head. “N-No need to apologize. I understand. 
You’re busy with your work. So, what are you doing here?”

	“To walk you home, of course,” he replied as if it were the most obvious 
thing in the world. Noticing the notebook and the rather thick ancient history 
book nestled in the crook of her arm, Kaidou held out his hand. “Here, let me 
take those. They look heavy.”

	“Kaidou-san, that’s really not necessary…” Rei objected, a little 
embarrassed by his kindness. Usually only a girl’s boyfriend offered to carry 
her books. She protectively hugged her books close to her chest, her eyes 
finding their way to a large crack in the sidewalk.

	He ignored her protestations, taking her things anyway and tucking them 
underneath the arm holding his briefcase. “It’s nothing.”

	“Arigatou,” she said softly, having no choice but to thank him, but 
after getting over her mild embarrassment, Rei raised her head back up and gave 
him a suspicious look. “But why are you really here?” she asked again. “I know 
you didn’t come all the way here just to carry a perfectly able Catholic 
schoolgirl’s books home.”

	Kaidou laughed heartily. “Nothing gets past you, does it, Rei-chan?” he 
said. “Actually, I was in the neighborhood on business for Hino-sama, and since 
I finished early, I thought I would drop by.”

	“Oh.”

	Her voice was surprisingly soft. Rei wasn’t sure why, but she was 
disappointed when she heard that. A part of her, a very small part, had been 
hoping Kaidou decided to come see her on his own accord. The whole idea was 
silly, though, and she berated herself for even thinking of something like that. 
Why would Kaidou ever do such a thing?

	The handsome man tilted his head, looking at Rei with concern in his 
emerald green eyes. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

	“H-Hai, it‘s fine,” she stuttered. Rei took a step forward ahead of 
Kaidou, not wanting him to see her disappointment. “Let’s go. I promised 
ojii-san I would help him with the chores today.”

	“Okay,” Kaidou readily agreed, following Rei. He didn’t seem to notice 
her abrupt change in moods.

	They were barely five feet away from the school, though, when a small 
group of girls passed through the gates, their high-pitched giggles like nails 
against chalkboard to Rei’s ears. Without turning around, the dark-haired girl 
was able to identify them by laugh alone.

 	“Well, lookie, lookie here…” their leader sneered. “If it isn’t the 
Antichrist herself.”

	Heaving an exasperated sigh, Rei stopped in her tracks and crossed her 
arms across her chest. She didn’t even bother turning around to face her 
frequent tormentor, not wanting to give her the satisfaction. Beside her, Kaidou 
stopped as well, a confused look on his face. 

	“What do you want, Tanaka-san?” Rei asked.

	Tanaka Sayo, known to most of their classmates as the queen of the 
seventh grade, made a slight snorting noise, still managing to sound elegant 
despite the decidedly inelegant sound. “Using your weird powers again to play 
psychic, Hino?”

	“No, actually. A person would have to be deaf not to hear you coming.”

	Sayo giggled again, that annoying squeal that made Rei want to strangle 
the girl every time she heard it. “You’re a regular comedienne, freak.”

	“Do you want something?” Rei asked again, finally pivoting on her heel 
to face the group of about four or five girls. The rest consisted of Sayo’s 
usual assortment of admirers, including the purple-haired girl Rei remembered 
from her first day of the Academy. Missing, though, was the blonde who had tried 
to defend her. Kotono now hung out with the members of the rebel Supernatural 
Club, a group held in considerably higher esteem by Rei even if she did think 
they were crazy. At least they didn’t seem to care about her so-called “gifts”. 
“I have better things to do than to listen your squeals, you know. I’m surprised 
you’re even talking to me. Aren’t you afraid I’m going to burn you to a pile of 
ashes or whatever it is you say I’m supposed to do?”

	Her rival haughtily flipped her long, green tresses over her shoulder. 
“Don’t be silly, Hino. You are no more the Devil than I am.”

	Rei might not have been the devil, but at that moment, she wouldn’t have 
minded in the least if the gates of Hell opened in the sidewalk below Sayo and 
swallowed her whole. “Are you so sure of that?” Rei drawled, amethyst eyes 
narrowed. She took almost a perverse pleasure in playing into Sayo’s lies. If 
the whole school thought she was the devil, or the Antichrist, or an alien, why 
not act the part?

	Beside her, she felt a light touch on her arm. “Rei-chan, why don’t we 
leave?” a soft voice suggested. “Didn’t you say you had chores to do at the 
shrine?”

	Hearing him, Sayo suddenly turned her attention away from Rei to the man 
beside her, her blue eyes checking Kaidou out like a piece of prime meat. Rei 
almost expected the boy-crazy girl to lick her lips in hunger.

	“Well, well, well…who do we have here?” Sayo asked. Her usual helium 
voice deepened in a pathetic attempt to sound older than her thirteen years. 
“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Hino-san?”

	Now she decided to be polite… Rei fought the urge to roll her eyes at 
her rival’s ridiculous behavior. Girls acted so strangely whenever there was a 
handsome man nearby. It made her positively sick to her stomach. “I wasn’t 
planning on it, Tanaka-san.”

	“That isn’t very proper of you. You should introduce your boyfriend to 
your friends.”

	B-Boyfriend? Despite herself, Rei felt her cheeks reddened and though 
she didn’t bother to look over, she was almost positive Kaidou was doing the 
same. As if…

	“For your information, Kaidou-san is not my boyfriend,” Rei declared, 
hands on her hips. “And *you* are most definitely not my friend.”

	Sayo smirked. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot, you don’t like men, do you, 
man-hater Hino?” 

	“Shut up, Tanaka-san.”

	Sensing a possible catfight about to begin, Kaidou once again reached 
for Rei’s arm, this time turning her back in the direction of the shrine. 
“Rei-chan, let’s go,” Kaidou ordered. “She isn’t worth it.”

	“B-But…”

	Before Rei could finish, he gave her a pointed look, very much like a 
caring older brother chastising his younger sister for doing something stupid. 	
“Rei-chan.”

	The tone in his voice was all Rei needed to hear to make her forget any 
thoughts of yanking Sayo’s silky green hair out by the roots -- not that she 
didn’t deserve it, of course. If Kaidou hadn’t been there… Well, she still 
probably wouldn’t have acted on her impulses, but only because Rei liked to 
think she was classier than that. But the fact remained that he *was* there, and 
she had disappointed him. Rei could hear it in his voice, so low and cold as he 
said her name.

	Shameful of the way she acted, Rei silently followed Kaidou’s lead as he 
began walking in the direction of the shrine. She could still hear Sayo and her 
cronies laughing, their high-pitched giggles ringing in her ears, all the way 
down the street, and even though she knew that it was silly to be upset by them, 
Rei’s temper burned at the sound, itching to show them exactly why they 
shouldn’t mess with her. How she hated those cursed laughs! 

	Why did they have to make her life so miserable? What had she ever done 
to them?

	It wasn’t until the two of them turned at the intersection, the giggles 
finally out of earshot, that either of them spoke again. Kaidou began first, 
beating Rei to the punch. Expecting to hear a lecture, she lowered her eyes and 
resigned herself to whatever words he wanted to say to her concerning her 
behavior with Sayo. She probably deserved them anyway.

	Oddly enough, the lecture never came. “Rei-chan, are you okay?” Kaidou 
asked instead, his voice so soft and gentle that she glanced up in surprise. 
That wasn’t what he was supposed to say.

	“H-Hai,” she stuttered. “I’m used to it. Those girls always like to 
spread rumors and make fun of me. Usually I don’t let them get to me, though… 
I‘m sorry for the way I acted. I could have handled that better.”

	Kaidou didn’t seem to hear her apology, or if he did, it was of no 
consequence. “This has been an ongoing thing? Who was she, that girl? She 
certainly is an unpleasant person.”

	“Tanaka Sayo-san, otherwise known as the thorn in my side,” Rei answered 
bitterly, kicking a nearby rock with the toe of her shoe. She imagined it was 
Sayo’s fat head and took great pleasure in watching it roll down the sidewalk.

	“Tanaka-san…?” Kaidou repeated the name, his brow furrowed in thought. 
“Doesn’t Tanaka Yoshiyuki-san have a granddaughter named Sayo-san? The name 
sounds familiar, and I think I might have seen her before.”

	Rei sighed. “Yes, unfortunately, they are one in the same. Tanaka-san 
has hated me ever since she learned my father was Hino Keitaro-sama. Something 
about an old rivalry between otou-sama and her grandfather, I think.” She waved 
her hand in disinterest. Politics had never been her cup of tea. “I never 
bothered to learn why. She hates me, I dislike her - that’s all I need to know.”

	Kaidou nodded. “Oh, yes, I vaguely remember hearing about that from my 
grandfather. The rivalry between Hino-sama and Tanaka-san during the ‘78 
gubernatorial election is legendary. Even after all these years, the old man is 
still bitter he lost the governor’s seat.”

	“Well, I think the whole thing is silly. Tanaka-san didn’t even bother 
to get to know me before she decided I was to be her life-long rival. Not that 
it would have made much of a difference. I have a feeling we wouldn’t have 
become the best of friends anyway, even if we had met under different 
circumstances.”

	“No, Tanaka-san doesn’t seem like the friendliest person, a trait she 
obviously inherited from her grandfather,” Kaidou said with a chuckle. Even Rei 
had to smile at that, remembering the one time she had the displeasure of 
meeting Tanaka Yoshiyuki at a political fundraiser. Her smile disappeared, 
though, when Kaidou asked his next question. “So, what did Tanaka-san mean when 
she called you a ’man-hater’?”  

	Rei frowned, kicking another rock and watching it roll into a nearby 
bush. She had been hoping he would forget about that. “Nothing,” she answered. 
“I just learned long ago that men are unreliable.”

	“I see. I feel as if I should defend my sex, but, truthfully…” Kaidou 
laughed again, rubbing the back of neck in embarrassment. “I can’t really think 
of anything to say. Surely all men are not as horrible as you think, though.”

	Rei shrugged her shoulders. “Well, maybe not all of them. Not ojii-san, 
Uchizawa-san, or you…”

	For the second time that day, she felt her cheeks warm and Rei quickly 
turned away, pretending her attention had been caught by a sakura tree in bloom. 
Why did she say that? If she didn’t know better, Rei would think she was 
flirting with him, but that was impossible. She’d known him ever since she was a 
little girl; they were like siblings, Why should she feel any kind of attraction 
to him? Rei squashed down the voice which tried to answer this question and held 
her head up high. She was getting as bad as Sayo and her groupies. 

	Luckily, Kaidou seemed unaware of her inner turmoil, for which she 
offered a silent prayer to the kami. “I’m flattered! Although I don’t know if 
I’m worthy of such a compliment. If you consider me to be among the best of men, 
I think my gender is in big trouble,” he said. “I notice Hino-sama isn‘t on your 
list, though.”

	At the mention of her father‘s name, Rei forgot about her humiliation 
and sighed heavily. She knew this conversation would somehow turn to Keitaro. 
That was why she hadn’t want to talk about it. “Kaidou-san, you know I’m not 
fond of my father anymore,” she said softly. “Otou-sama has disappointed me too 
many times over the years. Do you realize it has been six years since I moved in 
with ojii-san at Hikawa and he still hasn’t invited me back home to the manor? I 
gave up hope a long time ago. Otou-sama doesn’t want me back, and quite frankly, 
I doubt I would go back now even if he did ask.” 

	“I don’t think you should be so rough on him, Rei-chan. I’m sure your 
father loves you,” Kaidou replied. 

	As always, he was prepared to defend his boss from any unkind word. He 
was a contradiction in that way, understanding how she felt about her father, 
yet still admiring Keitaro to the point of idol-worship. Even their gold 
wire-rimmed glasses, which Kaidou slid back up his nose in a move eerily similar 
to her father, appeared to be almost exact replicas. Rei never could understand 
why Kaidou regarded her father so highly. 

	“Does he ever talk about me at the office?” she asked, already knowing 
the answer.

	“No, not exactly…”

	“See?”

	“Hino-sama is a very busy man, Rei-chan,” Kaidou said as if that 
explained everything. “He’s done many great things for this city. You should be 
proud of him.”

	“I’m well aware of otou-sama’s accomplishments. Too bad being a father 
wasn’t one of them.” Bitterness coated Rei’s voice as she kicked yet another 
rock, this time imagining it was Keitaro‘s head instead of Sayo‘s. The pebble 
only traveled a few inches, not even a foot, before plunking in a small puddle 
of water left behind from yesterday’s spring shower.

	“Maybe Hino-sama’s doing you a favor by letting you stay with your 
grandfather at Hikawa.”

	Hearing that, Rei arched an eyebrow. That was a new twist. “How do you 
come to that conclusion?”

	Kaidou shrugged, his free hand finding its way to his pocket. “Well, I 
know what it’s like growing up in a political family. Believe me, it’s no picnic 
in the park. Everybody expects you to act a certain way, follow a certain path, 
attend a certain school, be friends with certain people…” He shook his head in 
mild disgust. “You can’t really be yourself, you know? It’s all about the image, 
the illusion. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I‘ve wished I wasn‘t 
former governor Negishi Shinji‘s grandson or Minister Kaidou Taro‘s son.” 

	“I don’t understand, Kaidou-san,” Rei said. “If you feel that way, then 
why are you following in your father’s and grandfather’s footsteps?”

	“Mostly because it’s expected of me,” he answered. “And it’s not as if I 
dislike politics. Politics is in my blood, and I can’t run away from that. Nor 
is that what I want. I admire people like Hino-sama because he really has made a 
difference in people’s lives. I think it’s wonderful what he does. It’s the 
silly political games we’re expected to play I hate. It saddens me that most 
elections these days are determined by how much money a candidate raises, rather 
than the things that really matter -- issues, values, capability, honesty, 
integrity.”

	“I see. You sound a little like otou-sama just now. I remember when I 
was younger he used to talk like that…”

	“Is that a bad thing, Rei-chan?”

	“No, I suppose not,” she said, noticing that they had both unconsciously 
started walking up the stone staircase leading to the torii during their 
conversation. Rei could already see the simple beauty of the shrine peeking over 
the horizon. “Look, there’s the shrine.”

	“We’re already here? It seems as if we just started talking.”

	“I know,” Rei said, a little disappointed. “Would you like to stay for 
some tea?”

	“Gomen, Rei-chan,” he apologized, looking down at his watch. “I would 
love to, but I can’t. I need to head back to the office for a meeting with your 
father. Can I take a rain check?”

	“Sure. Thank you for walking me home.”

