Three years prior
May 3, 2054

Michiko and I were a month into our second year of high school. It was that brief span of time where she and I were different ages. She had turned sixteen two months before, but I was still fifteen. I wouldn’t be sixteen myself until next month. I couldn’t wait. It was then that I could have my license and get a motorcycle of my very own. No more taking the bus to school, oh no, not for me. I wouldn’t have to put up with that for much longer. Yes, once I hit sixteen I would make sure to get that ’54 Kawasaki Ninja I’d been eying at the local bike dealer. Mom had said she’d “see what she could do” about getting me it, which made me all the more excited.

“You’re sixteen now, Micchan. You could go get a car, couldn’t ya?” I asked during lunch break one day.

“They’re too expensive,” she said, slurping up her udon noodles. “Dad says it’s impractical when I can just take the bus like most other people.”

“But buses run late and break down and stuff. Imagine doing things without having to schedule them around the freakin’ bus!”

“It’d be nice. But then, that’s what I’ll have you for once you get that motorcycle you want,” she teased, sticking out her tongue at me.

“Oh, you’re mean!” I said with a laugh. “There’s an upside though. Since Kihi doesn’t make us wear uniforms, at least I wouldn’t look stupid driving to school wearing a sailor suit uniform. I dunno if I could put up with that.”

“You could’ve come in regular clothes and changed once you got here. But you’re right. It would kinda look funny,” she agreed, trying not to crack herself up at the image that I was sure was going through her mind right now. “Do you know how to drive one though?”

“Yeah. Mom’s been teaching me, but her bike is so souped-up. It took me a while to be able to handle the thing.”

“What color are you gonna get?”

“The one I saw at the dealer is purple. It looks sooo cool. I oughta take you to see it!”

“Nah. I don’t think I could stand to see you get attached to it and then get broken up about it when you end up not getting it for your birthday.”

“You’re so ruthless!” I remarked with exasperation, making her giggle. “Mom said she’d see what she could do! I’m sure she’ll get it for me! Maybe if I win all gold at the NHK Cup in two weeks that’ll convince her!”

Michiko took a sip of her drink. “You think you can do that?”

“Yeah! No prob! If I do good there and in the next few competitions, maybe I’ll even get to go to Nationals, or Worlds!”

“If you don’t get suspended again,” she reminded me nonchalantly.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, dismissing her. Today was my first day back from a three-day suspension. A minor scuffle in the parking lot after school had turned into a major brawl, with almost a dozen kids involved. Most had gotten away with one day of in-school suspension, but since I’d been one of the instigators I was handed a more severe punishment.

“How many times did you get suspended last year again? Remind me. Four?”

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “Like I really care. If the jerks would just learn not to get me angry—“

“They LIKE making you angry. I think they just like seeing a girl who’s actually willing to throw a punch.”

“Whatever.”

After school Michiko wanted to head home right away so we could study for an English test coming up next week, but I managed to convince her to take a side trip to the mall. Had to fit in some playtime in between all the bouts of work time, after all, even if sometimes I took the initiative and took some unscheduled ‘vacation days’ on my own. The only reason I didn’t ditch more than I did was because I’d been threatened with getting kicked off the gymnastics team if I didn’t come at least semi-regularly and keep my grades at least semi-decent. What a crock. Life was too short for homework.

“When does Priss’ new CD come out?” Michiko asked, eyeing an outfit through a store window.

“Don’t look at me. She’s still recording it. I guess some of the bigwigs are throwing a fit about some of the songs they want cut but that she wants on there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, some crap like that. I think she’s gonna try to record a few extra songs just in case those other ones do get cut, so she has something to put on the CD. Unless they complain about those extra songs too.”

“If they complain about all of them she won’t have a CD to put out at all!”

“They want her to record some more poppy tunes, but you know she’s not the poppy type. She said she could always just go start up her own label if they’re not gonna let her record what she wants.”

“Why doesn’t she, then?”

