Disclaimer: I do not own Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, simply put.
BGC: The Beginning of the End
Chapter 3: As I Am
Nigel diligently worked his hands and tools as he configured the suit for the newest member of the Knight Sabers. He muttered under his breath as a sudden shock zapped his finger and caused him to flinch. Without so much as caution he kept at his work and disregarded the delay. This machine, though in some ways he regarded it as his child, would be used with or without his permission. He sighed as he knowingly forfeited his responsibility. A sudden shuffle of metal doors let him know that the elevator had just come down, but he didn't bother to see who it was—it was probably Sylia, coming down to make him feel awkward.
"Oh sorry, I had no idea anyone was down here." It wasn't Sylia.
Nigel kept his gaze to his machine, not wanting to acknowledge whoever had come down. It was better not to know the face that would soon be in his machine.
"Wow, so this is it…" Rion came up by him and looked over the suit. "She's beautiful."
He stopped his work and looked up at her curiously.
"What makes you think it's a girl?"
"Body type, I guess." She shrugged unsure of how to answer his question. "You must be Nigel."
He nodded and went straight back to his work.
Rion took this as her queue to leave him alone, but stayed to admire the suit she would soon be in control of. The black sheen of the metal glistened with finesse—it sure looked like a formidable weapon. She had only used the simulation to get a feel for it, but she couldn't wait to actually get a feel for her own suit.
"Priss said you work on bikes too; mind if I have you look at mine when you're all done? He needs a quick tune up." She smiled and walked back towards the elevator.
"Do you often engender machines?" He asked while keeping his gaze on the suit.
She stopped and paused to think—it was just something she was used to doing.
"For those I have affection towards, yes." She stated with a simplicity that caused something within Nigel to tug and pull.
He smiled back at her and nodded once in understanding. At that moment, Sylia descended and stood still as she noticed the smile on Nigel's lips; almost as quickly as she saw his smile, it returned to his usual nonchalant frown. Sylia looked towards Rion for clarification but only found a confident smile.
"Hey Sylia, you alright?" Rion took notice of Sylia's silence.
"I'm sorry." Sylia snapped out of her mildly suspicious trance and put on her sales face—the one she used to please customers. Nigel hated that face and tone of voice she used—he wished she would just express what she was really feeling. "I see you've met Nigel; he's the only man I trust with the suits."
"He's really good with his hands." Rion commented without giving too much thought to her words, but soon realized how awfully used they were.
Sylia bit on her lip as she refrained from breaking out in exclamation, and Nigel dropped his wrench letting a clink reverberate throughout the building.
"In respect to machines…of course." Rion hurriedly said as she made her way towards the elevator. "Anyways, I just came to say that I can't make it today and neither can Priss. We're having a conference today." She jammed her finger on the elevator button, pressing it several times until the doors finally closed.
As soon as it was on its way up, Rion stamped her foot onto the floor—she always made such a fool of herself. Back at the lower level, Nigel coughed as he resumed his work.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Sylia spoke with a hint of venom and truth. "Just my type."
He refused to respond, and bit his tongue to refrain from laughing—that girl had used the wrong words at the wrong time. He sped up his work and began to pack his tools as he completed his endeavor.
"I used some new ideas for this suit; hopefully she'll be able to handle it." He let his monotone voice flow.
"If I were younger we'd be such a formidable team." Sylia reminisced.
"You shouldn't push yourself." Nigel said with a wave of his hand, signaling his departure.
"It's because you care about me, right Nigel?" She let her eyes rest on him.
He kept his cool as he gave a slight nod and boarded the elevator—those eyes had the potential to turn him to dust if he let them. He could literally feel her yearning, her desire, but he was in no shape to handle any of that. He could hardly handle his own life, much less that of someone he should care for.
Priss had informed the band of their recent stroke of luck and much to her joy they had agreed to the signing. However, none of them wanted to deal with the technicalities of the partnership and decided that it was Priss' job, as lead singer, to handle it. She sighed as she stood at the door of the Blackheart Record studio. She entered and was immediately met with a tall, slender young man with hazel eyes.
"You must be Priss." He shook her hand and grinned. "My sister really wasn't joking about your killer looks."
Priss blushed and furrowed her brows.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm Ren Kirijo by the way—assistant producer."
"I didn't know Rion had a brother." Priss stated flatly as he led her towards the elevators.
"That would be Rion for you… never acknowledging her older siblings." He pouted as he pushed the button labeled '24'. "I don't really deal with the public much either, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of me." He concluded as the elevator began to go up.
