Okay folks...this is a teaser for something I thought up several
months ago. I never did anything with it partially because I had so
much else going, and partially because I had passed this idea along
to someone who never got back to me on it. Anyway, here it is...I'm
not sure whether to add this to my heap, or pass it off to someone
else. So I'll put it this way: if anybody is interested, e-mail me
and we'll discuss it.
Otherwise, enjoy! ^_^
--nerima, tokyo ** december 24, 1993--
Flurries of snow drifted across the twilight sky as pedestrians
trundled along the frosted sidewalks, shrugging deep into parkas and
thick overcoats.
One person huddled in the mouth of an alley wished she had a
coat...or at least a blanket. Anything to drive out the freezing
chill. *How do I end up in these situations?* she wondered to
herself, as a great sneeze racked her small frame.
"Oi, Ryuu!" a rough male voice called from a landrover parked by the
side of the street. "Are you through peeing yet?"
The boy emerging from the public restroom turned bright red.
"Dad...you're embarassing me," he muttered under his breath. A nearby
noise caught his attention, and he turned to peer into the alley.
"Who's there?" he asked.
A horn honked. "Ryuu! Hurry up, we need to get home before our
dinner gets cold!"
"Just a minute, Dad!" Ryuu shouted in the direction of the car as he
approached the alleyway. "Hello?" he said cautiously.
A tiny, black-furred head, coated with a light dusting of snow,
peeked out at him, blinking large, luminous eyes.
"Kawaii!" the boy said, crouching and extending a hand to the cat.
"Poor thing...you're freezing to death, aren't you?"
The cat nodded, mewing pitifully. It sneezed.
"C'mon, you shouldn't be out in this snow. You'll get sick. I'll
take you home with me, okay?"
The cat stepped cautiously out of the alley, and Ryuu scooped it up
in his arms. He headed over to the landrover. "Hey, Dad!"
A man with a somewhat stubbly face, bangs covering his eyes, and a
cigarette dangling from his mouth opened the door, leaning out.
"What's that?" he asked, indicating the feline.
"It's a cat," Ryuu said. "Poor thing was freezing to death in the
alley over there. Can we take it home?"
Ryuu's father shrugged. "I don't see why not. It's Christmas Eve,
and all..."
Ryuu climbed carefully into the vehicle, cradling the cat in his
arms. The smell of the bucket of fried chicken resting between the
seats made his stomach growl. His father chuckled. "Sounds like
someone's hungry," he grinned. "We'll eat as soon as we get ho--"
A sudden, deafening roar came from above, and the occupants of the
landrover looked up. The cigarette nearly fell from the man's mouth,
as a hoverjet dropped into view in front of them.
"KYUSAKU," a woman's voice boomed from a loudspeaker mounted on the
jet. "HAND OVER RYUU AND THE PROTOTYPE."
Kyusaku leaned out the window of the car, and shook a defiant fist,
with a finger gesture for emphasis, at the hoverjet. "No way in hell!
Get lost! Tell Akiko she can forget about the NK-1124!"
"Uh, Dad?" Ryuu said.
"YOU ASKED FOR IT," the voice on the speaker roared. A small missle
locked into firing position on the base of the hoverjet.
"SHIT!" Kyusaku yelled, as he started the landrover and gunned it
into reverse. "Hold on tight, Ryuu..."
The missile tore free of its launcher with a flash of fire, and
streaked towards the car. The hood crumpled like tissue, and plumes
of smoke and steam erupted from the engine. The windshield shattered.
Kyusaku covered himself and his son with the lab coat he wore.
When the smoke cleared, the hoverjet was gone. Kyusaku scowled,
making one more gesture in the general position it had last occupied.
"Damn you, Akiko," he spat.
Ryuunosuke's soft cries from beside him caught his attention. "Ryuu?
Ryuu, are you alright?" Fearing the worst, he examined his son.
The boy was fine, with maybe a bruise or two from being shaken up.
The cat he'd taken in, on the other hand...
*This is the end for me,* the black cat thought. *After all I've
been through these last few years...who would have thought it would
end like this? In some affair that's not related to...* A shallow
cough escaped her throat, and a small spray of blood dripped from her
mouth. *Gomen ne...Usagi-chan...*
Kyusaku grimaced as he looked at the bleeding body of the small cat.
Her sleek black fur was matted crimson, and her breathing was ragged.
"Dad...you've got to do something. She's dying..."
The boy's father frowned, taking a long drag on his cigarette. He
stared calmly at the dying feline, gauging the amount of time the
animal had left to live. His eyes then shifted to the assortment of
boxes in the back of the landrover. An array of electronic devices
stuffed the boxes, along with something resembling an unfinished
mannequin torso.
"Hmmm..."
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The Eternal Lost Lurker
...who uses a Microsoft e-mail client, and is
damned proud of it.
EternalLostLurker@worldnet.att.net
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/9502
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