Great, I'm finally receiving mail for my fics! ^_^
And I thought you kids usually ignored them.^_^
Anyway, I've been pecking at them for awhile. I'm concentrating on
the SLR and my essay on Crystal Tokyo. I might as well release a
few teasers to tide you over. I have foresworn my evil ways and have
vowed to release my fics after they have been totally finished. ^_^
That way I can flood-post the FFML _and_ the RAAC at the same time! ^_^
BTW, sorry about the SLR delays. The school I teach in is reaching the
middle part of the school year and I have to finish stuff before the
semestral break.
So wait awhile okay, besides I think Glazius and Mr. Gaters can hold
the fort.
Note:
All excerpts are from draft version. They may change when the final version
comes out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Damn!!"
The Executor arched an eyebrow as he listened to the wheel-chair
bound genius beside him swear. Her hands were practically blurring as
she typed on the holographic keyboard. The figures on the screen were
going by at almost the same speed. Ruka-chan's visible left eye was
tracking downwards, absorbing information at an incredible rate.
"I would suppose that means something bad is happening." He asked,
a bit bewildered as the blonde genius beside him called up three more
holographics and typing on all of them.
"One of the Harukas involved has a psi-link. _That_ is very, _very_ bad."
Fredericks couldn't help but notice the agitated tone in her voice.
"Why?"
"A psi-link, when active, lets a two people sense each other psionically.
This means they can technically share one mind. Both of the minds linked
have a duplicate copy of each others personality matrix. Call it a mental
version of a backup disk. That's why most psi-linked people have a tendency
to break off mental control or other psyche-damaging situations. The
personality matrices are shared and superimposed on each other. Now,
look," Ruka-chan pointed out a line of numerals streaming by on the screen.
"In a scenario like this, the distorted part of the persona is being forced back
into shape by the normal parts of the former personality. The process takes
time thus the week long wait period."
Since Fredericks was woefully uninformed in the area of higher level
mathematics as applied to psychological conditions, he made a wild guess at
what the paraplegic scientist beside him was trying to point out. "And the
psi-link aggravates this scenario?"
"Ayup." One more for Double Jeopardy, Fredericks silently thought as
Ruka-chan continued. "The backup personality matrix in the partner mind will
help in pressing that distortion, the intruding persona, has made. The more the
link is actively used the faster the process of persona integration is finished."
Ruka-chan looked up at her companion.
"We don't have a week. At best, five days. But since I always operate on the
assumption of a worst-case scenario... we have three days before reversal is
impossible."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two Heavens
The Concluding Part
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sorano looked at the face of the woman who was currently cuddling up
to him.
She isn't your wife, though she does look like her, she isn't your wife. She
won't probably like it if I started doing the things my wife liked. Besides, you
know she doesn't want it no matter how she acts.
"Haruka, I think I should get out of the bed. Maybe the room, too. I mean
you're must be really..."
He stopped as Haruka looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes. It
hurt to see them. He wanted to kiss the wetness off her cheeks and tell her
everything was going to be all right. But he didn't dare.
"Do you think I _want_ to be doing this!?!", she demanded as she turned
away from his eyes and crushed her face against his chest. Gods, her hair
smelled wonderful and the fine, silky feel of them tickled his nose.
"I can't stop myself! I'm trying to stop, but... but... my body just won't let me!
I try to get angry at you... you... damnably... sweet... handsome .... shit!"
He could feel her sobbing and a few other things heaving, too. Thank the kami
we both decided to just wear pajamas or I won't be able to stop myself. She turned
her head up again and she could see hate and pain along with love and joy in her
eyes, as if they were mixed thrown together in a blender.
"See! My head is getting all screwy and it hurts and the the more I fight it, the
more it hurts! I hate what I'm doing! But I can't help it! It only hurts more, but when
I think of you it starts to hurt less and when I do this," she said demonstrating by
hugging him and rubbing her cheek against his and letting her leg come up around
his thigh and he could feel one of her hands move towards his front and play with
the buttons of his pajamas.
"Damnit! I need you! I don't know what I'll do if you leave me now! Probably bash
my head against the wall! SO shut up about leaving this bed! I need you...I need
you... i need you... i need you... i ...need...you..." she whimpered she put her
head on his chest.
