Shards of the Future.

[Decaying_Orbital]

This post will catalog the last 2 stories for my "Shards of the Future" story arc.

This is a collection of work stemming from a "Bad End" Emi timeline, in which Hisao got Shizune's attention during Act 1, effectively branching off the "Slow Recovery" scene but looping back to Emi's end.

The first is: Dead Heat, an Emilogue.

The second is: Game, Set, Match. An Epilogue.

Which brings us to the 3rd story that starts directly after the events of Game, Set, Match. Which I have titled "At the tone, the time will be..."

The fourth story is titled: Divergence Line. and can be found in the next post directly blow this one.

Thank you for reading my stories, and I welcome any comments and critique.

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At the tone, the time will be...

Saturday, October 28th, 2017... The day you were taken from me, Hisao. When you walked out of our apartment for your usual morning run, and never returned, I often thought about what might have happened if I had just gotten you to stay in bed with me that morning. The series of "What If?" events that played in my mind for months after haunted me for a while. If I knew that was the last time I'd see you, or if that was going to be our last kiss, I would have been greedy with our time that morning. I replayed that day in my mind so many times. You signed that you loved me and that you'd come back soon, and you promised me you would come back to bed "later," but it was not to be. I'd give anything to change that day. I miss you so much, Hisao.

Wednesday, August 8th, 2018... The day your last gift to me arrived The day I gave birth to our daughter. Your mother helped me with the "sound" of her name, Kuon. Taken from your name's "Long Time" kanji and the "Sound" kanji from mine. Kuon Nakai, I know we thought of a few other names when we were discussing having a child. However, we never agreed on one, did we? I remember you saying we would eventually leave it up to a game before the time came. Whoever won got their choice. I needed to honor us both with her name. Kuon has my blue eyes and your brown hair, my love. Your mother seems to think she has your cheeks, and your father is certain Kuon has my nose. I think she is the best of both of us. Hisao, she's lovely. I wish you could have met her.

Sunday, October 28th, 2018... Your parents, Hideaki, little Kuon, and I visited your grave today, my love. One year to the day that you left the world. My father was out of the country on business, but he called me while we were on the way over. You know as well as I that he is a hard man to get along with, but... he seemed truly regretful not to be with us that day. Your father and I cleaned the stone. Your mother lit the incense, and I left the flowers. Hideaki watched over little Kuon while she was all snuggled up in a blanket. I think she was the only one that didn't cry that day. Can I really do this without you, Hisao? Will I be a good mother? I began writing journals for Kuon's sake while I was pregnant. Trying to commit to writing what might fade in memory. I kept as many photos of you and me as I could. I even asked your parents to share their stories and saved their recordings. I want Kuon to have as much knowledge about the man I loved as I can find, the man that helped give her life, the man that I would give anything for his warm embrace to hold me once more.

Monday, April 3rd, 2023... Our daughter started the first part of kindergarten today, Hisao. Due to her birthday being in late summer, she finally got to enroll this year. I think my father researched every single preschool in Tokyo to come up with "the best school for my granddaughter." I'm so proud of her, but she didn't want to leave my side when we finally got to school. Your mother even took the day off to come see her off. Your mother spoils her too much. But Kuon loves her grandparents. She clung to me and didn't want to leave. She's doing well with some signs, but text to speech is better for her right now to communicate with me. She did sign "I love you Mommy" when she finally left my side. I was proud, but even I teared up a bit. Hisao, I am sure you'd be as proud of her as I am right now.

Tuesday, April 1st, 2025... Kuon started elementary school today. She and several of her kindergarten friends are going to the same school. Maya-chan, whose father works in your old laboratory, and Daisuke, whose family moved into the complex last year. The three of them get along so well. Dai-chan is slightly older than both of the girls, so he has taken it upon himself to be their "big brother" while at school. I had heard from his mother that Dai-chan got into a fight with another boy who was bullying Kuon since she was being teased that "Your mom waves her hands and doesn't talk." Little Dai-chan was not going to stand for anyone bullying his "little sister." Dai's mother was not happy that he punched the other boy over that, but a part of me appreciates just how much he cares about Kuon and Maya. He's a good boy at heart.

Thursday, October 28th, 2027... It's been a decade since you were taken from me, Hisao. I've now been without you for as long as I knew you. The passing of time has not erased my love, but it has dulled the pain of your loss. Kuon continues to grow into a bright young girl. She had her 9th birthday this year. Dai-kun and Maya-chan continue to be Kuon's trusted friends. While standing at your grave today, Kuon told me, "Mother, I never knew my father, but you look so sad today. Don't you want to be happy? " She sees Dai-kun's parents as well as Maya-chan's parents happy and in love, and she knows that I am alone. I got angry and scolded her about what she said. I know she didn't mean to disrespect your memory, Hisao, but those words cut me deeply today. "The daughter of Hisao and Shizune Nakai should not treat your father this way on this day of all days!" I think this is one of the first times I have truly been angry at our daughter, Hisao, and I am both saddened and ashamed of the reason.