	“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure,” Kaidou said, handing Rei back the 
text and notebook she forgot he had been carrying. “Here.”

	“Arigatou. I guess I’ll see you later, then.” 

	“Ja.”

	Kaidou was walking back down the steps when Rei suddenly remembered 
something. “Oh, will you be accompanying my father to my birthday dinner this 
weekend as usual?” she called out.

	Stopping midway down the staircase, he turned back around and grinned. 
“Hai. He invited me this morning.”

	“I’ll be looking forward to it. Sayonara, Kaidou-san.”

	“Sayonara, Rei-chan.”  

					*****

	Saburo had just slid open the door on his way out to feed the crows when 
he noticed his pretty granddaughter talking to a young man he recognized as 
Kaidou Ace underneath the torii of the shrine. They looked deep in conversation, 
and an enjoyable conversation at that from the way Rei’s eyes were sparkling. 
Leaning against the frame of the door, the old priest smiled at the sight. 	

	It wasn’t often Rei had visitors, other than the regular monthly visits 
by her godfather. His granddaughter was a lonely sort of person. No real 
friends, unlike her mother at her age. Takara had always been popular at her 
school, and classmates used to frequently come by the shrine to visit her. 
Saburo remembered joking her multitude of friends and admirers were the only 
reason why the Hikawa shrine was still in business. As for Rei, however, the 
only friend he recalled meeting was some pudgy brunette, and that was only 
because they were working on a project for school together. After the project 
was finished, he never saw the girl, nor any of her other classmates, again.

	Noticing the two had finished saying their goodbyes, Saburo stepped back 
inside the house and slid the door close behind him. Knowing his granddaughter, 
she would not be pleased if she discovered he had been watching her and Kaidou. 
Rei was a rather private person.

	Seconds later, he heard quiet footsteps coming up the porch and the door 
was slid open, the pretty young girl stepping inside. “I’m home!” Rei called 
out, momentarily startled when she saw her grandfather already standing by the 
door. “Oh, konnichiwa, ojii-san.”

	Saburo welcomed her with a smile. “Konnichiwa, Rei-chan. How was 
school?”

	Shrugging her shoulders, she took off her flats and slipped her feet 
into a pair of red slippers sitting by the door. “Same as always. Dull and 
boring.”

	“Was that Kaidou-san I saw you with in front of the shrine?” he asked 
innocently. Saburo didn’t normally pry into his granddaughter’s life, but he had 
to admit he was curious why Kaidou had brought her home. His curiosity was only 
heightened by the faintly flushed look on Rei’s face.

	Amethyst eyes rolled in exasperation. “Ojii-san, were you spying on me?”

	“Not intentionally,” he assured her, holding up his hands in mock 
surrender. “I just happened to be on my way out to feed the crows and saw you 
two together.”

	Letting out a sigh, Rei pushed a strand of her raven hair back behind 
her ear. “Yes, Kaidou-san walked me home from school,” she answered. “He was in 
the neighborhood and decided to stop by.”

	“Why didn’t you invite him in for some tea? It’s been a while since he’s 
visited.”

	A tiny frown crossed her pale pink lips. “I did, but unfortunately, he 
needed to get back to the office for a meeting with otou-sama.”

	“Oh, I see…” Saburo nodded knowingly. He might have been an old man, but 
he still recognized the look on her granddaughter’s face. “You sound 
disappointed.”

	“What is that supposed to mean?” she shot back, only serving to confirm 
his suspicions.

	“Nothing. It‘s only an observation.”

	The dark-haired girl turned around to face him, her arms folded across 
her chest. “Ojii-san…”

	“What?”

	“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong.”

	“What am I thinking, Rei-chan?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

	“You think I have a crush on Kaidou-san.”

	Saburo chuckled. “Well, is that so unbelievable? It’s perfectly natural 
for a girl your age to start having those kinds of feelings toward boys. Nothing 
to be embarrassed about.”

	“Of course it’s nothing to be embarrassed about because I don’t have 
*those* kinds of feelings for Kaidou-san. He’s my friend, nothing more.”

	“Then why are you blushing so furiously?”

	“I’m going to go change and begin on my chores.”

	Heading to her bedroom, Rei threw her hands in the air in frustration, 
and Saburo couldn’t hold back his laughter. Ah, first love… Was there anything 
more special in a young girl’s life?

					*****

	“Katsuki-kun, I want you to call Terada-san’s office and set up an 
appointment for Monday. Around noon, if possible. Tell him I want to talk about 
the proposal he sent me last week.”

	“Yes, Hino-sama.”

	“And I want to take a look at those polling samples concerning the new 
legislation as soon as they are available.”

	“Yes, Hino-sama.” Miss Katsuki nodded, her pen scribbling down a note on 
the legal pad she held in her left arm. “Anything else?”

	Taking a seat back in the luxurious leather chair behind his equally 
expensive-looking desk, the governor leaned back, trying to remember if he had 
left anything out. “Has the press conference been announced yet?” he asked.

	Pages flipped as the secretary looked back at her notes. “About an hour 
ago. Everything has been arranged and Sasaki-san is taking care of the press 
packets.”

	“Time?”

	“Seven o’clock tomorrow evening.”

	“Seven?” Keitaro repeated, his normally expressionless eyes widening a 
bit behind his glasses. The motion was so insignificant, Miss Katsuki didn’t 
seem to notice. “Why so late? I thought I said I wanted to hold the press 
conference in the early afternoon.”

	“Your schedule didn’t allow for it, Hino-sama. Remember, you have that 
important meeting…”

	“…with the prime minister,” he said, completing the secretary’s 
sentence. Keitaro took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. “I forgot. It 
must have slipped my mind.”

	“Would you like me to reschedule the press conference, Hino-sama? We can 
move it to Monday if you would prefer. I‘ll have publicity contact the media 
with the change.”

	After a short pause, Keitaro shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I did have 
some plans for tomorrow night, but I can cancel. It’s not a problem. Besides, I 
want to make this announcement as soon as possible.”

	“Yes, Hino-sama. Will that be all?”

	Keitaro waved the dowdy brunette away, dismissing her from the office. 
“Hai, that will be all for now, Katsuki-kun.”

	With a polite bow, Miss Katsuki turned around and walked out the door, 
the heavily fragrant scent of her musky perfume lingering in the air behind her. 

	Once she was gone, Keitaro reached for his day planner and turned to 
tomorrow’s date. April 17th was printed across the top of the page in block 
English letters, gilded in gold. Underneath the heading, there was a list of his 
appointments written in his neat and careful kanji. The aforementioned meeting 
with the prime minister sat at the top of the list. It had been planned months 
ago, so it was the first thing written down. However, that was not the thing 
that caught his attention. Beneath it was a notation of his daughter’s 
thirteenth birthday and a reminder of her annual celebratory dinner at The Rain 
Tree restaurant.

	Rei’s birthday dinner had become a tradition between them, though it was 
canceled more times than it held, thanks to his hectic schedule. In six years, 
Keitaro only managed to attend two of the dinners -- Rei’s eighth and twelfth 
birthdays. The rest, he either ended up canceling or sending Minoru or his 
assistant Kaidou in his place. It looked like this year would be the same.

	“Gomen nasai, Rei-san.”

	Grabbing a pencil from his top drawer, he erased the dinner plans and 
replaced it with the information about the upcoming press conference. He felt a 
small twinge of guilt doing so, as he did every time, but the feeling had become 
so dull over the years, Keitaro barely acknowledged it. His daughter would 
understand. She probably expected it anyway.

	After that was done, the governor closed his appointment book and set it 
aside, getting back to work on some paperwork Miss Katsuki had brought him to 
fill out.    

	A loud buzzing noise interrupted his concentration a few minutes later. 
“Hino-sama, Negishi-san is here,” his secretary said, her voice cackling over 
the intercom as Keitaro pushed the button. “He doesn’t have an appointment, but 
he insists on seeing you.”

	A blond eyebrow arched in surprise when he heard the announcement. While 
Negishi Shinji was once a frequent visitor to the office, his visits had become 
sporadic over the last few years. The former governor was not in the best of 
health and, therefore, rarely left his house any more unless it was something 
important. 

	“That’s fine, Katsuki-kun. Send him in,” Keitaro said, curious as to the 
old man’s business there. 

	Keitaro stood as the door opened and Miss Katsuki ushered the elderly 
former governor inside. It had been a few months since he last saw his mentor, 
so he was understandably shocked by Negishi’s fragile appearance, much different 
from the jolly Santa Claus he once knew. Negishi had lost quite a bit of weight 
and his once thick mane of silver hair had thinned so much, Keitaro could easily 
see the pink skin of his scalp. A pirate’s patch covered one eye to conceal his 
blindness, and he held an elegant, gold-tipped walking cane in his hand.	

	“Konnichiwa, Negishi-sama,” Keitaro greeted him. 

	He stepped forward to help, but Negishi raised up his hand in front of 
him, politely refusing Keitaro’s assistance as he shakily made his way inside. 
“Konnichiwa, Keitaro-san.”

	“Please have a seat,” Keitaro said, motioning toward the leather chair 
in front of his desk. “Can I have Katsuki-kun bring you anything? Coffee? Tea?”

	Negishi shook his head and slowly lowered himself into the offered seat, 
leaning his cane against the side of the chair. “No, thank you. I don’t intend 
to stay long. I know you are probably busy preparing for the press conference 
that was announced. I don‘t want to be a bother.”

	“It’s not a bother, although you know you didn’t need to come all this 
way to see me, Negishi-sama,” Keitaro said, taking his own seat back behind the 
desk. “I could have met you at the house, or Kaidou-kun could have given me a 
message…”

	“No, no, I don’t want Ace-kun to know about this,” he said. “Besides, I 
just came from my doctor’s office a few blocks down. I figured I would kill two 
birds with one stone.”

	“I see.” Keitaro pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and 
folded his hands on the desk, giving Negishi his full attention. “What do you 
want to talk about? Something about Kaidou-kun?”

	“Yes, actually. How has my grandson been doing?”

	“Fine. He’s really coming along. In fact, I have a meeting with 
Kaidou-kun later this afternoon to discuss his future possibilities in politics. 
Although it won‘t be official until tomorrow, I do plan to announce my 
intentions to run for a Diet seat in the 1994 elections at the press conference, 
and I would like to start grooming Kaidou-kun to be my successor.”

	“Good, good,” Negishi said, coughing loudly into his hand. The sound of 
phlegm being forced from throat to mouth was unpleasant, and Keitaro jumped up 
to pour him a glass of water, ignoring his mentor‘s claims he was fine.

	“Here, drink this, Negishi-sama,” he said, physically putting the paper 
cup in Negishi‘s wrinkled hands. The elderly man whispered his thanks before 
taking a sip of the cool liquid. “Is that all you wanted to know?”

	“Yes…well, no.” Negishi pursed his thin lips together, setting the now 
empty cup down on the desk before he continued. “To be honest with you, 
Keitaro-san, I came to ask you to do me a favor.”

	After pouring him another drink of water, just in case, Keitaro sat back 
down. “A favor?” he repeated, reaching for the mug of forgotten coffee sitting 
to the side.  “Of course. You know I would be happy to help in anyway I can. 
What is it?”

	“I need you to find Ace-kun a wife.”

	Hearing that, Keitaro almost choked on his coffee. “A wife? That’s 
certainly…unexpected.”

	“It’s time for Ace-kun to settle down if he ever plans to become serious 
about pursuing a career in politics, Keitaro-san. His parents and I allowed him 
to sow his wild oats during college, but I’m afraid that period of his life 
needs to come to an end -- the sooner, the better,” Negishi explained.

	Frowning, Keitaro leaned back in his chair. It was the first time he had 
heard of this. Kaidou Ace always struck him as being a rather well-behaved 
person, much like himself. It was hard to imagine the idealistic young man in a 
role more suited to people like Minoru. “I wasn’t aware Kaidou-kun was a party 
boy. He doesn‘t seem the type.”

	“He’s not. At least not that I’m aware of. Oh, I’m sure Ace-kun’s had a 
few girlfriends, maybe gone to a keg party or two…” Pausing for a second, 
Negishi chuckled, probably remembering his own wild college years. From some of 
the stories he told Keitaro about his time at Tokyo University, he had been 
quite the big man on campus. “But that’s irrelevant. The problem with my 
grandson is he’s unfocused, a trait I’m afraid he must have inherited from my 
daughter. Ace-kun has potential, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, he doesn’t 
always live up to it.”

	“And you think marriage will solve that problem?” Keitaro asked 
doubtfully.

	“Well, it’s a start in the right direction, at least. He needs to begin 
thinking about the future. A wife will force him to do so.” Another coughing 
spell came over the former governor, and he took a drink of the water before 
continuing. “I also won’t deny I have somewhat selfish motives in wanting 
Ace-kun to start a family. My days are numbered, Keitaro-san.”

	“Negishi-sama, don’t say--”

	Signaling him to stop, Negishi raised a hand. “Don’t bother trying to 
deny it, kid. Quite frankly, I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long. It’s only by 
the grace of the kami, or Buddha, or your god -- whoever it is that controls 
such things -- that I’m still alive. I’m living on borrowed time here. My doctor 
says I have about a year left, maybe two if I stick to this ridiculous low-fat, 
low-sodium, no taste diet he prescribed. That isn‘t a lot of time, and I would 
like to see at least one of my great-grandchildren born before I die. I missed 
out on so much of my daughter‘s and grandchildren‘s early lives…”

	A look Keitaro never remembered seeing before came over the older man’s 
face. It could only be described as regret, and it was more than slightly 
surprising. Negishi never had been much of a family man while in office. In 
fact, he had been known to say jovially, “Thank goodness I’m out of it!” when 
putting down the telephone after a call to say that his daughter or 
grandchildren were ill. Politics had always come first with him, and his career 
had blossomed as a result. The fact he showed regret now was, well… It made 
Keitaro feel cold inside.

	“I can’t say I pictured you as much of a diaper-changer, sir,” Keitaro 
said quietly.

	“Me either, and don’t think I’m about to become one. That’s what the 
womenfolk are for,” he replied, still very much a traditionalist in that regard. 
“Facing your own mortality, though… I suppose I’m starting to realize how much I 
missed in pursuit of my career. You have to sacrifice a hell of a lot to succeed 
in this business.”

	“I can understand your reasoning, Negishi-sama, but what I don’t 
understand is why you want me to be the one to find Kaidou-san a suitable wife. 
I’m not match-maker material.”