Sorano held the woman with his wife's face closer as he tried to soothe her, as
he thought of his wife and where could she be.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Coming Soon... I hope ^_^
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Green fields, blue skies and crystal clear rivers passed swiftly by,
a panorama in motion of Nature's beauty. The sense of wonderment
and splendor that the scene was supposed to convey was lost on one
Usagi Tsukino-Serenity, Crown Princess of Crystal Tokyo, Small Lady.
Though the term Small Lady maybe a bit of a misnomer now that she'd
grown. Sixteen years old, with her birthday a few months away, she
was, like her mother, a bit of a late bloomer. Her sudden growth spurt
at the age of fifteen left her at five foot four inches and still growing. She
was staring to become the very image of a beautiful young princess.
Currently, she was a very bored young princess. She sighed as
she stopped looking out the window and stood up from her chair to
stretch a little. She surveyed the surroundings of the Royal Coach,
the special train compartment used whenever her parents had need to
travel via rail. The full bookshelf in one corner, along with a table filled
with copies of the latest newspapers and magazines from the world
over. Her father was taking a nap on the couch and her mother was
seated comfortably on one of the other chairs, a sketchpad in one hand,
a pencil delicately balanced in the other. She was excercising one of
her few passions, drawing.
Usagi noted that even half-finished, Neo-Queen Serenity's sketch of
her husband was starting to look really well. If she weren't the Queen of
the world, the young princess thought, she'd probably make a great artist.
She smiled at the thought. She remembered reading about her mom's
previous occupation before ruling the world: a manga artist with quite a few
best-selling hits under her belt. A few of them were made into anime and
Usagi had often seen them as reruns on late-night TV. The Serenity Cult
gobbled it up like candy.
After the Reawakening and the Purification, her mother's manga creations,
already expensive to collectors and enthusiasts, were considered as holy
artifacts by some people and the stuff's prices went up astronomically.
Especially those with her mother's autograph. She had managed to read all
of them, borrowing from Aunt Rei's extensive manga collection and she loved
all of them. They had ranged from romance, fantasy, horror, etc. Name the
genre, Usagi Tsukino wrote it. Ironically enough, her mother wrote only one
series with a magical girl in it. It was one of her first successes and made
her name in the businness. All of the rest shared all the elements that made
them bestsellers: wonderful characters you can't help but love, well-made
plots that made sense and were believable and, of course, the gorgeous art.
There was also a second level to it that she had noticed when she read
the old tankoubons. The stories had a depth and understanding of the human
condition that just grabbed the reader and gave him or her an insight into it.
They made the reader think. She could remember one of her classmates
mentioning that her mother was on par with the best manga writer of the
late twentieth and the early twenty first, Rumiko Takahashi, the acknowledged
goddess of the current crop of manga writers, to whom she was known as
Rumiko-sama.
As if.
Sorry, Takahashi-san, you ain't got nothing on my mother, Usagi thought, as
she watched the woman who ruled the entire planet and had the right to rule the
entire Solar System, lovingly sketch her husband with a simple pencil.
She looked up at the clock and noted that it had already been an hour and
they still hadn't arrived at where they were supposed to be going. Her mother
had specifically ordered the hyper-train to move at speeds that were near to
those experienced by the steam trains of the nineteenth century.
All she knew that her mother had received a message and had declared this
rather impromptu trip for the Royal Family. If Neo-Queen Serenity wanted to get
somewhere in a hurry, she could have just used her powers and teleported
anywhere on the planet. Why go on a sudden trip, on a train that could get
anyone anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, and purposefully slow it
down.
"You're wondering why we aren't hurrying, aren't you, Small Lady?"
The princess blinked as she noticed her mother setting aside her sketchpad
and looking at her. Then she remembered what she called her.
"Moooom, will you please calling me Small Lady! I'm sixteen! At the very least
call me with a grown up name like Usagi or something."
Her mother smiled lightly and shook her head. "You will always be either Small
Lady or Chib-usa to me, my dear. Which do you prefer?"
Usagi grimaced at the thought of being called Chibi-usa again to which her mother
responded with a wide smile. Then Usagi remembered what started the conversation.
"How did you know?"
"You were looking at the clock and had this puzzled expression on your face.