Saturday, February 14th, 2032... I am now trying to comfort my junior high-school-aged daughter, Kuon, while she cries into my chest. It seems that today, Dai-kun confessed his feelings to another girl at their school. Kuon has been secretly harboring feelings for him for a while now, and I was not aware of this. Maya's parents moved last year, and Maya changed schools. Kuon and Dai-kun were sad about not being together, as the three of them have been close for many years now. I think that Kuon cared for Dai-kun but didn't want to hurt Maya's feelings either. Kuon is starting to understand that "love" can bring both happiness and sadness. I hold Kuon close and try to comfort her. She is truly experiencing her first heartbreak. "The pain will go away with time." When I sign to her, Kuon herself does not seem convinced. She signs to me, "I love Daisuke mom! It's not fair! " I replied to her, "You can't make someone love you Kuon. You will understand that in time. " Eventually, she composes herself, and I offer to go get ice cream. I will show Kuon that even on a day of heartbreak, there are still people that love her dearly. She sits at the counter and eats her parfait. I can't help but smile when I think of Shiina and her love of parfaits in high school.

I look at the calendar on my desk. It's Friday, June 6th, 2036. Finally deciding that reviewing the rest of the employee evaluations can wait. After all, the Nakai Foundation isn't going to crumble over the weekend if I put off a little bit of work.

Kuon smiles as I walk through the door. "Good evening, mother," she signs. "I started making some dinner for us since you were going to be late."

I smile at her. She's no longer a little girl; she's now a young woman. We sit down to eat, and she continues. "Mom, I have something important to tell you today."

I raise an eyebrow. "You had better have done well on your midterms." I sign back to her. 

She, however, rolls her eyes at me and signs back, "Yes I did, but that's not what I was referring to."

Another raised eyebrow at my daughter. I sign quizzically, "Really now, I'm relieved that your midterms went well at least. What else did you have to tell me? "

She smiles and signs, "Mom, Hayato-kun confessed to me and I accepted. He's my boyfriend now.

My eyes widen a bit, but I give her another smile and sign back to her, "Hayato-kun, is he the boy with short black hair and glasses, the one that you were studying with for your exams?" 

Kuon smiles widely, nodding to me while replying again, "Yes, he is." We've been spending more time together, and I really like him. He's very good to me. "

I can see the excitement in Kuon's face. I sign back to her, "I'm happy for you dear. Are you going to... "

However, Kuon excitedly cuts me off and signs at me, "I'd like to invite him over for dinner next Sunday, Mom. Is that alright? "

I gave Kuon a nod and sign to her, "Yes, that's fine dear, I'm glad you found someone special to you."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I have something of my own to share with my daughter. Something that has been weighing on me for a while.

Kuon notices and takes my reaction the wrong way. She signs to me, "Mom, having Hayato-kun over is alright, isn't it? Are you alright? "

I nod to her and put on a smile. I sign purposefully to her, "I have something equally important to tell you, Kuon." She relaxes a bit and I continue, "Shin and I are going to get married. However, I made it clear to him that I would not be changing my name. He finally understands my reasons for that. It's not only for the foundation but also out of respect for your father. "

Kuon's eyes went wide in surprise. She nearly jumps out of her seat to rush over and give me a hug. She smiles at me and signs, "I think he's a very nice man. I'm very happy for you both. " 

Placing my hand on the side of Kuon's face, I nod to her, and pulling back, I sign, "Your father gave me a wonderful gift. He gave me you, Kuon. " I know that I have not told you often, but I am very proud of you, Kuon, and I feel Hisao would have been as well. "

[Decaying_Orbital]

This is the fourth story in my "Shards of the Future" story arc. As of this posting I am unsure if I have anything else to add to this series, so for now I consider it complete, but that's not to say I might not revisit this timeline/arc at some future point.

This story is titled "Divergence Line" it's also a little bit different then my prior experiments in that there are two POV characters and it swaps between them.

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Divergence line.

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"Sir, are you sure about this? It's barely within parameters. I mean, we only have one shot at this, don't we? " Her voice shakes a bit, the gravity of her words filling the small room.

I chuckle a bit at her statement, "Well... technically Tsukishiro we have all the time in the world to get it right." The unintended irony of my statement breaking the tension.

Tsukishiro adjusts her glasses and peers over their lenses while shaking her head, "Doctor, I'm serious. At the current state of flux, estimates range from 0.1415926535% to a maximum of 0.8979323846%. It's just too wide of a gap."

