"No Need for Xander" By Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email : : This is to make it clear to all who read this fanfic that I in no way own the characters, plots or elements associated with the TV show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or the Anime 'Tenchi Muyo' or any spin-offs of either. They are entirely the property of their respective creators and/or companies. I am not making a single penny of profit from this fanfic but rather I am writing this because I enjoy writing and because there are readers out there who enjoy reading the fanfics I produce. As such I would greatly appreciate it if you could refrain from engaging in any lawsuits of any kind as I doubt anything you got from me would be enough to cover the legal costs of the proceedings much less anything else.
Note : This takes place after the series finale, about two years worth I'd say, in the BtVS timeline. In the Tenchi timeline it would take place after the battle with Kagato but before the battle with Dr. Clay. Keep in mind that I will be taking elements from Tenchi Universe, Tenchi Muyo OAV and Tenchi Muyo GXP and using them in this fanfic so don't get too confused if there is one element from Tenchi Universe one second and then an element from Tenchi Muyo GXP the next.
Challenge : This is a challenge to all fanfic writers out there who take the time to read this fanfic. I dare you to try and write a Tenchi Muyo/BtVS fanfic of your own that can be anything from a drabble to a full length feature fan fiction. It doesn't necessarily have to center on any one character and utilizing the entire Scooby gang is permissible. I just would like to see more Tenchi Muyo/BtVS fanfics out there. Keep in mind though that there IS NO PRIZE if you choose to answer this challenge so don't email me after posting your Tenchi/BtVS fanfic asking when you can expect your prize in the mail. I am not saying this to be mean or anything it is simply that I do not have the money to be sending people prizes or anything. ANYway let's get this show on the road shall we?
No Need for Xander
Well this is going to be interesting! Xander thought sarcastically as he got off the bus in Osaka, Japan.
Of course for him, especially during the last year and a half, interesting had less to do with fun and more to do with that old Chinese curse 'may you live in interesting times'. At least that was the case from his point of view but of course the rest of the gang had the completely opposite point of view. Ever since the search for the newly awakened Slayers around the world had begun he had been racking up the best 'find & recruit' record of the entire core group of the new Slayer and Watcher Council. At last count his success record was easily three times that of any of the others including Willow. Quite impressive considering how powerful magic-wise and that she seemed to have some kind of connection to the newbie Slayers through the scythe. Unfortunately this turned out to be both a blessing and a curse as far as he was concerned since it prompted both Giles and Buffy, the joint heads of the Council, to send him on the more difficult missions. Those missions of course were difficult because of certain environmental and magical obstacles that made it difficult to get a precise location of the new Slayer. Oh they could narrow it down to a region or sometimes a town/city but no closer than that. That was where his 'good luck' came in according to the G-Man. It was the elder Watcher's theory that it was his participation in the union spell used to defeat ADAM along with his inexplicable tendency to gravitate towards unusual women that produced this good luck in finding newborn Slayers. As far as he was concerned though he would rather have the old Harris luck rather than this new good luck.
After all it might help me find the new Slayers but it also puts me in some of the most life threatening situations imaginable. He thought as he strolled over to a map of Osaka that was mounted on the wall of the bus station, True I'm still in one piece but definitely not for lack of trying by the forces of evil.
One example was the trip he had taken to the jungles of South America where according to Willow a Slayer had popped up on her Slaydar. When she had come to give him the assignment he had tried to pass the job along to Robin Wood or even Vi, one of the Slayers awoken in Sunnydale, but she had shot down his reasons one after another. Robin had been on vacation with Faith and Vi had been busy teaching her weapons orientation class. Before he could supply any other 'superior' candidates for the job she had locked in the resolve face and topped it off with the veiled threat of telling Buffy about his little white lie during the whole Acathla mess. He had been shocked and more than a little angry that his best friend would resort to such methods just to get him to go on a mission but according to her it wouldn't mean much so long after the event in question. Given that Buffy and Angel were no longer an item and had moved on from whatever romantic feelings they had once had for one another, a definite improvement in his opinion, Willow believed that while the blonde Slayer might be pissed for awhile it wouldn't last long and then everything would be back to normal. Still, given the choice between having an angry Slayer chasing him around the house and accepting the mission, he decided going to South America was the safer option. No sense testing Willow's theory about Buffy's reaction to the truth if he didn't have to as far as he was concerned.
