All-Purpose Cultural Mecha Boy Ryu-kun
Phase 0-II
"I'm late!" Kyusaku cried, running into the conference hall just as
the crowd was beginning to disperse. This was not starting out to be the
best of days. First his resume jammed up his printer, then he brought wet
coffee grounds and egg shells instead of his packed lunch, and now he was
an hour late for the NERV Enlistment Seminar.
"Excuse me," he began to ask a shorthaired young lady as he passed
her by.
"Hey! Professor Natsume! It's me, Ibuki Maya! Are you applying,
too?"
"Oh, yes I am, Miss Ibuki. I'm glad I ran into you. Where do I take
the job interview?"
"Well," the short-haired young lady asked, "are you applying for the
Operations, Intelligence, Public Relations, or Science Division? Oh, wait,
silly me. Science applicants go to Room 215. Good luck, sir."
"Thank you. Good luck to you as well."
"Thanks, sir."
Nice girl, that Ibuki, he thought. He straightened out his tie and
marched to the designated room.
"But I don't want to play dodge ball against Ryunosuke, Oe-sensei!"
Kentaro whined.
"Sorry, Ichinose, luck of the draw," the red-capped gym instructor
said. "Ryunosuke! Get to it!"
"Don't worry, Kentaro," Ryunosuke said, "I won't use my full power."
"Go, Ryu-chan!" Yoshimi cheered from behind Ryunosuke. "They're down
to two! We can do it!"
Down to two, all right, thought Ryunosuke. Just Kentaro and Rei
against Yoshimi and him. He targeted Kentaro and calculated a trajectory.
"Watch out, Kentaro! Here it comes!"
"Oh, yeah?" Kentaro spat back. "What'cha gonna do about this?" He
stepped behind Rei.
"Hey! No fair!" Ryunosuke cried.
"Ryu-chan!" Yoshimi exclaimed. "You can take them both out with one
shot! Go for it!"
"Nyah nyah!" Kentaro taunted. "Hey, lookie, Natsume!" He grabbed
Rei's shoulders from behind.
"Hey, stop that!"
"Yeah!" Yoshimi said. "Hiding behind a girl; Ichinose Kentaro, you
should be ashamed of yourself!"
Kentaro blinked, and stepped out from behind Rei. "Okay, fine," he
muttered.
Ryunosuke raised an eyebrow. Well, that was easy, he thought. Wonder
why he gave up so quickly. "Okay, here it comes! Ryunosuke
thousandth-power spike!" He launched the ball with a thousandth of his
power (actually, more like a hundred-thousandth -- he liked to think he
downplayed his power) directly at Kentaro.
Rei calmly ran over and caught the ball.
Kentaro opened his eyes and saw Rei carrying the ball. "Uh... All
right! Way to go, Ikari!"
Rei handed the ball to Kentaro. "Here. You know what to do with it."
Kentaro nodded, walked over to the center line, threw the ball, and
beaned the dumbfounded Ryunosuke.
"No, Young Master Ryunosuke, watch out! Oh, no, he got eliminated!"
Mihoshi cried as she watched the match through high-powered binoculars.
"Who eliminated him?" Kiyone said, stretching in the driver's seat.
"The little Ichinose kid. Say, Kiyone, isn't it time to report back
to Miss Akiko?"
"No," Kiyone said, grabbing the Styrofoam coffee cup on the
dashboard. "We're on extended reconnaissance today. She won't be done with
her meeting with NERV until this afternoon."
"But Kiyone, weren't we supposed to look for our suspect today? It's
our duty as Galaxy Police officers!"
"Fine," Kiyone said between sips of her coffee, "you try explaining
that to Miss Akiko. Besides, we don't have any solid leads on the
perpetrator."
"Hmph," Mihoshi said, "a real Galaxy Police Officer doesn't need
leads or clues or anything like that to bring in criminals!" She thumped
her chest. "All we need is for our hearts to be pure and our cause to be
just!"
Kiyone blinked. "O-kay. No more sentai shows for you, Mihoshi."
"Next!"
Kyusaku cleared his throat and marched into the interview room.
"Ahem!" he said in a loud, clear voice. "I am Natsume Kyusaku, the leading
scientist in the field of bio-robotics! Surely, you've heard of me. I'm
here for my job application. Now, when do I start?"
"Kyusaku?"
"Yes, that is my name."
"Kyusaku, it IS you!"
