Title : Darkness & Light
Series : Tenchi Muyo
Author : zyraen@yahoo.com
Genre : Action & Romance
This is juz the 1st Chap, the rest can be found at
www.fanfiction.net, under Anime/Tenchi Muyo
=====
Zyraen
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail � Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/
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Disclaimer :
Most characters in this story are property of AIC and Pioneer.
They are in such a situation solely because of my imagination.
This story was written purely for fun.
Juz to let you know, this FF is based on the TV Series.
That's about it, I'm a simple soul at heart...
DARKNESS & LIGHT - No Need For Kova
By Zyraen
Chapter I : No Need for Enigmas
"How I wish I could be as carefree as you," sighed Kiyone, as her partner
Mihoshi snuggled comfortably into her futon and into oblivion. The blonde
detective gave a loud sigh of contentment and curled some more as if in
confirmation of her words. Letting herself lie back, hands behind her
lustrous, long green hair, Kiyone thought about all the things that had
gone wrong in her life.
"It�s all because of Mihoshi!"
She remembered herself saying that to someone, sometime. Yet it just did
not seem to explain everything. Everything that had happened, she still
remembered, as some kind of nightmare she had lived through and wished
more than anything to end. Yet Mihoshi had been living that same life, and
it had seemed wonderful to her. How they had met Tenchi, Ryoko, and all
the rest. How they had helped wrest Kagato from his throne of power, and
became high ranking Galaxy Police personnel back at Central HQ.
Yet�
"What am I doing here!?"
Remembering the day Mihoshi had walked in and jubilantly announced,
"Kiyone, I�m so *happy*! We�ve got reassigned back to Earth as resident
officers again!"
"WHAT!?"
"Yup, isn�t that *wonderful*!"
"H..h..how�?" Kiyone had said as she sank weakly into her chair.
"Oh, I just asked, as they said it was OK, if I could get you to agree
and substantiate the request, which I�m sure you will! " She smiled as she
held up her hand into an OK sign, then clasped her hands together again.
"This is great! We�ll be able to see Tenchi, Sasami, and all the rest of
them again."
"Sasami�" Oh yeah, Aeka had ran away for another vacation again, and
Sasami had gone after her on the pretext of getting her back. Azaka and
Kamadake, the knights, had remained to keep the Council of Jurai in their
place and protect the palace (empty�) while their log version had followed
Sasami�
"Oh no! I haven�t bought anything for them, and they�ll be so upset with
me! Sasami said she�d be getting me a�" As Mihoshi rattled on, Kiyone had
toyed with the thought of getting the transfer undone, but well, returning
to Earth was hardly what she would call unpleasant, though it would put a
damper on her future promotion prospects, not that she was doing badly�
Besides, she did not want to break Mihoshi�s heart.
She had then managed to persuade her GP superior that keeping an eye on
Aeka and the true king of Jurai was very important, in the face of growing
hostilities between the Juraian empire and the Synera Stellar Syndicate
(SSS), an empire that had risen out of a merchant syndicate that developed
weapons and ships to colonise and subjugate planets, and at least be given
credit for protecting the Juraian royalty. She even got the boss to
strongly hint she *might* return to a promotion if nothing untoward
happens until relations are smoothed over.
And so here she was, scraping a living out on the primitive planet. At
least now with the dimensional door that had been so useful in their
adventures in Space, and which Washu had given to them as a farewell
present, she and Mihoshi could pop over to Tenchi�s place anytime for a
quick (heavenly) bath, a welcomed (exquisite!) meal and a nice (and free)
Karaoke session.
"I wonder why do I even bother to stay in this apartment!? I practically
live there in Tenchi�s house!" Her thoughts brought her back. "Oh yeah,
principle." Kinda stupid, though.
Looking at the clock beside her, she sighed again. It was almost an hour
since she had retired and she was still awake! Trying vainly to turn her
mind blank and sleep, Kiyone shifted and tried a different position.
