Chapter Seven: Flames of Passion, Part II

	Two weeks later was the annual fundraiser for the Liberal Democratic 
Party. The dinner would be held at the Keio Plaza InterContinental Hotel and 
was to be an elegant black-tie affair attended by the party’s most powerful and 
influential politicians, as well as their most generous contributors. As one of 
those so-called “powerful and influential” politicians, Keitaro was, of course, 
expected to be there.

	And yet, on the ride over to the hotel, the governor of Tokyo was 
seriously considering asking Ogata to stop and turn the car right back around 
toward the manor. He wasn’t in the mood to socialize, wanting nothing more than 
to go home and perhaps read the biography of former Prime Minister Ohira 
Masayoshi he had bought a few months ago and never found the time to read. The 
only thing that held him back from doing so was the promise he had made to 
Negishi to introduce his grandson to Nozumo’s socialite daughter in part of the 
older man’s insane plan to find Kaidou a wife.

	Thinking of that, Keitaro shook his head. He should never have agreed to 
this whole matchmaking scheme of Negishi’s. It had disaster written all over it. 
If neither Negishi nor Kaidou’s parents had any success finding the young man a 
suitable bride, then he failed to see how he could do any better. He was hardly 
an expert on love. If it was a matchmaker they wanted, then he should have given 
them Minoru’s phone number. His redheaded friend obviously still fancied himself 
Cupid as evident by the phone call he had received earlier that day, asking 
Keitaro if he would like him to find him a date for the evening.

	Of course, Keitaro had said “no“ to the offer as always. It wasn’t the 
first time Minoru offered to set him up on a blind date, and it probably 
wouldn't be the last. Keitaro knew his friend meant well, but Minoru should have 
guessed by now that he had no interest in dating again, and he doubted that he'd 
change his mind any time soon. He hadn’t so much as looked at another woman as 
more than a friend or colleague since his wife’s death. 

	Perhaps that was part of the reason why he wasn’t looking forward to the 
dinner. The fundraiser would be attended by plenty of successful, single women 
and some would undoubtedly try to catch his attention. They had kept a 
respectful distance for the first couple of years after Takara’s death, giving 
him time to grieve and recover from his tragic lost, but now he was apparently 
fair game, especially since that article about Tokyo’s most eligible bachelors 
came out a couple of months ago. How *he* ever ended up on the list was beyond 
Keitaro’s comprehension, but he was far from flattered.

	“I should have sued that magazine when I had the chance,” he mumbled to 
himself, leaning his forehead against the glass of his window as he blankly 
watched the lights of Tokyo pass by in a blur.

	Why were people so obsessed with love, sex, and marriage anyway? His 
almost solitary life suited Keitaro just fine. People like Minoru were fools, 
wasting their lives on an emotion that would, in the end, only cause them pain 
and suffering. There were no “happy ever afters” in the real world. Things like 
that only happened in fairy tales. 

	Of course, there was once a time he had been as willing as Minoru to 
believe in love. Once he had wanted his own 'happy ever after', but he had been 
fooling himself. Takara's death had clearly shown Keitaro that he was meant to 
live alone. People said love was the greatest emotion on earth, but those people 
had never seen its darker side. 

	Keitaro sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he supposed Negishi was 
right all along with this idea of finding his grandson a suitable bride. If he 
had to get married, Kaidou would be better off in the long run with a girl he 
didn’t really love, especially if he intended to pursue a career in politics. 
All he needed was an attractive wife who would give him a good image and 
support. The idea was hardly romantic, but there was no room for romance in 
politics.

	“Hino-sama?”

	At the sound of Ogata’s voice, the governor blinked and lifted his head 
from the window, noticing they had stopped in front of the hotel. People dressed 
in elegant clothes were making their way inside and the faint sound of music 
coming from the outdoor orchestra in the gardens could be heard in the air, 
mingling with fake laughter and heated debates.

	Well, I might as well get this over with before I change my mind, 
Keitaro thought blandly as the chauffeur opened his back door. 

	He mentally braced himself for the evening and then, with a final tug to 
straighten his bowtie, the governor stepped out of the car, forcing a somewhat 
charming grin on his face as he saw a pretty woman wearing next to nothing nod 
in his direction before heading inside.

	Inwardly, though, he sighed.

	It was definitely going to be a long night.

					*****

	Meanwhile, inside the hotel’s spacious dining hall, the Kaidou family 
had already arrived and had taken their seats at the table of honor in the 
front of room. So far, they were the only ones there, with Keitaro and Nozumo 
Mareo having yet to make an appearance with their other tablemates. It was a 
highly uncomfortable wait, for Kaidou and his father still weren't on speaking 
terms. The elder Kaidou, unable to take the frosty silence, left almost as soon 
as they were seated in order to make his rounds and greet all the important 
people, and his son sighed in relief. 

	“Ace-kun, will you at least try to look like you’re having a good time?” 
his mother asked once her husband left, noticing the bored look on his face as 
Kaidou drummed his fingers on the table. “You know your father told you this a 
golden opportunity to start campaigning for a nomination.”

	The young man frowned, repeating the same thing he had told her right 
before they left for the hotel. No matter how many times he told her, his mother 
seemed determined not to think about it. “Okaa-sama, I told you I made my 
decision. I’m going to tell Hino-sama tonight that I will not seek a career in 
politics and that I plan to go to law school.”

	“I wish you wouldn’t, though,” she said for what seemed like the 
hundredth time that evening. “Tonight’s a big night, honey. It’s not a good 
idea. Surely your announcement can wait until a more opportune time. I don’t 
want Taro-san to make a huge scene when he hears what you’ve decided. Can‘t you 
at least pretend to be interested in running for one more night? You can tell 
Hino-sama the news Monday morning.”

	Kaidou shook his head. “No, I need to tell him tonight,” he insisted. 
“The sooner, the better. Believe me.”

	He had been pretending for long enough as it was. In reality, Kaidou had 
already made his decision not to run for the governor’s seat the night of Rei’s 
birthday dinner, when he had learned of his father’s infidelities and lies. That 
night had been a turning point in his life, allowing him to see his world in a 
completely different light. Finally, the rose-colored glasses had come off and 
he realized that a life in politics was not what he wanted. 

	Kaidou didn’t know what had taken him so long to come to that decision. 
He had known for a long time what politics did to people, and yet he vacillated, 
thinking even if he had to play the game, it would be worth it in the end to 
make a difference in people’s lives. But he realized now the stakes were too 
high. He wasn’t willing to make the types of sacrifices that had come as second 
nature to the governor, his grandfather, and even his father.

	However, it wasn’t until today that Kaidou finally found the courage to 
reveal the truth to his parents. His mother had taken it better than he 
expected. She had even been the one to suggest he get his law degree and set up 
a practice representing disadvantage families, knowing how deeply he felt about 
social injustice. But his father wouldn’t even listen to him, still angry with 
his son for betraying him to his wife. Kaidou Taro was completely in the dark as 
to his future plans, believing, even after all that had happened, that Kaidou 
would still pursue a career in politics. That was why Ruri was worried about her 
husband’s reaction when he heard the news.

	“Taro-san’s not going to like this,” she warned. “You know how he feels 
about you running for public office and continuing our family’s legacy.”

	“Yes, well, I couldn’t care less about continuing the ‘family’ legacy,” 
Kaidou replied, purposely exaggerating the word “family”. They weren’t a family 
anymore, only a group of people who happened to have the last name and live in 
the same house. “Not after what he did to you.”

	His mother placed a comforting hand over his, giving it a light 
squeeze. Her green eyes, so much like his own, were pleading with him to change 
his mind. “I know your father did a horrible thing by having those affairs, but 
I forgave him for the sake of our family, Ace-kun. Why can’t you?”

	“Because I refuse to live a lie, okaa-sama! Maybe you can, but I can’t. 
I can’t stand all these pretensions anymore. I was willing to accept the fact 
that you two didn’t really love each other, but otou-sama went too far when he 
broke his marriage vows. I thought he was an honorable man…”

	Pulling his hand away from his mother’s, Kaidou turned his face away 
from her, not wanting her to see the disappointment in his eyes. Instead, he 
searched the steadily thickening crowds for his boss, wanting to get the whole 
thing over with before he lost his courage.

	He saw Keitaro enter the dining room a few seconds later, a charismatic 
smile on his face as he spoke to a young, wealthy widow who was known to be very 
generous with her late husband’s money with the right amount of flattery and 
attention. Even from his seat across the room, though, Kaidou could tell the 
governor wasn’t enjoying himself, his eyes focusing everywhere except the 
attractive woman and her considerable assets. On one hand, Kaidou was impressed. 
It took a strong man not to be seduced by a pretty face and a knock-out body. 
However, on the other hand, it was obvious that Keitaro was only putting on an 
act, and in some ways that disappointed him more than if the governor actually 
had been flirting with the woman now clinging to his arm.

	Everything was an act in this world, even his idol, it seemed.

	Standing from his chair, Kaidou thought he might as well go rescue his 
boss from his boredom and tell him about his decision. As it turned out, though, 
Keitaro had spotted him around the same time and managed to politely excuse 
himself from his companion’s presence before making his way over to their table. 
He greeted the both of them warmly, giving what looked to be his first genuine 
smile of the evening.

	“Konbanwa, Kaidou-kun,” Keitaro said. “I’m glad you could come tonight. 
There are some people I want you to meet who I believe will be quite beneficial 
to your career.”

	“My career?” Kaidou repeated. “Um…that’s very kind of you, Hino-sama, 
but I was hoping we could talk about what we discussed the other day in your 
office before you begin the introductions.”

	“You mean about the elections?”

	Kaidou nodded. “Hai, I’ve made my final decision on your offer,” he 
declared, ignoring the pleading look on his mother’s face. He decided that 
perhaps it would be better for him to reveal the news away from prying eyes and 
tilted his head in the direction of the gardens. “May we talk in private, sir?”

	Keitaro seemed surprised, his left eyebrow raised in a perfect arch, but 
didn‘t refuse the request. Stepping aside, he allowed the younger man to lead 
the way. “Of course, Kaidou-kun.”

	Hoping he wouldn’t lose his nerve, Kaidou took in a deep breath and 
stepped forward in the direction of the gardens. Unfortunately, as they were 
about to leave the table, they were suddenly joined by a group of men, two of 
them being his father and Nozumo Mareo, who Kaidou recognized from television 
but never met. Their appearance made it all but impossible for him to speak to 
the governor privately, and Kaidou swore under his breath.