Kyusaku lifted his bangs with his left hand. He was greeted by the
sight of a blond woman in a lab coat seated at the end of the room. Quite
a woman, he thought to himself. She looks familiar, but from where... "Ah,
yes. You HAVE heard of me."
She stood up and shook his hand. "I haven't seen you since college!
I've always wondered what happened to you!"
College? He studied her face further. Brown eyes, dark eyebrows (not
a natural blonde, apparently), a mole near the left eye...
He gave a start. "Ritsuko! Akagi Ritsuko!"
Akiko's grandfather always warned her about government contracts
being especially difficult to negotiate. Perhaps these people thought that
they could come away with a discount simply because they were in charge of
those little fiefdoms they called 'countries'. She sighed. Didn't these
people realize that those lines on their maps were arbitrarily placed to
soothe the feudal-minded? Borders meant little to multinationals,
especially to massive conglomerates like Mishima Heavy Industries.
These governments tended to use several distinct approaches to
bargaining. Some claimed that their budgets were simply not big enough to
pay for 'exorbitantly-priced war toys'. She usually replied by saying that
if they couldn't afford Mishima technology then they should deal with the
lightweights instead, like General Aeronautics or Lockheed.
Others made vague threats, off-handedly mentioning tariffs and
manufacturing taxes and unfair labor practices and anti-trust suits. She
waved these off, nonchalantly mentioning that MNC's like Mishima Heavy
Industries have plants located all over the world anyway, and that it was
a simple matter of 'reassigning investment capital to more cooperative and
conducive regions'. This usually shut them up.
Still others claimed to be in talks with other weapon manufacturers,
and that they had been offered good deals by these 'others', and that in
order to make the sale Akiko would have to give them a better deal than
the 'others'. Akiko simply replied that either they make the deal with
Mishima on her terms or they could go play with their 'imaginary friends'.
Things tended to go smoothly after that.
But no one had ever attempted to make a deal with her the way the
man she was currently in negotiations with did.
The man pushed back his amber-tinted sunglasses with a white-gloved
hand as he looked through the full-color weapons catalogue, not saying a
word. He leafed through the entire book, not particularly lingering on any
single page, until finally he closed the book, and said, "And you expect
us to save the world with these?"
Save the world? "I assure you, Doctor Ikari, I..."
"No, I assure YOU, that if this is the best your company has to
offer then NERV is better off manufacturing our own equipment. If that is
all, then our discussion is finished."
Damn, this man could play hardball, she thought. The question was,
how long could NERV afford to keep playing? "Actually, this is just our
general market catalogue. Mishima Heavy Industries also manufactures
weapons of a more potent degree, tailored to fit the needs of the client,
but such power does not come cheap."
"Money is not an issue."
She raised her eyebrows. Well, she thought, that's new -- I've never
heard THAT one before. "Also," she continued, "such immense power and such
deadly precision tends to be frowned upon by the global community. There
are many treaties, many global agreements to consider--"
"What the rest of the world thinks is not an issue, either. I
represent the authority to override any legal fictions you can come up
with. In fact, if NERV so wished it could simply conscript your stockpiles
of armaments."
Akiko frowned. "What? Are you threatening us?"
"No. I am merely stating a fact. NERV has no interest in bankrupting
the most advanced weapons development company in the world. You are far
too useful to simply do away with in a vulgar display of power." He pushed
back his glasses again. "Let me make myself perfectly clear, Miss Natsume.
Here is the deal, take it or leave it. We want Mishima Heavy Industries to
manufacture weapons custom-designed to suit our needs and specifications.
If we need tanks, you will give us tanks. If we need missile carriers, you
will provide us with them. If we need to destroy the moon, you will create
a weapon capable enough to handle the task. Each weapon must have your
company's guarantee. In return, we will pay any amount of money
immediately upon delivery of said weapons. Can you handle that?"
Akiko replied, "Yes," and hoped that her voice did not tremble as
much as the rest of her did.
"Good. We are in agreement, then. Our legal department will draw up
the papers. Our business is concluded for now." Then, without warning, he
stood up and stretched like a cat. "Ah, I'm glad that's done, aren't you?"
Akiko nodded dumbly. Apparently Ikari Gendo was as eccentric as the
rumors said.
A gray-haired man in his late fifties entered the room. "Ikari, how
did the negotiations go?"