I shrugged. “Not something for me to worry about, she says. So I’m not gonna.”

I didn’t have to worry about Mom’s recording. Even if she did come home and bitch about how some no-name recording executive wanted her to change the lyrics in this song or that, she always eventually came out on top. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry to finish the CD either, although it had been five years since the Replicants had released their last one. She’d say she’d work on it for two years if that was what it took to get everything she wanted on there.

“Did I tell ya she’s been borrowing my English textbook a lot?” I said, laughing to myself as I turned to Michiko, only to find her staring off at something. “Yoo-hoo. Earth to Michiko.”

“It’s Masahiro,” she breathed, letting out a dreamy sigh.

“Masa-who?”

“Masahiro!!” she yelled, waving as she ran over to the last group of guys I thought I’d ever see her with. It was a group of three guys, all clad in leather and chains. One had a head of nondescript brown hair, one was a skinhead, and one had a Mohawk dyed bright red. Masahiro was apparently the one with the normal head.

“Yo, babe!” he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Just window-shopping. Yumeko! Come over here!”

I grimaced and begrudgingly walked over to them. “Not the type of guy I thought you’d be into,” I admitted.

“We’ve been dating for two weeks,” she revealed.

“Two weeks?! You didn’t tell me anything!”

She smiled shyly. “Sorry. But I wanted to see if it was going anywhere first before I told you. Masahiro, this is Yumeko.”

“Hey there,” he said, nodding his head. “Think I’ve seen you around at school a couple times.”

“You go to Kihi?”

“Yeah, once in a blue moon. I only go now ‘cause I get to see my chick here.”

“Your chick?”

The guy with the Mohawk was leering at me over Masahiro’s shoulder. “Since he’s got your friend, you mind if I snatch you up?”

“They’re both mine,” Masahiro laughed, almost knocking the wind out of me as he pulled me and Michiko both close to him. “Don’t you dare touch either of ‘em. They’re my sexy things.”

“I don’t remember saying I’m yours,” I warned.

“Any friend of Michiko’s is a friend of mine.” He released us, then turned to Michiko and held her chin in between his thumb and forefinger. “Me and my buds ought to be going. I’ll be seeing you later, chicky.” He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, making me bristle. How dare he touch her so intimately!

“Bye,” she said, sighing dreamily again as Masahiro and his friends walked off. “Ah, isn’t he so cool?”

“Hard to judge since I’ve only known him for two minutes,” I groaned. “I don’t like his Mohawk buddy though. How the heck did you get into a guy like that?”

“It just happened. He was passing by my apartment building and somehow we just struck up a conversation. He seemed so surprised that I hadn’t been snatched up by another guy by now.”

“You don’t look like his type.”

“What are you thinking is his type? Someone like you?”

I blushed. “I didn’t…hey…I didn’t say that.”

She smiled and pointed teasingly at me. “Oh, but look! You’re blushing!”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are! You think he’s cute! Admit it! You’re jealous that he’s not dating you!”

“Why would I be jealous?!” I retorted, feeling my face burning by now. “Of a flunkie like that who smelled like he hadn’t taken a bath in a week?! No way!”

She just giggled. “Sure. Sure. I believe you.”

Michiko couldn’t get that smile off of her face the whole time we were at the mall, and on the bus back to her apartment building. I couldn’t believe it. Why wouldn’t she tell me she had a crush on a guy, that she was dating said guy? Was it too embarrassing? I wouldn’t know – I’d never had a crush on anybody myself, although that night, as I headed home from Michiko’s place after our study session, I had to admit to myself that Masahiro was kinda good-looking, in a rugged sort of way. He didn’t have any tattoos or piercings from what I saw; in fact, he looked out of place next to his two buddies. Was he just putting on airs to impress Michiko, or did he really think himself that much of a badass?

Why the hell do I care so much anyway?, I thought, shaking my head.

