Prologue

��And it is hereby the decision of this court that Saginomiya Machine is 
declared bankrupt and all of its remaining assets seized in order to be 
sold off and pay its tremendous debts. This will include all of the 
Saginomiyas� private holdings, as agreed to by the late Masahiro 
Saginomiya, who put all of his worldly possessions up as collateral.� 
The judge pounded his gavel with his judgment made.

Seated on the defendant�s side, Asuka Saginomiya shot out of her chair 
and pounded on the tabletop with her teenaged fist. �You can�t do this! 
This is an outrage!�

�Sit down,� her lawyer, Takaguchi tugged at her sleeve, but she shrugged 
off his hand.

The judge pounded his gavel down again. �Order in the court. Miss 
Saginomiya, I have been tolerant of your numerous outbursts due to the 
recent loss of your father in this very courtroom and the severity of 
your financial situation, but enough is enough.�

�It is not enough!� Asuka screeched. �This is a travesty of justice! 
It�s Kunou Industries which should be on trial here. We had that 
military contract in the bag until they bribed Councilman Orihara into 
giving it to them. They�re responsible for the stress inflicted on my 
father that led to this trial and his heart attack. Why aren�t they here 
instead of me?�

�Knock it off or you�re going to be hit with a slander suit,� Takaguchi 
hissed.

�Let him try. Everyone knows he�s crooked.� Asuka turned to the judge. 
�Your honor, all I need is one more month. SM is on the verge of 
creating a battle armor that will revolutionize warfare. We�ll be back 
in the black by the end of the year.�

The judge shook his head. �I�m sorry, Miss Saginomiya. This court�s 
decision is final. Case adjourned.� The judge rose from his seat, 
ruffled his robes, and exited the courtroom, heading to his chambers.

Lacking a government minion to slake her rage upon, Asuka turned on her 
lawyer. �You incompetent shyster! A first year law student could have 
won that case!�

The lawyer turned red as he threw his papers into his open briefcase. 
�I�ve had enough out of you, you spoiled bitch. No one could possibly 
have saved your company. I only took this case because your father was 
like a brother to me, god rest his soul. If he had died before the trial 
started I would never picked this up. Now, I�m sorry you lost 
everything, but you shouldn�t have any problems getting back on your 
feet. You�re a savant in engineering, second only to Kodachi Kunou��

�I�m better than Kodachi ever was!� Asuka shouted shrilly. �She doesn�t 
have half of my intelligence, looks, or grace! She couldn�t build an 
erector set without instructions! The only way she managed to steal my 
International Scientific Community Achievement Award was by sleeping 
with the judges!�

�I somehow doubt that. There were five of them, and it was a unanimous 
decision.�

�It just proves what a slut she is.�

�Three of them were women.�

�And that she would go to any length to win.�

Takaguchi tried to backpedal. �Look, I�m sorry I mentioned your rival�s 
name.�

�She is not a rival. A rival is someone who is almost an equal. Kodachi 
Kunou isn�t fit to wash my toilet. Why are you speaking so highly of 
her?� Asuka�s eyes narrowed in suspicion. �She paid you to lose the 
case, didn�t she? It wasn�t your incompetence, you deliberately threw it!�

Takaguchi held his hands up in equal parts surrender and disgust. 
�That�s it. I�ve had enough of your paranoid ramblings. What you need 
isn�t a lawyer: it�s therapy.� He turned and headed for the door.

Asuka waved her fist at his back. �Traitor! I�ll make you pay! You, that 
crooked politician, and Kunou Industries! I�ll make you all pay!�

A bailiff cleared his throat, announcing his presence next to Asuka. 
Snapped temporarily out of the worst of her blinding rage, she realized 
that everyone in the room was staring at her, and that the bailiff 
appeared ready, almost eager, to throw her out. Composing her self, she 
made a production of sniffing disdainfully to everyone in the room, then 
turned imperiously upon her heel and exited, dark clouds of vengeance 
covering her thoughts.

As the sixteen year old left the court building altogether, she stared 
up at the sky, not for help for her financial situation, but for aid in 
how to go about making those that had schemed against her pay. She had 
no assets, monetary or otherwise, and would be tossed out of her 
ancestral home within days. She had never bothered saving any her 
salary, assuming her family�s fortune would always be there and she 
could dip into it. She had spent her personal funds on being both a high 
profile debutant and financing expensive private science projects which, 
while emotionally satisfying, were money pits. Now she was left with 
nothing, not even a chauffer to drive her to her home. What was she to do?

Asuka had barely made it a hundred meters along the sidewalk before an 
expensive stretch limousine pulled up beside her. The window in the back 
rolled down and a plain-looking gentleman, dressed in a ten thousand 
dollar suit, stuck his head out the window. �Miss Saginomiya? My name is 
Roquat.�

Asuka looked the curious, non-descript, man over. While she had known 
many people who rode in such vehicles, this wasn�t one of them. �Funny, 
you don�t look like a Nome King.�

Roquat shrugged. �It is the name given to me by my employer. It amuses 
her to make it seem as though kings and queens are at her beck and call, 
though the reality is very close to the illusion.�

Already tiring of his presence, she snapped, �What do you want?�

�My employer heard you have fallen on hard times. I have been entrusted 
to offer you two things.�

�What are they?� Asuka asked suspiciously.

�The first is condolences on your father�s death. My employer also lost 
her father at an early age and knows what it is like.�

�I hope the second thing you offer has some actual value,� Asuka spat 
acidly.

�It does. My employer is aware of your inroads in armor technology. She 
wishes to offer you a lucrative contract if you�re willing to continue 
developing the SL-000 series battle armor.�

Lucrative meant money. Lots of money. That perked her ears up. �How much?�

�Ten million dollars American for the project. An additional five if 
it�s completed to satisfaction.�

Asuka felt like laughing. No one tossed around money like that. It was 
probably a prank concocted by Kodachi Kunou to rub Asuka�s nose in her 
abject misery. �And who would I be working for?�

Roquat told her.

That changed everything. The laughter inside died, replaced by hope. 
�Okay, you are legitimate. Very well, I agree to your terms. It�s not 
like I have anything else to do.� And fifteen million dollar was 
certainly enough seed money to hatch her plans for righteous vengeance. 
Perhaps things were going to turn out for the best after all.

She entered the limousine, the dark cloud surrounding her made brighter 
by blood tinged fantasies of the deaths of all that had wronged her.