	“You’ll do fine, Keitaro-san,” Negishi assured him. “Besides, Ruri and I 
have both already tried to set him up with little success. I figure since 
Ace-kun respects and admires you so highly, he will be more open to your opinion 
on the matter.”

	Keitaro was still a little reluctant. “I don’t know…”

	“Who do you know who has an unattached daughter of suitable age?” the 
elderly man asked him.

	Tapping his fingers against the surface of his desk, Keitaro thought 
over the question. “Well, there’s Nozumo-sama’s daughter,” he said slowly, 
remembering meeting the attractive blonde a few months ago at a fundraiser for 
the Liberal Democratic Party. They had been seated at the same table together, 
and he had found her to be rather charming, if a little air-headed. “I think she 
recently graduated from university, and as far as I know, she isn‘t dating 
anyone at the moment, but you know I rarely read the society pages.”

	“Perfect!” Keitaro jumped as the former governor clapped his hands 
together, pleased with his suggestion. “The daughter of the head of the LDP -- 
good choice. Nozumo Yuri-san is supposedly one of the most beautiful socialites 
in Tokyo. She and Ace-kun will make a great match. Call Nozumo-sama and set up a 
meeting.” 

	“Negishi-sama, I didn’t agree to this crazy little scheme of yours yet,” 
Keitaro reminded him. “As a rule, I don’t like to get involved with the personal 
lives of my acquaintances, and especially not in the matters of love.”

	Negishi chuckled. “Who said anything about love? Of course, if 
Nozumo-san and Ace-kun do happen to fall in love, that would be great for them, 
but as I told you many times before, love is not important in the world of 
politics.”

	How many times had he heard that? Keitaro sighed, knowing he was 
defeated. “You’re right. I’ll call Nozumo-sama tomorrow. I’m not making any 
promises, though.”

	“Arigatou, Keitaro-san.”

					*****

	Kaidou Ace impatiently waited for the elevator doors to open, looking 
down at his watch for what seemed like the thousandth time since he stepped 
inside. 3:51. Why couldn’t the stupid elevator move any faster? His meeting with 
Governor Hino was scheduled to begin in little less than ten minutes. The last 
thing he needed was to make a bad impression by being late, especially when he 
was meeting with a man who had probably never been tardy a day in his life.

	“Come on, come on, come on, come on…” he chanted, watching the numbers 
glow red above the door as the elevator slowly made its way up the towering 
skyscraper. “Shimatta, get to the twentieth floor already!”

	The last part was said in a rather loud voice, traveling so that 
everyone inside could hear. Squished up beside him, one of the office ladies 
rolled his eyes at his obvious impatience, and there were some chuckles in the 
back, but Kaidou chose to ignore them. He didn’t have time to worry about what 
kind of fool he might be making himself out to be inside the crowded elevator. 
He needed to get to that meeting!

	It probably had not been an intelligent decision on his part to make a 
detour to the T*A Academy for Girls on the way back to the office, he realized. 
Kaidou hadn’t expected his short visit with Rei to last so long. It probably 
wouldn’t have, either, if they hadn’t run into Tanaka Sayo and her groupies 
outside the school. They had wasted valuable time talking to that rude girl.

	Thinking about what happened earlier, Kaidou frowned. He hadn’t liked 
what he heard. Did those girls really treat Rei so terribly? He always knew Rei 
didn’t like attending the Academy, but she never told him about the teasing or 
the rumors she had to suffer through every day. Even though she tried to pretend 
she didn’t care, he knew it must be difficult for her.

	“Poor Rei-chan…” he murmured.

	Kaidou liked to think of himself as the raven-haired girl’s protector, 
the knight in shining armor he always had to play whenever Rei conned him into 
playing dress-up with her when she was a little girl. (Not that he would ever 
admit to the fact he used to play dress-up when he was a teenager… He did it to 
make Rei happy, that’s all.) Unfortunately, as she grew older, he had apparently 
grown lax in his duties. Her move to the shrine almost immediately after 
Takara’s death had, of course, put some distance between them, and his studies 
at the university and subsequent internship at the governor’s office had hardly 
left him much time to visit the lonely little girl. However, he had allowed 
himself to be fooled by her assurances that she was ‘fine’, and that school was 
‘okay’.  The more he thought about it, the more angry Kaidou became with 
himself. Why hadn‘t he visited more often? Why had he taken her word for 
granted? Why-?

	“Yo, Kaidou-kun, are you ever going to get off or not?” a man he 
recognized as one of his co-workers asked with an amused grin, keeping the 
elevator door from sliding close. “Twentieth floor. That‘s what you wanted, 
wasn‘t it?”

	Breaking from his thoughts about Rei, Kaidou slowly looked up at numbers 
above the elevator. Sure enough, the “20” was highlighted in bright red. Behind 
him, he could only imagine the smirks on the other people’s faces after he made 
such a fuss earlier.

	“Oh, yeah, right…” Kaidou said sheepishly, stepping off the elevator and 
into the main lobby with the other assistant. The elevator doors slid close 
behind him. “Arigatou, Sasaki-kun. I must have drifted off there for a moment.”

	“No problem. Happens to the best of us,” Sasaki assured him. Since they 
were heading in the same direction, the two men fell side-by-side. “Big meeting 
today, Kaidou-kun?”

	“You could say that.” Unconsciously, Kaidou began fiddling with his tie, 
a habit he fell back on whenever he was nervous. “Hino-sama wants to see me.”

	Nodding, Sasaki shifted the file folder he was holding in his hand to 
underneath his arm. “He probably wants to talk to you about tomorrow’s press 
conference.”  

	“Press conference?” Kaidou slowed his pace down the hall, surprised by 
what Sasaki said. That was news to him. When had the governor decided to call a 
press conference?

	Sasaki raised an eyebrow. “What? You mean you haven’t heard?”

	“No, I’ve been out most of the day on business.”

	“Well, you’ve certainly missed a lot. I thought for sure you would be 
one of the first to know about Hino-sama‘s decision.”

	“What decision, Sasaki-kun? Just spill it already.”

	Shifting his eyes around the vicinity, the assistant lifted his folder 
in front of his face and motioned Kaidou to lean forward. Green eyes rolled at 
his pathetic attempt at secrecy, but Kaidou obliged nevertheless, curious 
despite himself.

	“It just so happens that I was put in charge of the packets for the 
press conference,” Sasaki whispered like a gossipy schoolgirl. “I know what the 
big announcement is, but you can’t breathe a word of this to anybody, okay?”

	Kaidou nodded his agreement, not really caring either way. “Yare yare, 
just get on with it already. I’m going to be late for my meeting if you don‘t 
hurry up.”   

	“Okay, okay. It isn’t official yet, but it appears that Governor 
Hino-sama has decided not to run for re-election once his term ends, and plans 
to run for a seat in the Diet instead.”

	“A Diet seat?” Kaidou repeated.

	His voice must have been louder than he meant it to be for Sasaki 
promptly slapped his folder over Kaidou’s mouth. “Come on, are you trying to get 
me fired here?”

	“Gomen nasai, Sasaki-kun.” Pulling the file folder away from his face, 
Kaidou remembered to keep his voice lowered as he continued. “Hino-sama is 
running for a Diet seat during the next elections?”

	Sasaki flipped through the papers in his folder. “That’s what the packet 
says, at least. I have it right here in my hot little hand. You know what this 
means, right?”

	“What?”

	“This is your big chance, Kaidou-kun. Everybody knows your Hino-sama’s 
successor.”

	“Me? Governor?” The very idea made Kaidou laugh. Him, the governor of 
the Tokyo metropolitan area? “Perhaps in a decade or so. I‘m only an assistant.”

	“You’re Hino-sama’s top assistant,” Sasaki corrected, stressing the word 
“top”. “Remember Hino-sama was your grandfather’s top assistant before he ran 
for governor.”

	“He also was a member of the Assembly when he decided to run,” Kaidou 
reminded him. “As for me, I don’t have any experience in elected public office, 
Sasaki-kun. I highly doubt the people would elect a no-name assistant as 
governor.”

	“They would if his last name happened to be Kaidou and his mother 
happened to be the only daughter of a former governor. Man, I know some people 
who would kill to have your pedigree, including me.”

	Kaidou rolled his eyes. It always amused him whenever he heard somebody 
wishing they had his name. He doubted they would be so eager to become a Kaidou 
if they knew all that it entailed. 

	“Take it then. It’s yours. You don’t even have to kill anyone. I’ll give 
it to you for free. Heck, I would even *pay* you to take it.” Reaching into his 
pocket, he pulled out his wallet and began flipping through his money, almost 
serious about the idea of selling his family name. Let somebody else deal with 
the pressure for a change. “How much do you want?”

	“Put your wallet away, baka,“ Sasaki said, shaking his head. “Sheesh, 
you don’t even know how good you’ve got it.”

	“Oh, I know perfectly well what I have.” Kaidou placed the folded wallet 
back in his pants pocket and let out an exasperated sigh. “I know I could win 
the election on my name recognition alone, but if I do ever run for public 
office, I want to feel as if I earned it.”

	“You’re too idealistic for your own good, Kaidou-kun.”

	“Don’t I know it…” Pulling up his sleeve, Kaidou glanced down at his 
watch and silently cursed under his breath. It was 4:01, exactly one minute 
after his meeting with the governor was supposed to begin. “Look, I need to go, 
Sasaki-kun. I’m already late for the meeting. It was nice talking to you. Ja!”

	“Ja ne! And good luck!”

	Kaidou barely heard his friend’s goodbye as he began walking down the 
hall to Keitaro’s office as fast as he could without breaking into a jog. Stupid 
Sasaki, holding him up when the assistant knew he had an important meeting with 
the governor… If Keitaro lectured him one more time about the importance on 
being on time, Sasaki could forget about getting a Christmas present this year, 
even if he was one of his closest friends at the office.

	Huffing and puffing, the tardy assistant finally entered the governor’s 
office without knocking and found his secretary’s desk unoccupied. It looked 
like Miss Katsuki had decided to take a short coffee break. Annoyed by her 
absence, Kaidou was tempted to reach over the desk and use the intercom himself 
to announce he had arrived for the meeting, but thinking better of it, he took a 
seat in a chair near the door to catch his breath. Besides, from the voices 
coming from the office, it sounded as if the governor was still in the middle of 
another meeting.

	“I guess it’s a good thing I was late after all,” he said to himself 
with a chuckle, reaching for the newspaper sitting on the end table beside him 
to read while he waited.

	Scanning the government section, Kaidou thought back to what Sasaki had 
told him about the press conference. Was the governor really going to step down 
after his term was over to run for a seat in the Diet? It was expected that one 
day Hino Keitaro would one day break onto the national political scene, of 
course, but Kaidou thought he would at least try for one more term as governor. 

	Then again, he was already in his fourth term in office. It was hard to 
remember that when the governor was still so young, not even yet forty. Keitaro 
had accomplished so much in his young life; it was only natural he would want to 
move onto bigger and better things. In Kaidou’s eyes, it would be only a matter 
of time before he became Prime Minister of Japan.

	Kaidou envied his boss. Keitaro always knew exactly what his goals were 
and worked hard to achieve them. That was one of the reasons he admired and 
respected him so much. Compared to the governor, though, he must seem like a 
snail. At twenty-five, Keitaro had already been elected to the Assembly and had 
begun his campaign for governor, and here he was, the exact same age, and 
nothing more than an assistant. No wonder his grandfather and parents thought he 
was a failure.

	Oh, they didn’t say it in so many words, but Kaidou knew what they were 
thinking behind those patronizing smiles and eyes full of pity. They thought he 
was unfocused and not serious enough for a career in politics -- especially his 
father, a member of the prime minister’s cabinet. Kaidou Taro had told him on 
more than one occasion that it was time for him to grow up and to start thinking 
about his future.

	The only problem was, Kaidou didn’t know what he wanted to do with his 
life. Running for governor, as Sasaki had suggested, would be a wonderful 
opportunity for him, and he knew his family would approve, but it wasn’t his 
dream job. He always imagined himself holding a less-prolific position, some 
place where he could make a difference without having to bother with petty 
political games and celebrity.

	Sighing heavily, Kaidou neatly folded the newspaper back into its 
original shape and set it aside. It sounded like the meeting inside the office 
was coming to an end. He could hear footsteps coming toward the door and his 
boss’s voice bidding his guest goodbye. 

	“Yes, I will call Nozumo-sama first thing tomorrow morning,” he heard 
Keitaro say as the doorknob began to turn. “Sayonara, Negi--”

	Kaidou immediately jumped up to greet the two men, never expecting the 
sight that greeted him instead when the door opened. 

	“Ojii-sama?” Kaidou asked, his eyes wide when he saw none other than his 
grandfather holding onto Keitaro’s arm for support. 

	Negishi was startled to his grandson standing by the door, but managed 
to hide it well after he recovered from the initial shock. “Oh, Ace-kun, what a 
pleasant surprise,” he said. “Keitaro-san said you two had scheduled a meeting, 
but I didn’t know what time. I hope you weren’t waiting long. My visit lasted 
longer than I expected.”

	Kaidou shook his head. “No, only about ten minutes,” he replied. “But, 
ojii-sama, what are you doing here?”

	His grandfather raised an eyebrow in his direction at the blunt 
question. “What? I can’t visit an old friend at the office without your 
permission?”

	“No, sir…I mean, yes, sir, you can visit anybody you like…What I 
meant…oh, kami-sama…”

	Kaidou felt like slapping himself in the face, knowing he must look like 
an bumbling idiot to the two men he suspected were trying to hold back their 
chuckles. The governor was managing to conceal his amusement rather well, as 
usual, but his grandfather couldn’t hold back an affectionate smile. 	
“Articulate as always, aren’t you, Ace-kun?” he lightly teased.

	Fiddling with his tie once again, Kaidou cleared his throat and tried to 
save face in front of his idols. “Gomen nasai, ojii-sama. What I meant to say is 
that I didn’t expect to see you here. Your doctors said you shouldn‘t exert 
yourself too much…”

	Negishi chuckled. “This is nothing. I’m not running the Tokyo Marathon, 
you know.”

	Open mouth, insert foot. Why was it that whenever his grandfather was 
around, he lost all sense of coherent speech? “N-no, of course not, sir. I 
didn‘t mean to imply…”

	“Your grandfather was in the city for a doctor’s appointment and decided 
to drop by,” Keitaro explained before Kaidou could further make a fool of 
himself. “We had some business to discuss.”

	“Oh.” He stuck with the simple interjection, figuring it was his safest 
bet.

