Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai X
Chapter Two
Fast Food
The hangar was large, smelled of oil and burned circuits, and noisy. Metal clanging against metal, HACs moving around, and mechanics' voices filled the air as Megumi walked briskly to where Valhalla was standing. It wasn't hard to spot. Valhalla was an original design and there weren't any crafts like it. As she approached the craft, she noticed some white steam coming out from several different joints. The HAC had probably burned too much fuel and didn't use enough energy during the battle so it was cooling itself off. She'd have to have a talk with Kaoru about the importance of conserving fuel back at the inn.
Kaoru was standing by the railings, staring blankly at another craft. Probably studying her next opponent in order to formulate a strategy, Megumi thought as she released a sad smile. She did that often. In fact, the doctor couldn't think of a time that Kaoru was not formulating both a retreat and an offensive strategy against everything around her. Megumi wanted to believe that it was because Kaoru was reacting to the people around her (not a good emotional reaction, true, but still a reaction). The truth was a little harder to accept. Her superior had ordered her to install a defensive program within Kaoru's mainframe and it has resulted in a person who always thought that someone was about to kill her or those that she was ordered to protect. It came to the point where Kaoru was too difficult to control in society so they had no choice but to confine her within the facility that she had been living in for years.
"Kaoru!"
The girl turned her head and for a moment, Megumi thought she saw a semblance of a smile on her face. But that couldn't be right. Kaoru never smiled. She didn't even alter her voice tone patterns. The doctor waved but it wasn't answered back, just as she had expected but she didn't let that dull her mood. Nothing had gone wrong with this battle and that was enough to cause a celebration. They were finally getting her to the point where her systems were stabilized.
"That was an amazing fight Kaoru. Is Valhalla alright?" Megumi asked as she neared her patient. The doctor stopped a few steps away from Kaoru and took out her pen and her tickler.
"Humanoid Automaton Craft Valhalla's corporeal appearance is down by two percent. No internal damages have been detected. Fuel is down by ten percent."
"I see. We'll fix all that in a moment. And you?" she said, not really paying much attention but jotting down Kaoru's report just in case.
"I am well but an anomaly has been detected during the commencement of the battle."
At this, Megumi turned to her computer to check Kaoru's health. There wasn't anything wrong with her, the numbers on her screen told her that, so what was this anomaly that she was talking about?
"Please describe it to me," she said, voice firm and commanding. It was the tone that she often used with her assistants and she winced internally for using it on Kaoru. Kaoru was not under her in terms of position and deserved better than that tone of voice she had used. Besides, from experience, the girl did not react well with such tone patterns.
"The description I am about to provide is not one hundred percent accurate. Will that be acceptable?" she asked, not really noticing Megumi's slip f the tongue. Megumi only nodded in response, brows furrowed in puzzlement. Kaoru always gave one hundred percent accurate descriptions down to the spot of mentioning decimal points, even if she said that she wouldn't.
"It felt as if I could not fight even though I was in full battle mode. My body was heavy and my respiratory track had a little trouble functioning. My heart rate increased by two percent in the duration of this abnormality. My scans say that there is nothing physically and mentally wrong with me and my logical drive is working at one hundred percent output. Human behavior suggests that it is called hesitation but I am not at all certain if that is the cause of the anomaly. Certain features in my mainframe were developed for-"
Megumi hadn't listened to the last part of Kaoru's speech. She was too busy turning possibilities in her mind. Hesitation? For as long as she'd known Kaoru, the girl never once showed an ounce of hesitation. Her logical drive made her give fast and accurate decisions that were always the best option to her missions. She did not hesitate, not even to injure herself to accomplish a mission. The word did not exist in her but…why was Kaoru experiencing it now?
It had been the same thing during the last tournament that they joined. At some point in the finals, Kaoru had started acting strangely and as a result, Valhalla hadn't been operating smoothly. It was as if she wanted to do something else besides follow her orders. Megumi hadn't installed a command circuit on her, a device that made it impossible for androids to disobey their programmers, but Kaoru had been so used to following her orders that it was possible that she had created her own program. It was like a child obeying an adult.
Could this development mean that Kaoru was growing up? Or maybe…
"Hmn…," Megumi murmured as she checked Kaoru's status on her compact computer, "I can't find anything wrong with only my computer. I'll have to give you a check up once we're back in Bio Corporation…how did you know that it could be hesitation? I don't think you've ever experienced it before."
