Vmmmmm.

...

Vmmmmm.

...

Vmmmmm.

"Okay, I've had about as much as I can take."

Twitching, Haruko looked up. She had been sitting on a couch, deep thought about...Something, and had been occasionally strumming the double-necked guitar/bass from Earth. However, at the sharp statement from nearby, she looked up.

Sitting across from her in a gigantic desk was a man with short, messy, light gray hair, wearing glasses, a dark red sweater, and black gloves. He had a huge scar going diagonally across his face, from his right temple down past his jaw, and his perpetually angry eyes had prominent bags underneath them. Glaring at Haruko, he took a long draw on his cigarette. Blowing the heavy wisps out the corner of his mouth and away from his guest, the man spoke.

In an irritated voice; "Haruko Haruhara, Haruha Raharu, or whatever it is at this current time, I can't keep up with it...I called you here to chat, but you walk in looking like someone shot your new puppy and just play that same note over and over again. I thought I'd do some paperwork until you'd cheered up." He sneered; "I finished signing all four documents, in triplicate, ten minutes ago. You're supposed to be the happy one, I'm supposed to be the angry one, and together, we make everyone else the sad one." The man sighed.

Breathing in some more health complications from the cancerstick, the man spoke in a decidedly softer tone; "You were ecstatic when you got back from Earth - For two days. For the past three weeks, you've been far too quiet. I miss the guitar solo wake up calls, quite frankly." He slid his glasses farther up his nose; "Would you happen to...Miss someone?" As Haruko looked down, the man gave a small smile...

Shuffling through the papers on his desk, the man said, "Hmmm...I had heard of one thing...I didn't tell you because I'd thought you wouldn't want to get back to thinking of a boring planet like Earth. However...I think you'd be the best one to handle it. You miss the kid, and you seem to have a way with people when you're not having a bitch-out like with the whole Atomsk thing...

"When we found her, we wanted to wait until Mike O. or D4C could handle it. Then again, when I consider this, misery loves company." Finding the proper paper, his smile widened; to her chagrin, but just as much to her excitement, Haruko had an idea of what this plan was. The man at the desk continued. "Maybe if you can put your half a brain together with her brain, dishevelled by the trials of high school drama and all that crap as hers may be, you two can figure out the proper approach to things...I have experience with this stuff, as do many of our agents, but I've posted a bulletin that anyone who gives you advice will be cleaning out my aquarium." He gestured over towards the wall. Pouting, Haruko looked over...Yup. Cleaning out the tank of giant, carnivorous sea beasts was just the kind of punishment her superior would cook up.

Though she didn't have much problem with the whole thing, Haruko glared hatefully at the scarred man as he inhaled on his cigarette. The response he gave sent smoke curling upwards: "Ahahahaha. Quite, quite - I'm so mean to my sweet adorable little sugarplum honey darling Haruko-neechan, aren't I?" He leaned back, gazing at the paper in his hand with a glazed look in the eye. "I'd thought you'd have heard of the Downer girl we found on that raid...Don't worry. Still had her clothes on, and didn't show any interactional signs of that. I hereby assign you to protect her until we can sortie a crew to get her back home. Oh, you'll be helping with that too. By the way..." His eyes suddenly snapped completely in focus, pupils narrowed into slits.

He said in a low, snarling voice, "If you go after Atomsk for any reason without telling anybody, and have me worried sick like that ever again, not knowing if the natives of the planet are doing awful things to you, not knowing whether Atomsk even gives you a chance to do anything before hurting you...If you make me go through that all over again and force me to look like a goddamned mother hen in front of God and everyone at this base, you will be my errand girl for so long you'd choose "Mon-chan" over my sick, disgusting mistreatment of assistants." He noticed Haruko pointing lazily at his right hand...

"Oyabun," she began. "Really...Though I'm truly happy to hear you do care about me, and I'm excited to hear what kind of shenanigans have been going on based on the 'mother hen' statement...It's a bit too early in the story for that kind of impassioned statement. Your name hasn't even been introduced." - "True, true, all excellent points you've made." - "...But you've also got to control your temper for your own health, and for those around you. We all try to keep from winding you up so much, but you've got to make some steps in reducing your stress as well. I think you need some hot sex sometime. Not from me, of course, but I think not getting the estrogen-fuelled fire that I so happen to know you used to feel quite often could a big part of your problem. Seriously, look at your hand before you hurt yourself." Haruko nodded. The man blinked, finally looking at his right hand where he had been holding his cigarette...

"Well, Haruko...Shit. I do believe we can agree that this little meeting had here just goes to show everyone's capacity for good and bad choices alike."

Nodding contemplatively, he calmed the deep vermillion sparks in his hand. Rolling his chair around on its wheels, he proceeded to drop the faint cinders left from his incinerated cigarette into the trashcan. Typing in a number on a small box atop his desk, he said contemplatively, "We're really dumping a lot onto the readers, showing much but explaining little..." Abruptly, the hologram of a woman's face rose from the box.

Faint beeps could be heard...The man said calmly, "Yes. On the authority of I, Commander Cid, Agent J-3000269, responding to 'Haruko Haruhara' and 'Haruha Raharu', has been given custody of the girl recovered from the raid on Baouda." There were a few more beeps, earning a nod from 'Cid', before the hologram disappeared.

Cid smiled to Haruko..."Congratulations. You are hereby the ward of one Samejima Mamimi."