Chapter Six: Ashes on the Wind, Part II

	He was gone.

	Rei watched her father’s limo pull away from the shrine, tears stinging 
her eyes despite her best attempts not to cry again. She didn't understand what 
had happened. Why did he leave her? What had she done wrong?

	She wanted to run after the limousine and convince Keitaro to take her 
with him, but a firm hand on her shoulder held her back. Rei craned her neck 
upwards to see her grandfather giving her a sympathetic look.

	“Gomen nasai, Rei-chan,” the old man said. “I know you wanted to go back 
home to the manor with your father. I can‘t say I blame you. Hino-sama sprung 
this idea of moving here to the Hikawa shrine on you quite suddenly, didn‘t he?”

	Rei nodded, wiping her sleeve across her blurry eyes. “Hai, he did,” she 
replied. “I didn’t even know I had a grandfather until about a week ago. 
Okaa-sama never talked about you.”

	“No, I imagine she didn’t.” Saburo’s already deep brown eyes took on an 
even darker color, reminding Rei of the mournful look he wore the day of the 
funeral. “We didn’t part on the best of terms.”

	Once again, Rei wondered what had happened to her mother and her 
grandfather to cause such a riff between them. Somehow, she sensed it had 
something to do with her father. The two men were polite enough to each other 
when they arrived, but Rei suspected most of it had been an act for her benefit. 
She had an uncanny ability to read people and their emotions, and while her 
father was there, she had detected a faint feeling of animosity between the two. 
However, remembering what Keitaro said to her in the car when she tried to ask 
him about it, Rei decided not to bug Saburo with her questions at the moment, 
figuring he would tell her in time if he thought it was important for her to 
know. Besides, it looked like she would have all the time in the world to learn 
about her mother’s mysterious past now that she was living at Hikawa.

	Breaking from his melancholic mood, Saburo grabbed a couple of her 
suitcases sitting on the sidewalk courtesy of her father’s chauffeur and began 
walking up the steps. “Come, Rei-chan,” he ordered. “Let’s put these inside the 
living quarters, then I’ll give you the grand tour of Hikawa.”

	“Hai, ojii-sama,” she agreed, grabbing the rest and following him up the 
stairs to the shrine.

	The shrine’s living quarters were much different from the Western style 
houses to which she was accustomed. Stepping inside, Rei’s eyes widened as she 
took it all in. Other than the former Governor Negishi’s house, which was much 
more opulent in style and not exactly traditional in the usual meaning of the 
word, it was the first time she ever saw the inside of a real Japanese house. 
Tatami mats covered the floor instead of carpet and the walls weren’t really 
walls at all, but simply separators that could be easily moved. Most of the 
furniture was low to the ground and chairs were nonexistent. It was decorated 
very simply, yet Rei thought the house was beautiful in its own special way.

	Saburo lead Rei to one of the walls, sliding the paper separator to the 
side to reveal a “room”, if it could be called that. Judging by the medium-sized 
futon sitting in the middle, it was supposed to be a sleeping area. He sat her 
heavy suitcases down on the floor beside the futon and motioned her to do the 
same.

	“This is where you’ll be sleeping,” he informed her. “This is where 
Takara slept when she was a little girl, so I thought you would like it. My 
bedroom is next door.”

	“This was okaa-sama’s bedroom?” Rei looked around the rather bare area 
with a newfound appreciation. “Arigatou, ojii-sama. I love it.”

	The priest chuckled. “You can stop being so formal, Rei-chan. You make 
me feel so old and revered when you call me that.”

	“Gomen nasai, ojii-sam - I mean, ojii-san,” she apologized. “I’ll try to 
remember that from now on.”

	Saburo affectionately ruffled her hair. “That’s better,” he remarked. 
“Now, would you like to unpack and get settled first, or shall we go on that 
tour I promised you?”

	Rei shrugged. Personally, she didn’t really care either way, so it made 
no difference to her what they decided to do. Both would be done eventually. She 
did have to admit she was a little curious about the rest of the shrine, though. 
Ever since the first time her mother took her to a festival at the local shrine 
near the manor, Rei had developed somewhat of a small fascination with the 
beautifully simplistic buildings. It was nice to be able to see one up close and 
personal, instead of just looking at pictures in coffee table books. 

	“I guess we can go on the tour,” Rei decided, leaving her teddy bear on 
the futon. “I can unpack later.”

	“Good. Then follow me.”

	They began the tour with the rest of the living quarters, though there 
wasn’t much more to see. Other than the two sleeping areas, there was a place to 
prepare food, the large room Saburo collectively the living area, and an 
old-fashioned bathroom equipped with a wooden bathtub. Although she wrinkled her 
nose in distaste at the sight of the hated bath, Rei did find it interesting to 
learn the bath water was heated by fire. There was also the prayer room, where 
the sacred fire of the shrine was kept.

	 After he finished showing Rei the house, Saburo then led her back 
outside to show her the rest of the shrine. He pointed out the small office off 
to the side where they sold lucky charms and paper fortunes, the shrine’s main 
source of income, as well as the haiden. The haiden, Rei learned, was the hall 
of worship. Wide-eyed, she watched Saburo make an offering to the kami of the 
shrine by clapping his hands and tugging a rope attached to a bell to announce 
his presence. He then chanted a short prayer, palms together in front of his 
chin, before putting a couple of coins into a slatted wooden box.

	Lastly, he showed her the honden, or the main part of the shrine. They 
didn’t go inside, as it was off limits to everybody except priests, but Saburo 
told her it was the place that housed the shintai. The shintai was the sacred 
object the kami of the shrine supposedly inhabited.

	“The kami-sama lives inside the object?” Rei asked, confused when she 
heard that. Her mostly Catholic upbringing found the idea strange and foreign. 

	“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that, but yes, that is the 
basic idea,” Saburo replied. “You see, the Shinto kami-sama are rather different 
than the gods of other religions. There is no separation of the spiritual and 
the material worlds. We believe kami-sama inhabit nature.” 

	“Oh.”

	“I take it Takara didn’t educate you much about her religion, did she?” 
the priest asked. 

	Rei shook her head, embarrassed by her ignorance of something that meant 
so much to her grandfather. “Okaa-sama told me a little about Shinto and 
sometimes took me to shrine festivals, but she didn’t like to talk about it much 
because otou-sama wanted me to follow his religion,” she explained, her hand 
reaching up to clutch the tiny crucifix hidden beneath her dress. A small smile 
crossed her lips as she remembered the tiny chapel they attended near the manor. 
“Sunday morning Mass was one of the few times I could count on seeing him. No 
matter how busy he was with work, otou-sama always cleared his schedule to 
accompany me and okaa-sama -- when she felt up to it -- to church.”

	“Oh, I see…” he murmured. 

	It was Saburo’s turn to be embarrassed as the old man rubbed the back of 
his neck. Rei guessed he had expected her to be Shinto like her mother. She 
lowered her gaze to the floor, sad she had disappointed him with the revelation 
she was Catholic. 

	“Gomen nasai, ojii-san,” Rei apologized.

	“Sorry?” Saburo crouched down to her level and lifted her chin, forcing 
Rei to look at him. “Rei-chan, listen to me. There’s absolutely no reason why 
you should apologize for being Catholic. Never, ever apologize for your 
beliefs.”

	“But aren’t you mad I’m not Shinto?”

	“Mad?” Saburo chuckled. “No, of course not, sweetie. What made you think 
that…?” His voice trailed off, the answer dawning on him. “Oh, I believe it is 
me who owes you the apology.”

	“Why?” Rei tilted her head to the side with a look of confusion on her 
face, not understanding why her grandfather would feel he had to apologize. 
Saburo hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t his fault they followed different 
religions.