"I read Medical and Research Division member Faust Knox's report on human behavior. From the data that I accumulated, I was able to formulate my conclusion."
On the corner of her eye, Kaoru spotted a flash of red and she turned her head to catch a better glimpse of it. She found only a number of mechanics and pilots running around and talking to each other. Her blue eyes roamed around, trying to spot what had caught her attention earlier but she couldn't see anything that had that kind of reddish hue. It was almost blood like in color. The only red she could see were the faint marks of the uniforms of some of the pilots.
Scanning…
"Kaoru?" Megumi asked, concerned that the girl seemed to be distracted by something. When Kaoru was distracted, people always had the nasty habit of being sent to the hospital.
Kaoru turned her gaze back to Megumi's face and shook her head a negative. Megumi just cocked her head to the side and gave her a strange look before going nearer Valhalla. She switched the menu on her computer to the craft's signature waves and rechecked the damages that it had received during the battle. Several numbers appeared on her screen. On the right side was a circle, depicting a graph of the damages sustained and right below that circle was a small image of Valhalla rotating. Sentences came next as the computer processed the information that it was obtaining from the craft.
Scanning…
"Hmn…Alright, I'll order the necessary materials and we can get to fixing her," Megumi said as she typed a few things on the holographic keyboard. Reading the report one last time, just to make sure she didn't miss out on any detail, she turned her computer offline.
Scan complete. No aggressive life form found. Three life signatures within a five meter radius detected.
"…rou…Kaoru?"
"Is something amiss Megumi-san?" Kaoru asked, finally recovering from her temporary hearing impairment. Scanning always made her less aware of her surroundings. It was the reason why she only used her scanners during special occasions.
"I should be asking that. What were you doing that I had to call you three times to get your attention?" Megumi questioned as she put both of her hands on her hips, depicting that she was not at all pleased by her patient's lack of attention.
"I was scanning the near vicinity for hostile waves. The scan has yielded a negative response."
"Oh…That's good, at least," the doctor responded as she put her arms back to her sides. The tickler was returned into Megumi's back pocket before she spoke again, "Since you finished your match ahead of schedule, why don't we go and eat? I'm sure that battle took a lot out of you."
"Acknowledged," Kaoru answered. When Megumi asked that question, it was always best to just take option that would acquiescence. Besides, she had a nagging suspicion about that third life form that her scan had detected.
-
From behind a metal post, Kenshin kept quiet as he leaned his back further into the column, trying to disappear into the shadows. He knew eavesdropping was often frowned upon in general society but the situation had called for it. He needed every advantage he could get if he was going to stay ten steps ahead of this Kaoru. And, from the report that Aoshi had sent him, he was positive that his information network would be able to provide adequate data on Bio Corporation but less than what he needed on Kaoru herself. His facial expression didn't give out anything as he eavesdropped on Kaoru's and Megumi's conversation.
"It felt as if I could not fight even though I was in full battle mode. My body was heavy and my respiratory track had a little trouble functioning. My heart rate increased by two percent in the duration of this abnormality. My scans say that there is nothing physically and mentally wrong with me and my logical drive is working at one hundred percent output. Human behavior suggests that it is called hesitation but I am not at all certain if that is the cause of the anomaly. Certain features in my mainframe were-"
Just like Megumi, Kenshin ignored the rest of Kaoru's report. In Megumi's case, the word 'hesitation' garnered this response. In Kenshin's situation, however, the word 'mainframe' was the one to blame for his lack of attention. What were they talking about? What mainframe? It was possible that Kaoru had with her a computer but from her report, that didn't seem to be the case. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his head but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was. He cursed his lack of attention to her detailed report. It might have provided him with a lot more information. Perhaps when the report on Bio Corporation came in, he'd be able to figure this whole thing out.
He stayed hidden as he waited for Kaoru and Megumi to pass by his pillar. When he was sure that they were gone (really gone as Kaoru seemed to have some sort of impressive scanners with her), he stepped away from his hiding place and approached Valhalla. The winged HAC looked down on him like an avenging angel. This new model was a work of art. He could tell that the designer had put his heart and soul into creating it. The design was a bit ironic to him. Angels stood for all the goodness in the world while war tasted of only death and despair. For a machine of violence to be modeled after one of the messengers of God…he sighed as he studied Valhalla. Misao had once told him that he delved on things too much.