So a week later, after much preparation and a half-assed attempt to learn the languages he would need to know, he had arrived at the city closest to the new Slayer's mystic 'signal' and began his search. He had started by asking around about any unusual occurrences or reports of super strong women being sighted in the jungle or around the city. In that first week alone he had managed to scrounge up ten separate leads from credible (meaning well paid) sources. The first five turned out merely to be extremely skilled gang members all of which came onto him thinking he was a 'wealthy American' with three of them attempting to kill him when he tried to politely decline their 'advances'. The next three he found out were demon women who had simply been mistaken for humans due to the obscure nature of their demon heritage. One of them had, much to his misfortune, had apparently been a relative of the preying mantis demon Ms. French but thankfully he had managed to get away before she/it found out that he belonged to the group that killed her cousin/broodmate. It had only been the last two sightings/leads that had led him to the young woman he had been looking for in the first place. Apparently the newbie Slayer and her sister frequently patrolled the jungle at the edge of town and occasionally shopped at a small pharmacy for the essentials such as clean water and medicine. Aside from that they pretty much stayed in the jungle with their family minding their own business.
Once the introductions had been dealt with he had gone into the usual summary of what the young woman, Camila, now was and what it meant he told the entire family about the Slayer school and what the newborn Slayer could learn there if she wanted to go. He had been grilled hard by both parents and even the little sister seemed determined to get a firm grasp of what their family member would be getting into but eventually his honesty won them over and they had all agreed to let Camila go with him. After a quick stop to get her the necessary travel documents, along with the extermination of a pack of boar-like demons that they had stumbled upon while the creatures were on the hunt, they were airborne and back to England where the main HQ of the new council was located.
Of course that had been one of the easier adventures he had been on with others usually dropping him in the hospital for a time. Not because he had gotten his butt kicked by a demon so much as his White Knight complex causing him to jump into harms way to protect the Slayer he had been sent to retrieve. Despite the injuries the others still praised him for his luck regarding Slayer locating and still sent him on the harder missions that others couldn't or wouldn't be able to handle for one reason or another.
That brought him to where he was right now in Osaka looking for the latest newly detected Slayer. According to Willow the interference was worse than usual so the young woman he was looking for was estimated to be within a two and a half to a five mile radius of Osaka which meant a lot of ground to cover.
First things first though I have to find a room at a hotel and settle in. he thought to himself as he walk deeper into the city.
Taking a booklet from his backpack he flipped through to the section on 'hotels for tourists on a budget' something that he looked at like clockwork every time he arrived in a foreign country. While it was true that the new Council was gradually reaching the level of financial well being that the old one had possessed pre-First all field Watchers and Slayer hunters were on a tight budget. This was especially important for the core members like the survivors of Sunnydale who were expected to set a proper example of how to do things to the new recruits. Faith once made the mistake of staying at a luxury hotel with all the trimmings and got chewed out Ripper style the moment she got back. Needless to say even the wild brunette Slayer had been intimidated enough by Giles' explosion of words to step back into line and follow the rules he set down. Flipping through the pages he eventually decided that the New Osaka Hotel in the southern area was just about right and shouldn't upset Giles too much when the bill came in. Not that he had given the elder Watcher reason to get as excited as he did with some of the others but the G-Man was under a lot of pressure since he was stuck doing most of the paperwork.
At least G can count on me not to weigh down the expense account with shopping sprees and new wardrobes like some blonde Slayers I could mention. Xander thought as he used his rudimentary knowledge of Japanese to read the street signs, Just give me enough money for Twinkies and gas and I am good to go.
Walking along he could easily see people looking at him every now and then and muttering 'gaijin' every once and awhile but he wasn't too bothered by it. After all if he saw someone from a country than dropped a nuke on my homeland strolling down his city streets he'd be tempted to send a few choice words in their direction as well. Still he made sure not to make eye contact and picked up the pace a little just in case some of them felt like they wanted to deliver some long overdue payback.
