The B.G.S.'s part 19

 

26^th July 2025

 

Hi Kiki. Today it was Yuko and Kouhei’s turn again to look for the B.G.S.’s. I got the story from them when they returned. They went to Kamogawa City of Chiba Prefecture and they ended up in a big forest.

You may not believe this Kiki but that forest used to be part of a town called Amatsukominato. But that town merged with Kamogawa City in 2005 and I am not kidding about that. Anyway back to what I was saying.   

“Wow this is a nice forest” said Yuko, looking all around the forest.

“No doubt the B.G.S.’s are hiding in bushes and trees” said Kouhei. Yuko agreed.

Kouhei turned out to be right Kiki, because once the blue B.G.S. started squeaking many other B.G.S.’s came out of hiding in trees and bushes. Twenty in total in so many different colours I don’t know.

“You see I told you they would be hiding in trees and bushes” said Kouhei.

“Wow I can’t believe we’ve found this many B.G.S.’s” said Yuko, in surprise.

 “Professor Largos will be happy with this find of ours,” said Kouhei “we better go now”.

Kouhei was about to press the button on his remote, but then Yuko stopped him. “Hey what’s that?” she said. She pointed to some smoke rising into the air. “That wouldn’t be a forest fire could it?”

“I don’t know,” said Kouhei “but we better go and look just in case it is a forest fire”.

Yuko and Kouhei followed the smoke, but it turned out they didn’t need to worry. The smoke was from a camp fire and a ragged looking man was stirring some soup in an old looking pot.

“Oh hello there” said the man.

“Uh hello,” said Yuko “uh pardon us for disturbing you sir. We saw the smoke from your fire and we thought it might have been a forest fire”.

“Oh it’s okay, I’m only cooking a soup of wild edible plants,” said the man “would you youngsters like some?”

“No thank you sir,” said Kouhei, politely, “we’re just about to go home”.

Just then the man started to go into a fit of coughing.

“Are you alright sir?” asked Kouhei, going over to him.

“Don’t bother about me boy,” said the man “I’m going to be dying soon anyway”. He showed Yuko and Kouhei some blood that got onto his hand, from his mouth.

“You should be in a hospital!” gasped Yuko. She was about to get her cell phone out of her pocket, but the man stopped her.

“Don’t bother,” said the man “I don’t have the money for the hospital, and dying out here in a wood is my own punishment for what I did in the past”.

“What do you mean?” asked Yuko.

Yuko feared the man was an ex-convict and was living alone in the forest to atone for his past crimes. The truth is Kiki, Yuko and Kouhei noticed that the man was living in a house made from bamboo. And he was growing edible wild plants and vegetables in the forest. This meant he was a homeless hermit.

“The truth is I failed to protect my own children from my wife” sighed the man.

The man’s name was Yuuhei Kikuchi and he told his story to Yuko and Kouhei. In the past Mr Kikuchi had a wife and had a son and daughter. But his wife was abusive.

“My wife Michiyo was ill and it made her insane,” said Mr Kikuchi “it first happened when our son Kaito was born. She ended up with child birth depression and when our daughter Kayo was born it got worse. At first Michiyo neglected the children, but not long after Kaito turned eight her behaviour got worse”.

Kouhei understood where this was going so he interrupted Mr Kikuchi. “Let me guess;” he said “your wife began to abuse Kaito and Kayo, and she hit them hard whenever she got upset and angry. Am I right? I know this because my father was abusive towards me too”.

Mr Kikuchi flinched after hearing that and sighed. “I hate to admit this but you are right son, my wife did abuse our children,” he said “whenever they caused an accident like spilling things on the floor or broken things by accident, she would slap them on the faces hard. And when they had done some that was wrong she would beat them hard as if they caused the end of the world”.

Kouhei wasn’t happy to hear that because it was the same with his dad. “And where were you when all of that happened?” he asked Mr Kikuchi.

“I did always make my wife stop and try to get her to come down, and told my children to quickly go to their rooms till it was safe,” said Mr Kikuchi “you see I never left my children alone with my wife because I understood how dangerous that was”.

“If you did understand that sir,” interrupted Yuko “then why didn’t you have your wife sent to a mental hospital at that time?”

“Because I loved Michiyo,” answered Mr Kikuchi “I loved the kind, loving and patient woman she was before. And I hoped she would go back to who she was before”.

“Do excuse me sir,” said Kouhei “but that was wrong of you to believe your wife would go back to being kind. My mum believed my dad would go back to his kind self too but he never did”.

Mr Kikuchi sighed again. “You’re right I was wrong,” he said “but I didn’t want to admit it back then. That foolishness of mine nearly cost me my children’s lives”.

He explained that one day, when Kaito was eleven and Kayo was eight, he was driving home from work. At that time Kaito and Kayo were alone with their mum because he had to stay a little bit late at work. He thought the children would be okay, but when he got home things were not okay. There were police and an ambulance at his house; his wife was arrested and Kaito and Kayo were being taken by the ambulance.

“I was told by some neighbours, who called the police and ambulance, that Michiyo beat Kaito and Kayo during a fit of rage;” said Mr Kikuchi “they heard her shouting and my children’s screaming and crying”.

“Your wife didn’t kill Kaito and Kayo did she?” Yuko asked, worriedly.