"Tsukishiro, it's still less than 1%, which is the failsafe. You know as well as anyone here, that it's the best we can hope for given the known events." I pat her on the shoulder, "Tsukishiro, I have faith in your calculations." You've always been instrumental to this project."

She nods, "Thank you Doctor."

I give her a wink and say, "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

She looks at me with dumbfounded shock at my statement, "Besides needing a miracle to retrieve you?"

"Miracles don't just happen, people make them happen." I smile at her, "Remember that."

I press the button on the PA system, "All right everyone, let's button this up. As of now we are in failsafe mode, T-minus 60 minutes until launch."

I turn to leave the cramped quarters of the room, its low lighting awash in the glow of many screens and readouts.

Tsukishiro turns towards me as I turn from her console. "Shin... be careful."

Nodding to her, "Thanks, I will be. Hold down the fort, I shouldn't be long."

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The alarm clock blares and I open my eyes. I fumble with it for a moment, knocking over a few pill bottles before I finally manage to silence it. I get up out of bed, and look around the room. The life of a college student in a nutshell. Discarded meal containers, empty cans of various drinks, and some scattered clothing I have been too lazy to clean up. I can only imagine what Shizune will do if she sees this later. I pull out today's meds and pick up the bottle that had tumbled to the floor moments earlier. I shovel the pills into my mouth and wash them down with a few drinks from a water bottle on the nightstand.

I check the time; and it is 6:03AM. My first class today starts at 9:00. I have time for a morning jog, a shower, and some breakfast at least. As I get dressed and head out of my dorm, to my surprise, my hall mate opens his at nearly the same moment. He sticks his head out of his room and into the hall.

I give my friend a grin and say, "Morning Shin, surprised to see you awake this early."

He looks at me with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment. "Hisao! Hey, going for a run? "

I nod to him, "Yeah, you alright man? You seem a little out of it."

He rubs his head a bit, "Yeah... yeah.. I'll be fine. It was a late night, and then I slept poorly. Hey, do you have that physics paper? The one I lent you?"

"Yeah, I do... give me a minute." I go back into my room and rummage around the desk. Finally, I found the paper. I come back outside and hand it over to him. "Here, it's this one right?"

He looks it over, "Yeah, that's it, thanks Hisao. I'll catch you in class, later man. "

I give him a nod and said, "Shin, you look like shit my friend. You really should try to get some better rest."

He cracks a sly grin, "Can't do Hisao. I'll sleep when I'm dead and all that, you know? "

I chuckle, "Yeah, but if you did that, I'd be without a lab partner, which would suck, since hardly anyone else on campus knows nearly as much as you do."

Shin rolls his eyes at me and then quips, "Does your girlfriend know you flatter other people like that?"

I shake my head at him, "Well, if I don't get going, I might miss her before she heads to her early class."

"Hey Hisao, your secret is safe with me. You doing this early run thing just to catch her on the way to class is a pretty sly move to spend time with her." He gives me an approving nod.

I chuckle at his comment, "I'll see you at class later Shin, I have to go." I head down the hallway.

He gives me a wave, "Later Hisao." and then turns and heads back into his own room.

Heading out of the dorm and across campus is a bit of a trip. The college is different from Yamaku was. It is a larger campus with many more buildings and facilities, not to mention a larger student body. But this morning I'm only looking for one "body" in particular, the one that belongs to my girlfriend... Shizune Hakamichi.

That's when I spot her walking along the path. If someone had asked me three years ago if I thought I'd have a girlfriend like her, I'd have likely laughed at them. She notices my approach and smiles. She's changed since Yamaku. We both have, but her changes have turned more physical. She's let her hair grow out and now keeps those dark locks in a loose pony tail that unhinged would easily fall far down her back.

I run up to her, smile, and catch my breath, signing to her, "Good morning, beautiful."

Shizune blushes. It's so cute that even after all this time together, she still is easily flustered sometimes. She then signs back, "Good morning Hisao, you really should save those types of compliments for me in private."

I chuckle to myself and sign back, "It's not like many people could overhear this conversation, right?"

She adjusts her half-framed glasses back on her nose. They were my birthday present to her this year. She gives me a smile while signing back, "Time and a place for everything, Hisao."

I sign to her, "Well how about this then, tonight you and I go on a date. We haven't actually gone out in a while. I'd like to make up for that. "

Shizune looks down for a moment and her expression turns sad. She signs back, "I'd like to Hisao, but I have so much work to do."

I cock my head to the side and look her over while making a displeased face. I sign back, "Please, just for tonight, put it aside. We'll go see that foreign film together downtown. It's the one you told me you wanted to see. We both deserve a break... don't make me beg you over this Shicchan. "

I can tell she's fighting herself over this decision. She shakes her head at me and continues, "Hisao, I know it's a sweet gesture, but..."