Xxxxxxxx

Avenging
Act II, Chapter 5
Steel Lilies in the Field

Any and all C+C appreciated. You can contact me at:
[sommert@connecttime.net]

All the previous chapters and my other works are stored at:

Larry F's new address at:
http://www.rakhal.com/florestica/d_b_sommer/index.html

And also Angcobra is now storing fics, at
http://www.hostultra.com/~AngCobraFics/dbsommer.html

At fanfiction.net:
http://www.fanfiction.net/

And newer works at Mediaminer
www.mediminer.org

Standard disclaimer: I don�t any of the Marvel characters or other 
characters from the numerous animes which are within.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Standing from a position nearly thirty feet away, Kodachi Kunou nodded 
at the technician standing next to the control panel to signal the start 
of the test. It wasn�t as though she was incapable of operating the 
controls, but it would perceived as unseemly for one of her stature in 
Kunou Industries to manipulate personally operate things when she could 
employ someone else to do it, and appearance was everything to the 
members of the government�s defense committee who stood by her side. 
They were the ones who decided which businesses received the fat defense 
contracts they had to offer, and Kodachi intended for them to look no 
further than Kunou Industries.

In a way, the whole decision process was absurd since it was obvious 
anything Kunou Industries (and Kodachi personally) designed would far 
outstrip anything some minor manufacturing company could create. As 
though someone like Saginomiya Machine, which had finally gone under a 
few weeks ago, could compare to her genius. It was true they actually 
had snared a contract away from KI once, Kodachi remembered how her 
father had raged over that one since the weapon system the government 
had purchased was far inferior to KI�s. She had taken the offense 
personally since it was the first weapon system she had developed. She 
had improved a great deal after that, so much so that KI hadn�t lost on 
out on a government contract since.

Now Kodachi stood in the place her father used to, next to the five 
members of the committee. She would have preferred to conduct the test 
outdoors, but the energy cannon they had developed was still top secret, 
and there was no telling what sort of eavesdropping equipment by rival 
companies might be trained on KI�s exterior. No, it was best to keep the 
cannon under wraps. The warehouse-sized testing facility would serve its 
intended purpose and the committee would be impressed by the results. 
She guaranteed it. After her demonstration, it would take a couple of 
weeks at the most before they gave the contract to KI.

At her signal two powerful robotic arms maneuvered a ten ton piece of 
impra-crete which was five times more durable than regular concrete, 
into position. Despite the size of the slab, the arms were powerful 
enough to move it efficiently, and once the giant block was in the right 
spot, the multi-faceted crystal at the end of the cannon�s barrel began 
to power up. A rainbow glow, almost hypnotic, formed at the tip. Kodachi 
signaled to the technician once again, and he touched a button. A second 
later the rainbow glow coalesced into a twenty centimeter wide beam of 
white energy. It punched through the slab with ease, sending small 
pieces of shrapnel everywhere. Rather than continuing on, it dissipated 
one meter on the other side of the rock. The beam disappeared, leaving 
behind a twenty centimeter wide hole as the only evidence it had ever 
existed.

Kodachi turned to the men. �As you can see, the XE-74, or �Safecracker� 
as we like to call it, can blast its way through duracrete like it was 
paper mache. Enemy in a bunker? Hiding in a fog bank would provide more 
protection. The same can be said for titanium, osmium, or any other alloy.�

�What about adamantium?� One of the men asked.

�Nothing can cut through adamantium. If anything could, we would hardly 
call it �indestructible�, now could we?� All the men laughed at that. 
�It can cut through adamantium alloy, though it would take time and a 
sufficient power supply to sustain the beam,� Kodachi informed them.

�That beam fizzled pretty quickly once it got through the impra-crete,� 
one of the men pointed out.

�That�s because it was set to do so,� Kodachi said with a delighted 
smile since the question proved a perfect segue. �One of the safety 
features of the Safecracker is that it has a precise range, mitigating 
collateral damage. If you�re trying to hit a target that moves out of 
the path of the beam, you don�t have to worry about it following through 
and hitting something you don�t want destroyed.�

That met with a murmur of agreement from the members.

Kodachi continued, �While the Safecracker is too big to be carried 
around by hand, it can be mounted on a large armored vehicle. 
Alternately numerous cannons can be put on a ship or up to two on a 
plane. The only small disadvantage is its rate of fire is slow, but 
that�s because it�s intended to attack heavy, reinforced targets, rather 
than small ones with few defenses.�

The others nodded again. The one nearest to Kodachi, Councilman Orihara 
said, �I think we�ve seen all we need to. It is an impressive piece of 
work, Miss Kunou. By all means, send us the specs on the cannon and 
we�ll look them over.�

Kodachi bowed. �Thank you for your interest. Let me assure you despite 
KI being under new management, we will not only continue to perform 
admirably for our government, but exceed our previous performance.�

The members nodded and headed out of the testing facility. As they moved 
away, Orihara stopped and turned, walking back to Kodachi. �Could I have 
a private word with you, Miss Kunou?�

�Certainly.� Kodachi prepared herself to answer any questions the 
councilman might have. He was the head of the committee and, from what 
her father had always said, was the one truly responsible for the 
decisions. The others were little more than window dressing to appease 
the bureaucracy. Whatever way Orihara went, the others were sure to follow.

Orihara said, �I�m overjoyed at seeing you take over the reigns here. 
What happened to your father and brother was a tragedy, especially since 
you were believed dead as well.�

Kodachi idly scratched at her concealed chest plate in remembrance of 
the piece of shrapnel located so close to her heart. �I still cling to 
the hope they will be found.�

�As do I,� Orihara seconded. �But in the meantime, it falls to you to 
run the company. KI employs thousands of people all across Japan. If 
something unpleasant were to happen to your company, like your military 
contracts drying up, bad things might happen. At the very least there 
would be massive layoffs, and perhaps your company would go under, like 
Saginomiya just did.�

�We are the pinnacle of technology in the all of Japan, if not the 
world. Saginomiya had all the cutting edge expertise of a high school 
science club, and you know it, which is why you come to us when you want 
the best weapons in the world.�

Orihara rubbed his chin in contemplation. �Well, there was that one time 
we went with SM and that sonic based weapon.�

�Pure lunacy on your part which confounds me to this day,� Kodachi 
informed him. �Our amplisonic shatterguns were far more effective than 
their ridiculous wave motion rifle.�

�That�s a matter of opinion,� Orihara insisted. �There are so many 
intangibles to consider, which is why landing these lucrative contracts 
is so cutthroat.�

�Is there a point to this conversation?� Kodachi asked, temper rising.

