Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Mie's Story" Part 1
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir
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Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:
1) For those of you now probably wondering, Sagussan uniforms are colour-
coded according to the wearer's mission task. The uniform is divided into
primary (blazer), secondary (pants) and tertiary (trimming) colours.
2) More Sagussan numbers: 10 = o, 100 = oa, 1000 = oe, 10000 = oai, 100000
= ou. Multiples of these, add the single numbers before the multiple, i.e. 50
= ui-o. To simplify matters when calling a *daishi'cha* by number when a zero
appears, the higher numbers are used. Reinoevan (*daishi'cha* #10272) would
be called "Oai-eieoei" (literally "ten thousand, two-seven-two").
4) And yet some more Sagussan terms:
igh - Equivalent of "to be."
I'sagh - Term applied to all healers.
Eii'sagh - Term applied to all nurses.
Do vanan'cha - The oath of bonding.
And Sagussan foods and drinks:
pyogh - Common grain, similar to barley
kyi - Grain, similar to wheat
chagh - Generic term for vegetables
ku - Generic term for soup
gi - Generic term for meat
chigh - Generic term for fruit
cho - Generic term for dairy products
tagh - Generic term for non-alcoholic beverages
jugh - Generic term for alcoholic beverages
hogh-kyi - Noodles
chonagh - Cheese
kamchagh - Potatoes
yanbe-chagh - A fermented, spicy vegetable side dish
karugh-kalghku - Stormwalker rib soup
karugh-gi - Stormwalker meat, usually broiled
bam-gi - Nightlizard meat, usually boiled
torghsu-gi - Airdevil meat, also usually broiled
hogh-kyi-giku - Meat and noodle soup
pyogh-giku - Meat and grain soup
chigh-tagh - Fruit juice
karugh-chotagh - Stormwalker milk
ran-jugh - Sagussan brandy
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And without further adieu...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
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"Mie..." a sultry voice calls out.
Mie Seikou's eyes flutter open. "Who...?"
Her eyes widen as she finds herself nude, floating in the middle of
space over some barren, desert world. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees
the flat disk of the Milky Way galaxy. By all rights, she should be dead.
She then feels...a presence. Just like the time of the Spirit War, when she
encountered Noa and her friends. Flipping around, she lets out a gasp. "Who
are you?"
Nearby her, also nude, is another woman. Her brown hair tied in a
ponytail, her suntanned skin unmarked save for the Sagussan numbers 61558 on
the back of her thighs, as well as a heart and lightning bolt tattoo on her
right cheek, she is a tall, statuesque beauty who would melt anyone's heart.
Haunting green eyes, even more entrancing than Lum's, focus on her as a serene
smile crosses her face. "Come to me, my love," she coos. "Now, we shall be
together."
Mie's hormones go into instant overdrive as she drinks in all the
details, then with a gentle push of her legs, she floats into her bond-mate's
arms. "How?" she gasps.
"True love, although you've forgotten it for twelve years," the other
purrs, her body and mind assaulting Mie from every direction...
* * *
...as Mie's eyes snap open. "Wait!!" she bolts up.
Panting, the Sagussan-born Kyushu native pushes the sheets back as she
looks outside. Full moon. Terrific. The first detailed dream she had about
her homeworld since her coming to Earth, and she had to wake up before her
seducer could identify herself. At least her sequential number was clear to
her, so when the time came, she could reunite with her.
That is, if she decided to return home...
* * *
"'Morning, everyone!!" Lum calls out as she walks into Shapiro's Ice
Cream Parlour.
"Good morning, Lum," Abraham Shapiro smiles as he brings up a banana
split. "How are you this morning?"
"Oh, fine," the Oni sits down at the counter, placing her lunch on the
table. "Last few days, then it's off to Oshika for me!"
"You must be happy, Lum-san," Pamanba warily smiles.
Lum glares at the former Mikado hunter, still somewhat angry that
Pamanba had tried to kill her and her classmates one day. One stun shot from
the Vosian ruined one of Lum's sailor suits. However, she was mollified by
Pamanba's decision to desert the Mikado, which became permanent when Lufy
slaughtered her superiors later at Noa's instigation. "I'm still keeping an
eye on you, Pamanba!" she snarls.
"Lum!!" Shinobu sighs. "Give it a rest!! Pamanba had no choice! It
was either fight Nassur-kun or be killed!" She then takes a whiff. "And
what's that awful smell?!"
"Oh, that's this stuff," Lum reaches into her bag and pulls out a
covered dish full of fermented vegetables in spicy sauce.
The smell drives Shinobu to her knees. "Ugh! What IS that?!"
"Yanbe-chagh," Lum smiles, replacing the dish in her bag. "Sagussan
kimch'i. It's always eaten with every meal. Want some?"
"No, thank you!!" Shinobu blanches, pinching her nose. "Gods, who
taught you how to make that garbage?!"
"Garbage?!" Lum snarls. "This stuff is very traditional on Sagussa. Do
you know how much Darling likes this stuff?! He ate a whole jarfull of my
first batch! I have to beat Honey back with a stick to make sure she doesn't
clean out the rest!!"
"Well, he puts anything into his mouth," Shinobu sighs.
"I'll let that comment go," Lum returns to her banana split.
"Interesting start to the day," Shapiro hums.
The door opens, allowing the guards and their girlfriends to step
inside. Pamanba quickly fills their orders, then welcomes Mendou and Sil as
they come in. "'Morning, Lum-chan!" Sil smiles.
"Hi, Sil-chan, Shutaro," Lum beams.
Tomobiki's newest couple sit in a private booth. "So it's really
happened," Shinobu stares at them. "They fell in love."
"That's good," Lum smiles, finishing her split, then opening her dish of
yanbe-chagh. "I just wonder how Shutaro's parents are going to take it. They
want him to marry Asuka-chan."
"With her expecting a child with Osooko?" Shinobu blinks.
"I know," Lum snickers. "And with Tobimaro and Ryooko poised to marry
Yuukiki and Reigi, there's no way out for their parents."
"Well, I guess peace won't come soon for them."
"Who says peace has to come via marriage?" Lum shrugs.
The door then opens as Mie walks in. Everyone turns to stare at the
Kyushu native...she had returned from her trip to Yame...then quickly turn
away, seeing the hungry, vicious look on her face. She walks up to the
counter, then sits beside Lum. The Oni essays a friendly smile. "H-hi,
Mie-chan. You're looking okay."
Mie evenly stares at Lum, then seeing the yanbe-chagh, grabs two
chopsticks, then dips into the dish. Everyone watches as she demolishes what
is left in the proverbial blink of an eye! "She's got to have a cast-iron
stomach if she can swallow that!!" Shinobu gasps.
"Hey, that's my snack!" Lum cries out.
"Delicious," Mie mutters as she hands the bowl back.
Lum stares at the empty bowl. "Um...glad you liked it."
Mie then stares at Pamanba. "Hey, you!!! C'mere!!!"
"Can I help you?" the Vosian walks up to her...
...then before anyone could react, is caught in an arm-lock, Mie
applying brutal pressure to Pamanba's shoulder. "I just heard what you did to
Lum-chan while I was down with the cold!!" the Kyushu native lowers her voice
to a gutteral whisper. "I don't like it when my friends get hurt! You better
thank what lucky stars you have that I wasn't there that day, because if I
was..." she takes a knife and gently traces it across Pamanba's throat,
"...you'd've had no chance to dessert from your friends!! Don't do it
again!!"
She lets Pamanba go, then pulls out a sandwich and begins to eat it.
The former huntress quickly scrambles away, putting as much distance between
her and Mie as possible. Everyone stares at Mie, including Shapiro. Of all
of Lum's classmates, this one was the oddest of the lot, for to the Vosian
observer, she was completely shrouded by riddles and mystery.
Everyone said she was just a hick country girl from Kyushu, the first
woman ever to truly befriend Ataru Moroboshi shortly after she arrived in
Tomobiki. That was just part of the story. Rumour had it that Mie was also a
crack pilot, having helmed the "Renegade" on a couple of missions, as well as
was involved in the Shingetsu disaster and the Spirit War. She was
overprotective of Lum, keeping the Oni free of the influences of her
classmates. If you were on Mie's good side, fine. If you were on her bad
side, you were courting a lengthy stay in a hospital; her fighting prowess, as
she just demonstrated, easily put her in Nassur's category.
"Mie, are you okay?" Lum gently prods.
Mie sighs. "No, I'm not fine," she leans on her elbows. "I haven't
been feeling well since I got back from Yame."
"Catch a cold again?"
"Nyaa!" Mie shakes her head. "Just a strange dream I keep having since
I returned from there."
"Dream!" Lum looks very concerned. Dreams she had about Noa, the
Sagussans and the Cyborg version of Ataru heralded the coming of the Spirit
War. "Nothing bad, I hope."