	The old man sighed before taking her hands in his own. “I didn’t mean to 
make you feel ashamed about your religion, Rei-chan,” he said softly. “Gomen 
nasai.” 	

	Looking into his eyes, Rei saw deep regret, more than she would have 
expected for such a simple misunderstanding. She didn’t think it was a big deal, 
so why did he? 

	“It’s okay, ojii-san,” she assured him. “It’s not a big deal.” 

	“Yes, it is.” Saburo stood back up, his arms crossed as he leaned 
against the exterior of the honden. Looking up, the back of his head touched the 
wall and he suddenly appeared much older than his fifty or sixty years, 
especially in his eyes. “I was surprised, but I’m afraid my reaction might have 
made it seemed I was judging you. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

	“Judging me?”	  

	“Some habits apparently die hard,” Saburo replied ruefully. “The Shinto 
religion is surprisingly accepting of other beliefs, but I suppose a part of me 
still holds some prejudice against those who don’t share mine. It was that 
prejudice that cost me my daughter…”

	Rei abruptly glanced up at her grandfather, surprised by his words. Was 
that part of the reason Saburo stopped talking to her mother? Because Takara had 
married her father, a Catholic? That would explain the feeling she felt between 
them earlier when Keitaro dropped her off at Hikawa. She wanted to ask him more, 
but before she got the chance, Saburo shook his head.

	“Never mind me,” he said with a small smile. “You’ll have to forgive the 
old man. Sometimes I have a tendency to ramble. Shall we go back inside?”

	Saburo held out his hand to her, which Rei took, deciding she would ask 
him about what he said later. He didn’t seem inclined to offer any more 
information on his own accord. Letting her grandfather lead her back to the 
house, Rei sighed and slumped her shoulders in disappointment. Why wouldn’t 
anybody tell her anything? 

	They were almost back at the house when Rei suddenly stopped dead in her 
tracks, a strange feeling slowly coming over her. She never felt anything like 
it before. It wasn’t like the usual feelings associated with her “gifts“. 
Instead, it felt almost…magical. That was the only word she could think of to 
describe it. Where could it be coming from, though?

	She shifted her eyes to a couple of crows dancing in the yard of the 
shrine. Too occupied with her own thoughts during their tour, Rei hadn’t noticed 
them until now. There were a few more crows flying around up ahead, but her 
attention fell solely on the two dancers. Something was different about those 
two. Rei couldn’t quite put her finger on it though. They looked exactly like 
all the other crows that made their home at the shrine, with glossy black 
feathers and beady eyes that made them look less than friendly, yet there was 
something about them...

	“Rei-chan?” Saburo, noticing his granddaughter had let go of his hand 
and now lagged behind, stopped and turned around. “Rei-chan, what is it? Is 
something wrong? Did you hurt yourself?”

	Rei shook her head, her eyes still focused on the two crows. It was 
almost as if she was in some kind of trance. “You have crows in your backyard, 
ojii-san?” she asked.

	The priest laughed. “You know crows are common in the city, sweetie. 
You’ll always find a few around here. They seem to like it here at Hikawa for 
some reason. Some have been living here for years.”

	Rei heard his words, but she wasn’t paying much attention to them. Two 
unfamiliar names were forming in the back of her mind. Even though she never 
heard the names before, Rei immediately knew who they belong to when the two 
crows looked at her, then flew off. She ran after them, calling their names. 

	“Phobos! Deimos!” 

	Her grandfather was stunned, his eyes widening until they were almost as 
big as saucers. “R-Rei-chan?” he stuttered. “W-What? But h-how?”

	Finally catching up to the crows, Rei smiled as the one she called 
Deimos perched on her shoulder while Phobos allowed her to pet its head. She was 
mildly surprised at how tame they seemed to be, compared to their rather 
fearsome appearance. She wasn’t afraid of them at all. Actually, Rei thought 
they were kind of cute. 

	“Kawaii!” she exclaimed, looking over her other shoulder at her 
grandfather. “Look at these cute crows, ojii-san. Their names are Phobos and 
Deimos. I felt it just now. I don’t know how I know it; I just do.”

	“Did Takara tell you that, Rei-chan?” Saburo asked, still quite shocked 
by the whole thing. “Did your mother tell you about Phobos and Deimos?”

	“No, okaa-sama never told me anything about her life at Hikawa.”

	“But how did you know? I don‘t understand. How could you know their 
names were Phobos and Deimos if Takara never told you?”

	Rei giggled, enjoying the look of complete and total confusion on 
Saburo’s face. She then bent down to gather some corn to feed her new friends, 
thinking she rather liked it here after all.

	“I don’t know, ojii-san. Magic, I guess.”

					*****

	Later that night, after Saburo finished his final round of meditation 
for the day, the old priest exited the prayer room, thoughts of the vision he 
saw in the sacred fire still fresh in his mind. Again, he’d seen the sign of 
Mars in the dancing flames, glowing a dark red against the oranges and yellows, 
and it left him just as confused as before. In all his years of reading fires, 
Saburo never recalled seeing such a sight other than those three times: the day 
he learned his daughter was pregnant, the day of his granddaughter’s birth, and 
tonight. But what could it mean? 

	He sensed the sign was of great importance, but every time Saburo 
thought he was close to finally understanding the fire’s secret, the vision 
would suddenly disappear and any memory he had of his thoughts during the 
reading vanished, leaving behind only the physical remembrance of the 
astrological sign of Mars. He almost wished he would forget that too. The nights 
were restless whenever he had the vision, his mind working overtime to decipher 
the cryptic message. Whoever was sending the vision, whether it be the kami of 
the shrine or some other outside force, obviously didn’t want Saburo to know its 
secret just yet. The fire must enjoy teasing him.

	Deciding not to think about the vision anymore, Saburo slid the door to 
the prayer room shut and headed toward Takara’s old bedroom to check on his 
granddaughter. Rei was supposed to be getting a good night’s rest before her 
first day of school, but though the door to her room was closed, the light of a 
lamp shone dimly through the paper-thin walls. Saburo knocked lightly. When 
there was no answer, he slid the door open and stepped inside. He found the 
little girl sitting wide awake on the futon in the middle of the floor with her 
arms wrapped around her knees, dressed in a long, frilly white nightgown and her 
hair pulled into two messy braids on either side of her head. “Rei-chan?”

	Hearing her name, Rei glanced up at her grandfather, who was still very 
much a stranger to her, with wide, frightened eyes. “Ojii-sama, gomen nasai,” 
she apologized, reaching for the blanket she’d tossed aside. “I’m going to bed 
right now.”

	“Like I said before, there’s no need to be so formal with me, Rei-chan,” 
Saburo said with a kind smile, walking further into the room. “And don’t worry, 
I’m not angry with you for still being up. It must be difficult to sleep in an 
unfamiliar room for the first time, isn’t it?”

	Rei nodded, her gaze sad as she look around the room that once belonged 
to her mother. Other than the new futon, everything was just as it was when 
Takara left on that stormy night almost nine years ago. Saburo never did find 
the courage to go through the stuff she left behind. “Was this really 
okaa-sama’s room when she was my age?” Rei asked.

	“Hai, it was.”

	“It’s different from my room in the manor,” she commented. “Smaller…but 
I like it.”

	Saburo smiled and kneeled down on the floor beside the futon. Rei was 
trying so hard to be the perfect little guest, but he knew the ancient Shinto 
shrine must pale in comparison to her old home. Though he never visited the Hino 
manor, from Miyuki’s descriptions, it certainly seemed like a palace fit for the 
Emperor of Japan himself. How could he possibly compete with that? 

