This contains a section not sent out before between the main story and
the epilogue.  Hopefully it clears up some curiosities.  I need to thank
Ronny Hedin, Grayson Towler, Sean Gaffney and Richard Lawson  for 
helping with the spelling, wording, and story concerns.  A gold star
to everyone else who responded and I didn't mail back.  I'm lazy and
I've been busy (bad combination).  :)






                            Blood Relations
                            by Lara Bartram


	"Will it keep?"
	"For as long as it needs to.  I'll bring them in when they reach 
18; that'll be a good point.  Until that time, they'll live as normal 
children."  Midori looked with fondness at the two children.  Her 
children.
	She kneeled down in front of the two, each of them looking at 
her with wide-eyed innocence.  Smiling at them, she took each of their 
hands in hers.  "I have to go, children.  I'll miss you both.  I love 
you dearly and want you to know I wouldn't leave unless I absolutely 
had to."
	They looked at her and nodded, their facial expressions never 
changing.
	Midori looked back at Tamon, her expression changing from warmth 
to extreme seriousness.  "Things are not going well.  I'm going to 
concentrate on finding out the exact point of variance.  Then I should 
be able to apply it to these two."
	Tamon nodded.
	Midori gave him a small smiled and turned back to the children.  
"Remember that I love you, and I will see you again."  She kissed each 
of them on the forehead, then stood, releasing their hands.  "Be 
good."
	They nodded in unison.
	"I wish I didn't have to leave them, but this won't wait.  If I 
put it off any longer, things will only get worse," she said to Tamon 
again.
	"I understand.  They will too when they get older."
	"No!  Never tell them," Midori said angrily.  "Only when the 
controls are released will the situation be known.  Only then.  Before 
that and their sanity could be in jeopardy."
	"Understood then," Tamon said.  "They'll miss their mother."  He 
took the hand of the younger child.
	"Please don't make this any harder than it has to be.  Do you 
know just how hard it was to put the controls on them?  Look at them 
now.  They barely even recognize me."
	"They know you.  Deep inside, they'll always know you.  They'll 
know the truth."
	Midori sighed heavily and hugged Tamon.  "I do grow weary of 
this.  Once this gets worked out, I think I'll turn project control 
over to someone else.  After this, I just can't do it again."
	The two kissed, and with one last longing look back, Midori 
left.
	The children started to follow, but Tamon restrained them.  "No, 
children.  She's gone."

[7 YEARS LATER]

	There wasn't anything different about what had happened, but the 
results could never have been predicted.
	His head snapped back just before the rest of his body went 
flying and impacted against a wall.  He slid down to the ground and 
laid there, unmoving.
	"Kuno-chan, you're totally hopeless.  I guess it's another well-
paid trip to the infirmary."  She grabbed the back of his gi and began 
dragging him toward the school.

	In class, things seemed the same as always.  Except for the 
person sitting next to Nabiki.  She didn't notice a thing, but then, 
this was one of the trickier chapters of calculus and she was turning 
almost her full attention to it.  Besides, she knew there were certain 
well-paying fools that would need help later.  Glancing over at Kuno, 
she saw that he wasn't taking any notes at all, and she mentally 
marked him down.
	Kuno stared at the blackboard as the teacher wrote the problem 
down.  He considered, for a moment, writing it down in his notebook, 
but discovered, unlike previous class periods, that he didn't need to.
	He already knew the information being presented, he already knew 
the answer.  And more, a lot more.
	And he didn't know why.

	Nabiki sauntered over to Kuno, expecting him to be drawing a 
blank on the earlier problems.  She was about to deliver her usual 
greeting when she saw the sheet of paper on his desk in front of him.
	It appeared to have all the homework problems finished on it.  
They were written in a tiny, precise script that was completely unlike 
Kuno's usual almost calligraphic writing.
	Kuno himself was just staring at the paper, the pencil still 
held in his hand.  He had a rather stunned look on his face.
	Instead of saying anything, Nabiki backed away, wondering where 
Kuno had found help so quickly.

*  *  *

	"Ey, Tatchi!  I tink it's time fo' de monthly cut!"  The 
slightly more than deranged principal of Furinkan high school, a man 
the two Kuno children refused to acknowledge as their father, advanced 
on Tatewaki with his shears.
	"Not today, Father.  I have other business to attend to."
	Grinning merrily, the principal rushed forward to give his son a 
nice, close shave.
	Faster than either was prepared for, Tatewaki grabbed his 
father's wrist and twisted sharply to the left.
	If he twisted another centimeter, bones would have snapped.  As 
it was, the sudden pain forced the older man's fingers to open, and 
the shears fell to the floor.
	Adjusting his grip, Tatewaki twisted just a little more and sent 
the larger man spinning to the floor as well.  With that done, he 
walked off to his room.
	Rising slowly, slight pain in his back, the principal stood and 
collected his shears.  He went to the phone and picked up the handset.  
Before dialing, he listened to the house.  When silence was the only 
thing he heard, he dialed a series of numbers that correlated to no 
known public number on record.
	He listened to the phone on the other end buzz once, then the 
click as it was picked up.  "There's a problem?" a woman's voice 
asked.  It was the only reason the line would be used.
	"I think... I think he broke through the controls."
	There was silence for a moment.  "Watch them both carefully.  I 
can't leave now, but I'll be over as soon as I can."  She was silent 
once again.
	"How are they?" she asked suddenly.  "How are my children?"
	The silence was an unfortunate answer.
	"I see you couldn't even handle two children, Tamon.  I will be 
there as soon as possible."
	The phone clicked loudly in his ear as Midori hung up.  Sighing, 
Tamon hung up and went to check on his daughter.  With any luck, her 
controls would still be in place.

*  *  *

	Tatewaki looked at the blade in his hands.  It wasn't just a 
blade, but it wasn't any sort of extension of his body either.  The 
blade was a tool, and he knew it was a deadly tool.
	A hundred places on the human body to place it and cause death 
flashed through his mind.  No desire to ever do such a thing, just the 
simple knowledge.
	Resheathing the tanto and putting it back in its place, Tatewaki 
picked up his bokken and began his regular workout.
	It was difficult.  Hi body wanted to rebel, do things that 
weren't part of his practice.  Lots of running, leaping, rolling and 
non-standard slashes...  He fought the impulses to perform these 
moves.  Barely.
	Stopping and throwing his bokken down in disgust, unable to find 
any peace in the repetitive movements, Tatewaki kneeled down and 
picked up the tanto again.
	There was something about the bare steel that hypnotized him.  
He turned it over in his hands and slowly removed the blade from the 
sheath.
	Blade fully bared, he laid it against his skin, observing the 
contrast between the two.
	Metal.  It was so much more pleasant to look at and feel than 
plain wood of a bokken.  It felt so much more real, especially the way 
the edge bit so delicately into his skin.  Its sharpness was unrivaled 
and he knew that it could slice him to the bone as easily as it could 
cut water.
	"Ey, Tatchi!"
	The sound of his worthless father's voice drew his attention 
away from the tanto.  Snarling and glaring as the intrusion, Tatewaki 
prepared to use the weapon.  "What do you want?"
	"Tatchi, dis be fo' yo' own good!"
	"I sincerely doubt that."
	His father's voice changed radically in that moment.  "But it 
is.  Don't you want to know about everything you're feeling?"
	Tatewaki stared at his father.  "How... do you know?" he asked 
in complete stunned amazement.
	"Tatchi, get changed into something appropriate.  There's 
someone you need to meet."