	“And now I will be leaving,” Negishi announced, letting go of his former 
protegé’s arm and hesitantly stepping forward on his cane. “I know you two have 
much to discuss, so don’t allow me to waste any more of your time. I will see 
you at dinner, Ace-kun. Goodbye.”

	“Wait, ojii-sama.” Kaidou reached for his grandfather’s arm as the 
elderly man started walking in the direction of the door. “If you don’t mind 
waiting around here for a little while longer, I would be happy drive you back 
to the house. My meeting with Hino-sama shouldn’t take that long. We’ll go home 
together.”

	“No, thank you for the offer, but I already have my driver waiting 
downstairs. I‘ll be fine.”

	Kaidou released his arm. “Okay. I’ll see you later. Goodbye.”  

	The two watched Negishi slowly walk out the door and into the hall 
before the governor finally stepped back inside, motioning Kaidou to follow. 
“Come, Kaidou-kun. We do have much to discuss.”

	With one last tug at his tie, Kaidou entered the office.

	Meeting with the governor always intimidated Kaidou. There was something 
about the spacious office furnished with leather chairs and expensive works of 
art, as well as the formal atmosphere surrounding Keitaro, that put him on his 
guard. Feeling his stomach turn a somersault, he sat down in front of the desk 
at the governor’s bidding. 

	“Would you like some coffee or tea?” Keitaro asked. Kaidou shook his 
head, his stomach still feeling a little queasy, and the governor took a 
seat in the large chair behind his desk, his hands folded neatly on the clear 
surface as the meeting officially began. “I suppose you’re wondering why I 
wanted to see you, Kaidou-kun. I presume you have been informed of the press 
conference.”

	“Yes, sir. Sasaki-kun told me about it shortly before I arrived for the 
meeting.”

	“Did he tell you what it is to be about?”

	Kaidou almost nodded his head, but remembering that Sasaki had told him 
the announcement in the strictest confidence, he lied. Sasaki might have caused 
him to be late to the meeting, but he was still a good friend, and he didn’t 
want to get him in trouble. “No, he didn’t, sir. All he said is that you were 
planning to make an important announcement about your future political career.”

	“That’s correct. I’ve decided not to run for another term as governor 
and will instead try for a seat in the Diet come next election year.” 

	“Congratulations. I’m sure you’ll make a wonderful Diet member, 
Hino-sama.”

	A faint smile crossed the governor‘s lips. “Thank you for your 
confidence in me, Kaidou-kun,” Keitaro said, pushing his glasses back into 
place. “However, we’re not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you, 
and your plans for the future.”

	So Sasaki had been right about the reason for the meeting. “My plans for 
the future?” Kaidou repeated, gulping. His future was not one of his favorite 
things to discuss. He had a tendency to live only in the present, rarely 
thinking ahead, and it had gotten him in trouble with his father on more than 
one occasion.

	Leaning back in his chair, the governor wore a rather amused look on his 
normally serious face. “I take it that you have not given the future much 
thought, then?”

	“You could say that, sir.”

	“Your grandfather said as much.”

	“You and ojii-sama were discussing me?” For some reason, Kaidou did not 
like the sound of that. Not at all. His grandfather was more lenient than his 
father when it concerned his career, feeling he should be able to make his own 
decisions about what he wanted to do with his life, but that didn’t stop Negishi 
from giving his grandson subtle hints and pushes in the direction he wanted him 
to take. Negishi preferred the indirect approach and was rather crafty in his 
dealings despite his old age and failing health.

	Keitaro nodded. “Your name did come up, yes.”

	“I suppose ojii-sama wants me to start thinking about the future, too,” 
Kaidou said, barely holding back a sigh. “Is that why he visited you today?”

	The governor ignored the question about Kaidou’s grandfather and 
continued with the main topic. “You are twenty-five years old, Kaidou-kun. You 
are not a child any more, and it is about time you seriously start considering 
what you want to do with the rest of your life. I’m not saying you need to have 
the next twenty years planned right down to the minute, but if you do want to 
have a career in politics, I suggest you begin setting some short-term goals and 
work to achieve them.”

	“Such as?” 

	“Well, for example, there are the 1994 elections coming up in three 
years. Perhaps you should think about running for public office.”

	“Like the governor’s seat you will be vacating?” Kaidou asked, 
remembering what Sasaki had suggested before the meeting.

	“That is one possibility,” Keitaro agreed. “I would be willing to take 
you under my wing as your grandfather did me if that is the path you choose. I 
do think you have promise to become a wonderful governor, Kaidou-kun. You’re 
hard-working, honest, and charismatic with an admirable sense of duty to the 
people. What more could the populace want in a leader?”

	“But I’m afraid I don’t have much experience in public office, 
Hino-sama. The only reason people know of me is because of my father and 
grandfather’s names, and I have no interest in resting on my family‘s laurels. I 
want people to vote for me and not my name if I decided to run.”

	“That’s true,” Keitaro admitted. “I had much the same problem you had 
when I began my campaign for governor: very little experience and a famous name. 
However, those obstacles are not impossible to overcome with a little hard work 
and dedication.”

	“Do you really think so, sir?”

	“Of course,” Keitaro nodded. “However, if you don’t feel qualified to 
run for governor just yet, though, there are other options. The Assembly 
elections are coming up next year, so there’s always that possibility. I would 
highly suggest running for a seat, even if you haven’t set any long-term, 
concrete goals. Being an Assembly member will give you valuable experience no 
matter what path you ultimately choose in the future. Perhaps you might even 
make a name for yourself, apart from Kaidou-sama and Negishi-sama.”

	“Perhaps,” Kaidou said quietly. “I’ll think about it.”

	“You don’t sound very enthusiastic about the idea, Kaidou-kun.”

	Kaidou heard the faint displeasure in Keitaro‘s voice and hastened to 
explain his reluctance. “Well, I haven’t really given this much thought, sir. 
I‘m not sure exactly what I want to do.”

	Keitaro rose from his chair and walking to the large window behind him, 
drew back the red curtains. The city of Tokyo spread out before them, grand and 
majestic. It was a breathtaking view.

	“It’s an honorable life, Kaidou-kun,” the governor said, his stony gray 
eyes looking out over the city he had served for the past thirteen years. “This 
has been my dream for as long as I could remember. You know, I still remember 
coming up to this very office with my uncle as a little boy to visit your 
grandfather and looking out at Tokyo, thinking of the day when I would become 
governor. Politics was all I could think about.” The blond man sighed, his 
shoulders slumping. 

	“Sometimes I think the dream was better than the reality.”

	The last part he said in almost a whisper, the thought not meant to be 
heard by anyone but himself. However, Kaidou had managed to catch most of what 
he had said, and it confused him. “Hino-sama? What do you mean by ‘the dream was 
better than the reality’?” 

	Keitaro shook his head, brushing the comment aside. “It’s nothing,” he 
said. “Just promise me you will think about what we discussed today. You may 
leave. I‘ll see you tomorrow morning.”

	Kaidou stood, still confused, but deciding not to pry. “Sayonara, 
Hino-sama,” he said quietly, manners forbidding a silent departure. 

	“Kaidou-kun?”

	The assistant paused in the doorway, turning back to his boss, who was 
still standing by the window and staring at the city. “Yes, Hino-sama?”

	“I won’t be able to join you and Rei-san for her birthday dinner 
tomorrow. The press conference begins at seven and I’m afraid there’s no way I 
can make it. You’ll pass along my condolences and tell her I wish her a happy 
birthday?”

	Kaidou nodded. “Hai, Hino-sama…”

					*****

	The next morning, Saburo woke up even earlier than usual to the sounds 
of Phobos and Deimos cawing loudly outside his room. The two birds were 
flying around and generally making as much noise as possible.

	“Stupid birds,” he muttered, wondering what had them so excited as he 
rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stretched. 

	The dreaming priest was not pleased by the early morning wake up call. 
Nevertheless, he rolled off his futon and headed to the open wall panel, sliding 
it close to block out the racket made by his granddaughter‘s mischievous pets. 
He then checked the time on his alarm clock sitting on the floor beside his bed.

	It was only four o’clock in the morning, about an hour before his alarm 
was set to go off. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. Outside, the sky was still a 
dark blue, a few stars twinkling dimly here and there as the luminous full moon 
peaked out from behind a veil of clouds. Frowning, Saburo hoped the sky would 
clear up by daybreak. Rei deserved nothing less than a beautiful sunny day on 
her thirteenth birthday.

	Reminded of that fact, Saburo turned on a nearby lamp and began digging 
in his chest of drawers. He had hidden her present in there, not wanting his 
granddaughter to find the gift before her special day, and still needed to wrap 
it with the paper he bought at the store the other day.

	His hand wrapping around the small box at the bottom of the drawer, 
Saburo pulled out the package and slid off the lid. Inside, nestled in black 
velveteen, was a set of hair combs. They were gold-plated, embellished with a 
line of small, but perfectly round, freshwater pearls at the top, each separated 
by tiny rubies and diamond chips. Of course, the rubies were lab-created and the 
diamonds were only promotional grade, but still, the combs were no pieces of 
cheap costume jewelry. Saburo had paid good money for the lovely hair ornaments.

	Fingering the smoothness of the pearls, Saburo imagined how pretty Rei 
would look with the combs in her long raven hair. From the moment he saw them in 
the window of Osa-P, a prominent jewelry story in the Juuban district, he knew 
they would be the perfect gift. However, it had been a struggle to save enough 
money to buy the combs for Rei’s birthday. Saburo had had to make a lot of 
sacrifices to purchase them, but he knew they would be worth it to see the look 
her face when she opened her gift at breakfast. After all, it wasn’t every day 
his granddaughter officially became a teenager. She deserved something special 
to mark the momentous occasion. 

	Placing the lid back on the box so that he could wrap the present, the 
priest chuckled, for the first time realizing what that meant. His granddaughter 
was a teenager. Where had the time gone? It seemed like only yesterday Takara 
had turned thirteen and was asking if she could get her hair bleached. Now, he 
would be going through the same thing with Rei. The thought scared and excited 
him at the same time.

	Was he really ready to raise *another* teenage girl?

	Sighing, Saburo pulled out a roll of silver wrapping paper and some red 
ribbon and began wrapping her present on the futon. 

	He supposed it didn’t really matter if he was ready or not. There was 
nothing he could do to stop the inevitable from coming. Rei would become a 
teenager whether he liked it or not. That still didn’t stop the adoring 
grandfather from wishing his granddaughter could stay an innocent little girl 
for a bit longer, though. 

	But Saburo knew it was time to let Rei grow up. She was already 
blossoming into a beautiful young lady, very much like her mother. Looking at 
Rei was like looking at a photograph of his beloved daughter at the same age. 
They both had the same amethyst eyes and ebony hair, along with pale porcelain 
skin. The only major difference between them was Rei’s slightly larger build, a 
benefit of not having to suffer from the illness that claimed Takara’s young 
life. Other than that, the two could have been twins. It was a comfort to him. 
With Rei around, sometimes it felt as if Takara was still with him.

	After he finished tying the ribbon around the silver-wrapped box, he set 
the present aside and reached for a picture of Takara sitting by the alarm 
clock. Tears filled his eyes as he gazed upon his late daughter’s smiling face, 
but Saburo wiped them away, determined not to cry on Rei’s special day.

	“I wish you were here, Takara,” his whispered, bringing the photograph 
to his lips for a kiss. “You would be so proud of the woman your Rei-chan has 
become. So very proud…”

	The alarm clock chose to ring at that moment, startling the old man from 
his reverie. Setting aside the picture, he rose from his bed and began getting 
dressed in his priest’s robes. It was time for his usual morning mediation in 
front of the sacred fire.

	Taking the present with him, Saburo sat the gift down on the low table 
in the living area where they usually ate their meals, then headed to his 
private prayer room down the hall. The fire was burning brightly, as usual, when 
he stepped inside. Shadows danced across the walls of the small room and the 
heat warmed his skin like a lover’s embrace. Feeling the familiar calm come over 
him at the sight, Saburo kneeled on the floor in front of the fire and began to 
pray.

	"Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen."
	
	Visions soon appeared in the dancing flames, surprising the old priest 
in their rapidity and clarity. Normally, it was difficult to make out even one 
vision in the flickering reds, oranges, and yellows. Fire reading was not 
something that came easily, not even to a so-called master like himself, and it 
was rare to get even one vision. Today, however, the fire was very willing to 
cooperate. One might even say it was talkative -- that is, if fire had the 
ability to talk. 

	Concentrating on the vision, Saburo stared deep into the fire, ignoring 
the intense heat surrounding him that caused beads of perspiration to roll down 
his face. In the flames, he saw a young girl, about twelve or thirteen years 
old, standing in what appeared to be rain. Though the shadow of the red umbrella 
she held in her right hand hid her face from view, he noticed the girl had long, 
dark hair pulled back into a braid. At first, he thought it might be Takara, but 
as the fire “panned” away to show the rest of the girl’s body, it became obvious 
that she was not. The girl wore a familiar brown, gray, and red Catholic school 
girls’ uniform and was slightly bigger than his delicate daughter had been.

	Dark eyes widened in recognition. “Rei-chan…” 

	The vision wavered as Saburo whispered her name and momentarily lost his 
concentration, but it did not disappear. Instead, it panned even further away, 
revealing the girl was not alone. Up ahead, there were two more people, a man 
and a woman, sharing their own umbrella. They appeared very much a couple, the 
pretty woman laughing as she playfully touched her lover’s nose. The man’s arm 
was wrapped tightly around her waist and he was smiling, not at all embarrassed 
to show his affection toward the blonde.

	Saburo watched the scene in confusion, wondering why of all things, the 
fire would show him this. A premonition of the future? He was not a 
fortune-teller, but it was not unheard of for the fire to show him future 
events. Rare, but not improbable. His eyes narrowed as he urged the fire to 
continue.

	The focus was now back on the girl, Rei. She had tipped her umbrella 
back just far enough so he could finally see her face, and it pained him to see 
her amethyst eyes were filled with tears. She was shaking her head in disbelief, 
seemingly shocked by something she saw. Saburo couldn’t see what it was, but he 
had a fairly good idea. The girl then took a few steps backward, dropped her 
umbrella, and pivoted on her heel. The last thing he saw before the vision 
abruptly ended was the girl’s rain-and-tear-streaked face as she ran away from 
whatever it was that caused her so much pain.

	The flames of the sacred fire died down after the vision faded away, 
returning to its usual size. It was as if nothing ever happened. Saburo wiped 
the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his robe, speechless by what he had 
just saw. Absolutely speechless.