===========================================================
Meanwhile, high over the Earth�s stratosphere, her solitary spacecraft
orbited, in auto pilot. Scarlet metal gleamed bright in the sun�s rays,
while from far away, a tiny metallic speck emerged and sped over. It
seemed to be some sort of a capsule, but there were rocket boosters behind
it, and within something stirred. A portal of darkness opened within it
and�
He was inside the Yagami. Grinning, the intruder smiled to himself.
"Let�s see how the GP is doing with my data."
Moving over to the bridge, the person seated himself in the command seat,
fingers flashing over the console. His eyes scanned the screen as he
accessed the GP file archives.
"Ah, I see I am still remembered," he murmured.
Before him, on the screen, a very outdated picture of himself, followed
some words. Nothing he did not know, but still, his attention was drawn to
the last few lines.
Last sighted :
40 yrs ago, in the vicinity of the Science Academy.
Ship destroyed, no body found.
"I see their intelligence is neither precise nor up to date."
Tapping a few more buttons, he quickly summoned a map of the ship.
"Just a typical GP ship. I thought the red meant it�d be a bit more
interesting. Oh well," as he absorbed the data, and left to search the
ship for anything of value.
He found nothing, except for a moment he felt like sabotaging the engine,
and then he entered Kiyone and Mihoshi�s room on the ship. The first thing
that struck him was how one side, the right, was kept immaculately neat
and tidy, while on the other side, everything seemed to be a mess. Tissue
boxes, scattered books, spilled drinks, on the left, and the right, just
perfect. Bending over the short pink table in the middle of the room, he
too could see the difference. On the left side, stains of food and drinks
marred the surface, while on the other side, only two marks were seen - a
pair of hands, pressed onto the table so hard the person must have been
very angry.
Curiosity prompted a more thorough observation. A quick glance found him
Mihoshi�s photo, by her bed, the exact same one Kiyone had placed on her
altar just last year when she thought Mihoshi was dead. Beside that, an
alarm clock. One did not have to be very smart to see it had stopped
ticking.
"Pretty, cute, and not very well done."
Looking on the other side, three alarm clocks, and�
He stopped and stared.
The photo of Kiyone stared him straight in the eye, in GP uniform, one
hand placed tartly on her hip, the other holding a blaster by her ear. Her
lips were curled into a ghost of smile, reserved and yet pretty. It seemed
as though she was about to take a shot at him.
She had.
His eyes lingered a moment longer, then he stood up, his mouth curling in
disgust.
"She�s a GP officer!" Almost unconsciously, his hand tossed a silver rod
about thirty centimetres long that flew in a curling arc and knocked the
photo, some three metres from him across the room, so it would fall on its
face.
"Damn." The photo had not fallen. He was already over the bed and beside
it, his hand holding it up. His other hand gripped the rod, tightly. Sweat
beaded his brow as he fought against himself.
"I�ll see first."
There were two more photos near the centre of the room. One was of Kiyone
and Mihoshi singing a Karaoke duet. He sighed as he saw how carefree and
joyful she was, contrasting with the personal photo. The other one showed
Kiyone and Mihoshi in complete GP uniform, with blazers and caps, standing
before a man who was dressed like the GP Marshall. He could not be sure
though, as the Marshall was bent over, almost on the verge of falling,
with Mihoshi holding on with one hand on his collar, the other one on
Kiyone�s sleeve. The blonde detective had apparently tripped up, and
Kiyone�s face was that of utter shock and outrage, caught slightly off
balance. Judging from the GP assemblage in the background, it was some
kind of ceremony, maybe promotional�
He stifled a smile, and decided. Taking out a metal device and passing it
over each of the two photos and Kiyone�s personal one, he then proceeded
to search the room, careful not to leave any traces.
Ah, there it was, the names.
"Kiyone and Mihoshi. Hmmm, I wonder which is which."
Returning to the bridge, he accessed GP files.
"Ah, so she�s Kiyone," as he looked through the long list of Mihoshi�s
foul-ups under the blonde�s smiling face. Opening the other file�
"Impressive! First in her class!" he thought. Unfortunately, she had only
one significant work, though it had pushed her up from 1 st Class
Detective to the rather prestigious 2 nd Class Chief Inspector.
