TOKYO BABYLON VOL 6 OLD version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com A husband said to his wife that he had to cut down her allowance for the month. The wife complained that she already didn't have enough to keep up the living of the family, besides, she still also had a "burden"... Subaru passed by a park and was amazed to see an old grandpa attracting all the birds in the park. Subaru went over and talked to the old man, and discovered that he loved animals, and had been a breeder at a zoo. It had also been Subaru's dream to be a breeder, and they went into a long conversation about animals, until suddenly Subaru realized how late it was. He said that the grandpa's family must be worried about him. Grandpa replied that no one would worry about him, because he has always been a burden to the family. Grandpa went home and was yelled at by her daughter for returning home late for dinner. His grandchildren went to play with him and asked when he was going to die because Mama had said that when Grandpa died, they could have separate rooms. Grandpa heard it and was very upset. The next day, Subaru met Grandpa at the park again. This time they were talking about Grandpa's family. 36 years ago, Grandpa and his wife gave birth to a girl, Sachiyo. His wife died 6 years after her child's birth. But before she died, she asked her husband to grant Sachiyo 100 wishes of happiness. He promised her that he would do so in his lifetime. And since then, he was doing things to make his daughter happy. And he has done 99 things already. He said that when Sachiyo was small, she used to like bananas; she even pretended to be sick in order to have bananas to eat. At home, Grandpa overheard her daughter's quarrel with her husband about not having enough money to live. She blackout suddenly from a cold due to excessive overtime work. Grandpa saw it and thought of going out to buy her some bananas. Sachiyo saw him and asked him where he was going. He only said he was going out to shop, which made Sachiyo mumbled something about not having enough money. Seishirou and Hokuto were playing chess. Seishirou was talking about Subaru's absence, and Hokuto replied that Subaru has gone to meet Grandpa. Seishirou said that he thought their grandpa had died already. Hokuto explained that it was a grandpa that Subaru has met a few days ago at a park. She also told Seishirou that this grandpa used to be an animal breeder, which has always been Subaru's dream. Subaru was waiting for Grandpa at the park wondering why he was late. Suddenly he heard the sound of a car accident. He rushed over, and was shocked to see Grandpa lying in blood. Grandpa told him to bring the bananas to the ill Sachiyo because that was the 100th happiness that he could give her. After saying that, he died. Subaru was upset, but he did what he was asked to do. Sachiyo, at hearing her father's death (and the reason), burst into tears. She regretted what she had done to her father. Subaru was at the park, putting down a bouquet of flowers at the place where he used to meet Grandpa. Seishirou and Hokuto explained to him that old people had experienced a lot of things that the young ones had never experienced, and that they should be respected for what they had experienced. They also tried to cheer up Subaru. Subaru saw Grandpa's family leaving the house to visit Grandpa's grave. He realized their change of attitude towards Grandpa, and he vaguely saw a ghostly figure of Grandpa, sitting on a tree with birds around him, and peacefully watching his daughter's family walking away. TOKYO BABYLON VOL 7 BOX version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com Subaru, Hokuto and Seishirou were at a karaoke box. Hokuto wanted Subaru to sing, so she started playing some singing game. Subaru didn't know the song and was about to be punished. But then Seishirou "saved" Subaru by asking him to buy cigarettes for him. At the vending machine, Subaru bought the cigarette and was about to leave. Suddenly, a woman peeped out from another karaoke box and dragged Subaru in because she was tired of singing by herself already. She picked some sad songs which Subaru could felt pain in her heart. She explained to Subaru that she was a sinful woman. She came to Tokyo to work, and soon she slept with her boss. She thought she could pull herself out when time came, but she found herself taking the relationship seriously after a while. The boss loved to smoke that brand of cigarette which Seishirou had asked Subaru to buy for him. But since she was not a smoker, she couldn't really stand it. The boss had a wife and a kid, and finally he said to her: "let's end it". She heard the words and felt that her life has ended. She used to laugh at the woman in the sad songs about their lives, but now she felt that she had become one of them. Subaru explained to her that those women's lives had nothing to do with her own. They led sad lives, but she didn't have to. He told her to live a happier one "the next time". The woman was touched and was surprised that Subaru could see so much. She thanked him and instantly dissolved into a ghostly stream of air. He put the cigarette next to the microphone and left the box. Subaru returned to Hokuto and Seishirou. Hokuto pounced at him and asked him why he took so long. Also Seishirou asked where the cigarette was. Subaru then realized that he left it in the other room, so he said he would go back and buy another pack, but Seishirou told him it was ok because he still had another pack in his car. Seishirou said 'thank you' to Subaru and gave him sort of an embrace. Subaru was surprised and wondered if that 'thank you' was for the cigarette or was for the woman. Would Seishirou have known about her before hand? TOKYO BABYLON VOL 8 REBIRTH version 1.0 -- Summarized by Wynne Ip (Rabi) -- Edited by Lai (ylai@pwa.acusd.edu) -- Please send corrections to rabi@mindless.com Subaru caught a cold. Hokuto took him to the hospital to see the doctor. They were at the waiting area. Hokuto told Subaru to wait for her to get the medications. At that moment, a little boy caught Subaru's eyes. His name was Yuuya. Subaru made friends with him and told him that he would come back to get medicine the day after. Yuuya said they may be able to meet because he came to the hospital every other day. Subaru wondered what illness Yuuya had. Subaru told Hokuto and Seishirou about the encounter. Seishirou concluded that Yuuya might have a defective kidney and need to get dialysis every other day. Subaru was sorry for the kid. Subaru went to the hospital the day after and met Yuuya again. He was not feeling too good and collapsed. His mother was worried because Yuuya was too young. She said she couldn't wait any longer. The doctor explained to her that there were many patients with the same illness as Yuuya, and that's why they had to wait for kidnet transplant. There was a patient next door whose brain died although his body was still "alive". Yuuya's mother rushed to the patient's family, trying to convince of a kidney donation. But the Seishirou and Subaru stopped her. Seishirou explained to her that the family of that person must already be in pain, and she should not do that to them. Subaru and Seishirou talked to the doctor later, and found out that Yuuya's mom had 2 children, Yuuya and an elder girl named Maya. Both kids had kidney problems. The woman decided to give out one of her kidneys to one child, but she had to choose between Yuuya and Maya. She picked Maya, but later, her body rejected her mom's kidney due to natural reasons. She was put back to dialysis but the situation got worse. Later, Maya died. Then the mother regretted for not giving the kidney to Yuuya because this might have saved both of them instead. Subaru, after hearing this and discussing with Hokuto and Seishirou, decided to donate one of his kidneys to Yuuya. At the hospital, Yuuya's situation went worse and needed an operation. Yuuya's mom was so desperate that when she saw Subaru, she took a table knife and tried to threaten Subaru. Subaru tried to explain to her that he would give Yuuya a kidney, but the woman was out of control; Subaru just stood there and was about to let her injure him with the knife. Seishirou and Hokuto saw this; Seishirou ran in between the woman and Subaru and dodged the blow. The knife struck Seishirou's right eye... Subaru was in total shock, but Seishirou remained calm and managed to hold the woman under his control. The doctors and nurses rushed in and took Seishirou to the operation room immediately. Subaru was banging at the operation room door where Seishirou was sent to... Blood was coming out through his hands and his glooves. He was crying and calling out 'Sei...shi..rou...' Hokuto just stood next to Subaru, not knowing what to do.