Chapter 10: Osaka

A/N: There's a scene for Decki in here, I hope they like it!

Please read and review!

If he could still dream, he knew he'd dream of her.

It was one of the most frustrating aftershocks of extraction work; the loss of the ability of the mind's subconscious to show you what you wanted. Or even just to grind down the events of the day.

After Eames and Cobb went to sleep at night, he could put himself under the PASIV device and see her again.

She was like Mal here though, only a shade that he brought up, a manifestation of his fears about what she must be going through.

His shade was different than Cobb's, not angry nor murderous; but sad and frightened. She was nothing like he knew her in real life.

Arthur was always walking through the most horrid streets in Mombasa. Ariadne was there, curled up in the corner.

His subconscious watched him intently as he leaned down and knelt in front of her. She would always refuse to look at him at first, not believing he was there.

"Ari? Please, look at me." He begged.

She would stare at the wall, arms wrapped around her knees in the fetal position, "They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me."

"No they aren't, I won't let them."

"How can you say that? You aren't real, you aren't here! You can't stop them!"

"I'm right here!" He grabbed her shoulders and tried to turn her so she would look at him.

"No, Arthur, you left me, you abandoned me."

"I would never abandon you, Ari, I love you."

"You love me, but you weren't there! Where were you when that man grabbed me?"

"I was looking for you, I tried."

This Ariadne began crying when she finally met his eyes, "Why am I always second, Arthur? You'd rather work with Cobb in California than work from Paris and be with me."

"That's not true, I've been trying to save money, and get a house together. I wanted you to move in with me once you graduated."

She just kept crying and turned from him again, "Do you really love me?"

"Yes."

"I'm afraid, Arthur. I don't know if I'm going to make it."

He knew he was fighting with himself, "I won't let anything happen to you."

The timer went off.

Arthur stirred in the recliner, and stared up at the ceiling. Reaching up, he felt two trails of water running down his face where the tears had fallen. Taking a deep breath, he continued to lie there, working out what had happened.

There was a sudden match light near him and he sat up. The light moved upwards and illuminated Eames' face in the night.

The Brit lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it, "What's wrong?"

Arthur pulled out the line from his wrist, "Nothing."

Eames took the seat across from him, "Look darling, I'm not going to mock you. Like you said, I don't exactly have a dog in this fight."

The point man man's eyebrows furled.

"Okay, bad choice of words," The smoke billowed up from where he exhaled, "What's going on?"

Retrieving his handkerchief, the point man dried the wetness on his cheeks, "I wanted to see her."

"Oh, I see. And?"

"It's not her, she's like Mal was, just a shade."

"What's she like, in the dream that is?"

"She scared, weak, everything I know she's not."

"So, you're projecting your fears onto her?"

"Yeah."

When he looked at his friend, the Brit motioned for him to continue.

"She keeps asking why I abandoned her, why I didn't save her." He took a deep breath, "If I really love her."

"Well, you're obviously blaming yourself, but it wasn't your fault, mate. This is what, the sixth time Cobol has sent his errand boys? We didn't know it was coming."

"I should have warned her."

"And I should quit smoking." The forger laughed, "But we forget things sometimes."

"Eames, do you think," Arthur leaned forward, and put his elbows on his knees, "That because she asks me, if I love her – "

"You're worried that you don't?"

Arthur nodded a bit and hung his head, "Why would she ask that if I didn't?"

"I think that you're worried that she thinks you don't love her, not that you don't."

It didn't seem to be enough of an explanation for the Point man.

"I know you Arthur, you're an uptight prick half the time, I can't bloody stand you."

"Thanks Eames."

"You're different with her, could probably be a bit more open and the like, but I think she knows you love her." The Brit sat back, "You've had your knickers in a twist since she's been on the run. Now, I'm used to you burying your head in your work, but the way you've done it lately…"

"That's what I do."

"This is different though, darling, it's like, you're afraid to feel, so you're trying not to think about it by working. Frankly, I'm worried that you'll snap moreso than usual."

Arthur thought about it a moment.

"I'm right about this." Eames stood up and threw down the cigarette, scuffing it out with his boot, "And we will get her back."

He walked away, the smell of smoke lingering behind him. The point man fell back into the chair, but he wouldn't be going back in tonight.

Rolling back his sleeve, he saw the edge of her scarf where he'd tied it around his wrist.

There was no way in hell he would let Cobol take her.

Osaka was a beautiful city of contradictions. A thriving city of skylines brilliantly lit up against the night sky. Yet the inhabitants took life a little slower off the clock. Traditional billboards lined up against hand painted advertisements.

If Ariadne had fit in better, she would have found it an entirely ideal place to hide out. So long as she stayed in the tourist areas, she found it easy to get around.

Saito was based out of this city, and through some quick research that Arthur had taught her, she got her hands on his travel schedule. Businessmen conferences, a trade summit of some sort in Switzerland, meetings.