	“Hino-san, konbanwa,” Nozumo greeted him. “We were wondering where you 
were. You must have snuck in while we were having that delightful debate over 
benefit fraud.”

	The others laughed at what apparently was a very hilarious joke that 
only Kaidou failed to understand. “I’m sorry I missed that, sir,” Keitaro said, 
chuckling as well, his laughter seeming a little more forced than the others.

	“Yes, indeed.” Smiling, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party 
took a sip of his champagne before he turned his attention on Kaidou, noticing 
he was there for the first time when the assistant tried to quietly excuse 
himself from the group for some fresh air. “Is this the young man you’ve been 
telling me so much about these last couple of weeks, Hino-san?” he asked. “The 
one you would like to succeed you as governor once your final term is complete?”

	Kaidou froze in place, unsure of what to say or do in light of that 
revelation. His boss had already told Nozumo he planned to run for governor of 
Tokyo come next election year? He had thought their conversation would be 
confidential, at least until he made a final decision whether or not he would 
run. The fact that other people knew would make it much more difficult to 
refuse. His father would certainly make a scene if he decided to reveal his 
decision now.

	Keitaro, who seemed to notice his distress, cleared his throat. “Yes, 
this is my top assistant, Kaidou Ace-kun,” he said, introducing Kaidou to the 
president. “He has been considering running for my office once I leave, but I 
don‘t believe he has given me his final decision on the matter.”

	“Kaidou Ace-kun?” Nozumo rubbed his chin, giving Kaidou the once over. 
“You’re here Kaidou-san’s son, aren’t you?”

	“H-hai, Nozumo-sama,” Kaidou answered, though he refused to return the 
small smile of approval his father gave him.

	Nozumo offered his hand in the Western manner for a handshake. “Well, 
then, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Kaidou-kun. If you are anything like your 
father, I’m sure you will make a fine politician one day.”

	“It’s nice to meet you, too, sir,” he said. Kaidou wisely didn’t comment 
on the remark about his father and his possible future career, deciding perhaps 
his mother was right when she suggested he keep quiet about his plans until 
later. He could always reveal his decision after dinner. After all, there was no 
point in ruining everybody’s evening before it began.

	After the rest of the introductions had been made, everyone took their 
seats at the table as dinner was about to be served and they were all famished. 
However, one seat at the table, coincidentally beside Kaidou, was empty. Curious 
as to whom was missing from their party, he took a short peak at the elegant 
name card propped up on the table and saw the name Nozumo Yuri printed across it 
in gold. Nozumo’s wife, perhaps?

	Nozumo, who noticed him looking at the card, grinned. “Ah, my daughter 
seems to be running late as usual,” he said good-naturedly, answering Kaidou’s 
unasked question. “Yuri should be here soon. She went to the powder room to fix 
her face, and you know how that is…”

	“Gomen nasai, Papa,” an unfamiliar girlish voice apologized. “I hope I 
didn’t keep you waiting too long. The lines were long and it took forever.”

	The voice came from behind him, and Kaidou couldn’t help but look over 
his shoulder at the new arrival, holding back a gasp. There was only one word 
that came to mind when he saw Nozumo Yuri for the first time: beautiful.

	She wore a one-shouldered yellow evening gown, loose and flowing but 
still showing off the shape of her body, and dangling canary yellow diamond 
earrings, which danced playfully in the light when she moved her head. Her hair, 
the color of sunshine, was piled on top of her head in a mass of curly ringlets, 
some which fell and framed her perfect face. Cerulean blue eyes seemed to glow 
like sapphires against the white silk of her skin and her full red lips were 
curled into flirtatious smile. She was the very embodiment of Aphrodite, the 
ancient Greek goddess of love.

	For a moment, Kaidou could do nothing but stare at the goddess, his 
mouth dry and his body unwilling to cooperate with the orders his brain was 
giving it. Then he felt his mother lightly kick his leg under the table, and 
Kaidou suddenly remembered his manners, standing to pull Yuri’s chair out from 
underneath the table so she could sit down. “Here, let me get that for you.”

	“Arigatou,” she said, taking her seat. Her smile brightened, and Kaidou 
could have sworn she winked at him, probably knowing exactly what he was 
thinking at the moment -- the exact same thing every other unattached man (and a 
few who were) in the room was thinking. Yuri knew she was beautiful, and she 
didn’t appear to mind the attention.  

	Yuri’s father nodded his head approvingly as Kaidou sat back down in his 
own seat, which now seemed impossibly close to Yuri‘s. “Kaidou-kun, I’d like you 
to meet my daughter, Yuri,” Nozumo said, introducing them while a waiter began 
serving the first course. “Yuri, this is Hino-san’s assistant, Kaidou Ace-kun. 
He‘s considering running for the governor's seat of Tokyo when Hino-san vacates 
the office in ‘94.”

	“The governor’s seat?” Yuri repeated. “I’m impressed. It’s an honor to 
meet you, Kaidou-san.”

	Kaidou fiddled with his bowtie in lieu of his usual necktie and hoped he 
wasn’t blushing like some lowly high school boy talking to the head cheerleader 
as he feared. That was certainly not the kind of first impression he wanted to 
make, especially not in front of the most beautiful woman in the world. “H-Hai, 
it’s nice to meet you, too, Nozumo-san.”

	Unable to think of anything else to say, he quickly bowed his head and 
turned his attention to the Caesar salad sitting in front of him. On the 
outside, he appeared to be the perfect picture of a calm, collected gentleman, 
but on the inside, he was silently cursing himself with a vocabulary no real 
gentleman would dare to say aloud.

	*She probably thinks you’re a complete and total loser, Ace. Real 
smooth. First you stare at her like a drooling idiot while she waits for you to 
pull out her chair and then all you can do is blush when she tries to start a 
conversation with you. You are an idiot! Baka, baka, baka, baka!*

	What was wrong with him, anyway? Kaidou thought he got over the whole 
being scared of girls thing in junior high. He was twenty-five years old, for 
crying out loud! Sure, no one would ever mistake him for being a ladies’ man, 
but he usually had no problem talking to members of the fairer sex. Then 
again, none of the girls he’d met could hold a candle to Aphrodite in the flesh.

	Unable to help himself, Kaidou snuck another peek at the goddess beside 
him, even more struck by her beauty than before. She was chuckling at another 
one of her father’s notoriously unfunny jokes, her laughter soft and melodic and 
her blue eyes sparkling like sapphires. Though he only meant to look for a 
minute, Kaidou was entranced and continued staring at her until Keitaro, who sat 
directly across the table from him, discreetly cleared his throat to get his 
assistant’s attention.

	“If you want her to notice you, then talk to her,” the governor said 
quietly, not even bothering to look up from his salad. 

	Nobody else at the table appeared to have heard him. They were too 
engrossed in their own individual conversations to notice. In fact, Kaidou 
wasn’t sure he himself had heard correctly. The sentence was said in such a soft 
voice, he had to resort to reading lips.

	“Hino-sama?”

	Keitaro raised his eyes at the inquiry and sighed. “Talk to her, 
Kaidou-kun,” he repeated in a slightly louder voice. “There’s a reason why you 
were seated next to Nozumo-san.”

	The younger man frowned, not getting the meaning behind his boss’s 
words. He’d suffered under people’s (namely his mother’s and grandfather’s) 
misguided matchmaking intentions before, but Hino Keitaro didn’t strike him as 
the type of man who liked to get involved in other people’s romantic affairs. 
“What do you mean, sir? Like fate?”

	Though his gray eyes looked somewhat cloudy, Keitaro gave him a small 
smile. “I suppose you could say that. Just talk to her.”

	“About what?”

	The governor shrugged his shoulders. “About anything. Art, music, 
literature, politics -- whatever interests you. You’ll do fine, Kaidou-kun.”

	Kaidou bit his bottom lip as the governor returned his attention back to 
his dinner, signaling the end of his pep talk. Keitaro’s suggestions for topics 
of conversation were good, but the only subject in which he had a fair amount of 
knowledge was politics and that was the absolute last thing he wanted to discuss 
tonight. He was so sickened with the entire subject that just the thought of 
talking about it made him ill to the stomach.

	Why was is so hard for him to start one simple, innocent conversation 
with a beautiful girl? If only Keitaro could be his Cyrano, feeding him lines 
that would be sure to impress Yuri. The governor always knew what to say in 
every type of situation. Keitaro would never freeze up like a statue as he had. 
Annoyed with his inability to talk to Yuri, Kaidou propped his head on the table 
with his elbow and sighed, for the moment not caring how many etiquette rules he 
happened to be breaking.

	“This is hopeless!”

	The thought was only supposed to be in his head, but much to his 
embarrassment, he realized he must have voiced the thought aloud as well, for 
Yuri turned toward him with an amused looked etched across her perfect features.

	“What’s hopeless, Kaidou-san, if you don’t mind me asking?” the goddess 
asked with a smile that suggested she had a good idea of what it was.

	Determined not to let a second opportunity pass him by, Kaidou said the 
first thing that came to mind. “Um…”

	Oh, yes, that was brilliant!

	Yuri raised an eyebrow in his direction at the blush he was sure had 
crawled up his neck. Kaidou couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or simply amused 
with his complete lack of social skills, but he knew if he didn’t think of 
anything intelligent to say quick, what might have been amusement would 
certainly turn to annoyance. He quickly racked his brains for anything -- 
anything at all -- to say to her to cover up his embarrassment. 

	“Are you as bored as I am?” he finally blurted out, cringing when he 
realized what he said. “I mean, I don’t mean you’re boring. Gomen nasai. I’m 
sure you are probably very interesting, Nozumo-san. I meant this dinner’s 
boring. It’s not your fault. I didn’t want to come tonight. I’ve never felt very 
comfortable at these kind of functions, and recent circumstances have made 
things even more unpleasant…”

	Realizing he probably sounded like an absolute idiot, Kaidou stopped his 
rambling and bit his lip, certain he had blown his chances with the goddess with 
that horrible display of stupidity. However, he was surprised to hear a 
beautiful laugh.