	Was that a vision of his granddaughter’s future? If so, then why would 
the fire show him that? To protect her from her heartbreak? There was no doubt 
in his mind that whatever she saw caused her unbelievable pain and sorrow. Rei 
was not prone to tears, especially not over insignificant things. Whatever it 
was had hurt her badly. 

	But what could he do about it? He didn’t recognize the couple he saw in 
the vision. Although, now that he thought about it, the man did seem vaguely 
familiar. Saburo tried to recall his face, but already, his memory of the vision 
was growing dim. The only thing he could remember about the man was that he wore 
gold wire-rimmed glasses.

	“Ojii-san?”

	Hearing Rei’s voice, the priest involuntarily jumped. “Rei-chan!” he 
exclaimed, craning his neck around to glance behind him. Rei’s head was peeping 
inside the prayer room from the doorway. “I didn’t expect you to be out of bed 
so early today. You know I told you that you could sleep in and I would take 
care of your morning chores.”

	Rei rolled her eyes. “You spoil me too much, ojii-san. You remind me of 
Yukana-san sometimes. It’s only my birthday; there’s no reason why I shouldn’t 
have to do my chores. Besides, I *like* working around the shrine. I can’t sit 
around here and do nothing all day long. I would go out of my mind.”

	Chuckling, Saburo stood from his kneeling position and dusted some ash 
off the back of his robes. “Are you sure you’re Hino Takara’s daughter?” he 
joked. “I remember Takara used to jump at any opportunity she could get to get 
out of her chores. That is, unless she thought I was babying her. Then she would 
do extra chores just to spite me, but…I‘m rambling again, aren‘t I?”

	“Maybe a little, but I don’t mind,” Rei said. She stepped forward into 
the room, revealing she was already dressed in her miko’s robes, and leaned up 
against the wall. “I like hearing about okaa-sama when she was my age. Was she 
really such a slacker around the shrine?”

	He smiled. “Well, I don’t think I would use the word ‘slacker’, but 
Takara did have a tendency to daydream quite a bit. I can’t tell you how many 
times I caught that girl staring off into space, a rake in her hand and not a 
single leaf cleared out of the way.” Remembering those days, the priest shook 
his head ruefully. “It really was a wonder we got any work done around here. If 
it hadn’t been for Miyuki-chan picking up the slack, Hikawa would not be 
business.”

	“How is Watanabe-san, anyway?“ Rei asked. “Have you talked to her 
lately?” 

	Miyuki and Kazuya had left Tokyo about a year or two after Takara’s 
death when Kazuya had received a great job offer in Nagano. Though they were 
only able to visit every once in a while, Saburo still kept in touch with his 
daughter’s best friend through letters and the occasional long-distance 
telephone call.

	“Miyuki-chan and her husband are doing fine,” he answered. “They’re 
expecting another baby, you know. Sometime in August, I believe.”

	Rei arched an eyebrow in his direction at the announcement. “Another 
baby? Isn’t that the third one?”

	“Fourth,” he corrected. “Takara-kun, Reika-chan, Fumie-chan, and of 
course, the upcoming arrival.”

	“Wow, big family…” his granddaughter murmured, her voice filled with 
awe.

	Saburo laughed. “Yes, well, Miyuki-chan always did say she wanted at 
least a half-dozen children. From the look of things, I say she‘s well on her 
way to reaching her goal,” he said, walking to the door. The priest showed Rei 
out and slid the door shut behind them before they began walking back down the 
hall. “Now, why don’t I start breakfast? What would you like this morning? 
Pancakes? Eggs?”

	Rei frowned, her arms folded across her chest. “Ojii-san, you know it’s 
my job to cook breakfast today. I already told you I wasn‘t going to ignore my 
chores.”

	“But it’s your birthday, Rei-chan. If you’re going to be stubborn about 
this, the least you can do is allow me to make you a special breakfast.”

	“What if I actually want to be able to *eat* my breakfast?” she teased.

	Saburo feigned hurt, although he knew there was some truth in the 
statement. He was no gourmet chef in the kitchen, even after years of living on 
his own. About the only thing he could prepare half-way decently was sandwiches. 
“Are you suggesting I’m a bad cook?”

	“No, I’m *saying* you’re a bad cook.”

	“Bah, you just have delicate taste buds,” he said as they passed by the 
kitchen. Stopping at the door, he waved Rei away. “No, go feed those pesky crows 
of yours and when you come back, I‘ll have a feast prepared, fit for a 
princess.”

	“Hai, ojii-san…” she said, heading to the front door. “If you say so.”  

	He ignored the subtle tone of mockery in her voice and stepped inside 
the small area they called the kitchen to begin breakfast. Deciding on pancakes, 
as they were fairly easy to make, Saburo pulled out the ingredients he needed 
and got to work. Soon, the kitchen was alive with the pleasing aroma of pancakes 
with only the slightest stench of burning in the air.

	The priest was busy flipping the last batch of pancakes and humming the 
“Birthday Song” to himself when he heard Rei come back inside after she finished 
throwing out the corn for the crows. A few seconds later, she was at the door of 
the kitchen, pretending to sniff loudly. “It does smell awfully good in here,” 
she admitted.

	Saburo smiled triumphantly, flipping one of the pancakes high in the 
air. He caught it easily and set the lightly browned batter back on the skillet. 
“See, I told you I could do this. Nothing to it.”

	“Well, I’ll reserve judgment until I see how they taste,” Rei said. His 
granddaughter came up beside him, and Saburo saw she had her birthday present in 
her hands. “Is this for me, ojii-san? I found it sitting on the table.”

	“Hai. It‘s your birthday gift from me.” 

   	“May I open it?”

	Saburo nodded, wiping his batter-covered hands on a nearby towel. He had 
just finished placing the last of the pancakes on the plate. “If you would 
like.”

	Rei set the small box wrapped in silver paper down on the counter and 
fingered the satin ribbon tied around it, contemplating the package. “It’s 
almost too pretty to unwrap.” 

	“Now you tell me. If I had known all that would make you happy was a 
pretty box, I could have saved myself a good deal of money.”

	“Ojii-san!” Rei laughed and began unwrapping the present, careful not 
to tear the pretty wrapping paper too much or mess up the bow so she could save 
it for her scrapbook.

	Watching her, Saburo thought he was about to die from the slow agony she 
was putting through. His heart was pounding in anticipation of seeing the look 
on her face when she saw what was inside. Would she like it?

	Finally, though, she reached for the box and lifted up the lid. Saburo 
was not disappointed. Her purple eyes lit up like the lights on a Christmas 
tree, and a small gasp of surprise escaped her lips. Rei carefully took the 
combs out of the box and held them in her hands, treating them with the utmost 
care and delicacy as if she were afraid they were made of glass and would 
shatter at the slightest touch. “Oh, ojii-sama…” she whispered.

	“Do you like them?” he asked needlessly.

	“They’re beautiful…” Her voice drifted off as the light in her eyes 
suddenly dimmed. With a sigh, she reached for her grandfather’s arm and placed 
the pretty hair ornaments in his hand. “But I can’t possibly accept them.”

	Saburo, not understanding her sudden change of moods, looked down at the 
combs he held in his hand in confusion. One minute she was beyond happy with her 
gift, the next minute she was giving them back to him. He didn’t understand. 
“Why not, Rei-chan?”

	“They’re too expensive. You can’t possibly afford to give me presents 
like those combs, ojii-san -- not when money around the shrine is so tight. I 
can’t believe you would be so careless with our finances. Just last week, you 
told me you asked for an extension on our electric bill. Remember? Or did you 
forget?”

	“No, I didn’t forget,” he said softly. “But I didn’t use any money from 
the shrine’s budget to buy you these combs, Rei-chan.”

	“Then how?” Rei asked. “Did you borrow the money from otou-sama?”

	Truthfully, that had been his first idea when he decided he wanted to 
buy the combs for Rei’s birthday. Saburo even found the nerve to write Keitaro 
for a loan, but the letter was never sent. The envelope still sat in the bottom 
of one of his drawers, sealed and addressed, almost forgotten until Rei brought 
up the subject of the money.

	It wasn’t that Saburo had been afraid his son-in-law would say “no”. 
Keitaro was more than generous with his monthly child support checks and 
donations to the shrine. Saburo didn’t doubt the governor would give him the 
loan had he asked, but the thought of asking for charity from him, of all 
people, was galling. Saburo was a proud man, and he felt the birthday present 
should be all his, not just in name alone.

	The priest shook his head in answer to Rei’s question. “No, I didn’t 
borrow money from Hino-sama,” he said, his gaze still on the combs. He refused 
to look up at his granddaughter, knowing she probably wouldn’t like hearing what 
he did instead. “I, uh, pawned some of Noriko’s things.”

	As he suspected, Rei was suitably upset at the news. “You didn’t!”

	“It wasn’t that much,” he assured her. “Only a few pieces of costume 
jewelry and couple of trinkets.”

	“But they were obaa-san’s things.” His granddaughter came up behind him, 
and in a rare show of affection, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her head 
resting on his shoulder. Rei was already about as tall as he was. “I know that 
couldn’t have been easy for you.”

	Saburo sighed. It had been difficult to part with the items Noriko loved 
so much, but he had wanted so badly to give Rei something special for her 
birthday… He didn’t regret his decision. Besides, had his wife still been alive, 
she probably would have come up with the same idea. That’s what they had done 
years earlier, when the two of them bought the ruby necklace that now hung 
around Rei’s neck for Takara. He had even gone to the same pawn shop just a few 
blocks down in the shopping district as before.

	“They’re only material items, Rei-chan,” he said. “I still have my 
memories of Noriko, right here in my heart. I don’t need a pair of earrings to 
remind me of her.”

	“Still, I want you to take the combs back. Maybe you can get a refund 
and pay back the pawnbroker for obaa--”

	Saburo shook his head. “It’s no use, little one. I can’t return the 
combs. I bought them on sale at Osa-P and all sales on clearance items are 
final. Plus, even if Osaka-san took pity on me and I could get a refund, I 
pawned those items months ago. I doubt Noriko’s things are still there. The 
pawnbroker said they would be easy to sell.”

	“Oh. Gomen nasai, ojii-san.”

	Her embrace around him loosened, allowing Saburo to turn around to face 
his granddaughter. He reached for Rei’s hand and gave back the combs. Though she 
was shaking her head in refusal, he curled her fingers over the small objects 
and kissed the back of her hand. “I want you to have these combs, Rei-chan,” he 
said.

	“B-but…”

	“Do you not like them?”

	“You know I do, ojii-san. They’re beautiful.”

	Saburo smiled. “Then, it’s settled. They’re yours and I’m not hearing 
another argument about it.”

	Unfurling her fingers, Rei looked down at the combs, unsure of what to 
say. He could tell she was still reluctant about accepting the expensive gift, 
but finally she sighed in defeat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Arigatou, 
ojii-san. I‘ll treasure them always.”

	Just then, there was a knock on the front door. Neither had any idea who 
the visitor could be. It was rare to have callers so early in the morning. 
Shrugging her shoulders, Rei put the combs in her pocket and left to answer the 
door while Saburo put the finishing touches on their breakfast.

	“Who was it, Rei-chan?” the priest asked when he carried the tray out 
into the living quarters. Setting the tray down on the table, he looked over at 
his granddaughter still standing by the door.

	In her arms, Rei held a large package wrapped in metallic red wrapping 
paper and a beautiful bouquet. He recognized the pretty white flowers as 
Casablanca lilies, her favorites. “It was the delivery man,” she answered, her 
voice betraying no sense of emotion. “He brought me these.”

	Saburo began setting the table for their meal. “Oh, more birthday 
presents. Are they from Hino-sama?”

	Rei nodded as she walked over to the table and set the large box down. 
“At least that’s what the card says,” she said. There was a look of sadness in 
her eyes as she reread the tiny card in the flowers. “It doesn‘t look like 
otou-sama‘s handwriting, though. It‘s really messy. I can barely make out the 
kanji.”

	“Perhaps he ordered them over the phone and had the florist write the 
note for him,” Saburo suggested. “You know your father is a very busy man.”

	“I suppose so.” She didn’t sound very convinced, though.

	“In any case, it’s a beautiful bouquet,” he said brightly, hoping Rei 
would cheer up. Saburo hated seeing Rei so depressed on what should have been a 
happy day for her. “Casablanca lilies are your favorite, aren’t they? I’ll go 
get a vase. They’ll make a pretty centerpiece for my mouth-watering pancake 
feast.”

	Rei smiled tentatively at his pathetic attempt at humor, kneeling down 
at the low table as Saburo searched for a vase for her flowers. He managed to 
find one in the kitchen and filled it with water. Coming back out, he placed the 
bouquet in the vase and set it down in the center. “There! Gorgeous.”

	“I guess so,” Rei replied, not even looking up to see.

	“Rei-chan…” Saburo reached to pat her shoulder, but sensing she didn’t 
want his comfort, he sighed and took a seat at the table across from her. 
“Aren’t you going to open your other present?” he asked instead, noticing the 
red box sat unopened on the floor beside her.

	She shrugged. “It’s probably the same as last year,” she said blandly. 

	Still, Rei cleared a spot on the table for the large package and began 
unwrapping it. This time, she didn’t bother being neat about it, ripping through 
the paper in three swift motions to reveal a white box printed with the logo of 
an exclusive boutique. She then crumpled the paper into a large ball and tossed 
it aside before lifting the lid off the box.

	Inside, hidden underneath a layer of tissue paper, was a dress -- most 
likely a very expensive dress, judging by the brief glimpse of the foreign label 
he saw attached to the bodice. Saburo didn’t know much about fashion, but he did 
recognize the name Versace. Rei appeared unimpressed, though. 

	“Lilies and a white dress, the same as last year,” she said, partially 
lifting the designer outfit from the box for a better look. “What did I tell 
you? I didn’t even have to use my ‘gifts’ to see that one coming.”

	“It’s a beautiful dress, Rei-chan,” Saburo said. “Hino-sama must have 
paid a great deal of money to buy it for you.”

	Rei folded the dress back in the box and set it aside. “His money 
doesn’t impress me. The one thing I want from him, money can’t buy.”

	The priest gave his granddaughter a sympathetic look. Though she tried 
to hide it from him, Saburo knew Rei’s fondest wish was for Keitaro to ask her 
to move back in with him at the manor. That was all she ever wanted -- her 
father back.