	It was almost an hour later.  Tatewaki had first attempted to 
dress in his usual outfit, but he had felt downright foolish in it.  
Instead, he managed to find some more normal clothing that had been 
stowed far in the back of his closet.
	So he was in a pair of loose gray pants and an ivory, button-
down shirt.  There hadn't been any suitable shoes to go with the rest 
of the outfit so he went without.
	Heading downstairs after freshening up somewhat, he looked for 
his father.  "Father?" he called out.  "Father, if this is some sort 
of joke..."  Stepping into the sitting room, the words died on 
Tatewaki's lips.  He had located his father.
	"Tatewaki, do you remember me?"
	"Mother?"  He took one hesitant step forward.
	"It's me, Tatewaki."  Midori smiled at him and held her arms 
out.
	Tatewaki took one more hesitant step forward before suddenly 
running and taking her in a fierce hug.  "Mother, I thought you were 
dead!"
	Hugging him back, Midori kissed the side of Tatewaki's head.  "I 
know you did, Tatewaki, but I'm here now."
	"Kodachi will be so glad to see you!"
	"No, Tatewaki.  She can't yet.  Things aren't finished yet; I 
still have work to do.  She's too young."  She kissed him again.  "Do 
you understand, Tatewaki?  You mustn't tell her."
	"She'll be so disappointed."
	"Don't worry.  We'll all be reunited soon enough.  But right 
now, I hear you're having some problems.  I think I can help you with 
them."
	When Tatewaki pulled out of her arms, it nearly broke her heart.  
This had happened before, and she had been gone for seven years.  She 
didn't want that to happen, but she knew she would have to leave 
again.  "You're a smart boy, Tatewaki, and you know that I can't 
answer all your questions, but I'll do the best I can."
	Midori sat down on the couch and watched Tatewaki try to voice 
his troubles as he sat next to her.
	"Mother, I... I'm not who I was.  I know things I didn't know 
before.  It... it scares me," Tatewaki said.  He held his mother's 
hand like he was still a small child.
	"That's because you know more than you should at this age, 
Tatewaki.  Your sister does too, but she doesn't remember it yet.
	"It's because of me, Tatewaki.  I've... I've done some things 
I'm not proud of, things I wish I never did.  But I can't take those 
things back now."  Midori looked into his eyes.
	"You and Kodachi were the first subjects of an experiment in 
learning through applied gene and hormonal therapy."  She looked away 
at that point, ashamed.
	"What?  Mother, I don't understand."
	"You do, Tatewaki, but I don't blame you for not wanting to."  
She rubbed his back and tried to think of a way to explain things.  
"Tatewaki, I... I can't explain why I did certain things because I 
don't know myself.  I wish I hadn't robbed you of your chance at 
leading a normal life...  Just don't hate me for what I've done.
	"You _are_ my son and I love you."  A single tear ran down her 
cheek.
	"Mother... what am I?  Why... why can't I have a normal life?"  
Tatewaki looked at her closely, trying to memorize every detail of her 
face so he wouldn't forget again.
	"Nothing so dramatic, Tatewaki.  You'll get to live your life as 
you see fit.  It just won't be normal."  She sighed.  "You'll have to 
learn self-control, something I can help you with when it's time, and 
then..."  She smiled at her son.  "You can do anything you want.  
Probably more than you imagined."
	"And Kodachi?"
	"Kodachi too."
	They sat in silence, simply enjoying the chance to be together 
again in seven years.
	"I don't want you to go," Tatewaki said suddenly.
	Midori shook her head.  "I knew this would happen.  I have to 
go.  It's for your own good."
	"If you're going, I want to go with you.  I don't want to be 
left here again.  I want to be with you."
	Midori hugged Tatewaki tightly.  "We'll all be together again 
soon enough.  When you turn 18 and your schooling is complete, you can 
come with me and wait for Kodachi.  How does that sound?"
	"I don't have a choice, do I?"
	"I'm afraid not.  If I could stay, I would.  If I could take you 
with me, I would.  But..."  She looked apologetically at her son.  
"It's time for you to go back to sleep."  He put her hand on his cheek 
and felt him tremble.  "Go back to sleep, Tatewaki, and when you wake 
up, I'll be there."
	They hugged once more, each of them crying now.
	Tatewaki clutched his mother tightly as the needle slid into his 
arm and the powerful sedative was administered.

	The whole process of "controlling" her children was mentally 
draining to her.  Each time she did it, she felt like a little piece 
of her soul was being ripped away from her.  Or maybe she was readily 
giving it away.  To make her son disappear beneath a personality that 
was not his own hurt.
	Doing it the first time was painful.  Doing it the second time 
was pure hell.
	Midori watched him sleep for a few moments, his face untroubled 
and innocent-looking.  She and her ex-husband had removed the clothes 
he had been wearing and put on his yukata, then put him to bed.
	There was an ache in her heart from seeing his room.  Everything 
in it reminded her that she was forcing him to live a lie.  Not a day 
went by that she didn't regret what she had done to her children.
	"Kodachi is well?" she asked, still watching her son sleep.
	"As well as can be expected.  Everything is stable with her, 
though she misses you terribly.  She thinks no one hears, but I hear.  
She cries for you, she calls out for you in her sleep..."
	Midori hung her head and nodded.  "If it's sooner, to hell with 
school.  They don't need it.  This... this is too much."

	Tatewaki awoke a few hours later with a splitting headache.  He 
wasn't sure what had happened, but... but it must have been that cur 
Saotome's fault!

*  *  *

	"Ey, Tatchi!  I go'n give ya da special birthday cut!"
	"My birthday is not for another three months, 'Father', and even 
then, I will not allow you!"
	The elder Kuno took a playful swipe with his shears at his son, 
smiling the entire time.
	Tatewaki hopped back instinctually and quickly thought of 
something better he had to do as far away from his father as possible.  
It was the only smart thing to do since his father seemed quite 
prepared to shave his head in celebration of his approaching manhood.
	"Three months, Tatchi.  Only three months more."

*  *  *

	Security wasn't tight.  It wasn't any top secret government 
installation; it was just a lab.  So when one of the experiments 
suddenly went wild, went on a bloody rampage, there wasn't much to be 
done.

	The thick security door opened slowly, showing dimensions that 
looked more appropriate on a bank vault.
	"Coast is clear.  He's gone."
	A small group of determined-looking men and women emerged from 
the room behind the door.
	After staring for a few moments at the destruction caused in 
their lab, looking, with grim faces, at the scattered bodies, they 
began to move slowly.  Some still stared at the dead bodies, unable to 
comprehend the reality of death in such a way.
	Even though the deaths were not particularly violent, most 
consisting of broken necks, shattered noses and crushed windpipes, it 
was still horrible to see their coworkers that had been too slow to 
escape.
	They had all died rather cleanly and with military precision, 
bringing a grim smile to one woman's lips.
	"Doctor, what do we do?" a slim man wearing broken glasses 
asked.
	"We start looking for him.  I have a pretty good idea where 
he'll be going."  She looked around.  "And clean this place up."
	"Yes, Dr. Kuno."
	Midori went to an overturned phone and tested it.  Hearing a 
dialtone, she dialed the number to the house in Nerima.

	"I can't talk about this over the phone.  I'm coming over right 
away."
	"But... the children."
	"This is more important.  Their lives, and ours, are in extreme 
danger."
	"You mean..."
	"Yes.  I'm leaving in two minutes."
	"Shit."
	"You can say that again."  Midori hung up and quickly exited the 
lab.  Things were getting messy.

	The door opened before she had even rung the bell.  It was, 
technically, her home, but she visited so infrequently, she always 
felt like a stranger.
	"Where are they? she asked as she walked inside.
	"At school, where I should be.  What's going on?"
	"Kyoji's escaped.  I think he'll come here.  To deal with the 
rest of his family."  The grim look on her face was all Tamon needed 
to know that she wasn't kidding.  Not that she ever kidded.
	"So how do we deal with him?"
	She looked at him evenly.  "We activate our two best 
developmental agents.  It's the only way."
	He shook his head.  "You're kidding.  You can't be serious about 
this."
	"I am.  If any of us want to live to see next year, next month, 
then this is what we have to do."
	"No!  Call the police, or the Americans!  Let them deal with it!  
Not Tatewaki and Kodachi!"
	Shaking her head slowly, Midori spoke softly, "No, that's not an 
option.  The violence that would accompany such an action would surely 
be far worse than what would happen if we fail here.  If we fail, then 
the five of us will die.  If they come in here, guns blazing, who can 
say how many will die?"
	Knowing she was right and hating the logic, Tamon nodded.
"I'll pull them from school now."
	"Excellent.  We'll need as much time as possible to prep them."