Two days later was Saturday, the weekend. As per my usual weekend routine, I didn’t get out of bed until almost noon…although my dreams had been strange. I’d dreamt that a guy had driven up to me, offering me a ride on his motorcycle. The guy was Masahiro. We drove around town all night, raising hell. It was when he dropped me off and leaned in for a kiss that I woke with a start, wondering why on earth he of all people was in my dreams.

No no. He’s a biker. Bikers ride motorcycles. And I’ve been wanting that purple one at the dealer’s, I thought, trying to convince myself. It was probably just me wishing I had that bike right now. Bikes don’t drive themselves.

I splashed my face with cold water several times. “God dammit!!”

“What is it?” Mom called out from the living room.

“Nothing, Mom!” I yelled back.

I took the bus over to Michiko’s building. I still had a mountain of homework to do, but I didn’t wanna spend all weekend cooped up at home working on that. I wanted to goof around with Micchan. It wouldn’t hurt her; she was probably all done with hers by now, anyway.

“Oh, Michiko’s not here,” Mrs. Ishiodori said when she answered the door and I inquired about her. “She left about an hour ago with Masahiro.”

“Left?! Where to?”

“She said he was going to indulge her with a trip over to Akihabara, then they were going to go see a movie.”

“Ah shoot. She didn’t tell me anything.”

“Really?”

“Nuh-uh, nothing.” I sighed glumly. Just as suddenly as I’d found out about her new boyfriend, I felt cut out of her life.

“I’ll tell you what. When she comes back I’ll give you a call, ok? I’m sure she’s not leaving you out on purpose. She’s just excited, you know?”

“No. I don’t. I thought she’d at least bring me along so I could get to know the guy.”

“Are you jealous?”

“No…”

I turned and walked away, feeling my cheeks burning again. What the hell was coming over me?! Was I really jealous? If so, of what? The fact Masahiro had chosen Michiko and not me? The fact Michiko was now spending more time with him than me? The fact that I had to ‘share’ Michiko now? This whole thing was just stupid. I’d never felt like this before. Was Michiko, my best friend, officially competition for men’s attention now? I never cared about getting attention from men before. I got it, of course, but I never wanted it. But now that Michiko was ‘taken,’ what did that mean? I’d thought she was too much the cutesy type for any guy to like. Didn’t men like tomboys like me? Why the hell was I jealous if I didn’t even seek men’s attention?!

“I’m not ready for this crap,” I moaned as I reluctantly sat down at my desk at home and began working on my homework. I had no reason to do anything else if Michiko wasn’t there with me.

By the time I was done, it was early evening, and I could hear thunder clapping outside, followed by a torrential downpour. That time of year again. I sighed with relief. It was probably a good thing that I hadn’t gone out, after all. I hated getting caught in the rain unprepared. The sleeveless denim jacket I was currently wearing certainly wasn’t adequate protection against that kind of weather.

I heard the phone ring in the living room. I yawned and sauntered out, picking up the receiver. “’Ello?” I said lazily.

“Yumeko!” Michiko exclaimed. On the screen of the vidphone, she looked absolutely drenched. “Um, is Priss there by any chance?”

“No, she went to the gym with Aunt Nene and the others. Why?”

“Oh… Well, I need a ride over to your place.”

“Where are you at?”

“I’m at 2nd and Oxbury.”

“Oh, that’s about two kilometers away. I’ll meet you there.” I suddenly realized something. “Wait…weren’t you out with Masahiro? What happened?”

She suddenly looked like she was about to cry. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when you come. Can you hurry up?”

“Sure, sure. I’m coming. Hold on.”

Don’t tell me he ditched her, I thought as I pulled on my raincoat and dashed out, practically jumping down the flights of stairs before running out of the building and down the street. It began to rain harder, and by the time I was halfway to the intersection Michiko was at, my lungs were burning from the effort to get to her quickly. I stopped for a moment to gather my strength, then took off running full speed ahead once more.

