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“… yet another summit between the two superpowers ended in failure… the parties involved were unable to reach a satisfactory agreement… unfortunately, we must report that insults and threats were exchanged by both sides… The meeting was hastily suspended… security services had to intervene…”
Anyone observing them from the outside would not notice anything unusual about them. A tall, slender girl with long, warm auburn hair and a frown that cannot detract from her beauty, and a dark-haired young man with a shadowy air, long, slender legs and a broad, muscular chest.
She stands in front of the television in the restaurant lobby and watches the latest news bulletin with concern. Other programmes have been suspended for days, ever since the various networks and even the state television realised that special editions were following one another at a dizzying pace. The young man puts his arm protectively around his partner's shoulders.
"Come on, leave it alone..." he says gently.
She smiles and wraps her coat around herself. "Sorry... we don't go out together much... we need to relax and have fun, right?" Then she takes the boy's hand and leads him inside where a reserved table is waiting for them.
-
"Because if they don't come to an agreement, we'll be in real trouble... in deep shit, let me tell you... and it's disgusting that everyone's lives, absolutely everyone's, are in the hands of those four warmongering idiots..."
The man at the table next to them is raising his voice. He has had too much to drink. From what the young man and woman can gather, it is a business dinner. Five men who have ended up talking about the world situation anyway. Like everyone else this past week. It all started with an official statement from the President of the United States. "They have the bomb and are threatening to use it..."
The young man's older brother spoke of unwarranted catastrophism. But he is the kind of person who can see the good in everyone. He is a doctor and almost always forgets to charge for his services. But strangely, this only happens with people who are not wealthy. A year earlier, he managed to get the type of medicine he practises officially recognised, a form of acupressure that uses the principles of the Hokuto school to treat diseased cells rather than destroying healthy ones as well. The luminaries of science did everything they could to thwart him. But it didn't do much good. The evidence of its effectiveness paraded before their eyes one after another. The boy finds himself reflecting that if people like his brother were in power, the world would not now be on the brink of collapse.
"Julia..." the boy says his partner's name, takes her hand and tries to smile at her. He has never seen her as anxious as she is these days. She really seems to be afraid. He, on the other hand, feels he shares his brother's optimism, albeit not with the same confidence. "Do you want me to tell them to speak more quietly?"
The woman shakes her head. "They're just saying what we're all thinking." She has barely touched her dinner. And her hands are cold.
"Toki says he thinks they'll end up reaching an agreement..." the boy reminds her, as if his brother were some kind of oracle. He knows that will cheer her up, even if only for a moment. The girl has great respect for Toki.
"All right... Listen... I didn't mean to make you spend the evening in this gloomy mood... Remember the rules? No sad topics, no war. And above all, no Hokuto and no Nanto. Tonight, let's pretend we're just two normal lovers."
All right... thinks the boy lost in the light of her periwinkle-coloured eyes. No Hokuto and no Nanto. He finds himself bitterly reflecting that if it came to the point of no return, neither Hokuto's school nor Nanto's could do anything. But he can't tell Julia that. Not now that she finally seems willing to leave all her worries behind.
"Ken..."
He flinches. Not because he was obviously distracted, but because of the tone with which she said his name. "Tell me..."
"I promise I'll drop the subject afterwards, but I need to tell you. The succession... Your father will end up turning his sons against each other..."
Julia, wise and mature... He cannot tell her that he considers himself practically out of the running and that the right of succession will probably be a matter for the other three likely heirs. He cannot do so because he seems to be the only one who thinks this way. If he were in his father's shoes, he would have no doubts. Toki is the best of them all. "You're not keeping your end of the bargain, Julia of Nanto..."
She smiles, then sighs. She is incredibly beautiful, with her eyes closed and that thoughtful expression. "You're right... I'm not good company tonight..."
He knows the best way to cheer her up right now. A huge slice of chocolate cake. "There's a concert in the park later. Would you like to go...?" he asks her.
"Who's playing?" she asks.
"Chopin..."
She lowers her eyes, and only after a moment does the boy realise that she is laughing. "Chopin... Chopin can't play, Kenshiro. Chopin is dead. But if you meant that they'll be playing Chopin in the park, then I'd like to go. If only to see you yawn. You and classical music... a living oxymoron..."
"Dessert? Chocolate cake..." he says, feeling slightly offended. It's true, his culture isn't exactly amazing, but that's what happens when you've spent your entire life fighting.
"Chocolate cake..." she nods. "Are you offended?"
"Me? No."