	"Father, I demand to know why we..."
	"Quiet!  Listen!"
	That got the Kuno siblings to quiet down and stare at their 
father in shock.
	"Look and listen.  Do nothing else."  He turned on the 
television, which happened to be showing a baseball game at the 
moment.
	They stared quizzically at it.
	"Children, it's time to wake up and come back to us," Midori 
said from behind the two.  It was the only signal that would restore 
their repressed knowledge, the only way they could act as themselves.
	With alarming suddenness, both their eyes glazed over and they 
swayed in their chairs, ready to topple over.  But as quickly as it 
had come, that look disappeared, to be replaced by cold, calculating 
intelligence.
	Opening up the small bag she had brought, Midori pulled out two 
bundles of black cloth.  Standing in front of her children, she  
greeted them warmly, but professionally.  "Children, we have a 
problem."
	They looked at her, but showed no emotion at all.
	"Kyoji has decided that he shall kill us."  She began to unroll 
the bundles on the floor in front of the two.  "You are our only 
chances of survival."
	Each bundle was revealed to be carrying a large assortment of 
knives, daggers and short swords.  The metal of each blade gleamed in 
the afternoon sun, casting reflections all about the room.
	Midori stepped back from the weapons.  "Take care of your 
brother, as quickly as possible.  We wish no further harm to come to 
people."
	Tatewaki and Kodachi both fell to their knees on the floor and 
began examining the assortment of weapons.
	"Arm yourselves as you see fit.  You know Kyoji's capabilities; 
they are your own.  He is unarmed, but his strength is greater than 
the two of you combined.  The unpredictable aspect is his insanity," 
Midori said, sounding like she had made similar speeches before.
	Tatewaki picked up each blade and examined it carefully, but did 
not commit himself to any one.  "I need to change," he said simply, 
then stood and left.
	"Anything you require, Kodachi?"
	"No, Mother.  I think this shall be adequate.  Do you know when 
our brother shall be arriving?"
	"Shortly, I'm afraid.  I awakened you as soon as I could."
	Kodachi nodded.  "He'll have to die?"
	"Only if you think he should.  If you somehow manage to subdue 
him, we'll take him back and try again.  If not, then there will be 
little grieving."
	Again, Kodachi nodded.  "I do hope I'm not the only sibling left 
after this.  Dearest Brother is so foolishly brave and noble," Kodachi 
said, strapping a small knife to her calf.
	"I don't want to see any harm come to either of you.  I'm afraid 
it's too late for Kyoji."  Midori watched her daughter strap a knife 
to her side, under her shirt, then choose a brutal-looking Bowie knife 
as her main weapon.
	"That's all you're taking?"
	"Anything more and I think I shan't have the time to use them."
	"Excellent point, Kodachi.  You've learned well."
	Kodachi looked up at her mother, smiling.  "You taught me,. 
Mother."
	Tatewaki returned then, dressed in a suit that fit him 
perfectly.  "Excellent choice, Mother.  When did you get my 
measurements?"
	Midori smiled at how handsome he looked.  "Did you know you had 
an incident a few months ago?"
	Tatewaki blinked in surprise.  "No, I wasn't aware."
	"Ah, well, I had to make sure you were all right.  It was then, 
as I knew I would be bringing you back soon."
	"It is most appreciated."

	Tatewaki tested the spring-loaded knife in his shirt sleeve, 
then pushed it back into place.  He was ready for his older brother.  
There would not be a group of sheep awaiting his slaughter.

*  *  *

	Kyoji Kuno lumbered down the street.  He had business with his 
family for leaving him to be the subject of a bunch of experiments.  
He refused to be used as any sort of guinea pig, refused to be used as 
some sort of government weapon.
	The house was in his sight now.  He would make them pay for what 
they did to him, just like all those people in the lab had paid.
	He was Kyoji.  Kuno was not his family name, for he had no 
family.  He was Kyoji, and he was unstoppable.

	"I recommend a double assault.  I shall occupy him face to face 
and you can finish him from behind."
	"Foolish brother.  Do you really think he'll fall for something 
so simplistic?  He is insane, not stupid."
	"Perhaps, but I do believe we need to coordinate this together.  
He may be too difficult for us individually."
	"Agreed, but..."
	"Children!  No time, he's here!"
	"Mother, take Father and hide in the basement," Tatewaki 
instructed, getting to his feet and drawing the long, slender blade he 
planned on using.
	"Take care, children," she said before heading out of the room.
	"Sister, do not grow sentimental at the fate of our brother.  It 
will not prevent any of us from being harmed by him."
	"I hear you, Brother.  My loyalties are firmly entrenched with 
the rest of the family, if that's what you're concerned about."
	"Never, Sister."
	The sound of the door crashing in halted their conversation.  
Without further words, they headed in separate directions to find 
their brother.

	Kyoji stormed through the house like a tornado, destroying 
everything his hands cam into contact with.  He didn't plan on being 
even that kind to his mother or father.  His siblings would be nothing 
more than a paste.
	If only he could find them.  He growled in frustration and put 
his fist through a door.  "Come out and face me, cowards!" he yelled 
down the empty hallway.

	"My, he seems upset," Kodachi whispered to Tatewaki.  They each 
knew the house like the backs of their hands; even though they had 
taken different paths, they had ended up in the same spot.
	"Agreed.  Shall I?"
	"No unnecessary risks.  I would like to keep the sane brother in 
the family."  She smiled and touched his hand.
	"Thank you, Sister.  Back me up."  He moved off silently, his 
suit looking completely inappropriate for the situation.
	After counting to ten, Kodachi followed, her wicked looking 
knife drawn and ready for action.

	Tatewaki had his blade drawn and was looking at Kyoji's back.  
Again, the list of vital points where he could place his blade in his 
brother's back ran through his mind.
	It was simply a matter of placing said blade into said brother.  
He had to admit, assassination was not really his specialty.  He just 
didn't have that special touch for stealth, infiltration, charm and 
murder like Kodachi did.
	Tatewaki suddenly moved without thought, weapon raised, ready to 
taste Kuno blood.  Unfortunately, his lack of stealth caught up with 
him, and before he could plunge his knife into Kyoji, his older 
brother spun around.
	"Aha!" Kyoji exclaimed and swung his arm impossibly quick.
	Tatewaki was suddenly hit with what felt like a sledgehammer.  
The knife flew out of his hand and his wrist went numb.
	Stumbling back, he tried to grab his other knife, but his hand 
simply refused to cooperate.
	"I didn't know you were the one that did the assassination 
attempts, Brother.  I hope you aren't because that was just pathetic."  
Kyoji smiled revealing teeth whiter than white.  "Tell me where the 
others are, Brother, and I'll kill you quickly.  All I want is 
revenge."
	"Why?" Tatewaki asked, trying to buy time for himself.  He 
stumbled back again.
	"Because my family left me to rot in a lab, as a tool, as an 
instrument...  My family didn't give a damn about me except as a 
weapon."  Kyoji smiled again.  "The weapon is home and doesn't take 
kindly to being abandoned."
	For the barest moment, Tatewaki sympathized with his brother.  
He paid for it.
	"So die!" Kyoji yelled, rushing forward and striking Tatewaki 
squarely in the chest with his fist.
	Tatewaki was suddenly flying backward and couldn't breathe very 
well.  He slammed against a wall and fell bonelessly to the floor.
	"Since you didn't want to cooperate, Brother, I guess you'll get 
the same treatment as the others."  Kyoji stalked toward the 
motionless Kuno at the end of the hall.
	"Oh Brother," a soft, seductive voice called out.
	Kyoji turned.  "My little sister..."  But when his eyes met 
hers, she was ready.
	Kodachi struck with the speed of a cobra.  She hadn't been able 
to get close enough for the kill, so she settled with a long, thin cut 
across Kyoji's chest.  This would at least turn his attention away 
from Tatewaki.
	She hoped he was all right, as when she spared a glance at him, 
he still wasn't moving.  "Come along, Brother!  I do enjoy a good game 
of tag!" she said gleefully and bounded away.
	"Little Sister wants to play?  I'll play for a little while, but 
it won't change the fact that I'll kill you when I catch you."  He 
walked down the hall the way Kodachi had gone, leaving Tatewaki 
collapsed on the floor.

	Kodachi skipped lightly through the mansion.  She felt excited 
and nervous and scared, like she really was playing a deadly game of 
tag.
	The weight of the knife in her hand was comforting, and the red 
of Kyoji's blood on it made her feel giddy.  Now to just stay away 
from Kyoji so she could set him up for a most delicious ambush.
	Moving in an almost random pattern through the house, Kodachi 
wondered where it would be best to lie in wait.  She needed some place 
she would have plenty of room to move, but that restricted Kyoji's 
movement, his retreat.
	There was that little area in the cellar, down by the family's 
wine casks.  That would do just perfectly.  Laughing lightly, she 
called out, "Brother!  Where are you?  I seem to have lost you 
somewhere in the house!  Now I'll have no one to play with in the 
basement!"
	"Don't worry about me, Little Sister, I'm close enough," Kodachi 
heard him reply.
	He _was_ close.  Much closer than she had expected, but she 
hadn't been considering his training, and that could prove to be a 
fatal mistake in the future.  But no, she was Kodachi Kuno and she 
would not be defeated by her insane brother.

