Chapter 26

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="95" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 46 WIDTH="91"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="46" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="91" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Ultra Symphony</B></FONT>  </div> <bR> <div> Chapter 26: Encounter at No Name</div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda sighed as she entered the No Name Cafe, pushing her long hair behind her ears, smoothing out her tan skirt. The place was strangely empty for the morning hour, which she ordinarily would have found to be rather unusual. But, today... </div> <bR> <div> An inexplicable cloud hung over the city, a cloud of uncertainty. Could things return to normal? Should things return to normal? Who was the enemy? Was it over? </div> <bR> <div> She passed by a booth, which had a newspaper strewn carelessly across it. In gigantic print on the front page were the words "What's Going On?!", followed by a series of images; of Toeatoro Stadium, MEU, the parking lot where Sairai Kawarinou had been slain...</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda stared at it a moment longer than she probably should have, and when she looked up, she found herself staring directly at Sairai Kawarinou, who sat alone in a booth at the back of the cafe. </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda frowned, and began walking over to his booth. </div> <bR> <div> "Ohayou, Kawarinou-san." She said pleasantly. </div> <bR> <div> He had been staring into space, at the other side of the booth when she spoke. His eyes slowly cleared and he looked up. </div> <bR> <div> "Ikeda-san." He said, as if he wasn't at all surprised to see her there. "Well, sit down."</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda looked around the diner, and saw the many empty booths surrounding his window spot. "It isn't usually this empty... the city's still pretty scared, I guess. Especially in this area." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai nodded. "So you come here often?" </div> <bR> <div> "Damn near every day. In fact, it's almost... almost what we'd call MEU's official cafe." She turned around and looked at the counter. Behind it, stood a nervous looking young man, who was staring in disbelief at the cash register. Masami smiled and looked back to Sairai.</div> <bR> <div> "You know.. that guy's really incompetent. He had an entire tray of bowls of soup on the floor after taking one step. I mean, I don't want to criticize, but... do.. do you know that guy?" </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda glanced behind her, at the man, who was pounding on the keyboard like it was a punching bag. She turned back around, her eyes amused. "Oh yes, I know him."</div> <bR> <div> "Old boyfriend?" Sairai asked, looking disgusted.</div> <bR> <div> "Old Ultra." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai's eyes widened. "Hi... I..." He swallowed, lowered his head and whispered. "Him?"</div> <bR> <div> "Yes. He doesn't remember it, of course. And, his Ultra form is hardly willing to come back.. but yes. He was an Ultra." </div> <bR> <div> "I can't believe it.. it had to have been during your era." Sairai said, sipping his tea.</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda coughed. "Just before <I>our</I> era, but yeah. He... well... he was a good soldier." </div> <bR> <div> "It sort of sounds like the whole Moroboshi thing, doesn't it?" Sairai said, staring straight ahead.</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda's eyes widened, and she turned to him. "The captain told you about Moroboshi?" </div> <bR> <div> "What? Oh.. no. No, he didn't. I.. uh.. I worked, right by his building." </div> <bR> <div> "Yes... I guess you did." Ikeda said quietly. <I>Damn... he doesn't know, does he?</I></div> <bR> <div> Suddenly, a perky young woman appeared over the two. "Hey there, Masa. Who's your Kare?" </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda and Sairai's eyes widened, and Ikeda glared at the waitress. "Just colleagues, Naruko-chan. The usual for me." </div> <bR> <div> "Right, of course." Naruko said, winking at Sairai. She swung around and laughed at the man at the counter. "Naodai-san, does 'total' mean anything to you?" </div> <bR> <div> "What?!" He screamed back.</div> <bR> <div> "Total. You want to total it up, right?" She said, disappearing into the back.</div> <bR> <div> Sairai sighed. "I must not look married." </div> <bR> <div> "Well, don't worry about it. If you don't look married, that also means you probably won't look old until you're in your 80's." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai smiled. "I haven't seen her in.. it's gotta be three days now. Haven't been home." </div> <bR> <div> "Oh my god... your wife's called the police by now." Ikeda said, her eyes wide. </div> <bR> <div> "No, no. I just haven't seen her. I never see her awake anymore. She's always asleep by the time I get home, and I'm at work before she wakes up. I really only see her on my days off." Sairai said, his eyes lowered.</div> <bR> <div> "Well.. that's awful. Do you have any children?" Ikeda asked, concerned.