Michiko was shivering inside the phone booth when I finally arrived, about ready to drop to my knees from exhaustion. I didn’t think I’d ever run so hard or so fast in my life. “Michiko,” I wheezed. “What’s going on? Did he ditch you or something?”

“Something like that,” she said, hugging herself as she shivered. “You didn’t have to run.”

“Yeah I did. You told me to hurry.”

I handed her my jacket, despite her concerns I’d catch a cold if I did, but I insisted. We waited for the next bus to come, which didn’t arrive for another twenty minutes, but it made for a much faster trip back to my apartment. Once back there, I handed her a towel, which she used to dry off her hair after she took it down from its usual looped position.

“So what did that jerk do? Leaving you in the rain…I oughta strangle him,” I growled.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, hanging her head. “He took me in his truck since he didn’t want to chance me getting hurt on his motorcycle, he said. We went to Akihabara and had a nice time. Didn’t buy anything, but we had fun just looking around. Then we went to see a movie, and that was nice too. It was raining when the movie let out, but he said he’d give me a ride home. Then on the way back, he decided to pull over into an empty lot, and…he started kissing me.”

“Kissing you?”

“He was kissing me in the theatre too, but he got really into it in the truck after he pulled over. I was afraid somebody would see us, but he insisted, and kept going. He kissed my neck, and kicked the seat back so I was laying down. Then he put his hands under my shirt and lifted it up…”

I blushed. “You made out with him?”

Her face was red by now as well. “It went farther than that… He was making me feel so good, but I was afraid of going too far, but he said it would be all right. He said he’d take care with me. I was feeling so good…and before I knew it, we were…”

“Oh crap…you didn’t!”

She nodded.

“Micchan!!”

“I know, I know,” she said, looking flustered. “I should’ve said no, but everything was happening so quickly… And then…it was over, and he kissed me and thanked me, and said he’d drop me off at home. But then after he pulled out of the lot, he went in a different direction, and after he drove about five blocks he suddenly told me to get out of the truck! He practically pushed me out, and then he drove off! He just…left me there!” She started to cry. “Oh Yumeko! I’m so stupid!”

“You’re not stupid,” I said, sitting next to her, although I was just as much in shock as she must’ve been. He slept with her, then just dumped her somewhere? What kind of man would do such a horrible thing? He had her heart in his hands, and he just squished it like it was nothing. No…he wasn’t a man at all. He was a player, a rotten bastard who’d only gotten close to her so he could bed her. That was all he’d wanted all along. “…I’m the stupid one.”

“No, no! You’re not stupid, Yucchan! I should’ve wondered why he liked someone mousey like me instead of someone pretty like you! I DID wonder, but…I liked the attention. I felt special…”

“I’m stupid because I didn’t see what he was after. I wondered why he liked you so much too. Geez. I really am stupid. You were right. I was jealous. Now I’m feeling stupid for feeling that way.”

“I can’t believe I fell for him.” She bawled into my shoulder. “I’m such an idiot! He had me around his finger and I didn’t even know it! Yucchan! How could I have been so stupid?!”

“Stop it. You’re not stupid.” I hugged her. “He’s the stupid one for messing with a friend of mine. I’ll beat him to a pulp if you want me to. I’ll castrate him. I’ll hang him from the gym ceiling by his balls, if he’s got any! Anything you want me to!”

“No, don’t,” she begged. “I don’t want you to get in trouble!”

“Trouble?! Ha! This’ll be way worth any trouble I get into! If he screwed with you, he’s gotta answer to me!” I stood up. “So, where does this so-called man live? Lemme at him!”

“No!!” She started to bawl again. “Don’t go anywhere! Please!”

Her show of emotion caught me off guard. I’d never seen her cry so hard before. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her alone, not like this. I sat back down and hugged her again. “Ok. I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you…”

It could have very easily been me in Michiko’s position. I knew that now. If even I had started to crush on him, then it could have been my emotions he toyed with. It could’ve been me left in the rain after being seduced. This guy, he really was a pig just like his Mohawked friend. Was that really all that members of the male sex were after? It sickened me.