	It didn’t bother Saburo. In his heart, he knew Rei loved him and Hikawa, 
but he couldn’t blame her for wanting to be with her father, even after all the 
disappointments he had given her over the last six years. Underneath all the 
bitterness she felt toward Keitaro for what he had done to her, Rei still loved 
her father. 

	“So, are you and Hino-sama going out to dinner tonight, Rei-chan?” 
Saburo asked after a short silence, pouring some syrup over his high stack of 
pancakes.

	Rei’s face brightened a little bit. “Hai. Otou-sama and Kaidou-san are 
taking me to The Rain Tree.”

	“Kaidou-san is coming as well?”

	“Yes, he told me yesterday.”

	For a moment, Saburo had a flashback to the vision he had that morning 
in the sacred fire and he remembered the man with the gold wire-rimmed glasses. 
He couldn’t be certain, but he had a bad feeling he suddenly knew who the man 
was.

	“Be careful, Rei-chan,” he warned.

	Rei gave him a confused look as she poured a generous serving of syrup 
over her stack of pancakes. “Of what, ojii-san?”

	Not knowing whether he should tell her about the vision or not, he 
simply shook his head.

	“Just be careful.”

					*****

	Later that afternoon, a red sports car pulled up beside the sidewalk in 
front of the shrine and parked. A handsome man stepped out, holding a 
medium-sized package under his arm. After running a hand through his unruly red 
hair and checking his reflection in the rear-view mirror, he began climbing the 
stone stairs leading up to Hikawa.

	When he reached the torii of the shrine, the man paused, shifting the 
rather heavy birthday gift to his other arm. He then searched the vicinity, his 
green eyes falling on a pretty young miko busy raking the cherry blossoms. His 
hand raised in greeting.

	“Rei-chan!”

	Hearing his voice, the miko glanced up from her work, her face breaking 
into a bright smile. “Uchizawa-san!” she exclaimed. Her chore was forgotten as 
Rei dropped the rake to the ground with a clatter, scaring some nearby crows, 
and walked over to greet her beloved godfather. “Konnichiwa!”

	“Konnichiwa, Rei-chan. Happy birthday!” Minoru said, pulling her into a 
hug.

	“I wasn’t expecting to see you today. What are you doing here?” Rei 
asked once they broke away from their embrace. “I thought you were supposed to 
be in the States. Don‘t you have that big meeting in New York?”

	“Hai, but I couldn’t leave without wishing my favorite goddaughter a 
happy birthday.” 

	Rei laughed. “I’m your only goddaughter, Uchizawa-san.”

	Shrugging, Minoru grinned. “So? That doesn’t mean you’re not my 
favorite,” he pointed out quite truthfully. “Actually, I’m on my way to the 
airport right now. I just wanted to stop by and give you your present before I 
left. Here. I hope you like it.”

	“What is it? It‘s a little heavy.”

	“Open it and find out.”

	“May I?”

	“Hai. That is, unless it will keep you from your chores. I don‘t want 
Kondo-sama mad at me for distracting you from your work.”

	She smiled. “No, that’s not a problem. Ojii-san is running some errands 
in the shopping district, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I take a little break. 
Besides, I’m almost finished anyway. Come.”

	Leading him over to the patio surrounding the shrine’s living quarters, 
Rei took a seat on the stairs and placed the gift on her lap. Minoru sat down 
beside her and watched the teen tear through the purple and gold wrapping paper 
with care.

	“A calligraphy textbook!” she exclaimed happily once she opened the box. 
“I love it. Arigatou, Uchizawa-san.”

	“You’re welcome. I‘m glad you like it. I found it while browsing at this 
wonderful used bookstore in Kyoto and immediately thought of you, since I know 
how interested you are in calligraphy.” Minoru winked, casually leaning back on 
his elbows. “Besides, I figured now that you‘re a teenager, you probably 
wouldn‘t want any more porcelain dolls.”

	“Ah, the end of a tradition,” Rei commented, a little mournfully. For as 
long as either of them could remember, Minoru had given her a doll for her 
birthday, many which he had bought on his many business trips around the world. 
She had acquired quite a valuable collection over the years. “I liked the dolls 
you gave me, though, Uchizawa-san. They were beautiful.” 

	“You sound a little disappointed.”

	Rei sighed, her fingers running across the raised red characters on the 
front of the leather-bound book in her hands. “No, you’re right. I am a little 
old for dolls. It’s time I moved on.” 

	“So, what is on the agenda today?" he asked, changing the subject. "Any 
plans with friends to celebrate the big day?”

	“Uchizawa-san, you know I don’t have many friends.” Rei stood from her 
seat on the stairs and walked over to where she dropped her broom. Picking it 
up, the miko resumed her chores nearby. “The only plans I have are dinner with 
otou-sama and Kaidou-san at The Rain Tree. That is, if otou-sama doesn’t cancel 
at the last minute because of some meeting or something. He has a habit of doing 
that, you know.”

	Minoru frowned, sitting back up. He was well aware of Keitaro’s track 
record when it came to his daughter. It was amazing that a man usually so 
meticulous about his schedule somehow always managed to double book on Rei’s 
birthday. If he didn’t know better, Minoru would think Keitaro did it on 
purpose.

	Perhaps he did. To be honest, Minoru had no idea what was going through 
that man’s head these days. It felt like he barely knew Keitaro anymore. They 
were still friends, of course, but not as close as they were before. Keitaro had 
even gone back to calling him “Minoru-kun”, a blunt signal that the governor no 
longer considered him a confidant. 

	Minoru suspected Keitaro never really forgave him for the things he said 
to him the day Rei left the manor and moved to Hikawa. He said he had, but their 
relationship had been strained ever since. It didn’t help matters that Minoru 
continued to visit Rei at the shrine on a somewhat regular basis, while she was 
lucky to see her father even three times a year. Minoru knew it bothered Keitaro 
that his best friend had a better relationship with his daughter than he did, 
even if he refused to admit it.

	“Your father is a very complicated man, Rei-chan,” Minoru finally said, 
breaking the silence that had fallen over them. 

	The miko nodded, leaning her broom up against the porch after she 
finished raking most of the blossoms around her into a large pile. “That he is,” 
she said softly, sitting back down on the stairs with her godfather. “I don’t 
understand otou-sama at all, and I don’t think I ever will.”

	Minoru pulled the young miko toward him in comfort, letting Rei rest her 
head on his shoulder. “Gomen nasai, Rei-chan.”

	“Why are you apologizing, Uchizawa-san? It isn’t your fault otou-sama 
doesn’t care about me.”

	“No, maybe not, but I am sorry for the way Keitaro has treated you these 
past six years,” Minoru said, landing a light kiss on the top of her raven head. 
“You deserve better than what he’s given you, so much better. I only wish there 
was something more I could have done…”

	Rei squeezed his hand and smiled faintly. “That’s okay. You’ve done so 
much for me since okaa-sama died. I couldn‘t ask for anything more. Arigatou, 
Uchizawa-san.” 

	He smiled sadly. Ever since Rei’s move to Hikawa, Minoru had tried his 
best to make up for the absence of Keitaro in his daughter’s life with regular 
visits to the shrine, and when he was away on business, long letters and phone 
calls. They were only small things, but it was the least he could do.  

	“Let’s talk about something more pleasant,” Rei suggested, again 
climbing down the stairs. She stooped down to gather some leftover corn in her 
hand and held it out to the two crows that had flown over while they were 
talking. 

	“Like what?” Minoru asked, smiling at the subtle reminder of her mother, 
who never had liked talking about unpleasant things. He resumed his casual 
position on the stairs, elbows propped up behind him, long legs stretched to 
their full length and crossed at the ankles, and his head tilted toward the 
clear blue sky as a warm spring breeze tousled his hair. He’d forgotten how 
peaceful the temple could be.

	Rei shrugged. “I don’t know. Anything. Um…have you heard the big news 
about Watanabe-san?”

	“No, I haven’t. What is it?” he asked, curious.

	“She’s expecting another baby in August.”

	The news wasn‘t all that shocking, considering it was the fourth time he 
had received it, but it still caused Minoru to feel some sadness. It wasn’t that 
he wasn’t happy for them, because he was. He loved Miyuki’s three other children 
as if they were his own, and would love the new arrival just as much. However, 
the news reminded him of what he would never have -- a family with Miyuki.

	“Ah, that is wonderful news. I’m happy for Miyuki and her husband,” 
Minoru finally said with a small smile, noticing that Rei was waiting for a 
reaction.

	“Uchizawa-san?”

	“Hmm?”

	“Why do you always look like that whenever somebody mentions 
Watanabe-san’s name?”

	Minoru blushed, his skin almost as red as his hair. “Look like what, 
Rei-chan?”

	“I don’t know how to explain it. You get this far-away glazed look in 
your eyes, like you’re remembering something, and there’s a soft smile on your 
face. It looks a little sad, but not really. More like wistful. Kind of like an 
old lover reminiscing over a long ago romance.”

	Minoru chuckled. “You’re a perceptive young lady, aren‘t you?” he 
commented. 

	“Did you love her?”

	“Yes, I loved her. I loved Miyuki very much. Still do, actually, if I 
want to be honest with you.”

 	“What happened, though? If you love her so much, then why is she married 
to Watanabe-san and not to you?” Rei’s porcelain cheeks grew rosy and she turned 
away when she realized what she was asking. “Gomen nasai, Uchizawa-san. I 
shouldn’t be asking such personal questions. I‘ve probably brought up bad 
memories…”

	Minoru shook his head. “I don’t mind, Rei-chan. You know you can ask me 
anything. Do you really want to know why I‘m not married to Miyuki?”

	“Hai -- that is, if you don’t mind.”

	“Because she didn’t love me back. Not in the same way I love her, at 
least. All she ever saw me as was her good friend. It was Watanabe-san she truly 
loved.”

	“Gomen nasai.”

	“Now who’s apologizing for things that don’t concern them?” he lightly 
teased.

	“But it must have hurt watching the one you love marry another.”

	Minoru didn’t deny it. Attending Miyuki’s and Kazuya’s wedding was one 
of the hardest -- if not the hardest -- things he ever had to do. A part of her 
would always have a special place in his heart, but life still went on without 
her.

	“It did,” he admitted. “But you know what they say, ‘Tis better to have 
loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.’”

	“Is that true?” Rei asked. “It seems to me like all love causes is 
heartache and sorrow. I don’t see the point. Isn’t it better not to fall in love 
at all, than to risk the chance of getting hurt? Is love really worth all that 
trouble?”

	Her questions surprised Minoru. They were not the words of a young 
teenager dreaming of first love, but of an experienced woman far beyond her 
years, disillusioned and bitter. It reminded him of her father in a way, and it 
saddened Minoru to hear Rei talk like that that when she had yet to even 
experience her first crush. Whatever happened to dreams of Prince Charming, 
roses, and moonlight kisses?

	“Some people might not think so, but I don’t agree. Love is the most 
powerful emotion in the world, Rei-chan. Sure, there‘s always the possibility of 
getting your heart broken, but if you aren‘t willing to take that risk, then 
you‘ll miss out on something really special. I wouldn‘t trade what I feel for 
Miyuki for anything in the world.”

	“I don’t understand, Uchizawa-san. That doesn’t make any sense. She hurt 
you so badly, yet you say you still love her, as if it didn‘t matter.”

	“You’ll understand one day. Someday, you’ll fall in love, and then you 
will see why I can still feel this way and yet be happy for her.”

	“I don’t plan to ever fall in love,” Rei declared, a touch of bitterness 
in her usually melodic voice.

	Stunned by her announcement, Minoru pulled himself back upright and 
looked at his beautiful goddaughter. “What? What do you mean, Rei-chan? You 
can‘t possibly mean that…”

	A sigh escaped her lips, and Rei took a seat on the edge of the porch, 
one of her legs dangling off the side and her back leaning against one of the 
wooden posts. One of her crow friends perched itself on the hand she held out to 
it, while its companion danced on the ground. “I do,” she said softly. “I never 
want to fall in love. I’ve seen the unhappiness it causes. Okaa-sama loved 
otou-sama, but all he ever did was disappoint her.”

	“Rei-chan…”

	The miko shook her head. “Don’t try to defend him, Uchizawa-san. I know 
his job as governor of Tokyo kept him busy, but that was no excuse. It was his 
choice to put his career before his family, and it killed her. *He* killed her.”

	“Takara-san was born with a weak heart,” Minoru said, feeling the urge 
to defend his friend from Rei’s harsh accusation. “You know that, Rei-chan. It 
wasn’t Keitaro’s fault she died.”

	“Perhaps not directly, but he is not without blame. Otou-sama broke her 
heart the night she died. I was too young at the time to realize it, but I know 
it was true. Okaa-sama was so looking forward to going out to dinner with you 
and Watanabe-san. She looked so beautiful that night, happier than I had seen 
her for the longest time, and I could tell she was excited. But then otou-sama 
called and said he couldn’t come because he needed to work late at the office. 
You should have seen the look on her face when she hung up the phone, 
Uchizawa-san… He broke her heart.”

	Minoru listened to the story in silence, sobered by what Rei was telling 
him. No one had ever told him what really happened the night Takara died. All he 
had heard was that she had had a heart attack at the manor. The night of her 
death, he, Miyuki, Kazuya, and his date -- her name was either Suki or Saki, 
something like that -- were at Umi’s, waiting for Takara and Keitaro to show, 
when they received Mrs. Yukana’s message to meet them at the hospital. When they 
arrived, they had found Keitaro already sitting in the waiting room. Minoru 
didn’t think anything strange about that at the time, figuring he must have 
ridden up there in the ambulance with Takara, but if what Rei was saying was 
true, Keitaro must have been at the office when he heard the news. The hospital 
wasn’t too far away from the government building; he could have arrived in 
record time.

	“Keitaro canceled?” Minoru finally asked.

	Rei nodded, giving him a strange look. “You didn’t know?”

	“No, I didn’t. He never told me.”

	“Well, I guess you can’t really blame him, can you?” she said bitterly. 
“If I had killed someone like he did, I probably wouldn’t want anyone to know 
about it either.”

	Minoru frowned. “You don’t really mean that, Rei-chan.” 

	“What does it matter if I do or not?” she asked. She turned her face 
away from him, but not before he saw her wipe her sleeve across her eyes. “Look, 
can we please just not talk about otou-sama any more, Uchizawa-san?”

	“That’s fine,” Minoru said, glancing down briefly at his watch to check 
the time. It was getting rather late. If he wanted to make his four o’clock 
flight to New York, he needed to be on his way. Standing, he brushed away some 
dirt that had collected on the back of his business suit and stepped down the 
stairs. “I have to go now, anyway. I don’t want to miss my plane.”