It was about twenty minutes later that he saw the first sign that the ol' Harris luck had decided to make a comeback and attempt to kick the 'good' luck he'd been experiencing off its throne. Not one block away he saw a hunched over figure approaching a young woman in a green and blue kimono in what the guy probably through was a stealthy manner. He smirked at the incompetence of the guy since it was clear he was a pickpocket or thief of some kind looking to rob the woman blind. No matter where he went or what part of the world he was in these guys all acted the same and made the exact same mistakes. Deciding he should probably do something he scoped out the area for what would be the crooks most likely escape route. After all once he grabbed the woman's purse or whatever the equivalent was in Japan she would of course scream centering everyone's attention on herself and the crook in question. The stupid ones would of course run right down the street never thinking to get out of sight quick but this one looked to be of the smarter variety. It took him a few seconds but eventually he spotted an alleyway a little ways ahead of where the crook planned to make his move. The plan probably was to grab the purse and then head down that way in order to lose all pursuit in the maze of pathways between buildings. There was probably a safe house nearby where the thief would duck inside and hide until the heat died down enough for him to come out into the open. With this location in mind he moved to set up a little surprise for the thief in question. Making it look like he was jogging to catch up to a person ahead of him he waited until the crook looked away before slipping into the alley in question.
Now what can I use to keep him from getting away? Xander asked himself as he took a quick glance at the alleyway's contents.
Predictably it was filled with mostly garbage but thankfully he managed to find a metal baseball bat that was apparently being tossed out because of a rather large dent near the top. Fortunately he wasn't intending to play ball with it and it was heavy enough that if he used it properly should KO the thief in one hit. With his weapon of choice in hand and a plan in his mind he just waited for the crook to make his move and try to escape.
"Five…four…three…two…" Xander said as he counted down the seconds to when he figured the thief would make his move.
"AAAHHHHH! THIEF! STOP HIM! HE TOOK MY PURSE!" came a loud and royal sounding woman's scream that he presumed came from the robber's victim.
Right on time the crook came around the corner and came to a halt when he spotted Xander standing there with the bat in hand.
"Get outta my way meatbag!" growled the thief both figuratively and literally much to Xander's surprise.
Now that he had a closer look at the guy he could see the features that before had been hidden by the hood the thief had over his head. Bone ridges above the eyes, thin slits for eyes and very sharp looking teeth were the first things he spotted before adding the barely perceivable scales. Obviously the guy wasn't human but for the life of him the Zeppo couldn't pin down what breed of demon the guy was which put him in a tight spot. After over nine years of fighting demons he knew all too well how important it was to have the right tool for the right job and without knowing what would kill this thing it was anyone's guess who'd win. Shoving his fears aside he decided to go with the 'hit them until they stay down' method since he figured he was pretty much committed to stopping the guy now.
"Not going to happen bonehead." He said with determination as he grasped the baseball bat with both hands, "Now how about you hand over the purse you just stole and maybe I'll just knock you senseless rather than pound you into paste."
Predictably the demon chose option three, a favorite among evil numbskulls, which was charge your enemy head on and rip them to pieces. In most instances this would end in the victim being killed because of their lack of experience with the demonic and/or supernatural. For him however it just meant that this was going to be more troublesome for him than he had originally planned. Waiting for the idiot to make the first move he skillfully predicted which direction it would come from thanks to years of experience and dodged it. Delivering an overhead vertical swing he brought the metal bat down on the demon's attack arm slamming it into the elbow joint. Standard tactic number one: when you don't know what type of demon your facing breaking bones is always a good thing. The satisfying crack he heard was exactly what he hoped to hear and the accompanying scream of pain was a nice accompaniment to it as well. When he looked at the bat though he quickly kept himself from getting too cocky about that one damaging blow. Right where the bat had connected with the demon was a sizeable dent that he predicted could take one more swing before the thing would snap in two. Meaning either the demon was made of tougher stuff than he thought or the bat was defective and that was why it was in the trash.
Knowing my luck it's probably both which means I either need to end this quick or get ready for feel the pain. He thought as the arm he hit hung limply at the demon's side, Well here goes nothing!