It wasn’t till Monday morning, two days later, that I got my revenge. Not by beating him up, though. That would’ve been too obvious. I decided to hit him below the belt. As a biker – or at least a wanna-be one – his pride and joy was his motorcycle. I arrived early at school just to watch him arrive and park, to be sure I knew which one was his. Once he was inside, I walked up to it, and with a maniacal grin pasted on my face, I took out my house key and set to work.

Imagining what his reaction would be was enough for me, as I planned to be long gone by the time my work would be discovered. Into the side of his bike I had etched a caricature of a man holding his crotch, next to it written, in English, “NO BALLS.” And for good measure I slashed the tires too.

Seeing Michiko’s delighted reaction as she told the story of what Masahiro’s reaction was was priceless. As long as it made her smile, it was worth it.

Present day
December 25, 2057

My aching leg woke me up. Alas, it wasn’t the only thing aching. My whole body was sore, just as much as it had been yesterday, maybe even a little worse. I groaned and rolled over in bed, prying my eyes open to look at the time. 9:07 AM.

“Nine o’clock?! Oh shit!!” I bolted up in bed, only to give myself a true case of vertigo, as my head started to spin. I groaned and laid back down slowly, holding a hand to my head. How could I have slept in for so long?!

“Still so noisy in the morning,” I heard Mom chuckle as she brought in a bowl of what smelled like miso soup. “I figured you’d be waking up any time now.”

“You’re still here?” I asked, still feeling like I was in a fog. I could barely recall the events of yesterday. I knew I’d collapsed at the gym and come home, and that I’d called Mom. But everything after I’d finally broken down and started crying seemed so…vague.

“You thought I’d leave you when you’re like this?”

“How long have I been asleep?”

She looked at the clock. “Nine o’clock now, so…I’d say about sixteen hours.”

“WHAT?!”

“So what? You’re sick. Plus you said you hadn’t slept well the last week. You needed it.”

“But…sixteen hours? You mean I passed out sometime yesterday afternoon?”

“Yeah. After you got done crying we watched some TV for a while and then I saw you were dropping off, so I had you change into your PJs and head to bed.”

“I don’t remember… Damn. I slept deep too. I didn’t even dream.” I sat up and took the bowl from her, sipping the liquid slowly.

“At least take Sundays off. You don’t have to be available every day of the week just to give off the impression you’re a good teacher. It only tells people you have no life.”

“I don’t. I work, go to the bar, sometime grab a couple groceries at the store, and then come home. I don’t really do anything.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have any friends. And don’t even suggest I hang out with Clara. I see her all the time at work. If I see her outside of that it just keeps me in that work mindset. Once work is done I want to relax.”

“Again, hard to do when you’re working seven days a week. Haven’t you tried making any?”

“Clara’s…a nakama at most,” I said quietly. “Michiko was a tomodachi, and she’s gone. Xania’s a tomodachi but she’s busy with school, although I did get a letter from her saying we need to hang out again sometime. Emi…I want to say Emi was a tomodachi too.”

“You’re not a Knight Saber anymore, Yume. You don’t have to worry about putting anybody you make friends with in danger now.”

“Not a…” The suggestion almost horrified me. “Of course I’m still a Knight Saber.”

“The OMS is gone. We’re not gonna have to go out anymore.” Mom suddenly widened her eyes, as if something had dawned on her. “Oh shit… I get it now. That’s why.”

“That’s why what?”

“Don’t tell me you were working out every day just to keep in shape in case you had to go out in your suit again.”

“…That was part of it,” I admitted, staring down into my bowl. “Besides, you guys went to the gym every week for nineteen years in case they ever came out again. Why shouldn’t I keep in shape too?”

“That was different! It was red tape keeping Genom tied up for that long. This time it’s the fact they have no more OMS. It’s permanent, Yume!”