“No Kaito and Kayo were okay, but they were badly hurt,” answered Mr Kikuchi “seeing my children hurt like that made me angry and upset at myself for leaving my children alone with my wife. For once I drummed up my courage and told the police everything about my wife. I know I should have done that years ago, and that incident made me realize that”.

“What happened when your wife got arrested?” asked Kouhei.

“She got sentenced to a mental institution and Kayo and Kaito were taken away from me from social services” answered Mr Kikuchi.

Yuko and Kouhei felt a bit sorry for Mr Kikuchi. “Did you ever see Kaito or Kayo again after that?” asked Yuko.

“I did once a few weeks after they were taken from me,” answered Mr Kikuchi “I visited the foster home Kaito and Kayo were staying with. But they weren’t happy to see me, especially Kaito. Kaito was angry at me for leaving him and Kayo alone with their mum the day she nearly beat them to death. Even Kayo was upset seeing me; she yelled ‘no I don’t want to see mum again’. So I wasn’t welcomed by Kaito or Kayo”.

“Ah I see;” said Kouhei, understanding their feelings, “that means they couldn’t forgive you for stopping their mum and not being there when they needed you”.

“That’s exactly what happened,” said Mr Kikuchi “and it made me feel more and more ashamed of myself than ever. Time and time again I got reports of how Kaito and Kayo were happy with their new foster parents because of how kind, loving and supportive they were. I met them again a few months after the first visit, but they were still not happy to see me because they couldn’t forgive or forget about what happened with their mother. After that visit I couldn’t bring myself to show my face to my children ever again because of my foolishness of not protecting them from Michiyo properly. So I sold my house in the city and made myself disappear to this forest where I have lived ever since; that was twenty years ago. Even now I’m still too ashamed to face my children again because of how they hated me back then”.

“What about your wife?” asked Kouhei “what is she doing now?”

“She passed away ten years ago from an illness” answered Mr Kikuchi.

Yuko and Kouhei didn’t know what to say about all that.

“Um how did you know how to survive in a forest like this?” asked Yuko.

“Ah I learnt about wilderness survival when I was a boy from my parents and grandparents, especially from my grandma who knew a lot about what wild plants you can eat” said Mr Kikuchi. Just then he coughed up a bit of blood again. “Oh dear looks like it won’t be long now till death comes for me” he sighed. He pointed to a hole he recently dug up with a roof made out of branches and sticks. “I’ve dug up my own grave you see so I will die in this forest. Hopefully heaven will forgive me for my foolishness and I hope Kaito and Kayo will forgive me when they join me in heaven someday”.

Mr Kikuchi presented an old envelope from his old coat pocket and gave it to Yuko. “I have a letter in there to send to Kaito and Kayo;” he said “I’ve been saving that for when I day. Now I am sick and close to death so now the time has come to send it to them. The address on that envelope is to the foster family Kaito and Kayo lived with. Kaito and Kayo are probably not there anymore, but could I ask you youngsters to deliver my letter for me?”

“Of course sir, we’ll send it as soon as we get back home” said Yuko.

Yuko and Kouhei said goodbye to Mr Kikuchi and left his campsite. Next Kouhei took out the remote from his bag and pressed the button. Once they returned to Professor Largos’s house, they told us about Mr Kikuchi.

“Well let’s hope heaven will accept Mr Kikuchi once he dies” said Hiroshi.

“I’m sure heaven would,” I said “I mean I know he was a coward against his wife, but he wasn’t the one doing the abusing. And he never did anything really bad so I’m sure he’ll go to heaven. It’s only his wife who’s in hell because of her insanity”.

“Um Professor Largos do you think you can find out where Kaito or Kayo live please?” asked Yuko “I want this letter to get to one of them”.

Yuko felt sorry for Mr Kikuchi Kiki and she wanted his children to get his letter. Thanks to Professor Largos’s computers we found out Kaito and Kayo still lived in Kamogawa City, but they lived in different apartments away from their foster home of course now as they were adults now. Yuko made a note of Kaito’s address and sent Mr Kikuchi’s letter to him.

“Do you think Kaito and Kayo will accept this letter?” asked Yuko.

“I don’t know,” said Kouhei “the real question is will they forgive him by now?” Kouhei’s question was a good question indeed.

So Kiki I was right; Kouhei did meet a man whose past was similar to his. I can’t help but think Kiki. As all my friends and I have met people with stories similar to ours, well I can’t help but wonder if there is a meaning to all of this. I mean, was it fate for us to meet Mr Kenzou, Captain Touma, Ms Hana, Mr Ryuji, Mrs Koide and Mr Kikuchi? Is it trying to tell us something? I don’t know Kiki, I really don’t know.        

The B.G.S.'s part 18

23^rd July 2025

 

Hi Kiki. Today it was Shizuyo and Tatsuya’s turn again to look for another B.G.S. I got the story from them when they returned. They went to Kure City of the Hiroshima Prefecture, and they ended up in a neighbourhood with houses.

“Wow this is a nice neighbourhood; so peaceful and quiet” said Shizuyo.

“Do you think the B.G.S.’s are probably hiding around dead end streets, dustbins and in someone else’s garden?” asked Tatsuya.

“Ah most likely;” answered Shizuyo “those are places where we found B.G.S.’s in neighbourhoods before. But then again as Kure has those mountains and hills, well maybe they could be there”.

Tatsuya looked at the mountains and hills. “Yes that could be a good place to look, but we better look around the neighbourhoods first” he said.