The awkward silence that ensued drove Priss insane as she leered at the elevator numbers—they were going way too slow. She tapped her foot out of habit and let that preoccupy her attention. Ren peered at her from the corner of his eyes and noticed how much she reminded him of his younger sister. She had the same intimidating air and independent aura that Rion possessed—he smiled at the fact that they would make a good team.
"Here we are." He let Priss walk out first.
Priss was stunned by the floor they had disembarked on—it looked nothing like a management area. Instead she found herself stepping into a home—a well lavished home.
"I'm guessing Rion didn't tell you she lives here." Ren took notice of her minor confusion. "We live on different floors, and the offices are located below as well as the meeting rooms but since you're a personal friend of hers, she decided it would be ok to be a bit informal." Ren explained as he directed her towards the dining room.
"It's no problem." Priss assured him as she took a seat at the dining table—it was pure oak; polished to perfection.
"Damn it!" A shout came from the kitchen and Ren sighed as he massaged the temples of his head. He had told her it would be easier if they just ordered food to be brought up, but she insisted on cooking.
"She also decided she was going to cook for you." Ren winked at her and elicited a slight blush from the brunette singer.
"Alright I'm done." Rion came bursting in; slight moist clung to her skin from the heat of the kitchen, her tank top mildly stuck to her skin and her spandex-like shorts hardly left room for the imagination. "Ah, you're here!" She exclaimed as she tried her best to compose herself. "Sorry, I had a minor delay, but I'll be right back." Priss set a steady gaze on her as she retreated to what she assumed were the restrooms.
"Honestly she's never like this—not around company anyways." Ren chuckled at his sister's disarray, but kept his gaze on Priss. "Rion tells me you're a fighter as well."
"What of it?" her usual brass, defensive-self came through.
"Thanks for helping her out; I'm not always able to be there for her." He kept his easy smile on even in the face of her cold demeanor.
"She seems capable of taking care of herself." Priss remarked as she recalled the night they had met.
He put on a sad smile as he reminisced on how he had lost his anger when Rion had said the same thing. "So we all are, until we finally break."
She kept her gaze on him, taking in his sorrowful expression but didn't know what to make of it. Rion walked in her usual attire—tight, black rider pants, a white corset and a mid-length leather jacket.
"We'll talk a bit before I bring the food out." Rion smiled as she took a seat by Priss. "It needs time to cool down."
"I had no idea you were making dinner." Priss felt guilty for eating before she came here.
"Don't tell me you already—"Sudden embarrassment took over Rion as she realized that she hadn't even thought of that possibility.
"Uhh…no, not exactly…" Priss stuttered, unused to lying to please someone.
"You two are hopeless." Ren chuckled as he brought out various forms. "Anyways I'm guessing we should get the technicalities over with." He handed Priss a pen.
Rion and Priss nodded as they collected themselves; Rion began to explain the policies that came with signing with Blackheart Records and what the band would be entitled to. The Kirijo family had built a vast empire in the last 5 years and managed everything from Tokyo—their headquarters was both home and work for them. Each level was a different level of production: recording studios, sounds labs, meeting rooms, offices, and Rion's own home were all located within the complex.
'What is it with me and mega rich people?' Priss thought back to Sylia's enterprise. 'However, at least this business makes sense to me.' She scratched her signature on the papers.
"Alright, can't wait to work with your sound." Rion smugly collected the papers and put them into a file—this was the band she had her heart set on. "And now for dinner." She gracefully exited the dining room and entered the kitchen.
Rion set the plates out for each member of the dining table and put what was left in the middle. Priss took in the picturesque curry and rice that graced her vision. Usually she just made herself a sandwich or some other simple meal, but nothing quite as savory as this.
"Good as always, sis. You should cook more often." Ren commented as he scarfed away at his food.
"I only cook when I want to; it's not my job to feed you anyways." She threw back at him in jest.
Priss chuckled as she observed the relationship between the two siblings. She had never had any siblings, but from what she could tell these two seemed pretty close. Each of them helped themselves to several more helpings of Rion's cooking. Priss felt shoulders settle and her posture slip as she sat in her seat.
"I'll leave you two at it; I have to wake up early tomorrow." Ren stood up to leave and saluted his goodbye.
"Goodnight brother." She waved him goodbye.
Priss slightly waved as she watched him depart, but waited until he left to speak to Rion.
"Does he know?" Priss asked Rion.
"No… he wouldn't approve." Rion replied knowing full well what Priss was talking about. "He hates it when I "put" myself in danger."
"I see…" Priss rose to leave. "Thanks for dinner." She said somewhat bashfully.
"Uh, no problem." Rion wasn't used to having someone praise her sincerely. "You're on your way too?" Rion took out two beers from the small bar next to the dining table. "Care for one?"
Priss smiled and took the ice cold beverage in her hands. "Sure."