"Wow, carried out a coup to oust Kagato, the impostor who usurped the
Juraian throne, while protecting Princess Aeka and Sasami and working with
the legendary warrior Yosho and his grandson Tenchi. Looks like I missed
out on a lot of stuff while in the Academy."
Reading on, �Other associates include Ryoko, Ryo-oh-ki, Nagi, Ken-oh-ki,
Washu, who assisted greatly in restoring the Juraian throne to its
rightful owner.�
"Washu!!" He recalled how the �greatest genius scientist in the universe�
had appeared just last year at the Academy. He did not have time to get to
know her, but he knew she was the *best*.
Still, not smart enough to prevent him from stealing data on her previous
experimentation with dimensional warping to supplement his new ship�s
resources. It had helped greatly. The Tachyon Ray he had also installed
was her credit too, though he had obtained it before he had seen her,
under her invention files from seven hundred years ago.
Tapping a few buttons, he attempted to access files on Juraian Royalty.
"ACCESS DENIED to GP Personnel, except to Marshall or Grand Marshall."
Oh well, no matter, he think he knew vaguely who Aeka was. As for Yosho,
he knew from legends he was not someone to be trifled with. Ryoko and Nagi
were people he knew, not that they noticed him. He often took pains not to
be noticed.
Bringing the silver rod down in front of him, a portal opened, its
blackness seeming to flow out of the tip of the rod.
Oh, I nearly forgot.
Turning back to the ship�s computer, the intruder carefully erased all
traces of his passage and accessing of files in the memory circuits.
Stepping into the dark circle, he vanished, and the portal closed behind
him.
"Earth, here I come."
Outside Yagami, the capsule like spacecraft sped away and downwards.
===========================================================
"Well, what I tell you?" Ryoko smiled at Tenchi over the couch, while
Aeka helped Sasami to clear the dishes. "The carnival did come back."
"Ryoko, you never spoke truer," Tenchi answered, a dreamy smile on his
face as he watched at Aeka and Sasami bustle into the kitchen with the
plates, thinking of how it had all started.
"Though I�d rather some parts didn�t show up." Ryoko contemplated a
world, even if it was not for her and Tenchi only, at least without Aeka.
A thought occurred to her. "Hey, what did you mean by that?"
Tenchi just smiled at her, almost like he did when he threw her that
apple after their adventures in Time and Space, and Ryoko *knew* he was
referring to the �most wanted space pirate� thing. "Too bad Washu isn�t
here," he commented as he was about to get up.
"She�ll show up, you�ll see," Ryoko�s eyes questioningly watched Tenchi
get off the couch. "Hey, where are you going, Tenchi?"
"Help the rest with the dishes� Hey, Ryoko, stop that!" As the pirate
materialised before him and latched onto him.
"But I don�t want you to help them, I want you *all* to myself." Ryoko
said as she squeezed him a little tighter.
"Ryoko, what do you think you�re doing!?" Aeka exclaimed to Ryoko�s back
as she came out of the kitchen. "Stop that, you�re embarrassing Tenchi!"
All Tenchi could manage was a weak smile to her as sweat beaded on his
brow. "I said, stop that!" she shrieked again.
Ryoko felt two hands land on her shoulder and braced herself for Aeka�s
tug.
"Uh, Aeka, could you�?" Tenchi meekly said.
"Yeah, lay off, princess, can�t you see he�s all mine?"
"That wasn�t what I meant�" Tenchi bit his lip and tried not to add that
Aeka trying to pull Ryoko off him was, of course, that much more
embarrassing.
Ryoko got tugged off Tenchi, her arms held back by Aeka.
"Princess, you�ve got some nerve!"
"And you shouldn�t do that to Tenchi!"
"Grrr�"
"Grrr�"
The two girls faced each other, sparks crackling in the air between them.
"Hey, stop that! Don�t fight in here!!"
"Hi, everyone!" Three pairs of eyes turned to look up the stairs, onto
the blue-eyed blonde detective, or rather, Chief Inspector. Mihoshi stared
at the two girls, arms interlocked, and Tenchi, helpless, behind them.
"Uhh, I�m not interrupting anything, am I, huh?"