"Actually, they're okay...just damn mysterious," Mie muses. "Some girl
tries to seduce me, saying we're going to be back together again soon...but I
always wake up before I hear her name."
"Well, I hope she's a pretty girl," Lum smiles.
"Oh, that she is!" Mie chortles, deciding that Lum had heard enough for
now. Although she had long sensed Lum's growing knowledge of Sagussa...which
had to have started when Noa and her friends had come down the day of the
Spirit War...Mie had hesitated on telling her friend the truth about herself.
Partially, because Mie feared losing Lum's friendship. She really had no idea
how Lum would take the impending approach of Ataru's destiny; she had never
psi-probed Lum deep enough to learn that answer.
Also, Mie's own amnesia kept her tongue still. Mie Seikou was the type
of girl who, when she opened up, gave it to people honestly and forthrightly.
It galled her that it took the Sagussans twelve years to catch up with her.
Did they think she was dead? Did her bond-mate think she was dead? Did Mie
really have a home?
"Hey, Mie-chan!" Lum's voice cuts through her thoughts.
"What is it, Lum-chan?" Mie blinks, staring at the Oni.
"Boy, you're really out of it today," Lum looks concerned. "Do you want
to see Sakura-sensei or Ashin-san?"
"No, I'll be fine," Mie shakes her head, stretching herself. "I always
have Mom and all her herbal cures to go back to."
"Well, that's good," Lum sighs. "But remember one thing."
"What?"
"I want to be your second at your handfasting!"
Mie nods, smiling. "Deal!"
Everyone laughs...
* * *
"How did you finagle Lufy and Catty into taking our place as the Duty
*Daishi'cha?!*" Hotaru quizzically demands as she relaxes in the shipmistress'
chair of Warpshuttle 100, the image of Earth growing before them as they sweep
into orbit.
Makoto sighs, powering back the impulse drive as she looks back. "They
felt guilty because they didn't say anything about Mie being alive in the
first place," the Yehisrite-born First Fleet watchmistress growls. "I can't
believe Noa! How dare she say nothing about Mie living all these years on
Earth, especially to me?! I've just as much right to know about your twin
sister as you do!"
"They were probably afraid that Reinoevan would find out," Hotaru
explains. Save for being physically a year younger thanks to cryogenic
suspension as well as having raven-black hair, the Terran-born defence force
nurse would be an exact physical double of Mie. "And I suppose I'm glad for
it. I want you to be *Ashoi'cha's marei'cha,* not Rei!"
Makoto blushes at her watchmate's comment. "Thanks, Hotaru.
C'mon...let's boogie it down. I've waited twelve years for this!"
The two head off the bridge...
* * *
Students happily stream toward Tomobiki High School as the
fourth-to-last day in the term begins. Exams are finished and the college
entrance rolls have been posted for September commencement, many are already
looking forward to a final bout of cram school before continuing their
education elsewhere. Nostalgia is in the air as people look around, wondering
when next they would see this place. Lum and Mie walk up together. "So when
did Supersnob get a hold of his latest little squeeze?" the Kyushu native
inquires.
"Oh, you were down south when Sil came by," the Oni smiles. "She came
to ask me to become Uru's empress!"
Mie faints! "What?!! What did you say?!"
"I told her to stuff it and leave me alone!" Lum snorts. "I've got
other ideas about how I want my life to unfold!"
"Good for you, Lum-chan!" Mie sighs, then a lost look crosses her face.
"I wish I knew what was going to happen to me next."
"Don't give up hope, Mie-chan," Lum looks sympathetic. "If you want,
come move up and live with Darling and I!"
"We'll consider it," Mie smiles. *If we don't all move to Sagussa
first,* she mentally adds.
A hoverscooter is heard, followed by the flap of wings. "Hi, Lum-chan!
Hi, Mie-onee-chan!!" Ten-chan's voice calls out.
The two turn to see Ten-chan lower his hoverscooter to the ground.
Landing beside him is Alphonse, Noa's sandpanther. "Hi, Ten-chan," Lum
smiles. "Making sure Alphonse gets some exercise?!"
"Uh-huh!" the young Oni smiles, floating up to his cousin's eye level.
"Noa-onee-chan said I can keep an eye on him down here while you're still
waiting to move up north to be with Ataru."
"Oh, that's good," Lum smiles, then blinks. "Eh?!"
Delighted purrs echo from Alphonse's lips as Mie rubs her face into the
fleshy part of the sandpanther's neck. The two Onis stare at this curious
scene as Mie straightens herself, letting out a sigh. "Ah, fuzz therapy!" the
Kyushu native hums. "Always works!"
She heads into the school. "Is she okay?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum.
"I've never seen Mie-onee-chan act like that before!"
"She's been having bad dreams lately," a pensive look crosses Lum's
face. Why did Mie's actions with Alphonse look so familiar? Noa and Honey
acted the same way with the sandpanther; she had seen it a half-dozen times
since they came to stay with Ataru. Mie would not know how to do
that...unless she was...
"Are you okay?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum.
Lum blinks, looking at her cousin. "You know something, Ten-chan. I
just had the weirdest feeling about Mie-chan."
"What was that?"
"That's she's a *daishi'cha!*"
Alphonse growls an affirmative response; he knew a Sagussan when he
smelt one, especially one who could rub her face against his fur like that!
"Mie-onee-chan a Sagussan?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum. "First of all, what
would she be doing here?! All of them should be still on Sagussa except
Noa-onee-chan and Honey-onee-chan!"
Lum hums. "That should be true, but I did hear a rumour in the
Dreamscape one day about one of the *daishi'cha* having been missing twelve
years ago, just after Darling visited Sagussa. I never thought about that
until now, to be honest with you."
"Twelve years ago?!" Ten-chan blinks. "Oh, brother, if she's got family
back there, they must be worried sick about her!"
"True," Lum nods. "And Mie's not the type to abandon people like that.
Something's wrong here. I better find out what it is."
"Should I tell Noa-onee-chan?" Ten-chan inquires.
"Yes," Lum nods. "Darling, too."
"Right! C'mon, Alphonse!!"
Ten-chan and Alphonse take off for the Moroboshi home. Lum stares at
the school and the living mystery now inside. If Mie was a *daishi'cha,* the
proof would be on the back of her thighs, hidden by her skirt: a sequential
tattoo composed of Sagussan numbers. James, the Chamber of Eternity's central
computer, did that so that he could quickly identify the *daishi'cha* since
there were so many of them.
But if Mie was really a Sagussan, what was she doing on Earth?...unless
she did not remember who and what she was. Amnesia was a possibility; Mie was
an honest person with her close friends, especially Lum. It went totally
against her nature to keep a secret like that. If so, help was needed right
away. If Mie's dreams hinted that she had a bond-mate waiting for her back
home, Lum had no idea what could happen...
* * *
"Well, here we are!" Makoto smiles after she and Hotaru had beamed down
in a back alley some distance from Tomobiki High School, carrying backpacks
filled with emergency gear. Makoto also had a bandage covering her tattoo.
"Let's go find Mie!"
"Right!" Hotaru looks down at herself, clearly displeased. Both are now
dressed in blue jeans and heavy plaid shirts in lieu of their duty uniforms.
"Lyna's Soul, I look ridiculous in this thing! How could *Ashoi'cha*
recognize me when I'm in this?! If Setsuna saw me dressed like this, I'd die
of embarrassment!!"
"Hey, do you think I like wearing this?!" Makoto points at her bandaged
tattoo. "Besides, if we showed up in uniforms, every spy in this dump'd
recognize us and who knows what'd happen to Ataru-sama!"
"True," Hotaru sighs. "Let's go find her!! I'm as nervous as a long-
tailed sandpanther in a room full of rocking chairs!"
"Okay, okay!" Makoto nods as the two head down a street. They are quick
to notice the last few students racing off toward school. "Hey, those're the
uniforms Lum-san's schoolmates wear," she points. "Let's follow them!"
Hotaru nods...then both jolt as a frightened scream echoes from behind
them. They spin around to see Ayanba Onsen fearfully staring at them, her
eyes wide with confusion and horror. "Wh-what s-sort of n-no-waves a-are
y-you...?!" the former Most Perfect stammers, pointing warily at the two
Sagussans.
Hotaru and Makoto stare at the Vosian, then at each other. "Makoto, you
don't suppose this could be one of those spies who tried to hurt the Other
sometime ago?" the nurse inquires.
"Maybe," Makoto growls, icily eyeing Ayanba.
"Get away from me, you devils!!!" she races away.
The Sagussans stare quizzically at each other, then shrug and head off
toward Tomobiki High School...
* * *
"Why couldn't they just allow us to stay home instead of making us come
to school right up to graduation?" Shinobu yawns as everyone gathers in study
hall.