�Yes, your father and I had something of an� arrangement.�

�I have no idea of what you are talking about.� Though Kodachi insisted 
she didn�t, the tone in her voice indicated she had an idea of what the 
councilman was implying.

�I thought as much. It�s not the sort of thing one casually mentions.� 
Orihara seemed to consider something, then shrugged his shoulders, as 
though he had come to a decision. �There is an organization I am rather 
fond of that your father donated heavily to on certain occasions, 
usually right after we met in circumstances similar to the one you and I 
are in right now.�

Kodachi was tired of the vague innuendos. �Are you implying that he 
bribed you for our contracts?�

�No, no, no,� Orihara said quickly. �Not bribes. These were 
contributions to the Hokkaido Reclamation Project. I�m sure he kept 
records of the donations. Look into it and you�ll see.� Orihara started 
to walk away, then turned back around. �I�d hurry and look it up, 
though. We�re scheduled to check out Fujikawa-Stane�s new missile that 
does many of the same things your cannon does. At has the advantage of 
being more portable and having a greater range. It makes things very 
neck-and-neck between you. I�d hate to see you lose out to someone 
that�s more interested in securing these sorts of contracts.�

He laughed and departed, leaving Kodachi uncertain of what to do. What 
she did feel was an insecurity that had been absent a moment ago. It was 
time to look into her father�s private files and see what he had to say 
about the matter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

�And I want that Blaze Cannon hooked up to the forearm and power pack. 
It�s taken a week to get it to work right, and now that it is, I want it 
where it belongs.� Asuka Saginomiya let out an exasperated sigh at the 
engineers and technicians that were almost more hindrance than help. 
Tragically, they were supposedly among the best in the world. 
Incompetents, every last one of them. Asuka had come to the realization 
that Hell was being brilliant in a world full of stupid people.

Despite the ineptitude of the fools Asuka had been saddled with, she had 
guided them to nearly completing the SL-000. Every centimeter of its 
white and red armor was as magnificent as she had predicted, if not more 
so. She basked in the glow of her masterpiece. It was large, with bulky 
arms and legs (one of her idiot subordinates had the audacity to compare 
it to the original armor the �Scrap Iron� Rose used). There was a large 
square unit, which looked almost like a backpack, attached to the back 
where the additional power supply and her most powerful weapon were 
housed. The forearms were a bit larger than originally planned to 
compensate for the newer weapons she had mounted. The �boots� of the 
armor were also larger in order to house the additional engines for the 
flight system she had just installed. Now the armor could generate the 
airspeed of a cruise missile, though at that velocity it wasn�t very 
maneuverable. Still it was faster than any mere jet fighter. And then 
there were technicians who were in the process of adding the Blaze 
Cannon to the forearm. It appeared to be little more than a box with an 
opening on one end and wires leading from it along the length of the arm 
and to into the back power unit, a deception if every there was one, 
given the E-Beam�s power. In the center of the chest was a triangle that 
housed a laser, as well as her secret weapon. A single cyclopean slit in 
the helmet was the only apparent form of external sight, but in truth 
there were a variety of internal sensor system that made up for the 
seeming weakness.

Asuka felt supremely satisfied for all of ten seconds, then she spotted 
Minoru Mochizuki, the �Simpering Accountant from Whine Country�, 
approaching. As bad as her technicians were, Minoru was worse than all 
of them put together. In the good old days, when she was allowed free 
reign in her company, she could have ordered him silent or, preferably, 
had him fired. Now she was perpetually harassed by his nasally voice as 
he rambled on about �cost overruns� and �efficiency reports�, as though 
such things mattered when building a work of art. She briefly considered 
pretending not to notice him and making a run for the nearest exit, but 
forced herself to remain where she was. The only concession she made to 
herself was forcing him to come to her, which he quickly did.

�Miss Saginomiya, I need a word with you.� The look on his face said it all.

She sighed dramatically, but maintained her cool. �Yes?�

�I�ve just been going over some figures.� He held out a stack of folders 
in her direction. �Frankly, this whole project has exceeded cost 
projections significantly in nearly every aspect.�

Asuka rolled her eyes at the imbecile. �Yes, well by definition a 
�projection� is a guess, and I don�t see how you can hold me responsible 
because a few know-nothing bean counters, like yourself, can�t figure 
out how much a sack of rice will cost next week.�

The insult didn�t seem to register. �You�ve gone more than one billion 
yen over budget on this suit alone so far. There�s no sense in us mass 
producing the unit if it�s so expensive no one can afford to buy it.�

Asuka felt like strangling the little weasel. �Look, it�s a 
groundbreaking prototype. We�re working on a new technology, and there�s 
bound to be a few bugs and other unexpected problems that crop up which 
end up costing the initial unit more than people thought it would. But I 
wouldn�t expect someone with a mere accounting degree to understand such 
technical matters.�

She had hoped that would end the discussion, but Minoru pressed on. 
�Prof. Kuroki informs me that everything was going fine until you 
started incorporating the weapons and flight systems from the 
M.A.U.L.E.R battle armor we got from Cordco into your design. According 
to Prof. Kuroki, the systems aren�t really that compatible and it�s 
taking a huge amount of time and money to make them so, which are where 
the cost overruns are occurring.�

Asuka would have words with that traitorous Kuroki, once she rid herself 
of Minoru�s presence. �The incorporation of the M.A.U.L.E.R.�s weapon 
systems, especially that Blaze Cannon, will give the SL-000 the 
firepower of a small army. It will be invincible.�

�We don�t want to market the SL-000 as a stand alone weapon system. We 
are going to sell it as a standard unit with optional augmentation 
packages. Certainly your current design would be ideal for taking on a 
tank battalion, but what if it�s needed for reconnaissance, or rescue 
operations, or hostage removal? Everything you�re adding would lessen 
the unit�s effectiveness for those sorts of operations.�

�Don�t play games with me,� Asuka snorted in derision. �I know your 
primary concern is marketing this as military hardware. That�s where the 
real money�s made.�

Minoru shot her a level glare. �The SL-000 is intended to be a 
multi-purpose power armor, however in the case of its military 
applications, it�s been decided that it would be more effective for it 
to be marketed with the intention of it operating in three man teams, 
similar to Cordco�s Raider armor, but with the base unit being more 
powerful and more versatile with various weapon packages, rather than 
in-built ones like the Raiders had.�

�How devious.�

�How businesslike, and if you can�t see that, it�s no wonder your 
company went bankrupt.�

Asuka simmered in rage, but rather than continue her diatribe, she took 
a deep breath and calmed herself. �I�m convinced what I have is superior 
to your intentions, and in any case it�s irrelevant. I manage to 
incorporate the Blaze Cannon into the SL today. I need to put some 
finishing touches on it, but expect the armor to be completed in the 
next three days. I can work up a demonstration for you. If the higher 
ups don�t like the additional weapon systems, I can reduce it back to 
the base unit in under a week, and I�ll subtract the costs from my salary.�

The revelation of the armor�s completion and Asuka�s voluntary financing 
of any additional problems, soothed Minoru�s concerns. �Very well, but 
see to it the armor is ready when you say.�

�Okay,� Asuka said. �There�s just one other favor I�d like to ask. I 
want to pilot the armor. I know it better than anyone, and am the 
obvious choice to put it through its paces.�

Minoru shot her look as though she had asked him if she could scrap the 
project. �Don�t be ridiculous. We have professional pilots who are 
specialized in the use of battle armor. They will be demonstrating it in 
the trial runs. You stick to doing what you know, making armor, and 
leave the flying to the professionals.�

Asuka shrugged her shoulders, dismissing the matter. �Very well. I was 
simply overeager in showing off my baby, and personally ushering a new 
age in high-tech warfare, but I understand. The pilots probably would do 
a better job. In any event I can have a report on the final test results 
on your desk by Wednesday.�

That mollified Minoru. �Very well. It�s good to know this project will 
finally be completed, and that there are measures in place if it 
continues on any longer.�

�There certainly are. Now, if you�re finished?�

�I am.� Far happier than when he had entered the room, Minoru headed for 
the door.

Asuka smiled sweetly at him as he left. Once the lab door slid shut 
behind him, she picked up a phone and dialed a number. �Arisugawa, this 
is Saginomiya. Send up the material I requested, would you?�

Asuka hung up the phone, sat back in a chair and waited. It took only 
several minutes for the door to the lab to open, and a deliveryman to 
roll in a cart that bore several air tanks and a gas mask. He had Asuka 
sign for the material, then departed.

Several of the workers watched as the material was wheeled in. One of 
them looked at it in bewilderment. �What is that?�

�Somna Gas,� Asuka said as she examined the tops to the tanks.

�What for? There�s no room on the SL for gas?�

�Steel Lily,� Asuka said.

�What?�

�Steel Lilly. The SL in the project name means �Steel Lilly,�.�

One of the technicians asked �Isn�t that your nickname from MIT?�

�Yes, and it�s about time the world knew that, since it will shortly 
make Kodachi Kunou�s Iron Rose obsolete.� She continued playing with the 
controls.

One of the other technicians said, �That still doesn�t explain how we�re 
going to put that gas in the armor.�

�The gas isn�t for the armor, it�s for you.� And with that she slipped 
the gas mask over her face and opened a valve to dispense the gas in the 
room. It acted quickly, dropping nearly everyone in their tracks the 
instant they inhaled. Some people tried to hold their breath and make it 
toward the door to escape, but they discovered it locked and the exiting 
code failed to work. No one had time to take a truly deep breath, and 
soon they were lying unconscious on the floor.

While everyone succumbed to the gas, Asuka quickly walked over to the 
armor and opened it up. With the interior exposed, she stepped inside, 
slipping her arms and legs into the proper spots. Once settled in, the 
armor closed up, making it air tight expelling the gas that had been 
trapped inside. There was a bit of shifting as the insides molded to fit 
perfectly, just as she had designed it to. She booted up the armor, and 
all its capabilities, for the first time. She had lied to her little 
number cruncher. The armor was ready now that the Blaze Cannon had been 
hooked up. She had given Minoru a chance for the easy way out by 
allowing her to use *her* armor, but he had refused, leaving her no 
choice but to hijack it. She couldn�t wait until she was paid for 
revenge on all those that had wronged her; she needed it now, and the 
Steel Lilly was the perfect tool for the job.

Asuka smiled blissfully as the diagnostics showed everything was in 
working order. She had to move quickly, before her employer brought some 
of her numerous resources against Asuka and ended her quest for 
vengeance before she took a second step toward it. But first there were 
some measures she had to take before leaving. She walked over to a 
terminal and loaded a program in that would erase all the work on the 
armor. This was her child, and she was damned if anyone else would be 
taking it from her. She wasn�t concerned about any of the other morons 
on the project being able to duplicate her work, she had been too 
secretive about it. Oh, they could replicate some of the motor controls 
and advanced systems, but she had kept all the truly inspired 
innovations to herself. They could produce an armor that was slightly 
superior to the Raider suits, but that was about it. The most advanced 
battle armor in the world belonged exclusively to Asuka Saginomiya, and 
it was going to stay that way.

The Steel Lilly was going to set the world on fire, but first, vengeance 
waited.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roquat bowed before his mistress as she sat in the massive command 
center of her company. �I am afraid I bear grim tidings, Mistress. Miss 
Saginomiya ran off with the prototype she was developing and destroyed 
all the information on its manufacture. It is unlikely we will be able 
to duplicate it.�

The woman considered the information. �Saginomiya has an almost 
pathological hatred of Kunou Industries, does she not?�

Roquat nodded. �Her psychiatric evaluation turned that up, among her 
various other mental issues, yes. She bears a particular malice toward 
Kodachi Kunou.�

The woman smiled. �I do believe this fiasco might turn toward our 
advantage. This was an off-the-books project anyway, but make certain 
all traces of Miss Saginomiya�s employment and that the armor was 
manufactured here cease to exist, and that everyone involved in the 
project knows to keep quiet about it. That way we�ll have plausible 
deniability for whatever might happen to poor Kodachi Kunou and her 
company. If we�re lucky, KI will be ours by the end of the week and 
Saginomiya will be wanted for murder. And if she fails, then we�ll know 
that SL-000 armor wasn�t all that we thought it would be.�

Roquat bowed. �I am humbled by your brilliance, as ever.�

�As well you should be, Roquat. As well you should be.�

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi Kunou looked over the computer screen displaying her father�s 
private files for the third time, not wanting to believe what she saw. 
The truth was always the hardest thing to swallow, she was learning. 
That bastard, Orihara, had given her a most bitter pill to swallow. In 
the last five years, every time a military contract with him as head of 
the panel came up, her father had donated large sums of money to the 
Hokkaido Reclamation Project. On the surface it appeared to be a small 
outfit trying to reclaim land from the ocean, but a little investigating 
proved that either they were incredibly inefficient, or someone was 
siphoning off large amounts of cash from it under the table. Since the 
director of the HRP was an old school friend of Orihara�s, it didn�t 
take a genius to figure out how the pie was being split over there.