He crossed his arms over his chest as he began formulating theories about this certain craft. He distinctly remembered the report he had read about one of Sanosuke Sagara's missions. The man had wanted to kidnap someone on the freight ship Armageddon but someone had stopped him. That same person ended up beating him to a bloody pulp too. He had seen pictures of Wyvern's damages and they had looked like they were from beam weapons. Beam weapons that left damages like a sharp object would. Kenshin narrowed his eyes at Valhalla, recalling the beam scythe that it wielded professionally. Then he picked up his dull grey communicator and established a link to Aoshi's computer. His communicator was not only dull grey, but it was one of the late models. He always had trouble operating the newer models. He scowled as he remembered the last time that Misao had given him an up to date communicator. It just ended up being a decoration in his room, slowly collecting dust from the lack of use.
It beeped twice before Aoshi picked the call up. A man with blue eyes and black hair appeared on the holographic screen. He was wearing his white trench coat and the blue shirt with the crest of the Oniwa Banshu at the upper left chest area. He had an air of authority about him that would intimidate people who did not know him. Misao was behind the stoic man, glaring daggers at Aoshi's back. It seemed that the two were having a tight discussion. And as usual, Aoshi's face was carefully blank but there was that telling sign of strained patience on his face that only time with the man could get you to notice it.
"Aoshi. I need you to find out when Kaoru Kamiya and Megumi Takani signed in at the Artemis Inn," Kenshin ordered. He knew that his image was black and white and that Misao was probably going to scold him later for not using the new modeled communicator again but he really didn't care at the moment. He would ignore her lecture just like he always did when she went on about his old fashioned ways. It wasn't as if he could help it.
"Alright. I'll send the necessary details to you in an hour," he said. No questions asked. Kenshin was, after all, Aoshi's superior and in their jobs, one never questioned the methods or the decisions of the person that that they called captain. Or it could also be owed to the fact that Aoshi was in a hurry to get offline so Misao and him could finish arguing about the latest development of the cases that they dealt with.
Kenshin nodded and cut the link. Nothing was certain yet but from the looks of it, it seemed that that freighter ship had been transporting Valhalla and Kaoru. He'd really be impressed with Kaoru's abilities if his suspicions were correct. No one, after all, just suddenly defeated the champion of the Winter Cup Festival for five times running. No ordinary rookie could do that even if they had a new model HAC at their disposal and the said rookie had an extreme talent with the operation of the said HAC. If he was right, if Kaoru really was the one to have defeated Sagara, then she was the perfect candidate for his team.
One of the corners of his lips quirked upward as he heard the soft footsteps stop a few ways behind him. The person didn't radiate a hostile feeling but it was still alert...and a bit tired. Did she actually run just to catch him in the act? He frowned as he analyzed the way that she was breathing and recaptured the moment in which she had softly touched the ground with her feet. She was tired and he could tell that her feet were aching. The tiredness he understood. She probably did run here just to get evidence of any illegal activity she thought he had been doing. But the aching in her feet…the way that she had stepped so carefully hinted at the fact that the soles of her feet were sore. What else did she do?
Putting these observations to the back of his mind, he would ask her about it later, he focused on what he would say to her. He put his arms to his sides and prepared himself for the questions that he expected were about to come.
"…"
Kenshin blinked and waited awkwardly for a few more seconds for her to speak. When those few select seconds passed by in complete silence, he turned around to face her, confused by her lack of acknowledgement. And there Kaoru was, just standing there and staring at him, analyzing every movement he made. A thin sheet of sweat covered her forehead and her pants had lessened into a more controlled form of breathing. She shifted her weight from the left to the right. She was surely dedicated to her job, he thought as he waited in silence for her to recover. She didn't say anything to him, just kept staring at his face as if there was something there that only she could see and it was mesmerizing her.
Yeah right, Kenshin snorted inwardly, wishful thinking man.
Finding the silence not at all that bad, he returned her cold stare with one of his friendly ones. A kind and concerned smile graced his lips as he continued to wait for her to speak. He changed his plan. He was going to ask her just what she did that was causing her a significant amount of pain now but, a brief glance with his eyes concluded, he supposed there really wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. There were no chairs available in the hangar because everyone was expected to work and not relax in this room. And, picking her up bridal style wasn't really a good idea. In fact, it could possibly be the most devastating thing he could do. Asking her to come with him to the infirmary would probably yield a 'no' from her. She probably thought that he had an accomplice with him. So he just settled for waiting for her to recover.
