The girl who could move chairs without using hands

A tribute to Yuriko from Red Alert 3. 'News report' 'extracted' directly from Uprising.

Today is my 10th birthday.

I am so excited, because my birthday party later would be a bash! I am so looking forward to all the gifts and food and company. I have invited all my classmates along for tonight.

Especially that girl in my dreams. I am so glad she agreed to grace the party with her presence.

The decorations in my house are all set, as well as the cakes and the buffet dinner, with generous helpings of sushi and hamburgers. I made some of them too, though my mum and sister did most of the work.

I wonder if she likes tuna maki. Those are my favourites.

The clock struck seven and here comes the crowd in their party hats, jinbeis, kimonos and American jeans alike. And presents of all shapes and sizes flood my room like a tsunami wave. I am grinning from cheek to cheek for that hour.

But I haven't seen her yet. Where could she be?

I am relieved to see her coming to the doorstep, with her mum holding her hand. She looks a little scared, not used to the crowd I guess. Her mum knelt down and said a few comforting words to her, before she left. Then she sat by herself at a corner, staring into space.

For reasons I do not understand, she was not well-liked in class. Bullies often pick on her, saying mean things to her, while others just stared and watch. I couldn't do anything to help, not before I mastered my karate anyway.

I went over and sat down beside her.

“Yuriko, I am glad you are here tonight.”

“Yup.” She did not look at me though.

“Need me to get you something to eat?”

“Erm... okay...”

I am so elated when she finished all the tuna maki I brought for her.

***

I invited her over to my house to play after school.

I have recently acquired a Go set, so I eagerly take it out and show it to her. I taught her the basic rules of the game, and she picked it up quite quickly.

Too quickly I suppose. I am thrashed countless times in that game. I am so embarrassed.

Then Tabby the cat came by, and came close to her. She stroked Tabby gently.

“Do you remember Sensei once told us that only some animals can fly? Like birds and bees?” She said out of the blue.

“Yeah he did mention something about that,” I replied, a little confused.

“Actually, I think he is wrong. Cos cats can fly too!”

And before I know it, Tabby is slowly ascending from the floor, and floating around the house. At first Tabby struggled a little, but she got hold of herself and went with the flow. Tabby seems to be enjoying her flight.

And of course, my jaws dropped.

“How did you do that??”

“Well, I just think about the cat flying, and so it did. Simple.” She said matter-of-factly.

I recovered from my awed-struck mode, before I jokingly asked her, “So can you fly too?”

“Nah, Sensei is right about one thing: Humans cannot fly by themselves.”

We burst into laughter.

***

The last I have seen of her was a few days ago, when I was on my way to visit her at her house. When I reached her garden, I saw several imperial guards storming into her house. Before long, they reappeared with Yuriko in their arms and her parents kneeling and begging them not to take her away. A man in white robe, who looked like a scientist, was pacifying them.

“We are trying to protect her from others. Don't worry, she will be in good hands.”

And they drove her off in a military transport, across the plains to nowhere.

***

I just had my first tour around the Imperial Military Institute. Gargantuan is the only word I can use to describe it.

It's been six hard years since I got the Shogun's Scholarship to study Nanotech engineering at the Imperial University of Tokyo. I've never liked engineering, even though nanotechnology was indeed an interesting subject to dwell into.

I haven't heard from Yuriko for the past 15 years. I hope to change that after my first day of work at the resource centre. From my understanding, that place houses libraries of information regarding our military capabilities. I will start my search from there.

Things seems to be a little tense I observed. I sure hope nothing catastrophic is going to happen.

***

I cannot believe my eyes.

I hacked into the military database to search for more information about our psionic military research, when I saw that familiar name. And those horrifying archived footages.

What have you done to Yuriko, you abomination?!

When I get my hands on you, Dr Shimada...

***

“By now you should have heard stories about Yuriko Omega, the mysterious Japanese girl with terrifying psionic powers. During the war the Allied soldiers claimed that she decimated entire combat battalions using only her mind.”

“Who is this young girl? Where did she come from? And how did she develop these fearsome and fantastic abilities?”

“Yuriko's history is somewhat murky. Some sources say that her real name is Yuriko Matsui, and Omega is simply a codename used by the military. According to the same sources she was born in the small coastal town of Tanabe and she exhibited paranormal powers from the time she was very young.”

“There were indications that she was scorned by her schoolmates because of her unique abilities. When the government learnt of these talents, she was taken away to the Shiro Psychic Research Centre run by this man... Dr Shinji Shimada. He is widely known in his advances in the area of psionic research.”

“What did the scientists at the Shiro research centre do to this confused, lonely little girl? We may never know exactly, but whatever it was, she was never the same again.”

***

I managed to escape to New York City before the Empire was crushed by the Allied forces during the Third World War. Speaking from fairness, the Empire and our Emperor had it coming to have foolishly declared war with the world, only to be defeated at our own heart in Tokyo.

I feel so powerless though. I heard that Yuriko is detained in the jungles of Guam, along with other prisoners of war. I am so worried. But at least she is still alive. I've got to find a way to reach her.

I could hear her cries of desperation and pain in my dreams every night.

Until I got a call from a friend.

“You better switch on the news now.”

“Allied military officials still refuses to comment on the disastrous events which followed Yuriko's detainment. We do know this though: Yuriko Omega was nowhere to be found and is now assumed to be on a run. Where could she go? If the military knows, they aren't saying.”

“One thing is certain however, sometime, somewhere, she will reveal herself. And when she does, hundreds, thousands or possibly millions will be in very grave danger.”

“So did they think she's trying to get back to Japan?”

“No one knows, Ted, since her escape there has been no sign of her whatsoever.”

Oh great. Yuriko levelled the prison in Guam and is on a run now. I know I shouldn't have, but I let out a cheer of delight, knowing that she's safe. As I calmed myself down, I recalled that sentence she repeated countlessly to me in my dreams.

“I have a score to settle. I have a score to settle.”

Time to pack up and book a flight to Tokyo.

***

By the time I reached the outskirts of the now defunct capital, only debris remains for the Shiro Research Centre. And I could feel her presence on the hill top at the other side.

“Yuriko...”

She landed herself and looked at me with her tired eyes. And smiled.

***

Today is Tabby's 20th birthday. I've made a pair of angel wings for her to wear as her present.

So that Yuriko could fly her around again with her wings, with the both of us.