We drove on the new highway system, mostly clear of traffic. Initially, to my surprise, there was a congestion tax for using the system. I wasn't used to that idea back on Earth.



I thought it was going to be an annoyance. The idea in my head was that we were going to sit around and wait for level-headed girl Shizuki to dig through her purse for the money. Instead a small device popped up from the hood and chugged out the necessary changes to a port on the side. A small gauge on the dashboard counted down the changes.



To my delight, this was supremely convenient, and eminently sensible. Then we entered the freeway for a short hop. In the meantime, I managed to hide my reaction.



Nami Shizuki, Akiyama Honka, Kabi Ayame, and Nakamoto Sakura were the names of my friends. More close friends than I ever had in my life at one time.



Their names all sounded Japanese, but I couldn't be sure. The language didn't sound like Japanese, and it wasn't using any of three writing systems invented in Japan.



Yet the aesthetics were there. Yukata wasn't exactly traditional clothing, an oxymoron in a country that's only centuries old, but any westerner can tell it's Japanese



"Earth to Akiko?" Honka asked.



It startled me, and I jumped in my seat. That girl was the 'gaki' of the group, annoyingly overly cheerful even when she shouldn't be.



"What?" I stuttered.



"Is something wrong? Boyfriend trouble? Marriage interview? Admission trouble?" She spatted out various hypothesis in quick burst.



"Whoa, nothing's wrong!"



"O really?" she said in a mocking tone.



"Yes, I am," I said in a biting tone. "Just thinking about aliens." Technically true, the best sort of lie.



She stared at me for a good while, puzzling me out, before giving a thumb up. "OK!"



I doubt she would last a day on Earth in Japan. But I wouldn't know. I am a foreigner and an American. Always armed and dangerous and obnoxiously loud, or that how I thought they might think of me. That didn't matter here of course. This was home for the foreseeable future. My identity as a foreigner don't exist.



Responsible girl Shizuki drove off into the city. There was a toll for entering, but not leaving. It was only a short hop into another area of Tokyo.



She parked her car in the parking lot of a corner store, paying a flat token fee for the use of space. Another way that the government nickel and dime us for tax revenue.



"Girls, last minute shopping before we attend the parade," she announced. Most of the girls out out of the car. Meanwhile Ayame and me stayed in the car.



"You're a bit quiet today," Ayame noted. "Thought you want to see the empress."



"Of course I do!" I said with enthusiasm. "But I been thinking about a lot of things."



"Like what?"



"Banal, really. I never really noticed all the things we took for granted, like the fact that we have to pay toll roads and parking fees. Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't have those stuff?"



"Pray tell?"



"Traffic congestion nightmare. Imagine being stuck in traffic on hours on end."



"Like a motor accident."



"Worse. Every single day."



She looked at me confused. "I doubt that will happen even if cars were free."



"There's only so much we can build."



"We can build more of everything as necessary. If everyone owns a car, then we'll just have to build enough road, licensing centers, and nuclear fueling stations."



I almost rolled my eyes at that one. "Ayame, I don't think you understand negative externality and tragedy of the common."



"Sorry, what?"



"Negative externality. An economic term in which a third party suffered as a result of an action made by another party in the course of doing business."



"You're an economist now? I thought you were all about rockets. Obsessed with nothing but space and royalty."



"I still loved rocket," I declared. "And I am going to do it."



"I believe you, but I have been friend with you for a long time. You have a phase of intense focus on a subject ranging from six months to a few years. I thought you might have turned over a new leaf."



"Not true!"



"Uh-huh."



"Ya-huh."



The trio came back from the shopping trip flushed with snacks and ice cold drinks.



Shizuki then handed me some rubbers.



"Best to be prepared and not need it, rather than be sorry when you don't have it," Shiuzki said. I can count on her making wise and prudent choices. She was the level headed one, the friend we need to curb harebrained schemes and steer us on the right path. She was going to be a naval aviator. I prayed to the goddess for the best success.



I stuck the risk reduction device into my purse without any hint of disgust about the thought of using it.



It seemed my male-disgust-meter had broke. But then, another thought had occurred to me.



My parents was determined that I stay abstinent until marriage, saving myself for that special day for a special person. Of course, that's cow feces, and teenagers are teenagers.



"You know, you don't have to do that, Shizuki," I commented.



"I know, but I'll take the heat for ya guys, OK?" I would get in trouble, but knowing my parents, they will try to skew our fine leader for doing the right thing, for corrupting me.



Whatever. I hid smut from my own parents, risking the possibility of getting grounded. In fact, if it weren't for my parents' overly conservative attitude, I would suspect the whole thing was a utopia. A MAD free world and world peace combined with the realization of the nuclear dream? Come on!



Anyway, it wasn't long before we parked in a garage some hundred of meters away.



Then, we made our way to a large crowd, teaming with people. I can see people on the roof with their binoculars and rifle, scanning everyone and everybody. It was the imperial guards, and I bet it was only the ones that we can see.



Everyone came, whether they're veterans, working adults, flower girls, and even the butchers and meat dealers. Not that you could recognize the discriminated minorities in this crowd.



Yep, it wasn't a utopia. Still, I felt an excitement building up. Even if I only get to see her waves at the crowd, it was a chance to get close and personal.



My parents still worship her as a goddess despite the disclaimer of divinity. I don't worship her, I was still a big fan of her. The memoirs of bitter servants painting her as a control freak who scrutinized over the littlest things. But other books painted her as dispenser of cold rationalism and dispenser of harsh but necessary words.



It was jarring to consolidate the working empress with the regal woman who appeared in public.



The parade started, and solders marched down the street toward the imperial palace. Musical instruments played as jets flew in formation above.



It was a wonderful celebration for the Jipang's entrance into war even more bloodier than Earth's second world war. A day that was supposed to live in infamy.



I guess the Gaians rather be joyous on days of sadness, huh?