"Well, at least we can relax now that exams are done," Momoe stretches
herself, then stares at Mie, at a table by herself, a turbulent look on her
face. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she stares at her classmates. "What's
with Mie?"
"Who knows," Paama warily eyes the Kyushu native. "She's been grumpy
all morning."
"You should've seen what she almost did to Pamanba," Shinobu shudders.
"I'm glad that Mie wasn't around when Pamanba came into class that day. She
would've been carted out in a coffin."
"I guess she must be feeling lonely now that Lum is heading up to
Ataru," Kumiko muses.
Lum flies in at that time. "Mie-chan!" she calls out.
Mie brightens up a bit, giving the Oni a faint wave as Lum lands in
front of her. "Something *is* wrong!" Natsuko hisses. "Mie's always more
emotional when she greets Lum!"
"I hope Lum finds out what's going on soon," Kakugari gulps. "At her
worst, Mie's more vicious than Ataru as the Cyborg!"
A teleport beam interrupts their thoughts as a familiar form dressed in
a silver school uniform, a tiger-striped cummerbund around his waist, appears
beside Lum! In a flash, he takes the Oni's hand in his own. "Lum-sama, is
this true?!" he demands.
Shocked, Lum lets go with a violent blast of lightning! When she
catches her breath, she then looks enraged. "Oogi?!! What are you doing back
here?!! I thought I told you to stay on Phentax Two!!"
"Oh, what's HE doing here?!" Shinobu's eyes roll.
The Niphentaxian president shrinks back, staring Lum in the eye. "Is
this true, Lum-sama?! My observers report that you are now planning to leave
the Holy City to live with the Great Evil!! How could you allow him to
deceive you like that?!!"
"Look, stupid, for the last time, Darling is NOT evil!!" she snarls at
Oogi. "I'm going up there, I'm going to marry Darling and we're going to live
happily ever after!! And if you keep bothering me about this, I'll LET
Darling do to Phentax Two what he did to Phentax Twelve!!!"
"So!!" Oogi growls, his eyes ablaze. "He IS responsible for the
mindless slaughter of five million colonists!! How could you allow him to go
unpunished for such a crime against your faithful and loyal servants, Lum-
sama?!"
Lum moans. When Oogi got like this, there was little she could do to
snap him back to what was "normal" for a Niphentaxian. Mie stands up,
hungrily eyeing Oogi. "Look, jerkoid, why don't you take the hint and get
lost?!!" she grabs the Niphentaxian by the collar, lifting him off his feet.
"If you don't split, I'll send you back in a body bag since I'm in a very
lousy mood today and I just elected you as my punching bag!!!"
"Do your worst, Mie!" Megane laughs.
"Unhand me, witch!!" Oogi protests. "Guards!!!"
A dozen Niphentaxian guards teleport out of nowhere, dogpiling the
surprised Mie before she could react. "Mie-chan!!" Lum gasps.
* * *
"Eh?!!" Makoto blinks as a psychic flash bolts into her mind as she and
Hotaru were about to walk onto the school grounds. "Oh, Lyna, no!! Mie's in
trouble!!!"
With a battle cry, the *pirpirsiw'r*-turned-*daishi'cha* races for the
school building. "Makoto, wait!!" Hotaru gasps, then moans as she runs after
the watchmistress. "Damn, why now?!"
* * *
In study hall, a half-dozen guards are sprawled on the floor as Mie
continues to spar with those still standing. Oogi is holding Lum back from
helping her classmate. "Don't, Lum-sama!" the president pleads. "This dark
angel of the Great Evil must be subdued if you are to be safe!!"
"Whose going to save me from you?!!" the Oni snarls, giving him another
dose of her powers.
Oogi looks utterly ecstatic, his grip on Lum tightening. "Oh, to be
bathed in the Great Lum's Holy Lightning is such an transcendental
experience!" he deliriously moans.
"This guy really DOESN'T have a life!!" Chibi shudders.
"And he looks like me?!" Mendou looks insulted.
"Hey, I can use some help here!!" Mie clobbers another guard.
An explosion answers her!! One of the side walls collapses. Everyone
jolts back in shock as a dark figure carrying what looks like a pump-action
shotgun walks through the smoke. Makoto's face clears the mist as she angrily
eyes the Niphentaxians assaulting the woman she loves. "***HANDS OFF MY
BOND-MATE, YOU KIMEI'NE!!!!!!***" she bellows as she opens fire.
Lum and her classmates hit the deck as grenades, knives and a host of
other weapons storm at the Niphentaxians!! The explosions that follow shake
the school right to its foundations, alerting Koosei, Sakura and Onsen in the
Principal's office two floors down. "That was way too much even for Lan!!!"
the homeroom teacher declares, bolting to his feet. "C'mon!!!"
As the three sprint out of the room, the Principal eyes Kotatsuneko.
"Ah, such a nice day, isn't it, Kota-chan?"
The cat-ghost nods, warily staring at the ceiling. By that time, the
last grenade has gone off, filling the study hall with smoke and burning
debris. "Shit, who does that girl think she is?!" Shinobu coughs as she opens
the window to vent the fumes. "John Rambo?!!"
"Rambo, move over!!!" Megane gasps.
As the smoke clears, Oogi shakes his head. "What hit me...?"
A hand grabs the president by the throat, boosting him up and slamming
him against a wall, the gaping muzzle of an Urban Assault Cannon now inches
from his nose! By that time, Lum has emerged from the dissipating smoke to
see Makoto poised to finish Oogi off. "Makoto...?!" Lum gasps, recognizing
the Yehisrite-born watchmistress from a psi-picture she saw in a visit to
Usagi's dreamsite.
"Awaiting your orders, ma'am," Makoto evenly declares.
Lum sighs, pointing down. "Put him down."
The Sagussan looks disappointed. "Aw..."
"Be creative when you do it," the Oni suggests, winking.
Makoto then icily smiles. "Yes, ma'am!!"
Everyone fearfully watches as Makoto unleashes all sorts of physical
tortures on Oogi, so grotesque that even the writers have trouble visualizing
them! Finally, after the president's pained screams have died away, Makoto
sweetly smiles at Lum. "He's down."
"Creative," Lum laughs. "I'll mention it to Darling."
"Thanks, ma'am," Makoto respectfully bows.
"Lum, you know this person?!" Shinobu stares at the Oni.
"Ah, this is Makoto," Lum smiles. "As you can guess, she's from
Sagussa. She's a friend of Usagi's and Ami's, Shinobu."
"Oh, yes!" Shinobu nods. "Welcome to Earth, Makoto-san."
"Thanks," Makoto smiles. "Usagi and Ami told me about you. You don't
look half as wild as your reputation makes you."
Shinobu blushes. "Well, I try..."
"I assume that there are no casualties," Hotaru inquires.
Everyone watches as the nurse walk in, medical kit and tricorder at the
ready. "No, Hotaru; all clear...except for them," Makoto nods at the fallen
Niphentaxians now scattered around the room.
"Hey, where's Mie?!" Megane looks around.
Makoto turns sheet-white. "Mie?!! Where is she?!!"
"I think *Ashoi'cha's* over there," Hotaru calmly points at a pile of
wreckage where Mie is sitting.
Makoto freaks as she sees a hand sticking out from under the pile of
broken desks. "***MIE-CHAN!!!!!!***" she screams, leaping over to tear away
at the wreckage to get at her bond-mate. "Where are you?!! Speak to me!!!"
Lum blinks as she stares at Makoto, then looks at Hotaru, her mind
finally registering something the nurse said. "Wait!!! You just said
*ashoi'cha!!* That means...?!"
"Elder sister," Hotaru smiles, blushing.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone else exclaims.
By that time, the wreckage is cleared off Mie, who is unconscious on the
floor. "Mie...!" Makoto gasps as she gently reaches down to lift her fellow
Sagussan into her arms.
Hotaru gasps as she races over to administer aid...just as Mie bolts up,
belting Makoto over the head! "***YOU IDIOT!!!!!! WHAT IN BUDDHA'S NAME WAS
ALL THAT ABOUT, BUSTING IN HERE LIKE THAT?!?!?!***"
"Yep," Lum nods, realizing that if Mie did remember her past life, she
would call on Lyna. "It's amnesia, alright."
"I'm sorry," Makoto yelps, looking contrite. "I felt you being attacked
and I automatically responded!"
"Well, next time, control yourself...eh?!" Mie's voice drops to a squeak
as she takes a close look at Makoto.
The watchmistress essays a light smile at the amnesiac pilot. Mie then
blinks as she turns to see Hotaru kneeling beside her. "Wh-who are y-
you...?!" she fearfully stammers.
"Oh, you *de'ne!*" Hotaru sighs. "I'm your sister!"
Hearing that, Mie does the most logical thing: she faints! "She took
that better than I thought," Lum muses...