	“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you were on your way to the airport.” Rei 
jumped up from her seat on the porch and bowed in apology. “I’m terribly sorry 
for keeping you.”

	“No, that’s okay, Rei-chan. It was nice talking to you. Tell Kondo-sama 
I said hello.”

	“Hai. Sayonara, Uchizawa-san. Have a safe trip.”

	“Sayonara.”

	As he walked toward the steps leading back down to his car, Minoru 
paused and turned for one final look at his goddaughter before he left. Rei had 
already returned to her chores, tossing a batch of cherry blossoms into the 
trash before she greeted a young couple who passed him by.  Minoru frowned at 
the sight. As much as he hated to admit it, the miko was sometimes very much 
like her father. 

	He knew better than most people that it didn’t pay to be bitter, but how 
could he explain that to somebody like Rei? Once again he could only stand on the 
sidelines and watch as history repeated itself. 

	With a heavy sigh, Minoru turned back around and hurried down the steps. 
There was no time for dallying. He had a plane to catch.    

					*****

	Later that night, Rei wore a blank expression on her face as she stared 
at her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t smile, yet she didn’t frown either. 
All in all, she was rather indifferent. It wasn’t as if this evening was 
something special. It happened every year, and it was difficult to be excited 
about it.

	Her father’s car would be arriving soon to take her to The Rain Tree 
restaurant downtown for her birthday dinner. Rei wasn’t necessarily looking 
forward to spending an entire evening with Keitaro, but the knowledge that 
Kaidou would be there as well made the idea somewhat more bearable. In her mind, 
the positive and the negative balanced each other out. She had decided she would 
be able to survive a couple of awkward, uncomfortable hours with her estranged 
father as long as Kaidou was there to keep her company.

	Thinking of the handsome assistant, Rei felt her cheeks begin to warm 
and her reflection started to glow a rosy pink. That did cause her to frown. She 
didn’t understand why she kept doing that. Why did thinking of Kaidou suddenly 
embarrass her? It never had before. She was beginning to act like one of those 
girls at school, the ones who always sighed and whispered inappropriate desires 
whenever Father Arakawa, affectionately known as “the young one”, passed them by 
on the way to the chapel for morning Mass. The comparison did not please her at 
all.

	I’m not like them, she thought to herself. I have better things to do 
with my time than getting all starry-eyed and red over some man, especially 
Kaidou. He’s my friend, has been ever since I could remember. Nothing more. Yes, 
he is quite handsome and very kind to me, but…

	Angry with herself for even daring to think such thoughts, Rei grabbed 
her brush and began yanking it through her long black hair. The whole thing was 
insane. She wasn’t like that! It was all Tanaka Sayo’s fault for thinking Kaidou 
was her boyfriend when he walked her home from school yesterday, Rei decided. If 
Sayo hadn’t said that, then she never would be having such ideas. 

	Of course, Rei conveniently forgot how her heart had skipped a beat when 
she first saw him at the gates of the Academy or how embarrassed she was when he 
offered to carry her books before Sayo and her groupies even appeared. Those 
were only minor things, easily explained, and they had *nothing* to do with her 
romantic feelings for Kaidou. Correction: her non-existent romantic feelings for 
Kaidou.

	A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Rei-chan, are you almost 
dressed?” Saburo asked. “The car will be here soon.”

	Rei set her brush back down on her vanity, her hair falling like black 
silk around her almost bare shoulders. “Hai, ojii-san,” she called out. “I’ll be 
out in a few minutes.”

	“Okay, don’t take too long. I‘ll be outside, doing a few last minute 
chores, if you need me.” Through the paper-thin walls, she heard the rustling of 
robes and soft footsteps as her grandfather headed to the front door and stepped 
outside.

	When she heard the door close behind him, Rei faintly smiled. Saburo 
always insisted the shrine be in tip-top shape whenever her father was due for a 
visit. She didn’t know why he bothered going through so much trouble, since most 
of the time, Keitaro ended up not showing at all, sending his driver to pick her 
up instead, but Rei never argued. If Saburo wanted to waste his time, then that 
was fine with her.

	Digging through the small wooden jewelry box sitting on her vanity, Rei 
pulled out the pretty hair combs Saburo bought her for her birthday. She sighed 
as she placed them in her hair. He really shouldn’t have spent so much money on 
something she would probably wear once or twice. They were too fancy to wear 
with her school uniform, and she definitely couldn’t show them off at the 
shrine, where patrons might get the wrong idea. She wondered what on Earth 
possessed him to buy them for her.

	Not that she didn’t love them, because she did. They were the most 
beautiful hair ornaments she had ever seen, and the fact that they came at the 
cost of a huge sacrifice made them even more precious, but Rei wished Saburo 
hadn’t gone through so much trouble. Her grandfather seemed to think that 
because she had grown up in a privileged household, she liked expensive things, 
when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Material things didn’t 
impress her, but feelings did. It was the feelings behind the gift that made the 
combs so special, not how much they cost.

	The same could not be said for the dress she supposedly received from 
her father. It was pretty enough -- there was no denying that whoever bought it 
had excellent taste -- but after tonight, it would most likely find itself 
sitting in the back of her closet, never to be touched or worn again, just like 
the dress she received last year. Maybe she would even decide to take it to that 
pawn shop her grandfather was talking about and use the money to buy back some 
of her grandmother’s things, if they were still there. If not, she could always 
donate the money to the shrine. Either way, she would find a good use for it.

	Noticing the time, Rei quickly draped her mother’s ruby necklace around 
her neck, her fingers fumbling a little with the clasp, then stood to take one 
final look at her reflection in the mirror. What she saw brought a smile to her 
face. 

	While she was not by nature a particularly vain person, Rei couldn’t 
help but think she did look beautiful tonight. The white dress suited her 
perfectly. The fitted bodice, held up by a couple of thin spaghetti straps, was 
overlaid with a delicate lace and hugged her budding curves, while the bottom 
flared out in a mass of tulle, ending just above her knees. It was lady-like and 
innocent, while at the same time making Rei feel incredibly adult and 
sophisticated. Her ruby necklace and the sparkling hair combs only complimented 
the dress more and she blushed as she wondered what Kaidou would think when he 
saw her at the restaurant.

	“Stop thinking things like that!” Rei scolded herself, her nose 
wrinkling in distaste. She then laughed, thinking how absolutely ridiculous she 
must sound, talking to her reflection in the mirror.

	After wrapping a matching white shawl around her shoulders, Rei grabbed 
her purse from off the futon and went outside to wait for the car to arrive. 
Saburo was busy sweeping underneath the torii when she came out, but upon the 
appearance of his granddaughter, he immediately stopped and set his broom aside, 
his eyes filled with adoration.

	“Rei-chan, you look beautiful tonight,” he complimented her. “So elegant 
and grown up. Those combs suit you well.”

	Slightly embarrassed, yet at the same time pleased, Rei felt her cheeks 
redden again. She bowed to hide her reaction. “Arigatou, ojii-san,” she said. 
“Any sign of my father’s car yet? It should be here any minute.”

	Even as she said that, they both saw the headlights of an elegant limo 
pull up beside the sidewalk and park. “Looks like it arrived right on time,” 
Saburo commented as the chauffeur opened his door and stepped out to greet them. 
Keitaro, apparently, had not come as usual, for the back door remained closed. 
Neither were very surprised by his absence.

	“Hino-san, shall we be on our way?” the middle-aged driver asked after 
exchanging pleasantries with Saburo.

	Rei nodded, pulling her shawl, which had fallen off her slender 
shoulders, back into place. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. After 
saying goodnight to her grandfather, she allowed Ogata to lead her to the limo 
and climbed inside the roomy back seat, the driver closing the door behind her.

	“The Rain Tree, I presume, Hino-san?” he asked, sliding back into his 
seat behind the wheel.

	“Hai, Ogata-san.”

	The drive to the restaurant was short and uneventful. Once they arrived, 
Rei opened her passenger side door and stepped out, not even waiting for Ogata 
to assist her. She then headed inside, greeted by the man standing beside the door.

	“Welcome to The Rain Tree, Hino-sama,” the maitre d’ said, recognizing 
her immediately even though she never recalled meeting him. Being the daughter 
of the governor, it was not an uncommon occurrence. The man grabbed a menu from 
the stack sitting on his podium and motioned her to follow him. “Come, your 
party has been waiting for you.”

	Approaching the table, Rei saw that the so-called “party” consisted of 
exactly one person, his head buried in his menu so that only his light brown 
hair peeked over the top. Her father was conspicuously absent. It hardly 
surprised her.

	Rei inwardly sighed. Yet another promise broken. What did she expect? 
Her father was the king of broken promises. But she wouldn’t let it bother her. 
She hadn’t even wanted to see him. Not really. 

	“Konbanwa, Kaidou-san,” Rei said as the handsome man sat his menu down 
on the table, noticing their arrival. 

	“Oh, you’re here.” Kaidou smiled and stood to pull her chair out from 
underneath the table, a true gentleman. “Konbanwa, Rei-chan. Happy birthday!”

	“Arigatou.”

	Once they were settled, the waiter took their order. Rei chose the smoked 
salmon, while Kaidou had steak. They smiled at each other as they ordered, because 
they’d chosen the exact same things last year. Rei’s smile died almost immediately, 
however. Her father’s absence, while it was expected, still pained her somehow. 
The empty seat almost taunted her. She wasn’t important enough for him… 

	“Otou-sama was unable to come, I suppose?” she asked when the waiter had 
left.

	Kaidou cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable. “Gomen nasai, 
Rei-chan. He had to attend a press conference, but Hino-sama did want me to tell 
you he wishes you a happy birthday,” he added quickly. “I see you received your 
father’s present, though. That dress suits you well. You look very beautiful 
tonight.”

	Rei lowered her eyes, but not because of the compliment, although it did 
cause her to blush very faintly. “I won’t be deceived by this dress,” she said 
softly. “Don’t lie for him. I know it was you who bought me this dress and the 
flowers. This year, as well as last. Thank you for the lovely gifts.”

	“You knew?” Kaidou asked, though he didn’t seem very surprised. Instead, 
he looked almost sorrowful. “Gomen nasai. Hino-sama has been very busy these 
last few weeks and hasn’t had time to shop, so he asked me to choose your 
birthday gifts.”

	“It’s okay. Otou-sama hasn’t thought importantly of his family for a 
long time. He always has his one of his assistants or his secretary do his gift 
shopping. I’m used to it.”

	“He has?”

	Rei smiled ruefully. “Yes, well, my father has more important things to 
do than waste his time at the mall.”

	Hearing that, a frown crossed Kaidou’s lips. Rei sensed something was 
bothering him. Usually whenever she said something less than flattering about 
her father, Kaidou was the first to defend him. She was expecting him to say 
something along the lines of “At least he cares enough to ask somebody to buy 
the gifts for him,” but this time, he remained strangely silent, his emerald 
green eyes lost in thought.

	“Kaidou-san?”

	Startled, her dinner companion jumped a little in his chair, then 
laughed, embarrassed by his pensive behavior. “Oh, gomen. I blanked out there 
for a second, didn’t I? I guess I have a lot on my mind tonight.”

	“Like what?” she asked, a little curious. 

	Kaidou shook his head, shrugging it off as nothing. “You wouldn’t be 
interested, Rei-chan. It’s about my career, and I know you don‘t like talking 
about politics.”

	That was true enough. She tended to avoid the subject at all costs, 
finding it about as interesting as taking a math test, and twice as painful. 
However, if something was bothering Kaidou, then Rei wanted to help him. He was 
always there to help her; it would be nice to be able to help him for a change. 
“Tell me anyway,” she finally said.

	“Are you sure? It’s your birthday, Rei-chan. I don’t want to bore you 
with my problems.”

	“I don’t mind. Go on.”

	Kaidou took a sip of his champagne before explaining his preoccupation. 
“Well, I suppose you should probably know your father has decided that he won’t 
run for reelection as the governor of Metropolitan Tokyo. That’s why he wasn’t 
able to come tonight. Hino-sama is holding a press conference to announce that 
he plans to run for a Diet seat in the ’94 elections.”

	“A Diet seat?” Rei was a little surprised by the news, but not 
completely. It was only a matter of time before Keitaro took the next logical 
step into national politics. “What does that have to do with you, though, 
Kaidou-san? Are you afraid you’re going to lose your job when he leaves office? 
Because you know the next election is almost three years away…”

	“No, no, it‘s nothing like that,” he said, interrupting her with a small 
smile to reassure her. “Quite the opposite, actually. Your father has big plans 
for me.”   

	“Oh,” Rei said in a soft whisper, suddenly realizing what he was saying. 
Her hands twisted the linen napkin in her lap and she glanced downwards, unable 
to meet his gaze. “You’re going to enter the same political world as otou-sama, 
aren’t you? Everybody says you‘re his successor.”

	His shoulders slumped as if he were carrying the weight of the world on 
his back, Kaidou exhaled. “I haven’t decided yet, Rei-chan,” he admitted.  
“Hino-sama thinks I should, and I know it would please my family. It would be a 
great opportunity to advance my career…”

	“But?” she asked, sensing there was something else. “What’s the 
problem?”

	“I don’t know. I guess in some ways, I’m still an irresponsible 
teenager. I can’t convince myself that I’m an adult, so I don’t think I’m fit 
for a life in politics -- not now, in such a high-profile position. Perhaps 
someday in the distant future.”

	“I thought a life in politics was what you wanted, though. Wasn’t that 
your dream? To serve the people and make a difference in their lives? That‘s 
what you always told me.”

	“Hai, that is my dream. At least, I think it is.”

	“It’s a very noble dream, Kaidou-san.”

	“But will it ultimately make me happy? Or will it only bring pain and 
misery to me and the people I care about? I mean, I look at you and see how much 
your father has hurt you over the years. I’m sure Hino-sama doesn’t mean to do 
so, but it doesn’t change the fact that he does. I don‘t want my daughter to be 
unhappy.”

	“You’re not like him, though,” Rei insisted. “To my father, there was 
nothing but politics. His work consumed him and even when my mother was dying, 
he could think of nothing else.” Unconsciously, her hand grasped the ruby 
pendant dangling from the gold chain around her neck, and her violet eyes 
darkened as she continued. “Okaa-sama was a frail person. She was born with a 
weak heart, yet it was capable of such love. She loved otou-sama so much.”