"Hello, we�ve decided to stop by again," Kiyone spoke calmly, smoothly
stepping before Mihoshi, and pulling her down by one wrist, discreetly
ignoring the potentially explosive situation. Turning quickly back to her
partner, "Move it, Mihoshi! Quit staring!" under her breath.
"Uh, huh�" Mihoshi�s face faded into her usual clueless smile as she let
herself be led down by Kiyone. "Say, where�s lunch?" as she looked at the
empty dining table.
"We�ve eaten," Aeka turned from Ryoko, defusing the situation. Ryoko gave
her a disdainful stare, then as if to prove a point, appeared next to
Tenchi again, leaning on his shoulder. Tenchi gave her a nervous look, but
kept quiet so as not to alarm Aeka.
"And I�m so hungry�"
"Pipe down, Mihoshi! It�s all because you had to go spill the paint all
over wall and the stained glass and we had to spend time to clean up the
mess!"
"I�m sorry, Kiyone�"
"Sasami?" Kiyone called. The younger princess popped her head out of the
kitchen, with Ryo-oh-ki perched on top, nibbling on a carrot.
"Oh, it�s you, Kiyone! I�ve saved lunch for both of you!"
"Thank you, Sasami."
"Oh thank you, thank you so much!" Mihoshi rushed past her partner and
into the kitchen.
"Sasami�s pretty thoughtful, you know." Tenchi commented to Kiyone, as he
stepped toward her. Ryoko seemed to be caught a little off balance, but
floated beside Tenchi, and tried to seem as though nothing had affected
her, though her eyes did seem to warn Kiyone to stay back.
"Not like some people I know," Aeka pointedly added, moving close beside
Tenchi, but not quite touching him. Ryoko�s eyes blazed at her across
Tenchi�s shoulder, and Aeka disdainfully turned away, fixing her gaze on
Kiyone, while Ryoko followed suit.
"Uh, girls, don�t�" Tenchi tried. Kiyone unconsciously stepped back under
the concerted gaze of Ryoko and Aeka.
"And I�ll just be getting my lunch," Kiyone fled into the kitchen.
Tenchi relaxed. "You know, just because I step towards her and say
something doesn�t mean I�m making an advance to her."
"A step forward sure looks like an advance to me," Ryoko sounded cold.
"I know you wouldn�t do such a thing, Tenchi, but it�s best to be
sure." Aeka added.
He sighed. The carnival certainly seemed here to stay.
===========================================================
Several days before, in a distant part of the universe�
The dust from the explosion finally cleared.
"What happened!?"
"Well Professor, you see, I um�"
"Forget it," she sighed. "Out, get out of my lab."
There was a brief sound of scuttling footsteps, and the door to her lab
closed.
What had happened to the Science Academy!? All she did was leave it for
seven hundred years, and now, the lab assistants and students were all as
bad as Mihoshi!
As for the professors themselves, so far *only* two others had attempted
to rival her research and invention process, and while she had
conclusively demonstrated to them that she was the most genius scientist
in the universe, that was still a pathetic number. In her time, she could
remember lecturing a whole classroom full of ex-rivals, and happily see
them walk out deflated and with a better perspective of the universe, some
with extra (heavy) head ornaments.
Only two other professors she might have considered more noteworthy, but
these two did not attempt to prove themselves against her or to her. As
for the students, there had been only six, in the entire academy, she
might have considered promising material.
Not only that, but they had indirectly stopped her from making Mecha-
Washus, so there was no way to get decent help around. The Academy trains
the very best to be scientists, they had said, and Mecha-Washu, especially
if it has Washu�s brain, would totally negate the need for the Academy.
Besides, it also makes for a lot of confusion.
She heard the door open behind her.
"What is it?" Her spectral computer faded out of reality as she stopped
typing, for already the lab showed no sign of damage being done to it. She
turned to face the Academy�s dean, a balding, apologetic excuse of a man
with a totally unscientific mind, at least by Washu�s standards.
"Well, Professor, there�s been an unfortunate incident."
"Like what?" she sounded disinterested.
"A student has vanished."
"Big deal. Who was it?"
"Yoda Shiro."
"Quite a bright chap. Heard he was doing a miniature spaceship with
stealth capabilities."