Time to bring out the big guns. I drop to my knees, going full dogeza on her and planting my head on the ground. I look up and sign, "Please, my dearest girlfriend, allow me to do this for you!"

Shizune looks around the area in a near panic. It's still very early and there aren't many people around, but the idea that someone is begging you in public is something that would turn heads. She angrily signs to me, "Don't do that! Hisao, get up now! You're making a scene! Well, alright, alright.. let's go on this date! Just get up please!"

I spring up on my feet again and give her a bow. Her face is a mix of embarrassment and anger. I give her a huge grin and sign, "Thank you, my dearest girlfriend. Your humble boyfriend will meet you at your dorm after classes today."

Shizune, however, shakes her head at my antics, and adjusts her glasses again, signing back, "What am I going to do with you? Who'd throw away their dignity like that?"

However, I just smile warmly while signing, "Someone who loves you very much, Shizune. Shall I walk you to class?" I extend my hand to her.

She nods to me, and takes my hand. We walk hand-in-hand to her first class together across campus. Once at the lecture hall, she smiles at me. She signs, "I'll text you once I'm out of my last class, then we'll meet up for this date... thank you Hisao."

I nod and smile at her and then sign, "I'll be looking forward to that text, see you later."

I have time to finish my run and then change and head to classes. I count the hours until I'm free. We've worked so hard recently and we owe this to ourselves even if Shicchan disagrees with me. I really admire her hard-working attitude, but I do feel that sometimes she needs to unwind and enjoy life. This is something I've tried to get her to indulge in more.

I'm worried about our future together. I won't lie to myself about that. Sometimes I feel like I'm living on borrowed time with my health. Surprisingly, I credit this newfound perspective to my time with Emi Ibarazaki. It was her that made me start to understand my health and she pushed me to take it seriously. I can't say I was happy with how things ended between us, and I regret a lot of what I did back then. I guess that's why I have changed focus to biology and medical science. Perhaps someday, "Dr. Hisao Nakai" will find some new procedure to fix his own ailing heart or cure some other disease. A man can dream, can't he?

Shizune and I exit the theater. She seemed to enjoy the film; the visual effects were stunning, and the themes were quite interesting. My only regret is that Shizune couldn't have known about the score of the film. It was quite unique, to say the least. "Stealing dreams" was a unique concept for a movie, and I found it touching from the perspective of love and loss which was on display from the main character. I can't say it didn't remind me of my mortality either. Who'd have thought that an American film like that would be so introspective?

It's a nice night as we make our way back to the dorms on campus. We headed together towards my dorm room. I could feel Shizune's hesitation. I knew she'd likely prefer to head back and study a bit tonight, but we agreed that "date night" wasn't going to be cut short for study on either of our ends. We walk down the hall and Shin's walking towards his room carrying take out.

He waves to us, offering a smile, "Hey Hisao, Hey Shizune!"

Shizune and I wave back, "Hey Shin, what's going on?"

He holds up his spoils, "Just some late night fuel to keep the fires burning, OH! I got a call from Reiko. She's coming up from Kyoto in 2 weeks for a visit. She told me to ask you guys if you wanted to go for a weekend couples trip? It's likely not that far away, mind you. What do you think?"

I explain what Shin just asked us to Shizune, and she signs back to me, "Reiko's coming to visit? Yes, I think that would be fun. We haven't seen her for a while after all. "

I look a bit sideways at her, and sign back, "So I have to grovel for a date night, but friends come up to visit and you'll drop everything?" I give her a teasing wink.

Shizune smiles at me, and teases me in return, signing, "I see you all the time. We don't get visits from our friends all that often."

I turned back to Shin, "Yeah, that sounds great, Shizune and I will leave that time open."

Shin nods, "Thanks guys, I'm sure Reiko will be thrilled. I mean, I can't say I'm not the tiniest bit jealous of the two of you. I haven't seen Reiko in months and you both see each other daily."

"Shin, if you and Reiko would rather spend that time alone..."

Shin gives us a big grin, "Nah Hisao, I know Reiko enjoys hanging out with you both. Also Reiko was the one that suggested the trip in the first place, and I'm smarter then to try and convince her otherwise."

Shin shakes his head. "Besides Hisao, I think you know that I'd be lost without her."

I give Shin a nod, "For the time I've known you both, Reiko really does watch out for you."

Shin has a contented nod and then holds up the bags, "Well, I'm going to eat before this gets cold, you both have fun."

I give him a nod, "Later Shin." Shizune also gives Shin a wave.

Shizune and I get into my dorm room, and she locks the door behind us. Shizune looks over the room and adjusts her glasses, signing to me, "Really? You could have cleaned up this place."

I smile and sign to her, "Sorry, I was far too excited to come see you today."