	“You don’t have to say that if you don’t mean it, Rei-chan. I know 
you’re accustomed to a more Western-style house. If it will make you more 
comfortable, tomorrow, after I drop you off at your school, I’ll go to the 
department store and buy you a new bed. Maybe something with a clown face 
painted on the headboard, or perhaps one of those beds shaped like a car...”  

	“No, you don’t have to do that…ojii-san.” She fumbled over the use of 
the less formal address, giving her grandfather a tiny, proud grin. “The futon 
is nice. Really, it is. That’s not the reason I can’t go to bed.”

	“Then, why can’t you fall asleep?” Saburo asked. “Are you nervous about 
your first day at the new school?”

	“A little,” she admitted, her tiny hand reaching for the stuffed animal 
sitting beside her pillow. Rei pulled the soft brown teddy bear into a tight 
hug, her violet eyes downcast. “Why do I have to go to a new school? I really 
liked my old school, and I miss my friends…”

	“You’ll make new friends at T*A Academy, Rei-chan. It’s early in the 
school year, so I’m sure everybody’s still trying to get to know each other,” 
Saburo assured her. The T*A Academy for Girls was the Catholic parochial school 
Rei’s father decided she should attend, known for its academic excellence and 
exclusivity. “Plus, the Academy is one of the best private schools in all of 
Tokyo. You’re very lucky they accepted you.”

	“Did okaa-sama go to the Academy?”

	“No, Takara attended the public school in the Juuban district.”   

	“Oh.” Rei held the teddy bear even tighter to her chest, holding onto 
the stuffed animal as if it were a life preserver and she was lost at sea. 	
Saburo could only imagine how his only granddaughter must feel. Her entire life 
had been turned upside down in the course of a very short period of time. Not 
only had she lost her mother, who Saburo could tell Rei absolutely adored, but 
her home, her friends, and her school as well. Any number of six-year-olds would 
have fallen apart, having to deal with such things at such a tender age. Rei, 
however, seemed to be holding up quite well, considering the circumstances. She 
was such a brave little girl, so much like her mother…

	With a gentle hand, Saburo began stroking the back of the little girl’s 
head. “It’s going to be okay, Rei-chan,” the priest said as she glanced back up 
in surprise. He gave her another small smile, then played with one of the bear’s 
floppy ears that looked as if it were about to fall off. Saburo made a mental 
note to stitch the ear back up while Rei was in school tomorrow. “So, who’s this 
fuzzy friend?”

	“His name is Yoshi-san,” she answered, handing the bear to her 
grandfather to see. “He’s my best friend in the entire world. Okaa-sama made him 
for me last year for Christmas.”

	Saburo chuckled as he gave the teddy bear the once-over. It appeared his 
daughter’s sewing skills hadn’t improved much over the years. She never did like 
the home economics classes the school forced her to take. He recognized Takara’s 
handiwork in the visible seams and the not-quite-level black button eyes, along 
with the floppy ear that looked more like it belonged on a bunny rabbit rather 
than a teddy bear, but every single stitch was done with great love for its 
owner. That much he could see, and he knew in Rei’s eyes, the toy was absolutely 
perfect.

	The priest handed the bear back to his granddaughter, a reflective look 
in his brown eyes. “You know, when she was a little girl, your mother had a 
teddy bear, too,” he said. “My wife -- your late grandmother -- crafted it as a 
gift for her seventh birthday, and oh, how she loved that silly bear! Takara 
took it everywhere, even to school until one of her teachers caught her playing 
with it during class instead of paying attention to the lesson. After that, she 
had to leave it at home, but Takara made me promise I wouldn’t let Hoshi-chan 
get too lonely while she was gone.”

	The story brought a smile to Rei’s face, and she even giggled. 
“Okaa-sama sounds like me!” she said, delighted. “I wish we could meet 
Hoshi-chan. Yoshi-san could use some more friends.”

	“Well, it looks like you’re in luck, little missy,” Saburo replied, 
playfully tapping her nose before he stood, looking around the room. “It just so 
happens I still have Hoshi-chan. She’s somewhere around here…Yes, in the toy 
chest!”

	Saburo walked over to the wooden box in the corner of the room and blew 
some of the dust off the top before opening it. He really should have done a 
little more housecleaning before Rei arrived. Dust from the movement flew up 
everywhere, provoking a mild coughing fit, but Saburo quickly recovered and 
started digging through the sea of old toys for the bear. 

	Curious, Rei also came over, looking over her grandfather’s shoulder at 
her mother’s cherished childhood possessions. Purple eyes, so much like 
Takara’s, widened at the sight of the treasures. “Were these really 
okaa-sama’s?” the little girl asked, reaching for the tattered rag doll on top.

	“Hai, Rei-chan, and now they’re all yours,” Saburo replied. “I know 
Takara would want you to have them. They’re not as fancy as your other 
store-bought toys, since our family never did have much money to spend on 
luxuries, but…”

	Rei shook her head, her gaze transfixed on the doll in her hand as if it 
were the most brilliant diamond in the world. “No, they’re wonderful,” she 
whispered reverently. “I can really play with them, ojii-san?”

	“Of course you can. Toys are meant to be played with and loved,” Saburo 
said with a chuckle as he continued digging. A few seconds later, his hand 
wrapped around the soft, fuzzy fur he recognized as belonging to Hoshi-chan and 
pulled the bear out to present to his granddaughter. “Here we go. Rei-chan, meet 
Hoshi-chan.”

	“Kawaii!” The rag doll was forgotten as Rei took her mother’s bear in 
her arms and held it close. Indeed, it was a very cute bear, though it could use 
a good cleaning. Soft, but dirty, white fur covered its well-made body and it 
had a pair of purple button eyes, along with a black nose, on its face. Around 
its neck, a red ribbon was tied into a large bow, and in the center of its 
tummy, there was a matching heart-shaped patch. Rei’s eyes lit up. “I love her, 
ojii-san. Arigatou.”

	“You’re welcome, Rei-chan,” Saburo said as his granddaughter gave him a 
hug. He never realized until then how much he missed the simple gesture. It felt 
wonderful to hold a little girl in his arms once again. So many long forgotten 
memories of Takara’s childhood came rushing back, bringing tears to the old 
man’s eyes. 

	“Why are you so sad, ojii-san?” Rei asked, seeing his watery eyes when 
she finally pulled away from his embrace.

	He shook his head, wiping the sleeve of his robe over his eyes. “Oh, I’m 
not sad, little one,” he said softly. A wrinkled hand reached up to touch her 
cheek and he smiled. “These are tears of happiness -- happiness because you, my 
sweet granddaughter, came into my life. I only wish we could have met under 
happier circumstances. If only…”

	His voice trailed off. Saburo had so many regrets, but what was done was 
done, and no matter how much he wished he could turn back the hands of time, he 
knew it was impossible. The past was forever set in stone. He could only begin a 
new future, with Rei.

	“If only what?” Rei asked. 

	“It’s nothing,” he said, standing from his kneeling position on the 
floor and closing the toy box. “Now, I do believe it’s way past somebody’s 
bedtime.”

	Pink lips curled into a small pout. “Do I have to go to bed, ojii-san? I 
want to play with my new toys.”

	Saburo laughed and gently pushed the little sprite back toward the 
futon, remembering how much trouble it always was trying to get Takara to go to 
sleep. Like mother, like daughter, as they say. “You can play with your toys 
after school tomorrow, Rei-chan. Now, it’s time to sleep.”

	“Hai…” Reluctantly, Rei crawled back into bed and let Saburo tuck her 
underneath the blanket, both bears keeping her company. After she was settled, 
he gave Rei a kiss goodnight on the forehead and was about to turn off the lamp 
when Rei asked him one last question in a soft voice. “Ojii-san, do you miss 
okaa-sama?”

