Dragon Path
by Ben Kosse (bmk7411@cs.rit.edu)
part 9: Salvation and Closing
Salvation
The woman walked into the crowded, stinky, wretched
bar. Eyes looked up and down her body, mentally undressing her
and enslaving her. She was above that, though. The piercing gaze
of her green eyes was more than any man in the bar could stand up
to, and every man she looked at quickly found himself staring at
his drink. More than a few recognized the silver and gold dragon
on her black leather jacket and immediately put her on his
personal "do not touch" list.
One man, though, grabbed her wavy, blonde hair from
behind. His other hand cupped her breast. She didn't care,
knowing she was better than him. Almost in slow motion, she
removed his hand from her breast, twisting the wrist outward
until he released her hair. The pain, more than he could
withstand, turned him into a blubbering fool on the bar floor,
crying out the errors of his ways and how he would never touch
her again.
She relented her grip and he scampered into the
shadows. Now, everyone moved out of her way as she walked towards
a giant seated solo in the center of the room. There was a person
passed out on the floor, his beer mug shattered, though he still
had the handle clasped in his hand.
She sat down without asking and waited for the
despondent man at the table to look up from his glass.
Finally, he did.
"So, Robert, we meet again," she cooed. "Do I have
to force you out of here at laser point, or are you going to come
along peacefully?"
"You--You're alive! They said the chances were less
than one percent with the damage you'd received!"
"Let's go, Robert. We've got three million new ren
to collect."
The man rose from the table and followed the
beautiful woman to a sleek, black Countach painted with a dragon
on the hood and roof. Those who watched the car leave could catch
the license plate: DRAGONs.
Closing
"Well, there you have Akisha Mesu-ryu's story. Are
there any questions, ladies and gentlemen?"
A man in the back of the audience raises his hand.
"I'm sorry, but I must know. What happened to them?"
"Ah, yes. It was actually quite a happy ending.
Mesu-ryu did collect the money and she went on to continue her
work, doing work for free when people couldn't afford to pay her.
She lost her other arm in a fight, but had a cybernetic
replacement for it, as well. By the time she retired, she was the
first, and only person to be given an ALAW class A license.
"Akisha and Robert were married in 2213. Akisha was
64 at the time, and had her first child, a girl named Laurel, two
years later. She had another child, a boy named David, a year
after that. She committed what was known as seppuku at the age of
131, following the discovery that she had a terminal, incurable
illness. For you students of Ancient Japanese History as well,
you may find it interesting to know that she slit her throat, the
woman's method of committing seppuku.
"Robert committed seppuku alongside his wife. He
slit his throat as well, though I believe this to be a testimony
to his wife's strength and beliefs, not a result of his lack of
knowledge on the part. In effect, he was saying that she was a
stronger person than him.
"Their children supported their decision and went on
to having fine careers in law enforcement, Laurel becoming the
first female police chief of Orgin."
Another hand, a woman's this time. "What happened to
Laurel, the secretary?"
"Heh, that's a good question. I have historical
records which show that she was fired from her job when she
refused to provide sexual favors for Richard, the then captain of
the Origin P.D. Beyond that, it is up to speculation.
"Any further questions?" Twenty seconds pass without
comment. "Very well, I bid you good day."
The old professor, David Mesu-ryu IV, walks away
from the stand to the applause of the crowd.
=====================================================================
And that, as they say, is that. Dragon Path has ended. It was a good
attempt, but things didn't work the way I wanted them to. I plan to
try this "weekly story" thing again in the future, hopefully with
better results.
--
Ben Kosse bmk7411@cs.rit.edu <#391>
BGC Otaku and worshipper of the Red-Eyed Goddess. Member of ShAS.
Anime, RPG's, computers, poetry (read/write), music (listen/compose).
Author of the Bubblegum Crisis theme pack (see the homepage below).
Homepage with anime and other interests. (http://www.rit.edu/~bmk7411)