It turned out the B.G.S.’s were hiding dead end streets, dustbins and in some people’s garden bushes, like Tatsuya thought they did. There were even some in the trees. Tatsuya and Yuko found eleven in total in colours they didn’t know.

“Well this was an easy find,” said Tatsuya “and there doesn’t seem to be anymore anywhere. So I think we should go back to Professor Largos’s house now”. Shizuyo agreed and Tatsuya took out the remote from his back pack.  

Before Tatsuya pressed the button on the remote Shizuyo stopped him. She noticed a woman sitting in a chair in a small garden, holding her tummy and taking some breaths; the woman was heavily pregnant. Her name was Mrs Mari Koide.

Shizuyo went up to the garden wall and called out to the woman. “Do excuse me but are you okay ma’am?” she asked her “I noticed you breathing and I thought you were in labour now”.

“Oh no, no I’m not in labour,” said Mrs Koide “I’m just doing some breathing exercises. It makes me feel relaxed while the baby is still inside me”.

“Oh I see I do apologize for disturbing you ma’am” said Shizuyo.

“It’s okay dear, no harm done,” said Mrs Koide “why don’t you two children come into my garden for a bit. I could do with some company at the moment”.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya agreed and entered Mrs Koide’s garden to talk to her.

“How long are you due?” asked Shizuyo.

“Shouldn’t be long now” sighed Mrs Koide.

“Um do excuse me ma’am,” said Tatsuya “but you don’t sound very happy about having a baby”.

“What?” said Mrs Koide “I am very happy with having my first child, but the truth is I’m worried about being a mum”.

“Why? Did you grow up without a mum around?” asked Shizuyo.

“No I have a mum,” said Mrs Koide “but she treated me like a puppet rather than a daughter”.

Mrs Koide explained her mother was very strict with her and expected her to be perfect in everything she did; be the top student all the time at school, win 1^st place in every sport or competition she entered and always remain higher than anybody else no matter what. “2^nd place was no exception to my mother whatsoever, and she always severely punished me if I didn’t get the highest mark in school”.

“That’s the same as my dad;” said Tatsuya “he expected too much out of me too”.

“What did you dad think of all this?” asked Shizuyo.

“He didn’t know;” said Mrs Koide “the truth is he was the reason why my mother was very strict with me. You see he was always working overseas and only came home a few times a year. And he liked it when I earned first place in anything I did”.

“Oh I see;” said Tatsuya “that means your mother became very lonely without her husband around, and she became stressed of having to raise you alone. So her behaviour towards you was really to gain your father’s attention, is that right?”

“You are correct;” said Mrs Koide “her loneliness made her take her stress out onto me”.

“Didn’t you tell your dad about this?” asked Shizuyo.           

“I didn’t, it was my three school friends Asuka, Jun and Kousei, my future husband, who is now my husband, who told my father” said Mrs Koide.

Mrs Koide’s story happened during her final year in high school. She lived at Hiroshima City back then. At that time the school held concerts, plays etc just before graduation time. Mrs Koide did one final concert with her violin. After the concert was over the school principle asked her what she was going to do after graduation.

“My mother wanted me to go to Italy to study more music, but I wanted to stay in Japan and just go to a university for music,” said Mrs Koide “my mother always made decisions without thinking about my feelings. So that day I stood up to my mother and announced that I was going to attend a university to study music in Japan”.

“I take it your mum wasn’t happy with you decision right?” asked Tatsuya.

“No she wasn’t;” said Mrs Koide “she was furious at me for refusing to go to Italy. But I stood up to her shouting that I was going to make my own decisions from now on. I also told her that I wasn’t going to be her puppet anymore. Again mother got cross, so cross it looked like she was going to hit me out of anger. But then a voice interrupted her; it was my father”.

“Your father was there to see your final school concert?” asked Shizuyo.

“Only because of Asuka, Jun and Kousei;” said Mrs Koide “they told me a couple of days before the concert they found out where my father was, thanks to the help of the company he worked with and had him come to the school”.

“I take it you told them before about your mum’s behaviour and why she expected too much out of you?” asked Tatsuya.

“Yes and that’s why they decided to do something about it by telling my father about my mother’s behaviour” said Mrs Koide.

“How did you dad take it?” asked Shizuyo.

“At first he didn’t believe it after my friends told him everything,” said Mrs Koide “but when he heard me and mother arguing after the concert he believed it”.

“Good thing your dad was there to stop your mum before things went really crazy with her” said Tatsuya.

“After seeing my mother’s behaviour made my father kneel down onto the ground,” said Mrs Koide “he apologized to her for leaving her alone for so long, apologized for not coming home much, and for leaving her to raise me all the time without any help from him. He even apologized to me for my mother’s behaviour”.

“Sounds like he realized his errors at last” said Shizuyo.

“It made my mother realise her errors too and lament her actions,” said Mrs Koide “as I already told you earlier she had been lonely without my father around. Seeing my father again and hearing his apologies made her break down, crying”.

To Shizuyo and Tatsuya that was hard to believe. “What happened after that?” asked Shizuyo.

“While I studied at the university that I chose, my father went off on a long trip with my mother to make it up to her,” said Mrs Koide “he also promised her he would come home more often and not leave her alone so much again. Then a few years after university I married Kousei and then we moved here to Kure City where we are starting our new family. So I became happy at last”.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya were happy to know Mrs Koide finally found her freedom and happiness in the end.