“They’ll just try to make another one, and then in ten years we’ll have to do it all over again, except you and the others’ll be too old! I’ll be the only one!”

“Stop it!” she snapped. “Don’t even think about that! Let Sylia do that! You just go and enjoy your life, ok? You only get one shot at it, and I’ll be damned if I let you worry it away! The only thing you should be concerned with is your gym. Okay? That’s it. Take care of that. That’s all you were ever supposed to worry about. Not about fighting Boomers. Never.”

She stopped and ran her fingers through my stringy hair. “Look at you. You haven’t taken a shower in days. Go on and take one. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I keep forgetting about it, keep putting it off. I guess it’s been about four days,” I said.

“So go do it. Or I’ll throw you in there myself!” she threatened, grinning evilly.

“No thanks.”

I handed her my now-empty bowl, which she took out to the kitchen while I stripped down and went into the shower room. I shuddered as I ran my hands over my hair; it felt far more greasy than was acceptable. I definitely needed to wash it out. I normally tried to wash it every other day, if not every day. The fact it’d been four days must’ve meant I really was in a funk. I yawned and turned on the shower, letting it warm up before stepping in.

The water felt strange as it ran over me, but I couldn’t put my finger on as to why. I scrubbed the shampoo into my hair, letting out another yawn as I turned and let it beat against my back. Ah, so much better than having to bundle up in the cold. I could just stay here in the shower and stand under the hot water…

A light bulb went off in my head. Standing? Water?

I stood there in shock as the water continued to run over me, slowly rinsing the shampoo from my hair. Here I was, standing under the water, letting it run into my eyes, and I wasn’t freaking out. It was getting into my mouth and even into my nose a little bit, and I was fine. My heart wasn’t even racing. I was perfectly calm.

I began cackling madly, hugging myself as my wet bangs stuck to my forehead, the ends tickling my eyes. I didn’t feel the urge to get them out, nor was the fact my hair was sticking to my back an issue. It was all okay! I started dancing in the shower, laughing out loud. This was it! Finally, something normal that I could enjoy again!

“Mom! MOM!!” I hollered.

I heard her come running. “What, Yume?!” she asked, sounding frantic. “What’s wrong?!”

“Nothing!!” I jumped out of the shower, and despite the fact I was standing stark naked in front of her, I didn’t even care. “Look! I can actually take a shower again! I can take a shower!! I don’t have to wait to come home from Genki Dash to get clean anymore! I can actually take a shower!!”

Mom smiled. “’Bout time. Avoiding pools is bad enough, but I can’t have ya avoiding showers now, can I?”

“Not anymore!” I cheered. “I’m ok! I’m ok!!”

“Let’s see if you can get back in there now, before you get yourself even sicker,” she said with a grin.

I hopped back into the shower instantly, squealing at the feel of the hot water again. “Look! I did it! See?! Ha ha!!”

I heard Mom leave, chuckling to herself, and after she did so, I slid down to the floor of the stall, hugging myself, but not in fear this time. This time, I was relishing the feel of the water, not recoiling from it.

It was a small step, but at last, I had taken something back.

After my shower I got dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and some cargo shorts – if I wasn’t planning on going anywhere today I could wear what I wanted, despite the temperature outside – and headed out to the living room, where Mom was relaxing on the couch watching TV.

“I thought you’d drowned,” she joked. “You were in there for a good forty-five minutes.”

“So? I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.”

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah.” I flopped down next to her.

“Don’t you wanna blow-dry your hair?”

“Still making sure it wasn’t a fluke,” I said, although I knew that it would take hours to completely air-dry. “Taking another day off from recording?”

“Yeah. It’s Christmas, so everyone is probably gonna be going to parties and stuff anyway. Nobody would’ve wanted to work.”

“Gonna go party with Max and Hiroshi then?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Ah, I must be getting old. The notion of partying isn’t quite as exciting as it used to be.”

“What happened to the Asagiri standard for excitement?” I joked, turning her own words on her.