	Tatewaki lifted his head, his body aching all over with the pain 
especially concentrated in his chest.  Kyoji must have gotten an extra 
helping of steroids or something with the power behind that blow.
	The pain itself was bearable, but when he heard Kodachi taunting 
Kyoji, leading him to the basement...  Tatewaki tried to call out, 
tell her not to go down there, but he couldn't force enough air out of 
his lungs.
	Gods, if his new suit was ruined, he'd be really mad.  Somehow 
he managed to get himself to his feet.

	Kodachi flowed down the hallways of the basement.  It was 
perfect.  She could hide atop the immense cask, nestled in the 
comforting darkness, then suddenly leap out and use her weapon.
	"Kodachi!"
	Stopping, Kodachi looked to where the whisper had come from.  In 
a tiny alcove decorated by cobwebs, she found both her parents hiding.  
"Mother, what are you doing here?"  Surely there were better places in 
the basement they could have hid.
	"Kodachi, you need to..." Midori started to say.
	"Little Sister, where have you gone?  I'm still willing to play 
if you'll just come out from your hiding spot."
	"He's close, Mother.  I can hold him off.  I'm perfectly capable 
of..."
	"No, Kodachi.  With us here, we'll be his first targets.  He'll 
try to weaken your resolve.  I know you're quite capable of killing 
him, but don't let him use us to defeat you.  I couldn't bear to know 
I've hurt you further."
	Kodachi considered her mother's words for a moment and nodded.  
"You're right, of course.  I'll..."
	She cried out as Kyoji slammed his fist into her ribs, breaking 
several.  She gave a short scream before she crumpled to the ground, 
five feet away.
	Pushing his wife behind him, Tamon faced his wayward son.  
"Kyoji, don't do this.  Don't be a fool."
	Kyoji glared at him.  "Shut up, old man!  You've never done 
anything for me!  I should kill you right now for not being a father."
	"Then you do that.  You do that, Kyoji.  Kill me and see what 
that accomplishes."  He was making a very noble effort to dissuade his 
son, but he knew that it would be in vain.
	"As you request."  Kyoji, instead of making it quick, snapped 
his arm forward, fingers extended, and drove them into his father's 
chest, just over the heart.
	With the sudden and powerful shock, Tamon's heart just stopped, 
like a toy without batteries... it was just dead.
	Tamon clutched his chest, eyes wide with surprise, and made a 
choking noise.  Time seemed to slow as he sank to his knees before 
Kyoji.  For a moment, his mouth moved and a gurgling noise emerged.
	Midori watched with horror as he fell to the floor, eyes glazing 
over, lifeless.  "You... you..."
	"Yes, I killed him.  He deserved it.  And now you, Mother."  
Kyoji's wild eyes focused on hers, drinking in her fear and horror.  
And, oh my, was that outrage?  He couldn't help but laugh.  "Goodbye, 
Mother.  I blame you for all of this.  I hope this makes you feel 
better about what you've done."
	Kyoji drew his hand back to deliver the blow that would crush 
his mother's windpipe.
	Without any previously typical insane laugh or cry of attack, 
Kodachi thrust her knife between Kyoji's two lower ribs to the hilt.
	Kyoji yelped in surprise and pain, jerking away.  He hit the 
opposite wall and clawed at the spear of fire that was invading his 
side.
	Kodachi, clutching her ribs, trying not to let the pain cloud 
her mind totally, took her mother's arm and pulled her away from the 
struggling maniac.
	The two hurried from the basement as quickly as they could 
manage, waiting to hear the sounds of Kyoji following them.  Kodachi 
was barely concentrating on her stumbling footsteps, being supported 
by her mother, because every movement made her feel the broken 
splinters of ribs, digging into parts they shouldn't be.
	"Just need... a little room...  I slowed him down," Kodachi 
said, dragging herself along.
	"No, Kodachi.  I'll call up the authorities and they'll take 
care of Kyoji.  He'll..."
	"I can do it, Mother.  Let me do it," Kodachi pleaded.
	"You're too severely injured.  We need to get you out of here 
now and to a hospital."  The two were slowly making it to the door.  
Escape was beginning to look like a very real possibility.
	Kodachi started to protest, but hard coughs stopped her.  Flecks 
of blood decorated her lips.
	"No, Kodachi.  I think you have a punctured lung.  I can't let 
you fight Kyoji," Midori said worriedly.  "We have to hurry."
	They were as far as the open front foyer now, moving as fast as 
Kodachi's ribs would allow.  "We're almost there," her mother assured.  
"Just a little farther."  Getting out of the house was only the first 
step though, because Kyoji wouldn't have any problem with killing them 
out in the open.  And what had happened to Tatewaki?  Surely he 
wasn't... dead.
	The door was thrown open at that moment, barely hanging on its 
hinges from Kyoji's original entry, and once again, he darkened the 
doorway.  The wound on his side was bleeding heavily, staining his 
clothing all up and down his side.
	"You two aren't going any further than this room.  No more 
surprises, Little Sister.  No more games.  Now you die."  He stared at 
them coldly, the grin on his face not matching his eyes at all.  "I've 
already taken care of Little Brother," he said, walking toward the two 
women slowly.  "You two are all that's left."
	He left behind bloody footprints as his bare feet crunched over 
a half shattered vase.
	"Hello?  Is anyone here?" a voice came from the doorway.  A 
person in a Furinkan girl's uniform appeared.
	Everyone seemed to freeze at this new presence, but only for a 
moment.  Kodachi was first to react.  "Nabiki Tendo, run!" she yelled.
	Unfortunately, Nabiki was not nearly as fast as Kodachi, or 
Kyoji, to react.  He spun around, just a few feet from the door, and 
was about to deliver a blow that would practically knock her head off.
	A flash of silver in the air and precise timing managed to knock 
Kyoji's hand to the side, sending a spray of crimson blood to hit 
Nabiki in the face.
	She jerked back from the sudden warm dampness and the man 
howling in pain in front of her.  "I just..." she started to say.
	Kyoji yanked the small dagger from his hand and threw it aside, 
embedding it in the door frame next to Nabiki's head.  He turned 
around and looked at Kodachi and his mother backing away slowly.
	Emerging from a side hall, one hand clutched to his chest, the 
other still poised in the position of throwing, came Tatewaki.  "You 
haven't finished me off yet, Brother."
	"Brother?" Nabiki blurted out and instantly regretted it.
	Kyoji turned to her.  "Yes, brother.  They've kept their secrets 
well, haven't they?"  He grabbed Nabiki's arm and yanked her into the 
house.  "And you can be the witness to the end of this pathetic excuse 
for a family."
	Nabiki stumbled forward as Kyoji pushed her and tripped over a 
shattered table.  She fell to the floor and stayed there.  No one made 
any move to help her, and she seemed to realize the advantage to 
staying down out of the direct line of sight.
	"Now that we're all here..."  Kyoji strode forward quickly and 
grasped Kodachi's neck in his injured hand, blood drooling from the 
wound.  "You, you little snot, stuck that knife in me.  I think I'll 
kill you last."  He struck his mother sharply in the stomach, sending 
her to the floor gasping for breath.
	"But first, I'll take care of Little Brother," Kyoji explained, 
dragging Kodachi along as he approached Tatewaki.  He was in no better 
shape to resist than Kodachi had been, and soon he was gasping for 
breath with his brother's hand on his windpipe.
	"Look, Mother, at what you've done," Kyoji commanded, facing 
her.  "Look what I'm forced to do."  He shook each of his siblings 
slightly.  Kodachi's face was already pale and it was obvious she 
wouldn't be conscious for too much longer.
	She was having a hard time keeping her head upright and her 
vision kept fading in and out.  Kyoji's grip on her neck was like a 
vise and her legs were too weak to kick out, but she had one last 
trick.
	Kodachi glanced over at her brother, equally snared in Kyoji's 
powerful grip.  Whatever had happened to him, he looked to be of no 
use at all.
	Reaching down, attempting to be subtle, she tried to pull the 
knife out from under her shirt, and was just able to get her fingers 
on the grip.  She thought that Kyoji was still talking, and that would 
distract him, but she couldn't hear very well.  There was only the 
sound of her labored breathing and her blood rushing through her head.
	In what was meant to be a quick strike to Kyoji's stomach just 
below the diaphragm, Kodachi's hand emerged with the knife held barely 
between her fingers at slightly more than a snail's pace.
	Kyoji laughed at her feeble attempt.  "Little Sister, still 
playing games, I see."  He shook her violently for five seconds, the 
