Lavo Standard (18) (10-9-09)

Mori Garden was located eastward off Mori Tower, closely north-west of the TV Asahi building. The garden’s lush greenery can help its visitors forget about their usual hectic lives and relax.

Tonight, the air was cool and the full moon was fully bright in the clear sky. There was a couple dating together in the bower. They were chatting with each other.

“For this night, the sky is so clear that I can see stars. Can you see them as well, Juliet?” the man asked.

“I can, Romeo. There are many stars.” Juliet replied with a smile and glints in her eyes.

“Do you know a tale about a shooting star? It’s said if you successfully have reiterated your wish to the star three times while it’s visible, the wish will be granted,” said Romeo.

“I know that tale, Romeo,” answered Juliet.

“Look, Romeo! That is! That is a shooting star!” Juliet pointed a finger at what she found in the sky.

“Yes, that is the one, Juliet!” said Romeo, who closed his fingers and began saying with overly large volume.

“Please Juliet’s father’ll allow us to get married, please Juliet’s father’ll allow us to get married, please Juliet’s father..., wow!” as Romeo was about to finish the third time, the shooting star approached and knocked him down. But what the couple found was not a shooting star: The fallen object was the green slime.

“(Hi),” Libro said as he smiled to Juliet.

“Eek!!! What is this strange thing!!? Papa, help me!!!” Juliet screamed and ran away. Then, Ric came down from the sky as well.

“Ha-ha-ha, it was a perfect bombing, wasn’t it?” laughed Ric.

“(You eventually freed me in the sky! You are definitely a villain!)” Libro snapped at Ric.

“Don’t get upset, David. Thanks to your contribution, now we have clothes to wear,” Ric looked at Romeo who had passed out.

“(What do you mean?)” asked Libro.

***

Both Crystal and Tim, meanwhile, were in her room, which had a built-in kitchen. She was on the sofa while he was getting some quick meal for her.

She needed to employ no one else to work most closely to her, as Tim, without asking extra rewards, already dealt with a great variety of things around her, from organizing work schedules to even those mostly suited for housewives like cooking. Therefore, to throw in a way of classifying this type of man, which was currently popular in Japan, he was likely regarded as the herbivorous type with less greed and a smaller muscular volume than the opposite carnivorous type. Plus, Tim, being suave, being backed by his affluence in both logicality and terms of knowledge, functioned as a reliable adviser to her.

“Tim, you know I like Daryl the most among them. How soon can I see him loving me?” said Crystal as she bit her nail and looked as if she was envisaging the moment she wanted to happen.

“You should be patient, Crystal. Things are going on track. Daryl, under the suppression by the red slime, will soon forget about his family while you keep behaving with that affection toward him. I bet Daryl’ll soon begin growing up as your child along with other three,” said Tim over the counter.

Tim finished cooking, and placed a dish next to a coffee cup on the round table before her. The dish had a sandwich cut into halves, filled with scrambled eggs, slices of both ham and cheese, and ripped leaves of lettuce inside. And Crystal took it.

“Do you mean his mother, Suzan?” Crystal was going to bite into the sandwich when came a ring from the video doorbell fixed on the wall near the room’s sole doorway, notifying her of someone’s visiting. As Tim took the receiver, he saw on the screen that the visitor was Ric. He was in a navy blue suit and a wine-red tie.

“Good evening,” Ric said through the microphone.

“I know this is a way inadequate time to come, but..., could I meet Crystal? I have something personal and impending, couldn’t help visiting here tonight.”

“Good evening, Ric. What do you mean?” asked Tim.

“Tim, could you tell her that I want to take days off, feeling sick? I am seriously sensing something wrong inside my body.”

Tim accurately told Crystal what Ric said. As Ric sometimes saw Crystal and he definitely most contributed to bringing Daryl here, having researched the kid and his family through working in NORA, she didn’t mind spending minutes for Ric since those words via Tim sounded serious to her.

“Let him in,” approved Crystal.

On the way up to Crystal’s accommodation, Ric said to Libro, “David, excuse me, Libro, I’ll probably remark something shocking to you. But I want you to take it to be necessary to free Daryl.”

In the living-cum-dining room on the 40th floor of the 43-story building, Ric was sitting on one of the two identical swivel chairs. Crystal was next to him, doing on the other one. The coffee cup with a saucer had been brought on the counter and before her. Tim, in the kitchen, placed another set on the counter for Ric, to be late. The sandwich still remained intact on the table before the sofa. Despite the presence of Tim, the situation for talking about some private issue to Crystal seemed to be organized enough for Ric. In a very close distance, fragrance which was being emanated from Crystal was enchanting Ric. Folding her legs, she looked to be wearing a slight warm smile to him. Libro, inside the body of Ric, learned by sensing an encouraged heartbeat that Ric liked the woman.

Although Libro had not fully believed in the hawk, eventually compromised to help it become a human since he could not come up with any other way but to follow its instructions when he was contemplating what to do henceforth.

“Did you say you are feeling sick?” asked Crystal.

“As a matter of fact, I did, Crystal. I wonder if I could take some days off as I told Tim through the microphone.” Tim, in the kitchen, was listening to the conversation.

“Crystal...,” Ric was saying.

“...David is a failure. He didn’t meld into either of those two dogs to live as human on behalf of Daryl. I know how much you are keen on Daryl, but I may suggest returning him. You must know that family is merely lacking one member and they are desperate to find him.”