“Did your mother ever make things up to you?” asked Shizuyo.

“Well she apologized to me a lot and promised me to let me do what I wanted to do in future,” said Mrs Koide “but I haven’t fully forgiven her yet, not after the 18 years she controlled me like a puppet. Even now I can’t look at my mother with a smile, so I never talk to my mother or see her alone. I always have my husband or my father around when I’m with her just in case it makes me upset”.

“We understand that feeling,” said Shizuyo “and it’s no wonder why you feel nervous about being a mum”.

“Yes,” said Mrs Koide, rubbing her tummy, “but I have no intention of treating my child the same way my mother treated me. And Kousei’s parents are willing to help me in any way they could. And of course Kousei has promised me to always be there when I need him”.

“You have a very nice husband” said Shizuyo.

Just then Tatsuya said it was time for him and Shizuyo to go back home; truth is he had enough of listening to Mrs Koide’s story. So they said goodbye to Mrs Koide and they left her garden. Then Tatsuya pressed the button on the remote and he and Shizuyo teleported back to Professor Largos’s house. After they got back they told their story.

“I don’t blame Mrs Koide for not forgiving her mum after what she put her through in the past” said Yuko.

“Me neither” said Tatsuya, who understood Mrs Koide’s feelings the most.

“At least she’s starting a new happier future with her own family,” I said “and if she said that she will be a better mum than her own mum was, then I’m sure she will. She has a good husband and nice parent in laws on her side to help her”. Everyone else agreed with my words.

As Hiroshi and Tatsuya have met people with similar stories to their own stories, I have no doubt Kiki that Kouhei will meet someone with a story similar to his.

The B.G.S.'s part 17

20^th July 2025

 

Hello Kiki. Today Hiroshi and I went out to find another B.G.S. again. This time we went to Nara City of Nara Prefecture and we ended up in a street filled with apartments and a small park was close by.

“I hope no one has spotted any of the B.G.S.’s here Hiroshi” I said. As we were in a city it did make me worry if someone had spotted any of the B.G.S.’s.

“I shouldn’t think so Kyoko,” said Hiroshi “I mean if someone did it would be all over the news by now”.

Hiroshi had a good point Kiki because there hadn’t been any news about weird sightings of glowing, squeaking things at night or whatever.

“As we are in a neighbourhood surrounded by apartments, I reckon the B.G.S.’s maybe hiding between the alleyways” said Hiroshi.

“That wouldn’t surprise me really,” I said “animals always like hiding and roaming between alleyways”.

Hiroshi and I began to search the alleyways. No one was about so I was free to let the red B.G.S. jump about and squeak for its friends. It turned out other B.G.S.’s were hiding between the alleyways; every corner we turned there was a B.G.S. We found ten in total.

“I didn’t expect to find this many B.G.S.’s in the alleyways” said Hiroshi.

“Yes but I’m not complaining,” I said “this will make Professor Largos happy no doubt. Now to get back to the house with this lot”.

Just as Hiroshi was about to press the button on the remote, we heard a crashing noise.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but we better go and see before we go back to Professor Largos’s house” said Hiroshi.

So Hiroshi put the remote back into his back pack, and we ran over to where the crashing noise came from. The noise turned out to be a man placing boxes into a moving van and he dropped one.

“I think that man could use some help there” I said to Hiroshi.

“I agree;” said Hiroshi “he seems to be struggling there”.

There wasn’t any room in our back packs to carry eleven B.G.S.’s so we told them to stay put in an alleyway and keep quiet.

We walked over to the man and asked him if he wanted some help moving the boxes.

“I would hate to ask you kids, but I would like some help please” said the man.

Hiroshi and I started helping the man load his box of things into the moving van. The man’s name was Ryuji Tokoka.

Just then I noticed a photo Mr Ryuji dropped on the ground; it was a photo of a little girl.

“Ah who’s this cute little girl?” I asked, showing Mr Ryuji and Hiroshi the photo.

“Oh that’s my three year old niece Nozomi,” said Mr Ryuji “she my late sister’s daughter. She and her husband died last month and I’m moving in with her husband’s parents to help take care of Nozomi”.

“That’s lovely of you,” I said “Nozomi sounds lucky to have a nice uncle like you”.

“I guess,” said Mr Ryuji “but the truth is this is the only way I could think of making up for my sin of never helping my late sister Sora”.

“What do you mean?” asked Hiroshi.

Mr Ryuji explained that he and his sister Miss Sora were twin brother and sister. But they had been born to the type of parents who loved one child over the other.

“I was pampered and spoiled by my parents, but Sora was neglected by both our parents” said Mr Ryuji.

“Oh I know this type of story;” interrupted Hiroshi “I was neglected by my mum in the past because she didn’t want sons, only daughters. I take it your Miss Sora was neglected because your parents didn’t want daughters?”

“That is exactly right,” said Mr Ryuji “my parents were overjoyed to have the son they always wanted. Therefore I was the only joy and happiness in their eyes whereas Sora was less than a stranger in their eyes. While we grew up I was always given new clothes and new toys and went to private schools. But Sora only got old hand me down clothes and toys and just went to public schools. And nothing she did ever got their attention much; even when she always got the highest scores in school she never got any praise and affection from then. Only I did”.