	“And here I was afraid you’d bore me with your plans for the future or 
some kind of pathetic excuse of a pick-up line,” Yuri exclaimed. “That’s the 
most refreshing thing I’ve heard all evening!” She leaned closer, cupping a hand 
to cover her mouth, and Kaidou bent slightly to his left as the woman whispered 
in his ear. “The truth is, I’m bored out of my skull. These things always bore 
me, too.”

	“Really?” he asked, surprised by her confession. “But you seem to be 
enjoying yourself.” 

	“Oh, come now, Kaidou-san! I’ve grown up in a political family just as 
you have. I learned at an early age, as I am sure you must have also, how to 
smile and seem interested even if I wished I were a thousand miles away. 
Everyone here is so stuffy. The women only care about clothes and gossip, and 
all the men do is debate politics and brag about their latest conquests when 
they aren’t trying to make eyes at me when they think Papa isn’t looking.” Yuri 
rolled her eyes in exasperation. “It’s no fun being treated like a piece of 
meat.”

	Kaidou had the decency to blush. What she must have thought of his 
blatant stares! “G-Gomen nasai, Nozumo-san. Please forgive me…”

	She giggled. “Oh, I wasn’t talking about you, Kaidou-san. I was rather 
flattered by your fascination with me. At least you were staring at my face and 
not at…well, the other places men usually find so interesting. I‘m sure we both 
know what those are.”

 	Kaidou was both stunned and enchanted by her frankness. Yuri was not at 
all fake or superficial, and she seemed to be a kindred spirit in a room filled 
with paper people. 

	For a moment, those words made him pause. Kindred spirit -- where had he 
heard that before? But Kaidou soon brushed the seemingly pointless thought 
aside, forgetting everything except the goddess beside him as they continued to 
talk during dinner. 

	“Oh, I love this piece!” Yuri said as the strains of a beautiful waltz 
reached their ears from the gardens after they finished eating the last course. 
She stood and held out her hand to Kaidou in invitation. “Let’s dance, 
Kaidou-san.”

	“I don’t know, Nozumo-san,” he said doubtfully, watching as a few nearby 
couples, including his parents (who were probably trying to show they were still 
a “happily” married couple), stood and began heading toward the gardens. “I’m 
not exactly Fred Astaire.”

	Kaidou never considered himself much of a dancer, even with the three 
years of ballroom dancing lessons his mother forced him to attend when he was a 
young boy. He knew the steps well enough, but he could never truly relax.

	“Don’t be silly. I’m sure you’re a wonderful dancer,” Yuri insisted, 
boldly taking both his hands and pulling him out of his chair. “I won’t take 
’no’ for an answer.” 

	“Nozumo-san…”

	Ignoring his half-hearted protestations, Yuri continued pulling him 
toward the gardens, giving Kaidou no choice but to follow her, a smile on his 
face even in the face of uncertain humiliation in front of his peers and 
colleagues. It was difficult to say “no” to Nozumo Yuri. He had a feeling that 
had she asked him to strip to his boxers and sing "Figaro" at the top of his 
lungs, he would have done it in a heartbeat.She had him completely under her spell.

	“Wow, isn’t it beautiful out tonight?” Yuri asked breathlessly, taking 
his arm as they stepped outside. 

	Kaidou nodded in agreement, taking in their surroundings. The gardens 
were gorgeous. Chinese lanterns had been strung around the area, their gentle 
golden light lending an enchanted air to the beautiful lay out and the people 
who were already dancing, and night jasmine was prominent, the white blooms 
glowing in the dusk like candles as their intoxicating perfume wove itself 
around the young couple. Kaidou grinned, suddenly inspired.

	“Not as beautiful as you, though,” he said.

	Immediately, he regretted the cheesiness of the compliment, but Yuri 
giggled, leaning her head against his arm. “You’re so sweet, Kaidou-san.”

	It took all Kaidou’s self-restraint not to reach over and pinch himself 
right then and there for fear it was just a dream. If it was a dream, he had no 
desire to wake from it.

	The two eventually made their way to the center of the gardens, right in 
front of the small orchestra. Kaidou felt a little self-conscious as Yuri stepped 
in front of him and intimately wrapped her slender arms around his neck, but he let 
natural instinct take over, his hands somehow finding their way to the small of 
her back. Their bodies fit together perfectly, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, 
and soon, he forgot all about the other couples dancing around them, lost in 
sweet smell of rose water in her hair.

	“See, you’re a wonderful dancer, Fred,” Yuri said, lifting up her head 
so he could see the beauty of her deep blue eyes. “I don’t understand why you 
were so worried, silly! You’re a natural.”

	“Only because I have you for a partner, Ginger,” he replied.

	“Don’t be so modest!”

	“I’m not being modest; I’m being truthful.”

	“Well, then, you don’t give yourself enough credit, because I happen to 
think you’re the best dance partner I’ve ever had.”

	Kaidou rolled his eyes at the compliment. It was becoming evident that 
Yuri was a world-class flirt, but he couldn’t say he minded very much. After 
all, what man didn’t like to have his ego stroked every once in a while?

	“And you, Nozumo-san, are the worst liar I’ve ever met,” he said with a 
smile. “But I thank you for the thought.”

	Yuri pretended to be offended, huffing loudly as she stuck her adorable 
button-nose in the air, but the effect was ruined when Kaidou snickered and she 
burst into uncontrollable giggles. To the dancing couples around them, they must 
have looked like two immature teenagers at a high school dance party.

	 It felt nice. It had been quite a long time since Kaidou allowed 
himself to have this much fun without worrying how it would reflect on him or 
his family. Most of the girls he dated before had been from the same world as 
him -- rich, privileged, cultured, cold. For sure none of them would ever allow 
him to hold them as close as he currently held Yuri so soon after meeting. He 
would have been labeled an “ecchi” and probably would have received a slap in 
the face for doing so.

	But Yuri was different. She was arguably from the same world as him -- 
her father was Nozumo Mareo, the president of the LDP, after all -- but she 
didn’t act like it. She was much warmer and friendlier than the other girls. 
While he often felt the others were putting on an act dictated by their status, 
with Yuri, he saw her as a real person, unafraid to be her sweet, flirtatious 
self. It made Kaidou feel as if he could tell her anything.

	“Nozumo-san?”

	“Hmm?” she murmured dreamily, resting her head on his shoulder as the 
orchestra began playing another slow, romantic ballad.

	“Are you and your father close?” he asked.

	“Me and Papa?” she repeated, surprised by the rather strange question. 
“Why do you want to know, Kaidou-san?”

	Honestly, Kaidou didn’t know what had possessed him to ask that 
question. Maybe it was the sight of his parents dancing across the room, their 
bodies so far apart, they might as well add another person between them. Or 
maybe it was the governor sitting by himself at the table, politely refusing any 
bold offers to dance. “I’m just curious, that's all,” he answered. “At the table, 
you two seemed like you have a good relationship.”

	Yuri lifted her head and smiled. “I adore Papa,” she said. “My parents 
divorced when I was a little girl, so it’s been me and him for a long time.”

	“Oh, I’m sorry, Nozumo-san,” he apologized. “I didn’t know.”

	She shook her head. “No, don’t be. My parents are much happier apart 
then when they ever were together. I was glad when they divorced because I could 
finally stop pretending. I couldn‘t stand all the pretensions.”

	“I know what you mean,” Kaidou said, thinking of his own parents’ 
crumbling marriage. 

	“You do, Kaidou-san? How?”

	Sighing, he pulled her closer. “I don’t want to talk about it, 
Nozumo-san.”

	“Okay, I understand.”

	They danced the rest of the song in comfortable silence, and once the 
orchestra announced they would be taking a short break between numbers, Yuri 
took Kaidou’s hand and led them away from prying eyes. He had no idea where she 
was taking him, but he didn’t protest, willingly following the golden goddess 
until they reached the back of the gardens, an area which was lit by only a few 
random lanterns and provided them with a veil of privacy from the other dancers.

	“Nozumo-san, why are we here?” Kaidou asked.

	“So I can do this.”

	“Wh-?”

	Before he could say anything else, Yuri kissed him full on the lips. 
	
	Kaidou was shocked by her boldness. No girl he’d dated had ever 
initiated a kiss before. It was a new experience for him, but not necessarily an 
unpleasant one. After getting over his initial surprise, he responded hungrily, 
his hands wrapping around her slender waist to pull Yuri closer toward him as 
she began running her fingers through his hair. Their embrace grew even more 
passionate as the minutes passed by. 

	“You’re a wonderful kisser, Kaidou-san,” Yuri said breathlessly when the 
two finally broke apart. “And this time, I’m *not* just being polite.”

	“You’re not so bad yourself, Nozumo-san,” Kaidou whispered in her ear.

	The girl in his arms blushed prettily, looking positively angelic in the 
moonlight. “Uh…I don’t usually do things like this,” she admitted, embarrassed. 
“At least not so soon after meeting someone. I don’t know what came over me. You 
must think me incredibly forward…”

	“Not at all,” he assured her. Kaidou cupped her chin in his hand and 
lifted her lowered gaze to meet his. “In fact, I think you are incredibly 
fascinating. You’re so different from the other girls I’ve met, Nozumo-san. So 
honest and real.”

	“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”

	“It’s definitely a good thing -- a very, very good thing.”

	Slowly, he brought his lips down to hers for another kiss. Their second 
kiss was more gentle and tender than the first, but underneath it, a passion 
still burned, igniting their bodies. Seconds soon became minutes and it felt 
like an eternity of heaven had passed when they reluctantly broke away once 
more.

	“We better return to the party now, Kaidou-san,” Yuri said, touching her 
fingertips to her swollen lips. “Everyone’s probably wondering where we are.”  

	As much as he hated to leave their secret little hideaway in the 
gardens, he knew she was right. Kaidou nodded in agreement and offered his arm. 
“Another dance, Ginger?” he asked.

	Yuri beamed, linking her arm with his before they headed back to the 
dance floor. 

	“I’d like that, Fred. Very much so.”

					*****

	From his table near the exit to the gardens where he sat alone, Keitaro 
watched through the glass wall that separated the dining hall from the outside 
as a young couple emerged from behind a throng of bushes and back onto the dance 
floor. The two lovers were flushed and evidently had had quite a nice time in 
the privacy of the hidden area, although hopefully not *too* good of a time. The 
governor wasn’t worried too much about that, though. He knew his assistant well 
enough to know nothing more than a few passionate kisses had passed between 
them. Kaidou was too much of a gentleman to let things go any further than that.