	Saburo nodded. “Hai, very much, little one.”

	“I miss her too. Oyasumi.” 

	“Oyasumi, Rei-chan.”

	With those words, Rei yawned and snuggled deeper under the blanket. She 
was fast asleep within seconds. Smiling at the peaceful sight she made, Saburo 
turned off the lamp beside the futon and quietly tiptoed to the door. He slid 
the door open, but before he left, he took one last look at the sleeping angel, 
surprised at what he saw.

	“Masaka…”

	On her forehead, the glowing red sign Mars shone brightly like a torch 
of fire in a darkened cave. The priest blinked, believing the light was nothing 
but an illusion. His mind must be playing games with him because of what he saw 
earlier in the sacred fire. However, it soon became clear the sign was no trick 
of the light. The old man trembled, though strangely enough, he felt no fear. He 
again whispered the exclamation of disbelief as the light suddenly disappeared, 
extinguished.

	What did it mean? 

					*****

	The T*A Academy for Girls was located only about a few blocks away from 
the Hikawa shrine, so after finishing breakfast the next morning, Saburo and Rei 
decided to walk to the school instead of waiting for the bus. They took their 
time, neither in much of a hurry to get to the school since homeroom wouldn’t 
begin for another half-hour, and admired the beauty of the springtime along the 
street.

	Well, Saburo at least was taking in the sights. Rei, dressed in her new 
school uniform consisting of a short-sleeved white dress shirt and a brown 
jumper, kept her gaze glued to her brightly polished Mary Janes and her tiny 
hand wrapped tightly around her grandfather’s. Two pigtails, tied with matching 
red ribbons, blew behind her in the soft, spring breeze.

	Noticing her nervousness, the priest gave Rei’s hand a reassuring 
squeeze. “You’ll do fine, Rei-chan. Don‘t worry so much.”

	Rei nodded, but didn’t look up. The rest of the walk passed in silence 
and a few minutes later, they arrived at the Academy. It was only then that Rei 
finally raised her head.

	Her first thought when she saw the school was one of intimidation. The 
Academy‘s campus, housing first grade through high school, seemed enormous 
compared to her old elementary school near the manor. The school was actually 
three large buildings, side by side, plus a small chapel off to the side. The 
building on the left was the elementary school, holding grades 1-6. The building 
on the right was the junior high, with the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. 
And in the center of those two buildings was the high school. A spacious 
courtyard, expertly landscaped with flowers of every shape and color, sprawled 
in front of the three schools and in the very center of it all was a statue of 
the Madonna, holding the baby Jesus in her arms. A fence surrounded the entire 
campus.

	“This seems like a nice school,” Saburo commented as they passed through 
the gates.

	Rei‘s grasp on his hand tightened more. “I guess so,” she said in a soft 
voice. “It’s big, though.”

	“I’m sure it won’t seem so big once we go inside,” the priest assured 
her, gently leading her toward the building on the left. “Come, Rei-chan. We 
need to fill out some paper work in the office	and get your class assignment.”

	“Hai, ojii-san…”

	The main office, located right beside the entrance, was easy to find. 
While the secretary at the front desk helped Saburo fill out the required forms, 
Rei took a seat in the plastic yellow chair in the corner to wait. Her legs, not 
quite long enough to reach the floor, swung back and forth and she slouched back 
in the uncomfortable chair until a nun passed by and gave her a look that said 
her behavior was not appropriate for a student of their fancy school.  After 
that, Rei straightened her posture and crossed her legs at her ankles, trying 
her best not to move. She didn’t even breathe unless it was absolutely 
necessary.

	I hate this place, Rei thought to herself as the nun finally turned her 
attention elsewhere. That much she knew already and she hadn’t even been 
assigned to her classroom. She hated the size, she hated the ugly uniforms, she 
hated that judgmental nun, and most of all, she hated the fact that the Academy 
was nothing like her old school. 

	Looking out the window, Rei sighed. Where were all the kids? Back at her 
old school, before class began the courtyard would be alive with the sounds of 
little girls’ high-pitched screams as Takeshi, the class terror, chased them 
around the jungle gym and the boys playing "Cowboys and Indians". Here, however, 
the courtyard was as quiet as a cemetery at night.

	“Rei-chan, it’s time to go to class. You‘re in class 2 of the first 
grade.”

	At the sound of her grandfather’s voice, Rei looked away from the window 
and reluctantly slid off the chair. She wished she didn’t have to go to class. 
She wanted to go back to Hikawa, or better yet, back to the manor with her 
father and Mrs. Yukana so she could attend her old school. Still, she took 
Saburo’s hand and let him lead her to the classroom.

	Her new teacher’s name was Sister Angela. The nun was younger and 
kinder-looking than the one Rei met in the office, but the little girl sensed 
she was just as strict, judging by the sight of her angelic students sitting 
quietly in their desks as the nun greeted them outside the classroom. The two 
adults exchanged pleasantries, then Saburo said good-bye, giving Rei’s hand one 
last squeeze before leaving.

	After he left, Sister Angela showed the new student inside. Rei felt 
every single pair of eyes staring at her as she followed the nun to the front of 
the room, the students wondering who she was. They apparently didn’t get many 
transfers. Some braver students even began to whisper among themselves, though 
the chatter was soon halted by Sister Angela rapping her ruler on the desk. 
Everybody sat at attention as their teacher made the introduction. “Class, I 
would like you to meet our new transfer student, Hino Rei-san,” Sister Angela 
said. “Hino-san, why don’t you tell the class a little about yourself?”

	Rei really didn’t want to speak in front of the class, but the tone in 
the nun’s voice made the request sound more like an order, so she bowed to the 
students and gave a small speech. “Konnichiwa. My name is Hino Rei. I am an 
Aries and my blood type is AB. My father is Hino Keitaro-sama, the governor of 
the Tokyo metropolitan area…” That piece of information provoked another round 
of curious chatter, again silenced by Sister Angela’s ruler. “…and my mother’s 
name is, I mean was, Takara-san. She’s gone, now. I now live with ojii-san at 
the Hikawa shrine. He‘s the priest there.”

	Sister Angela nodded after Rei finished. “That will do, Hino-san,” the 
nun said, looking around the room for an empty seat. The only desk available was 
the one in the back of the room, right behind a cute green-haired girl. “Why 
don’t you take the seat behind Tanaka Sayo-san?”

	Slowly, Rei walked toward the desk, mindful of the still staring eyes of 
her classmates. The girl in front of her, Sayo, especially, seemed to be 
shooting daggers at the new student from her narrowed blue eyes. Rei did not 
know what she had said to make the girl so suspicious of her, but she made a 
conscious effort not to let it bother her as she took her seat and turned her 
attention to the teacher.

	Back at the front of the room, Sister Angela walked over to her own desk 
and began rummaging through some papers. A confused look soon came over her 
face. She opened a couple of the desk drawers, her brow furrowed as she looked 
through the files. “Class, have you seen the math worksheets I had sitting on my 
desk?” the nun asked, closing the last drawer. “I’ve seemed to have misplaced 
them.” 

	The class remained silent, each of the twenty or so young girls staring 
straight ahead at the chalkboard and their hands folded neatly on their desk. 
Only Rei, after realizing nobody had any intention of telling where they had 
hidden the worksheets -- yes, a couple of the “angels” had decided to play a 
naughty trick on their teacher during her brief absence, as evident by the sly 
glances shared between Sayo and the friend next to her -- raised her hand. With 
her special gift, she knew exactly where the papers were located. 