She gets a devilish grin on her face... signing, "Excited? Well... let's see about that."

Shizune pushes me to sit on the bed, and then sits in my lap. We share a deep and longing kiss. I caress her left ear; it's become an intimate touch shorthand for "I love you" between us. In our time together, we developed a series of "short hand" touches during the times we are intimate with each other, when sign becomes inconvenient to use. Eventually, we lay in bed together, feeling spent, holding each other close as our warmth was shared in the confines of the bed. I run my fingers though her hair, ever since she grew it out, I've done it as a sign of affection. Shizune turns to face me and I look into her deep blue eyes. I give her another deep kiss and we drift off to sleep in each other's arms.

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"Sir, power output is stable. No reactor anomalies were detected. "

"Understood, keep an eye out for any possible interference."

The bulk of the suit I'm wearing is a backup for life support. Just in case. The cramped confines of the pod are annoying, but there's only so much of the alloy we had to make it from. I check the readouts. Across the board, green.

Tsukishiro's voice crackles over the com, "Shin, I just did the final check. Everything looks good here. Transmitting the final coordinates now."

As I check my displays, a series of numbers and letters flash across the screen, "Tsukishiro, you remembered to carry the 2 right?"

Her dry remark amuses me, "Very funny Sir."

The coms crackled to life over my ear, "Shin, we are at T-minus 2:00 for final count down, commencing go, no-go for deploy."

"SYS... Go." "TEL... Go." "COM... Go." "PROC... Go." and other stations report in. Finally, it comes down to me. "CDR..." I exhale. "I'm go."

I report my situation, "Alright, coordinates verified, I am ready to deploy the field."

"Roger Shin, we are go for deploy."

I take a breath, "Power increasing, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, wave motion looks good, 95%.... singularities forming... 100%, singularities formed."

"Shin, singularities are locked and stable, and no unexpected wave has been detected."

Years of theory and research are on the line now. "Confirmed, final phase in... 5... 4... 3... 2..." my finger hovers over the screen marked enable. My world goes dark with a single press on "1."

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Opening my eyes, I rub the sleepiness from them. Shizune was sleeping naked and clinging to me in our bed. I run my fingers through her hair. She stirs a bit at my touch. I turn to the alarm clock at my side. It's early Saturday morning. I'll let her sleep in today. I won't wake her yet, I think to myself. I extract myself carefully from our bed, and make my way over to my dresser, pulling out some running wear. I get dressed and that's when I notice Shizune looking over at me.

She smiles, and then signs, "Good morning Hisao."

I can't help but smile back as I sign, "Good morning my love. Did you sleep well?"

She blushes, and signs, "Yes, but we didn't get much sleep last night, did we?"

I chuckle to myself, and reply to her, "I guess not. That might have been a new record for us, don't you think?"

On the top of the dresser are my various medications. I pull out today's samples and swallow them down. I sign to her, "I love you, Shizune."

Shizune turns down the bed sheets and motions to me, signing, "Save the run until later. Come back to bed with me. There's plenty of time to run later."

I chuckle to myself, "There's plenty of time for that later too." I teasingly reply.

Shizune pouts at me now. She doesn't do that often, but she nearly always gets her way when she does it. I walk over to the side of the bed and she wraps her arms around me in a hug. I bend down and kiss her lips.

I give her a warm smile, and sign, "Later."

Shizune closes her eyes and nods. She knows I take running seriously for my health.

Shizune puts on her robe and comes with me, as I head towards the door of our apartment. I put my running shoes on, and smile at her once more. She pulls close to me and we kiss again. "I'll be back soon." I sign as I open the door and head out into the cool morning air.

I make my way down the sidewalk from the upper floor apartment. I usually take a run to the park and back in our neighborhood. I'm running in the park, and that's when I feel a minor twinge in my chest. I slow my pace and check my heart rate. It seems steady. I get an uneasy feeling in my gut. It's very early in the morning, and usually the parks are deserted at this time. However, there's a figure in a long dark coat that seems oddly out-of-place. The weather is cool but not that cold.

The figure speaks as I approach, "Hisao, Hisao Nakai?" The voice is familiar but somehow not. Their face is obscured by a hat as well.

"Who are you?" I asked this stranger.

"I think you'd remember me given the chance. You must have read my recent paper. I know that you received the journal. "

Finally, the voice clicks in my head, "Shin... Shin Nakamura? What are you doing in Tokyo? How's Reiko?"

He doesn't answer my question, instead interjecting with his own, "You read the journal right?"

I looked at him puzzled, "Yeah, I read it, but I can't say I completely wrapped my head around it either. I'll be honest with you Shin, it sounded more like science fiction to me than science. Artificial black holes to bend space-time? I mean, it's an interesting idea from a theoretical perspective. "

"Hisao, what if I told you it wasn't just a theory? What if I told you it was real? "

"I'd say you were pulling my leg, because, let's be honest, we're both scientists, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." I chuckled at my friend's whimsy. "You'd agree with that, right Shin?"