	What did worry Keitaro was the obvious attraction between Kaidou and the 
insanely beautiful Nozumo Yuri. Of course, he had hoped the two would get along 
well enough, but if the red faces and intimate touches were any indication, it 
appeared they got along a little too well. After only knowing each other for 
less than a couple of hours, Kaidou and Yuri were already practically joined at 
the hip. They had eyes only for each other, and they might as well have been the 
only two people on the floor for all the attention they gave to the other 
dancers. Their mutual fascination with each other was already causing gossip to 
sweep the room like wildfire.  

	“Another fool won over by the dream of love,” Keitaro said sadly to himself, 
taking a sip of his water. He had forgone the champagne after having a glass with 
dinner, not wanting to tempt himself any further. 

	Keitaro wished he could be happy for Kaidou. Really he did. He should 
have been pleased the little matchmaking scheme he worked out with Nozumo Mareo 
a couple of weeks ago had gone over so well. It could have been a complete 
disaster. Heck, he had thought it was when Kaidou lost his ability to speak, 
unable to do nothing more than stare at Nozumo’s daughter in a non-drunken 
stupor. 

	But in the end, things had gone better than anyone could have ever 
expected. Negishi would be pleased when he heard of tonight’s events. He had 
gotten exactly what he wanted. Kaidou now had a girlfriend, and it probably 
would only be a matter of time before they announced their engagement if their 
respective families had any thing to do with it. Nozumo had been just as anxious 
to find his beloved daughter a husband as Negishi was to find his grandson a 
wife, and with the Assembly elections coming up next year, an engagement would 
show the voters Kaidou was ready to settle down and begin a family. It was no 
secret that people responded more favorably to family men than bachelors at the 
polls. A marriage could work wonders for his future election bids, if that was 
the path Kaidou chose.

	However, Keitaro could feel no happiness for his idealistic assistant. 
He had known Kaidou Ace practically his entire life, and over the years, Keitaro 
had developed a small amount of affection toward the boy who reminded the 
governor of his younger self. He had no desire to see Kaidou unhappy, but he 
feared that would be exactly what would happen if the young man allowed himself 
to fall in love with Nozumo Yuri. There was no room for love in politics -- that 
he knew from personal experience.

	Sighing, he watched as Yuri’s father came onto the dance floor and cut 
into the lovers’ dance, wanting a dance with his lovely daughter. Kaidou 
graciously stepped aside after whispering something in a blushing Yuri’s ear, 
then came back inside. Much to Keitaro’s surprise, his assistant was heading in 
his direction, a laid back grin on his usually serious face. Keitaro wondered why 
Kaidou was coming towards him of all people. Surely he’d want to find someone 
around his own age to keep company.

	“So, I assume things are going well between you and Nozumo-san,” Keitaro 
said dully after Kaidou took a seat in the chair beside him and they exchanged 
pleasantries.

	“Yes, sir,” Kaidou answered, his smile widening. “She’s a wonderful 
girl, and quite beautiful.”

	“That she is.”

	“Nozumo-san is so different from the other girls I’ve met,” the 
love-struck man continued, his dark green eyes following Yuri as she and her 
father traveled across the dance floor. Even inside, Kaidou couldn’t take his 
eyes off of her. “She doesn’t put on an act like the others. I know it sounds 
absolutely insane, especially seeing as we‘ve only just met, but I think she may 
be the one I’m fated for, Hino-sama.”

	“You do?” It was just as Keitaro had feared. The poor fool was in love, 
or in the very least, extreme lust.

	Kaidou nodded, not seeming to notice his boss’s less-than-enthusiastic 
response. “You don’t think I’m crazy for thinking so, do you?” he asked. “I was 
never one to believe in love at first sight, but perhaps there really is such a 
thing. From the moment I turned around and saw Nozumo-san for the first time, 
I‘ve felt my heart has been pierced by one of Cupid‘s arrows. Nobody has ever 
made me feel this way before.”

	“No, I don’t think you’re crazy, Kaidou-kun,” Keitaro said softly, 
surprising both himself and his assistant. “You’re not crazy at all.”

	How could he think Kaidou was crazy, when he had felt the exact same way 
the first time he met Takara that long ago spring day when he and Minoru visited 
the Hikawa shrine to buy good luck charms for their exams? Of course, at the 
time he had denied his attraction to her, but the feelings were always there, 
right from the beginning. Even Minoru had seen that. Keitaro knew exactly what 
Kaidou was feeling, for he saw himself in those dark green eyes filled with 
adoration.

	He only hoped, for Kaidou’s sake, that his love story had a happier 
ending.

	“Be careful, Kaidou-kun,” Keitaro warned. “Don’t make the same mistakes 
I did. If you are going to love, then love with all your heart. Otherwise, 
you’ll live to regret it.”

	Green eyes widened in surprise at the governor’s deeply personal words. 
“Hino-sama?”

	“I wish you and Nozumo-san the best of luck.”

	With that, Keitaro stood from his chair and left, leaving behind a 
dumbfounded assistant.

					*****

	For once, Rei wore a smile on her face as she listened to Sister Maria 
lecture the class on the fall of the Roman Empire a couple of months later. 
School would be ending soon and she couldn’t wait to leave. Not only was it the 
beginning of their summer break, but Kaidou had called her the night before, the 
first time since her birthday dinner in April, saying he wanted to meet her 
after school with a wonderful surprise. They would be meeting at the nearby park 
at five fifteen, and to the anxious student, the clock above Sister Maria’s 
chalkboard couldn‘t move fast enough.

	Rei couldn’t wait to see him again. The suspense was driving her crazy. 
She honestly had no clue what the surprise could be, but whatever it was, Kaidou 
certainly seemed excited about it over the phone. She could practically hear the 
smile in his voice as he had playfully refused any of her requests to give her a 
clue. 

	“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” he had said, chuckling. “If I tell 
you now, it won’t be a surprise.”

	“But you know how much I hate surprises, Kaidou-san. Please just tell me 
what it is. If you don’t, I won’t get a wink of sleep.”

	“Tomorrow, Rei-chan. I’ll tell you then. Until then, sweet dreams.”

	Her dreams had indeed been sweet that night, she remembered with a 
private smile. Despite what she had told Kaidou, she was able to get a little 
sleep, though not as much as she would have liked, and her dreaming hours had 
been filled with visions of romance she had long denied herself to have. She 
felt her cheeks burn a fiery scarlet as she remembered one such dream, in which 
Kaidou had kissed her underneath the torii of the shrine with a passion 
unmatched in any cheap romance novel.

	Oh, how her heart longed for the real thing!

	It was strange. If somebody had told her a couple of months ago that she 
would one day feel such passionate feelings toward the man she had known almost 
her entire life, Rei would have laughed in their face. Imagine her, the lonely 
miko who once scorned love as one would a murderer, in love with Kaidou Ace! The 
very idea was ridiculous!

	Hino Rei didn’t fall in love. Hino Rei didn’t believe in love. Hino Rei 
hated love.

	And yet, today, her heart was overflowing with it.

	Her kindred spirit…

	The church bells rang just then, startling the young teen from her 
reverie. “Class dismissed,” Sister Maria said, setting down her chalk. “Have a 
nice summer, girls, and don’t forget to complete your summer homework. I’ll see 
you next trimester.”

	Rei had jumped up from her chair almost as soon as the nun had spoken 
and was the first of her classmates to leave the room, heading straight to her 
locker for her shoes. The other girls were lingering behind, talking about 
vacation plans and saying goodbye to the friends they wouldn’t see for another 
month. Nobody had bothered to ask Rei what her vacation plans were, and only 
Sarashina Kotono had waved goodbye before she left, but Rei couldn't have cared 
less.

	She didn’t need their friendship. She had Kaidou.

	After switching her shoes, Rei slammed the locker shut and headed toward 
the exit. It was raining when she stepped outside, but not even the light summer 
shower could dampen her spirits. Rei opened the dark red umbrella her 
grandfather had fortunately forced her to take to school that morning in case of 
rain and hurried down the steps toward the gates, humming a tune from one of her 
favorite American movies, Casablanca. Coincidentally, it was the same song she 
remembered the pianist playing in the background at The Rain Tree during her 
birthday dinner. 

	“Well, well, well, if it isn’t little Miss Gloomy with a smile on her 
face!” an annoyingly familiar voice said. “I never thought I would see the day. 
Careful, Hino, somebody might think you have a lover or something wearing that 
silly look.”		

	Inwardly, Rei groaned. Did that girl have some kind of radar that 
allowed her to always know exactly where she would be? But for once, she wasn’t 
going to let Tanaka Sayo and her groupies ruin her day. Nothing anybody could do 
erase the grin off her face. 

	“Konnichiwa, Tanaka-san,” Rei greeted the green-haired girl politely as 
she approached the gates where the usual group of girls were huddled underneath 
a rainbow of umbrellas. Befitting her status as the “Queen of T.A. Academy for 
Girls”, Sayo, of course, wasn’t holding her own umbrella, instead standing 
underneath the pink one a purple-haired Mai held over her head, not caring in 
the least that the poor girl was becoming soaked to the bone. Rei resisted the 
urge to roll her eyes. “It’s a beautiful day, don’t you think?”

	“What world are you living in, freak? It‘s raining cats and dogs out 
here,” Sayo said, crossing her arms over her chest. A perfectly plucked eyebrow 
rose in Rei’s direction, suggesting the snobby girl thought Rei had finally lost 
her mind.

	Rei shrugged. “A world in which not even your petty little insults can 
hurt me, Tanaka-san,” she answered smugly. “Sayonara, minna. See you next 
trimester!”

	Rei left before Sayo could recover from her shock, glad that for once, 
she had gotten the last word. Well, that is, if she discounted the none-too-kind 
“Shinto freak” the other girl had managed to mutter under her breath as Rei 
passed through the gates and onto the sidewalk leading to the park, but she 
pretended not to hear. Nothing, and absolutely nothing, was going to spoil her 
good mood, least of all, some snooty, ignorant pampered princess, and she 
continued on her way, not giving Tanaka Sayo another thought. 	