I looked at Hiroshi; he had a sour look on his face because Miss Sora’s neglect from her parents was the same as his neglect from his parents.

“What happened to Miss Sora in the end?” I asked.

“When we turned eighteen Sora moved out right away;” said Mr Ryuji “ever since we were thirteen she had been saving up money from part time jobs to move out. She hated our parents all her life for how they treated her and she always told me she would move out once she graduated from high school”.

“I don’t blame her for that” said Hiroshi, understanding how Miss Sora felt.

“I never saw or spoke to Sora again after she moved out, mind you that was my fault really because I never kept in touch with her ever since she moved away,” said Mr Ryuji “the truth is I always felt as a kid that Sora hated me because I got all the attention from our parents but she didn’t. Not long after Sora moved out I discovered a diary of hers under her bed. I know I should never look inside someone’s diary without permission but I couldn’t resist looking. When I opened it I noticed the diary held Sora’s feelings of how much she hated our parents for never paying attention to her and how she wished she had been born a boy instead of a girl”.

“I understand;” said Hiroshi “I felt like that too in the past”.

“I felt like a failure as a brother,” said Mr Ryuji “I was her twin brother but I didn’t do much to comfort and help her. Not to mention I didn’t stand up against our parents much. That’s why I didn’t contact her once ever since she moved away; I felt too ashamed to face her over these last ten years”.

“Hey it’s not your fault,” said Hiroshi “the ones at fault are your parents for neglecting their own daughter”.

“I do know that,” said Mr Ryuji “but sometimes I still feel like I failed Sora”.

“So if you never saw or heard from Miss Sora again, then how did you found out about Nozomi?” I said.

“I found out about her last month, which was ten years after Sora moved away” said Mr Ryuji.

Mr Ryuji explained he got a call from the police last month, saying that she had died from the car accident.

“I learnt from the police that my sister got married when she was 24 and had a daughter,” said Mr Ryuji “the police gave me the address of where my sister and her husband lived and I rushed over there at once. Nozomi was staying with her dad’s parents at that time and I met her there”.

“How did your parents feel when they heard of Miss Sora’s death?” I asked.

“They didn’t care much about Sora’s death,” answered Mr Ryuji “they didn’t even shed tears for her death even at her funeral. All they did was say that we were all born to die and that’s it. They didn’t even feel any remorse of their neglect of Sora”.

“Of course they wouldn’t,” said Hiroshi “if they didn’t care about her while she was alive, then they wouldn’t while she’s dead too”. Mr Ryuji’s parents reminded Hiroshi more and more of his neglectful mother.

“What happened with Nozomi after her parent’s funeral?” I asked.

“Seeing my niece made me decide right away that I want to take care of her;” said Mr Ryuji “it made me get that feeling that this could be my chance of making it up to my sister by raising her daughter”.

“Did your parents agree to that?” asked Hiroshi.

“No they didn’t,” said Mr Ryuji “they felt no connection at all to Nozomi. That made me cross because they were treating her like how they treated Sora. So for once in my life I stood up to them. I yelled at them for how they treated Sora and I also yelled how ashamed I felt for never helping her. And so I went against their wishes and agreed to take care of Nozomi”.

“Good for you,” I said “what happened to your parents after that?”

“Oh I broke off with them,” said Mr Ryuji “I’m not talking to them again and I’m not letting them see Nozomi either. I’m not letting them treat Nozomi the same way they treated Sora”.

“I don’t blame you for that,” said Hiroshi “so I take it your brother-in-law’s parent’s agreed to help you look after Nozomi”?”

“Yes they did,” said Mr Ryuji “I found out how nice they were to Sora and treated her just like a daughter. So I asked them for help and they said I could move in with them so we could all raise Nozomi together. To me they are true parents you can count on; they are nicer than my parents were. And I’m happy my sister found a family who loved and cared about her”.

“And Nozomi’s lucky to have an uncle and grandparents who love her and care for her too,” said Hiroshi “and I’m sure Miss Sora up in heaven is happy to know her daughter is happy and well”.

“I do hope so” said Mr Ryuji.

Just then I told Hiroshi that it was time for us to go back home and we leave Mr Ryuji to his packing. So we said goodbye to Mr Ryuji, and went back to where we hid the eleven B.G.S.’s. Then Hiroshi pressed the button on the remote and teleported back to Professor Largos’s house. Once we got back, we told everyone about Mr Ryuji and his family.

“Well I think Mr Ryuji did good breaking up with his selfish parents like that” said Tatsuya.

“I do too,” said Hiroshi “and I’m happy to know that Nozomi will live a happy future with her uncle and grandparents”.

Let me say this to you Kiki. As Hiroshi and I met up with a man whose parents were the neglectful types like Hiroshi’s mum is. I’m wondering if Tatsuya and Kouhei will meet up with someone whose parents are like their parents.  

The B.G.S.'s part 16

16^th July 2025

 

Hi Kiki. Yuko and Kouhei went out to find some B.G.S.’s today. I got the story from them when they returned. They went to Shibata at Miyagi prefecture, at some old lonely street.  

“Hmm this is quite an old street,” said Yuko “most of the buildings here look like they could do with some new coats of paint and fixing up a bit”.

“I agree with you on that,” said Kouhei “well we better get moving on looking for any B.G.S.’s”.

As Yuko and Kouhei were walking down the street, Yuko noticed an old fashion wooden built boarding house.

