Quicksilver's Quill Offers 
Pawns 
mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Standard disclaimers 
AN: A Belated Happy Holidays!  Thanks for the
encouragement, I appreciate it!   This part is
dedicated to those who love their world, and do their
best to make it a better place.  Earlier parts are
available at ff.net under "Quicksilver-sama".   I'm
working on getting a new homepage (damn homestead!)
but until I format everything, ff.net will just have
to do!
For information on Tokyo Tower: 
http://www.tokyotower.co.jp/english/index.html
http://jin.jcic.or.jp/atlas/architecture/arc21.html
My Mailing List, should you be interested:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/

Part Six:

	"ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!"

	Miyako was ready to tug her hair out.   She picked up
a pillow on the couch and punched it angrily.   She'd
stopped in to change before going to visit Maron, but
the news awaiting her at home was enough to put her
best friend's welfare out of her mind temporarily.  

	"Calm down, Miyako," her father said, trying to
soothe her.   "We've two days to get something set
up!"

	"Two hours, two days, two weeks- what difference does
it make?   I can't BELIEVE Sinbad sent yet ANOTHER
notice- this makes it- what?   The fourth time this
week?"  She threw the pillow down and started to hunt
for something glass to break.   

	"He and Jeanne missed a target for the first time- of
course they're coming back.   Though how they plan to
steal the tower..." Her father sounded slightly
perplexed.

	"That pin Jeanne threw had something to do with it.  
Are the lab reports back?" she asked, forcing herself
to sit down and take a few deep breaths and think with
her head, rather then her emotions.   The two kaitou
seemed to exist to piss her off.

	His expression grew even more puzzled.   "Yes.   No
prints, as we expected.  And the weird thing is, they
can't identify it."

	"What do you mean?" she asked. 

	"Wait a sec," he told her, heading over to the closet
where he kept his briefcase when he was at home.   She
watched him pull it out and pop the lock, then flip
through a few files before selecting one.   "Take a
look at this."

	She read them over intently, and studied the reports.
  She wasn�t a science major, but something
immediately struck her.  "It's harder then diamond?" 
Diamond had a hardness of 10- it was the hardest
element known to man.

	"Yes.   They weren't able to cut a piece of it, so
they had to perform the tests on the entire piece."

	She winced.   She knew what the tests could do to
something- sometimes in trying to identify something,
they would destroy it.

	"Don't worry- it's still in one piece, and looks just
like it did when we collected it from the crime
scene."

	"It survived the acid tests?"

	"And the electroscope, density... you name it, we
tried it.   We're not able to tell what the hell it
is, only that the thing is solid and that it's denser
then anything we've ever seen.   The scientists would
love to get their hands on Jeanne to ask her some
questions- it looks like an entirely new compound,
possibly even a stable element."

	�I always said she was no ordinary thief�. I wonder
if Sinbad�s pins are made of the same material?�

	�Doesn�t he use black?� her father pointed out.

	�Hmmm, well� it could be a variation. You know a lot
of compounds come in multiple colors, depending on the
exact compostion,� Miyako said.   �For every answer we
get, though, we come up with a dozen more questions.� 
She stared at the picture of the pin, noticing how the
light had reflected off the surface, giving it a
pearly sheen.  �Exactly what IS Jeanne?� she
whispered.  There were too many things about the
kaitou that just didn�t make sense.

	�Huh?� her father said, not following her.

	�Nothing, nothing, otousan,� she said, smiling at
him.   He�d think she was nuts if she started to talk
about her suspicions, and probably remove her from his
team, which was the last thing she wanted.   She WOULD
catch Jeanne and Sinbad, both, if it killed her.   She
felt like she was on the verge of a breakthrough.  
Knowledge was power, and she almost had enough to 
	
	�Did you stop to see Maron today?� her mother called
from the kitchen.   �I brought her and Nagoya-kun some
soup for dinner- I figured it was the least I could
do.�

	Miyako didn�t even bother asking how she knew Maron
had been ill.   Her mother had a radar for the other
girl, considering her a second daughter.  �No,
okaasan.   I wanted to talk otousan first.  I�m on my
way over now.�

	Her mother smiled at her as she grabbed her bag and
left.   Miyako didn�t even bother to change into
street shoes- she was merely going across the hall.  
It was wonderful that she lived so close to her best
friend.   She knocked on the door softly, and entered
without waiting for an answer.