Logical conclusion would be something troubling you concerning time or something
relating to time. And since you haven't had another lesson from Setsuna about
temporal mechanics recently and the fact that you looked momentarily out, I deduced
your thoughts related to time and the speed of the train. It would be elementary
to follow the line of thinking to your questoning why we after going on a sudden trip
we are not going at faster speeds.
"Mom, you're talking like Sherlock Holmes. I hate it when you talk like Sherlock
Holmes."
Her mother laughed. "Sorry about that, Usagi-chan."
"'Usagi-chan'? Where did that come from?"
"You did say you wanted to be called something different, ne?"
"But you just put a '-chan' at the end!"
"It is significantly better than Chibi-usa, ne?"
This time it was her daughter's turn to shake her head and smile. The
young princess was silent for a few moments, looking out again at the
passing scenery, and returned her gaze to her mother.
"Mom, to return to the original question, _why_ are we going by train?"
Neo-Queen Serenity inclined her head a bit to the side, obviously thinking
something over. After a few seconds her neck straightened and she motioned
for her daughter to take the seat opposite her.
Usagi sat down and waited for her mother to explain. There was a peculiar
look on her mother's face that she couldn't put her finger on. Usually she was
pretty good at reading her mother's moods but this was an exception.
"Well, it's time for you to find out about a lot of things, because the person
we will be visiting is the reason for most aspects of life in Crsytal Tokyo and
the rest of the world."
"I thought that was supposed to be you?", Usagi said with a puzzled look.
Her mother laughed gently at this and shook her head. "Technically, but that
person made me into what I am today, by teaching me all that I know. You
don't understand, do you?"
The look on her daughter's face said it all.
"Do you remember that letter I gave you when you came back to the past
for the second time?"
"Yes. That always bothered me. You knew kanji well enough. Why did you
use katakana?"
"Because if the earlier version of me found out how much I would change to
become the Queen, I don't think I'd ever have gone through with it."
Usagi nodded. "I remember thinking of you and the past version of you as
two different people since you were so... so..."
"Opposite?" Her mother sugested.
"No! Not that! You're still the Usagi I knew in the past at times. But, you're
more refined, more graceful, and much more -"
"Harder? I remember one of the newspapers nowadays describing me as
ruling with a velvet-gloved iron fist.", the Queen said with a smile, "Intelligent?
I remember a time when I was a failing at Japanese, Usagi-chan. Nowadays,
I am fluent in fifteen languages. When I was a teenager, I would never have
even dreamed of getting a Ph.D. in Political Theory. Along with my degrees
in Literature, Philosophy and History."
Neo-Queen Serenity looked out the window sadly. "When I was young I
would only read simple books and manga. Now I read reports on economies,
political situations and other things that would have put me to sleep back
then."
The Queen returned to look at her daughter again, smiling a little. "The
person we're going to visit suggested that we take the scenic route. I think
my old friend is trying to teach me a lesson again."
"The person we will be visiting taught me everything. Sensei first taught
me how to learn and how to love to learn. Then we started on from there.
Along the way, I met every intelligent person that has ever lived: Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras to Machiavelli and Aquinas to Locke, Hobbes,
Rousseau and all the others. I disagreed with Nietzche and flirted with Marx."
The Queen of Crystal Tokyo had a look of nostalgia on her face as she said
all of this to her daughter. "I got taught the sum entirety of human philosophy.
Sensei thought that I needed all of it. I don't know how, but Sensei was right
about that."
"Since I see you're quite confused, Usagi-chan. Since this trip will probably
be a long one, I might as well tell you the story of how I learned to be a
Queen. Or as Sensei puts it, learned to be a human being."
So as her daughter listened, entranced, Neo-Queen Serenity, who used to
be a young girl by the name of Usagi Tsukino in the city of Tokyo in the later
half of the twentieth century, began her story where it all began.
Breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the spirit of Henry Adams and several other famous dead people,
Elsa Bibat presents
an edutainment production
of
The Education of Usagi Tsukino
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, Usagi," Ami calmly asked her friend who was holding up a copy of
Lenin's The State and Revolution, "what was that again about instead of
calling you Neo-Queen in the future, we call you Comrade Chairwoman
Serenity?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Coming Soon .... after I review everyone from Socrates to Weber and
Pythagoras to Akiko and a few hundred other people...
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rei was pissed.