"I think its time you took a nap scale-face!" Xander said as he charged with the full intention of matching the dent that would be in the bat with a dent in the demon's skull.
Unfortunately at that moment Murphy decided Xander needed to be reminded of the little amendment or footnote attached to standard tactic number one. That fine print states that when confronted by a demon-type you can't identify you should never attack it head on as it may have a few surprises under its belt. That fact was painfully brought to Xander's attention rather painfully given that at the same time his bat made contact with the demon's head the creature slammed its suddenly spiked knuckles into Xander's gut. Bad luck was had by both of them though as the Zeppo's bat managed to hit the part of the demon's skull that was weakest resulting in the bone shattering with fragments tearing through its brain. The only child of Jessica and Tony Harris (thank the Lord for small favors) however fared a little better but not by much as the punch both knocked the wind out of him and pierced his skin where the knuckle spikes hit him. The holes weren't deep as half the strength of the blow was cut off upon the demon's demise but it was still enough to cause him some pain and draw blood. Dropping the bat he pressed on hand onto the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding and hobbled over to the demon to retrieve the purse. Not that returning a woman's purse would be all that important to most people if they had the type of gut wound he did but the same White Knight complex that drove him to stop the thieving demon also told him he had to finish what he started.
One of these days I should really try and kill that complex of mine! He thought with a wince of pain as he bent over and retrieved the purse from the demon's pocket, It's gonna get me killed I just know it!
He got about as far as the entrance to the alleyway before the victim of the purse snatching showed up probably with the idea in her head that she was going to chase the thief down herself. Now that he was in a position to get a better look at her he had to wonder if he had by some fluke of bad luck stumbled into some kind of demon war. With purplish-violet hair and plumb colored eyes she was either a female demon or a human making a rather bold fashion statement. Still she didn't look dangerous aside from that furious gleam in her eye but that could easily be explained as either righteous indignation or that time of the month. Of course when she spotted him coming out of the alley holding her purse she came to a complete stop with a look of confusion and questions in her eyes. Deciding he didn't want to be the victim of someone jumping to conclusions he held out her purse for her to reclaim.
"I believe this belongs to you." He said trying to keep the pain from his wounds out of his voice.
"Why yes it is. How did you get it and where is that thief who stole it from me?" the weird woman asked him with a strange look in her eyes.
"I managed to snatch it from him while he was trying to make his getaway down the alley." He replied as he began to feel a little light headed, "Unfortunately he seemed to think it was a good idea to use his head for a battering ram and cracked his skull open on a brick wall. Personally I think you shouldn't bother seeing for yourself. It's most definitely 'eww' worthy as a friend of mine would say."
The woman turned a distinct shade of green at the image his description planted in her head but fortunately she regained control of herself and her skin returned to its normal healthy shade.
"Well thank you for retrieving my purse from that crook. Is there—" she said before her eyes widened and a shocked gasp escaped her lips, "You're bleeding! Are you alright?"
Damn! Must be bleeding pretty bad for it to soak through my shirt already. He thought before replying, "Yeah, no problem. It looks a lot worse than it really is so don't worry. I have a first aid kit in my backpack and as soon as I find a safe spot I'll bandage it up."
"Are you certain? I could take you to a hospital." She offered not even bothering to consider his lame reassurances, "It is close by I believe."
"No it's alright, really! I've had worse scrapes than this and been back at work the next morning." He replied being entirely truthful considering the damage he had taken in the past demon hunting, "Besides this has probably been a pretty traumatic experience for you. You should go home and try to sleep it off. Have a good day!"
With that he turned and did his best to walk away in a normal 'I am perfectly okay' manner even though the dizziness was increasing. In fact it had increased so much he was beginning to wonder whether or not there had been some kind of poison or toxin on those spikes ol' scale face had on his knuckles. If that was the case he could be a lot worse off than he thought and could drop dead any second now. All the more reason in his humble opinion to get out of sight since the sight of her 'hero' dropping dead right in front of her would only make the purple haired lady's day ever more traumatic. By step number eight though he knew that his once steady walking was beginning to wobble a bit and by step number fourteen he probably looked like his dad on the way back from a bar. When the number of steps he had taken reached twenty he could no longer manage coherent thought but as the sidewalk rushed up to meet him it probably would have been the following:
'Damn it! Not again!'