* * *
"Is she alright?!" Sakura wonders as Mie is brought into the nurse's
station by Makoto and Hotaru.
"She just passed out from the shock of seeing her girlfriend and her
sister again," Lum announces as she follows the watchmistress and the nurse
inside, her classmates right behind her. "I'm sure she'll be out of it soon."
"Sister...?" Sakura stares curiously at Hotaru, then at Makoto.
"Girlfriend?! Who are these people?!"
"They're Mie-chan's people," a voice speaks from the doorway.
Everyone turns to see Tamiko Seikou standing there. "What?!" Shinobu
blinks, still trying to comprehend what has just been revealed. "What are you
saying, Tamiko?! That Mie...?"
"Is from Sagussa," Makoto supplies.
"But how?!!" Megane demands. "She's just a normal girl!"
"A normal girl who can pilot starships, not to mention figure out how to
do time-warps, and is way stronger than even Shinobu?!" Ryuunosuke probes,
staring at her classmate.
Megane considers the point, then nods. "Okay, so she's not so normal!
How the heck can you say she's from your planet?!"
"Easy," Lum walks over to pull up Mie's skirt, showing the sequential
tattoo on the back of her thighs. "All of Noa-chan's people have these on the
back of their legs." Staring at the tattoo, she reads the number.
"*Daishi'cha* Three-thirty-seven." She then blinks in surprise. "*Tcha!*
That means Mie's over nine thousand years old, counting all her years in
cryogenic suspension."
"Nine thousand years old?!!" Shinobu gapes. "No way!!"
"Way," Hotaru nods. "I should know since I'm *Daishi'cha* Three-thirty-
eight. We were both retrieved by the Gatherer at the same time...actually,
not too far from here, if I remember correctly."
Everyone looks dazed as they try to assimilate Hotaru's revelation.
"Okay, okay, so that proves it!" Megane snarls. "So what the hell IS she
doing here anyway?! Is she a spy?!"
Lum looks incensed, as do Tamiko and Hotaru. "You care to repeat that,
*ki'shi?!!*" Makoto angrily growls as she grabs Megane by his shirt, her fist
cocked to send him flying to the moon.
The guards' leader sputters fearfully at the watchmistress' intense
gaze. "Tamiko-chan, did Mie-chan have amnesia when your parents found her?"
Lum stares at Mie's adopted sister.
"Uh-huh," Tamiko nods. "Mom and Dad found her in what they thought was
a lifepod off Tsushima. According to Mom, she had a really nasty concussion;
it took them a year to get her to be able to talk with some sense of normalcy.
After that, Mom and Dad just decided to adopt her as part of the family. It
was no big deal."
"Wow!" Momoe sighs. "Poor Mie."
"But how did Mie live all those years in Yame when her slowed aging
process would have indicated that she definitely wasn't from around the area?"
Koosei inquires.
"Hey, everyone knew she was a stranger," Tamiko shrugs. "Just because
she was from out of town...WAY out of town," she emphasizes, eliciting
snickers from everyone else, "...didn't mean that we wouldn't accept her. We
did. No one had any problems with it."
Everyone whistles as they take in what Tamiko said. At that moment, a
groan escapes Mie's lips. Everyone crowds around her as her eyes flutter
open. "Where am I...?"
"In the nurse's station, Mie," Sakura smiles. "You okay?"
"I think so," Mie moans as she sits up, then blinking, turns to stare at
Hotaru. "Wh-who are y-you...?" she stammers.
"I'm your sister," Hotaru blushes, then leans over to embrace Mie. "Oh,
*Ashoi'cha,* are you okay?!"
"I...I really have a sister...?!" Mie blinks, then growls. "Gee, I wish
someone who'll remain unnamed would've told me that!"
Her eyes focus on the door, where a contrite Noa now stands, a very
annoyed Ataru beside her. "Hi, Mie," the former waves.
Lum, Hotaru and Makoto then surround Noa. "You care to give me an
explanation as to why you kept information about Mie-chan away from me, Noa?!"
the watchmistress growls, cracking her knuckles.
"Considering she's my sister, I had just as much right to know, Noa!"
the nurse adds, icily eyeing the *ashi'cha*. "Don't forget, you've got a
physical coming up very soon!"
"And I'd like to know why you kept Mie's identity a secret from me in
the three months we've been together in the Dreamscape!" the Oni adds, a flash
of lightning dancing over her body.
Noa remains calm. "Do the words 'Non-Interference Directive' mean
anything to any of you?!" she gently inquires.
"What about it?!!" Hotaru demands. "Mie is my sister!! The instant she
was found, I should've been told right away!! She belongs back on Sagussa
with the rest of us, not here in this tomobiki!!!"
"And what about Mie's family?" Noa stares at Hotaru.
The nurse stops, then turns to see Tamiko standing beside Mie. "Did you
honestly believe that bringing Mie back to Sagussa," Noa inquires, "...IF she
WANTS to return to Sagussa, by the way...would have no affect on her sister,
her brother or her parents?!"
Hotaru falls silent, realizing that Noa has brought up a very important
point. "Mie is in the same situation as Ataru and Lum," Noa points out. "She
has obligations on Earth which bear as much weight as her obligations back on
Sagussa. They have to be respected, Hotaru. If we don't respect them, we're
just as bad as the people who instigated the Age of Gisan'cha!"
"I understand," the nurse bows.
"Hey, it's okay," Tamiko walks over to wrap an arm around Hotaru. "It's
kind of nice to have an extra sister pop out of the blue like that. Not to
mention Mie's lover," she gives Makoto an appraising glance. "Shoot, sis, you
got good taste, you know that?"
Makoto flushes as Mie scratches her head, chuckling. "I guess I
do...even if I don't remember how I did it!"
"Ah, that's no problem!" Hotaru walks over to her sister's side. "We
can fix that in about two seconds."
"*Satre'cha?*" Lum inquires.
Hotaru nods. Lum, Ataru, Koosei and Noa step out of the room. Makoto
turns to everyone else. "Okay, jerks...out!!! Tamiko-san can stay!! This is
a private affair!!"
"What's going on...?!" Sakura demands...
...before the others find themselves in a pile outside the nurse's
station, the door slamming shut behind them. "Geez, they didn't have to be so
rough!" Shinobu grunts.
"*Satre'cha* means 'the refusion,'" Lum explains, essaying a sympathetic
smile. "Mie-chan must've done *tre'cha* with Hotaru prior to her coming to
Earth. It's a very precise mind-meld. No one save family and bond-mates can
be present when this happens. Other people's minds will cloud up the memory
transfer."
"But why DID Mie come to Earth?!" Shinobu demands.
"No one's really sure, not even Hotaru," Noa sighs. "Mie performed
*tre'cha* just prior to our return to cryofreeze after Ataru was sent back to
Earth. The only time people do *tre'cha* is when they sense they could die.
It's a way of keeping one's *mei'na* alive, passing the memories and
experiences to the next generation. As for Mie, she never indicated to Hotaru
why she did it. By the time any of us realized what was going on, it was too
late; she was gone."
"And with her amnesia when her Gladiator crashed on Earth, I doubt the
story'll ever be known," Ataru adds.
"Poor Mie-chan," Lum sighs.
A startled cry emits from the nurse's station. Everyone gasps as they
run to the door, just as it opens to reveal Tamiko. "Tamiko, is Mie...?"
Shinobu hesitantly inquires.
"See for yourself," Tamiko smiles as she turns to indicate Mie, now in
Makoto's embrace, the two passionately embracing. Hotaru is nearby, quietly
putting her medical equipment away.
"Oh, how romantic!" Kumiko swoons.
"C'mon, everyone, let's leave them alone," Ataru tries to usher everyone
out the door...just as a violent rumble is heard from outside. "What the
hell's that?!"
"Did Oogi bring friends?!!" Mendou gulps.
Mie and Makoto break apart, annoyed looks crossing their faces. "Oh,
no...!" the former moans. "Don't tell me..."
"Afraid it is," the latter sighs.
An explosion rips apart the side of the nurse's station, knocking
everyone over save Hotaru, Mie and Makoto!! As the smoke clears, a lithe
silver-haired, crimson-eyed Tritonian-born woman in a black combat uniform
with platoon commander's rank on her shoulder, bearing enough weapons to
instigate World War Three, emerges. "MIE!!!!!!"
Mie and Makoto turn to the new arrival. "Um...hi, Oai-eieoei," the
former smiles.
Everyone quickly notices the icy glares Makoto is exchanging with the
newcomer. "Don't tell me, let me guess," Ataru groans. "She wants to be
Mie's bond-mate, too...right?!"
"By the looks of it," Lum rolls her eyes.
Sagussa's *daimon'cha* lowers his head. "Why couldn't it be something
simple...like a thermonuclear war?!" he grumbles...
* * *
To be continued...