At that point, he lifts his head, removes the hat he was wearing, and pulls back the hood of the sweatshirt worn under that long coat. I did a double take. He looks like Shin, and he sounds like Shin. However, this man in front of me with gray hair couldn't possibly be Shin. We were only a year apart in age, and this person easily has 30+ years on me, at least now.

He speaks, "Hisao, I need you to do something for me, you need to continue the trials on that new drug you have been developing."

I drew back, surprised; this was information I hadn't even told Shizune even if I wanted to, and I couldn't tell anyone else. "How the fuck do you know that? Shin or whoever you are?"

"I know your company is developing it, I know you are struggling to get the funding you need, and I know you are getting a lot of red tape from executives that don't know the first thing about science."

Shin or whoever is standing in front of me is right, and they have confidential and secret info that no one should know about besides the team I am leading. "So let's say for one minute I believe you. How can I change that?"

"You'll need 2 things. First is this: " He pulls out a business card from his pocket, and presents it to me. "Put that in your wallet and call them later. Get your company to agree to their terms."

When I look over the card, it's an international investment firm. "Alright, fine... I'll call them." I slide the card into my wallet.

"Next is this." He closes his eyes, and pulls out another item. It's a foil-wrapped black capsule, Aside from the color, it looks like some type of pill that I might take for my condition.

I look at him with suspicion, "Oh yeah and what's that?"

"A path to a future Hisao, your future. I warn you, it's not perfect... there might be side effects. "

"Listen, I don't have time for this. I don't know who you really are, but I'm not taking some unmarked drug when you seem to know things about a secret program I'm a part of out of the blue. "

"Hisao, please... we're running out of time."

"No, you are out of time, and possibly out of your mind." I turn to leave.

"Hisao, stop. You asked about Reiko, right? " This old man starts to tear up in front of me, "Reiko... my Reiko is dead. The drug you were making at this time could have saved her, and a lot of other people. However, it had been shelved too long since you were given the project lead, and no one followed up on your work until it was too late. "

"You know... I could call your bluff now? I can call Reiko..."

The old man sighs, "Yeah you could. You'd find her and I living in Kyoto now."

The old man looks down at the ground and says softly, "Her death won't happen for a while yet."

I retort, "Which doesn't help your crazy story in the least."

"Hisao, what can I say to make you believe me? I know we haven't seen each other in a while, Reiko and I always loved when you and Shizune would visit, and I know our various work kept us busy after college."

I roll my eyes and say, "Not very much really. This whole thing sounds insane... Wait, what do you mean no one followed up my work?"

The old man looks at a watch on his wrist and says, "Because in the time I came from, you're dead, Hisao." It was your genius that might make it possible for Reiko to live, but the people who followed you didn't have your insight."

"Bullshit, you sound like I'm going to die tomorrow."

The old man looks down at his watch and then glances back up to me. "No, you die in about 20 minutes. You wouldn't even get back to your apartment in that time."

"Alright, I'm done humoring you, old man." I turn to leave.

He grabs me by the arm, "I didn't want to say this, but you aren't going to make it easy."

"What some more soothsayer bullshit? "

"No... her left ear."

I narrow my eyes at this crazy old man and ask, "What did you say?"

"Shizune, caressing her left ear, is shorthand for I love you, isn't it?"

My eyes went wide. There was no one else that knew this. It was only between Shizune and myself. My voice picks up some anger, "You better tell me right now how you know about that!" I felt another twinge in my chest.

The old man swallows heavily then speaks, "Simple. In early 2037, I married her. After you died, she mourned you for a very long time, and after Reiko died, I mourned her. Later, the two of us found comfort with each other. I think we were the only two that really understood just how much their respective spouses loss hurt the other. "

Another spasm in my chest. I look down at the pill in my hand. I see a look of terror in the eyes of the old man in front of me, a realization of what's just started. I open the pill and take it. I swallow hard and it goes down. I fall to my knees as the old man stays by my side.

"Hisao! Hang on old friend! "

I try to calm myself, but then my eyes close and I'm taken by darkness.

-----------------------------------

My eyes open and I look at the displays in front of me. The pod is in the lab.

Tsukishiro's voice comes over the coms, "Shin! Are you alright? We're checking everything now. Something must have gone wrong!"

I called back over the coms, "What... what do you mean? What went wrong?"

Tsukishiro responds, "The field unfolded like we thought but the pod didn't go anywhere, it stayed in the lab."

I shake my head. I check my atomic watch and then the pods' atomic clock. They are both in perfect sync. "I.. I don't have any sync issues, are you sure about that?"