"Oh, Fuyutsuki. Pretty well, I'd think. Would you like a drink,
Miss?"
Akiko blinked. "Huh? Oh yes, water, please."
"Look at what you've done, Gendo," Fuyutsuki sighed, "she's shaking
like a leaf. Yui would be appalled."
"I didn't mean to be so harsh," Ikari said, taking a can of beer and
a bottle of Evian from the fridge. He handed her the bottle. "Here, Miss
Natsume. My apologies for my earlier treatment of you."
She took the bottle with both hands. "It's not a problem, really.
It's just that I'm not used to dealing with people who can pay the full
tab."
Gendo smiled and shook his head. "I simply wanted to impress upon
you how serious I was when we decided to avail of your company's services.
Your company is simply the best in the world right now -- aside from NERV
itself, of course -- and quite frankly we don't have the time or the
facilities to make all our equipment ourselves. And let's face it, it's a
pain in the ass to keep importing from Germany. There's the distance, then
there's the problem of logistics, of espionage... you see what I mean."
She took a long drink, at least as much as dignity and composure
would allow. "I do, and I understand completely. We have plants all over
the world, and security is a primary concern during shipping. Then there's
the individual rules of each country concerning the regulation and control
of weapons... But you've assured me that that won't be a problem. I'm
convinced, and believe me, it's pretty hard to convince me."
"Convince...?" Fuyutsuki said, tone inquiring as he faced Gendo.
Then he sighed. "Oh, no. Don't tell me you gave her the 'I command powers
beyond your mortal ken' speech."
"Don't be silly." Gendo said, in mock-indignance. "I gave her the 'I
represent the authority to override any legal fictions' speech."
"You remembered!"
"Of course!" Kyusaku said, grinning. "Every guy in our class would.
Except... You weren't blond the last time I saw you."
"Well," Ritsuko said, running her fingers through her hair, "I've
changed since then. You, too. You seem more... mature."
He chuckled. "Wow. Mature. I never thought that word would ever be
used to refer to me. I suppose fatherhood does that to you."
"Oh," Ritsuko said, a little too quietly. "Who's the lucky woman?"
"The what? Oh, you mean my wife. Lucky woman, huh? Try telling her
that," he snorted. "Say, can I smoke here?"
"Technically, no, since you're supposed to be having your interview,
but," Ritsuko chuckled, "as you can see from the cigarette butts, I've
been smoking up a storm during breaks. Go on, help yourself. Here, I'll
light that for you."
"Thankee, ma'am," Kyusaku said before taking a long draw. "Say, doc,
don't you know smoking is bad for you?" He winked at her.
"I'll pass it on. Besides, who taught me how to smoke in the first
place?"
"Hey, I remember that, back in college." Kyusaku's mouth curled into
a wry smile. "You came up to me in the park and said you needed a light."
"I only did that to break the ice between us. That was my
honest-to-goodness first cigarette."
"I guessed that from the way you were hacking up a lung afterward."
"Ha ha."
"Who dared you?"
"What?"
"C'mon," Kyusaku said, flicking away ash, "I wasn't exactly the
campus heartthrob. Someone must have goaded you into it."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. You weren't bad-looking, even
back then."
"Nice try. Let me guess, Misato, right?"
"No."
"Kaji?"
"No! Look, I did it on my own, all right?" Ritsuko said earnestly.
Kyusaku blinked. "Really?"
"Yes." Ritsuko crossed her arms. "There. Are you happy?"
Kyusaku paused.
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
"Yes."
"What?"
Kyusaku chuckled. "Yes, I am."
"Are you sure about this?" Yoshimi asked, taking a seat on the
bicycle sidecar between Kentaro and Rei. "I mean, won't your father mind?"
"Nah," Ryunosuke said. "He's not riding with me today -- he's at
that big meeting with NERV. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah, just a little tight," Kentaro sniffed.
"Not that you mind," Ryunosuke muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kentaro said.
"Nothing," Ryunosuke said. "Say, uh, Rei..."
"I'm fine."
Ryunosuke blinked. "Um, okay, then, if that's all, then let's --"
"However," Rei added, "I am worried about the added weight."
"No problem. I can handle it," Ryunosuke said smugly.
"I'm not talking about you. I'm worried about the tires."