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Osaka Central Hospital, Twenty-four Hours LaterConsciousness came back slowly for him, a sound here and a bit of tactile sensation there, but eventually everything came back to normal levels.
Okay time to figure out just what sort of situation I've gotten myself into this time and whether or not I can get myself out of it in one piece. He thought to himself as he organized what his body was telling him.
The first and most obvious was the slight feeling of pleasant numbness that seemed to envelop his entire body. That meant painkillers of some kind but only in sufficient quantities to make him comfortable rather than the amounts used on people with permanent injuries. Next was a feeling of tightness around his stomach which remained pretty much constant no matter what and that told him that that area was bandaged up pretty tight with perhaps stitches being present as well. Apparently the knuckle spikes on that demon did far more damage than he thought if all this was necessary. From there came the detection of being in a hospital bed complete with itchy sheets along with a sensation that could only indicate he was wearing one of those ridiculous gowns that leave the back open.
A pervert. Those things had to've been invented by a pervert. He thought to himself as the antiseptic smell of a place of medicine registered with his nose, Why else would it be designed to show off a person's ass like that?
Opening his eyes he found that just like his senses had told him he was in a hospital room, in a bed and once he looked down at his chest he confirmed that he was wearing one of those damn backless gowns. A quick review of his memories gave him a pretty good idea of how he got there which made him mentally groan and the questions that would likely be sent his way either by the woman he had helped or the local police. The police wouldn't be too much of a problem since a few phone calls to G-Man and he'd use the Council's connections in local law enforcement to get the 'incident' swept under the rug. The woman on the other hand, depending on how nosy she was, could be a little more difficult since she'd probably want details. If she had the 'busybody' gene he'd be in real trouble because those types don't stop until they have a full detailed confession handed to them in triplicate. While it was Russian Roulette as to whether or not you'd bump into one of those sort of women he really hoped the violet haired woman was one of the 'here is a gift certificate for an expensive restaurant, see ya' types. Both because it would probably make up for the hospital bill he'd be sending Giles and it would provide him a way to impress the newborn Slayer. After all dinner at an expensive restaurant would make her think that the Council was relatively well off rather than in the process of rebuilding, right?
Just then the door to his room opened and Xander figured it was either a nurse on her rounds or maybe whatever doctor was assigned to his case. Hopefully he'd be able to dodge any dangerous questions until he could get a call to G-Man since once that was done both the docs and cops would essentially be told to mind their own business. Unfortunately the person who came through the door was NOT who he had expected to be the first in line to visit him and happened to be someone the Council had absolutely no control over whatsoever. Much to his disappointment it was the woman that he had helped out with the thieving demon and she wasn't alone. Following her and over a foot shorter was a younger newly teened girl with long light blue hair done up in pigtails on either side of her head. Apparently she was following the older woman's example in the fashion department but that wasn't too surprising if he was right and they were sisters.
"Oh good! You're awake." The purple haired woman said as she walked over to a chair positioned near his bed, "I was beginning to get a bit worried when you didn't wake up when the doctors said you would."
Uh oh! This sounds less like the inquisitive busybody and more like the beginnings of a crush/infatuation. Xander thought to himself as his mind flashed back to other conversations that started out just like this.
"Yeah I guess my body liked sleeping so much it decided to sleep in a bit." He said with his usual lopsided grin.
The woman seemed to find his response amusing as did her little sister and so both of them let out a chuckle or two. The little girl's was just what one would expect for someone her age but her older sister's laugh was one of those irritating nobility laughs that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to him. Nevertheless he did his best not to cringe or give any sign that it was affecting him so he wouldn't offend her.
"Yes well I am just glad that you are alright." She said as she sat down in the chair, "After all you did risk your life to retrieve my purse."
"I just did what any decent guy would have done." He said trying to make it look like he didn't do anything impressive.
"Nevertheless you did help me. Thank you." She said with a half bow.
Remembering that in Japan is was custom to return bows he began to do one himself but a shot of pain cutting through the painkilling fuzz stopped him in his tracks. Wincing in pain he quickly went back to the position he had been in before while reflexively bringing a hand to the source of the pain.
