[General note to FFML: I *did* inadvertently trigger the recent mess on the
FFML, and a lot of good points were made about C&C...and I realise I've been
very tardy in actually reading and commenting on fics, and I apologise, and
will try to make amends in a timely manner. I've just had most of my
attention focused elsewhere recently. ^^;;]

Two weeks on the road and I return to...  Well, you people have
certainly been busy.  Did I miss the annual 'Navel-Gazing Festival'?

No, but you missed a lot of us tying down onna-Ranma and Nabiki and doing
SOMETHING to their navels...

     Miyabi Kagurazaki descended the stairs from her office with
an air of someone full of bad news.

As opposed to the air of someone full of bad gas she usually projects.

     But Miyabi could also see Aoi's eyes a degree of anxiety
over her missing friend.  All the more reason to choose her words
carefully.  What she had learned from people she knew in the
investigation field; private detectives, security people,

elementary-school kids with glasses...

     Biting her tongue, she fought the urge to describe the
acrimonious exchange she had that revealed the secretary's
obvious xenophobia about Aoi's American friend.  He insisted
that, as far as the Sakuraba Group was concerned, Tina Foster was
a disposable gaijin who would mean nothing but trouble should
they take a hand in trying to find her.

Well ain't that special.

     "Sir Kaoru?" Miyabi asked, when she saw his expression as he
watched Aoi leave.  She couldn't be sure, but he had the wounded
look of a man about to do something rash.

Incidentally, I'm not feeling the Westernised modes of address. Especially
under the circumstances--the story being about rampant Japanese xenophobia
in a staunchy highly-placed Old Japanese Family, NOT seeing honorifics like
"Kaoru-dono" and "Aoi-sama" is VERY jarring.

     "That may be, but if your actions now are imprudent, you
might very well find yourself on the outside of the Sakuraba
family."

Not that this would actually matter to Kaoru. He's pretty much made his
opinion of the Sakuraba and their ilk CRYSTAL clear...

     "I think..."  Miyabi hesitated, quickly calculating how her
next suggestion might be received by both Kaoru and the Sakuraba
family.  "Under the circumstances, I think it would be best if
you stayed in the mansion tonight," she said.  When he stopped
and looked at her over his shoulder, she tried a gentle smile.
"Lady Aoi will sleep better knowing there is a man in the house
to protect her - and so will I."

And more to the point, that way she can keep an eye on him and make SURE he
doesn't run off and play hero.

     Sitting up with Steven's help, she groaned and tottered in
the seat.  "How long have I been asleep?  Where are we?  What
time is it?"

"Are we there yet?"

     "I feel like I've been run over by a truck,"

"Funny you should say that..."

     "Oh.  Where are we going?" she asked, trying a few
experimental steps.  Pain shot up from her ankles directly into
her hips, causing her to grunt and grab for a seat back.

"Last time I have sex hanging from the ceiling..."

     "Good idea.  If you keep moving, you won't tighten up," he
said as they reached the exit.  "Don't worry about how this
looks.  Anyone who cares probably thinks you just had a little
too much to drink in Tokyo."

Which, for her, wouldn't be abnormal at all.

     As Steven turned to enter the room, he cut the corner a
little short.  A shower of stars exploded in Tina's eyes when her
head hit the door frame.  "Ow, you idiot!" she growled, one of
her hands releasing his neck to cover the spot on her head that
was certain to raise into a nasty bump by morning.

Ouch.

     Steven pulled back from the doorway a little and tried to
enter again.  His aim this time wasn't much better.  One of her
sore ankles wacked into the door the old lady was holding.

Double ouch. Man, he really fails at this.

     "OW!  What are you trying to do to me?" she snarled.  "PUT
ME DOWN!"
     "I think I can get it this time," he said, turning sideways
to the opening.

When the lady wants down, put her DOWN.

     "DOWN-DOWN-DOWN!"

Toward, high punch.

     She felt herself suddenly spun around until she faced the
room.  His arms went around her waist and she was abruptly
hoisted off the floor.  Carrying her like a rag doll, he paused
before tromping over to a ready futon.  Without a word, he
dropped her.

Man, he REALLY fails at this.

     Still face down, she held up one hand.  "I'll be right
here," she said.  Hearing the door slide shut, she drew a deep
breath.  "This marriage thing is never going to work."

Awww.

     Wearing a yukata provided by the inn, Tina was on her back.
She appeared to have passed out on her futon, her yukata open
just enough to reveal her white nylon panties.

Fanservice!

Well, he did say a little alcohol would probably be okay.  He
just didn't' expect her to drink a whole bottle.

To her, that IS a "little" alcohol.