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Mie's Story" Part 2
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
IN THE FIRST PART OF "MIE'S STORY," Mie dreams about a would-be bond-mate from
her homeworld, Sagussa. That person is *daishi'cha* #61558, Makoto, a
Yehisrite-born watchmistress from the First Sagussan Fleet who, having heard
that the woman she loves is still alive, comes to Earth alongside Mie's
sister, *daishi'cha* #338, Hotaru, a defence fleet nurse. Thanks to her
dreams, Mie is not in a pleasant mood, as Oogi discovers when the Niphentaxian
leader tries to talk Lum out of moving to Oshika. When Mie is nearly
overwhelmed by Oogi's guards, Makoto arrives and literally cleans house (like
Lufy, she is a former *pirpirsiw'r*). Mie faints when she sees Hotaru and
Makoto. Recovering in the nurse's station later, Mie is given her memories
back by Hotaru through *satre'cha* (the refusion). As everyone learns that
their classmate is a Sagussan, another, *daishi'cha* #10272, bursts in,
determined to make Mie her bond-mate...
**** **** ****
And with that...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
Makoto, Hotaru and the *daishi'cha* who came in just after the amnesiac
pilot had her memories returned, stand in room 337, their names and sequence
numbers written on the blackboard. "I'm Makoto, *daishi'cha* #61558 of the
First Sagussan Fleet," the first bows. "A pleasure to meet you all."
"I'm Hotaru, *daishi'cha* #338, *eii'sagh* of the Sagussan Fleet Medical
Unit," the second then bows. "Honoured. I'm very pleased to meet my sister's
friends and classmates."
"I am Reinoevan, *daishi'cha* #10272, first officer of Pathfinder Troop
Six," the third bows, her hands in a splayed-finger prayer. "I bid you all
peace, logic and harmony."
"Thank you," Koosei nods. "Now, will you kindly explain why you came
blasting in like that? I know you have no love for Tomobiki, but that still
doesn't excuse you from making a mess of this place."
"What did you expect?!" Makoto growls. "Mie was under attack by those
*kimei'ne* Niphentaxians! I defended my bond-mate!!"
Reinoevan looks very incensed. "YOUR bond-mate?!" she snarls, spinning
on Makoto. "*Ki'shi!!* You DARE presume she's YOURS?!?!"
"Well, I don't see Mie jumping your bones, *kide'ne!!*" Makoto snarls,
icily eyeing her rival. "Besides, when she recovered from *satre'cha,* she
kissed ME!!!! What're you going to do about that?!!"
The whole class trembles as the battle auras growing around Makoto and
Reinoevan eclipse the classroom. "*Tcha!*" Lum gasps. "Even Nassur-chan
would be scared of those battle auras!!"
"Ataru-kun, do something!" Shinobu pleads. "They're going to kill each
other and probably take the school and us with them!!"
"Hey, even the Cyborg and the *saikoo jinseijitsu* aren't crazy enough
to take on two Sagussans fighting over a bond-mate, especially if one used to
be a *pirpirsiw'r* and the other's a Pathfinder!" Ataru sheepishly shrugs.
"We're dead!!" Lan gulps.
After a moment, Makoto then slyly stares at Mie. "Mie-chan, it's me you
want, isn't it?" she coos, sliding onto the teacher's desk, her hand
unbuttoning her shirt.
"She's taking her clothes off!!!" Chibi exclaims.
"They BOTH are!!!" Kakugari moans.
Reinoevan is now slinking against the backboard, her combat jersey
undone, revealing everything she has. "Don't you want something a little more
sensual, Mie-chan?" she seductively purrs.
Mie is utterly enthralled. "Lyna's Soul, I never thought Rei loved Mie
THAT much!!" Hotaru gasps, her face turning a beautiful red as her powers
sense the psychic assault Makoto and Reinoevan are using on her sister in
concert with their impromptu strip show. "If I wasn't bonded to Setsuna, I'd
take them both!!"
"So would I!" Noa gasps, just as awed.
Suddenly, a transporter beam materializes between Mie and her would-be
lovers a tall, brunette Fukunokami woman dressed in a standard duty jumpsuit
with light green top, dark green pants and gold trim. "Alright, you sex-
kittens, that's enough!" she orders.
Makoto and Reinoevan are surprised. "Misato-i'sagh, what are you doing
here?!!" the latter demands.
"There's a sick woman here and I'm not going to permit you two horny
little vixens to have your way with her until I've verified her health,"
Misato growls. "So knock it off with the *mavan'shagh!*"
"Yes, I'sagh," both girls reluctantly nod, clearly disappointed.
Makoto and Reinoevan obediently dress. "I don't believe her!!"
Ryuunosuke blinks, awed by Misato's ability to handle the situation. "She
just told them to knock it off and they did! Who is she?! An executioner?!"
"Actually, she's a psychologist," Noa smiles.
An explosion occurs!! "A psychologist?!!" everyone exclaims.
"That's right," the *ashi'cha* nods. "You see, there's a very old
saying on Sagussa...*Igh te'a i'sagh.*"
"What's that mean?!" Shinobu stares at Lum.
"'Doctors ARE God,'" the Oni translates.
Pleased that Makoto and Reinoevan are controlling themselves, Misato
turns to see Mie passed out on the floor, blood draining from her nose, a
delirious look etched on the pilot's face. "Oh, my!" the psychologist
blushes. "I never thought those two would be THAT good when they tried to
seduce someone!"
* * *
As Misato, Hotaru and Sakura examine Mie in the nurse's station,
everyone relaxes in room 337. That is when Oogi staggers in, still bruised
and bleeding from Makoto's pounding him when she blasted into study hall to
save Mie. "Lum-sama...?" he moans.
"What's HE doing here?!!" Ataru demands, angered to see the Niphentaxian
president on Earth.
Startled by Ataru's voice, Oogi screams as he draws his katana, leaping
to the attack. Before he could get close, however, Makoto and Reinoevan jump
him. "BASTARD, HANDS OFF ATARU-SAMA!!!!!!"
Oogi then gets a further beating!! "Boy, those girls really are loyal
to Ataru, aren't they?!" Chibi whistles, awed by their devotion.
"Now I understand why Ataru has to go back to this place," Ryuunosuke
muses. "He's got to wean those girls from worshipping him like Oogi and his
pit of morons worship Lum!"
"Lum, were we EVER that bad?!" Megane stares at the Oni.
"Sometimes, you were worse," Lum sympathetically smiles. "But you were,
despite your libidos going out of control all the time, still my friends.
That's the difference between you and the likes of him," she then icily glares
at Oogi, now tied into an imitation pretzel.
The other boys blush. "Wh-where d-did you g-get s-such Amazons f-from,
y-you d-devil...?!" Oogi grunts as he tries to crawl toward Ataru, the
determination in his eyes still blazing.
"Actually, these lovely ladies found me," Ataru crosses his arms,
projecting a triumphant smile. "And with them, I'll finally be able to
eliminate all the other pains who're standing in the way of my marrying
Lum...and **you're** atop that list!!" he points at Oogi.
"***WHAT?!?!?!***" Oogi bolts to his feet, miraculously healed and very
angry. "You dare try to make war against the Holy Church of Lum?!!"
"I never WANTED a church in my name!!!" Lum barks.
Oogi then looks as if he had just been stabbed. "L-lum-s-sama...?!" he
glances fretfully at the Oni.
"Hey, that reminds me!" Lan snarls as she marches up to Oogi. "Who the
hell gave you the right to probe into MY personal diaries so you can write
your stupid holy book, anyway?!!"
"Yeah!!" Shinobu appears on the other side of the president. "And what
about the entries from MY diary?!!"
"And mine?!!" Mendou partially draws his katana.
"And ours?!!" the guards growl.
"I'm sure Oyuki, Benten and Nassur would be interested in how you got
their entries, too," Ataru adds, savouring the pain Oogi must now be feeling
at having his holy icons reject everything the Niphentaxians have constructed
in Lum's name. "Maybe I should ask one of you ladies to mind-probe this jerk
to find out," he stares at Noa.
"We'd be more than happy to," the *ashi'cha* beams.
"Who are you?!!" Oogi leaps over to seize Noa's hand. "How could this
devil of devils enthrall you so?! What magic has he spread over you to make
you support him in his quest to destroy Lum-sama, the Most Holy of Holies, the
Supreme Agent of Creation...?!!"
Makoto and Reinoevan pound him into okonomiyaki!!! "Bastard, **Ataru**
is the Supreme Agent of Creation!!!" the former snarls.
"Apologize to him for your insult!!!" the latter growls.
"Even Memory would back that assertion," Shinobu nods.
"True, true," Megane readily nods, remembering Dark Memory's words about
the matter in "Return of Memory."