It irritated Kodachi to no end that that pig was extorting money, made 
worse because Kunou Industries clearly should have won all the contracts 
without the bribes. Apparently her father had not paid Orihara off once, 
which was how Saginomiya Machine won that single time. Since then her 
father had caved in to Orihara, and everything that should have been 
theirs in the first place was, just with a little off the top.

There was also some other interesting information about Orihara and some 
of KI�s rivals, but at the moment it was of no use. Kodachi had a 
decision to make. It was obvious her father had not come by this 
information by legal means. Worse, KI had already paid Orihara a number 
of bribes. Blowing the whistle on him at this point would still leave 
KI�s reputation in shambles, even if it was her late father who had done 
the bribing. It was also painfully obvious Orihara would make good on 
his threat and give the contract to someone else if Kodachi failed to 
pay. Threatening him in her guise as Iron Rose would probably be a bad 
idea as well. While there was a chance he would cave in, on the other 
hand, he might claim that Kodachi was threatening a government official 
for the contract, rather than it being in retaliation of the bribe. 
Other officials of the government might feel threatened by Kodachi�s 
actions in any case, and if they felt threatened, they might threaten 
back, and the government of Japan had a lot more power than Kodachi 
Kunou. She was at an impasse.

Pride, responsibility, and honor weighed heavily on her soul as she sat 
silently in her office and pondered her options.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Councilman Orihara sat at his dining room table, alone as he savored the 
remains of his dinner, a gourmet meal prepared by his personal chef. All 
was in place for tonight. Recent death threats had necessitated the 
presence of a highly trained bodyguard that remained outside his room, 
but it was hardly a distraction. This was his palace, in a manner of 
speaking, and quite impregnable. On the outside it appeared to be a 
traditional home, one that had been in his family for generations, but 
the huge lot it resided on was worth hundreds of millions of yen and 
reflected his true wealth. He had his own private gardens, reflecting 
pool, and numerous other displays of affluence across his property, all 
of it guarded by one of the best security systems money could buy. He 
had no fears, not here, in the center of his power.

Orihara mulled over the idea of having his favorite mistress come over 
for a little bit of fun when there was a knock on the door. Somewhat 
irritated at the interruption of his thoughts, he ordered it opened, and 
his manservant appeared with a phone in hand, informing Orihara that a 
call had come on his private line. If it was on that line, it was of 
utmost importance. Only people of consequence knew the number. He 
accepted the phone and dismissed the servant. Prying eyes and overheard 
statements spilled more than one secret throughout history, especially 
by underlings who all too often went unnoticed, despite them being 
underfoot.

Orihara spoke into the receiver. �Hello� Oh it�s you, Miss Kunou. I�m 
very glad to hear from you, and so soon. I hope you�ve given the matter 
some thought�. You have? Excellent! And what�s your answer?�

A loud whine came from outside the room, momentarily distracting the 
councilman. �Hold on. I just heard something odd.� He placed the phone 
down on the table, next to the mostly devoured body of a Peking Duck, 
and walked toward the door, intent on reaming out the bodyguard for 
distracting him during an important conversation.

Orihara threw open the door and saw the remains of something that at one 
time might have been human, but was now just a charred hunk of meat, not 
all that different than what lay on his dinner plate. Before the 
councilman could complete his thoughts, a loud thump caught his 
attention. He looked down the hall in the direction of the noise and saw 
a large, white and red armored figure approach. He had been around 
military hardware long enough to recognize a battle suit, even if he 
didn�t recognize what type it was.

Everything fell into place. Backing away, Orihara pleaded. �I have 
money. I can give you twice, no, ten times whatever it is you�re being 
paid.�

The armored figure raised its right arm, the one with the blaze canon 
attached to it. �I�m being paid a pound of flesh, and let me assure you 
you will be paying far more then ten times that.�

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi Kunou heard a loud noise, and then the phone went dead. She 
looked at it and shrugged. Perhaps the weasel had had second thoughts 
about taking bribes. So be it. It suited her just as well. It would be 
up to him to contact her if he wished to try and shake her down for 
money a second time, because she wasn�t about to approach him and ask 
about the matter.

She hung up the phone, relieved at being able to sleep peacefully, at 
least for tonight.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

��And early this morning, Councilman Takao Orihara was found dead this 
morning, along with his entire household staff and several bodyguards, 
in what has been theorized as a professional hit by some sort of 
criminal organization. Councilman Orihara had made many enemies over 
time due to his power and influence in politics, and there were rumors 
that he had been engaged in illegal activities himself. Also in the news--�

�Good riddance to crooked politicians,� Sanso Takaguchi turned off the 
radio in his car and gazed briefly at the ocean as it passed by. He 
always enjoyed the view of ocean from the coastal highway. He took a 
moment to enjoy the briny air, then switched his attention to the 
upcoming meetings today. He had a conference to overview some details 
about a recent case with a client. That should take about forty minutes. 
Then he could have his secretary put in that new client. That would take 
an hour fifteen if he stretched it out and explained things very slowly. 
Then he had a business luncheon at a nearby caf�. Ten minutes to get 
there, and a little over an hour for the meal. With any luck he could 
charge for five hours work in less than three and a half and get to 
write off the lunch as a tax deduction. Thank god for that little phrase 
�and a portion thereof,� it made life so much easier.

Takaguchi was mentally adding up the hours when there was a loud thump 
on the roof and he felt the car bounce on its shocks, as though 
something had landed on the vehicle. Panicked, he hit the breaks, but 
for some odd reason he kept going at the exact same speed. At first he 
thought the breaks had gone out, but then realized the car was starting 
to move not only faster, but higher. His hands clenched his steering 
wheel so tightly the knuckles turned white. Somewhere in the back of his 
mind, a rational part said he should try to call for help on his cell 
phone, but all the other parts preferred remaining paralyzed until 
something shocked them out of it. Soon he was above the highway, then he 
ran out of highway and was �driving� above the ocean with a far more 
breathtaking view than he had ever experienced. He could feel himself 
leaning backward as the car rose up in the sky, like a jet that had just 
taken off.

Watching the ocean traveling beneath his tires was the shock that 
started everything going. �What�s going on?!� he screamed at the top of 
his lungs.

The sound of Asuka Saginomiya�s electronically filtered voice came over 
a loudspeaker from above the car. �Revenge for your betrayal, Judas, and 
justice for your blatant over billing.� The Steel Lily cut the magnetic 
hold she had on the car, dropping it into the ocean with Takaguchi 
inside. At the height he was plummeted from and the speed he would hit, 
it might as well have been concrete.