	“Yes, Hino-san?” 

	Rei rose from her seat to answer. “The papers are in the back, 
underneath the globe, Sister Angela-san.”

	The nun arched a doubtful eyebrow, but when Sister Angela made her way 
to the back of the classroom, she did indeed find the worksheets sitting 
underneath the globe on the bookshelf. “But how…” the teacher murmured to 
herself, then shook her head before turning back to her students with hard eyes. 
“Never mind. Who put these here, so I may dispense the proper punishment? I know 
I certainly did not. Come, confess and I might show mercy.”

	Again, silence, even from Rei. Though she suspected Tanaka Sayo and her 
friend were behind the prank, she had no proof other than a hunch, so therefore 
she held her tongue. Sister Angela pressed her lips together, then walked back 
to the front of the class to pass out the worksheets.

	“Fine. If no one will confess, I have no choice but to suspend the first 
recess period,” she announced to a round of groans from the girls. “The time 
instead will be used to study the Ten Commandments, as it appears some of you 
need a refresher course. Hino-san will, of course, be excused, as she was not 
yet a member of this class when the crime took place. Now, get to work on these 
worksheets. You have thirty minutes.”

	The rest of the morning passed by without incident until lunchtime. 
Unlike her old school, where the kids ate their lunches in the classroom or 
sometimes outside, if the weather was nice, the Academy had a real cafeteria. It 
was one of the few things about the school that managed to impress Rei. She went 
through the lunch line with the rest of the class, then took a seat at an empty 
table. Nobody else joined her, not that she expected they would. No one wanted 
anything to do with her after she innocently caused her classmates to lose their 
recess.

	Fine, see if I care, Rei thought sadly to herself, playing with the rice 
in her bowl with her chopsticks. So much for making new friends. She couldn’t 
wait for the day to be over so she could go home to Hikawa and play with her 
mother’s toys. They would be her friends, even if the snobs would not.

	She took a few bites of the rice, and then found her attention turned 
toward a group of girls, including Tanaka Sayo, sitting at a nearby table. Rei 
didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help overhearing their conversation. 
They were all speaking in rather loud voices -- at least, as loud as they could 
without drawing unwanted attention from the nuns -- and seemed not to care their 
topic of choice was sitting less than five feet away.

	“I can’t believe our recess was cancelled,” Sayo pouted. “Sister 
Angela-sensei is being so unfair. All we did was hide her stupid worksheets. 
What’s the big deal? It’s not like she never found them.”

	“I know!” the purple-haired girl who Rei suspected was Sayo’s 
co-conspirator exclaimed. “And what about that new Shinto girl? How did she know 
where we put the papers? She wasn’t even in the room when we hid them.”

	The third member of the group, a pretty blonde, shrugged her shoulders. 
“Maybe Hino-san has some kind of special power,” she suggested brightly. 
“Wouldn’t that be neat?”

	“Neat?” The second girl wrinkled her button nose. “I don’t think that’s 
neat at all. It’s scary! Who knows what else she can do? I think she‘s a total 
FREAK!”

	“I don’t know, Mai-chan… I think Hino-san is kind of cool. She is very 
beautiful and mysterious.”

	Mai rolled her eyes. “You would think that, Kotono-chan. You’re 
interested in aliens and psychics and all that weird stuff, aren’t you?  I 
wouldn’t be surprised at all if Hino-san was a Martian. Being able to find lost 
stuff like that is weird. She must have alien powers.”

	“Maybe that’s why her father sent her away,” Sayo mused, twisting a 
strand of her green hair absent-mindedly around her finger. 

	Both girls gave their full attention to the leader of their clique when 
they heard that, curious. “What do you mean, Sayo-chan?” Kotono asked. “Do you 
know something we don’t?”   	

	“Perhaps…” she drawled. Sayo obviously loved being the center of 
attention for she was eating it up like a cat lapping a bowl of milk.

	“Don’t tease us!” Mai said. “I hate it when you do that. Spill! We 
demand details!”

	Sayo smiled mysteriously, pretending to be overly interested the bowl of 
rice sitting in front of her before she finally relented and told the others 
what she knew. “Okay, I don’t know that much,” she admitted. “Ojii-sama came 
over last night for dinner, and he happened to mention that Governor Hino-sama’s 
daughter would be in my class. He said I should be nice to her because her 
father was a very important man, but I could tell he didn’t really mean it.”

	“Why not?”

	“Well, later, I overheard ojii-sama talking with my parents, and it 
seems he and Hino-sama are big rivals. He doesn’t like the governor very much. 
They were even talking about sending me to another school!”

	“What?!” the purple-haired girl gasped. “You aren’t leaving, are you, 
Sayo-chan? That would be horrible!”

	“No, okaa-sama and otou-sama said they wanted me to stay at the Academy, 
but ojii-sama wasn’t very happy about it.”

	“That’s good,” Kotono said. “We would be sad if you left.”

	Mai nodded her head in agreement. “Very sad. But did you find out why 
Hino-san came here, Sayo-chan? It’s weird that she lives at that creepy, old 
shrine with her grandfather. Why did Hino-sama ship her away?”

	“Maybe Hino-sama is too busy to take care of her, Mai-chan. She did say 
her mother died.”

	The other girl sighed. “For a space cadet, you don’t have much of an 
imagination, Kotono-chan. There has to be more to it than that, and I bet 
Sayo-chan knows why.”

	“Maybe I do, and maybe I don’t,” Sayo said, again acting coy.

	“Sayo-chan…”

	“Well, I did hear ojii-sama say something about Hino-sama’s daughter, 
our dear little freak. He said Hino-san always gave him the creeps, and that..." 
Sayo paused, trying to remember the exact words, otherwise it wouldn't have the 
same effect. "It was a good idea for the governor's career to send her away." 
They all looked nonplussed at this. Sayo didn't seem to have any idea why it 
would be good either, but that didn't stop her saying confidently, "I don't 
blame him. Who wants a daughter like that? I wouldn't even let her out of the 
*house*. And Hino-sama's in public office, it must be even worse for him." 

	Hearing that, Rei gasped and her chopsticks clattered to the table. That 
was a lie! Her father didn’t think she was a freak. He loved her. She knew he 
did, underneath it all. Her mother had said so…

	Tears filled Rei’s eyes just as Kotono, alerted by the noise her 
chopsticks made when they hit the table, turned around in her seat. The blonde 
who, unlike her two companions, didn‘t have a view of Rei‘s table, was surprised 
to see her sitting so close. Kotono lowered her eyes in shame as she tried to 
explain. “Hino-san, Sayo-chan didn‘t mean what she said about your father…” the 
girl began as Sayo and her other friend started laughing. 

	Rei’s hands clenched into tiny fists as the little girl struggled to 
control her emotions. She failed to see how they could find her tears so 
amusing. How could they take so much pleasure in her pain? How could anybody be 
so cruel? 

	Ignoring Kotono’s attempts to apologize for her friends’ behavior, Rei 
pushed her lunch tray away and ran to the bathroom to cry. She couldn’t wait for 
this horrible day to end.

					*****

	The school bus drove by the Hikawa shrine just as Saburo finished his 
afternoon mediation, bringing a smile to the priest‘s face. His granddaughter 
was finally home from her first day of school. He expected to hear excited 
footsteps at the entrance of the shrine as Rei rushed to tell him about her day 
at the Academy, but instead, the little girl quietly entered the shrine and 
called out she was home, not even bothering to pop her head into the prayer room 
when she passed by on her way to her own room. Saburo frowned, standing from his 
kneeling position in front of the sacred fire. 