	Chiaki sat on the couch, watching TV.   She tried to
see exactly what show he was watching, and wasn�t
surprised to see that it was Inu Yasha.  He looked up
and smiled at her.  "Ah, Miyako!"   Chiaki sounded
glad to see her, and gave her a grin that lit up his
chocolate brown eyes.  "Good day at school?"  He rose
to his feet in a lithe movement, coming over to stand
within arm�s reach.

	�The usual,� she said, trying to keep from
brightening too much at his interest in her.   She
hated how she immediately dissolved into a puddle of
goo whenever he flirted with her.   He was handsome,
sure, but she had other priorities.  She didn�t need a
man to fulfill her.  
	
	No matter how cute.

	�How�s Maron?� she asked, trying to keep her blush
within manageable levels.

	�She�s better.   She had some of the soup your mother
made -thank her again for me, it was delicious- and
was up for a little while.   She�s napping again now,
but I think she�ll wake up in half an hour or so.  Did
you get our stuff?� he asked.   He raised his arms
towards the ceiling, stretching slowly, as though his
back was bothering him.  

	She ignored that.  �Yes, it�s in my bag,� she said,
an unwilling smile springing to life as he continued
to grin at her.  Damn, the boy was just too handsome
for his own good.  Everything he did just drew
attention to his physical perfection.

	He reached out and squeezed her shoulder gently in
thanks.   �You�re wonderful.�   Then his expression
grew slightly pensive.  �I hate to ask this of you,
but I have to do a few errands.   Can you keep Maron
company?   I really don�t want to leave her alone�.�

	�Of course I will!� Miyako said.  �Didn�t I volunteer
already?�
	
	Chiaki�s smile lit his eyes, and for a second she let
herself drown in the pools of warm chocolate.  �Thank
you.  You�re a wonderful friend to Maron- and to me.� 
He bent over and kissed her cheek briefly, barely
brushing her skin with his lips, and then was gone.

	She stared at the door he vanished through blankly
for a second before picking up the remote to turn the
television off, acting mechanically while her mind
spun. 

	Chiaki had kissed her... Chiaki had KISSED her�
CHIAKI had kissed HER�

	Miyako collapsed in a heap on the couch, all thoughts
of catching kaitou gone from her mind.
	
!*!*!*!*!*!

	Chiaki paid the admission price to the Tokyo Tower,
pretending to drop his money as an excuse to bend over
so he could shove one of his pins into the floor. 
People wouldn�t notice it: he�d carefully placed a
�don�t see me� spell on all of his pins before coming.
 Then he handed the attendant 1000 yen and waited
patiently as she handed him back his change.   

The demon's presence hummed along his senses, and he
was glad he hadn't had anything to eat all day
(despite claiming Todaiji-san�s soup was wonderful),
or else he would have been sick.  The atmosphere was
oppressive to someone with any sort of skill in magic.
  A simple banishment wouldn't work, he could tell
immediately.   The demon�s evil permeated the
foundation of the building, and the workers seemed to
be drained and tired.   They weren�t possessed, but
the demon was tapping into their energy.

	He wandered around the lower observation deck,
pretending to enjoy the view of Tokyo while he
secretly planted his pins all over.   His head hurt,
and even though his activities hadn�t caught the
attention of the demon, the possibility worried him.  
He might have to become Sinbad, something he didn�t
want to do.   He had enough energy to make the
transformation, but he was running below his normal
levels.   If he tried to teleport now, should things
go wrong, he�d end up in the same condition Maron was
in.

	After a suitable time on the first level, he took the
elevator to the second level.   The floor hummed
beneath him with concealed energy, the energy that the
demon had been draining.   He hadn�t found the person
who had been possessed, and that worried him.   A
possibility started to nag at the corner of his mind,
something dreadful he didn�t want to consider�.