A few more seconds of the staring contest, in which Kenshin thoroughly enjoyed himself in watching her lose her patience, had Kaoru narrowing her eyes at him. It was just like their first meeting. The best way to describe them would be like two panthers circling one another other. And may lightning strike him if he lied now and said that he hadn't enjoyed their exchange of challenging perusals that day. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind. When she had left, he wondered who she really was. Besides for the fact that she worked for Bio Corporation, was a really good pilot, and that she had a doctor friend with her, he knew so little about this little cat. And he wanted to find out more.
"Himura Battousai, pilot of Ragnarok and captain of the Lanark, what information do you want that I have access to?" she asked, finally breaking the tense silence.
Kenshin raised a brow as his full identity was revealed to him. Obviously, she knew him so well as opposed to the fact that he was breaking his bones just trying get some sort of trivial information about her. As far as he was concerned, only high ranking officials had access to his information files. Who was she that she had admittance to such records? Or rather, who did she know that had access to such files? He didn't say anything and just studied her face. He wasn't used to people knowing about his personal files and it was a bit unnerving but her reaction was surprising. Usually, when people recognized him, they treated him with awkward respect and fear. He knew not to underestimate her, a lesson he had learned from watching her fight earlier (yes, looks can be very deceiving), so he decided to give the best lie anyone could ever give; the half-truth.
"I just wanted to see Valhalla up close and I wanted to meet its pilot," he answered, never pausing a beat.
Again the silence reigned. He observed carefully as Kaoru's hands twitched. He filed this information at the back of his mind to be evaluated at another time and slowly walked towards her. He kept his stance relaxed but his eyes were anything but languid. The violet in his eyes had retreated to be dominated by amber fires. He knew what she saw, depending on what he felt, his eyes changed colors. Ever since he could remember, it had always been that way. His eyes tended to respond to his passions, his rage. At times, when he was away from his HAC and was fighting man to man, the enemy soldiers were often intimidated by his eyes. When he was at the base, people often whispered about him, saying that he was an amber eyed demon in the battle field. Everyone feared him. Everyone except for this little stray cat that he had stumbled upon one day at the Julia Bar.
He scrutinized every detail about her. From the way that the white light overhead created subtle shadows on her pale face, to the way her raven black hair slid perfectly in place. There was no ounce of detail he didn't commit to memory. This, of course, included the method in which her eyes were carefully blank but had the undertone of being vigilant in them. Why were her eyes so unexpressive?
He stopped a step away from her, his slightly taller frame covering her small form. He never took his eyes away from hers. Something flashed in those blue depths but it was gone in a moment. He couldn't be sure as to what it had been but at least he was making progress. They weren't so vacant anymore.
"Now that I've met the pilot, I'd like to ask her if she would like to have dinner with me at Reuben's tonight," he said in his low timbre voice. He allowed a small grin to show on his face at her reaction. Her eyes were wide with confusion and her mouth was a little open in disbelief. She was cute when she was caught off guard and Kenshin decided that he would do that more often just to see what other expression he could coax out from her. Then, seemingly remembering her code of behavior, she recovered and blinked, the vestiges of her emotions immediately disappearing. Stifling the urge to frown at her actions, he stepped back and awaited her response. He wouldn't be at all surprised if she flat out refused him. It would make the situation all the more interesting.
-
"Megumi-san," Kaoru spoke as the two walked on, "I should stay near Valhalla."
"Why is that?"
"The possibility of someone from an opposing force obtaining Bio Corporation data using a by-pass connection to Valhalla's core is seventy percent according to my data."
"I swear Kaoru. Sometimes you're just too much of a workaholic," Megumi said in exasperation. It wasn't the first time that Kaoru had foregone eating for security measures, "Go ahead. What food do you want?"
"Fast food."
"Alright…w-what?!" Megumi turned around with wide eyes and mouth open. She expected to see Kaoru staring at her with her blank face but what greeted her instead were the hangar's noisy atmosphere and the several pilots arguing and agreeing with the mechanics about how to repair their crafts. The only words that could penetrate Megumi's mind were 'she was fast'. Now this being an important observation, she had to think about it for quite a while. When her mind moved on, it pointed to a much more important detail. Did she just imagine that or did Kaoru actually say she wanted fast food?