     "Well, she did a good job," he acknowledged.  Undoing his
belt, he glanced her way just long enough to notice she had
rolled over and was eyeing him in anticipation.  "What?"
     "Just curious," she said with the kind of expression one
would expect from a woman in a male strip joint.
     "About?"
     "If you're as good lookin' as those spy fellas in the
movies."

And she calls HIM a pervert?

 She rose up slightly on her elbows, her hands framing
her pretty face.  Her change of position also revealed a quantity
of cleavage.

Mmmmmm, b00bies.

     Tearing his eyes away from what she had inadvertently
displayed, he tried to push inappropriate thoughts from his mind.
"Those movies are cheap fantasies for men.  They're not real,"

But Tina's b00bies are!

     "Oh," was all he could say.  His arm still hurt.  He
probably should get the bottle of pain killer he had him in one
of the bags but a hot bath right now sounded better.

That sentence could sound better too:

"His arm still hurt; he knew he should probably take something for the pain,
but a hot bath sounded better."

     "Don't worry.  We'll do okay."  He wasn't all that sure
himself but it was important to help her keep up her spirits.
She had to be more scared than he, given she knew so little about
what they were up against.
     Her expression, however, didn't change.  "Where are you
going to sleep?"

"Nestled between your full, luscious breasts, babe."

     "Over here with the bags," he said, indicating the two
barrel bags he had stashed along the wall.

Or there.

     Stretching, she looked around for Steven.  Unlike a few
nights ago, he was exactly where he said he would be; across the
room, propped up against two green barrel bags and wrapped in the
spare comforter.
     "So, Mr. Secret Agent is asleep.  Maybe, I should wake him
up Tina-style," she thought with a mischievous grin.

Oh dear. XD

     Slipping silently out of her futon, she reached for her
clothes.  Wrinkling her nose at the thought of wearing the same
clothes two days in a row, she picked her bra out

...of her ass, wondering just HOW drunk she got for it to wind up THERE...

and started to remove her yukata.

WOOOOOOO!!

     Tina responded with a smile and a nod before another thought
came to her.  "Oh, does this town have a clothing shop?" she
asked.

Always with the important things in mind.

     "I'm going to get something out of this trip, maybe even a
new camera," Tina said, eyeing Steven.
     "Don't count on it," Steven said without moving.
     "Yeah?  Well, I think... WAITAMINIUTE, you're awake?"

Surprise!

     Steven chuckled.  "I'm afraid I don't come from such upscale
surroundings.  Mom and Dad had a little spread out west.  Closest
big city was Amarillo."
     "I was right," she said, gulping down her juice.  "I thought
you were a cowboy."
     "Hardly.  I haven't been there in almost 20 years."
     "Don't your parents miss you?"
     "I don't think so.  They died when I was five."

Awwww.

     "It was, at first.  After they died, Grandma took over the
ranch but she couldn't raise a five-year old.  So, she kinda
farmed me out to other relatives."

"They milked me every day. I don't really like to talk about that."

     "Since my only options seemed to be teaching or translating
Anime, I listened to some guy I knew from my classes.  He put me
in touch with a guy from back East.  Turns out he was some sort
of recruiter.  What he offered didn't sound all that bad, so two
weeks later, signed up and found myself somewhere in Virginia
learning how to be an agent."  He hung his head and picked at his
food.  "Stupid decision, really.  This isn't anything like I
thought it would be."

"I shoulda stuck with the anime."

     Tina idly pushed rice around in her bowl as she considered
how tough it must have been for him.  Like her, he was adrift,
searching for somewhere to belong.  The closest place she had
ever felt like she belonged was with Miss Landlord and the
others.  But even that gave her an uneasy sense that she was
missing out on something.

The group orgies. She always passes out before the group orgies.

     He slowly nodded.  "I guess, if we separated, there's no
guarantee the Koreans wouldn't find you again.  They're pretty
determined folks, those Koreans."

Downright dogged, one might say.

"Steven, do you have a girlfriend?"
     That question seemed to stun him.  He blinked at her for a
couple of moments.  "Uh... No.  I really don't want to talk about
it."

Oh dear.

"Besides, girls want athletes, doctors, or just about anyone who
has a lot of money and power.  I'm just a nerd who knows a few
languages."  He slowly looked away.  "In any case, a girlfriend
would... complicate things," he said.  "You know yourself how
just being around me can be dangerous.  If I had a girlfriend,
the bad guys would probably kidnap her and hang her up by...
her..."

Clitoris?

Good chapter. Lots of fun character stuff, very well done.

================================
Please do not stare at my crotch.
              ~~*~~
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com



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