	Concerned, the grandfather headed toward his daughter’s old bedroom and 
knocked on the sliding door. “Rei-chan? May I come in?” he asked when no one 
answered.

	Inside, the girl sniffled. “Hai, ojii-san,” she said in a quivering 
voice. “I guess so.”

	Saburo slid the door open and found Rei laying on the futon, flat on her 
stomach and her face buried in her arms. The bows in her hair were undone and 
her long black tresses disheveled. 

	“Rei-chan…” Saburo whispered, kneeling down beside the futon. Tiny sobs 
erupted through Rei’s body and he rubbed his hand down her back in comfort. 
“What’s wrong, little one? Did something bad happen today at school?”

	“It was horrible!” she said, her words muffled in her makeshift pillow. 
“I hate it and I’m never going back! Everybody hates me. They said such mean 
things, ojii-san.”

	Saburo sighed. He should have known better than to be so optimistic. 
Kids could be so cruel sometimes, especially to those they thought were 
different from themselves. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” he apologized. “I know it must 
have been tough. What did they say?”

	Rei shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

	“It might help, Rei-chan,” he persisted, stroking her messy hair. “Come 
on, look up and tell me about what happened. I can’t make it better unless I 
know what they said. Did they tease you about me being Shinto priest and you 
living in a shrine?”

	The black-haired girl lifted her head from her arms and looked over at 
her grandfather, her eyes red and her porcelain skin blotchy. She wiped away 
some of her tears with the collar of her shirt before she shook her head once 
again. “Some did, but…”

	“It was something else.”

	“Hai.” 

	Sniffling, Rei finally sat up in the futon and allowed Saburo to wipe 
away the rest of her tears with his handkerchief. He then took a seat on the 
futon with her, pulling the little girl on his lap. Rei was a little heavier 
than he thought she would be -- either that, or he was a lot older than he 
thought he was -- but he didn’t mind. Saburo wrapped his arms around her and 
held the little girl tight as Rei told him what happened earlier at school. 

	“Well, after Sister Angela-sensei introduced me to the class, she 
couldn’t find her math worksheets. Some of the girls decided to hide them while 
the teacher talked to us outside, but nobody would tell her where they were. I 
wanted to help, so I used my gift to find them.”

	“Your gift?” Saburo asked. It was the first he ever heard of it.

	Rei nodded. “That’s what okaa-sama called it,” she explained. “I can 
find lost things just by concentrating. Sometimes I can sense things, too. 
Okaa-sama always said it was my special gift.”

	The old priest smiled. It appeared his granddaughter had inherited a 
little of Noriko’s psychic talents. His late wife also possessed the ability to 
find lost items when she was alive, among other things, though they always 
referred to it as her “sixth sense”. 

	“I see. So, what happened after you used your ‘gift’ to find the lost 
worksheets?”

	“Sister Angela-sensei asked the class who hid them and when nobody 
confessed, she cancelled first recess.”

	“So everybody blamed you for getting recess cancelled.”

	“Hai,” Rei said. She rested her head on Saburo’s shoulder as another 
tear began rolling down her cheek. “But that wasn’t the worst part. There was 
th-this group of girls - Tanaka Sayo-san, Kotono-san, and another girl. We were 
eating lunch in the cafeteria and I heard th-them talking about me. Th-they said 
my gift was weird and I was a freak. And then, th-they said…they said otou-sama 
sent m-me away because he was ashamed of…ashamed of…”

	Rei didn’t have to complete her sentence. By that time, she was crying 
once again, her tears soaking his robes, and it became painfully clear who the 
girls said Keitaro was ashamed of. It broke his heart. Saburo kissed the top of 
her head, rocking her back and forth. “Oh, Rei-chan…” he murmured, not really 
knowing what else to say. 

	The priest had expected some teasing from the predominately Catholic 
student body about Rei’s situation. He tried to prepare her for it at breakfast 
this morning, but he was afraid nothing he said would have prepared her for what 
happened at lunchtime. Maybe if he had known about her “sixth sense” earlier, he 
could have told her to be careful about who she revealed her abilities to, but 
he doubted the advice would have done much good. Much like how he sensed 
something was different about Rei the moment she stepped out of her father’s 
limousine, the other girls would have picked up on the strange aura that 
surrounded her eventually. 

	There was something unusual about the little girl crying in his arms. 
Rei wasn’t like the other girls. His granddaughter was special, and his feelings 
had nothing to do with grandfatherly pride. Saburo recalled the night before 
when he saw the sign of Mars on her forehead, and even before that, when Rei 
called out Phobos’ and Deimos’ names despite never having met her mother’s avian 
friends. It was clear to him now. The sacred fire was trying to tell him 
something about Rei. What it was, he still had no earthly idea, but somehow he 
knew his granddaughter was destined for something great.

	“Ojii-san?” Rei sniffled, wiping her nose on his robes. Her voice broke 
Saburo from his thoughts and the priest gave her a small smile.

	“Yes, little one?”

	“I’m not a freak, am I?” she asked in a small voice barely above a 
whisper. 

	Saburo shook his head, situating Rei on his lap so that she was facing 
him. The little girl kept her gaze lowered until he lifted up her chin, forcing 
her to look at him. “Rei-chan, listen to me,” Saburo said. “You are not a freak, 
and I never want you to think that of yourself ever again, no matter what other 
people might say. Those girls were probably just jealous because they saw how 
special you really are and it threatened them.”

	The tiniest of grins tugged at her lips. “I-I’m special?”

	“Hai, very special,” he answered, tapping the end of her nose. “Do you 
want to know how special?” Rei nodded as Saburo again pulled her into another 
embrace before beginning his story. It always pained him to talk about his late 
wife, but in this case, he made an exception. “Well, you see, you aren’t the 
only person in the family who was blessed with the special ’gift’, as you call 
it. My wife Noriko, your obaa-san, also possessed the power to see what was not 
there. It was one of the things I found most fascinating about her because the 
kami-sama don’t give out such gifts to just anybody. The person who receives 
them must be a very special person, indeed, so you and Noriko are both very 
special people.”

	“Really? Obaa-san had the gift, too? I‘m not the only one?”

	“Hai, little one.” Saburo chuckled at the wide-eyed look on Rei’s face 
when she looked up. The news that someone else besides her had the “gift” seemed 
to comfort Rei, making her feel a little less unusual. In time, Rei might learn 
to appreciate her uniqueness, but Saburo knew, especially at her young age, it 
was also important for her to feel like she fit in. 

	Still, it was times like these when he wished Noriko was alive. His wife 
would know how to handle this situation better than him. Saburo reached into his 
pocket and wrapped his hands around the ruby necklace inside, seeking Noriko’s 
guidance.

	“What’s that, ojii-san?” Rei asked, noticing the motion. The priest 
pulled the necklace out, holding it up so she could see. Rei gasped and reached 
for the heart-shaped pendent, whispering, “It’s pretty.”

	“It was your mother’s,” Saburo explained. “Obaa-san and I bought it for 
her for her birthday right before Noriko passed away. Takara used to wear it 
everyday because her mother told her it was a little piece of her heart to keep 
with her when Noriko wasn’t around anymore. She left it behind when she ran off 
to marry your father, though. I guess Takara thought I needed Noriko‘s heart 
more than she did.”

	Rei rubbed the surface of the faceted ruby stone with her thumb, her 
eyes once again sad. “Why did okaa-sama run away?” she asked.  “Did you not like 
otou-sama, ojii-san?” 

	The old man sighed. Such tough questions his inquisitive granddaughter 
asked. Saburo ran a hand through his graying hair before answering. “Well, it 
wasn’t really a matter of disliking your father, Rei-chan,” he began. He chose 
his words carefully, not wanting to alienate her. “The few times I met him, he 
seemed very kind and respectful. However, it is true I didn’t approve of the 
marriage. Takara and Hino-sama came from two different worlds, and I didn‘t 
think marriage was appropriate.” 