On the second observation level the demon�s presence
was more intense.  Damn powerful demon.  Perhaps even
one with a Name, though the very idea made him shiver.
  Going up against one of the Named was beyond his
means.   Kaitou Sinbad was powerful, but he was still
only mortal.  Even Kaitou Jeanne would have think
twice about it- not that she would.   Knowing her, she
would plunge right in, rather then consider things. 
Then again, she probably didn't even have a clue
exactly what the demon was.   She was so certain of
God's love for her, so sure that he would protect her.
 He envied her faith.  He stuck one of the pins into
the wall beside the elevator and headed towards the
center to take a seat.   		

	Another wave of nausea assaulted him, worse then any
he�d experienced before.   Cold sweat beaded on his
face, and his legs grew weak.   Chiaki tried to
advance, but was forced away.

	Shit.

	SHIT!	

	His instincts had been right�. The demon was
powerful, powerful enough to have earned itself a
Name.  

!*!*!*!*!*!

	A few hours later he sat in the same park he had
found Maron in the prior night, Access perched on
right knee.   The night air was slightly, chilly, but
he didn�t notice.  He was cold on the inside- cold and
hot at the same time.   He wasn�t his usual self-
Chiaki was smart enough to recognize when something
was beyond his capabilities, and a Named was certainly
that.

	He looked at Access Time, his eyes looking almost
like the blue of his other self in the twilight.  
"It's not an ordinary demon, Access.   This demon has
a Name.   A Checkmate won't work on him.  I might be
able to siphon off his power enough for someone else
to finish the job, if I can find out what Name he
claims as his own, but for that to work..."

	"...you�ll need Maron's help.   Or should I say
Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne."

	Chiaki sighed.   "More then that.... this demon has a
direct link to Hell.  For it to be sealed, Jeanne and
Sinbad must come into true being."

	The kuroi tenshi's jaw dropped.   "It's too soon...."
he whispered.

	"It has to be now.   Have you noticed?   I don't get
noticeably older when I become Sinbad anymore.  That
means�� he trailed off, not wanting to voice it.  It
was a terrifying thought.

	Access, though, knew that it had to be done.   �That
your final transformation will be very soon.�

	Chiaki�s eyes were frightened.   For once he seemed
much younger then his seventeen years, and no trace of
cockiness marred his expression.   �And that means
I'll die.�

	"Sinbad...." Access said, trying to express his
sympathy.

	"I'm scared," he whispered, burying his face in his
hands.   �I�m only seventeen.   Why does it have to be
me?�

	Access Time stood up and floated backwards, then
flickered, accessing a power he rarely invoked. 
Slowly the violet light enveloped him, and he took the
form of a True Angel, an angel the size of a man.  
His dark feathers swept the floor as he took the human
boy into his arms, hugging him tightly to offer
comfort.   �Because there is no one else.  You know
the truth, and that carries a hefty responsibility.�

	Chiaki was not fond of hugs for comfort, but Access
was an angel, and his very nature made it soothing. 
He leaned into his guardian, feeling the press of the
warm silk against his cheek as he buried his face
against Access�s shoulder.  �It will be all right. 
Trust in God,� Access said, his voice sounding more
like an adult male�s then a teenager.

	�I don�t trust in anyone, not even myself,� Chiaki
answered softly.

	�Then trust in Jeanne.   You love her, and to love is
to trust.�

	�I do not!�

	�Oh?�  Access said.

	�I don�t!� Chiaki protested.  �How can I love her?  
She�s everything I�m not!  She�s na�ve and childish,
unwilling to acknowledge reality!  She accepts things
without question, trusting whatever Fin Fish says
without even bothering to think about it!  She�s my
rival!  I told you before- it�s a game!� 

	Access Time pulled back enough so Chiaki could see
his fanged grin.  �I�ll let you go on thinking that
for now, but sooner or later, you�ll have to be honest
with yourself.   The truth may be painful, but it is
still the truth.�

END PART 6

Who�s still with me?  ^_~


=====
"No matter what the bible says, the battle always goes to
the strong. And I am strong. I don't need to prove that to
anyone anymore."
-Excerpt from Sainan no Kekka- Act Seven, Scene VII

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Quicksilver/
http://www.midnightrevolution.org/gundam

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