	“Rei-chan…”

	She barely heard him, wrapped up in the memories of her early childhood. 
“I used to believe in otou-sama,” Rei continued. “I was proud when people called 
me Governor Hino-sama’s daughter and told me about all the wonderful things he 
had done for the city. But okaa-sama always looked so sad. She believed in him, 
too, and all he ever did was disappoint her. You can’t have faith in people, 
Kaidou-san. They’ll always disappoint you.”

	“Do you really mean that, Rei-chan?” he asked. “What about your 
grandfather or your other friends?”

	Rei scoffed. “Friends? What friends? You saw what happened at the school 
yesterday with Tanaka-san. I have no friends, and I don’t want any. In the end, 
the only person you can depend on is yourself.”

	“But don’t you want to marry someday?”

	“No, I’ll never allow myself to fall in love,” she declared. “If I fell 
in love, I would want that person to belong only to me, and I know that’s wrong, 
so I’ll never marry. I’m perfectly happy to be alone. What about you, 
Kaidou-san? Do you want to marry and have a family?”

	“To be honest, I haven’t really ever thought about it,” he admitted. 
“Marriage is a huge commitment, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to marry. I 
like things the way they are now, depending on myself, like you said.”

	“We’re the same, you and me. Kindred spirits.”

	Rei smiled. She liked the sound of that: kindred spirits. They were the 
same, two parts of one soul, bonded over their common backgrounds and mutual 
views on love. She realized Kaidou was the only person who truly understood her. 
Not even her grandfather or Minoru could really understand her, though they 
certainly did try.

	Kaidou was the only one, and it made her heart flutter in happiness.

					*****

	By the time Kaidou arrived home from the restaurant, it was already well 
past ten o‘clock. He’d gone for a long drive after seeing Rei off in her 
father‘s limo, hoping to clear his mind of his problems, but it hadn’t done much 
good. He still had no idea what he was going to do.

	Before the meeting with the governor, the pressure of his family had 
always been invisible -- always there, but subtle. It had been easy to ignore 
it, to put off making a final decision until later, but yesterday's discussion 
with Keitaro had brought it to the forefront of his mind, and he couldn't forget 
it. Kaidou knew he would have to make a decision about his future soon, but what 
path to choose? Did he really want to become a politician, as his family and 
Keitaro hoped he would, and run for the governor's office? Or was he destined to 
take a different course?  
	
	The talk with Rei at dinner had only served to depress him even more. He 
never would have guessed that there was such anguish under her calm, precocious 
exterior. The view she had presented of her father that night surprised him. 
After looking up to the man for so long as an intelligent and efficient 
politician, the portrayal of Hino Keitaro as an uncaring, selfish man had 
disturbed Kaidou more than he wanted to admit and made his decision all the more 
confusing to decide. It was enough to make his head spin.

	Sighing heavily, Kaidou got out of the car and headed to the door of his 
parents’ palatial house. He still lived at home in a suite of rooms in the west 
wing he rented from his parents. It was almost as good as having his own place 
without having to go through the trouble of finding an apartment in overcrowded 
Tokyo. He didn’t bother them, and for the most part, they didn’t bother him.

	“I’m home,” Kaidou called out when he entered the house, not expecting 
anybody to answer. His mother liked to go to bed early and his father, if not 
working late at the office, was usually busy in his study. However, Kaidou was 
surprised to see light coming from the direction of the living room.

	“Ace-kun, is that you?” his father asked, his head popping around the 
entryway. Seeing his son, Kaidou Taro cleared his throat and nodded in 
acknowledgement. “Good, we were wondering where you were.”

	Kaidou frowned, slipping off his shoes at the door and switching to his 
favorite pair of brown slippers. “You were, otou-sama?” he asked, not accustomed 
to his concern. “I told you I was going to be at The Rain Tree. Today was 
Rei-chan’s birthday.”

	“Yes, but we were expecting you home about an hour ago.”

	“Gomen nasai, I decided to take a drive before coming home,” the younger 
Kaidou answered. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. Why? Is something wrong? 
Has something happened to okaa-sama or the girls? Ojii-sama?”

	His father shook his head. “No, everyone is alive and well, Ace-kun,” he 
said. “However, your mother and I would like to have a word with you, if you 
don‘t mind. Come.”

	Wordlessly, he followed the distinguished older man into the living 
room, wondering why his parents wanted to talk to him. For a moment, he felt as 
if he was sixteen again and had just been caught sneaking in the house after a 
night of partying with his friends. He resented that feeling. If his parents had 
wanted to talk to him so badly, then why hadn’t they paged him at the restaurant 
instead of making him feel as if he was in the wrong for making them wait? 

	“Konbanwa, okaa-sama,” he said with a small nod, acknowledging the woman 
sitting on the couch. She was middle-aged and pleasantly plump after giving 
birth to three children, but many would still consider her attractive, with a 
mass of curly auburn hair and emerald green eyes, a trait she had passed on to 
Kaidou.

	Kaidou Ruri gave her only son a smile and set aside the fashion magazine 
she had been reading. “Konbanwa, Ace-kun,” she greeted him. “Did you and Rei-san 
have a nice dinner?”

	“Yes, ma’am. We had a wonderful time. The food was delicious.”

	“Nothing less from The Rain Tree. They always have the best meals. You 
know, Taro-san, we should have dinner there one day next week. It‘s been forever 
since we‘ve gone out, only the two of us.”

	Over from the enormous leather armchair in the corner of the room where 
he had taken a seat to light his tobacco pipe, his father cleared his throat. 
“Ruri-san…” he scolded, effectively putting an end to the unnecessary small 
talk. Once he was satisfied his wife would remain quiet until prompted to speak, 
he then looked over at his son and motioned toward the couch with his smoking 
pipe. “Ace-kun, have a seat.” 

	Fiddling nervously with his tie, Kaidou sat down on the sofa beside his 
mother. He still had no idea why his parents wanted to speak to him. His mind 
reeled with possibilities. His rent for the month had been paid, so he knew it 
couldn’t be that. There was that speeding ticket he’d gotten a couple weeks ago, 
but he thought he’d taken care of that already. What else could there be?

	Finally, unable to take the expectant silence any longer, Kaidou turned 
to Ruri, the far less threatening of the two, and asked, “What did you want to 
discuss with me?”

	“We heard the announcement Hino-sama gave at the press conference, 
Ace-kun,” his father informed him before his mother could answer. “He said he 
doesn‘t plan to run for another term as governor. Is that correct?”

	Kaidou let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding. They wanted 
to talk to him about his career. He should have known politics would be the 
subject of discussion. Of course, he would have liked to have more time to go 
over what he planned to say to his father concerning the governor’s offer, but 
with Kaidou Taro, patience was not a virtue. His father did not like to be kept 
waiting, and he doubted this time would be any different.

	“Yes, sir,” he answered, squaring back his shoulders. “Hino-sama plans 
to run for a Diet seat once his term as governor is completed.”

	“It’s about time.” The older man took a long puff from his pipe, the 
smoke wrapping around his head and shoulders and giving the politician a rather 
sinister appearance. “I’ve long held the opinion that Hino-sama would be an 
excellent addition to the Diet. It’s good to see he has finally taken the 
initiative.”

	Kaidou nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is. He will make a wonderful Diet 
member.”

	“That he will. However, since Hino-sama is leaving office, that means 
the race for governor will be wide open. It is a great opportunity for an up and 
coming politician to make a name for himself, don’t you agree, Ace-kun?”

	“Hai, otou-sama,” Kaidou said quietly, already knowing what question 
would next come out of his father’s mouth.

	He was not disappointed. His father leaned back in his chair, trying to 
look casual and failing miserably, and asked, “Have you given any thought to 
running for the governor’s seat?”

	Though he was expecting the inquiry about his future plans, Kaidou still 
was uncertain as to how to answer that question. The usually spacious living 
room suddenly felt claustrophobic, the walls of his future seeming to close in 
around him, and he wished nothing more than to run away, perhaps to take another 
long drive in his car. Nagano was probably beautiful this time of year. But at 
the same time, Kaidou knew it was pointless to fantasize about running away, and 
he loudly exhaled, figuring he might as well get the dreaded conversation over 
with.

	“Some,” he admitted truthfully. “Hino-sama and I discussed the 
possibility yesterday. He offered to be my mentor if I decided to run for 
office.”

	Hearing that, his father smiled, pleased. “He has selected you as his 
successor? We suspected as much. Your grandfather told us the governor was 
considering taking you under his wing. That’s great news, Ace-kun. It is time 
you began thinking about --.”

	“Otou-sama, I didn’t accept the offer,” Kaidou interrupted before he 
could become too excited. “At least, not as of yet.”

	Sitting quietly, Kaidou could practically see the anger burning like a 
raging fire in his father’s dark black eyes at his announcement. The older man 
rarely lost his temper, but when he did, it was not a pretty sight. Closing his 
eyes, the younger man mentally prepared himself for the backlash that was about 
to surface.

	And surface it did, like a volcano spewing forth hot lava and ash.

	“What?! Why the hell not?” his father asked, banging his fist hard 
enough on the nearby end table to cause some of the brandy to splash over the 
lip of his crystal glass and spill across the wooden surface. 

	Beside Kaidou on the couch, Ruri jumped up, startled by her husband’s 
sudden outburst. “Taro-san, your blood pressure…” she cautioned.

	“Sit down and stay out of this, Ruri-san!” her husband ordered. “I don’t 
give a damn about my blood pressure. This is between me and Ace-kun.”

	The voluptuous woman meekly squeaked out an apology and sat back down on 
the couch with her son, who immediately felt sorry for his poor mother. 

	His parents’ marriage was not what most would call a happy one. It had 
been arranged by his grandfathers, both powerful politicians who thought it 
would be good for his father’s political career, and from what Kaidou witnessed 
during his twenty-five years of life, he suspected neither of the participants 
had liked the idea very much. It was no secret to him that their marriage was 
one based on politics, and not love. They hadn’t even slept in the same bedroom 
since his youngest sister was born nine years ago. Gossip in political circles 
was that Taro had a mistress, some comely political aide, but nothing was ever 
proven. Discretion was all in the political world, and if there was one thing a 
politician learned young, it was how to cover his tracks, in business *and* 
pleasure. 

	It made Kaidou’s stomach churn in disgust. He couldn’t believe how blind 
he had been. Was this what he had to look forward to if he decided to follow his 
father’s wishes and run for governor? Was this what the governor meant when he 
said ‘the dream was better than the reality’? 

	His hands clenched, Kaidou stared straight at his father, a rare streak 
of courage coming over him. “Otou-sama,” he said in a firm, but quiet, voice, “I 
didn’t say I refused the offer; I only said I didn’t accept it. I told Hino-sama 
I needed some time to think about it before I made my final decision on the 
matter, and he agreed.”

	That didn’t seem to appease his father, though he did lean back in his 
chair and sighed, his temper, for the moment, in check. The older man began 
massaging his temple, evidently nursing the beginnings of a headache brought on 
by their argument. “More time? You shouldn’t need time to think about this, 
Ace-kun. You know it is our wish for you to run for public office, and this is 
the perfect opportunity. You‘d be a fool not to accept Hino-sama‘s kind offer of 
assistance.”

	“But what if it isn’t my wish? What if I don‘t *want* to become governor 
of Tokyo?”

	“It doesn’t matter, son,” his father said. “As a member of this family, 
there are certain expectations placed upon you, and we do expect you to live up 
to them.”

	“Even if it means my own unhappiness?” Kaidou asked bitterly. “Tell me, 
otou-sama, are you happy with your life in politics? Or did your father force 
you into that life as you are forcing me?”

	His father, shocked by his questions, narrowed his dark eyes at his son. 
“I don’t see how this is relevant to our convers--”

	“It has everything to do with our conversation,” he interrupted for the 
second time, growing braver with every passing moment. “There was a time when, 
yes, I did want to follow in ojii-sama’s and Hino-sama’s footsteps, and a part 
of me still does. They did wonderful things for the Tokyo metropolitan area and 
I would be proud if I could accomplish even a fraction of what they did. 
However, is either of them really happy with their lives? Ojii-sama, with his 
three wives? Hino-sama, with a wife dead at twenty-six and a daughter he rarely 
sees? Or how about even you? Are you satisfied being in a loveless marriage and 
screwing college interns?”

	“Ace-kun!” his mother admonished, gasping at the accusation of her 
husband‘s infidelity.

 	His father, on the other hand, didn’t say much of anything at all. The 
guilty look on his face as he turned away from the two of them said everything 
his lying words could not. 

	So the rumors were true then. On some level, Kaidou supposed he always 
knew they were, but until that moment, he had refused to believe his father was 
an adulterer. No matter what their differences might have been in the past, he 
had always loved and respected Kaidou Taro, believing him to be an honorable 
man. 

	But now…

	“You make me sick.” 

	The statement, spoken softly but impossibly loud in the sudden quiet of 
the living room, hung over them like a storm cloud. His mother was too 
stunned by what she had learned to speak, her green eyes wide and her right hand 
pressed over her bountiful chest, and his father merely hung his head in shame, 
no longer the proud man he was only a few minutes ago. 

	Kaidou was ashamed of himself, regretting what he had said. Even if 
Kaidou Taro was a lying cheat, he was still his father, and Kaidou had no right 
to attack him like that, nor did he have the right to shame his mother.

	“Gomen nasai, okaa-sama,” Kaidou apologized, reaching for the hand 
resting on her knee. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was angry and I didn’t think 
it was true…”

	Ruri shook her head. “No, you have nothing for which to apologize, 
Ace-kun,” she said softly before turning her hurt gaze on her philandering 
husband. “Taro-san, is it true? Is what our son says the truth?”

	Her voice trembled, but she had never seemed more strong in her son’s 
eyes.

	After a few moments of silence, his father slowly nodded his head. “Yes, 
it is true, Ruri-san,” he admitted, vocally confirming what they already knew.

	“I-I can’t believe it…” she whispered, her hand covering her mouth as if 
she was about to be sick.

	“Gomen nasai.”

	“Is that all you can say, otou-sama?” Kaidou asked in disbelief. “You’re 
sorry?”

 	“What do you expect me to say, Ace-kun?” his father shot back, looking 
back up at his son. “I know I’ve made mistakes. I never claimed I was perfect.”

	“Maybe not, but--”

	“Ace-kun, I think you should leave. You’ve said more than enough 
tonight. We‘ll continue our conversation in the morning.”

	Standing up from his seat, Kaidou bowed. “I think that’s a good idea,” 
he agreed. “Oyasumi, okaa-sama…otou-sama.” 


	To be continued in Part II...

DISCLAIMER: sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.