	Saburo stopped there. He didn’t think he needed to tell her about 
arranged marriage between Takara and Mizuki Hisoka or how he disapproved of 
Keitaro because of his Catholic religion. The short explanation seemed to 
satisfy Rei’s curiosity. “Oh,” she said softly, her attention still mainly 
focused on the necklace in her hand. She was completely captivated by it. 

	“Do you like it?” he asked. Rei nodded as he took the necklace from her 
hand and fumbled with the clasp. Her eyes widened in surprise when Saburo moved 
to drape it around her neck. “Then you should have it. Hold up your hair.”

	Rei pulled her messy hair out of the way and let Saburo finish clasping 
in around her neck, still in shock. Once he was done, she reached for the 
pendent dangling from the too long chain with a shaking hand. “I can really have 
it?” she asked in disbelief. “But it’s so pretty…”

	Saburo smiled, thinking how much Rei looked like Takara just then. “It 
looks prettier on you,” he said, helping her stand back up before he joined her. 
“Now, how about you help me make dinner?”

	“Hai, ojii-san.” 

					*****

	“Hino-sama?” 

	Back at the Hino manor, Keitaro looked up from his untouched dinner of 
steak and rice, usually his favorite, to see Mrs. Yukana giving him a concerned 
look from across the table. From the tone in her voice, he suspected she’d been 
calling him for some time. He had been rather distracted tonight...

	“Yes, Yukana-san?”

	The housekeeper frowned, a line of wrinkles appearing on her forehead. 
“Is something wrong with your dinner? You’ve barely taken two bites since we sat 
down. If it is unsatisfactory, I can prepare something else. It’s not a 
problem.”

	“That won’t be necessary,” he assured her, taking a bite of his steak to 
prove it to her. “Dinner is first-rate, as always.”

	“You’re very kind to say so, Hino-sama,” Mrs. Yukana replied modestly. 
“It’s nothing much.”

	“You know I’ve always enjoyed your cooking, Yukana-san. Perhaps you 
should consider opening a restaurant when you move to Osaka next month.”

	At the mention of her upcoming move, the housekeeper sat down her 
silverware and glanced over at one of the two empty chairs around the table. It 
was the chair where Rei usually sat. Forgetting that her “little princess” no 
longer lived with them, Mrs. Yukana had accidentally prepared an extra plate. 
The plate now sat cold and uneaten, a painful reminder of her absence.

	“I wonder how hime-chan is doing over at Hikawa,” Mrs. Yukana said 
softly.

	The fork in Keitaro’s hand stopped in mid-air. It was the first time 
either one of them had dared to talk about Rei since she left, breaking an 
unspoken agreement between them. Mrs. Yukana knew he didn’t want to discuss his 
daughter.

	“I’m sure Rei-san’s fine,” Keitaro replied shortly, taking another bite 
of his steak. The meat in his mouth had taken on a dry, tasteless quality, 
causing him to lose whatever appetite he had left. Setting his fork back down on 
the table, he pushed his plate away and stood, suddenly wanting to be alone. 
“I’ll be in my office, Yukana-san. Take a message if anyone calls for me. I 
don’t want to be disturbed.”

	The housekeeper nodded and began clearing the table of the dirty dishes. 
“Yes, Hino-sama.”

	Keitaro headed to his office down the hall, a feeling of relief coming 
over him once he entered the darkened room and closed the door behind him. He 
had been breathing heavily when he came in, but his breathing softened as 
Keitaro leaned against the closed door.

	“What is wrong with me?” he asked himself aloud, hitting the 
back of his head against the wood. 

	Keitaro hadn’t expected to have such a reaction to simply hearing his 
daughter’s name. To be honest, he hadn’t really known what to expect, which was 
one of the reasons why he had been careful not to mention or even think of Rei 
the entire day. But whatever he had expected to feel, it wasn’t this -- not this 
overwhelming guilt.

	Why did she have to cry? Why did she have to look at him like that? Why 
couldn’t she had just accepted the situation like the big girl she claimed she 
was? 

	No, that wasn’t fair to Rei. Keitaro couldn’t blame her; it wasn’t her 
fault. Even if she was almost seven, Rei was still very much a little girl. He 
shouldn’t have expected anything less from her. It was silly of him to think 
otherwise, that she would be perfectly fine with the whole thing. Minoru had 
told him repeatedly Rei wouldn’t take the separation well, yet he’d ignored his 
friend’s claims, figuring it wouldn’t be such a big deal. They had never been 
close, anyway.  

	Showed how well he knew his own daughter.

	Reaching up to loosen the silk tie around his neck, Keitaro drew in a 
deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to ten in his head until he felt 
himself calm down. He needed to stop doing this to himself. There was no reason 
to feel guilty about his decision. He sent Rei away for her own good, as well as 
his. Maybe someday, when she was older, she would understand.

	But that thought still didn’t make the memory of her tear-streaked face, 
so much like Takara’s, disappear from his mind.

	Why couldn’t he forget? That’s all he wanted to do - forget. To forget 
the father who never loved him. To forget the uncle who did. To forget the 
daughter he could never bring himself to love. And to forget the woman he had
loved too much.

	Forget…

	Looking around the office, Keitaro’s gray eyes fell on the liquor 
cabinet sitting in the corner of the small room. It had been his father’s, 
elegantly crafted from rich oak and well-stocked with the finest intoxicants. 
Sometimes, Keitaro wondered why he never bothered to get rid of the painful 
reminder of Hino Takeo and his drunken rages when he moved back to the manor. It 
would probably fetch a pretty penny at an antiques market. For once, however, he 
was grateful he hadn‘t done so.

	Walking over to the cabinet, Keitaro stooped down and traced the 
intricate carvings on the door with his finger until his hand unconsciously made 
its way to the lock. The key to the cabinet was long lost, its secret location 
forgotten after so many years, but Keitaro had jimmied it open the day of 
Takara’s funeral, so that was not a problem. The door swung open easily, 
revealing the assortment of bottles hidden inside.

	Scotch, brandy, vodka, tequila, sake… He scanned the labels, no real 
preference in mind. Anything that would help him forget would be fine. However, 
remembering the terrible taste of the scotch from before, he pushed the bottle 
aside and finally selected the vodka.

	That would do.

	Keitaro’s hands were shaking as he pulled the bottle out of the cabinet 
and unsealed the top. Forgoing the use of the crystal glass, he brought the 
bottle to his parched lips and took a small, hesitant drink. The taste was even 
worse than the scotch, but making a face, he forced himself to swallow, the 
liquid burning his throat as it made its way down to his stomach.

	“How can people drink this stuff?” Keitaro asked aloud, wishing he had a 
glass of water to wash away the horrid aftertaste. Still, that didn’t stop him 
from bringing the bottle to his lips once again, seeking the forgetfulness he 
knew it would provide.

	Before Keitaro took another drink, though, his words from yesterday’s 
conversation with Minoru suddenly came back to him, echoing in the back of his 
mind. Alcohol wasn’t the answer. He knew that first hand from witnessing his 
father’s downfall from brilliant attorney to horrible drunk. It didn’t solve his 
problems; it only created new ones. As tempting as it was lose himself in the 
bottom of the liquor bottle, Keitaro placed the vodka back on its shelf and 
closed the door, making a mental note to get the lock fixed sometime next week.

	“I won’t become him,” he whispered fervently, his forehead resting 
against the cool wood of the cabinet. “No matter what, I won’t allow myself to 
become otou-sama.”