	The park where they had chosen to meet wasn’t very far from the Academy, 
only a block or two away, so Rei managed to arrive with plenty of time to spare. 
Since she didn’t expect Kaidou to be there so soon, Rei decided she would wait 
underneath the nearby gazebo where she would get some protection from the 
drizzling rain. Running for cover, she briefly wondered if Kaidou might change 
his mind about coming to see her today because of the sudden summer storm, but 
decided she would at least give him until 5:30 to appear. If he didn’t arrive by 
then, she would go home. However, she hoped it would not come to that.

	“Please come, Kaidou-san,” she prayed from underneath the protection of 
the wooden gazebo. Amethyst eyes watched as the rain continued to pour around 
her, beautiful even in the oppressing dreariness of the gray day, and Rei 
pressed her clasped hands against her chest. “I want to see you…”	

	The time passed by slowly, each minute feeling like an eternity to the 
waiting miko, yet there was no sign of her father’s handsome assistant. Five 
fifteen came and went, then 5:20, and then 5:25. By the time 5:30 rolled around, 
Rei had given up all hope of Kaidou coming and her spirits fell, the euphoria 
she had felt all day washing away like dirt in the cleansing rain. 

	“He didn’t come,” she whispered mournfully, looking at the watch on her 
left wrist as the minute hand moved over the six.

	Rei couldn’t really blame him. It was silly for her to even think he 
would come all this way in this weather. She probably should have gone home to 
Hikawa and waited to see if he called. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kaidou had 
already called and left a message with Saburo, taking a rain check on their 
plans.

	But she had wanted him to come so badly…

	Grabbing her umbrella, which she had sat on one of the gazebo’s benches, 
Rei sighed with disappointment and left the protection of the gazebo into the 
storm, slowly heading toward the park’s exit.

	As she was leaving, Rei noticed she was practically the only person 
still around. She assumed the others must have left for shelter from the rain. 
But, surprisingly, one affectionate couple had stayed, sharing a single black 
umbrella which hid their faces from view, and were leisurely strolling down one 
of the park’s paths in front of her, arms wrapped around each others’ waists in 
a deeply personal and intimate manner usually frowned upon in public. Rei 
normally would have passed them by, not giving the couple another thought, but 
the fact they were walking through the park in that kind of weather struck her 
as strange. Weren’t they afraid of catching colds? Curious despite herself, Rei 
lingered behind them.

	“I guess she didn’t come,” the man said, the pair finally stopping 
underneath one of the park’s many trees.

	“Well, what did you expect, honey?” his girlfriend asked, resting her 
left hand, adorned with a large marquis-cut diamond solitaire ring, on his arm. 
“You didn’t honestly think she would come in this kind of weather, did you?”

	“I know, but when I called the shrine, Kondo-sama said she hadn’t 
arrived home from school yet. I thought she might have come anyway.”

	Rei gasped. Was the man talking about her and her grandfather? No, he 
couldn’t have been. The only other person beside Saburo who knew she was going 
to the park was…

	Kaidou.

	She shook her head in disbelief as the umbrella hiding the couple from 
view lifted away from their faces, revealing a handsome man with gold 
wire-rimmed glasses and a gorgeous young woman with golden blonde hair and 
piercing cerulean blue eyes. Even from the angle from where Rei was standing, 
the teen was able to recognize her kindred spirit.

	“No…” she whispered, wanting desperately to leave but unable to do so.

	The lovers seemed unaware of her presence nearby, completely lost in 
each other’s company. “Perhaps we should wait a few minutes more, Yuri,” the man 
suggested. “If she’s not at the shrine, then I know Rei-chan will be here. She’s 
not the type to break promises.”

	“That’s fine with me,” the woman agreed with a smile. “I’m rather 
anxious to meet this girl myself. You talk about Hino-san so much, I feel as if 
I already know her.”

	The man chuckled, his hands finding their way to the tie hung around his 
neck. “I don’t talk about Rei-chan *that* much, do I?”

	Blue eyes rolled, evidently thinking the answer to that question was too 
obvious to even dignify with a response. “Oh, Ace, why must you always fiddle 
with your tie?” the pretty blonde lightly teased instead, pulling his hands away 
from the offending article. Rei recognized the blue silk tie as the one she had 
bought him for his birthday last year. “One day, I swear you are going to choke 
yourself with that thing.” 

	“I’m nervous.”

	“Whatever for?”

	“I want Rei-chan to like you,” he replied. “You are both very special to 
me and I couldn’t bear the thought of you two hating each other.”

	She laughed, redoing the knot in his tie he had ruined with his nervous 
fidgeting. “Don’t worry about it, dear. I’m sure Hino-san and I will get along 
famously. I always wanted a little sister.”

 	“I hope so.”

	“We will, Ace,” she insisted, playfully tapping the end of his nose. “If 
you love her, then I will love her too, so stop worrying.”

	He smiled, relaxed in her assurances, and lifted the girl‘s chin so 
their eyes met in an intimate caress. Rei had never seen such a look on his 
handsome features. It was a look reserved only for those in love. “Have I ever 
told you how amazing you are, Yuri?” he said in a husky voice.

	Yuri didn’t have to answer, for before she could open her mouth,  Kaidou 
had brought his lips to hers in a gentle, yet passionate, kiss. 

	If Rei had any lingering doubts as to the nature of their relationship, 
they were all erased in that one single, intimate moment she witnessed between 
the couple. The truth hit her like a bolt of lightning, and though she was still 
shaking her head in hopeless denial, Rei knew in her heart it was true. They 
were in love. Anybody with half a brain could see that.

	He didn’t love her…

	Tears stung Rei’s eyes as she continued to stare while the man she loved 
held another in his embrace. Perhaps she was a masochist at heart, for though 
she wanted nothing more than to turn away from the sight before her, she was 
frozen in place, a statue of heartbreak as suddenly the pieces fell into place. 
Her fingers loosened in the grip she held around her umbrella and she didn’t 
even realize it had fallen to the ground until she felt drops of rain mingling 
with the salty tears sliding down her pale cheek. “No…” Rei said again, anger 
tinting her soft but clear voice.

	The lovers broke apart then, hearing her voice, and upon seeing her, 
Kaidou blushed, embarrassed at being caught in such a position. “Rei-chan, you 
came!” he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Surprise!”

	*She* was the surprise? *She* was the thing that had kept Rei up half 
the night in anticipation? *She* was what he had wanted to show her? His 
fiancée?

	Rei shook her head and began backing away. She knew that she should go 
forward, smile, let herself be introduced. She knew that she should be smiling, 
happy for Kaidou and this woman, and she knew that she should face up to this. 

	But instead all she could do was stutter “I-I have to g-go,” before she 
pivoted on her heel and ran, not even stopping to retrieve her umbrella.

	“Rei-chan!”	 

					***** 

	In his home office later that afternoon, Keitaro flipped through the 
pile of mail his maid had left on his desk without much interest. They were 
mostly bills and junk mail, but one small envelope, shaded a pale yellow that 
made it stand out from the usual white, caught his eye. Using his letter opener, 
he sliced through the seal and pulled out the elegant white card embossed with 
gold and bordered with yellow flowers.

	“So, they’ve finally announced it,” he said to himself, reading the 
invitation in his hand. “Negishi-sama must be dancing on air.”

	It was an invitation to Kaidou Ace and Nozumo Yuri’s engagement party to 
be held next month at the very hotel where the happy couple had met. The two had 
gotten engaged last week and Keitaro had been expecting a formal announcement to 
come at any day, not that Kaidou had made any secret of their engagement. 
Everyone at the office already knew the two were getting married for the 
love-struck grin on his assistant’s face had not disappeared since he strolled 
into the office Monday morning, humming “Here Comes the Bride” loudly to 
himself.

	Keitaro supposed he was happy for them, at least in theory. There was no 
denying that the two were in love. Never had he seen his young assistant so 
blissfully content with his life, nor so focused on his work. Much to the 
satisfaction of both the couple’s families, Kaidou had finally decided he would 
run for governor in the ‘94 elections and was already campaigning for a seat in 
the Assembly next year. Keitaro suspected the decision was due more to Nozumo 
wanting his daughter to marry a politician than any real desire for the job, as 
Negishi had informed him of what happened between Kaidou and his father, but 
Kaidou seemed to be handling things rather well. He was already very popular in 
the preliminary polls thanks to his no-nonsense, “what you see is what you get“ 
attitude. 

	Still, Keitaro doubted he would attend the party. He might have been the 
one who brought them together, but he didn’t care much for parties. Setting 
aside the invitation, he finished looking through the rest of his mail, then got 
to work looking over some recent legislation that had just been passed in the 
Assembly.

	The phone rang about twenty minutes later, interrupting his 
concentration. Keitaro frowned at the offending contraption, having a fairly 
good idea who it was. It was probably Secretary Terada, wanting to complain once 
again about how the government was cheating the transportation department out of 
its fair share of the budget. He mentioned he might call when he saw the 
numbers. Bracing himself for another round against the notoriously difficult to 
please official, Keitaro sighed and reached for the receiver. 

	“Moshi moshi. Hino Keitaro speaking,” he said, answering the phone.

	Instead of the gruff Osaka accent he was expecting, though, he was 
greeted by a sweet, girlish voice he had not heard since April when he had 
called to wish her a belated “Happy Birthday“. 

	“Otou-sama, it’s me.”

	Rei? Keitaro sat up in his chair and pushed his falling glasses back up 
his nose, surprised by her call. His daughter rarely telephoned him except on 
holidays. Taking in a deep breath, he tried not to seem unduly shocked.

	“Rei-san?” he said softly. “This is a surprise. I wasn’t expecting your 
call. Is something wrong?”

	“Is it true?” she demanded. Her voice wavered over the phone line as if 
she was trying her best not to cry.

	“Is what true?”

	“About Kaidou-san.”

	“Kaidou-kun?” he repeated, wondering what interest Rei had in his 
assistant. Keitaro was aware the two were close friends, but she had never 
bothered asking him anything about Kaidou before. “Rei-san, what about him? 
Did something happen between you two? Has he done something wrong? I thought 
he was building ground with you.”

	“Is he really getting married?” she asked.

	Keitaro‘s gray eyes landed on the invitation to the engagement party 
sitting on the top of the pile of mail and he reached for the card, reading the 
inscription one more time. “Hai, he’s engaged to the daughter of the president 
of the Liberal Democratic Party,” he informed his daughter, still not 
comprehending why she was asking him and not Kaidou. “They’re a perfect couple, 
and the marriage will be a good for his future career as a politician.”