"Oh! Are you alright?" asked the little sister with significant concern.
"Ow! Yeah I'm fine Miss—" Xander replied before realizing that he didn't know either of their names.
"I'm Sasami and this is my older sister Ayeka." Sasami said introducing herself as well as her sister.
"Happy to meet you Sasami, Ayeka." He said deciding that a nod for each of them would have to do instead of a traditional Japanese bow, "My name's Xander."
"Pleased to meet you." Ayeka said mimicking his simple nod.
"So what are you doing in Osaka Xander?" Sasami asked with the curiosity of youth.
Leave it to the younger one to ask that question! He thought as he quickly tried to find the correct way to phrase his response, If Ayeka had asked I could feel perfectly fine lying through my teeth but I just can't lie to kids that remind me of a young Dawn.
"Well… I'm on assignment for my boss investigating myths and legends from around the world to find out which ones might be true and which are just campfire stories." Xander replied deciding to go with the 'half-lie-half-truth' approach, "I just got into Osaka this morning and was on my way to get a room at a hotel when I noticed the thief getting ready to rob your sister and well you know the rest."
"Wow! You investigate myths!" Sasami exclaimed excitedly, "Have you found any ones that are real?"
Think, think, think. Xander thought before answering, "Well you know how they say that there's a monster living in Loch Ness in Scotland? Not real. The place just has an odd smell to it that causes certain people to think they see something in the lake."
Of course he was only being half truthful about Loch Ness since there actually was something living in the lake but it wasn't a thought to be extinct dinosaur or anything. It was actually a colony of water nymphs that had moved into the area over two millennia ago and made their home at the absolute bottom of the lake. The image of a monster was only a glamour that the nymphs put on themselves whenever they have to travel close to the surface. It is one of their many precautionary measures to keep their existence a secret and has been quite effective. Also apparently the Council has a treaty with them stating that should mankind ever get close to discovering them all local Watchers are instructed to do what they can to sabotage the search. He of course kept as far away from them as possible though since the combination of the legends about nymphs and his own track record with non-human females made for a bad combination. Fortunately the others thought so as well so on the list of people cleared to meet with the colony representatives he was placed at the absolute bottom with a special footnote stating that he was only to be given the job if it was an absolute emergency.
Wow!" Sasami said in amazement at that little tidbit of information.
"Indeed. What myth are you investigating here? If I may ask?" Ayeka inquired politely.
Oh great! The young one distracts me and the big sister delivers the knockout punch! He thought chastising himself for thinking he was in the clear before replying, "Well you know how in various places all over the world there are stories about brave warrior women fighting monsters and proving themselves the equal of any man? Well I've specifically been assigned to go from country to country to investigate those sort of myths and Japan just happened to be next on my list. I'm going to have to take some time off though until this heals now though. Can't exactly go trekking around the woods like this or I'll probably pop some stitches."
"Yes the doctor did say that you'd need to remain off your feet for quite awhile." Ayeka said conversationally although there was an odd look in her eyes that he couldn't identify, "I imagine that it will cause you quite a delay in your work."
"Probably but I'm sure Mr. Giles will understand once I explain things to him." Xander said as he tried to make it sound like the delay would be a minor inconvenience at best, "After all the myths aren't going anywhere and as long as the report I send in is complete it shouldn't be a problem."
"Nevertheless I have caused you an inconvenience by causing you to stop that robber on my behalf." Ayeka said in what sounded like a formal declaration, "Therefore I will make arrangements for you to stay with myself and some friends until you recover enough to resume your work. It is the least I can do considering the circumstances."
This caused both him and Sasami to stare with surprise on their faces at Ayeka as he most certainly hadn't seen that coming and he doubted little sister did either. It also made him a little worried about the possible hidden meanings behind her words as his earlier concerns about a potential crush or infatuation resurfaced.
"I appreciate the offer Miss Ayeka but that really isn't necessary. My employer can easily cover a hotel room and I'd hate to be a bother to you and your friends." Xander said in an attempt to politely decline her offer of a place to stay.