“Touring is where it’s at, my dear,” she said with a grin. “Once we put the new record out, I’m heading straight outta town. Been too long both for the fans and for me. I miss it.”

“Got a name for the record yet?”

“We’re going over a few ideas. But nothing’s sticking yet. Can’t even decide if we want the title to be in English or Japanese. Oh yeah, I’ll probably still be needing an interpreter on tour. You sure you don’t wanna tag along?”

“Dead sure,” I said with a smirk. “Being your interpreter when I was eleven and twelve was bad enough. Not so keen on doing that again at nineteen. Besides, I’ve got the gym to run.”

“Right, right.”

Mom stretched out and continued watching her TV show, while I sat there with her, not watching it, but zoning out, letting my mind wander. This was what a normal life was supposed to be, if only the Asagiri version of it. Making plans for the future, going to work every day to whip the subordinates into submission… Hell, that was probably everyone’s version of a normal life. With the exception of my three years as a Knight Saber, I’d probably had a more normal life than I originally thought. Making friends, doing homework, trying to find out for myself just who this person named Yumeko Asagiri was…

Yeah. That seemed normal enough, I suppose. Didn’t everyone do those things, struggle with those things?

There was a knock on the door, which threw me off. Mom was already here, so who else could it have been? Sylia, Nene, and Linna were all likely working today.

“I’ll get it,” Mom offered, standing up and walking past me as she headed to the door to answer it. I leaned forward in my seat and craned my head to see who it would be.

“Hello!” came a cheery and familiar voice as Mom opened the door, which made my eyes go crossed. No way!

“Oh crap!” I said out loud, jumping up and running to the door. “Clara?! What the hell…?” I looked behind her, and it wasn’t just Clara at the door. Sakura, Diana, and the other students were there with her, all bundled up against the cold, but looking unusually cheery otherwise. “What are you all doing here?!”

“You weren’t feeling well so we came to cheer you up,” Diana replied.

“Shirayuki-sensei said you hadn’t called, so she assumed lessons were canceled, but she called everyone anyway and told us to come over,” Sakura added.

“Really, you didn’t need to,” I insisted, feeling my face turn a bright red. “I’m feeling better. Now get outta here before I make you all start doing workouts in the yard!”

Mom let out a chuckle. “Looks like one of them has something for you.”

“Huh?” Indeed, one of the other students was holding something in her hands, covered with a blanket. She walked up to me and handed it to me.

“Here,” she said cheerfully. “Your mom was actually the one who told us all to come up. Said you were lonely.”

“I’m not lonely! I’m—“ My voice was cut off when I heard a meow coming from the blanket-covered thing I was holding. “…A cat?”

I set it down on the porch and lifted up the blanket, revealing a carrier. Through the barred door I could see a tiny black kitten huddled in the back, staring at me with amber-colored eyes. Stunned, I opened the door and pulled it out, holding it close as I stood back up.

“What’s with the kitten?” I asked in a low voice. “I’ve never kept animals before.”

“Your mom said since you live up here by yourself, that you could probably use some company. Something to take care of, someone who’ll greet you when you come home at the end of the day.”

Like Emi…, I mentally finished before turning to Mom. “This was your idea?”

She nodded. “Something to break the monotony, you could say. She’d make for a natural stress reliever too, so I wouldn’t have to worry about you making yourself sick again.”

“We know something’s going on,” Clara said, “and although it’s probably none of our business, we all did agree with Priss and say you needed something else to focus on besides the gym, something that’ll actually love you back.”

I looked down at the kitten in my arms. She was a long-hair, and at her size the fur just made her look like a little puffball. She mewed and licked my finger when I went to scratch her chin. I felt a twinge of nostalgia looking down at this tiny kitten. Her fur was raven-black, reminding me of the dominant color of Michiko’s hair, and her eyes were the same color as the amber heart on the necklace I had gotten her for her seventeenth birthday. She had loved kittens, even though she never got to own one herself.