Asuka used a device on the armor to record the moment for posterity.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi Kunou watched as one of her newest inventions rumbled out of the 
storage complex and onto the concrete, heading toward the new 
construction site situated on Kunou Industries property. It was great 
timing that she should complete it just as they started to tear down the 
biolabs that used to house the pineapple genetics laboratory. An 
obsession with pineapples was her father�s preoccupation, not hers, and 
it was time Kunou Industries stuck with mechanical engineering, and not 
waste money on building the better tropical fruit.

Outwardly the vehicle appeared to be a cross between an octopus and a 
construction site, which was a fairly accurate comparison. The new 
vehicle was intended to be multipurpose. It was like a steam roller, 
crane, forklift, scoop shovel and wrecking crew all in one. While it was 
so monstrously gigantic it could only be used on large scale 
construction sites, it was less than half the price of buying all the 
pieces of equipment individually, and could be operated by half as many 
people. The advertising branch was a bit leery as test markets had 
indicated many construction workers were turned off by the vehicle�s 
mish-mash appearance, but Kodachi was convinced it would catch on. The 
fact that its shakedown run would also be used to save money as she 
knocked down and rebuilt one of her labs was a bonus and good omen, as 
far as she was concerned.

Kodachi�s cell phone beeped. The display indicated the number was from 
the security branch of KI. Concerned, she asked, �What is it?�

The head of security said, �Ma�am, radar just picked up an unidentified 
object moving at a high velocity toward��

The rest was cut off as a wide beam of ruby energy lanced down from the 
sky and blew up the prototype construction vehicle.

Kodachi watched as a white and red armored figure landed next to the 
twisted pieces of metal that had once been her creation. �I think I can 
identify it.� She hung up the phone and dived into the nearest empty 
office. Luckily she had her attach� case with her, and this newcomer had 
drawn everyone�s attention. That was all the privacy she needed. Within 
seconds she would don her streamlined Iron Rose armor, and then there 
would be hell to pay.

xxxxxxxxxx

Outside the building, Steel Lily stared down at the ruins of the ugly 
monstrosity that she had blown apart. She watched in amusement as people 
began running away from her in terror.

Activating her loudspeaker, she shouted, �If you thought something like 
that would be marketable, I�m doing you a favor in reducing it to 
scrap.� She looked around and, realizing she was in the heart of her 
only remaining enemy�s stronghold, decided to have some fun. She started 
to field test her weapons on every vehicle and smaller target around. 
Equipment, parts, cars, and even dumpsters were destroyed with her 
various weapons. While she didn�t deliberately target any human beings, 
she didn�t go out of her way to make certain everyone was in the clear 
when she opened fire either.

After gleefully blowing apart every vehicle in sight, an amusing idea 
occurred to Steel Lilly. She reactivated her loudspeaker and said, 
�Lowly worker ants of Kunou Industries, hear me now. I demand you hand 
your employer, Kodachi Kunou, over to me. If you fail to provide me with 
the person I wish to kill, I will satisfy myself by killing all of you 
instead. You have five minutes to comply.�

�Five seconds is all it will take to finish you off!�

Steel Lilly turned in the direction of the voice and got hit with twin 
repulsor rays for her trouble. Gyroscopes in her armor tried keeping her 
upright, but the force was too great and she was hurled to the ground. 
She looked up to see that accursed bodyguard of Kodachi�s, the infernal 
copycat, Iron Rose, flying around.

It was almost reflex as much as anything as Steel Lilly brought up her 
Blaze Cannon. The beam of energy hit Iron Rose squarely in the body and 
sent her hurling to the ground, her armor smoldering from the intensity 
of the blast.

Asuka rose to her feet. �I am Steel Lilly, you worthless piece of KI 
crap. Today is the day I prove to the world the greatness of my genius, 
and the inferiority of that overrated moron, Kodachi Kunou, by peeling 
that armor off you like a banana.�

Iron Rose returned to her feet. �So says someone dressed in a knock off 
of my old armor.�

�It is not a knock off!� Steel Lilly raged as she fired her Blaze Cannon 
once again. Iron Rose flew up, avoiding the blast, but Steel Lilly had 
been expecting that. She put full power into her jets and shot up at top 
speed, a human missile. The speed was so great Iron Rose could do 
nothing as her for slammed into her with an airborne tackle that carried 
them both through the air. A cry of pain escaped Iron Rose�s lips as 
they collided with the very labs that had been slated for destruction.

They landed in the third floor before skidding to a halt. Steel Lilly 
released her hold, a bit disoriented by the experience, and started to 
rise when a savage fist met her head, knocking her backward. Another 
blow landed in her stomach, where the armor was thicker, though some 
damage warnings flashed across her readout display.

Underestimating how much damage the second blow had done, Iron Rose 
moved too slow as her opponent grabbed her by the helmet with an 
oversized hand. The smirk under Steel Lilly visor could be felt as she 
said, �Let�s see how you like electricity.�

Tens of thousands of volts poured into the black and grey armor. Steel 
Lilly amused herself by guessing how much voltage she�d have to send 
into the dilapidated piece of useless machinery before it, and the woman 
inside, succumbed to the amperage.

Her estimate of two hundred thousand was proven wrong as a blow far 
mightier than any of the others knocked Steel Lilly through five rather 
thick walls and clean out of the building. She flew through the air 
nearly as fast as she had entering the structure. The ground arrested 
her flight, leaving a crater in the pavement with the armored warrior in 
the center.

Iron Rose flew out of the hole Steel Lilly had created. She landed next 
to the crater, hands on her hips in superiority. �Ohhohoho! I enjoyed it 
very much, since I can absorb it and make my armor even more powerful. 
Let�s see if you can say the same.� She pointed her own armored gauntlet 
at the fallen girl. Numerous ribbon-like wires shot out from concealed 
holes in the forearm and wrapped themselves around the armor. Seconds 
later, voltage shot down their length.

Unfazed by the electricity, Steel Lilly rose to her feet.

Iron Rose cut the power and retracted her ribbons. �I see you can deal 
with it, not that it takes much intellect to devise armor which can 
harness electricity employed against it.�

Tired of this upstart�s continued survival, Steel Lilly shouted out, 
�Die!� and opened up with her Blaze Cannon. Again Iron Rose lifted up to 
the skies. Inside her armor, Asuka smirked at the fool�s ineptness in 
attempting the same evasion twice. She shot up in the air, intent on 
drilling her foe so hard that there would be nothing left but a splotch 
of pulped flesh inside her armor.