Ryunosuke felt his face grow warm, and he could hear Kentaro
suppress a snicker. "Oh. Right. Um, don't worry about the tires. They're
prototype pneumatic tires that my dad designed. They're made from a
composite synthetic rubber and steel compound, internal pressure set to 75
psi, and can withstand accelerations up to --"
"Whoa, pal," Kentaro interjected, "you're making my head spin. Just
drive already."
"Not too fast, okay? I'm still a bit nervous from last time,"
Yoshimi said.
Ryunosuke clicked his tongue. "All right. Any more special
requests?"
"Um, not really," Yoshimi said quietly, her face turning red, making
Ryunosuke wish he hadn't lost his patience when he did.
"No," Rei said flatly, which made Ryunosuke feel even more like a
heel, if that was at all possible.
"Yeah, I've got one," Kentaro said. "Could we get going? It's
getting dark."
"Oh, right." Ryunosuke began pedaling, keeping the speed down to
normal human running speed.
How? thought Ryunosuke, mentally kicking himself on the backside. He
was blessed with a superior intellect and a superhumanly strong and agile
body. He wasn't at all ugly, he liked to think. He could calculate the
speed and trajectory of an object within milliseconds of visual contact.
He could throw a car hundreds of feet into the air, and could thread a
needle with his eyes closed on the first try. So how in the world could he
foul up something as simple as giving his friends a ride home? What were
all these gifts for if they couldn't help him with simple human
interaction?
He felt a pat on his back. He looked back and saw Kentaro giving him
a sympathetic smile.
"Hey, buddy," Kentaro said, "don't worry about it. We all just seem
to be on the edge today. It happens."
Ryunosuke tried to return the smile, to feel the confidence his
friend did, but simply couldn't. He couldn't accept that some things just
happened to be the way they were. His heightened senses and intellect
allowed him to see the patterns that other people couldn't see. To him,
everything had a cause, and everything had a reason, and everything had a
proper time and place. Nothing ever 'just happens', he thought.
And then the sirens rang.
"What's going on?" Kyusaku said as the room was flooded with red
light.
"It's finally here..." Ritsuko breathed, standing slowly.
"What is? What the heck is 'finally here'?"
"There's no time to explain! You're coming with me!" Ritsuko said,
grabbing his hand and heading for the door.
"But what about the interview?"
"Consider this the final screening process," she said, giving him a
smirk.
"Oh, dear," Fuyutsuki said, noting the muffled sirens coming from
outside Gendo's office. "How odd."
"Is there some kind of emergency?" Akiko asked, getting up from her
seat.
"Not 'some kind' of emergency, dear lady," Gendo said, taking off
his rectangular-lensed glasses and putting on a pair of new amber
oval-lensed shades. "This is The Emergency," he said, placing an odd
emphasis on the word 'The'.
"What is 'The Emergency'?" Akiko asked.
"The Emergency is what we hired you for, Miss Natsume," Gendo said,
taking a pair of white gloves from his desk drawer and slipping them on.
"Please head out my office down to Central Dogma, and have one of my
people contact yours. I require twenty-six field artillery units and five
reconnaissance aircraft, and I need them delivered and deployed within the
next fifteen minutes."
"What?" Akiko gasped. "Do you realize what you're asking?"
"Yes. Fully." The commander pushed back the nosepiece of his glasses
with a gloved right hand. "I know you have the capability. If required, I
will purchase the blitz transport units required for the operation. And if
you cannot meet my requirements, I will take my business elsewhere. You
now have fourteen minutes. I suggest you get moving."
Akiko nodded and hastily began the long walk to the office door.
"As should you, sub-commander," Gendo continued. "Locate and notify
Captain Katsuragi and Doctor Akagi. I want them as my staff on Central
Dogma. Tell them to select and utilize any personnel they require."
"Would that be the elder or younger Akagi?"
"The younger," Gendo replied. "She seems the more stable of the two.
I'm headed to the loading bay. Go."
As she and Fuyutsuki entered the lift she asked him, "What was odd,
sub-commander?"
Fuyutsuki said simply, "That all this time, the man was actually
right."
To be continued...
=====
w.o.m
TimeRunner's Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482
=====
"The story grew in the most convoluted way, as many people will be
surprised to learn. Writing episodically meant that when I finished one
episode I had no idea about what the next one would contain. When, in the
twists and turns of the plot, some event suddenly seemed to illuminate
things that had gone before, I was as surprised as anyone else."
--- Douglas Adams, "A Guide to the Guide"