"Oh nonsense! I'm sure Tenchi and the others would love to hear stories of all the places you've been." Ayeka said as though it was the most natural thing in the world to offer a stranger a place in your home, "Besides which we have a qualified doctor living with us and just loves meeting new people."
How the hell do I get out of this NOW? He thought as the mounting bits of generosity continued to lean in favour of Ayeka.
After all while it was perfectly possible that she was genuinely just trying to be helpful and generous it was also possible that she was a demon of some kind that had selected him to be her next sacrifice. Experience had taught him well that a pretty face and good manners did not exclude a person from being evil incarnate. Mayor Wilkens was according to the normal people who met him a cheerful kind man whose only flaw was being a bit obsessive about cleanliness. Of course the fact that he was a century old warlock with plans of turning into a giant demon snake and eating everyone in sight never quite made it into his campaign speech. With Ayeka though there was nothing readily obvious about her either in what she said or did that might hint at her being evil aside from her eyes and hair. All in all he simply knew too little about this young woman to drop her in either the good box or the evil box and thus had no rational way to decline her offer.
Looks like I'm stuck then. He thought as he finally said "Well you talked me into it Ayeka. Just give me some time to contact my employer and I'll be ready to go."
"Good that will give me and the others time to get things ready at home." Ayeka said immediately dialling back the 'it is nothing to have you live with us' charm, "Here is the number where I can be reached. As soon as the doctor informs you when it is safe for you to be moved please give us a call."
Handing over a slip of paper with the phone number Ayeka got to her feet and after a quick word to Sasami the two of them left the room.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?" he muttered to himself as he pressed the call button by his bed to summon a nurse and maybe a phone.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Out in the Hallway, Five Minutes Later, Osaka Central Hospital
"Ayeka! What are you up to now?" Sasami asked as she tried to figure out why her older sister, first princess of the planet Jurai's royal family.
"Shhhh!" Ayeka replied before pulling her younger sister off to the side of the hall, "I know it was a bit odd for me to invite Xander to stay with us but I assure you I have a very good reason for doing so."
Ayeka waited to see if this reply would be enough to satisfy her sister's curiosity but when it was clear that the green haired young woman wanted details the first princess of Jurai sighed and gave in.
"It has been something of a concern of mine ever since we became stranded here on Earth that we might attract the attention of one of the planet's governments." Ayeka explained while looking up every once and awhile to see if anyone was paying them unnatural amounts of attention, "With the incident at the hot springs, the battle with Kagato and Mihoshi's less than graceful landing a few weeks ago I am certain that someone must have noticed something odd was going near the Masaki shrine."
"You think Xander's a spy!" Sasami said in surprise as she found it difficult to match the concept of government spy with the cute guy she had just met.
"Please Sasami! You are causing quite a commotion." Ayeka said fearfully as she looked quickly around the room to see whose attention her younger sister's outburst had attracted, "No I personally do not think that Xander is a spy but we must be careful. We have already come dangerously close to violating several Galactic Laws and cannot afford to let our presence become a matter of federal record. Therefore I thought it prudent to keep Xander someplace where we can keep an eye on him for a short time. If he is as he claims then we will have done a good deed and repaid a man who put himself at risk on our behalf."
"And if he is a spy?" Sasami asked with a look of a more complete understanding of the situation.
"Then we will simply have to ask Miss Washu to alter his memory a bit so that who we are remains a secret from the rest of the world." Ayeka said before quickly adding, "I assure you it will be nothing harmful Sasami. He'll just go back to his superiors and say that all the explosions were just the result of recently discovered natural gas pockets igniting or something."
"Okay but you're the one who has to explain everything to Tenchi and the others." Sasami said making it clear she wanted no part of that potential time bomb.
With that they left the hospital and got on the first bus that would take them back to the Masaki shrine.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
London, England, New Slayer and Watcher's Council, Office of Rupert Giles
"Mr. Giles? Mr. Harris is on line three for you." Came the voice of his secretary from the intercom speaker.
"Thank you Janice." Giles replied while wondering what mess his surrogate son had gotten himself into this time.