	“It’s true, then…”

	Her voice barely was louder than a whisper, and though he couldn’t see 
her, Keitaro knew Rei was hurt by the revelation that her childhood friend, the 
man who had been like a brother to her, was getting married. He didn’t 
understand why it was upsetting her so much, though.

	“Rei-san, are you okay?” he asked. “Is there something you want me to 
do?”

	“I’m fine, otou-sama,” Rei insisted, getting a little of her usual 
strength back. “I don’t need your help. There’s nothing you can do.” 

	“Are you sure?”

	“Hai. I’m sorry I bothered you with my questions. I‘m sure you have a 
lot of work to do.”

	“No, that’s okay.”

	“I have to go now,” she said curtly. “Sayonara, otou-sama.”

	“Sayonara, Rei-san.”

	Hearing the dial tone, Keitaro sat the phone back down in its cradle and 
propped his head on the desk. It was always difficult for him to talk to his 
daughter, whether it was on the telephone or in person. Invariably, no matter how 
many times he thought he had gotten rid of them, his feelings of guilt would come 
rushing back, mocking his assumption they were gone. They were like weeds, always 
popping up when he least expected it.

	“Rei-san…”

	His hand reached for the handle of his top desk drawer and he pulled it open, 
taking out the old family portrait hidden underneath a pile of paper clips, staplers, 
and other assorted office supplies. His heart ached upon seeing the smiling faces of 
his late wife and estranged daughter.

	It shouldn’t have been this way. They could have been family he thought he 
would never have. He could have had it all. If only he hadn’t pushed them away in fear…
	
	How did that old saying go? You never know how much you have until you lose it 
all?

	Sighing, he placed the photo back in the drawer and got back to work.

					*****

	Entering the shrine about thirty minutes later, a plastic sack filled 
with groceries for that night’s dinner in one hand and an umbrella in the other, 
a rain-drenched Saburo announced he was back from the store, expecting to see 
his granddaughter walking over to help him carry the food to the kitchen. 
Instead, all that greeted him was silence.

	“Rei-chan?” Saburo called, shaking the rain off his umbrella outside 
before he put it away in the bin beside the door. “Are you home yet?”

	Again, there was no answer. The priest, wondering where she could be, 
sat the groceries down on the floor to be put away later and went to 
investigate. He knew Rei was supposed to be meeting Kaidou after school for some 
kind of surprise, but when the young man called earlier to cancel because of the 
rain, he assumed Kaidou would go find her and bring her home like he said he 
would. Saburo hoped she wasn’t still out in the storm at the park. He didn’t 
want her catching a cold, especially on the first day of summer break. There was 
nothing worse than being sick during vacation.

	“Rei-chan!”

	Saburo checked the kitchen and the prayer room and finding them both 
empty, headed to her bedroom. It was only then he heard the soft sobs coming 
from behind the paper wall. Worried, he lightly knocked on the door.

	“Rei-chan, is something wrong?” he asked when nobody answered. “It’s me, 
your grandfather. Let me in.”

	The teenage girl inside called out something that sounded suspiciously 
like “Go away, ojii-san!” but the voice was so muffled, it was hard to tell. 
Saburo slid open the door anyway, finding Rei laying face down on her futon, 
sobbing quietly into her pillow. It was a sight he hadn’t seen in over six 
years, not since the day she came home from the Academy in tears.

	“What happened, Rei-chan?” he asked, hesitantly entering the bedroom and 
kneeling down beside her futon. “Did something happen today at school?”

	“I told you to go away,” she replied into her soggy pillow. “I don’t 
want to talk about it, ojii-san. Okay?”

	No, it wasn’t okay. His granddaughter was hurting, and he wanted to know 
why. As a grandfather, it was only natural to want to make everything better, 
but he couldn’t do that if he didn’t know what happened. Saburo gently rubbed 
her back in comfort.

	“Rei-chan, look at me, please. Tell me what happened. I might be able to 
help.”

	Rei briefly glanced up from her pillow, her amethyst eyes rimmed with 
red. “There’s nothing you can do, unless you know how to heal a broken heart,” 
she said. “Just leave me alone. Please! I don‘t want you to see me like this.”

	His dark gaze softened in sympathy as Rei once again buried her face in 
her arms, and he suddenly put the pieces together. So it had finally happened. 
His vision had come true. He should have known. All the signs were there: a 
meeting with a handsome man with gold wire-rimmed glasses, the red umbrella she 
took to school that morning at his insistence, the braid she wore which was now 
undone, the rain… Why hadn’t he noticed? Why hadn’t he been able to protect her 
better?

	“I’m so sorry,” he whispered in her ear, leaning over the young girl to 
envelope her in a hug. “So, so sorry.”

	“Please, just go!”

	“Rei-chan…”

	“Go, please go,” she pleaded. “I’ll be fine, ojii-san. Please.”

	“Okay, I’ll go, Rei-chan,” he said softly. “If you do want to talk, 
though, I’ll be in the kitchen, preparing dinner. You don’t have to eat if you 
don’t want, but I‘ll have a plate ready in case you do. Okay?”

	Rei didn’t respond, rolling over on her side so she was facing in the 
direction away from her bedroom door. Saburo took it to mean she agreed and 
quietly slipped back into the hallway. 

					*****

	The next morning, Rei began her chores as usual, determined not to let 
what had happened yesterday at the park consume her for a second longer. Her 
grandfather had seemed surprised by her willingness to work, evidently thinking 
she would spend the day crying in her bedroom, but Rei wouldn’t hear of it.  She 
had cried enough last night. The best thing to do was to forget about it and get 
on with her life, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

	Walking outside with her broom to sweep the pathway, Rei frowned at the 
sight that greeted her. Though the main storm had finished passing through Tokyo 
sometime during the middle of the night, a few light showers had remained 
behind. The skies were gray, covered in a blanket of clouds, and tiny raindrops 
fell on her head.

	“Phobos! Deimos!” she shouted at her two favorite pets, who were 
foolishly flying around in the rain while the rest of their comrades had already 
found shelter from the light sprinkles. “You silly birds! Get out of the rain. 
You’re going to get soaked.”

	Phobos and Deimos simply cawed in response, each swooping through the 
air in a loop with all the grace of an acrobat before heading toward the torii. 
The birds didn’t really seem to care that their raven black feathers were 
covered with beads of raindrops. Rei sighed, rolling her eyes at the two crows 
perched on top of the gateway. Those stupid birds!

	“Baka!” Rei said underneath her breath as she resumed her sweeping, not 
even noticing the sudden appearance of a man walking through torii until he 
stopped about five feet away from her.

	The man cleared his throat and politely said, “Konnichiwa, Rei-chan.”

	Rei glanced up from her work and immediately wished she hadn’t.

	“Kaidou-san,” she whispered, lowering her gaze.

	Why did he have to come? Surely he knew she never wanted to see him 
again. They had nothing more to say to each other. The brief meeting in the park 
had told Rei everything she needed to know about Kaidou, and she just wanted to 
lick her wounds and avoid him, avoid the evidence of her stupidity. 

	An uncomfortable silence settled over the two, made even more 
uncomfortable by the rain sprinkling down on them and soaking their clothes. 
Kaidou cleared his throat once again, fiddling with the tie around his neck. 

	“I-I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would stop by to give this 
to you,” he finally said, holding up the book on botany he held in his left 
hand. “Hino-sama thought you would like it.”

	Rei glanced over at the present, but made no movement to take it. “Why 
do you always mention otou-sama?” she asked angrily. “Is it because you still 
think of me as a child?”

	Surprised by the tone of her voice, Kaidou stepped forward and reached 
up to push back a strand of her hair behind her ear, his beautiful green eyes 
showing his confusion at the whole situation. “Rei-chan, what did I do wrong?” 
he asked when she turned her face away at his touch. “I don‘t understand what 
happened yesterday at the park. Why did you leave?”

	Rei found it hard to believe he still had no clue as to how she felt 
about him. She thought she had been rather obvious in her feelings. “You know 
why I left, Kaidou-san.”

	“No, I don’t,” he insisted, holding her firmly by the shoulders. “I’ve 
been racking my brains all night, trying to understand what is going on, and all 
I’ve come up with so far are blanks. Tell me what is bothering you so I can make 
things right.”

	“You can’t make things right, can’t you see? I don’t *want* you to make 
things right.”

	“Why not? You’re telling me you are going to throw away years of 
friendship because of something I unknowingly did to hurt you and not give me 
the chance to at least apologize?”

	“That’s the problem.”

	“What is?” he asked, growing visibly frustrated. “Please, Rei-chan, stop 
talking in riddles and give me a straight answer.”

	Rei sighed, finally allowing herself to look into the eyes she once 
hoped would look at her with passion and desire, finding only sorrow and 
confusion instead. He really didn’t know, did he? Perhaps she was being too hard 
on him...

	“You’re getting married,” she declared flatly.

	Kaidou‘s brow furrowed into even more confusion. “This is about my 
engagement?” he asked. “I don’t understand, Rei-chan. Why are you so upset about 
this? I thought you would be happy for me. That’s why I wanted you to meet Yuri; 
I wanted you to share in our happiness.”

	Yuri? Rei wanted to laugh at the bitter irony. He was marrying a girl 
named after the very flowers she loved so much, the Casablanca lilies he had 
given her for her birthday. Somehow, she had a feeling the exquisite flowers 
would no longer hold the same beauty in her eyes after today.

	“Well, I’m sorry, but you thought wrong, Kaidou-san,” she said, 
shrugging his hands off her shoulders. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to 
finish my chores before the weather gets any worse.”

	Rei turned her back toward him and returned to her sweeping, hoping he 
would get the hint and leave. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. Kaidou 
reached for her arm and turned her back around. Her face was closed, her 
amethyst eyes blank as if shutters were covering her soul. 

	She could tell he was hurt by such coldness. They had known each other 
for years, and he didn't even know what was wrong. “Rei-chan, why can‘t you be 
happy for us?” he asked.