Her long blue hair was in disarray and her sleeping clothes were
wrinkled as she tramped down the wooden-floored hall of the Hikawa
shrine. Her red eyes were flashing dangerously as she stalked to the
source of the noise that was disturbing her sleep.
She came to the hall of the Sacred Fire and entered the large room
after sliding the shoji door to gain entrance.
She stalked in front of the large hearth where the holy flame burned.
The sound was coming from underneath it.
"I am going to _kill_ Grandfather," the angry shrine maiden muttered
under her breath. After a moment's consideration, she added to the
statement. "Fuyutsuki, too."
She clapped her hands three times and stamped her foot once on a
particular floorboard. The hearth moved back into the wall to reveal a
set of stairs that led downwards.
Rei took the stairs down and moments later she emerged in an
immense underground chamber. Incredibly impressive, but not
soundproof as the sounds that had awoken her from her rest.
These sounds were made by the two men who were currently
working on a gigantic, vaguely humanoid shape.
Eyebrow twitching she shouted over the din. "Jii-san, what the hell
are you doing?!?!?!"
Hino Gendou, priest of the Hikawa shrine and Certified Mad Scientist(TM),
looked up along with his Certified Mad Scientist's Assistant(TM) and temple
acolyte, Kozou Fuyutsuki. They both looked very guilty.
"She looks pissed," Fuyutsuki whispered.
"Don't worry. It's all on schedule," Gendou whispered back. "I'll have her
piloting the Eva yet."
"That's what you said when we rolled in that teddy bear of hers all bandaged
up."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Just when you thought the timestreams were safe...
Pissing Off Pluto 3
Yeah, Baby, I Love It When I Bleed!!!!
(No, that's not the real title. I heard a close friend say it once and it
sounded kinda cool.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Thou cannot beat me, base cur," Kuno Makoto, raising her bokken up high
as she declared her superiority to her opponent, and lightning crackled from
the clear sky. "For I am Kuno Makoto, the Green Thunder of Juuban High!!!"
"I hate my life," Saotome Usagi whispered under her breath.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Coming very soon....
As soon as I get around to kicking Setsuna out of my bedroom...
She's so nice to have around in there. ^_^
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Haruka looked at the drawing of man in a tuxedo and a
photograph of a shrine maiden with sea-green hair.
She looked from one to the other.
Then from one to the other.
"I can't decide. I mean Tuxedo Kamen shows up and rescues
me and my heart beats faster and I feel like a princess. When
Michiru shows up it's the same thing."
Haruka sat in deep thought then with grim determination, she
picked up both pictures.
"There is no other choice... I must have them both!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
Luna just sweatdropped from her vantage point outside the window.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
A Very Scary Thought - SM Style
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You know it's really nice to see you doing girl things
every once in awhile." Tsukino Ikuko said.
Haruka almost choked on her orange juice. "Um...what do you
mean?"
"You know that slumber party you had with Kai'ou-san? And I
thought you were going to grow up to be a tomboy." Ikuko smiled
at her daughter pleasantly. "So... what did you do? Stay up all
night and talk about boys?"
Her daughter blushed a little.
"Yeah, mom. Something like that."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Coming very soon
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Most probably I�ll just go back to teaching, Naoko," Elisabeth
said as she sipped lightly of her martini. She didn�t drink all that
often, but it would be quite impolite not to partake of the drinks
that were being offered in the party. This was the official cast party
of the show, with everyone who�s ever acted in any the five seasons
of Sailormoon showing up. Reika, Sayuri�s elder sister, who played
Hotaru Tomoe during the S season, was there with her boyfriend,
Ichiro �Shinji Ikari� Tanaka. Both of them had met when they worked
on the surprise hit of the year, "Shin Seiki Evangelion". She could
see a few of the other actors and actresses who�d worked on the
project: the �Dark Kingdom General� mingling with the �Witches Five�;
the �Youma Girls�, the women who often donned the various
youma/cardian/daimon/ whatever costumes and applied makeup to
make themselves the perennial opponents of the �Sailor Senshi�,
were laughing at a joke �Professor Tomoe�, actually Hideyoshi
Murakami, one of the more distinguished actors in the anime industry,
had made; Aika Matsuyama, the young actress who played
Chibi-usa for three seasons, was currently having a conversation with
her five unofficial on-set elder sisters, the �Inner Senshi�. Something about
an Utena and a revolutionary girl. Must be another period drama.