It wasn't that he thought Xander was a burden or anything but rather that the lad had an improbable tendency to get himself into trouble that the Watcher had ever seen. Ever since the boy had first stumbled into the secret life of the Slayer he had an almost insane tendency to find trouble. True it had gotten somewhat better since the town of Sunnydale had collapsed at the conclusion of their battle with the First Evil. In fact he had exhibited an extraordinary ability to locate Slayers faster than many of the more seasoned Watchers from the previous incarnation of the Council. He still got into trouble but it was usually due to his heroic impulses rather than simply being a magnet for demonic and supernatural trouble. Hopefully the reason for his calling was simply to inform them of his arrival in Osaka and not to report an unavoidable accident that landed him in the hospital.
Picking up the receiver and pressing the appropriate button as Willow had taught him to do he asked "Hello Xander. How is Osaka?"
"Fine G-Man but I seem to have hit a little snag so completing the assignment might take a little longer than usual." Xander replied although his voice was somewhat faint and distorted due to the long distance connection.
"How many times have I asked you not to call me that infernal nickname?" Giles asked in a way that was both annoyed yet comforted about the predictability of the question, "And what sort of snag?"
"Well it's kinda funny how it happened." Xander replied with the standard Scooby way of trying to sugar coat a response, "Y'see I had just gotten off the bus in Osaka and was on my way to check into a hotel when I noticed this hooded guy getting ready to steal this lady's purse and…"
"…And you felt compelled to intervene on her behalf." Giles said finishing the explanation as though he had heard it many times before, "How badly injured are you and from which hospital should I expect to receive the bill from?"
"Osaka Central Hospital and not too badly. Turns out the purse snatcher was some kind of demon but nothing I could put a name to right now." Xander replied once it became clear that there was no way he could phrase things that could make things better, "It had normal human skin coloured scales, bone ridges above the eyes, thin slits for eyes, sharp teeth and as I discovered in a very painful way spikes on each knuckle. I managed to kill it okay enough but according to the docs I'm gonna have to stay off my feet for awhile."
" The description seems familiar but I will have to do some research in order to discover the specifics." Giles stated as his mind already began to compile a list of books he would be looking through later, "In any case I don't believe a delay will cause too much trouble. The demons of Japan have rather strict codes of conduct governing what they can and cannot do without permission. So unless the awakened Slayer does something to anger them she should be safe enough. As for her newfound powers Willow seems to think that the young woman is around the same age as Buffy was when she was called so any problems that develop should be minimal."
"Yeah so she'll probably figure out that she has to be a little more careful with her powers after smashing the evil alarm clock in the morning." Xander said as he remembered the time he spotted a pulverized alarm clock in the waste basket by Buffy's bed one time, "Still I'll get back on the job just as soon as I can stop worrying about popping the stitches."
"Stitches? Just how were you injured? Xander—" Giles tried to ask as he was quite aware of what sort of injuries required stitches but the 'click' followed by the dial tone informed him that the young man had hung up on him.
Letting out a sigh he put the receiver back in its place and wondered whether or not he should consider sending Dawn or maybe Robin to help Xander out. He dismissed the idea though as he knew that the young man would not appreciate such an obvious sign that they didn't trust him to complete the assignment on his own. While the girls had always been a tad protective of their friend it had gotten a tad much after Caleb had plucked out his eye. In the weeks and months that followed the collapse of Sunnydale the other survivors began to treat Xander as though he were made of glass or at least needed back-up when on a mission. It had finally come to a head a year ago when he had told the entire core group of the new Council off at the top of his lungs before storming out. After that, like it or not, they reigned in their concern for him and let him go off into the world alone. Since then he proved that he could take care of himself as well as any other field Watcher could if not a bit better. It didn't mean he safe from injury from time to time but then that was the line of work they were in. The life of a Watcher or a Slayer or even one of their allies was not an easy one and a few scrapes were to be expected.
With that in mind he turned back to the work he had laid out in front of him and resumed trying to find ways to justify Buffy's weekly expenditures abroad. All the while though the description of the demon Xander had faced continued to cause the back of his mind to itch. There was something important about that demon's description, something big, but his mind refused to come up with a name for the species.
Oh well! How dangerous could they be if they have resorted to snatching purses? Giles thought before shelving the topic for the time being.