"He has taken that with him. And his other projects."
Washu yawned. "Such as�?"
"We don�t know for sure. He was developing an EMP device powerful enough
to stop ships, for his other class."
"Mmm-hmmm."
"An energy blade device, that we now suspect to have a dimension rift
creator."
"Mmm�" Washu�s brow wrinkled. "Say, wasn�t it me who created the one and
only dimensional rift device for Tenchi last year, during my time as a
fugitive?"
"Well, none of us here has actually created another one, but we�ve been
studying your notes on its creation since you arrived and we suspect he
may have seen the notes, both ours and yours."
"Oh."
"And we suspect he has materials from your lab too."
"WHAT!?" Quickly she summoned up her spectral computer and typed
furiously at it, checking for intrusions.
"And just one more thing. Remember the Tachyon Ray you invented seven
centuries ago?"
Washu snorted at her terminal. "I should remember! One of the reasons you
people gave for having me thrown out!"
"Well, an analysis on the notes have showed some of the dust particles on
it are missing, while materials required for creating one have been found
in places he might have been to, including his room."
"Urm, yeah." Something in the back of Washu�s screamed at her to be
concerned, but she was too busy with her computer. "Found it!" Her eyes
went to the top of her lab. In a corner, a ventilator. She pointed at it.
"He came in from there! The screws are slightly loose! And there is a spot
there where he placed a levitating pulley so he can send a rope down
without touching the ceiling or the wall, that�s why there�s a little less
oxygen in the area! He must have deactivated the alarm devices in the
ventilator!" Washu mentally chided herself. Working in another dimension
would have prevented all this.
The dean�s face turned white.
"That must be how he got into so many places�!"
Something clicked in Washu�s mind. "Hold it! Did you say MY Tachyon Ray?"
"Yes, only the one and only genius scientist in the universe could have
invented that." The dean sighed. "It has some destructive powers, I
believe? One or two planets, according to your notes."
"That was what I tested it on in my alternate dimension. BUT I had the
right settings for that result."
The dean�s eyes bulged out as he absorbed the meaning of her words.
"That means if you alter the settings�?"
"Theoretically, it means it can destroy anything from just a space ship
to a planetary system to an asteroid field to a *really* large space
fleet." Washu said solemnly.
"Is that written down anywhere?"
"Only on my personal notes. From that one experiment I extrapolated other
settings for the other results." �Which he may have seen�, the obvious
extension to that line, remained unspoken.
"Oh no," the dean whispered. "Now we�ve really got a situation."
"It�s all your stupid regulations. I should have abolished that rule on
always making back-up notes on paper during my chairmanship." Washu looked
thoughtfully at her computer, and sure enough, another thought locked into
place. She did not usually think of such things, but still she asked.
"Say, have we ever released any findings to further the ship arms,
stealth, and all that?"
"Once in a while, but nothing that serious."
"So this Yoda guy, whoever he is, has this really tiny spaceship that
can�t be detected by ships, can only be shot at by manual firing, armed
with the most powerful weapons of our time, short of something just about
only I can invent?"
The dean could only nod dumbly, as he watched the red-headed scientist
type furiously at her terminal, summoning up the GP files.
"What are you standing there for? Get me his file!!!" Washu screamed.
�
===========================================================
"Hello, welcome to Mos Burger! What would be your order, sir?" Kiyone
smiled at a customer. Removing his sunglasses, the man smiled back.
He was a little taller than Kiyone, with a head of somewhat long, fine
black hair, combed neatly with a side parting. A thin moustache joined up
with a goatee, that looked fine on the end of his sharp chin with high
cheek bones. His eyes were blue beneath his high forehead, and despite his
slightly coarse complexion and that he looked like he was thirty odd years
old, he was still rather handsome in his white tee, with a sky blue vest
and blue trousers. That, plus something in his demeanour and expression,
suddenly made Kiyone�s smile a lot more natural.
"Just a Teriyaki Chicken burger, please."
"Would you like a meal instead, sir? It�s better value for money."
His eyes seemed to twinkle as he considered it.
What am I doing looking at his eyes? Kiyone thought to herself.