“(I am...),” listening to what Ric said, Libro felt as if he went pale.

“(I am a tool.)” Libro began resisting a prompted sob.

Without saying even a word, Crystal sipped her coffee, then carefully replaced the cup on its saucer. A second later, she opened her lips painted with bright red lipstick.

“So...,”

“...do you mean you are feeling sick and wanting days off all due to your qualms?”

Ric kept looking Crystal square in the eye, quietly insisting that his answer was “Yes.”

“Out, Ric,” Crystal indicated the doorway with her index finger. Followingly, Ric stood up off the chair under Tim’s watch.

“Crystal?” Ric was leaving something.

“Do you like me?”

Crystal was saying.

“I said ‘Out.’”

Tim was on the heels of Ric walking to the entrance of the accommodation.

“You are looking a little weird tonight. Have days off for a week starting tomorrow. I’ll arrange substitutes for you.”

“How about you taking vacation right now?” said Ric as he punched Tim into his stomach quickly twice, who collapsed and did not move on the floor. Ric conducted the attack at his discretion while Libro couldn’t afford to concentrate on even just watching Ric’s movements, having been left in a state of shock since learning the reason for his existence more clearly than when Ric had previously remarked about it.

“Hey David, whoops, Libro, are you okay? I’m really sorry for telling you the context in such an abrupt way. But remember, now you have friends, don’t you? How many friends have you made? I have no doubt that you are not merely a replacement of Daryl,” Ric tried to encourage Libro, knowing how sad a mood he was in.

“And don’t forget that I am one of your friends as well as Juno and other family members. Now you must understand why we should free Daryl. You, with me, must return him to the family because they are your friends,” Ric said in mind. Libro didn’t make a comment, though, he was surely identifying Ric’s sincerity and integrity.

“Let’s go Libro. I know where Daryl is,” Ric proceeded down the corridors away from the entrance passing by the doorway of the room which Crystal was still inside.

There was a door unlocked. After opening it, Ric and Libro were both seeing the capacious dim room enclosed with glass-walled cells built in the walls. Each cell had lights inside, letting visitors find each species of animals confined--dogs, raccoon dogs, an owl, snakes and others. Outside these cells, there was also a set of fences which confined a rabbit. But Ric, not caring so much about these animals, advanced and reached the door of a smaller room that was situated at the innermost corner to his left. As he turned the knob, the door was discovered unlocked. “Here, Libro,” with no hesitation, Ric opened the door and walked in. Then, Libro found the room constricting and four cats lying on the floor.

“Perhaps you can’t believe this fact though, that cat is Juno’s brother,” Ric referred to the most cautious cat bristling at him.

“Ric, what are you doing?” Crystal was standing over the doorsill.

Studying her feelings with reading her eyes, Ric learned that she was quietly trying to quell irritation. Then, however, as she was raising her right arm, he grasped its forward part with his left hand to keep the arm stretched out toward the floor.

“Please don’t do that, Crystal,” demanded Ric.

Several times, Crystal repeatedly pushed back and forth her right arm, but couldn’t move it from the locked position. She stopped the attempt, but said, “Do you know what aikido is?”

So quickly Crystal moved her left hand onto the back of Ric’s left wrist and bent it toward the way his palm was looking that Ric was almost off guard to the unexpected action and he had to part with Crystal’s forearm. Subsequently, keeping Ric’s left wrist bent, she pulled it while pushing the back of his left upper arm with her right hand to lever his body onto the floor. At every attempt of Ric to escape from the submission, Crystal’s arms and hands gained another might to inflict greater pain on Ric’s left arm and make him subjugated more firmly. Even after Ric finally relented, Crystal kept maneuvering Ric’s left arm to add pain. “A-ha-ha-ha,” she was in a high mood. Having walked backward, all the cats including Daryl were looking at Ric in a fix at the same eye level. Though Ric was yearning to free Daryl, again and again Crystal abused his left arm. Ric was sure that she was going to break his arm.

“Libro, are you O.K.?” Ric asked.

“Do you remember that rabbit outside this room? Separate yourself from me and meld into her. Then fly toward the opposite side of this apartment’s entrance and leave here, meet Juno and tell her all the facts about this place and Daryl so that your family can take action to rescue him. You can do that as info about me has been input into your system after being together. Have a strong will, Libro. You can work with the rabbit.”

Libro could not find a word. But as Crystal drove a final push, Ric yielded out “Go, Libro!”

Libro, accordingly, dissociated himself from Ric, generating an intense flash, rushed out of the room and jumped onto the rabbit as Ric instructed. Then the rabbit turned into a beautiful young adult human lady who was naked and had the rabbit’s ears and the hawk’s wings. Without looking backward, the lady flew in the suggested direction, shattered the pane with momentum, and left the building.

Meanwhile, Crystal didn’t cease to keep the hawk prostrate.

“You don’t need this left wing,” said Crystal as she broke it.

“I had never expected to show this kind of fuss to Daryl. It was so embarrassing,” said Crystal as she carried the hawk out of the room and threw it away.

Tim appeared for Crystal.

“Is Daryl O.K.?” he asked.

Crystal ordered Tim to find and kill Libro.

Shortly later, after watching the TV news about the incident in Ryogoku, she also ordered him to dispose of all records regarding Ric.

Now the dish on the table had nothing on itself while the lady was flying with the moon in the background.