TOKYO BABYLON VOL 0 T.Y.O version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) & Seirimi (seirimi@aol.com) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com Subaru Sumeragi had just finished his work, and was talking about it with his twin sister, Hokuto Sumeragi. Subaru had just helped a man get rid of the spirit in his house by purifying the spirit and returning it to its world. This is Subaru's job, as a Onmyouji, to destroy evil spirits or to purify wandering and unresting ones, and to return them to their own dimensions. Subaru Sumeragi, 16 yearsold, is the leader of the 13th generation of Sumeragi clan - a major and probably the most powerful Onmyouji group of the time. Subaru is also reputed to be the strongest Onmyouji in practice in the 'industry'. Hokuto Sumeragi, Subaru's elder sister, dressing up in fancy clothes, was still talking with her brother when Seishirou brought in some hot tea. Seishirou Sakurazuka, or Sei-chan as Hokuto likes to call him, is a veterinarian in Shinjuku. Hokuto as usual teased Subaru and Seishirou for being in love (although they are both men). Subaru is certainly fond of Sei-chan and Sei-chan does care about Subaru. What a 'marriage' it would be, said Hokuto, for Subaru of the Sumeragi clan and Seishirou of Sakurazuka-mori (another well-known Onmyouji group). Subaru always gets embarassed when his sister mentions this. This time was no exception. Subaru had another case to deal with, and Seishirou agreed to drive him. Subaru got to the house. The servant greeted him and led him to a room there , he saw a young lady seemingly possessed by evil spirits. He tried to exorcise them but was attacked. He then noticed something unusual about the suit the lady was wearing: the spirits seemed to be eminating from it. Subaru managed to stop the spirits by sealing them on the suit. The lady collapsed. After the exorcism, Subaru learned that the suit was a Chanel suit that the lady bought at a sale. The suit had somehow absorbed the frustrations of all the other women who wanted to buy the suit, their desires and resentment had accumulated into it. Subaru later advised the lady not to wear the suit again. Later in the car, Subaru explained the case to Seishirou and Hokuto who were waiting for him. Hokuto expressed disbelief that living spirits had dwelt in the suit due to the single-minededness of the women who were not able to buy the suit. A conversation about the power of humanity, the hypocrisy involved as the people continue to sprout words but not actions, for example, watching deforestation on the news but still buying fashion magazines, ensued as the trio speeded into night-time Tokyo. Seishirou expresses his love for Tokyo as "it's the only city on this Earth that is 'enjoying' walking the road to destruction." TOKYO BABYLON VOL 1 BABEL version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) & Seirimi (seirimi@aol.com) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com Some one jumped off the roof of a building and died. It was a young girl. Subaru Sumeragi was asked to investigate some unusual phenomenon and movements happening in Tokyo Tower. He was discussing it with 2 officials working there. They showed him the spot when Subaru suddenly had an odd feeling of vertical falling, with his face meeting the ground. Hokuto and Seishirou were touring the tower and they bumped into Subaru. Hokuto was eating icecream and making fun of them while all of a sudden, an earthquake occurred. Subaru felt a spiritual force pulling him downward. It was that of a woman who was saying that she hated Tokyo. He lost his balance but Seishirou was able to grab him. Subaru knew it was from a spirit who had committed suicide. Seishirou offered his help to Subaru in this case of spirit disturbance. They decided to camp out at the tower. It was 1:10 in the morning. Seishirou has brought along some food to keep Subaru's company. They were talking about the beautiful view of Tokyo looking down from the tower and how looks could be deceiving. Seishirou was also asking Subaru whether he liked him while suddenly the spirit came. It was a girl's spirit which displayed the great detest of Tokyo and the people of Tokyo. Subaru quickly set up kekkai around Tokyo Tower, but the girl was trying to break through it. There was an exchange of blows when the spirit also broke through the kekkai. Subaru nearly got hit, and Seishirou helped Subaru by setting up a fire spell with his lighter against the girl. The fight ended when Subaru offered to talk to the spirit. She accepted and was invited into the Tower. The girl's name was Kazue Katou. She told Subaru and Seishirou that she was an actress, a "self-styled actress". She believed in her talent and felt that she would become famous one day. She played some small parts, but didn't get very good pay. She liked to see the stars, but the place where she lived was buried among all the tall buildings. That's why she came to Tokyo Tower to look at the stars -- not those above in the sky, but those down there on the ground. She led a hard life with little spare money. She decided to go home, but she wanted to give herself one more chance. At last, there came the talk of a movie. It was a small part but she was willing to go for it. However, the lead actress quitted all of a sudden and the show was cancelled. Kazue felt angry that the actress had simply thought of herself and not others; by leaving the set, the aactress had effectively ruined all her chances. She thought the actress should be more considerate to others as she (the actress) was in a higher position and thus could cause more trouble to others by her thoughtlessness. Kazue was very unhappy and in the end, killed herself by jumping off Tokyo Tower. She hated it when people were so unfair to her, and she started to hate Tokyo. She said although people pretended to be nice to her, they didn't accept her. It was only Tokyo Tower that she had liked in Tokyo, the view from the deck at night was beautiful and calming. Seishirou explained to her that Kazue, by committing suicide, was causing trouble to other people as well, and that she should learn to forgive the actress. Kazue finally realized what she should do. She forgave the actress and asked Subaru for his forgiveness. Subaru forgave her, was sent by Subaru to where she should go. Before she left, she thanked Subaru and Seishirou for helping her like Tokyo even for a little while. TOKYO BABYLON VOL 1.5 DESTINY version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) & Seirimi (seirimi@aol.com) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com Subaru was dreaming.... He saw himself back in young age, dressed in Sumeragi leader's costume, standing in front of a cherry tree. A student came to him and told him that the particular tree which Subaru was looking at was so beautiful because of the fact that there was a body buried underneath the tree. Cherry blossom petals should be white, but this tree absorbed the blood from the body and so they became pink. The student offered to make a "bet" with Subaru. But then Subaru couldn't hear the content of the bet because the wind was blowing very hard at that time. Finally the student let Subaru go. Subaru woke up at Hokuto's laugh. The three of them were at Seishirou's office. Hokuto teased Subaru about daydreaming and also teased Seishirou for falling in love at first sight with Subaru. They had first met at a train station. Subaru was actually chasing a shiki through the station when he tripped and fell over rock. In a serious moment however, Seishirou mentioned that the first time they met was a long time before that. Both Hokuto and Subaru were puzzled. Seishirou later dropped a bombshell when he announced that it was just a joke and he was just lying. (A face faulting scene!) Seishirou and Hokuto continued to make fun of the marriage between Seishirou and Subaru. Hokuto suddenly came up with the idea of "flower-viewing". They got to the park. Hokuto was impressed by the scene. Subaru noticed that this particular cherry blossom tree was blooming really nice even though the others were still half-blooming. And he thought of the "dream" which he wondered if it was "real" or just a "dream". Seishirou came over to Subaru and asked him what he was looking at. Subaru asked Seishirou why this particular tree was in full bloom while the others were not. Seishirou took off his glasses and told Subaru that it's because there was a body buried under the tree. Subaru, hearing what Seishirou told him, was shocked because he could feel that this was not the normal Seishirou. His exact thought which went through his mind was printed in Katagana: 'Are wa Seishirou-san dewa imasen'. Hokuto broke into their conversation so Subaru and Seishirou went to join Hokuto for lunch.