This time Iron Rose was prepared, her lighter armor far more agile than 
Steel Lilly suspected. The smaller armored figure barely managed an 
aerial twist which avoided the ram by mere centimeters. Realizing she 
had missed her target, Steel Lilly tried arcing back to hit her on a 
second pass. However, the massive armor was not built for 
maneuverability, and the turn arc was large and ponderous. Repulsor 
beams hit her in the left calf, right were her external engines were 
located. The beams hit with such force they knocked out the jets on that 
leg. Unable to compensate for thrust coming from only one side, Steel 
Lilly went out of control, landing head first into the ground and 
leaving a second smaller, but still significant, impact crater behind.

She rose up from the cracked and broken pavement, seething in fury like 
a pent up volcano. Screaming incoherently she unleashed dozens of blasts 
from her Blaze Cannon, lighting up the sky with a ruby display. The 
barrage forced Iron Rose to put everything she had into evading the 
aerial assault. Her old armor would have been struck a dozen times, but 
with her Mark II a trio of blasts barely nicked her suit.

Steel Lilly poured on the bombardment until her weapon suddenly ceased 
firing. It took several seconds for the lack of fire to register. A 
quick check showed the Blaze Cannon had overheated and some of the wires 
leading to the power pack on the back had melted, rendering the weapon 
non-operational.

Iron Rose used the opportunity to return fire. Twin repulsor beams 
struck, driving Steel Lilly further into the crater she had created. 
Some signs of external damage could finally be seen in the form of some 
cracks appearing where the beams had impacted.

The flying girl taunted, �It appears your pitiful weapon is broken. I 
guess you�ll have to go back to your basement to create another one.�

In response Steel Lilly raised her left arm, pointing her fist at her 
foe. A pill shaped bolt of energy leapt from it, striking the posturing 
Iron Rose and sending her spiraling to the ground. Slowly the dark 
armored hero rose to her feet and the two squared off again.

�Pulse bolt. The farther away you are, the more powerful it gets,� Steel 
Lilly explained.

�It just means it�ll take longer to defeat you, but I will. Your 
inexperience and inferior gear is showing.�

�The only thing your piece of scrap has going for it is maneuverability. 
Stand still and you�ll be history,� Steel Lilly shot back.

�That maneuverability is exactly why I switched to a lighter armor. All 
the firepower in the world means nothing if you can�t hit your target,� 
Iron Rose boasted.

�Point taken. Let�s see if I can�t convince you that you should remain 
stationary.� She pointed over Iron Rose�s shoulder and shouted, �Look, 
innocent bystanders!�

Iron Rose suddenly became aware of the fact their battle had taken them 
near the main gates of Kunou Industries where people were fleeing in 
massive numbers, some of them on foot, others in vehicles. There was no 
way she could protect everyone from Steel Lilly, not with the distance 
between them.

�You can�t do it!� Iron Rose shouted.

�Just watch.� From the triangle in the center of chest of Steel Lilly, a 
laser shot out toward a passenger shuttle full of people that had been 
trying to escape. Rather than striking the vehicle, the laser cut 
through the tires, immobilizing it.

Steel Lilly taunted in a teasing voice, �And for my next trick.� She 
aimed the laser much higher this time, cutting through the support of a 
huge antenna that served as the primary communications for the 
headquarters. It began toppling toward the stationary bus even as people 
tried to flee out of it in a mad panic.

Seeing virtually no one would get out in time, Iron Rose flew at top 
speed catching the teetering antenna before it had descended halfway. It 
was heavy enough that with the damage her armor had taken, in 
combination with the power she had used up, she was fighting a losing 
battle with the structure�s weight.

Rather than attacking immediately, Steel Lilly rose up in the air, 
hovering on her jets, despite the damage to one of her legs. From the 
square shape on her back, several long sheets of thin metal extended, 
widening and curling forward, almost like the petals of a flower. A 
golden spark of energy jumped between two of the sheets. A second later 
several others followed between different petals. Soon a steady steam of 
sparks jumped between them, flecks of white interspersed in the flow of 
energy. Within moments there was a solid field of energy leaping between 
the petals and a nimbus of orange surrounded the white and red armor.

�Suffer the wrath of Steel Lilly�s most lethal attack: Deathblossom!� A 
beam of golden energy several times the thickness of the laser burst 
from her armor�s chest.

The last of the shuttle passengers had fled to safety when the 
Deathblossom beam hit Iron Rose fully in the back. The impact blew her 
clean through the antenna, severing it in two, where it crashed to the 
ground harming no one. Iron Rose herself soared through the air in what 
was obviously an uncontrolled flight, and landed out of sight.

Steel Lilly floated back to the ground, her power supply dangerously 
low. Deathblossom was by far her most formidable weapon, but also her 
most draining, and her power level hadn�t been that high to begin with. 
It had actually released more energy than the simulations had shown, and 
had ruined the circuitry in her chest weaponry, preventing any chance of 
using the weapon a second time. Even the chest laser was ruined. It 
would take several minutes for her armor to recharge enough to be 
considered battle worthy, but Iron Rose would be lucky if she were still 
alive after taking a direct hit from Deathblossom. Still, it didn�t pay 
to take chances.

Judging by the point of impact and Iron Rose�s arc, Steel Lilly 
estimated the body had probably fallen near the edge of Kunou Industries 
grounds. She made certain she walked slowly before arriving near the 
location where she guessed her foe had landed. To her surprise, while 
there was a furrow through the concrete that indicated where Kunou�s 
bodyguard had landed, there was no body. Looking around, Steel Lily 
spotted several bits of black metal lying near an open warehouse-like 
structure. So she had been damaged, but not mortally, at least, not yet. 
But that could easily be rectified.

With her armor recharged to thirty percent, Steel Lilly was willing to 
put that up against whatever remained of Kodachi�s pathetic little 
brainchild. Steel Lilly entered the warehouse, her sensors extended at 
maximum, though they operated at less than half their normal efficiency. 
It turned out she didn�t need the armor�s systems to locate her foe 
amongst the machines in what was some sort of indoor testing facility. 
Steel Lilly�s eyes were more than sufficient to see Iron Rose crawling 
like a pathetic maggot, trying to lift herself up by grabbing onto some 
control panel, her armor in shambles. The metal was mostly missing from 
the back where Deathblossom had struck, and cracks ran throughout the 
whole thing. It was almost certainly inoperable. As wrecked as it was, a 
band of common street thugs could probably finish off the much overrated 
bodyguard. One more blast from a pulse bolt was all it would take.