Tsukishiro comes over the coms, "Dr. Nakamura, I just confirmed it. The field unfolded like it should have, and the pod didn't go anywhere. There was a slight EM burst that was picked up, but other than that, you've been right here the whole time."

I shake my head, "Negative. I remember getting out of the pod, and waiting for the target to arrive. We talked for a bit. I remember this."

Tsukishiro replies, "We are going to power down and get you out. Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Tsukishiro, let's do that. Powering down and we'll go over the data."

The pod opens, and I shakily walk down the ladder. Tsukishiro and other staff come down the pod side to help me.

The lab PA sounds, "Excuse me, Dr. Nakamura, we have your wife on vid-line 1, I've moved her call to the encrypted channel for you."

Tsukishiro comes over and helps remove my helmet. "Shin, you go take that call, the rest of the team and I will find out what happened."

I feel a little out of it, as I move over to the conference room just outside of the lab control room, and sit at the desk. I turn the video screen towards me, and enter my secure password on the terminal. It comes to light and the call connects...

"Please forgive me, love; I know you're probably busy, but..."

"No, no, I'm never too busy to talk with you... Reiko," I say, my eyes welling up. She looks older than my last memory of her, but it's without a doubt my wife, Reiko.

"Shin, you are so sweet with me sometimes..."

I smile at Reiko over the display, "Sweetheart, whatever it is, can it wait? I... I know I've been in the lab far to long recently, I'm going to leave the lab now and come home. I'll be home in 30 minutes at most. I love you, my darling. "

She smiles, "I love you too, Shin. Are you alright love? When the call came though you looked like you saw a ghost?"

I smile warmly back to her, "No it's nothing, it's just the stress at the lab, that's all. Listen, I have a lot of vacation time unused, you and I should go away together."

Reiko grins at me, "We should go to Tokyo then. I'm sure there's a certain pair of old friends that would love us to drop by."

I can't help but smile, "We better make it two weeks then, cause I want you all to myself for that first week."

Reiko blushes over the monitor, "Shin! You're making this sound like it's a second honeymoon."

I chuckle to myself, "Then it will be. You've always been so good to me, let me make it up to you."

Reiko smiles, "After all these years of marriage I never felt you needed to make up for anything Shin. But, I'll start dinner now, and we can talk when you get home. I'll be waiting."

I grin happily, "You won't be waiting long, I promise."

Reiko smiles, "Have a safe trip home love." She disconnects the video call.

"YAHOO!" I scream at the top of my lungs. The sound gets Tsukishiro's and other lab members' attention. She rushes into the conference room.

She looks me over and adjusts her glasses. "Shin? Are you alright?"

I rush over to Tsukishiro, and give her a hug that she is very obviously shocked by, "Shin!?"

I wipe the tears in my eyes away with my hand, and smile at Tsukishiro, "I couldn't be any better, but you are never going to believe why."

-----------------------------------

Opening my eyes, I hear the distinctive sound of a heart monitor. I'm in a hospital bed, laying with an IV stuck in my arm. I look around the room and try to get my bearings.

The door opens and the sudden exclamation is surprising.

"HICCHAN!" My mother excitedly runs over to the bedside. "You're awake."

"Mom, what... what happened? Where's Shizune?"

"Shizune's here Hicchan, you've been asleep for hours now. Your father and I got her text when you were rushed over here. Your poor wife has cried nearly the whole day."

I rub my head, "I... I don't remember anything. I remember going for a run this morning and getting to the park..."

My mother interjects, "Yes, you were found by someone in the park. They called for an ambulance and you were taken to the hospital here. The EMT's got you stabilized and then the doctors told us that it was a miracle that you survived. "

My mother nods to me, "Let me go wake Shizune for you. We told her we'd wake her if there was a change."

I nod to her, "Thanks Mom."

A few moments later, Shizune appears at the doorway. Her blue eyes go wide, she rushes over to the side of the bed, and we kiss. When Shizune starts to sign, I take her hands and cup them in my own and shake my head.

I release her hands and sign first, "I will never again make you wait for me. I love you, Shizune. "

Shizune doesn't respond; she simply throws her arms around me and cries into my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. I softly caress her left ear, as I feel her breathing return to a steady pace.

It's been several weeks since I was released from the hospital. Shizune and I took the train up to the city near Yamaku. We planned to meet Shiina and her girlfriend, Yumiko. We haven't seen them for a bit since Shiina took a teaching position at our old school as a sign instructor. We are sitting at a café that was to be our meeting spot and that's when I notice something. A woman with long light hair, a toned fit physique, and most strikingly, a pair of obvious carbon fiber lower legs.

I tap Shizune and she looks over in the direction I indicate. I quickly sign, "Do you think that's her?"

Shizune signs back, "One way to find out."