"I don't usually drink with anyone, but I can't be too bad of a drinking partner." Rion shrugged as she opened both of their bottles.
Priss watched as Rion raised the bottle to her lips, letting them rest gently on the rim of the bottle. She seemed completely at peace and this let Priss let down her guard. She sat on the stool next to Rion and took a swig of the alcohol—it warmed her throat as it made its way down her throat.
"Priss what do you fight for?" Rion asked as she swirled the alcohol in the bottle with a gyration of her wrist.
Priss took another drink of alcohol before she emitted a deep sigh. "It's just something I'm good at… I'm not defending justice or any crap like that."
"I never said you were." Rion chuckled as she took into account how easily Priss could get on edge. "I'm not so naïve as to believe in justice as something that can be defended… I was just wondering what your motives were. I feel out of place not knowing why I joined the Knight Sabers… though I do have a reason, sort of…" Rion trailed off in her speech as she listened to the silence that ensued.
Priss wasn't used to wanting to 'know' anything about anyone, but she wished that Rion would reveal her reason for joining. The yearning for her answer was foreign to Priss but strangely enough she wasn't surprised by it. She had unwillingly been watching Rion every chance she had, and even when she was not in her presence, Rion still managed to crop up in her head. It was unnerving and sometimes caused Priss to curse out loud which had scared quite a bit of bystanders when out in public. It was getting out of hand: the more she tried to ignore her fixation, the more vibrant it appeared.
"What's your reason?" Priss calmly asked as her mind rushed forward.
Rion smiled as she broke the silence. "Perhaps it's because you remind me of everything I cherish in myself as a woman, yet at the same time you are everything I have never known." Rion placed her empty bottle on the bar counter, and let her hand cup Priss' face. She looked at Priss' stunned features—god was she beautiful. Her pale skin, magnificently fierce eyes and sharp features drew Rion in. She saw as her hand gently caressed her partner's face, and reveled in the softness—it reminded her of untouched snow. Just as quickly as she had drawn near Priss, she snapped out of her trance and pulled her hand back.
"I'm so sorry…" Rion put her hand over her mouth in mortification and turned away from Priss who had stood still. "I guess I'm a bad drinking partner after all." Rion smirked and let her cool façade reign over her once more. "Let me walk you down; it's the least I can do." Rion put on her coat and turned towards Priss.
Priss looked hard at the woman before her: why had she not retaliated against her actions? Usually Priss had no problem when it came to shutting out any displays of affection, but this time she had been rendered immobile. Could it have been because Rion was a woman? However, she wouldn't have been the first female to approach her in such a way—her band members were correct in saying that Priss attracted more girl fans than men—but then why? She shuddered at the possibility that maybe she wanted to see what would happen next; what she might feel. She grabbed her jacket and followed Rion out the door. The silence between them became suffocating and Priss felt a deep sense of anxiety unfurl within her.
"Rion…" Priss grabbed the girl by her wrist and stopped her unusually fast pace towards the main entrance. "Hold up." She kept her hand wrapped around her wrist. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Rion cocked her eyebrow.
"Don't play stupid; you know what I'm talking about?" Priss felt Rion try to break free from her grasp but wasn't going to be so easily evaded.
"It was a minor slip up." Rion muttered as she took on a smirk. "I had too much to drink, so think nothing of it. It won't happen again; I'm your manager after all." She forced her hand out of Priss' grip and resumed her walk towards the door—this was getting out of hand.
"Stop it." Priss grabbed her wrist once more and pulled her back. "Stop doing whatever the hell it is you're doing!" She tightened her grip.
"What's your problem?" Rion glared into Priss' eyes with just as much flare but Priss caught the tiniest hint of sorrow within them.
"I'm confused too…" Priss whispered as she let go of Rion's wrist and looked down at the floor.
Rion's icy heart shattered as Priss' soft words reverberated in her ears. She placed her hands on Priss' shoulders and drew her into an embrace—perhaps this time putting on a façade wasn't the best choice she had.
"I never meant to confuse you." Rion sighed as she felt Priss do the same. "But I've never felt this way, and…" She looked at Priss as she pulled away from the embrace. "I wasn't sure if this was right." She blushed as she tore her gaze away from Priss' curious stare.
"I'm willing to find out." Priss grinned as she walked away with a dismissive wave.
Rion froze as Priss' voice echoed in her head once more—had she heard correctly? Rion chuckled as she watched the warrior walk away and knew she had lost this battle while Priss had left victorious. It didn't bother her so much, losing to her and in a way she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders.
Author's End Note: So that's that! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've just had them saved on the comp and I completely forgot to publish them. Alright well by now you all know what direction this is going in. Interested in hearing your comments: good and bad.