"But you're totally wrong, sir," Noa projects a mirthless smile, shaking
her head. "You don't understand. We like Lum very much!"
"You do?!!" Oogi appears in front of her, again healed.
"How does he keep doing that?!!" Makoto demands. "He's more resilient
than we made Ataru!!"
"Of course we do," Noa beams. "Let me demonstrate. Lum!"
"Yes, Noa?!" the Oni flies up to the Sagussan.
Noa then sweeps Lum off her feet, swamping her with a very passionate
kiss. The whole class let out admiring whoops. Oogi looks ready to either
die of heart failure or kill. "***HOW DARE YOU FORCE YOURSELF ON THE GREAT
LUM-SAMA, YOU DISRESPECTFUL WENCH?!?!?!***"
Noa returns a dazed Lum to her feet. "Why, I have more right to do that
than you ever will!" she smiles.
Oogi spins on Mendou. "Mendou-sama, how could you permit that
disrespectful dyke to do that to Lum-sama?!!"
"Hey, it's none of my business what Lum does," Mendou hums, then draws
his katana, moving to make Oogi a head shorter. "And remember this, buster!!!
My bioroid sister is a lesbian and I don't take too kindly to the idea of
hearing people like her insulted!!!"
Oogi catches the blade between his hands. "Mendou-sama, how could you
accept that slave as being a part of your family?!!"
"***WHAT?!?!***" Mendou bellows. "You dare call Shutako-chan a slave?!!
NO Mendou has been, is, or will ever be a slave, not even if she is a
bioroid!!! Now apologize for your insult or else they'll be looking for a NEW
president on Phentax Two!!!"
Ataru blinks as he observes matters. Unlike Otako, herself possessed by
a cursed controlling orb which had been created by a friend of the Invaders
who then believed she had not been invited to Lum's baptism party, Oogi was
what he would term a moderate when it came to listening to orders from Lum or
any of her "holy company." Now either Oogi had undergone a radical conversion
or...
"Pistol!" he barks.
Reinoevan passes him a personal defence pistol. Everyone screams as
Ataru snap-aims and fires, the weapon at full power! Oogi is hit by the blast
in the chest, then literally falls apart into a blob of flesh-like gelatin.
People stare at what is left of the "president," then stare at Ataru. "I
thought as much," Ataru hands the pistol back to the pathfinder. "That wasn't
Oogi."
Makoto kneels, science tricorder in hand. "You're right, Ataru," she
hums as she takes a scan. "This is some sort of proto-life creature!"
"What's that?!" Shinobu exclaims.
"An allasomorphic biodroid which can make itself look like anything or
anyone on command," Lum explains. "I never thought the Niphentaxians advanced
that far in genetic engineering!"
"They probably stole it from the Avalonians," Makoto sighs. "The same
concept is used in creating solid bioroids; just throw in some extra
chromosomes and controlling proteins which de-stabilize the biodroid's cells
into becoming malleable on command."
"So Oogi's testing the waters," Megane muses.
"What do you mean, Aisuru?" Lum stares at the guards' leader.
"Lum, that thing just insinuated that there were Niphentaxian observers
on Earth," Megane reminds her. "Which means he must be now aware of what's
happening to you, not to mention all of us."
"We got our girlfriends," Paama adds.
"As have I my fiancee," Mendou grimly notes.
"Plus your leaving Tomobiki for Oshika," Shinobu stares at Lum. "He
probably even knows of Noa's arrival."
"Oh, wonderful," the Oni slaps her forehead.
"Lum, you've had your scanners attuned to sweeping Tomobiki for
Niphentaxian lifesigns since that incident with the Avalonians, haven't you?"
Noa curiously stares at her bond-mate.
"Yes! So's Lan!"
Lan nods. "What are you saying, Noa?" Shinobu wonders.
"I'm saying that whatever agents Oogi has here are the same type of
being as this delightful creature," the *ashi'cha* indicates the fallen
proto-life being. "Trained and obedient watchdogs who can't be detected by
life scanners unless they're specifically programmed to look for their type of
DNA...and until now, hidden because we never considered that they'd be here."
"Great!!" Megane snarls. "So how do we get rid of them...oh, no...!" a
horrorstruck look then crosses his face.
"What is it, Aisuru-kun?" Chibi stares at the guards' leader.
"What about Tan-chan?!!" Megane demands. "What will happen to her if
Oogi finds out that I'm dating her?!"
"She'll be probably assassinated," Lum warns. "Ditto with Sil, Aijooa,
Yasashii and Kenmei. After all, the one thing Oogi and his lunatics fear
above all others is our getting out of our so-called 'roles' within the
precepts of the Church of Lum."
Mendou and the guards faint! "ASSASSINATED?!?!?!"
"Relax," Ataru cuts in. "We can stop this."
"How?!!" Megane spins on his former classmate. "You can defend yourself
at least!! Tan-chan and the others can't!!!"
"They can be protected," Ataru calmly replies, then turns to Reinoevan.
"Rei, you said you were from a pathfinder troop, right?"
"Yes, sir," she nods.
"Where are your troop-mates?"
"Back on Sagussa, sir."
"Then what are they doing there?!" Ataru snaps. "I've got a job for
them! Get them down here...and I mean YESTERDAY!!!!"
"Yessir!!!" Reinoevan snaps a salute, then runs off.
Lum and Noa stare concernedly at Ataru. "You want to bring all of
Pathfinder Six here?!" the Oni stammers. "Darling, Priss is part of that
troop! She's just as bad as Lufy!!"
"Then let's bring Lufy, too!" Ataru shrugs. "Hell, let's get every
*pirpirsiw'r* on Sagussa down here if that'll do the trick!"
With that, he heads out. Lum and Noa moan. "Lyna's Soul, he sure
believes in overkill, doesn't he?" the *ashi'cha* muses. "'Bring all the
*pirpirsiw'r*,' he states. Does he realize how many that is?"
"Let's see," the Oni hums as she tries to remember names. "Lufy, Score,
Aminobishoojo, Priss, Angel, Kaori, Yookihi..."
* * *
"Well, you seem to be in pretty good shape for someone whose been
suffering from amnesia for twelve years," Misato muses as she pulls her hand
away from Mie's face. "At least the *satre'cha* was executed properly. No
trace of Hotaru's mind in yours."
"I'sagh!" Hotaru blushes at the doctor's unspoken compliment. "I am
trained in mental-restoration duties, remember?"
"Yes, you are," Misato sighs, smiling. "Well, you've got quite the
decision ahead of you, Mie. I don't envy your present position. I'll stay
here if you want some advice."
"Thanks, Misato," Mie nods.
Misato and Sakura then step out of the office to allow Mie to have a
chance to be alone with Hotaru. "What do you mean that Mie has a big choice
ahead of her?" the latter stares at the former.
"She has two options ahead of her," the psychologist sighs. "She can
elect to remain here on Earth with her adopted family. Or she can return to
Sagussa and resume her life as a *daishi'cha.*"
"I thought it would be an automatic choice," Sakura muses. "Returning
Mie to Sagussa."
"For us, it's a little different," Misato muses. "Mie was born here in
her previous existence, hence she can fit reasonably well on Earth. She has
in fact fitted quite well in Terran society, first in Yame with her family and
close friends, then here in Tomobiki. Her lifespan may present future
psychological problems when her family dies out before she physically ages
past twenty-five Earth years, but there are long-lived races living throughout
the local cluster."
"What if she returns to Sagussa?" Sakura inquires. "Given her piloting
skills, she has to belong to your defence force."
"She does," Misato nods. "She'll be welcome back, although knowing her
commanding officer, there will be an investigation as to why she came to Earth
twelve years ago. It's just a formality; she'll be let off the hook due to a
host of medical reasons, plus lack of hard evidence. Once she gets back into
the routine, not to mention obtaining a bond-mate, she'll be back into the
swing of things. In fact, Mie will possess quite an advantage over the rest
of us. She's been raised by a loving and caring family. We were all
programmed by two very highly advanced, sentient computers...which wasn't
enough since we never learned how to properly emote, hence our need to have
contact with Ataru twelve years ago. I can easily guess that her home will be
the warmest hearth for her future family on Sagussa."
"But the choice is hers, right?"
"Naturally," Misato nods. "Hotaru won't agree with me since she is
Mie's sister. Ditto with Makoto and Rei since they're in love with Mie and
can't see themselves moving to Earth just to be with her. And Lyna only knows
how Mie's family here would take to the idea of moving to Sagussa. But in the
end, it has to be Mie's decision."
"Poor girl," Sakura sighs. "She'll be hurt either way..."
* * *
At the end of the day, everyone streams out of Tomobiki High School for
home. Mie, Hotaru, Tamiko and Suzume walk out together, Makoto and Misato
trailing them. "Well, we might as well get you introduced to Mom and Dad,"
Mie stares at her twin sister.