“Wow you don’t get many boarding houses like this anymore” said Kouhei.

“That’s a nice place,” said Yuko “I wouldn’t mind living here myself”.

“With how this old boarding house is still standing, the owners must take pretty good care of it” said Kouhei.

Just then a middle aged woman with a scarf over her hair came out of the building. She was the landlord and her name was Ms Mayumi Hana.

“Oh hello there, what are you children doing here?” said Ms Hana.

“Please excuse us but we couldn’t resist looking at this building as it looks so nice” said Yuko.

“Oh that’s okay,” said Ms Hana “are you children on some kind of errand?”

“Eh more like a quest really,” said Yuko “you see my little sister lost some toys of hers that look like the one I’m holding now”.

Ms Hana looked at the blue B.G.S. in Yuko’s arms. “Hmm well I haven’t seen anything like that around here,” she said “but you are welcome to look into my lost property shed. I always find lost items around here so I made a lost property shed a few years back to store the items in. I even get people bringing lost items from the park or other places here too”.

So Yuko and Kouhei went into the lost property shed. There were many lost items in there; lost toys, lost gloves and other things. I always find it amazing how much stuff people can lose Kiki. Anyway as soon as Yuko and Kouhei started to look around the shed a cherry-red and a Barbie-pink B.G.S. came out from hiding between some toys.

“Ha we found them rather quickly this time” said Yuko.

“You know what they say; better now than later” said Kouhei.

Yuko and Kouhei picked up the two B.G.S.’s and told them to be quiet and still, and got out of the shed. Ms Hana was happy when Yuko told her they found the toys.

Yuko couldn’t help but continue to look at the boarding house. “I’m amazed how you’ve managed to keep this old wooden building standing,” she said “I mean I’ve heard it can be tricky to keep old wooden buildings standing, especially when wood can start to rot in a few years or so”.

“Ah that’s because the tenants and I work together to keep this place standing,” said Ms Hana “we all love this building too much to ever let it rot away or get torn down”.

“I can see that” said Yuko.

“And to tell you the truth I promised the original landlord I would continue to look after this place,” said Ms Hana “and keeping that promise is something I intend to do for the rest of my life. I owe a great deal to that man after all the help he had giving me”.

“Why did something happen?” asked Kouhei. The way that Ms Hana spoke made him get the feeling that Ms Hana went through something bad during her life.

“Well it’s a bit of a long story and it’s a sad one too” said Ms Hana.

“Kouhei and I don’t mind long stories and we’ve heard lots of sad stories before” said Yuko.

Ms Hana agreed to tell her story. The story was she used to be married to a man named Jirou Kubota. She was divorced now which was why she was a Ms and was now called by her original surname instead of her married surname. Ms Hana and her ex-husband had a daughter together called Akane and they were a happy family at first. But then sometime after Akane turned five years old everything changed; Ms Hana and her ex-husband would yell and fight with each other when ever things went wrong between them.

Yuko recognized this familiar story at once.

“The arguments I had with that man were the type of arguments that seemed to go on forever,” said Ms Hana “and there were times I would throw things at him in anger. But it’s all because of those stupid fights of ours that we lost our daughter in the first place”.

“She ran away?” asked Kouhei.

“Worse, she died from a traffic accident” said Ms Hana.

Ms Hana explained Akane went through a phase of throwing terrible tantrums while at kindergarten and bullied her classmates.

“Oh this means Akane became very upset due to your arguments and took out her frustrations on other children” said Yuko, understanding Akane’s feelings. Yuko never took out her frustrations on other children Kiki, just got upset.

“Yes and the stupid thing is my ex-husband and I never noticed how our daughter felt until it was too late;” said Ms Hana “we got so distracted by our arguments we failed to notice our daughter, never mind her feelings”.

This really was familiar to Yuko because her parents neglected her feelings too.

Ms Hana explained next that one day when Akane was seven years old; she was having another argument with her ex-husband at a park. That made Akane upset and embarrassed because lots of people were listening to the arguing. Akane got so angry that she shouted out she wished her parents would get divorced and then she ran off, crying. But she ended up running into the road and she was hit by a car, and she died from her injuries.

“That’s sad,” said Kouhei “what happened to you and your husband then?”

“Things got no better;” answered Ms Hana “we kept on blaming each other for Akane’s death. I couldn’t take it anymore so I asked for a divorce at once. We divorced not long after Akane’s funeral”.

“I don’t blame you for that,” said Yuko, understanding Ms Hana’s feelings, “but how did you end up living in this boarding house?”

“Well a friend of an old friend of mine introduced me to this building and she suggested that this was the perfect place for me to find my feet after my divorce,” said Ms Hana “and she was right. I made many friends with the tenants who live here now and who lived here before. The original landlord and his wife were kind to me and they always listened to my problems whenever I felt down. To me they were like having new parents around since mine had died quite a long time ago”.

That sounds nice,” said Yuko “I hope you don’t mind me asking but did you ever get married again?”

“No my heart was so broken after losing Akane and from my divorce I became afraid to ever get married again in case I got my heart broken even more,” said Ms Hana “I was also afraid of becoming a mother again because of how I failed as a mother to Akane”.

Yuko and Kouhei understood. “I take it you haven’t seen your ex-husband since the divorce?” asked Kouhei.