</div> <bR> <div> Sairai looked straight at her and laughed. "Ch.. no. No. Seshiru doesn't want any kids. She hates them. I guess I can't blame her. We might not make very good parents. But.. hey, we're still young, right?" </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda's eyes widened, and Sairai's eyes closed in a cheerful grin. </div> <bR> <div> "Oh, well.. of course you are. My parents were a lot older than you when I was born." she said. </div> <bR> <div> "Not mine.. My brother was born when they were in their early 20's. I was born 7 years later, in 1975. A year after the original 8 Ultramen." </div> <bR> <div> "Yeah, that's.. right." Ikeda said. </div> <bR> <div> "My brother told me all about them.. well.. us. See, it was all so.. confusing. I had no idea why he kept telling me about all of it. But he knew everything. He knew all of it. More than he probably should have." </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda took a sip of the only tea cup on the table, which happened to be Sairai's. He started to say something, but swallowed and continued. </div> <bR> <div> "Well, I still remember the one day I was at the park, and Dan was standing there, he was about 12. He just stood there, staring and staring at the sky. And I finally asked him what he was looking at. And I remember, he replied with, 'I can't see it anymore.'".</div> <bR> <div> He then turned and looked straight up in the sky, squinting. "And I answered him with, 'Dan, what's that bright star?'"</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda looked up, and she too saw the star that no normal human was meant to see. </div> <bR> <div> "Only one human child had ever seen the Urutora no hoshi, the rumored sixth Ultra brother. Before Taro arrived, he had the whole Ultra homeworld in quite an uproar. But it turned out his biology wasn't able to house the Ultra powers, and when Taro was born, the whole concept was basically thrown out the window."</div> <bR> <div> Sairai turned back to her, his hair glittering in the light of the Ultra Star, and he smiled. "It's funny the things they don't tell you, isn't it?" </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda's eyes widened, and Naruko set a plate of food down in front of her. "There ya go. Want some.. well, one of you needs more tea.. " and she turned around, muttering to herself. </div> <bR> <div>       "After that, I pretty much forgot about it. I went on with my life, Dan never mentioned Ultra anything again. I went to high school, got a job in a warehouse, got married... everything was perfectly normal. Until... the day Kimchi told me about the Hayagane concert. And I suddenly found myself with this really really weird ultimatum: I could either stay inside and go home to my wife at the end of the day, or I could go outside, have a cigarette and die."</div> <bR> <div> Naruko returned with a second cup of tea, and Ikeda reached out and absently grabbed it before Sairai could wet his throat with the hot liquid. She was utterly fascinated with what she was hearing.</div> <bR> <div> <I>.. Could it be possible.. that Sairai Kawarinou could be an actual destined Ultra? </I></div> <bR> <div> "So, I took my cigarette, and went out to the back parking lot." He continued, leaving no space for doubt that he chose the path of death. "And then, there was this guy.. and, I knew it was Moroboushi Dan." </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda's eyes widened. </div> <bR> <div> "Sairai-san.. you... you don't know about Moroboushi, do you? Other than the fact that he works in the building across from your workplace." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai frowned. "No.. I don't know a thing about him. Not really, anyway. Not accessable knowledge. But I feel like a part of me should know him.." </div> <bR> <div> Ikeda nodded. "Well, Moroboushi was also an Ultra. Before you were born... around the time of your.. your brother. A little before, to be exact. Moroboushi was the first human to be created solely by the power of Ultra. Every fiber of his being was Ultra, he just took the appearance of a human. Ultraseven created him, and allowed him a special superhuman power called Ultra Nenriki, so he could wield Ultra powers even without his Ultra form." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai nodded, almost as if he knew all of this already, but not sure how. </div> <bR> <div> "He... he denounced the Ultras in the earth year 1974, when he lost his ability to transform. Ultraseven was killed... or so we thought. He's since been totally unreachable. Until you died, that is." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai cocked his head to one side, frowning. </div> <bR> <div> "Moroboushi told me that you were an Ultra. He knew about you, somehow." </div> <bR> <div> "He did...but even stranger.. I knew about him, too." Sairai whispered. "I just looked at him, and I knew. I knew the whole story. About Ultraseven, about the homeworld, about the battles and the heartbreak, and the glory.. and why I was born. And it all made so much sense then. I knew it all. Just like that. And then, I was dead. It's all like distant memories from childhood.. every thought means <I>something</I>, but I can't associate it properly. I know how to transform, how to fight, but I don't know WHY any of it is happening. And it.. it doesn't seem fair. I don't understand what I have..." </div> <bR> <div> "It's because we have to fight..." Ikeda said softly. "All of us. It had been years since I'd even HEARD the name of Ultraman. Or Ultra Theresa. And it isn't fair, really. Mikono's just a child. You have a wife.. and there are other Ultras out there that will need human forms, too, and it won't be fair to them." </div> <bR> <div> Sairai sat staring at his breakfast for another minute, and then he got up. "I think I'm going to go tell my coworkers I'm not dead."</div> <bR> <div> Ikeda smiled. "Don't worry about breakfast, I've got it." </div> <bR> <div> He looked at her and smiled. "Great, since it just occurred to me that my wallet blew up in the ambulence." </div> <bR> <div> ***</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 27"><U>Chapter 27</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ultra Symphony"><U>Back</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>