"Well, okay, I guess. Thank you." His hand placed the money on the
counter.
"Thank you, sir." She did not have to return change, the amount was
exact. "Please take a seat and wait for your burger." She pressed the
number tag into his hand, a little harder than was usual for her. "Next,
please." Kiyone tried to ignore the commotion at the other counter
belonging to Mihoshi, and as she turned her head slightly away, she saw
the man�s head tilt slightly back, and the blue eyes stared full at her,
for just a moment, before he turned around the corner.
Unbidden, Kiyone felt her cheeks warm up. No one had looked at her that
way before! It was not at her body, then at her. It was just her. She had
learnt long ago to see lust for what it was, learning from Mihoshi�s
mistakes. All the men she and Mihoshi met she had seen through, and she
had grown to distance herself from their attentions. With the exception of
Tenchi and Katsuhito, this stranger was the only man who looked on her
with a different eye.
"Ahem." The customer. The manager, who had been berating a cringing
Mihoshi, while another employee took over her counter, cast a look back at
her, which said plainly, �What? You too?�
"Sorry, sir, to have kept you waiting! May I take your order, sir?" Damn,
thought Kiyone to herself. Mihoshi is rubbing off on me.
The manager finally finished with Mihoshi. The blonde lady quickly got to
work, not at the counter any more, but at distributing the food. Picking
up the first order, she quickly got out.
"53. 53. Ah, there." She saw the same man Kiyone had served, with the
tag, seated about three tables away. "There you are!" Hurrying over, she
failed to see an bag sticking out in her way.
"Ahh�.!"
Kiyone heard her, shook her head, and waited expectantly for the crash.
It didn�t come.
Seeing there were no more customers before her, Kiyone quickly walked out
from behind the counter and peered round the corner. Mihoshi was being
helped up by a man, whose left hand on her shoulder had stopped her from
falling, while the tray balanced nicely in the man�s other hand.
�It�s him!� Kiyone thought. So occupied was she that she did not hear the
store manager move behind her and look at them too.
"Uh, I�m sorry," Mihoshi started as she stood up. "Thank you, really."
The man smiled, a seemingly more youthful smile than befitted his age,
then turned his back and started placing his meal on his table. "Don�t
mention it. Besides, I paid for this food, so I had best make sure it
comes to me intact. Say, what�s your name?" He turned slowly around as he
asked the question, and he was looking straight at Kiyone as he said the
last word. Kiyone felt her blush returning. Looking at his eye as he
turned to face Mihoshi, she saw it was with that detached affection Tenchi
showed to Mihoshi.
Affection nevertheless.
Almost angrily, Kiyone killed off the impulse. �So this is jealousy.�
Mihoshi did not notice. "I, uh, am Mihoshi, what�s your na.." before she
realised all the people looking at her and the man, who sat down and
started unwrapping his burger. "Oh, this is so embarrassing!!" As she
started hopping around distractedly.
"Mihoshi, get back here!" Kiyone called.
"Uh, coming, Kiyone!"
As Mihoshi came towards her, Kiyone tried a furtive glance, to the side,
hoping the fellow had caught her name. She saw a soft smile playing on his
lips, as they soundlessly pronounced what she felt certain was her name.
"Kiyone." She could almost hear him, then he bit into the burger.
"Kiyone! Get back to your counter!"
She sighed. Oh well, they would have to report for their next job soon,
in about an hour, then after that shift, which would mean they have to
skip dinner, then they could return to their apartment and to Tenchi�s
place for a bath and supper.
An hour later, just as Kiyone and Mihoshi had removed their service
uniform were about to step out of the fast food restaurant, Kiyone
suddenly said, "Wait here, Mihoshi," before going to peek around the
corner again.
He won�t be there, silly! It takes barely ten minutes to finish a
Mosburger Meal!
She went around the corner, and�
"Here, a little snack for those going without dinner."
The fellow pressed the drink into one of her hands and the fries in
another, as she glimpsed his grinning face. Their eyes met briefly, and
though Kiyone willed him to stay so she could absorb his appearance more
carefully, he almost immediately turned and walked out of the back exit of
the restaurant, taking a right turn before vanishing.