knife falling to the floor and Kodachi entering the realm of 
unconsciousness.
	"Anything from you, Little Brother?" Kyoji asked, eyeing 
Tatewaki.  When he received no response, he began speaking to his 
mother again.  "I don't understand why it had to be me.  Why would you 
use your own children?"
	"Because," Midori answered, coughing slightly, "if it wasn't me, 
no one would have agreed to provide lab space, materials and money.  
Without some sort of guarantee that the project would continue 
forward..."
	"So for your precious experiment, you sacrificed me.  You made 
me your science whore because everyone else was smart enough to not 
want to give up their children!  But not you!  Not the great genius 
Kuno...  Your science was more important than your family!" he 
screamed at her.  "And look what it's done.  Your science has finally 
killed us all."
	Tatewaki wasn't listening.  He was doing his best to appear 
mostly unconscious.  It seemed that very soon, he wouldn't need to 
pretend.  Whatever had happened earlier, possibly a collapsed lung, 
and with Kyoji's hand choking him, he wasn't getting enough air.  He 
needed to act fast.
	"And you," Kyoji said, directing his attention to Nabiki, "I 
don't know why you're here or why Little Brother bothered to save you 
when he had the perfect chance to take me out...  Maybe Little 
Brother's gone soft... not that he was ever much to begin with."
	Nabiki looked at Kyoji, met his gaze, and tried very hard to 
hide just how fearful she was.  She got the distinct feeling that 
attempting to talk her way out of the situation would do very little 
good.
	"I'm not sure if I want to kill you or not..."
	A detestable thought entered Nabiki's mind, which Kyoji seemed 
to read.
	He snorted at her.  "I'm not interested in little girls.  If I 
let you live it would be so you could tell everyone about how the 
great Kuno family treats its children!"
	Nabiki shrunk back from the outburst.  The whole situation was 
worse than she could have ever imagined a hostage situation.  This 
wasn't any of her business, it had just been...  She just wished she 
hadn't been so greedy and tried to drop off Kuno's homework (for a 
modest fee).
	Tatewaki felt cold as ice.  He wasn't sure if it was from his 
injuries, Kyoji's hold on him, or the determination that he felt.  He 
would finish this.
	He tested his arm subtly and found that he still had strength.  
That was all he needed.  With his other arm, he began to fight against 
Kyoji's grip, trying to pry his fingers off.
	Kyoji laughed at the effort with true amusement.  "What's wrong, 
Little Brother?  Air supply getting low?" he asked, now seemingly in 
high spirits.
	Tatewaki increased his struggles, now kicking his feet and using 
his other hand.  He squeezed Kyoji's arm just below the elbow, digging 
his fingertips into the soft flesh there.
	Kyoji continued to laugh, finding the whole situation to be a 
great joke.  "Keep it up.  Struggle until all your strength is gone, 
Little Brother."
	Tatewaki moved his hands up to Kyoji's bicep.
	"Little Brother, you are so entertaining!" Kyoji said with glee.
	"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Tatewaki said, his eyes 
opening to glare at his brother.
	Kyoji's laughter stopped and he looked at Tatewaki with 
surprise.  "You're not..."
	"No, I'm not," Tatewaki said, moving his arm ever so slightly.  
"Good night, Brother," he said and released the spring clip.  The 
blade jumped into his hand, then willingly slid into Kyoji's neck.
	Kyoji maintained the look of surprise on his face even as a gout 
of blood jetted out of his neck and splattered on Tatewaki's arm.
Tatewaki felt Kyoji's hand spasming on his neck, then loosen and fall 
away.  He fell to the floor and gasped desperately for breath.
	The same happened to Kodachi as the only thing holding her up 
released her.  She crashed hard to the floor and laid there.  Her 
chest was barely moving as she breathed in.
	Tatewaki stared at Kyoji as he toppled backward, the weapon 
still stuck in his neck.  "Where's Father?" he asked, staring at the 
still twitching body of his brother.
	"Kyoji... got to him," his mother answered.  She looked at 
Kodachi, feeling a little stunned at the events that had just 
happened.  She should have been ready for it all and found that she 
wasn't in the least.  Just sitting on the floor, she realized there 
were people she needed to call, things to be taken care of.
	Crawling over to a phone that had been sitting on a busted 
table, she dialed an emergency number as relief began to creep into 
her.
	She licked her lips and took deep even breaths before she 
started speaking.  "Yes, he's dead.  Send a pair of ambulances.  Both 
my children are seriously hurt."  She paused for a moment and closed 
her eyes.  "He's... dead too."  Hanging up the phone, she watched 
Tatewaki hover protectively over Kodachi and wondered how things would 
have been if this work hadn't motivated her so.
	"Wha... what's going on here?" Nabiki finally got the nerve to 
ask.
	"Things you were never meant to see...  Are you injured?" Midori 
answered.
	"No, I think I'm fine."
	"That's good to hear.  Do you know my children?"
	"Uh... yeah."  Nabiki looked at Tatewaki in his suit, kneeling 
by Kodachi.  "I think so."
	"Oh.  Well, they'll be... leaving home for a while.  I hope you 
don't miss them too much.  And please inform their friends; I wouldn't 
want anyone to be too worried."
	"I, uh... sure."
	In an impossibly short amount of time, two ambulances arrived, 
driving across the lawn to sit outside the door.  A black van and a 
large, black sedan also pulled up.  A team of paramedics burst through 
the door and rushed to Tatewaki and Kodachi to tend to them.
	A smaller group of men, some armed with handguns, followed and 
dragged Kyoji's body away.  Nabiki couldn't help but stare at the red 
streak left behind.
	Two men in suits entered the house after the body had been 
removed and approached Midori.  "Doctor, are you sure you're not 
injured?" one asked.
	"No, I'm fine."
	"Shall we reset the controls on your children?"
	Midori shook her head, looking at the paramedics surrounding 
Tatewaki and Kodachi.  "No, they're awake now.  This is as good a time 
as any.  But they won't be interned for government service when the 
work is completed," she said sternly.  "If that's what you want, I'll 
give up the research, but not my children."
	Watching with eyes both sad and pleased, she spoke wistfully as 
Kodachi was wheeled away on one stretcher.  "I must speak with my son 
now.  I told him that I would be there when he awoke," she said and 
headed over to him.
	"Doctor, what about..."  The man motioned to Nabiki, still on 
the floor.
	"Oh, well..."  What was she to do?  "I don't really know what to 
tell you, young lady," Midori said, speaking to Nabiki.  "The best I 
can do is offer you monetary compensation and recommend a good 
therapist."
	Nabiki just looked up at her, stunned.
	"I know."  Midori held out her hand to the men, who quickly gave 
her a pen and a small pad of paper.  "When you truly want answers, 
call this number," she said, writing it down on the paper.  She handed 
it to Nabiki.  Speaking to the men again, she said, "Gentlemen, please 
give the young lady a ride home."
	"Doctor, won't you be..."
	"No, I'm going in the ambulance with my son.  We have some 
catching up to do.  The family will be staying together from now on."  
She dismissed the men and walked over to Tatewaki.
	The paramedics were attempting to strap him to the stretcher so 
they could move him, but he was resisting their attempts.  They had 
gotten him to remove his jacket and were trying to get his vital 
signs; he wasn't cooperating.
	Midori smiled and slipped her hand into his.  "I'm here, 
Tatewaki," she said, and he immediately settled down.
	He looked at his mother with adoration and allowed himself to be 
strapped down and attended to.
	The two men helped Nabiki to her feet.  "Let's get you home, 
miss," one said to her.
	She looked at them, then back at the stretcher that was just 
being wheeled away.  "Kuno-chan?" she called out tentatively.
	He showed no sign that he had heard her.
	"Kuno-chan?" she called out louder this time.  For some reason, 
she wanted him to acknowledge her.  She needed to know that it hadn't 
all been some dream and that everyone was who they appeared to be.  
She needed to know...  "Who are you?" she yelled.
	Midori looked back at her, still holding Tatewaki's hand.  She 
held her own hand, pinky and thumb extended, next to her head, then 
pointed at Nabiki's hands.
	Nabiki looked down at the paper, then at the people all getting 
into the back of the ambulance.  The doors closed, shutting them out 
of her view, and the vehicles roared away, lights flashing.
	That was the last Nerima saw of the Kuno family.