His cell phone was already tapped, that she knew, and his email would be as well. She would need to wait until he was in the country, call his company from a payphone and arrange a meeting the same day. Hopefully, he would be able to see her fast enough to take her into some sort of protective custody. Saito may have been a ruthless businessman at times, but he had a special affection for the team that had saved his life in dreamscape.

Flipping through the schedule, it would be at least a month before he was back in Osaka, or even Japan itself.

She would choose her hangouts more carefully this time.

Osaka wasn't lacking in tea shops, ramen houses, and western style cafes and bistros. Ariadne found that a crowded pachinko parlor was easy to lose anyone who might look a little too interested in her. She changed up her schedule regularly, and even invested in a temporary hair dye for a week while she waited for her contact to return.

Time was especially harsh. In a city that pulsed with life, she felt as though she was held back.

The child still grew inside her. She was constantly feeling for movement. That one brush with death had worried her that she may have hurt the baby in some way. Any attempt to visit a doctor though could result in her being ambushed while her feet were up in stirrups, a very unappealing option.

As the seventh month drew to a close, she began to worry. The child definitely favored Arthur's side in terms of size, her belly was quite large, and enough to attract the pitying stares of other women.

Every day she monitored Saito's schedule, until finally, one day, she got her chance.

She donned a covering hat and sunglasses and walked briskly down the street. The air was cool and nipped at her exposed skin.

Ducking into a side street convenience store, she pulled out a phone card and dialed in.

"Saito Corporation."

"I need to speak to Mr. Saito."

"I'm sorry; he does not take personal calls."

"I'm an old friend of his, please transfer me to his office, it's an emergency. Tell him it's Ariadne."

The receptionist sighed, "Okay, I will request his personal line."

The harsh blare of call-waiting music jarred her ear, the terrible instrumental recording of some Eurovision song from last season.

"Ariadne?"

"Saito?"

"Yes."

"I need your help. Cobol's sent assassins out for the team and if I go near them, they'll use me to track Arthur, Cobb, and Eames and kill them."

"Do you need my hitmen?"

"No, I just need – " Ariadne paused, "You have hitmen?"

"I'm a very powerful man, power takes many forms."

"I don't need hitmen, I just need to get somewhere safe so that I can contact the others without Cobol being able to track them. Tell them what's going on so that they stop looking for me."

"I can do that, where are you?"

"Can you meet me Omi Sushi and Ocha Tea House in the hour?"

"Yes, I can, I'll bring guards."

"Thank you."

"Anything you need."

The phone went dead.

Ariadne set the phone back in its holder and looked around. The clerk didn't even seem to be interested in what she was doing.

Adjusting her sunglasses, she exited the door and headed straight for the tea house. In her paranoid state, it seemed as though everyone was looking at her, like she was the invader in someone else's dream.

Omi Sushi and Ocha Tea House was a blue and white frosted glass affair. It was a tribute to modern architectures in curved and angular designs. She took a seat at the modified table and made small talk with the waitress.

It was painfully mundane; she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The waitresses milled around the tables, taking and filling orders. The other patrons talked in hushed tones and flipped the grilling meat on their tabletop hibachi. The woman who was in charge of tea service had a shift change and she was replaced by a younger woman with a fresh face and newly starched apron.

Ten minutes went by, and she was nearly done with her Sencha tea.

"Excuse me, do you speak English?"

The woman in front of her was tall, a bit thin, and nervous looking.

"Yes."

"Do you mind if I sit with you? I haven't spoke English is two weeks and I really want to."

Ariadne thought she looked like a culture shocked foreign exchange student.

"Sure."

The woman pulled up a chair and took the seat across from her. She didn't seem to know what to do with her hands and arms, fidgeting considerably.

"'What do you want to talk about?"

"The basics? What's your name, where are you from?" She had a sheepish grin, "Sorry I can't offer something better for conversation."

Ariadne thought quickly, "I'm Victoria, from Florida."

"Oh, I'm Isabella, from Toronto."

Cobb's cell phone lit up in his pocket, a text message.

"What's that?"

"It's from Saito, it says that Ariadne just called him to come and pick her up in Osaka."

"Osaka?" Arthur breathed a sigh of relief that she was out of Mombasa.

"Eames, call the trackers, set them on her in case something goes wrong. Arthur, see if you can follow Saito to pinpoint her location.

"On it." Both men seemed to mutter as they returned to their work.

Only five minutes after Isabella had sat down, the two women were chatting about everything from the weather to politics.

As she came down from laughing, Isabella tossed her black hair back over her shoulder and leaned her elbows on the table, "This has been wonderful, Ariadne."

The architect stopped, "My name is Victoria."

There was a large grin on those pouty lips, "C'mon, let's stop kidding ourselves about who we are."

"Who are you?"

"Like I said, I'm Isabella, and I'm from Toronto. I'm a Scorpio, and my hobbies include biking and sadistic murder."

"You're from Cobol, aren't you?"

"Survey says yes." She leaned in, propping up her head on her hands.

Ariadne moved to get up, but Isabella grabbed her arm and pulled her back down into her chair, "C'mon, we were having such a nice conversation."