Of course, it wasn't a crime to want fast food but this was Kaoru. The doctor had never received such a clipped answer from the girl. Megumi had asked that question out of sheer habit and every time she did, Kaoru answered with the nutrients that she lacked. Then, would suggest edible products for her to buy but not really telling Megumi what she wanted. And she would return with the healthy food that had nutrients that Kaoru rattled on about not having. Then Kaoru would thank her for the food and they would start eating together, most of the time with the several assistants that she had. Of course, not all of them were there for nutrient intake. They wanted to gather more data on Kaoru's progress and wanted to initiate some conversational tests.
It was their routine and it had never been broken in all the years that they had been together. Not until today that is. Megumi crossed her arms in contemplation. She could only think of one reason for Kaoru's behavior but she couldn't let herself believe it. She just couldn't. She couldn't let herself hope but still, the evidence was there. It actually hit her two times in the head already. She felt joy at the thought of Kaoru's abrupt development but like every other Eden, a snake lurked within her paradise. What if she was wrong? What if this was just some damage in her mainframe? She did say that an anomaly had occurred at the start of the battle. It wasn't presumptuous to think that she hadn't been successful in fixing her the last time that Kaoru had experienced such an anomaly within her delicate system.
Still…still the optimism was there. After all these years of responding like a machine, could Kaoru finally be developing a personality layer on her own?
Odd…I never thought that Kaoru didn't like healthy food…of course, not many people liked the products that were labeled healthy food nowadays, Megumi randomly thought as she dazedly continued her walk to the canteen. Now what kind of fast food did she want?
-
"Fast food," she answered and then she took off before Megumi could utter another word. She didn't even think about what Megumi's reaction would be or the fact that her ordering fast food would upset her nutritional balance. She had something very important to do and she needed to do it as fast and as accurate as possible. She dodged civilians and guards alike with fluid movements. Not once did she touch a person, only coming as close to an inch before she managed to twist again and avoid a collision.
Her scan had said that there had been three persons in the near vicinity but she had only counted two; herself and Megumi. The last one, she hadn't been able to pinpoint its direct location because of her limited sight. If she had her heat signature scanner with her, then it would have been no problem at all. But there was no sense in thinking about 'what ifs' and not to mention, she had no time to think about these things. She increased her speed value to one hundred percent and the scenery around her was but a blur to her as she focused on her target: Valhalla. She was near. She could already see one of its silver wings. She just needed to cross the connecting the hangars and then go down a flight of stairs to reach her HAC.
She had led her programmer away from the potential battle field to ensure her maximum safety. Her success rate at eliminating this unseen foe increased by twenty percent as the fact that Megumi was currently nowhere near the danger zone, fully registered in her mind. She didn't have to think about her programmer being hit by a stray bullet and so, her focus would be completely on defeating her enemy.
She came to a sudden halt as she reached the bridge. Her breathes came in pants, a result of her lack of exercise lately. Even since coming to Prima Mel, she had been neglecting to improve on her endurance. She leaned at the railings and looked down, measuring the height. She estimated it to be about thirty feet. Her muscles can handle the impact of forty feet so she could see no problem with jumping off from this point. She blinked once and stood on the railings. There were some who shouted at her to get down from her spot but she paid them no heed. She readied herself and jumped off. Shouts of disbelief followed her decent. She positioned her body, hands ready to catch herself in case she failed and braced her legs for the impact of the floor. She landed on both of her feet and didn't miss a beat as she rolled to avoid injury. She ended up in a one knee kneel.
The pain in the soles of her feet traveling up to her legs had her stilling for a moment before she stood up and continued her run. She didn't notice the people who stared at her retreating back in disbelief. Valhalla was a few meters ahead of her and there, she could see someone with red hair staring at her HAC. Was she too late? Had Valhalla already been hacked? If that was the case, then she had no choice but to take the information by force if she had to. She slowed her sprint into a jog, then finally into slow steps. She was careful to keep her steps light as every movement caused needles to prick her feet. Maybe jumping off that bridge hadn't been such a good idea. She shook her head and quickly dismissed the idea. It would only take her a few minutes to recover from the self inflicted wounds and it had been the fastest way to Valhalla. With the current stakes taken into account, what she did was the most logical, if risky, option that had been available to her. Correct?