	Standing, Keitaro turned on the small Tiffany lamp sitting on his desk, 
unplugged his phone from its outlet in the wall to avoid any unwelcome 
disturbances, and took a seat in his chair. He needed to find some other way to 
get his mind off what had happened yesterday.

	Sleep was out of the question. Despite Rei’s absence, the nightmares of 
his father still continued to haunt him. Keitaro had hoped once she left, they 
would finally leave him alone and go back to that dark part of his memory where 
they belonged, but that had not been the case. In fact, last night had been the 
worst yet. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep, for every time he closed his 
eyes, Hino Takeo’s face had appeared, eyes bloodshot and full of hate. 

	So, no, he couldn’t go to bed. Keitaro doubted he would be able to even 
if he tried.

	That really left him only one choice - his work. 

	Though some members of his Cabinet suggested he take a personal vacation 
after Takara’s funeral to deal with his grief, he had insisted on returning to 
the office the very next day. Work was Keitaro’s sole salvation. Only when going 
over budget reports or writing speeches did he find a sense of calmness, a sense 
of purpose, a sense that he was doing something right. It was rather ironic when 
one considered the stress he was under due to the upcoming special meeting of 
the Assembly, but Keitaro welcomed the pressure like masochist welcomed pain. 
The more work he had to do, the less time he had to think about his sorrows.

	Reaching for the briefcase sitting underneath the desk, Keitaro selected 
a couple of folders and pulled out the speech he had been working on yesterday 
when Minoru unexpectedly dropped by. It was to be his address to the Assembly, 
and therefore, one of his top priorities. Upon seeing the number of rejected 
paragraphs crossed out with his red pen, though, he sighed. Admittedly, it 
wasn’t his best work. 

	Keitaro was at a lost for why this speech was proving so difficult to 
write. Writing speeches usually came so naturally to him. That was why he never 
bothered hiring a speechwriter like many politicians he knew did. But over the 
last few days, it was as if the muse which usually served him had acted on his 
colleagues’ suggestions and taken its own personal vacation.

	The governor attempted to work on the speech for a little while, but 
after writing five lackluster paragraphs, none of them usable, he crumpled the 
paper into a small ball and tossed it in the trash can. This wasn’t working. He 
couldn’t even write anymore. His one escape had failed him.

	“Shimatta,” Keitaro uncharacteristically swore under his breath. 	
Slipping off his glasses, he massaged his temples. What was wrong with him? This 
wasn’t like him at all. It wasn’t like him to be so distracted and unfocused.

	Upon hearing a soft knock on the door, he groaned. Didn’t he tell Mrs. 
Yukana he didn’t want to be disturbed tonight? Not that it really mattered 
anymore since he obviously wasn’t going to get any real work done tonight…

	“Hino-sama?” the elderly housekeeper said, opening the door when he 
didn’t tell her to leave and stepping inside. Mrs. Yukana had stopped calling 
him her “Keitaro-chan” shortly after Takara’s death, finding little of the boy 
she once adored in the broken man. “You have a phone call.”

	Keitaro glanced back up, reaching for his glasses. “I told you I wasn’t 
taking calls, Yukana-san,” he said, slightly annoyed. “If it’s Minoru again, 
tell him I’m fine and I’ll talk to him later.” It was the same message he kept 
leaving for his best friend, though Keitaro had yet to call him back since the 
confrontation yesterday.

	“It isn’t Uchizawa-san, sir.”

	“Then who?”

	“Kondo-sama. He wants to talk to you about hime-chan‘s first day of 
school at the Academy.”

	The widower sighed and pushed his chair away from his desk. Keitaro 
didn’t really care to speak to his father-in-law at the moment, but it might be 
important. He followed Mrs. Yukana out of the office to the phone in the living 
room, where she gave him some privacy to talk.

	“Moshi moshi,” Keitaro said, bringing the receiver to his ear. “How are 
you, Kondo-sama?”

	“I’m fine, thank you,” Saburo answered in an equally cool tone. "And 
you?" 

	“Fine," he said, deciding to get straight to the subject of his 
father-in-law's call. "Yukana-san said you wanted to talk about Rei-san’s first 
day at the Academy. How was it?” 

	“I’m afraid she didn’t get the warmest of welcomes, Hino-sama. That is 
why I am calling,” the old man explained. “Apparently, a group of girls said 
some rather unkind things about Rei-chan. She came home to Hikawa in tears.”

	“The first day is always rough, Kondo-sama, but Rei-san is a strong 
little girl. She’ll be fine after a few days.”

	On the other end, he heard the old priest sigh. “Hino-sama, I don’t mean 
any disrespect, but I don’t believe it is in Rei-chan’s best interests to 
continue attending the Academy. She is miserable there. I urge you to 
reconsider. Juuban Elementary is a perfectly good public school, and I think 
Rei-chan would like it better there than at the Academy.”

	“But the Academy has an impeccable reputation as one of the best schools 
in Tokyo. She will be given a top-notch education that will set her up for life. 
Rei-san might not appreciate it now, but in time, she will see this is best for 
her. I’m sorry, but I won‘t reconsider.”

	“If that is what you think is best…” From the tone in Saburo’s voice, 
Keitaro could tell his father-in-law didn’t agree with his decision, but the 
priest didn’t press the subject any further. “Rei-chan wanted to talk to you 
before she went to bed. I’ll go get her now.”

	Keitaro took a seat in the nearby armchair while he waited. It wasn’t 
long before his daughter’s sweet voice came over the phone. “Konbanwa, 
otou-sama,” Rei said. “It’s me, Rei.”

	“Konbanwa, Rei-san,” he answered softly. He almost had to force himself 
to speak. “How are you? I heard you didn’t have a good day at school today.”

	“I’m fine,” she replied. “Ojii-san talked to me and now I feel a little 
better. He gave me okaa-sama‘s pretty necklace.”

	“That was nice of him. Your grandfather is a kind man.”

	“I still don’t want to go back to the Academy, though. The girls there 
are mean and the nuns are too bossy. I miss my old school and all my friends. 
Can I please come back home, otou-sama?”

	“Don’t you like living at Hikawa with your grandfather?”

	“Ojii-san is nice and the shrine is very pretty, but it’s not the same,” 
Rei said. “I miss you and Yukana-san so much. Everything’s so different here. I 
want to come home. Can I? Please? I‘ll be good this time. I promise!”

	Keitaro sighed, her pleas to come home hitting him harder than he would 
have liked. She was just an innocent little girl. It wasn’t her fault every time 
he looked at her, he thought of Takara. He didn’t like putting Rei through so 
much unhappiness, but he knew in his heart it would be best for her to stay with 
her grandfather. It would be best for both of them. He had to keep telling 
himself that. “I’m sorry, Rei-san, but you have to stay with Kondo-sama. At 
least for now.”

	“Oh, I see,” Rei said, her voice filled with disappointment. “So, when 
will I see you again?” 

	Keitaro paused for a moment to consider the question before finally 
answering. “Your birthday. It’s coming up next week - on the seventeenth, right? 
I’ll take you out to dinner. Does that sound good?”

	“I guess so,” she replied, not sounding very enthusiastic. “I have to go 
now. Ojii-san says it’s time for bed. Oyasumi, otou-sama. I love you.

	“Oyasumi, Rei-san. I’ll see you next Wednesday.”

	Keitaro placed the phone back in its cradle and headed back to the 
study, his feeling of guilt even worse than before as he remembered something.

	The seventeenth was the date of the Assembly meeting.

	“Gomen nasai, Rei-san.”

	It was to be the first of many broken promises.


DISCLAIMERr: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.