                            ***   ***   ***


	He ran his hand along the thick vinyl of the chair.  It was
cool and smooth to his touch, the padding thick, yet stiff.  The chair
was not particularly comfortable to sit in for any length of time, but
he had gotten used to it.
	He watched his mother as she worked in front of a large
monitor, her eyes intently peering at all kinds of technical data
appearing on it.  She was dressed as she was every day he saw her: a
simple skirt, blouse, and her white lab coat.  Her hair was pinned up
and she had a pair of conservative glasses perched on the top of her
head.
	His hand slid down the chair, over the arm and casually
fingered the thick wrist strap bolted to the side.  He moved around
and slowly slid into the chair.  It was still adjusted from before,
when he had sat in it.
	His mother looked over at him briefly and smiled.  "Need
something?" she asked, returning her concentration to the monitor.
	He put his hand through the strap and gripped the arm, closing
his eyes and leaning back.  "No.  Well..."  He opened his eyes and
looked at his mother.  "Maybe.  I don't know."
	She didn't speak.
	He put his other wrist in the strap.  "I want to know..."  He
reclined slightly and looked up at the light overhead.  "I want to
know what I did while I was..."
	"You don't need to know that," his mother replied, attention
never wavering from the monitor.
	"I do," he said softly, his brow furrowing momentarily.  "I
think I should know how..."
	"What other people think of you is not important.  That
portion of your life is over with.  Go back to your room and play your
video games."  She began to type furiously.
	"I don't want to play games any longer.  I want to know..."
He inhaled deeply once.  Twice.  "I want to know what you did to me.
I want to know why... why I always feel guilty even though I don't
remember doing anything."
	He looked from the light to his mother, the clicking of keys
very loud in the open room.  "I want you to tell me.  I want you to
stop treating me like a child."
	"Tatchi, you are a child."
	"No, I'm not.  Thanks to you, I'm not.  I don't think I ever
was."
	The typing stopped abruptly.  Midori turned her head slowly
and almost glared at him.  "I think you should watch your attitude
with me."  Her face held no emotion.
	"Or what?  You'll spank me?  Maybe ground me, send me to bed
without dinner?  I don't think so.  I think you owe me this one thing
considering what you've done to me.  I doubt I'm the only person that
was affected."
	Their gazes met, both steely and unwavering.  The gunmetal
blue of his eyes met the deep brown of hers.
	"You owe me."
	"I owe you nothing."
	For a moment, Tatewaki quivered with rage.  "You owe me...
Everything."
	Midori stood, pushing her chair out behind her.  She walked
briskly over to the big chair, designed functionally like a dentist's
chair, and without a word, tightened one wrist strap.  Lips pursed,
she walked around to the other side and tightened that strap as well.
	Tatewaki clenched his hands into fists, loosening the straps
slightly, and watched his mother as she filled a syringe.
	"You want to know?  You won't leave it alone?"  Midori's voice
held malice and an undercurrent of hurt.  "You just won't accept that
you are better off now, will you?"  She squeezed the air bubbles out
of the syringe.  "Fine.  Don't blame me for the truth."
	With a slight swab from a cotton ball on his arm, Midori
jabbed Tatewaki with the syringe and injected the contents.
	"Now you'll know," she said, removing the needle from his
skin.

	He was on his bed, curled up as much as possible.  His entire
body seemed to throb with pain in sync with the thrumming of the huge
generators in the building.
	The venom he had spewed at his mother after she had shown him
what he wanted to know was still fresh in his mind, but not nearly as
vivid as the things he had suddenly remembered.
	His darkest nightmares were nothing compared to the seven
years of hell he had witnessed.  But not his hell; the hell he had put
all those other people through.
	He had wanted to know, to know why the guilt ate him up
inside.  He had found out why, and it was physically the most painful
thing he had ever felt.
	"I warned you.  But you pushed.  You thought you were bigger
than it.  When will you learn that..."
	"Leave me alone!" he screamed at his mother standing in the
doorway.  "Just leave me alone!  This is all your fault!"  It was all
her fault that he had done those things.  He wasn't upset that he had
been treated so brutally because he had deserved that.  But he would
never, couldn't even imagine doing such... horrible things!  Such
idiotic, imbecilic...
	He put his hands over his face and screamed.
	Midori watched, an unreadable look on her face.  She could see
on his wrists the bruises he had received when he had snapped out of
drug-induced "hypnosis" and had nearly ripped the straps from the
chair.
	Those screams then sounded very much like the one he was
releasing now.  "It's not that bad, Tatchi.  Those people... you'll
never see them again."  It really didn't matter what they thought of
him.  If only she could convince him of that.
	"Mother, it's best that you leave him alone," Kodachi said
quietly from behind her.
	Midori hadn't even heard her approach.  "Maybe you're right.
I just can't make him understand..."
	"Mother," Kodachi said, gently cutting her off.
	Midori took a slow step back, moving from the doorway, then
with a saddened look on her face, moved down the hall.
	Kodachi watched her go, eyes half-lidded and unreadable.
Tsking gently, she looked in on her brother, shaking her head.  His
screaming had died down gradually, leaving him rocking himself on the
bed.  Kodachi could sympathize.
	She... she hadn't wanted to know.  A small, dark corner of her
psyche was curious, but she shied away from that curiosity.  Seeing
her brother, she was able to push that curiosity even farther away.
	Glancing at the spartan decoration of his room for a moment,
Kodachi walked across the room and sat down on his bed.  
	She moved down a little when he almost brushed against her.
"Brother," she said quietly, hands folded in her lap.
	His only response to her was continued rocking, shutting out
everything around him.
	"Brother, you should really listen to what I have to say.  It
might not make you feel better, but it will help."  She looked down at
him, her hands twitching unconsciously for a moment to reach out to
him.
	"Listen well.  I will not say this lightly."  Kodachi
breathed in, not a deep breath, but enough.  With as much strength as
she could achieve in their relative positions, she slapped Tatewaki
across his exposed cheek.
	"Grow up!" she spat at him, though her tone of voice did not
match the look in her eyes.  "You wanted to know, and now you do.
What you do now will be the true test."
	She tried to glare at him as he looked up at her in complete
shock.
	"Will you run and hide in your room?  Or will you go on?  Will
you leave it all in the past as unpleasant memories, or will you
endeavor to make things better?"  There was a nagging feeling in
Kodachi that their positions could be easily reversed, and she shoved
that speculation away.
	"Only one way will ever satisfy you.  I know you, and I know
how you think."  She peered intently into his eyes.  "If you hide in
your room, you are no better than whatever it was that you saw in
those memories."  She drew back.  "You may sit in here and rot.  Hide
your face until people forget you ever existed if you wish."
	Kodachi stood regally and looked down at her brother.  "You
can stay hidden and forgotten, but I plan on going on.  I will not let
things be."  She tilted her head back slightly, sneering at Tatewaki.
	"Hide.  Hide and see if things change.  Because they won't.
You have to make them change."  With that said, Kodachi turned and
strode from the room as if it were all suddenly beneath her.

	"He hasn't come out."
	Kodachi shrugged, attending her plants.  "That's his choice."
	"What did you say to him?" Midori asked, examining the leaf of
one delicate orchid.
	"Only what needed to be.  He'll come out eventually.  Maybe
he'll have learned something."
	As if on cue, there were footsteps in the hall just outside
the greenhouse.
	Kodachi smiled ever so slightly and continued to attend to her
flowers.