Correct, she thought as she stopped a few steps away from the red headed human. It was him again, the man that had moved so fast that she hadn't been able to notice it until it had almost been too late for her to defend herself or her programmer. She could understand now as to why he had ranked a 'critical' in her hazard rating. She controlled her breathing but couldn't seem to do anything about her pounding cardiac muscle. She knew that he knew that she was there. She could guess by the way that his shoulders had tensed as he slowly lowered his arms, as if preparing for a battle.
She waited in silence for him to turn around and say something. It was impolite and out of the rules of etiquette if she were to attack him now just because she suspected him of stealing information. He turned around, looking at her in perplexity. Was she the one who was supposed to initiate a conversation? For as long as she remembered, other had always talked to her first before she was allowed to speak. What would be the point in speaking if she already acknowledged their presence with a glance anyway? Communication was for relaying messages and that was it. She didn't have any messages to send to this Himura Kenshin and so, she kept quiet. He seemed to find her way of acknowledgement amusing though, and she narrowed her eyes as she contemplated how to begin the conversation (since it seemed that he was waiting for her to talk).
"Himura Battousai, pilot of Ragnarok and captain of the Lanark, what information do you want that I have access to?" she asked, finally arranging the words that she needed in the correct order. She watched him as he raised one scarlet brow at her. Did she say something inappropriate? She mentally recalled her sentence and try as she might, she could see no errors in the way that it had been constructed. It addressed him, his title, and it was clear. Perhaps there was something wrong with her-
"I just wanted to see Valhalla up close and I wanted to meet its pilot."
Her full attention came running back to him. So he did understand her. There was nothing wrong with her language system after all. Perhaps it was a human way of interaction to raise a brow when being addressed? Her programmer never did it when she spoke to her and neither did the Medical and Research members. Was this a reaction unique only to him? She analyzed the report that Faust Knox made about human behavior but couldn't seem to find a way to explain his behavior. The file had been left accidentally in the laboratory and she had stumbled upon it. She hadn't been able to sleep and didn't have anyone to give her orders. She had too much energy stored and she had tried to wear herself out by walking around in circles in the laboratory. The report caught her eye and she read it just to pass the time. By the end of the report, she had gained significant knowledge on humans and had successfully depleted her energy reserves.
Perhaps it was best that she ask him why he had reacted in such a way. During her analytical research, he had moved forward and only stopped when they were one step apart. She felt wariness stir inside of her at his violation of her personal space. According to the report, it was erroneous during first meetings to stand so close to each other. He knew that since he was an adult human. He was disregarding the rules of society purposely. But why would he do that? He was taller than her by at least an inch or two so she didn't have to crane her neck upwards just to meet his eyes. When she did, however, she felt a bit of surprise at the sight. They were not the violet that she remembered. Instead, they were the color of amber. The urge to step back was strong because of the way he was staring at her but she fought it for doing so would be showing weakness. In a battle, she should never show any weak point for the opposing force would no doubt use it against her.
Kaoru was about to open her mouth to voice out her query of why he was standing so close when she could hear him just fine from where he had been, when he spoke again.
"Now that I've met the pilot, I'd like to ask her if she would like to have dinner with me at Reuben's tonight."
For the first time in her life, Kaoru was at a loss for words. She didn't know whether to agree or disagree. She had never had her meals scheduled by someone else other than Megumi. She wasn't even aware that her mouth had opened and her eyes were wide with shock. Then she got a hold of herself and analyzed his invitation with logic. It was harder to do, seeing as he seemed to be comfortable being just a step away from her. She, however, felt trapped and with the feeling of being trapped came the warning signals for her to be free. It was difficult to ignore those signals but she did it nonetheless. It might be the most illogical thing to do in this situation but jumping away from him and ending up falling off a hundred feet railway was even more illogical. The good thing about her lack of action was that he backed away.
Now that she was virtually in control again, her mind started to evaluate all the facts that were given to her in this circumstance just as Megumi had told her to whenever she felt confused about something. Fact one: going with someone she did not know was a bad decision. Megumi would scold her for it. Fact two: during her examination of him, Himura Kenshin's hazard rating was critical; therefore, it would be unwise to accept his invitation unless she was slated for disposal. The two facts led to the option of refusal and she voiced out her answer.
Or at least tried to. Megumi beat her to it.