"I hope our parents are ready for this," Suzume sighs, giving the
psychologist an appraising eye.
"My, you seem to be keen on some dirty thoughts," Misato hums, dressed
in civilian clothes so as to not draw attention to herself.
"Suzume-chan's always been a little too ecchi for my tastes," Tamiko
hums, then longingly stares at Misato. "But I can see what makes you so
attractive, Sensei."
"Sorry...already taken," Misato blushes.
"Pity," Tamiko muses.
"My, we should talk, eh, sis?!" Mie glares at Tamiko.
Hotaru laughs. Moments later, the group reaches the Seikou house. Mie
blinks as her powers sense other Sagussans inside. "Are you the only people
who came here?!" she quizzically stares at Hotaru and Makoto.
"Oh, no," Hotaru blushes. "We sent our shuttle back to pick up some
friends who wanted to see you."
"Right," Mie sighs. *You're playing dirty, sis!*
Just as they arrive, the door opens and Aminobishoojo looks out. "Well,
there you are!!!" the *pirpirsiw'r*-born armourer steps out to embrace Mie.
"Oh, it's so good to see you again, Mie!! C'mon in! Everyone's waiting for
you!!"
"Setsuna-chan!" Hotaru smiles as she sees her bond-mate, a tall green-
haired Oni who also works at the Fleet Medical Unit.
"Everyone's here, Hotaru!" Setsuna embraces Hotaru.
Mie stares at the living room, now decorated for a party. A banner
marked WELCOME HOME, MIE! in Japanese and Sagussan hangs from one wall. A
virtual feast lavishly prepared by Hotaru's and Setsuna's friends is laid out
on the table. In the middle of it, surrounded by a half-dozen *daishi'cha*
fashionably dressed in Terran clothes, are her parents, now enjoying the
company of Mie's countrywomen. "Hey, there's the guest of honour!" Usagi
leaps up, running over to embrace Mie. "It's so good to see you again, Mie!!
We missed you so much!"
"I wish I could reciprocate that," Mie blushes.
The Terran-born zoologist shrugs. "Understandable. Don't be sad,
though. If you do come back, you'll never be alone."
Hotaru shudders, a resentful look crossing her face at Usagi's comment.
Setsuna's hand steadies her. Mie glances briefly at her sister, realizing
that while Hotaru may be adamant on the idea of Mie going back to Sagussa, her
friends freely and happily acknowledged that Mie had a right to choose her own
destiny. "Well, since we're all here, we might as well dig in," Mie blushes.
The other Sagussans let out a cheer. "Hey, we're not all here yet!"
Setsuna declares. "Ataru-sama, Lum-san, Noa and Honey still have to come."
"Oh, I sent Luna out to find them," Usagi beams.
"She found us!!" Lum's voice calls out.
The *daishi'cha* emit squeals on seeing Ataru as he comes in with Lum,
Noa and Honey behind him. "Hi, guys," Mie walks over to embrace her friends.
"Some surprise party, eh?"
"Hotaru-chan must be going overboard trying to persuade you to come
back," Lum whispers as they embrace.
"She is, isn't she?" Mie hums, then shrugs. "Well, I can't wait to see
what Rei might have in mind when she shows up later."
"I don't envy you your decision, Mie," Ataru chuckles as he gets swamped
by Usagi's and Ami's embraces. "Ooof!! Hi, girls!"
"Hey, couldn't we invite some other guys around here?!" a blonde-haired
Vosian Mie recognizes as *daishi'cha* #86582, a warsuit pilot, inquires. "I
wouldn't mind getting started on my first kid!"
"What are you talking about, Minako?!" Usagi rubs her cheek against
Ataru's. "We got THE man right here!"
"Hey!!!" Lum threateningly growls. "If anyone's going to have Darling's
first child, it's going to be ME!!!!"
"Just kidding!" Usagi smirks, waving the angry Oni down.
Everyone laughs, then the Sagussans tense. "What is it?!" Lum looks
concerned.
"Just some more guests arriving," Hotaru announces as she opens the
door. "Hi, everyone! C'mon in!!"
The six members of Pathfinder Troop Six stream in, dressed in civilians
but visibly armed. *Really covering your bases this time, aren't you, sis?!*
Mie sighs as she greets everyone.
"Hey, hotshot, how's it going?!" a brown-haired Yehisrite with a musical
note tattoo on her cheek that Mie recognizes as *daishi'cha* #22860, comes up
to slap Mie in the back, nearly driving the hapless pilot to her knees. "I'm
Priss now. Nice to see you again!"
"Nice to see you too, Priss," Mie grunts as she knocks the kink out of
her back. "I see you're as friendly as ever."
Ataru walks over. "Which one of you is the commander?"
"I am, sir," a brunette Seishin woman stands at attention. "Troop
Commander Sylia, *daishi'cha* #76073, at your service."
"Good," Ataru nods, smiling. "Try not to drink too much tonight, girls.
I'll need all of you tomorrow morning if we're going to flush out all of
Oogi's little robot spies."
"Hey, we can take it," Priss laughs.
"Yeah!!" a brunette Fukunokami with her hair cut in flowing bangs to her
collars snorts. "You fight better drunk!"
"Up yours, Linna!" Priss threateningly growls as she moves to walk over
to join Makoto. "Why don't you pillow Nene there!"
"I think I will," Linna hums, scooping the red-haired Ellsian
communications expert. "C'mon, Nene!! Let's get physical!"
Everyone save Sylia laughs. A touch of annoyance is on the troop
commander's face, as if she personally does not approve of two of her troopers
being bond-mates. "Speaking of which, Rei," an Oni with strawberry-blonde
hair stares at Mie's would-be lover. "Care to cut a rug?"
"No, thanks, Asuka," Reinoevan dismisses her with a wave, a touch of
fear in her eyes. "I've got other things on my mind."
With that, she walks over to join Mie. Asukanoevan glares at her
troopmate with a mixture of anger and anguish. "Seems to me Rei's got someone
interested in her," Ataru whispers to Lum.
"*Tcha!*" the Oni nods, watching Asukanoevan place herself down beside
Minako and her bond-mate Rei, a brunette Aimaiyite who also is a warsuit
pilot. "By the looks of it, Rei doesn't seem too hot about letting Asuka get
at her. In fact, I'd swear that Rei's a little intimidated by Asuka."
"Sort of like the way Ataru was with you before the Spirit War, Lum,"
Noa notes. "I wonder why. I know Rei and Mie have been friends since Rei
became a *daishi'cha,* but I distinctly remember that Mie was always closer to
Makoto."
"Maybe Rei's trying to use Mie to get Asuka away from her," Honey hums,
then looks at Noa and Lum. "Then again, Sylia would agree to Rei and Mie
coming together. She doesn't like the idea of people under her command having
relationships with each other. Could get real messy if they get into a tight
spot and there'd be no one around for anyone to perform *tre'cha.*"
"True," Lum nods as the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it!!" Tamiko calls out as she opens the door, then smiles.
"Hi, everyone! C'mon in!! We're just getting started!"
Ataru and Lum turn to see a lot of their classmates stream in. Mendou
and the guards come with their girlfriends, Shinobu comes with Pamanba, Lan is
by herself and Ryuunosuke is with Nagisa. "What is SHE doing here?!" the Oni
threateningly growls, projecting a laser-like stare at Pamanba.
The Vosian fearfully leaps behind Shinobu. "Lum, will you cut it out?!"
Ataru's former girlfriend snaps. "Give Pamanba a chance!"
"Yeah, right!!" Lum snorts as she proceeds to sample the food.
"Boy, Lum can sure carry a grudge, can't she?!" Pamanba sighs.
"Give her time, Pamanba," Shinobu looks sympathetic, then blinks on
seeing the Sagussans. "Wow!! I didn't realize Mie had all these friends
waiting for her back on Sagussa!"
Everyone comes in to greet everyone else. People immediately come over
to try the food. "Wow, who cooked all this?!" Megane blinks on seeing the
variety of meats, soups and what look like potatoes.
"We all did," Setsuna walks up to refill her plate with strips of
broiled marinated meat similar to beef. "All of us know how to cook so we all
pitched in before we came here to throw the party. Try it!"
Guests quickly dig in, then file their way to the middle of the living
room where they join everyone else. People quickly notice the attention
Makoto and Reinoevan are trying to heap on Mie. "Don't you think that's a
little too dangerous this early in the game?" Ataru whispers to Misato.
"Mie's got to decide what to do with herself before she considers which one to
take as her bond-mate."
"Well, Hotaru's as headstrong as her sister, and she is quite determined
to bring Mie back to Sagussa," the psychologist notes, taking down a dish of
what looks like turkey meat.