	Rei was tempted not to answer him, but the hurt look he gave her managed 
to penetrate the cold wall she had built up around her heart. She had known 
Kaidou for a long time; she did owe him an explanation, that was the honourable 
thing to do. “Because if you marry her and pursue a life in politics, your life 
will be unhappy, Kaidou-san,” she answered, giving him the partial truth. “I 
know who Nozumo-san is and what she represents. Otou-sama says you two are a 
perfect match because she’s the daughter of the head of the LDP, but you know a 
life in politics will consume you and you’ll ignore her and your kids just as he 
did to me and okaa-sama. You’ll see. Your daughter will be unhappy.”

	“We simply won’t have children then.”

	“Liar!” she said, turning her face away from him so he couldn’t see the 
tears welling in her eyes.

	Kaidou reached for her arm, which she immediately yanked away, not 
wanting his comfort. “Rei-chan, why don’t you tell me the real reason why you 
are so upset?” he suggested.

	“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she lied. “I told you what 
was bothering me. There’s no other reason.”

	“Yes, there is. There‘s more to this than your concern over my future 
happiness and I want to know what it is.”

	“Do you really want to know?” she shot back, her eyes narrowing in fiery 
anger as she whipped her head back around toward her former friend. “Do you 
really care about me that much?”	

	Rei knew by that time she was visibly crying, but she ignored the 
burning sensation in her eyes, refusing to wipe them away. She wanted Kaidou to 
see them. Let him see what he had to her. Let him see the pain and heartache he 
had caused. She no longer cared.

	“Rei-chan, you’re crying!” Kaidou gasped, taking her in his arms. 

	She tried to put up a fight, struggling with all her might to push him 
away from her, but he was much stronger than her. Rei finally collapsed into 
his embrace, hating herself for being so weak as she cried into the woolen 
fabric of his blazer. 

	“I thought you said you never wanted to marry,” Rei said, her words 
muffled but still understandable. “I thought you said you were happy with the 
way things were now, depending only on yourself. I thought we were kindred 
spirits…”

	Running his hand through her damp hair, Kaidou sighed. “Things change, 
Rei-chan,” he said softly. “I didn’t think I wanted to marry until I met Yuri. 
She’s a wonderful person and I care about her very much. She makes me happy and 
a marriage with her will be good for my career.”

	“Your career?”

	“I’ve decided to run for the governor’s seat in the ‘94 elections,” he 
explained. “It’s not exactly what I wanted, but I can do a lot of good if I’m 
elected to office.”

	“Then you’re going to succeed otou-sama,” Rei said, lifting her head 
from his shoulder and wiping away some of her tears with the sleeve of her robe. 
She saw a sudden ray of hope at the news. “That’s the reason you’re marrying 
her.	

	“Yes, I am going to follow in Hino-sama‘s footsteps, but I‘m not --”

	“But you don’t have to marry Nozumo-san in order to be elected to 
office,” Rei interrupted, not giving him the chance to finish what he was about 
to say. “Kaidou-san, if you want to succeed otou-sama, then all you have to do 
is marry me… Aishiteru, Kaidou-san!”

	Impulsively, she rose on her tip toes and brushed her lips against his, 
no thoughts save one on her mind. She wanted him to kiss her, to touch her in a 
way no one had ever had before. But Kaidou remained unresponsive, other than the 
widening of his eyes at her actions. He gently pushed her away. 

	“Rei-chan…” he whispered in surprise.

	“You love her, don‘t you?” Rei asked. She could barely get the words out 
of her mouth in fear of what his answer might be, but the question needed to be 
asked.

	Emerald green eyes lowered, and Kaidou nodded. “Yes, I do,” he admitted 
with a small smile he tried to hide. “I love Yuri more than anything in this 
world.”

	Her heart broke for the second time in just as many days at his sincere 
confession. He really did love the beautiful lily. It wasn’t some act concocted 
by her father or his parents in a ploy to win votes in an election, but the real 
thing. No actor, regardless of training or talent, could ever imitate the 
truthfulness of his voice or the look of love in his eyes as he thought of his 
golden goddess. Silently, her heart wept as Kaidou gently wiped away the tears 
running down her cheeks with his thumbs.

	“I-I’m so sorry, Rei-chan,” he apologized. “I didn’t want this to 
happen. I honestly had no idea you thought…you thought of me in that way. Don’t 
get me wrong, I’m very flattered by your feelings. You are a beautiful person, 
both inside and out, and I truly hope one day you will find your true kindred 
spirit, the person who will belong only to you, but…

	“…but it isn’t you,” she said, completing his thought.

	“I’m sorry.”

	Rei shook her head. “No, don’t be, Kaidou-san. It’s not your fault; it’s 
mine. I don’t know what I was thinking. I always said I would never allow myself 
to fall in love, and what do I do? I fall head over heels like some ditzy 
heroine in a shoujo manga.” She laughed bitterly at the thought. “Well, I 
certainly won’t be making that mistake twice, I assure you. One heartbreak is 
one too many. From now on, Hino Rei is through with love.”

	“Come now, Rei-chan, I’m sure you don’t really mean that,” Kaidou said, 
tilting her head up toward his face. “Love is a wonderful, beautiful thing, and 
I would hate to think I am the cause of you swearing it off for the rest of your 
life. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but someday your heart *will* heal.”

	Rei wrinkled her nose, the words reminding her a certain red-haired 
godfather. “You sound like Uchizawa-san. He said the same thing when he visited 
me on my birthday.”

	“Uchizawa-san sounds like a very wise man. You should listen to him.”

	“Maybe…” she said doubtfully.

	“Hey, there are good guys still out there. I’m just sorry I’m not one of 
them,” Kaidou said, referring to the conversation they had the day before her 
birthday. He laughed at the memory and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. 
“Guess I’m really not one of the best of men, am I?”

	Tentatively, her lips curled into a tiny smile, though her violet eyes 
remained mournful, and the miko lightly pecked his cheek. “You’re not so bad, 
Kaidou-san,” Rei said truthfully. “Treat her well, and I know you two will have 
a wonderful life together. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.”

	“Thank you, Rei-chan.”

	The two then said their final goodbyes, and with a heavy heart, she 
watched the only man she had, and ever would, love walk away from her, finally 
disappearing from her sight once he had passed through the torii and began 
walking down the long staircase leading to the sidewalk. He was gone from her 
life, and though he had hurt her, Rei truly did hope he would find happiness 
with his lily-girl. Kaidou deserved to be happy, even if she couldn’t be the one 
to give it to him.  

	Was that what Minoru had meant when he talked about how, despite the 
fact Miyuki had broken his heart when she married Watanabe Kazuya, he could 
still be happy she was with the one she really loved? Perhaps the playboy 
businessman wasn’t as superficial as he looked. 

	Rei privately smiled at that and returned to her chores, unaware she was 
not alone until Phobos cawed and she whirled back around toward the torii. 
There, a familiar man with light brown hair, slightly damp with rainwater, and 
emerald green eyes behind a pair of gold wire-rimmed glasses, stood staring at 
her.

	“Kaidou-san!” she gasped, walking back toward him. “What are you doing 
here again? I thought you had left.”

	“I did, but I forgot to give you something,” he said, holding out the 
book he had offered her earlier. “Here, I want you to have this, Rei-chan. It 
really isn’t from your father. I bought it for you because I thought you would 
like it. Consider it your real birthday present from me. Sorry I‘m so late.” 

	This time, with shaking hands, Rei accepted the gift and pressed the 
cover of the hardback book against her chest in an effort to protect it from the 
sprinkling rain. “No, that’s okay,” she said quietly. “Arigatou, Kaidou-san. 
I‘ll treasure it always.”

	Kaidou smiled sadly and dug his hands in his pants pocket. “Well, I 
should be going now,” he said. “I promised Yuri I would help her plan the menu 
for our engagement party. You are coming to the party, aren’t you?”

	“No, I don’t think I will. Gomen.”

	“Oh, I see. That’s okay.” There was a moment of silence between them 
before he finally turned to leave. “Sayonara, Rei-chan.”

	“Sayonara.”

	Goodbye, kindred spirit…	

*****

	The nighttime found the shrine as quiet as a tomb when Saburo stepped 
out of the prayer room after his evening meditation, stifling a small yawn. 
Unaccustomed to such silence, the priest headed to his granddaughter’s bedroom 
and lightly knocked. “Rei-chan, are you in there?” he asked. “I thought you would 
be doing the dishes.”

	When he received no answer, he slid the door open and saw that the room 
was empty. Saburo frowned, wondering where Rei could be if she wasn’t in her 
room. It wasn’t like her to leave the shrine without telling him where she was 
going, especially so late at night. Sliding the door back into its place, the 
old priest searched the rest of the house.

	“Rei-chan! Are you here?” he called out, beginning to worry at his 
granddaughter’s absence.

	“I’m outside, ojii-san!” a familiar melodic voice said through a small 
crack by the main door.

	Breathing a sigh of relief, Saburo walked to the entrance and pulled the 
door all the way open. He found his granddaughter, dressed in a casual outfit of 
cut-off blue jean shorts and a red tank top, sitting on the porch, her bare 
knees pulled up to her chest as she read a thin book in her hands. Phobos and 
Deimos were nearby, dancing on the ground.

	“Rei-chan, there you are,” Saburo said. “You had me worried for a 
moment. What are you doing out here?”

	She glanced up from the page she was reading with an apologetic look on 
her face. “Gomen nasai, ojii-san. It was such a beautiful night, I decided to 
come outside and read for a little while after I finished my chores.”

	“Oh, I see. What are you reading? A new manga?”

	Rei shook her head, holding the book up so he could see the title: The 
History and Meaning of Flowers. “Kaidou-san gave it to me this morning,” she 
explained. “A late birthday gift.”

	Closing the door behind him, the priest joined the young teen on the 
porch, his ancient bones creaking with age as he took a seat in front of her. 
“Kaidou-san was here today?” he asked.

	Kaidou Ace was the last person Saburo would have expected to come to the 
shrine after what had happened the day before at the park. Rei still hadn’t told 
him the whole story of what had gone on between them, but it didn’t take a 
rocket scientist to guess what had happened. Ever since he saw that vision in 
the sacred fire on her birthday, he had suspected Kaidou would eventually break 
his granddaughter’s heart. He only wished he could have protected her better.

	“Hai, he came while you were meditating this morning,” Rei answered, her 
violet eyes returning to the book.

	“Are you okay?”

	“I’m fine, ojii-san,” she insisted, a little too cheerfully. “Why 
wouldn’t I be?”