“No but I’ve heard that he got married again and he has a new family with his new wife so no doubt that he is happy now” said Ms Hana.

Yuko couldn’t help but feel sorry for Ms Hana. Just then Kouhei looked at his watch and said it was time for him and Yuko to get back home.

“I understand,” said Ms Hana “just tell your sister not to lose her toys again and you children take care of yourselves”.

“You as well Ms Hana” said Kouhei.

Yuko and Kouhei walked to a corner of a house where no one could see them. The Kouhei got the remote out from his backpack and pressed the button. And once Kouhei and Yuko teleported back to Prof Largos house, they told everyone the whole story about Ms Hana.

“Sounds like Ms Hana and her ex-husband were hit by karma” said Shizuyo.

“I agree, especially since they lost Akane due to their errors too late” I said. Everyone agreed.

With how Yuko, Shizuyo and I have met people whose pasts were like ours Kiki, I’m getting the feeling that my friends and I will meet more people who had the same troubled pasts as us.      

The B.G.S.'s part 15

13^th July 2025

 

Hi Kiki. Today it was Shizuyo and Tatsuya’s turn to search for more B.G.S.’s. I got the story from Shizuyo and Tatsuya when they came back from their trip. They got teleported to the port of Akita of the Akita prefecture. It was a surprise for them to see the sea and boats.

“Look at that ocean” said Shizuyo admiring the sea.

“It’s lovely” Tatsuya agreed. They wanted to look at the sea all day, but of course they had to think about the stray B.G.S.’s first.

“I do hope we don’t have to search on any of these boats for the B.G.S.’s,” said Shizuyo “I mean they won’t allow us to just walk on any of the boats to look around, the especially the big ones that carry passengers or cargo”.

“Yes you’re right and we don’t have any money for tickets and such” agreed Tatsuya.

Just then the yellow B.G.S. jumped out of Shizuyo’s arms and was about to jump into the sea, but Tatsuya grabbed it.

“You mustn’t do that,” he said sternly to the B.G.S. “I know you like swimming but the sea is dangerous. You can’t just go swimming in any sea you see unless you know its safe first. And right now the sea isn’t safe because the waves are a bit rough at the moment”. The B.G.S. just squeaked in a sulky way.

This is true Kiki. The B.G.S.’s do like to swim and get this; they can even breathe underwater. My friends and I found that out a couple of weeks ago. We were at the park we always go and Yuko took three B.G.S.’s with her, despite we told her not to do so in case anybody see them. Anyway while we were at the park the B.G.S.’s had a swim in the pond. I couldn’t believe it when I found out they could swim and breathe under water. But then again when it comes to aliens Kiki, I reckon anything is possible.

Back to the story Shizuyo and Tatsuya were just about to walk along the harbour some more, when they ran into a man wearing a smart white captain’s uniform. His name was Kaito Touma and he was a captain of a passenger ship.

“What are you two kids doing here?” asked Captain Touma.

“Oh we are just looking at the boats and the sea sir,” said Tatsuya “but if we’re not allowed here we’ll go at once”.

“Oh no need to leave,” said Captain Touma “anyone is welcome to walk around the harbour. Just as long you don’t try to sneak on board any of the boats”.

“Wouldn’t dream of it sir” said Shizuyo.

Just then Captain Touma noticed the yellow B.G.S. in Shizuyo’s arms. “That’s an interesting toy you have there” he said.

“It’s a toy that my um grandfather made for me” lied Shizuyo.

“Well it’s still very nice,” said Captain Touma “oh speaking of interesting. There have been sights of the sea glowing at night time, but only when the night time sky is clear and the sea is calm”.

“Really?” said Tatsuya “um does anyone know why the sea does that?”

“I’m afraid not,” said Captain Touma “although it is possible that it may be anglerfish”.

“That would make sense because anglerfish have those lights on the top of their heads” said Tatsuya.

“I don’t suppose you kids would like to see the glowing sea happening tonight with me would you?” asked Captain Touma “the sea is going to be calm tonight so we’ll be able to see it happening then”.

“Oh well we would but aren’t you going to be casting off in one of the boats soon sir?” said Tatsuya.

“Not until tomorrow,” answered Captain Touma “so you kids are welcome to look around my ship for the rest of the day. Then tonight we’ll see the strange glowing sea together”.

“Well then let us let my sister and I phone our mum and let her know what’s happening” said Tatsuya.

“Okay you kids do that and then come back here” said Captain Touma.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya quickly left to find a phone booth.

“Tatsuya do you think its B.G.S.’s swimming about in the sea at night time making those glows?” asked Shizuyo.

“Well it could be or it might not,” said Tatsuya “which is why we need to see these glows in the sea thing ourselves tonight. Shizuyo phone Professor Largos and tell him what’s happening. I need to talk to our B.G.S. friend here because I’ve got an idea”.

 

While Shizuyo went off to phone Professor Largos, Tatsuya spoke to the yellow B.G.S.

“Okay B.G.S. listen carefully to want I want to say to you okay?” said Tatsuya. The B.G.S. squeaked yes. “We think there are some friends of yours in the sea,” said Tatsuya “so tonight I need you to look if there are friends of yours in the sea. And if they are your friends guide them to shore, and Shizuyo and I will collect you both in a bit. But make sure nobody sees you or your friends. Do you understand?” The B.G.S. squeaked yes, meaning it understood Tatsuya’s plan.