"Well, if that�s your choice. Though I heard you�ve been offered some
prime roles," the head writer and producer of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon
said as she smiled. Naoko was dressed up in a simple dress, a bit bland
compared to what the other women in the room were wearing. "Is it true
they offered you a role in that new drama Hideaki�s cooking up, Lisa-chan?"
"Hideaki-san is making a drama?" Lisa asked in disbelief. Now that was
a surprise, considering Anno Hideaki was considered the most surreal of the
current crop of writer/producer/directors of the anime industry. The Shin Seiki
Evangelion series of his was a big hit, though Lisa thought of it as a pretty
whacked-out show, for the plot alone, not to mention the characters.
"Had me surprised, too," Naoko mused as she looked around. "Seen
Sadamoto-sama around?"
Takeuchi-san sometimes had the habit of calling Fujiko with the honorific
attached. Probably because if there was anyone Naoko Takeuchi ever actually
looked up to, it was the great Fujiko Sadamato, a living icon of the industry
that she lived, breathed and worked in. Most of all, she did that all by the age of
thirty-five and Elisabeth thought that Fujiko could still look like a eighteen-year old
if she wanted to.
"Haven�t seen her. She�ll probably arrive late, knowing how she is and her projects,"
the sandy-haired teacher-cum-actress-cum-�Sailor Senshi� said as she looked
around. Fujiko always had one or two projects in the air, either as actress, producer,
and sometimes even a writer.
"Well, Lisa-chan, enjoy the party and good luck to anything you�re planning to
do," the petite writer said as she moved on to circulate around.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elisabeth 'Haruka Ten'ou' Gaffney looked over her boyfriend's
shoulder as he messed around with his computer. "Doug, what are
all those files entitled 'TOYS' for?"
"Umm... nothing important." Douglas Helm, fanfic author and
really lucky guy, said as he cleverly tried to hide his little hobby
from his girlfriend. Lisa was a bit touchy about her acting experience
as 'Haruka' in Sailormoon as proven by how their first date went.
So let's try to change the topic. He cleverly opened Outlook to
cover over Word. Maybe a few e-mails had come in.
"Hey! These wouldn't be those fanfics that my sister was raving
about?"
Yeah, you're a real genius, Doug thought to himself as Lisa looked
over his mail.
"Fanfiction Mailing List? Hey, I've heard of this. I think my cousin
Sean's in it." She said as she scrolled the inbox down.
Doug hoped against hope that there weren't any perverted lemons
posted right now.
Or at the very least have them with really subtle titles.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meeting Haruka: A Behind The Scenes sidestory
and
Marrying Haruka: A Sequel
(Yes, Doug, I am finally going to get you!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!)
(At least as soon as I get to finish writing the entire thing. ^_^)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" Ryouga shouted as
he dived down and slammed his fist into the concrete as
the subject of his rage dodged out of the way.
"CUT!!"
Jun Makimura, known to the world as Ryouga Hibiki, and
Shuichi Mikami, a.k.a. Ranma Saotome both stood up and
dusted themselves.
"You know Jun," Shuichi said as he gratefully accepted
a towel from one of his assistants. "Could you at least make
it less believable? Almost got hit there, man."
"Sorry 'bout that. But it's my acting style. I really have to get
into it or it won't come out right." Jun responded as he took
a cup of water that was being offered by another assistant.
"Besides, I know you can take a punch. Heck, people are calling
you the Japanese Jackie Chan."
Shuichi shook his head and smiled. "Hey, you doing anything
tonight? I know a great club where we can pick up some babes."
"You're on!"
"Okay, children, back in position. Ready for scene four!" A female
voice said from above them said.
"Yes, Fujiko-mama!" The two young men sing-songed in response,
smiles on their faces.
Fujiko Sadamoto just smiled as she motioned the camera winch up.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"This is insane! The plot is all wrong and ... and... how many universes
are you playing with anyway?"
The writer cringed. "Well, you see, Sadamoto-san..."
"What!?"
"The Tenchi franchise is a bit ... you know ... unstable. We really have
to work up a new universe for every continuity: manga, OVA, TV..."
"But that's idiotic!" Fujiko pointed at the script in her hand. "'Tenchi in
Tokyo'!? Can't you have written something better?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, Sadamoto-san, how many times do you need Tokyo to be
destroyed this year?"
