Consider this as a personal writing exam of sorts that I'm giving myself, in
the art of first impressions and presentations. For the not-inconsiderable
length of time I've been lurking on this ML, not once have I ever seen
anyone post a piece of GateKeepers 21 fanfiction; which, in theory, would
suggest that little of the current ML population has ever watched the said
anime. Without further ado--
[] I've never watched GK21, but I'm interested in it after reading this.
[] I've never watched GK21, and I probably won't, but your fic is
semi-decent.
[] I've never watched GK21, and, after reading this, I'm not going to. X_X
[] I've watched GK21, and god, your fic sucks ass! XD
Take your pick. :P
---
It had been ten years.
A few clicks, a brief clatter of the keyboard, and the interface of the
central AEGIS Data Library blinked into view on the screen. The large
chamber lay in ruins, silent and deserted. Crushed beams lay toppled on
their sides. Wires, steel beams, plates, rusted machines, mechanical and
electronic devices alike -- all were strewn across the steel-plated floors,
while the crumbling walls revealed complex circuitry and wiring that were
once concealed behind the reinforced plates of steel.
While Kageyama Reiji had never had the opportunity to visit the AEGIS Far
East HQ during its heyday -- when he was still known as the Invader
Executive codenamed 'Shadow' -- it wasn't hard to imagine that, despite its
current neglect and state of destruction, the place had once been a
top-secret underground facility. Reiji paused for a while, frowning as he
tried to figure out the ancient operating systems of the obsolete, though
still functional central supercomputers of the now-defunct Alien
Exterminating Global Intercept System, Earth Defense Force Council of the
United Nations. It didn't take him long.
FILE ACCESS: ENTRY #38974
ENTER COMMAND LINE: HIMURA KENSHIN, GATEMASTER UNIT
ACCESS GRANTED_
Ten years since he last saw the man, with his trademark X-shaped scar on his
left cheek -- the man who could not die, who wielded the powers of a god; at
least, that was what the reports had claimed. Where he was now, Reiji had no
idea. Despite his easygoing manner, the man was even more secretive about
his movements than Reiji had ever been, or could ever hope to be -- perhaps
even more so than Yukino. Reiji wished he was here. Having gone through the
same thing himself, he was probably the only person who would know what to
do, or at least understand what the heck was going on.
Thirty years. It had been three decades... Reiji never imagined that any war
could've lasted so long, that he would not have completely been stripped of
hope and faith in that span of time -- but it had been thirty years all the
same, spent locked in war that he couldn't possibly win...
And the Master Legacy beckoned, as it had through the centuries, awaiting
its day of reckoning. A day that would herald humanity's greatest victory or
its most crushing defeat. If Kenshin was dead, if he was no longer alive...
If the curse of the GateMaster had already been passed on...
The file loaded.
Himura Kenshin, GateMaster of Death--
Reiji's pulse quickened.
//There are the Keepers, and then there are the Masters.//
Page after page of text flashed onto the mainscreen display, the entirety of
the intelligence and information that AEGIS had managed to gather for the
last four decades, all filed into the same entry. A brief, rare smile of
triumph lit Reiji's features, vanishing as soon as it appeared, as he
removed from his attach� case a laptop PC, proceeding to plug the device to
the AEGIS mainframe computers.
//There are those who control the Gate... those who are controlled by the
Gate...//
//And there are those who are the Gate themselves.//
Dark, red eyes scanned displayed data as it scrolled past. The Gate of
Death, the Angel Slayer, all of them -- unsanctioned documentation on
Hitokiri Battousai and Chiharu Reina, records that officially did not exist,
as well as links to a dozen of other names. Many of them Reiji knew only too
well, though pausing in mild surprise when his own name flashed among the
list of references as well.
//One man -- only one has achieved that level. To be so connected to his
Gate that both his soul and the Gate itself are fused together, giving him
unlimited access to it--//
The Master Legacy... at least, as much as Kenshin knew, or was willing to
tell. For a moment, Reiji wondered how the two children were doing now. He
had kept tabs on them for the last ten years or so, but had never really
managed to find time to visit them, not that they would recognize him if
they did. No, they wouldn't remember; they never knew. They would be sixteen
this year now... the age as when he had met them thirty years ago. Things
changed. People changed; even Megumi had, though he would never have
expected it. But they would be only coming of age, the two of them, growing
up to be who they were, three decades ago...
//--Giving him the power of a god--//
FILE DOWNLOAD COMPLETE_
A slight chill descended upon the silent air. Reiji hesitated, his left hand
resting on the screen of the notebook computer in readiness to fold it shut.
The air conditioners should have stopped functioning years ago, like almost
everything else in the derelict, abandoned AEGIS HQ...
//--And that man - feared in life as well as in death --//
"Kyuu."
A small, pale-white snow ermine appeared, seemingly out of nowhere,
scampering up Reiji's leg with surprising dexterity, finally coming to rest
on the back of his hand. Reiji stared at the creature, scratching it gently
behind the ears, slightly surprised -- though he should have knew better --
by the fact that he wasn't the only visitor to the now-abandoned AEGIS HQ.
"Long time no see, Yukino."
//For he never dies, nor stays dead--//
Long, black tresses reached to the floor, framing a small girl dressed in a
white, flowing kimono, a large, red ribbon tied on her back around her
waist. Large, almond-shaped eyes, dark blue in hue, stared at Reiji with an
almost childlike innocence as the ermine returned to her, perching itself on
her shoulder, seemingly unheeding of the aura of solitary aloneness that
surrounded the girl; an aura that, despite the vibrant red ribbon she wore,
as well as the white lily petals that adorned her hair, made her appear more
like an ethereal wraith, forlorn and untouchable, instead of human being--
"Kageyama-kun."
//--armed with the sword of the gods--//
Reiji reached into his coat, drawing from his breast pocket a frayed, faded
photograph. For a few moments he stared at it, the people in the picture
smiling at him, obviously in high spirits -- happiness, captured in a single
instant and made eternal -- before tearing his gaze away, looking up at
Yukino, as he tossed the photo at her, watching as she stretched out a hand,
the photo landing softly on her upturned palm.
She looked up questioningly.
"Just a little something I've wanted to give you for the past five years."
Yukino stared at the photo inquisitively. "Don't you want it anymore?" she
asked softly.
"It's not that," Reiji gave a wry grin, snapping his notebook computer shut.
"I never deserved to keep it in the first place."
The beep of a mobile phone tore through the silence with razor-sharpness.
Reiji drew the device from his pocket, flipping it open, keying in several
commands in a few deft strokes to summon a wireframe map of Tokyo city, a
map that sported a pulsating red circle near its upper left corner... the
Shinjuku district--
Invaders.
//--None other than Himura Kenshin.//
Reiji swore, mouthing a silent curse under his breath as he replaced the
device into his pocket. "I have to go."
There was no reply. None were needed.
Reiji hesitated in mid-step as he strode towards the exit, lingering for a
while as if in doubt, then almost instantly regained his usual, unruffled
composure. "Send Megumi my regards."
"I know."
"Thanks for taking care of her all this while."
"Iie," Yukino shook her head softly. "She took care of herself... and me, as
well."
"Sou ka?..." Reiji smiled briefly. He paused, sliding a pair of dark shades
over his eyes.
"Ja."
Then he was gone.
---
Chen Yong
Keeper of Megumi's School Uniform
http://www.fanfiction.net/~shadowD
teknosaber@bigfoot.com
"I often know the answers to questions before I ask them. The purpose is
sometimes simply to see how people answer them, rather than learn the
answer." -- Abdul Kanephren in 'Children of an Elder God'
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