	“Because I know Kaidou-san hurt you.”

	Purposely ignoring the subject, Rei licked a finger and turned a page in 
her book. “Did you know the meaning of Casablanca lilies is ‘I’m in heaven when 
I’m with you’?”

	Saburo decided not to push her to talk about something she obviously did 
not want to discuss at the moment and shook his head in answer to her off-topic 
question. “No, I can’t say I did. It’s a lovely meaning for such a beautiful 
flower.” 

	“It says here that lilies represent chastity and virtue,” she continued. 
“They are a symbol of fertility in both pagan and Christian traditions, and 
Greek brides often wear a crown of lilies and wheat to ensure purity and 
abundance. Lilies are also seen as a symbol of death, and at one time, people 
used to place lilies on the graves of children.” She frowned as she read that 
last part aloud. “Well, that’s rather morbid. Ojii-san, what‘s your favorite 
flower?”

	Saburo pressed his lips together in thought as he pondered over the 
question. “I suppose I would have to say my favorite flowers are… 
chrysanthemums,” he declared. “What do they mean?”

	Rei began flipping through the pages, mumbling “chrysanthemums” softly 
to herself as she searched for the page about the flower. “Here it is. 
Chrysanthemums mean ‘You’re a wonderful friend‘ and represent cheerfulness. 
White chrysanthemums are a symbol of truth, while the yellow is the symbol 
of…slighted love.” The teen paused for a moment, sadness passing across her face 
as she looked down at the page, but before Saburo could ask her what was wrong, 
Rei resumed her reading. “Chrysanthemums, derived from the Greek words chrysos 
(gold) and anthos (flower), were originally from China and have been cultivated 
in Chinese gardens for over 2,500 years. The ancient Chinese chose the ‘chu 
hua’, as they were known, as the official flower for the month of October. It 
was also the official badge of the Old Chinese army. Lower class Chinese 
citizens were not allowed to grow them in their gardens because chrysanthemums 
were considered to be one of the four noble plants, along with orchids, plums, 
and bamboo.”

	“In 400 A.D., the flower was brought to Japan by visiting Buddhist 
monks. The emperors loved the kiku so much, they sat on chrysanthemum thrones 
and featured them on the Imperial Crest of Japan. It is also a Japanese 
tradition to place a single kiku petal on the bottom of a wine glass to ensure a 
long and healthy life.”

	“Chrysanthemums are also seen as a symbol of the sun, but in Italy, they 
are associated with death.”

	Saburo chuckled. “Another morbid flower, huh?”

	“I guess, but only in Italy,” Rei said, turning the page. “Do you 
remember obaa-san’s favorite flower, ojii-san?”

	“Of course. How could I forget? Noriko adored orchids. I remember she 
carried a bouquet of orchids on our wedding day.”

	“It says here that orchids represent love, beauty, and refinement.”

	“How appropriate,” Saburo said.

	“They are also a Chinese symbol for many children,” Rei offered. “The 
name ’orchid’ comes from the Greek word orchis, which means…uh, testicles.” Her 
cheeks flared a bright red, and she attempted to hide her embarrassment by 
raising the book in front of her face. “Greek women thought orchids could 
determine the sex of their children. If the father ate large tubers, the baby 
would be a boy, and if the mother ate small tubers, it would be a girl.”   

	The priest raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s rather interesting. The 
things you learn…”

	Rei nodded distractedly and twirled a strand of her long black hair 
around her finger. “What about okaa-sama? What was her favorite flower?”

	“Cherry blossoms,” he answered without skipping a beat. “Your mother 
loved cherry blossoms.”

	“Oh,” Rei said softly, her violet eyes, so much like her mother’s, 
landing on one of the sakura trees which lined the path leading to the torii. 
The trees were mostly bare, the delicate pink petals they were known for having 
already fallen from their branches, but a few remained, fluttering in the light 
summer breeze. Amazingly, one of the petals on a nearby tree managed to break 
away and floated toward them, landing in the middle of Rei’s open book. The teen 
reached for the petal and sighed. “I forgot.”

	Sensing her sadness, Saburo took her other hand in his and gave it a 
gentle squeeze. “It’s okay, Rei-chan. You were young when your mother died. 
Nobody expects you to remember everything about Takara.”

	His granddaughter contemplated the sakura petal in her hand, rubbing the 
pink surface with her thumb. “I know, ojii-san, but it seems like it is getting 
harder and harder to remember her. When I first came here, I could remember 
everything about okaa-sama: the sound of her voice, the smell of her favorite 
perfume, the feel of her silky hair. Now, I barely even remember what she looked 
like anymore…”

	“All you have to do is look in the mirror to see that, little one. You 
are the very reflection of your beautiful mother,” he said truthfully.

	“Ojii-san, please don‘t…” 

	“It’s true, Rei-chan. Whenever I’m afraid that I’m beginning to forget 
Takara, all I have to do is look at you and I remember everything. You keep her 
memory alive.”

	The teen blushed very prettily at the compliment, but remembering what 
they were discussing before, she buried her head in the book on her lap. “Cherry 
blossoms, cherry blossoms… Where are they?”

	“Rei-chan?” Saburo reached over and shut the book, deciding his 
granddaughter had done enough research on flowers for the night. “Why don’t you 
go to bed? I‘ll live if I don‘t know the meaning and history of cherry 
blossoms.”

	“But I‘m no--”

	“Not sleepy?” The priest chuckled as Rei tried stifle a yawn behind her 
hand. “Go to bed. I know you didn’t sleep well last night, and as a growing 
girl, you need your rest. Now shoo!”

	“Hai, ojii-san.” 

	Reluctantly, Rei stood back up, tucking the book in the crook of her 
left arm, and bent down to lightly kiss the top of his almost gray hair. “What 
was that for?” Saburo asked, pleasantly surprised by the affectionate gesture 
from his normally reserved granddaughter.

	The teen shrugged. “No reason. I just felt like it,” she said. “Oyasumi, 
ojii-san.” 

	“Oyasumi, Rei-chan. Sweet dreams.”

	Rei then headed back inside the living quarters, leaving Saburo alone on 
the porch with only her two pet crows for company. 

	He eyed the two black birds suspiciously. The priest was never really 
comfortable whenever he was around Phobos and Deimos. There was something 
peculiar about those pests. They unsettled him for some reason, even though 
their auras were hardly evil. In fact, strangely enough, they radiated pure 
goodness. Their auras were nearly identical to the aura which surrounded his 
granddaughter, who they protected almost like guardian angels watching over a 
charge. Goodness, tinged with something indescribable. It was rather unusual for 
him to have such a reading on an animal. So human-like…

	However, once he was assured the crows had better things to do than to 
creep out an old Shinto priest, Saburo allowed himself to relax. He leaned his 
back against one of the porch’s wooden posts and gazed up at the star-filled 
sky. Rei had been right when she said it was a beautiful night. The 
now-cloudless heavens were alit with hundreds of twinkling stars, and there was 
a crescent moon hanging low in the sky. He felt a sense of serenity wash over 
him at the sight.

	The momentary tranquility of the night was broken, though, when Saburo 
found his thoughts drifting back to Rei. He wished she would open up to him 
instead of keeping her feelings all bottled up inside. His grandfatherly 
instincts were telling him to go comfort her, to hold her and assure her 
everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t. Rei didn’t want his comfort, 
nor anyone else’s. 

	Saburo sighed. No matter how close they might have become over the last 
six years or so, Rei still seemed to hold him at arm’s length, never truly 
allowing him into her heart. Yes, she loved him -- that he didn’t doubt for a 
second -- but sometimes he wondered if her love for him was due more to duty and 
gratitude for what he had done for her, rather than any real affection or 
fondness. Of course, then he would feel guilty for even daring to think of such 
a thing about his granddaughter, but that didn’t stop the doubts from popping 
into his mind every so often.

	Closing his eyes, he made a wish on the brightest star in the night sky.

	“Please, Rei-chan,” he whispered. “Let us in. Don‘t push us away.”

					*****
   
	After washing up, Rei entered her bedroom and lit a nearby candle 
sitting on the nightstand beside her futon. The small flame gave off a soft 
glow, providing enough light for her to see, but not enough for Saburo to notice 
she was still awake after he told her to go to bed. She quickly undressed and 
pulled on the large, oversized T-shirt she often used as a nightshirt, then 
settled herself underneath her blankets, propping her fluffy pillows so they 
acted as a kind of headboard for her to sit against as she reached for her book 
once again.

	Though her sight was becoming blurry from fatigue, and it was a struggle 
to keep her heavy eyelids from drooping close, Rei opened the book to the title 
page. There, Kaidou had hastily written a message, the black ink of his pen 
blotted by the raindrops so it was difficult to make out his already notorious 
messy kanji. Rei, however, knew every word by heart and read it aloud.

	“To Rei-chan, my favorite little sister. You will always have a place in 
my heart. I hope someday you will find your true kindred spirit. Kaidou Ace.”

	Little sister? Was that all he ever saw her as? Rei felt the biggest 
idiot in the world. Kaidou did love her, just not in the way she thought he did, 
the way she wanted. Why hadn’t she noticed it sooner? Why hadn’t she noticed 
that his affection toward her was purely platonic and not at all romantic? 
All of this could have been avoided if only she had used her brain, instead of 
listening to her treacherous heart. After all, what did her stupid heart know? 
It was just a muscle.

	I was right, she thought. Love only causes pain. Uchizawa-san was wrong 
about that. I wish I had never fallen in love with Kaidou-san. You can’t have faith 
in people. In the end, they will always disappoint you.

	Rei made a promise to herself right then and there. Never again would she 
open her heart like that, not for anyone. She was alone in this world, and she 
liked it like that. There was only one person Rei could trust completely -- herself.

	Closing the book, she set it aside on the floor and blew out the candle befpre
crying herself to sleep. 
	


AUTHOR'S NOTES: I want to point out that a lot of Rei's conversation with Kaidou 
at the restaurant and at the shrine were closely based on Alex Glover's and Mixx
translations from the "Casablanca Memory" chapter of the manga.

Oh, and for you ecchi-minded people, "yuri" can mean "lily" as well as be a term
for lesbian sex. Yuri was obviously named for the flower, in this case.

Most of the flower info came from http://www.gardencards.biz/html.

DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.