"I'm afraid Kaoru will not be able to come," the doctor said as she neared them both. She was holding two bags of food. She raised a brow on Kenshin's leisurely stance, "Kaoru will need all the rest that she can get and I thought I told you that Kaoru is not in any condition to receive guests?"
"That you did," Kenshin murmured as he locked gazes with Megumi, not hiding the fact that he had ignored her warning, "Bio Corporation seems to be busy as of late, don't you think so Miss Megumi? I had no idea that they had begun to manufacture HACs." He swung his gaze at Valhalla and placed his hand in his pockets, a gesture of an uncaring attitude but in reality, he was recording their conversation with his computer.
"What do you mean?" Megumi questioned, suddenly a little wary at where this conversation was leading to.
"I would have thought you would know. You are from Bio Corporation are you not? Pretty high ranked as well so I'm sure you're privy to such information," he said as he evaded Megumi's eyes and continued staring at Valhalla, "The freight ship Armageddon had been attacked by an unknown craft six months ago. That unknown craft came home in ruins. From reliable resources, I have confirmed that Valhalla had been the only HAC onboard the ship so I'm assuming that it was Valhalla that defended the Armageddon," he said and turned back to Megumi, his voice taking in a much more unyielding tone, "the said HAC is a property of Bio Corporation, as evidence by your presence and the crest on Valhalla's forehead, it seemed safe to assume that the company has begun to mass produce weapons although no record of any production has been made at the Federation Catalogues."
"From the records that I have been given, Valhalla is the only HAC that Bio Corporation has manufactured although unregistered. The files did not contain information on the production and the distribution of other artillery though. Will that help your investigation?" Kaoru inquired.
The doctor's eyes swung to Kaoru's face in shock. Although the girl's voice had been deadpanned, the fact remained that Kaoru had contributed to the conversation. Kaoru had not once since her recovery, willingly conversed with someone (much less provide information that she hadn't been asked to give) unless she had a question or she was being questioned. That or she was ordered by someone higher than Megumi's status to speak up.
"I see. Thank you for that information Miss Kaoru and yes, that does contribute to my investigation," Kenshin said, turning his gaze from Valhalla's intricate designs to Kaoru's empty eyes. So Valhalla was unregistered weaponry. This investigation could lead to more than a potential recruit it seemed. He kept Megumi's reaction to her companion's reply at the back of his mind to be assessed at a later date. With deliberate slothfulness, he took out a small data disc from his pocket and wordlessly handed it to Megumi. He was aware that Kaoru was watching his every move and his stifled the amused smile tugging at his lips. The way that she considered him such a threat was flattering.
"The captain of the Lanark is inviting you both to dinner at Reuben in the 8th District tomorrow. The details are all there. He is looking forward to meeting the two of you," and with that, he bid the two of them a good day, his eyes lingering on Kaoru for just a little longer than necessary, and walked away like nothing had ever happened between the three of them.
"How presumptuous! Who does he think he is?"
"My data bank has told me earlier that he is Himura Kenshin, captain of Lanark and pilot of Ragnarok. He is also known for-"
Megumi didn't let Kaoru finish her reply for she had begun sputtering in disbelief. Then she became silent and forgot breathe.
"Megumi-san? Is something amiss? You have gone considerably pale."
At the sound of Kaoru's voice, she remembered what her lungs were made for and decided to let them do their job. Then Megumi wondered if she should just kill herself right then and there. HAC accidents always happened. She could not comprehend the fact that she had just met a high ranking officer and, recalling the earlier events at the VIP box, could not believe that she had actually done that to him. It would be a miracle if she still had her job by tomorrow. She sighed. Desperate for a drink, and massaged her aching temple when she remembered that the bar was a long ways away from the hangar or rather the coliseum. Too many things were happening in one day. She shook her head. First thing's first. She needed to drill Kaoru that attacking a high ranking officer with a steak knife was not a very good idea.
"Well Kaoru, it seems that we have caught the eye of one of the most powerful man in the galaxy. It would be disrespectful if we refused such an invitation. I'm going to need to make sure that you're ready for that," Megumi said as she leaned her back on the pillar that the captain of Lanark had been using earlier as a hideaway. She failed to notice how Kaoru's eyes didn't leave Kenshin's back until he turned around the corner. Neither did Kaoru notice Sanosuke Sagara staring at her from the top of her next opponent's HAC with fury in his brown eyes.