About three seconds later, "Kiyone, what�s wrong with you?" Mihoshi
asked, concerned.
Kiyone suddenly realised she�d been standing there like a dumb struck
fool staring after the figure.
"Oh, nothing," she murmured.
Why arm I letting that guy play me around for an idiot! Her mind screamed
at her. And how did he know Mihoshi and I are going without dinner?
"Let�s go, Mihoshi."
"Are you sure, Kiyone? It looks like rain." Mihoshi said as they turned
back to the main exit. It was drizzling a little, and it looked like it
would get heavier.
"We don�t have a choice. We�ve got a job at the department store,
remember?" Pushing open the door to the restaurant, Kiyone saw that there
was something hanging in front of the door. An umbrella.
"What the�?" Kiyone picked it up and saw a card in it.
�For Kiyone, and Mihoshi.� It read. The rain seemed to become heavier.
"Hey, Kiyone, where�s that from?"
"I don�t know, but�" the green haired detective fingered the label with
the price tag still attached to the handle. "It sure is new." Looking
around, she saw a small shop on her left, selling, among other things,
umbrellas. Beyond the building ended. "It�s from that man, Mihoshi."
"Huh? How?"
"He walked out the exit behind, round the back of the building, went into
that shop to buy this, put the card in, hung it here and left."
"Oh�" Mihoshi scratched her head. "So, I guess he sure is thoughtful,
huh?"
Kiyone allowed herself a smile. "Yeah, I suppose so." She rather gingerly
took a sip of the drink, which was iced peach tea, as Mihoshi helped
herself to a french fry, which was somehow still warm.
===========================================================
"We must try to get hold of the princesses of Jurai." One voice said.
"Pointless, they�ve got Yosho protecting them." Another voice.
"We could try to get better weapons and ships." Another voice.
"Say, which reminds me, have you all heard of a small incident at the
Science Academy?" A fourth voice.
"Look, you just said �small�. Why would we have heard it?"
"It�s small because they want to keep it small. It seems that some
student has stolen some really awesome technology from them."
"How big is this tech?"
"Remember how our breakthroughs often come from the few spies I have
inside? Well, I�ve only been working at the student level. This fellow has
got technology from the best."
"Like?"
"Have you heard of Professor Washu?"
"Yes, I heard she became the de facto head of the Academy since the
Kagato incident, although the dean and the chairman are technically in
charge."
"I heard she was the chairman."
"Well, she was, at least until she resigned. And he stole from her."
"WHAT?"
"Among others."
A pause as the three others absorbed the potential in his statement.
"In fact, she has left the Science Academy. It�s ostensibly to visit her
former associates Aeka and Sasami on Earth, but we believe she wishes to
track this guy down."
"That bad, huh?"
"We have to get to that spy."
"Any ideas where he went?"
"Nope. But I think we�d do well to keep an eye on Washu. At the same
time, try to get hold of the princesses somehow, okay?"
"No problem."
"Oh, and one more thing. I have a hunch that guy was one of our agents."
"Are you sure? I�ve seen the most of the latest recruits."
"About a hundred years ago."
"Darned, that�s not good. Any ex-agent would have to be almost perfect to
have avoided termination for so long."
"Yes, and on his files, he is very *good* at spying." A pause. "If it is
him."
"Real neat, as if the episode at the Science Academy didn�t tell us that
much already. Now, let�s get to work gentlemen."
"Just one more thing. Do you think we should use the new prototypes?
They�re pretty good, so we may want to save them for later, unless the
situation warrants them."
"Hmm, good question. Use the weaker X and L prototypes. The rest we will
hold in reserve."
"I, for one, recommend the Cam models. They are suited for subterfuge,
are they not?"
"Very well, then. Terminate?"
"Concur." The other three voices chimed.
"Syndicate meeting concluded."
=== End of Chapter ===
NEXT CHAPTER : No Need for Emotions
I hope you have enjoyed this Fanfic as much as I have typing it.
If there are any more grammar errors, I beg your forgiveness, as
my sole proofreader is myself.
This is my first FF, so go ahead and mail me at zyraen@yahoo.com
with comments, especially on character portrayal & realism.