"Umm...five. And you have to make the Tokyo Tower blow up really
good."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Behind The Scenes:
In A World Where Anime Is Live Action
These Are The Stories Behind The Stories
Coming Very Soon
(As soon as the contacts get cleared and the sets get
paid for. And I fix the entire history of anime to my own
twisted vision. ^_^)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I think you've heard of the origins of the Shadesmens before
Mr. Harrison?"
Roderick Harrison blinked at his immediate superior surprised
at him using the Department's slang name for itself. Known only
as Mr. Micheals, the boss was always formal and by-the-book.
"You are surprised, Harrison? I know what the young ones call
the Department nowadays because I was the one who started it."
The old man stood up from his chair and went to a nearby wall.
Pushing a button sequence on the wall it opened to a room.
"Follow me." A wrinkly hand motioned him in. It was a hallway
that lead even deeper into the building.
"As I asked, You are familiar with our early history, yes?"
"Umm... of course, sir. We were originally P Division, a part of the
OSS that branched out after the war to investigate paranormal phenomena
that could represent a threat to the security of the United States."
"That's the short version. Can you name one of the founding members?"
"No, sir. That's classified."
"Good. Because I'm going to show you a picture of them."
The Director stepped into a room that seemed to be filled with memorabilia
of a past age. Items from the earlier part of the twentieth century filled it, from
photos to guns.
One photo in particular was displayed prominently. Four men and three women
stood posed in front of a fireplace. There was a date at a bottome corner. June 25,
1938.
"Do you recognize any of them, Harrison?" Mr. Michaels asked, referring to the
photograph.
"No, sir."
"Those are the founding members of P Division. Micheal Clarkson, Howard Phillips,
Vic Marquette, Lamont Cranston -"
"What!?! The _Cranston_? The Shadow?"
"Heh. It seems you know your history."
"Who doesn't? The Shadow started it all. The entire vigilante thing and superheroes.
The Crimson Avenger. The Sandman. All took after the Shadow fighting crime beyond
the law. And helping the law, too. Heck, there was even a movie with Alec Baldwin and
the three sequels. Not to mention the two other Shadows that took over for him. You
mean to tell me he started P Division?"
"It was his brainchild. Along with another."
Rod looked at the picture and recognized one of the women. A brunette with striking
eyes. "Margo Lane."
"Ayup. They started it all. Now I'd like you to see something."
Micheals pulled out a remote control from his pocket and clicked at a wall. It went up
to reveal painting and photographs of a man and a woman.
"Recognize any of them?"
Harrison couldn't believe his eyes. "Sir, it's the two of them. Cranston and Lane."
"Exactly. But not Cranston. Not Lane. The two of them have had as many names as
a I have wrinkles. Maybe more. Do you notice the different eras the paintings and photos
come from? Yet they all seem to have a distinct similarity not accounting a few minor
changes? Short hair, long hair, bearded, costumes, occasional facial alterations?"
The Director was right. One painting was from the 17th century. The other from the 13th.
And a photograph dated '1982'. That jarred the most. They didn't even seem to have grown
old.
"But Cranston and Lane died in the fifties fighting Shiwan Khan."
"Incredibly well-faked deaths. Shiwan Khan died in that explosion at the Empire State. But
not Cranston and Lane. Or Kent Allard and Lois Kendall. Or Henri Arnaud and Elisabeth
Givenchy."
Harrison looked at the old man in puzzlement.
"Fake names, boy. Like I said, these two have been living lives and using various names like
tissue paper. I have reports of them leading back up to the fall of Rome. A little hobby of mine,
you might say."
Rod was speechless as his superior continued.
"Ever heard of the Carson-Davies genealogy program? They traced the bloodlines of every
extraordinary individual in human history. Extraordinary as in extraordinary. Guess what they
found out?"
"Nothing. As if someone was actively trying to mess up their research. And I've traced it to
these two."
"Do you want to know what the 'P' in P Division was for. At first I thought it was for Paranormal.
Now I know better."
"P is for Pluto."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dances Set To The Music Of Time:
A Modern Waltz
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Masaki Katsuhito, the Council of Blades has arrived!" the loud
voice roared from the front of the house. "We ask permission to enter
under your roof and take our rest!"