“Michiko,” I moaned, and suddenly, tears came flowing from my eyes, running down my cheeks and dripping off my chin.

Clara took a step forward. “Yumeko? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…” I held up the kitten in my hands. “She’s absolutely adorable. If Michiko were here she’d probably try to take her away from me.”

Mom and Clara both laughed. “Probably,” Mom agreed.

Diana, who I hadn’t even noticed had left, came running back from Clara’s car with several bags. “We have you all ready to go with her too!” she declared. “We brought you a dish, and a litter box, and litter, and food…”

“I don’t think I’m ready for this,” I whined, making everyone laugh. Taking care of a gym was hard enough, but another living thing?! “T…thank you, you guys.”

“You’re welcome,” Clara said.

I excused myself for a moment and headed to the bedroom with the kitten, setting her down on my bed while I got down on my knees on the floor and watched her walk around. It was true. This was something I could nurture besides the gym, something that would love me unconditionally, no matter how bad of a mood I was in or how bad of a day I’d had. If nobody else could come help me out right away, at least I’d have this fuzzball here. I could feel my recent worries fade into the background just watching her, so innocent, so new to life.

That was probably entirely the reason why they gave me her, but it was working.

I could hear a voice in my head dictating a name. It sounded like Michiko.

“Calisto?” I picked up the kitten and scratched her tummy. “Calisto. Yeah. You look like a Calisto to me.”

“You ok back there?” Mom called.

“Yeah.” I headed back out with Calisto in my arms.

“You look like you’re feeling better already,” Clara pointed out.

“I guess I am,” I said. “Which means you all better get going so you can relax, because tomorrow I’ll be back to whipping your sorry asses into shape!”

All of the students except for Sakura giggled and started to run for the van, pretending to be scared. She looked up at me and said, “Looking forward to having you back, sensei. I think I prefer this sensei to the hard-ass I see at the gym.”

I chuckled. “I’ll still be a hard-ass, Sakura. But I guess we can have a little fun, too. Wouldn’t hurt, I guess.”

After Clara and the students left, Mom and I stood there in the open doorway, with me still holding little Calisto close. “She kinda looks like a cat version of Micchan, doesn’t she?” I said, nodding at the kitten.

“Yeah. Sorta,” she agreed, nodding as she saw the resemblance.

“I guess I gotta go get her a collar now,” I said. “And get her some shots, and probably get her fixed…”

“See? You’d make a good mom,” she teased. “What do I keep telling you?”

“Oh, don’t start on THAT again! No way! And I told you before, I don’t even know how to change a diaper!”

“Well, changing a litter box is kinda like changing a diaper.”

“Hardly!”

“When am I gonna be a grandma, huh?” she continued ribbing me, obviously enjoying this, judging from her expression. “Tell that Craig guy to come on by so you two can get started on making me some grandkids!!”

“No way!! Calisto’s probably the closest you’ll ever get!”

“That her name?”

“Yup.”

“Cute name. What’re ya gonna name my first grandbaby?”

“Moooom!!” I chased her back into the house, with her laughing all the way.

If this was another piece of what a normal life was supposed to be, then I would gladly take it. Judging from my turnaround on this Christmas day, Irodia, if she were here, would probably say miracles had been worked by God. But I didn’t celebrate Christmas, nor was I religious, nor did I believe it was fated to all happen on Christmas. The timing was coincidental, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate what had been done.

I’d gotten some semblance of my former life back today. I was starting over in a way. And this kitten was just starting out. In helping her out, I could possibly help myself. I was feeling better already just looking at her. Better and faster-acting than anything a therapist could do.

Today I really could start over. At nineteen, I had my life back and was ready to live it again. I couldn’t start from where I’d left off, but this was the closest I would get. And I’d gladly take it. Life was a series of competitions; you win some and you lose some, but there was always the next one to look forward to. Anything was possible with the next one.

Bring it on.