                            ***   ***   ***

[EPILOGUE]

	Another idea, another failure.  It wasn't something Nabiki was
used to.  Ever since she had graduated from college (honors in
business, no less) and had attempted to make her own way in the world,
everything seemed against her.
	It was all the fault of Japanese society.  Oh sure, it was
easy to say 'If you don't like the way things are, change them,' but
she had tried.  She had tried, very hard, and failed.  Multiple times.
	No one was willing to believe a woman, at her age, could
do anything in the real world, let alone anything business related.
Not in Japan.  That was an impossibility.
	Nabiki could still remember the words of one man, who had
probably gotten his money from his parents and had someone dress him
in the morning, when she had gone looking for backing.
	'Maybe they let little girls run businesses in America, but
this is Japan.  Business is for men.'
	That fat, arrogant bastard.  He didn't know a thing about
business.  The only thing he knew was how to get someone else to wipe
his ass.  Maybe the fat idiot was right though.
	Maybe America was where she could go and possibly get taken
seriously.  Hell, she couldn't be taken less seriously.  But for now,
she was stuck going back to work for some firm that would hire her as
a damned secretary because surely that was the only thing a woman
could do.
	She opened the double doors of the tall building in just
outside of Tokyo downtown and walked into the huge lobby.  Her shoes
clicked on the impeccable marble floor as she headed to the main desk.
	If she was lucky, they wouldn't make her work at the main
desk.  There was nothing worse than that.  She knew.  She had done it.
	The young woman sitting at the desk smiled at her.  "Can I
help you?"
	"Yes, my name is Nabiki Tendo, and I'm supposed to report
to..."
	"Miss Tendo, of course.  You're to go up to Contracting on the
24th floor.  They're expecting you."
	Nabiki looked at the woman, a bit stunned.  "Contracting?
Thank you."
	"Have a nice day!"
	Nabiki acknowledged that with a little nod of her head and
went to the elevators.  Contracting?  Did they need a secretary in
Contracting?  If they did, she hadn't noticed.  But again, these big
firms probably had people going in and out often enough that agencies
couldn't keep up.
	The elevator doors opened and she stepped in.  Pushing the
button for the 24th floor, Nabiki was somewhat surprised to see that
there were only 25 floors plus a penthouse.  For some reason, the
building had seemed much larger to her than that.
	But this was just an office building, she mused as the
elevator rose.  All production and service must be someplace else
because they wouldn't be doing that sort of thing in the middle of
the city.  It just wasn't smart money.
	The cost of getting a large volume of product out of the
building to the railway alone would be immense.
	The elevator chimed softly and the doors opened.  Nabiki
stepped out into a cozy lobby area with a large wooden receptionist
desk directly in front of the elevators.
	"Miss Tendo?" the woman sitting behind it asked her.
	This was very odd.  They obviously weren't looking for a
secretary here, so what did they expect her to do?  Executive
administrative assistant?  There was no way in hell she'd play a piece
of cheesecake for some executive, always wearing short skirts so he
could get his rocks off.  She nodded.
	"Down the hall and to your right.  Just knock on the door."
	Nabiki nodded, thanking her, and headed down the hall.  This
was quite strange.  Yet, there was a bit of nervousness in her stomach
that this was another AA job that she'd have to turn down.  And she
needed the money.  She couldn't afford to turn a job down...
	To the right, a door with a frosted glass window at the end of
a very short hall.  There was no name on the door, no placard
indicating who the office belonged to; it just was.
	Gathering her courage, whether it was to refuse the job or
accept it, she wasn't sure yet, Nabiki walked down the hall and
knocked sharply on the door.
	She stood stiffly, back straight, head up, eyes forward.  A
picture of self-assuredness and confidence.  This might be one of
those jobs where competence was rewarded more than having a shapely
ass, and being professional was an asset.  She would just have to see.
	The door opened revealing a middle-aged man, fit and trim in
his suit, hair still black, but probably colored, and a pair of
gold-rimmed glasses.  His face was hard-edged with the experience of
working in the business world, and that gave Nabiki an ounce of hope.
He looked no-nonsense.
	"Miss Tendo, come in, please," he said, his voice sharp and
quick.
	Many times, she could tell how serious a job offer was by how
the person talked and looked.  Slurred words were a dead giveaway.
Disheveled clothing and appearance were as well.  And of course, the
face, round and fleshy with eyes only as good as the next girl walking
by...
	This man was none of those things.  Nabiki walked into the
office with confidence.
	"Have a seat, Miss Tendo and we'll get right down to
business," he said, closing the door and taking his seat behind a
large, tidy desk.
	Nabiki sat down and looked at the nameplate on the desk.
Doubts suddenly started to crowd her mind.  He hadn't introduced
himself to her and that bothered her for some reason.  It was like she
wasn't worth it to tell his name to, though he hadn't seemed the type.
	"Now, Miss Tendo, you're aware of the nature of this company.
Someone that knows how to stay loyal to the company is a valuable
employee due to the nature of our clients."  He leaned back in his
chair and looked at Nabiki.  "You know how to stay loyal to a company,
don't you, Miss Tendo?"
	Nabiki nodded.  "Of course."  As long as they were loyal to
her.
	He smiled.  "I'm glad to hear that.  We consider our wages...
more than fair.  Nothing disappoints us more than someone who doesn't
see the generosity in what we pay."
	Nabiki nodded again.  She understood perfectly what he was
saying.
	"Good.  Why don't we have a short tour then."  He stood and
waited for her to do the same.
	"I just have one question before we get to the tour," Nabiki
said boldly, realizing perfectly that she could be damaging her
chances at the job... whatever it was.
	"Question?  Of course."
	"What exactly is the position?  It's obvious you don't need
any..."  The word felt dirty in her mouth.  "Secretarial help, so..."
	The man began to laugh.  "No, of course not!  We're just looking
for some fresh talent to help in developing new contracts and 
evaluating offers.  We have our fill of secretaries and 
'administrative assistants' as they like to be called."
	The man walked to the door and opened it.  "Let's take the
tour.  You can get a better idea of what we're dealing with that way."
	The tour was fairly short as the floor consisted mostly of
large offices, smaller conference rooms, copy rooms, a large lounge
and numerous secretarial offices and cubicles.
	There was one office at the end of a hall that they ended up
at.  The executive opened the door to reveal a huge corner office with
a view out over the smaller commercial district.
	"This would be my office?" Nabiki asked, voice betraying her
stunned amazement.
	"Of course.  So... what do you think?"
	The job was worth it for the office itself, even if she was
paid minimum wage...  Nabiki shook her head.  "Why me?  Why did I get
offered this job?  It's not because of my work history, so..."
	"You were highly recommended when your application reached our
company."
	"By who?"  It couldn't really be by any of her former
employers...
	"The CEO.  We only hire for long-term employment here, and so
we oversee, as a group, the hiring of employees.  It's one of the
benefits of being the CEO, president and owner.  But he's more than
fair.  That's the real incentive for those of us that work here."
	Nabiki was getting more and more intrigued, and she was
falling more into her old business routines.  "Well, I'm very
interested, but I think we need to discuss the details."
	The man smiled.  "Quite right, Miss Tendo.  Your reputation
does indeed precede you."

	The job was tiring and challenging.  Nabiki loved it.  It
seemed eerily perfect for her, selling full surveillance systems and
individual pieces of equipment in bulk to governments, companies
and... other organizations she didn't bother to think about.
	So it was one day she was scanning another contract, well
entrenched in the daily workings of things after a month getting
acquainted with the company, that she heard the voices in the hall.
	"Good morning, sir."
	"Good morning, sir."
	The sound of 'good morning, sir' seemed to float down the hall
toward her office.  And this wasn't just Genjiro.  He was far more
informal, and no one on the floor referred to him as sir.
	"Good morning, sir," Miko, Nabiki's secretary, said from just
outside her door.  "How are you this morning?"
	"Excellent, Miko.  And how goes business?"
	"Good, sir.  Things are going smoothly," Miko answered.  "We
have combined contracts this month worth..."
	"I'm sure things are going very well.  Is she available right
now?"
	"Of course, sir.  Go right in."
	Nabiki was staring at the door that was slightly ajar.  She
couldn't be mistaking that voice for someone else.  She was still
staring as the door opened.
	"Ah, Nabiki Tendo, it's good to see you are doing well."  He
sat down in the chair in front of her desk and steepled his fingers.
	"Um..."
	Laughing a little, Kuno shook his head.  "What did you think
would happen to me?  I'd be sliced into sections to be studied?
Hardly."  He grew serious for a moment.  "My mother may have done many
things wrong, things people would say are cruel, things people would
hate her for... but she is my mother.
	"Without her... what would I be?"  He stared at her with a
frightening intensity that made Nabiki want to look away.  "But that
is neither here nor there.  How do you like our little establishment?"
	Nabiki looked at him, the confusion starting to fade.  "My
recommendation?"
	"Of course.  It seems all you needed was someone who
recognized your ability.  I've never been shy about hiring competent
people, which is why, if I may be immodest, we are more successful
than many high profile corporations."  He shrugged, his smile
returning.
	"I don't know what to say."  And Nabiki really didn't.  The
way things had ended all those years ago, she didn't have anything to
say.
	"Don't say anything then.  You don't need to."  Kuno stood,
straightening his suit jacket.  "There's work to be done; I wouldn't
want to keep you from it.
	"Perhaps we'll speak later, Nabiki Tendo."  He turned and left
the office, closing the door behind him.
	Nabiki looked at the closed door for a moment, then said
quietly, "Nice to see you again, Kuno-chan."