As Steel Lilly moved in for the kill, walking slowly so as to savor the 
moment, Iron Rose turned and held up her hand. Reflexively Steel Lilly 
tensed, suspecting another repulsor ray to strike her. Instead the 
bodyguard cried out, �Wait! Tell me why you�re doing this.�

For a moment Steel Lilly pondered firing anyway, then reconsidered. Her 
other enemies hadn�t truly known why they were going to die. She had 
been so eager to kill Orihara she had shot him on sight, and Takaguchi 
hadn�t had time to appreciate what had happened to him. Anyone could 
kill an enemy, making them suffer was the province of the truly talented.

Steel Lilly snarled out. �Vengeance! The Kunous screwed me out of my 
business, my family, and my life, so I�m going to take theirs. I�m going 
to kill you, your employer, level this whole place, and then I�m going 
to have lunch!�

�Killing doesn�t solve anything,� Iron Rose gasped out.

�Actually, I�ve found killing my enemies has made everything better.� 
She raised her hands up. �Especially when they underestimate me by 
thinking��

She spun, firing pulse bolts into the robotic arms that had been moving 
the ten ton piece of rock toward her. The blasts sheared the arms off, 
sending the masonry to the floor, landing a mere two meters in front of 
her. She stared at the slab, smiling under her helmet. ��that they can 
distract me with their inane babble while they try something pathetic 
like this to stop me.�

Behind her, Iron Rose said, �Actually, my talk wasn�t the distraction. 
That thing was.�

Steel Lilly spun around and found a cannon with a glowing multi-faceted 
crystal pointing right at her. She brought her arms up again, but it was 
too late as the beam of energy hit solidly in the chest at near point 
blank range. The blast lifted her off her feet and embedded her two feet 
deep into the concrete slab. Her armored form remained there, unmoving, 
almost like a fossilized piece of technology.

�My armor can still kick your armor�s ass,� Iron Rose said, then slumped 
against the control panel.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

�Visitor for you, Miss Saginomiya.�

Asuka turned a contemptuous eye at the prison guard. She mentally marked 
the woman as being one of the first to fall when she managed to break 
out of here. Lots of the guards and inmates needed to pay for making her 
time in prison hell. She�d just level the whole goddamn place, once she 
figured out how to escape and build a new armor. After that, she�d hunt 
down and kill Kodachi Kunou�s armored thug, and then the girl herself. 
Kunou hadn�t escaped vengeance; she�d simply prolonged her life for a 
little while longer. Already Asuka�s mind was awhirl with new 
innovations for her Steel Lilly armor. She�d take out that oversized 
toaster in less than five minutes.

But vengeance was for later. She allowed herself to be led by the guard 
to the visitors� room. Asuka wondered who had come to visit her. She had 
kept quiet about her connection to her temporary employer, who hadn�t 
lodged any protests about her actions. Hadn�t mentioned anything at all 
about her being hired there, for that matter. Apparently they were 
content to keep things quiet, and Asuka was perfectly happy to do the 
same. There was no one else who would visit her that she was aware of. 
Certainly no one had since she had arrived.

The guard sat Asuka down in the little cubical with the transparent 
glass across from her. To her right was a phone that could be used to 
communicate with the visitor. Upon identifying who the person on the 
other side of the glass was, it took everything Asuka had to not try to 
leap through it, and that was only because she didn�t want to injure 
herself by bouncing off the shatterproof material.

�What do you want, you overrated car mechanic?� Asuka spat into the 
phone at Kodachi, wishing her words could kill.

Kodachi stared at her through the glass, her gaze placid, as though the 
knowledge that the person across from her wanted her dead more than 
anything in the world meant nothing. �I asked around to find out why you 
wanted to kill me. I thought you might have been the one behind the 
disappearance of my father and brother, but there�s no way you could 
have done it. You didn�t have any real motive until your company went 
under, long after they left.�

�If they pop back up, I promise to kill them right after I finish you 
and that bitch bodyguard of yours off,� Asuka swore.

Kodachi smiled slightly. �You don�t like me because you think my company 
stole what would have been your military contracts when we bribed 
Orihara, yes?�

�Of course!� Asuka spat. �The one time you didn�t bribe him, Saginomiya 
Machine won the contract. That�s why you started bribing him, because 
you couldn�t compete with us.�

Kodachi shook her head. �Actually, when he first shook down Kunou 
Industries for money, my father refused to pay him. After losing out on 
the contract, my father investigated the situation. He discovered all of 
the secret accounts and where Orihara�s money came from. Many 
interesting places, as it turned out. Very many interesting places, 
including one from Saginomiya Machine. That�s why you won the contract. 
After that one loss, my father simply out bribed yours. That was why we 
kept winning contract after contract. It wasn�t because you stood on 
some moral high ground; my father was simply a better cheater than yours 
was. Well, that and KI makes better things than SM ever did. I just 
thought you should know you threw away your life based on a lie.�

The look of shock on Asuka�s face was worth all the broken ribs, 
sprained muscles, and bruises Kodachi had suffered from the assault at 
her hands. Kodachi rose from her chair and had turned her back when she 
heard Asuka bodily hurling herself against the glass and sent a new 
round of vitriolic expletives in her direction. Kodachi personally 
admitted she probably could have dealt with the situation better, but it 
had been cathartic. After the beating she had suffered, and the damage 
inflicted on Kunou Industries, it was the least Asuka deserved.

Perhaps she should have cut Asuka a break. After all, the 
self-proclaimed Steel Lilly had done Kodachi a favor in killing Orihara. 
The new head of the committee appeared honest, or at least he wasn�t 
trying to extort money from Kunou Industries, allowing the contract to 
be won on merit, and no one was better than KI.

That meant Asuka had saved Kodachi the money it would have taken to 
bribe Orihara into not holding out on the contracts. She hadn�t liked 
the idea of bribing him, but crooked or not, that was the way the game 
was played under Orihara�s rules, with the contract going to she who 
bribed the best. At least the corrupt politician had inadvertently done 
his job by choosing the best weapons, even if it wasn�t for the right 
reasons. Kodachi would have been reluctantly willing to do the same 
things her father had when it came to Orihara. She would have been 
damned if she�d allow Kunou Industries to go the way Saginomiya Machine 
had for her pride. But it hadn�t happened, so what difference did it 
really make?

It was with a clean conscious she left Asuka and the prison behind, 
ready to enjoy yet another day of her wonderful life.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[End Fic]





             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'