Tenchi blinked. The Council was already here! He looked over to
his grandfather, who did not look one bit surprised.
"I expected them to arrive yesterday. There must have been a
problem on the road," Tenchi�s grandfather said as he calmly put down
his bowl and chopsticks. He stood up and gestured to his two companions
to follow him and quickly moved towards the front porch.
Tenchi was right behind his grandfather when he opened the shoji door
to greet the Council of Blades. That was when he got his first glimpse of
some of the most skilled sword masters in the Known Galaxy. The sight
wasn�t exactly what he was expecting. He was expecting something like the
Seven Samurai from that holo-vid by Kurosawa. These weren�t exactly the
people he was expecting.
The Council was led by an imposing figure of a man. His head was shiny
beneath the twin light of the double moons in the sky, the hair shorn
totally shorn off, a sign that the man was a monk. His rough clothes were
in the style of a travelling warrior monk, made of rough blue cloth that
seemed to be as rugged as their owner. A sleeveless gi tied with a wide
brown belt and a pair of working trousers tucked into a pair of brown
travelling boots. Rippling muscles could be seen on the arms of the
towering figure as they held a four-foot metal staff topped with the
figure of a crow. Long strips of cloth were tied around his fists up to
the middle of his forearm. Large prayer beads circled his neck and in his
other hand held a bottle of sake. He was obviously a sohei, a warrior-monk
that protected holy temples and shrines.
The second member of the council was a frail-looking woman, hair already
graying, a great contrast with the hulking monk that was one of her companions.
She was dressed in a sea-green kimono with wide sleeves, though Tenchi noted
that the way the obi was tied that it would probably be loose enough to give
maneuverability. He wondered what would a woman be doing the Council when he
noticed the woman�s eyes. They twinkled in the moonlight the same way his
grandfather�s eyes did whenever he sparred with Tenchi. Then he saw the glint
of steel in the wide sleeves and the rope that peeked out from her kimono,
beside her neck. The School of Twelve Blades, Tenchi guessed as he finally
noticed cloth-wrapped package the woman carried. Two katana, Tenchi assumed,
the way their outlines stood out in the cloth.
The third member of the group was a rather handsome man. The cocky smile
on his face and the arrogant stance he bore, along with the sakura mon on his
peony-blossom red haori marked him as one of samurai ancestry. His gi was
in a strange pink color and it looked pretty ridiculous considering his
hakama was green. His long jet-black hair was tied up in a topknot, another
sign of the man�s samurai origins. His swords marked him as a practitioner of
the Ganryu style, his katana being longer than normal and slung on his back,
almost reaching past his knees. Its hilt was quite visible on his right
shoulder. His wakizashi was at the traditional position, short scabbard
inserted in the obi.
The fourth Council member was more of a surprise than the others. He had
a pleasant smile on his face, brown hair tied in a simple ponytail. Short,
unshaven and dirty-looking, he seemed to be a vagabond. The faded pink gi
and the dirty white hakama proved that statement true. This was a Rurouni,
one of the ascetic order of swordsmen who followed the example of one of the
legendary blade masters of Juraian history, Kenshin Himura, the man whose
soul was tainted by the demon called the Hitokiri Battousai yet managed to
free himself from its grasp and chain it within himself. The katana that
the man had sheathed in his obi must be a sakabatou, a reverse-edge blade,
reflecting the motto of the Rurouni. The sword that protects must never kill.
The final member of the council was the most surprising of all. A Juraian
Knight in full battle regalia, a rarity in this day and age. Tenchi had once
thought they had all died during the revolution two hundred years ago,
defending the royal family. His grandfather corrected him on that point,
saying that some were ordered to escape, a few surrendering and rendering
their services to the newly-formed Republic. He had once heard that a
Juraian Knight could have stood toe-to-toe against one of the Lesser Senshi.
Now as he looked at this tall and gaunt man with hair as white as the snows
of winter and eyes like flint, clothed in the immaculate white uniform of
his station, a wooden blade that looked like it was capable of cutting
through ironwood like it was butter, he could believe that once unbelievable
statement.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Winds of Fate
A really big crossover
Coming Soon (VERY,VERY, SOON)
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Well, there it is.
That should tide you over.
Now, time for me to work on my reports and exams for my students.