	"Kodachi decided to start over, go somewhere they didn't know
who she had been.  And where did she end up?"  Kuno smirked.
"America.  Not that I was surprised.  She enjoyed college very much
and met a young man.  I haven't met him yet and am reserving judgement
on him.  As her older brother, it is my duty..."
	The conversation dwindled as it broached the subject of older
brothers, and the two were left idly eating in the lounge.
	"So Kodachi got a boyfriend...  I never would have imagined
it," Nabiki said finally.
	"She speaks endlessly about him in her letters.  I'm simply
awaiting the wedding announcement.  It would be nice if she would come
back home for it..."  Kuno looked down at his food and shrugged.  "But
she'll do what she wants.  I fear she has little use now for an older
brother.  She's more than capable of taking care of herself."
	Nabiki nodded and sipped her tea.
	"This offends you, doesn't it?" Kuno asked suddenly.
	Nabiki looked up from her cup.  "What does?"
	"The fact that you have to work for me."
	Nabiki assumed an uninterested look and shrugged.  "Maybe.
Just a little.  But then, you're smarter than me, right?" she said, 
somewhat bitterly.
	Kuno cocked his head to one side a little and looked at her.
"Yes."

~~~~

	For the one hundredth time, she looked at the number on the
piece of paper and considered calling it.  It was late, there probably
wouldn't be anyone to answer if she did call.  But... wasn't that why
she was up late, so no one would know she was calling?
	There would be someone at the other end of the phone, someone
who would answer her questions.  Strangely enough, that was what she
was worried about.
	As if it had a life of its own, her hand was dialing the
number, and then there was a phone somewhere she didn't know ringing
in her ear.  
	/*Yes?*/
	Nabiki froze, unsure of what she should say.  "Um..."  She was
expecting someone to begin ranting that this was a secured number and
she shouldn't be calling it, and... and...
	/*Ask your questions.  That's why you were given the number.*/
	One question forced itself to be asked.  "Are you really...
their mother?"
	/*Of course I am.  They're not test tube babies.  They're my
children and I love them very much.*/
	"How... how could you do something like that to them?  How
could you ever..."
	/*I don't expect you to understand what I've done.  And I've
been judged by more influential people than a schoolgirl.  I did...
What I did is in the past and nothing will change that.  Right now,
I'm doing my best to take care of them.  That's all that matters.*/
	There were sounds on the other end of the phone that sounded
like things being overturned.  Nabiki held the phone a little away
from her ear.
	/*Tatchi!  You stop this instant!*/ Midori yelled away from
the phone.  /*You are not supposed to be in here!*/
	/*But I want ice cream!*/
	Nabiki blinked hearing the voice over the phone.  Was that
really...
	/*Fine, Tatchi.  You can have ice cream after I'm done on the
phone.  AND after you clean up the mess you made.*/
	/*Yay!*/  The voice was louder.  /*Who's on the phone,
Momma?*/
	/*It's one of your friends from school...*/  There was a
fumbling noise.  /*Tatchi, give that back!*/
	/*Hi!*/
	Nabiki had trouble speaking.  "Hello, Kuno-chan?"
	/*Hi!  I'm gonna have ice cream later!*/
	"Kuno-chan..."  What had happened to him?  He was acting like
a child.
	/*Tatchi!  Go to your room!  You know you're not supposed to
use the phone!*/
	That was followed by sounds of protest and more strong words.
After a few minutes, Midori spoke once again.  /*He's a very
strong-willed boy.  He can be quite a handful sometimes.*/
	"What did you do?  Why was he acting like that?"
	/*A sometimes unpleasant course of action to... retrain them
properly.  It just wouldn't do to have them out and about with their
old training.  It's a very complicated process.*/
	"Yeah, I bet it is.  Brainwashing people must take a lot out
of you.  So just what did you do to them this time?" Nabiki asked, a
hint of anger in her voice.  She was looking out the window at the sun
shining on Nerima.
	/*I can't take away the... gifts I've already given them.  I
can only reshape the way they use those gifts.*/
	"Gifts?  How can you call what you did gifts?  They almost
died from what you..."
	/*No!  I can't explain everything that I was working on to
you, but the short of it is that we came up with a way to... program
people with skills and knowledge, even improved physical capacity.
It's quite exciting to see...*/
	"Programmed?  You brainwashed them."
	/*Maybe program is the wrong word.  Think of a person as a 
computer.  The things I want them to know are simply copied on to the
hard drive.  This is all done on a biological/chemical level, so it's
not quite so simple, but I'm sure you...*/
	"Yes, I understand perfectly.  You didn't brainwash them, you
just used them as experiments.  That's much more understandable.  And
the other one, the one that was about to kill everyone?  He was one of
your experiments too?"
	/*Yes, one of the early ones.  It was too soon, but...*/
	"I'm glad I called.  Now I'm positive that you're a disgusting
person.  I'm sure you don't care how much trouble you've caused with
this whole thing, and I'm sure you didn't even bother to see what
kind of effect this was having on..."
	/*Yes, I appreciate your concern and your concern for their
well-being, I'm sure.*/
	Nabiki blinked at the phone.  The woman had just completely
tuned out everything she had just said.
	/*I'm afraid I have a lot of work to do now, so if you don't
mind...*/
	The phone clicked in Nabiki's ear suddenly.  She set it back
down in the cradle and stared at it.

~~~

	"It was... weird.  It was hard to just forget everything that
had happened, ignore what she had said.  It just wasn't..."
	"It wasn't right.  It made you mad.  That's understandable."
	"Yeah, but...  I had to live with that.  I lived with it for
seven years, while I went through hell to get where I am now.  And
that's only because of you."  Nabiki looked angrily at Kuno.  "I
couldn't even..."  She trailed off and looked down at her cup of tea.
	Getting angry at him wouldn't accomplish anything worthwhile.
"In any case, that was just one other thing I had to deal with."
	"That's unfortunate.  I take it things did not progress easily
for you in college."
	Nabiki shrugged.  "Not really, but I got through it.  I only
had to work twice as hard as everyone else for the same results."  She
swirled her cup around, looking distastefully at the tea in the bottom
of it.
	"A lack of respect from your classmates."
	"And professors and administration...  I gave up on fighting
after my first semester.  Doing the extra work was easier."  Though it
had been completely unsatisfying.  It had been the first time she had
experienced the stab of tradition so deeply.  It had been utterly
humiliating too, having to prove herself every day even though she was
better than 80% of the other students.
	"I got over it.  I got through it.  It just really..."  The
word eluded her.
	"Sucked?"
	She looked up in surprise.  The look slowly shifted to
amusement and she laughed a little.  "Yeah, that it did.  A sense of
humor is pretty good on you.  Too bad you didn't have one before."
	"Yes, well, there were other distractions.  Things I didn't
really have control over."
	"I know.  It was just... too bad."
	There was an uncomfortable silence between them.
	The lounge door opened and Nagiro entered with Sou from R&D.
They both stopped momentarily, seeing who was occupying the room at
the moment.  "Good afternoon, sir," Nagiro said shakily.  He had been
taken completely by surprise.
	"Please, gentlemen, don't let me bother you.  I have things to
attend to now anyway," Kuno said, his eyes returning to Nabiki after
giving the two men a cursory glance.
	Pulling out an elegant, gold-trimmed pen, Kuno got a
business card from his waistcoat pocket and wrote something on the
back.  He pushed it across to Nabiki then stood.  "Forgive me for
cutting lunch short.  I really do have things to attend to."
	"It's no problem," Nabiki said and started to stand.
	Waving her to sit, Kuno exited the lounge, relieving the
tension from the other two men in the room.
	Nabiki slowly returned to her seat and looked at the card.
Smirking at the number on it, she was actually ready to throw it in
the trash, but on second thought, slipped it into her pocket.
	Whistling to herself, she cleaned up the remains of her lunch
and left the lounge.

[END]