I stand up and as she approaches us I shout, "HEY! fastest thing on no legs! "

The woman stops and makes eye contact with me. Her beautiful green eyes locked with mine.

Her eyes go wide when she recognizes me, "Hisao? Hisao Nakai! "

I smile, "Hey Emi, I thought that was you."

She smiles as well, "Well shit, it's been a really long time... What are you doing here?"

"We're waiting for Misha, actually. She's going to be meeting us here."

"We?" and then Emi realizes that Shizune is also seated at the table. "Shizune?! Oh wow."

I chuckle, "I don't think I need to introduce you two, do I?"

Emi giggles. It reminds me of her laugh in high school. "No, I don't think that's needed."

I grin and say, "I likely should since she's now Shizune Nakai after all."

Emi nods to us, "Congratulations, you both look well."

I nod to Emi, "You look well yourself, congratulations on your medals."

"You know about those?" Emi looks at me, perplexed.

I nodded to her, "You could call me a fan. I even bought the calendars when you were raising funds for London and Rio. They were tasteful. "

Emi blushes, "Thanks Hisao, I mean that."

Shizune taps me and we share a brief discussion with ourselves. I nod to my wife.

I inhale, "Emi, I'd like to tell you something."

"Hisao... What's up?"

I motion to the open seat at the table, "Please, sit with us." and Emi takes the seat next to Shizune.

I turned and bowed to her, "I wanted to apologize to you. I know we had a bad falling out, and I know that I caused it. I spent quite some time thinking about that. I am truly sorry, Emi."

Emi looks a bit wistful at this heartfelt apology, "Water under the bridge now, Hisao." She swallows a bit, then says, "You weren't the only one at fault either."

Shizune looks at Emi and then back at me. She signs a bit and grins.

However, Emi looks confused. "What did she say?"

I smile and say, "My wife wants you to know that you were a good influence on me, as I took up jogging in the mornings all through college and even now."

Emi smiles, "That's good to hear. I'm glad for you, Hisao. "

At this point, Shiina and Yumiko approached our table. Shiina calls out to us and waves.

"Hicchan! Shicchan! Sorry we're late! "

I wave them over, "Hey Shiina, Hey Yumiko."

Shiina and Shizune excitedly exchange greetings in sign.

Emi looks around and begins to rise out of her seat, "I should get going."

I motion to Emi, "Emi, if you have the time, you are welcome to join us."

Shiina interjects, "Yes Emi, please stay. We haven't talked in a while either."

Emi nods, "Alright, I guess I have time."

I motion over to Yumiko and pull out a seat for her, "Here Yumiko."

She, however, mockingly jokes with me, "Always the gentleman, Hisao. How are you doing?"

"I'm pretty good actually. A bit of a scare a few weeks ago, but things are better now."

I sit down and move closer to Shizune. We take each other's hands.

I inhale a bit, "Alright, so... I guess the two of you were wondering what was up when Shizune and I said we were coming back to visit so suddenly."

Shiina and Yumiko look at each other and nod at us. Shiina speaks, "Yes, that was rather sudden."

Shizune gives my hand a squeeze, "Well, the truth is... Shizune is pregnant and the two of us are going to be parents."

A hushed silence falls over the table, and then suddenly both Shiina and Yumiko break out in excited squeals!

Joyful tears are shed and congratulations are exchanged at the table full of old and new friends. I don't know what my future holds, but as long as the support from those I care about and those that care about us continues, then I'm sure everything will be alright.

The End.

[Mirage_GSM]

Part three is nice, but in the final scene you are skipping back and forth between past and present tense a lot.

Part four is a very interesting story in its own right, but it does not fit the tone of the first three parts.
The first three parts were very emotional, and while part four still has traces of that, it still feels quite different - as if partly invalidating what came before.
It would probably have worked better as part of a different story or even - with slight alterations - standing on its own.

Still I've enjoyed all four parts very much. Thank you for writing them.

[Decaying_Orbital]

Part three is nice, but in the final scene you are skipping back and forth between past and present tense a lot.

You know, I think I might have actually used the wrong revision, now that I looked the post over. My stories have been typed as text docs and usually go though a revision or two. I'll go tidy it up since it bothers me also. Thanks for the critique.

[Kier-a]

I liked how the third story played out, and thought it stood well enough as an end to the two other stories. It made sense, and provided some closure.

For the fourth story, it was okay as well. Using a sci-fi trope to fix something that went wrong can be fun if it's done decently, and this one was done well enough. If this had been more of a serial rather than a short story, you also could have been evil and split it in half, right after Shin was told that his wife was calling for him.

[hdkv]

It required me to re-read the fourth part thrice to fully understand it, but it really worth it. I really liked this story, and how it turned out to be happy one, despite first three chapters.