It wasn’t long till Shizuyo went back to Tatsuya after doing her phone call. “Okay Mr Yashiro said that we can stay and see if those strange glowing things in the sea tonight are B.G.S.’s,” she said “but if they are not we must get back to the house once we are finished. It will be too late then to continue the search tonight”. Tatsuya understood.

So for the rest of the day Captain Touma gave Tatsuya and Shizuyo a tour of his passenger ship. It was quite a big boat and it was very fancy inside. It had a big restaurant, a cinema room, a nurse’s office, a lot of rooms for guests to rest in and plenty of room on deck for walking about. Shizuyo thought it was so lovely walking about on a passenger ship, she wished she could afford a cruise trip.

After the tour Captain Touma had tea with Shizuyo and Tatsuya.

“It must feel nice being a captain of a ship and traveling around on the ocean” said Shizuyo.

“Yes it does, but there are times when it’s troubling because of bad weather and other troubles like that,” said Captain Touma “but I love it all the same. And to tell you children the truth I feel free while I’m out on the ocean”

“Free?” said Tatsuya “what do you been by that?”

Captain Touma looked serious. “I had a very overprotective life as a child,” he said “I was the only child of my family and I had parents who loved me a lot. But my mother’s love was an overprotecting type of love. You see she always judged everything I did as a child and every time I found something that made me happy she always treated it as if it was a bad influence on me. She even did that when I made friends and such. It was like everything I did was bad”.

“I hear you;” said Shizuyo “she sounds like another mum, namely mine”.

“It drove me to hate my mother while I was growing up,” continued Captain Touma “I couldn’t stand her overprotectiveness especially since she never thought about how I felt. Even when I became an adult she was like that”.

“Okay so how did you decide to be a captain of a ship?” asked Shizuyo.

“Well I found a magazine about ships and planes while I was still in high school,” said Captain Touma “and there were some captains and pilots talking about feeling free while they are in the sky or on the ocean. So I decided to become a captain of a ship to be free from my mother; I prefer boats over planes”.

“I take it there’s a chance your mother wasn’t keen on this idea?” asked Shizuyo, who understood the situation.

“You’re right she didn’t,” answered Captain Touma “she jumped to the fact I may die while on a ship and suggested I work in an office like my father did. But I snapped and told her again I wanted to become a captain. I even snapped, telling how much I hated her and how she felt everything in the world was a bad influence on me. So against her wishes I studied to become a ship’s captain, and I became one after working for a couple of years”.

“What happened with your mother after that?” asked Tatsuya.

“Well of course my mother was cross I went against her wishes,” said Captain Touma “and that led to a big argument between my mother and me. After that I broke off with my mother and moved away to pursue my career of being a ship’s captain. And I haven’t spoken to her since”.

“I don’t blame you for doing that” said Shizuyo, who understood everything.

“My father had secretly visited me and tried to get me to make up with my mother,” said Captain Touma “but I refused unless my mother admitted she was wrong. But of course she refused and she still refuses to admit her wrongs”.

“What a stubborn mother” said Tatsuya.

Captain Touma’s story reminded Shizuyo of her past and the overprotectiveness of her parents.

Hours later, night time came. It was a clear night so the sea was calm and the moon was lighting up the night sky. Captain Touma, Shizuyo and Tatsuya were standing on the dock and looking at the sea. Shizuyo had the yellow B.G.S. in her back pack for hiding. The plan was to place the B.G.S. into the sea once the strange glows come.

“The strange glows should appear any moment now” said Captain Touma.

As soon as he said that some glowing colours appeared under the sea. The glows were so deep under the sea no one could see carefully what the colours were.

“Wow look at that” said Tatsuya.

“Incredible isn’t it?” said Captain Touma.

While the captain was distracted, Shizuyo carefully and quickly placed the yellow B.G.S. into the sea. “Go see what’s happening down there” she whispered to it. Then the B.G.S. dived under the sea.

Captain Touma, Shizuyo and Tatsuya kept their eyes on the sea while the strange glows were dancing around under the sea. It was like an underwater light show. Shizuyo was impressed with the light show, but Tatsuya hoped the yellow B.G.S. didn’t forget the plan. About ten minutes later the glows disappeared.

“Well that was certainly interesting,” said Captain Touma “I’m glad I got to see it tonight”.

“Same here,” said Tatsuya “but my sister and I better go. We promised our dad we would come straight home after seeing the strange glows”.

“Of course,” said Captain Touma “well I now need to get my boat ready for tomorrow. I hope you children make it home safely”.

“We will and thank you for today” said Shizuyo.

Once Captain Touma was gone Shizuyo and Tatsuya looked at the sea to look for the yellow B.G.S. A second later the B.G.S. came out of the water along with a dozen B.G.S.’s. There was a coral coloured one, a salmon coloured one, an aqua-green one, a white-brown one and other colours I didn’t know.

“Wow what a catch we’ve found” said Tatsuya.

“Well the sea is a big thing” said Shizuyo.

Shizuyo and Tatsuya got the B.G.S.’s out of the sea. Next Tatsuya got the remote out from his backpack and pressed the button. One they got back to Prof Largos’s house they told me and everyone else the whole story.

I’m starting to realize this Kiki, which I’m sure you’re noticing too, apart from finding B.G.S.’s my friends and I are starting to find dramatic stories from people that we meet on our search for the B.G.S.’s.