She reaches out to caress his face. "Silly. If I want to have an intellectual conversation, I can always go to Toki or Shin. But you are you. And I can't even list the things I like about you because there are too many."
"I like Chopin," he lies shamelessly. He continues to be bothered by the thought that she considers his brain inferior to that of any Shin. Any Shin, who is also his best friend as well as being from the same 'family' as Julia. Okay. Sorry, Shin... You're not just anyone... But try not to have too many conversations with her... I might start to get jealous...
She glances at him sideways. "Great..." she says with a hint of sarcasm.
He smiles at her. She's mine, he thinks. This wonderful woman is mine. It's fate that decided so...
"I say they'll end up blowing us all up!" continues the man at the next table, raising his voice again.
Chocolate cake for my Julia... thinks the boy. Whatever happens... whatever fate awaits us... I will be with you and protect you... always...
-
"...the president reiterated that it is now pointless to talk about disarmament. And that further provocations will not be accepted. During today's session, the UN Security Council confirmed its common desire to find a peaceful solution..."
To a casual observer, it might seem like any other evening. A small orchestra playing, a large enough group of people listening, the stars as a roof. A boy and a girl sitting on the ground, embracing, a little apart, listening and occasionally exchanging a kiss. At regular intervals of about two minutes, the girl nudges her companion to prevent him from falling asleep. An idyllic scene full of tenderness. But on their faces, as on those of everyone present, there is a shadow that seems impossible to dispel.
Wonderful... thinks the girl as the last notes of the Nocturne fade away. Not that the performance was flawless, but it did help to improve her mood. She only regrets that the sound of a radio tuned to the latest news has spoiled the atmosphere. She doesn't want to think, she doesn't want to reflect, she doesn't want to feel distressed. Because he would immediately realise that there is something more, that it is not just the anxiety that has taken hold of every human being on the planet in recent days. She feels it. Her adoptive father always told her that it was a gift. And it is thanks to what he calls 'empathy' that she was chosen. She looks up at the stars. The Big Dipper and the Southern Cross are unusually close, but at that moment she does not wonder what strange astral situation has caused this phenomenon. She just thinks that, after all, this too is a sign of destiny. You and me... The Bear and the Cross... together... united... whatever happens... She breathes in the boy's scent deeply. The leather of his jacket, his skin that smells of air. And strength. You believe... you really believe that everything will be alright... But you don't feel... you can't feel... And that's lucky for you, believe me... She forces her thoughts elsewhere. To her everyday life. To the sun that will rise again, identical, tomorrow, and tomorrow again. To the flowers that will continue to bloom anyway. To Nanto and Hokuto, who for another two thousand years will continue their bloody traditions in the midst of a civilisation that ignores their existence, so important for maintaining balance.... Balance... The woman shudders. The balance broken... cities in ruins... the world falling apart...
"Julia... what's wrong?" the boy asks her.
She remains silent. She cannot tell him that she is afraid to see the new day dawn. Nor that a feeling of evil coldness has seeped into her bones. You would try to reassure me again, my dear, dear Kenshiro... and now I could not bear it... She trembles as the sky catches fire in the west, flames, dust... a roar and then silence... death... She closes her eyes and clings to the boy, pushing back the urge to scream. Because the sky is still a black carpet sprinkled with stars. And she was just daydreaming. A dream, of course... caused by anxiety... maybe I fell asleep for a moment... and my fears took shape in my head... Nothing like that will happen, will it? Will it?
“Ken…”
"Tell me..." Only she truly knows him. Only she knows what lies behind that closed and shadowy exterior. Only she. That's why she feels she can trust his peaceful soul and his heart. His big heart.
"Whatever happens..." I want to sleep... without dreams... just with you holding me... "I belong to you... only to you..."
"What an unfeminist thing to say..." he replies with a laugh, then kisses her hair. "Let's set the record straight. I belong to you too, Julia..."
"Whatever the world looks like tomorrow... even if everything around us goes mad and loses its logic..." Even if everything is just chaos and pain... this will never change...
She closes her eyes, wishing she were somewhere else. In a universe where nothing bad could ever happen, a dimension forged by their hands, their dreams and their desires, where they could leave behind everything that cannot be changed. It would be nice... It would be nice... But dreams die at dawn... And this dawn...
"It looks like rain..." says the boy.
No... she thinks. It's not rain... Not the rain we know... It will be black... and evil... Never leave me...
She rests her head on his chest, truly believing that he can chase away all her sad thoughts. Just by staying close to her. "I'm sleepy..." she says. Don't wake me up tomorrow... don't wake me up ever again. Because I don't want to. I don't want to see the world that awaits us...