Ataru shrugs, then nibbles away on his plate of yanbe-chagh mixed with
fried hogh-kyi. The Terrans, having been repulsed by the pungent odor the
fermented dish produces, stare as he enjoys the dish like it was ramen or
beefbowl. "He's actually eating that stuff?!" Shinobu gapes.
"His taste buds must've been wiped out when Lum tried to force him to
eat some of her early concoctions," Tanoshii muses.
"Hey, I heard that!" Lum growls.
Usagi then appears in front of Ataru, a plate of her personal yanbe-
chagh in hand. "Here, Ataru! Try mine!!"
"Oh, no you don't, Usagi!" Rei shoves the zoologist away. "Ataru-sama
gets to try mine first!!"
"Oh, yeah?!" Haruka, a tomboyish Terran-born biologist, shoves Rei away.
"Everyone knows my yanbe-chagh is the best on all Sagussa!"
"I can attest to that!" her bond-mate Michiru, a green-haired Oni
biologist, beams from nearby as she finishes her meal.
Promptly, everyone who brought their personal yanbe-chagh recipes launch
an argument as to who will get to serve their *daimon'cha* first. Everyone
not of Sagussa watch this in disbelief, some immediately reminded of the way
the Niphentaxians venerate Lum. "HOLD IT!!!!" Ataru barks.
The Sagussans freeze. Ataru takes samples from everyone's plates, stirs
them together, then consumes the mixed dish. "Excellent!" he declares,
smacking his lips.
"But you didn't...?!" Ami begins.
"Ami, I'm not going to play favourites with you girls!" Ataru shakes his
head. "Besides, I only started to eat this stuff when Lum began preparing it
before Noa arrived. Give me a while before I can judge who makes the best
food, even if I *want* to judge who makes the best! Is that okay?!"
The girls nod. "Now, instead of trying to out-do each other by currying
my favour, why don't you let the others sample your dishes and get their
opinions," Ataru suggests. "Rei, you give Usagi a sample. Haruka, give
Setsuna a taste of yours. C'mon, now..."
The *daishi'cha* do as he requests. Sure enough, compliments start to
fly as everyone approves of the other's dish. With that situation ended,
Ataru returns to the buffet table to refill his dish. Nearby, Pamanba watches
this, quite awed that Ataru could keep such control on these women. "You
know, I'd swear that Ataru was the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager with the
way these women act around him," she quietly mutters to Lan.
"He IS the Chosen One," the Seishin teen confirms.
"Eh?!!" Pamanba gasps, then drops her voice. "No way!"
"Oh, shoot, it was easy to figure out the way Koosei and Dakejinzou
behave around Darling," Lan mutters. "They're the only two alive today who've
ever walked the Voyager's decks, other thank Koruneko-san. But don't think
you can try to signal the Mikado to give him the news, much less anyone else.
You even think of trying it, you're bucking for a very early grave."
"I wouldn't," Pamanba shudders, warily eyeing Priss, Makoto and Ami.
"Our constitution states that no Vosian is to interfere in the affairs of the
Voyager or the Maidens. And with people like *them* protecting Ataru," she
notions to the three former *pirpirsiw'r,* "...even the Mikado would be out of
his mind if he tried to directly challenge either Ataru or Lum!"
"Since when has the Mikado ever obeyed your constitution?" Lan muses,
then shrugs. "Then again, you're right. Believe me, when certain people in
this galaxy learn what's coming to Darling, this part of space is going to be
very quiet from then on."
"People like Schwartz, Elle...but especially that trench-wave Oogi,"
Pamanba spits out the last name like a curse. "I was there when the
Niphentaxians dropped their bio-bomb on Lecashuto!"
"Was it really that bad?" Shinobu blinks.
The huntress looks down, tears in her eyes. "It was awful," Pamanba
declares. "Five million people killed just because the Mikado tried to have
one of Nassur's friends put to death. Old people, couples, even little
children clutching stuffed chichi bears..."
She stops, covering her eyes as she vividly remembers being part of the
graves unit which buried the dead. "I mean...even if they got the Mikado,
which they didn't, did they have to kill all those people, people who probably
never even heard of Nassur or Lum or Phentax Two?" Pamanba wonders, wiping her
face. "Who'll make Oogi answer for that sort of crime?! It's hideous!"
"Who'll make the Mikado answer for slaughtering three hundred thousand
colonists on Colony Seventy-one?" Lan counters. "It really depends on
people's perspective. This isn't a perfect galaxy."
"Nothing's perfect," Shinobu muses, then stares at Ataru, who is busy
chatting with Rei and Minako. "Not even paradise."
The others look. "S'funny," Lan hums.
"What is?" Pamanba stares at the Seishin teen.
"There's a legend on Uru about the Chosen One and the Maidens," Lan
muses. "It states that if the Maidens of Aruka...Noa and Honey...come back,
the Chosen One will come and salvage Uru from it's darkest hour."
"Vos has a similar legend," Pamanba nods. "It dates from Lecasur's
time. After a time of darkness and great evil, the Chosen One will come and
lead Vos into a time of peace and prosperity."
Shinobu glances again at Ataru. "I don't think the people who told
legends like that ever imagined this Chosen One to be a person like Ataru
Moroboshi," she snorts.
"Ridiculous, isn't it?!" Lan snickers.
The three women laugh. Ataru sneezes. Meanwhile, Mie separates herself
from the crowd, then proceeds to the front porch, inhaling deeply. Hotaru
steps out a moment later. "You okay, Mie?" the nurse looks concerned.
Mie flashes her an annoyed stare. "You played dirty, Hotaru."
"And if I did?!" Hotaru walks up to her, crossing her arms. "So?!! I
want my family to be made whole again! Outside of Setsuna, you're my family,
Mie! What in Lyna's name is wrong with that?!"
"Nothing, if I *was* alone these past twelve years," Mie admits.
"Mie, you don't belong here!" Hotaru pleads. You belong back home with
people who understand you, people who care for you!!"
"I've got them here, too," Mie reminds her. "My parents didn't have to
take me in when they found me twelve years ago. They did! Doesn't that
deserve some sort of respect?!"
"I..." Hotaru looks away, tears flowing down her face. "Mie, do you
have any idea what it's been like?!"
Mie sympathetically shakes her head. "All alone in that damn chamber
for twelve years," Hotaru gasps. "Wondering whether you were alive or dead!
You didn't even tell me why you did *tre'cha* with me...and when James told me
that you were nowhere to be found, I thought the worst! And that doesn't
mention what your disappearance did to Makoto! She just wanted to die! All
of us...Setsuna, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Minako, Haruka, Michiru and I...we had to
band together to prevent Makoto from killing herself. But there were times
when I felt as bad as she! There were times I wanted to die, when I thought
that you were dead and there was nothing left of you but the memories you gave
me..."
Her voice breaking, she spins around to embrace her sister. "Then we
found out you were alive," she sighs. "Finally, it was over. The Dream Time
wasn't a time of contemplation for us. It was a nightmare because you were
gone! Why, Mie?! Why did you go?!" She then shudders as sobs wrack her.
"Wh-why w-won't y-you c-come back...?!"
The nurse's voice breaks as she wails, tightly embracing the sister she
feared she would never see again. Mie stands there, sadness and confusion
storming on her face. *What possessed me to leave these people?! To leave my
own flesh-and-blood, the woman who would've died for me, all my friends...?!*
one part of her wonders.
*What of those who cared for you, a total stranger, when you came here
twelve years ago?* the other part calmly inquires. *Your father, your mother,
Tamiko, Suzume, all your friends? Don't they deserve some consideration for
all they've done for you?!*
Sighing, Mie shifts Hotaru away from her. "Hotaru?"
"Y-you're going to s-stay, aren't you...?" Hotaru hesitantly inquires,
looking away from her sister.
Smiling, Mie shifts Hotaru so they could stare eye-to-eye. "I don't
know, *Oshoi'cha,*" she calmly intones the Sagussan word for "younger sister."
"I have to find myself. I'm two people if you think about it. *Daishi'cha*
Three-thirty-seven and Mie Seikou. I've got to find my way back into becoming
one person again."
"I...I can understand that," Hotaru nods.
"Will you help me?"
Brightening, Hotaru yelps as she embraces Mie again. "Yes!!!"
Mie returns her embrace. Watching this from inside the home, Mie's
parents nod, then return to the party...
* * *
To be continued...
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Mie's Story" Part 3
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
IN THE SECOND PART OF "MIE'S STORY," the third *daishi'cha* introduces herself
as Reinoevan, a member of Pathfinder Troop Six. Makoto and Reinoevan are
avowed rivals for Mie's love, as both demonstrate by performing *mavan'shagh*
(psionic seduction) in front of the pilot. That is stopped by Misato, a
psychologist who came to Earth to examine Mie. It is revealed that "Oogi" is
a proto-life biodroid, an allasomorphic creature which can disguise itself as
anyone. Realizing the Niphentaxians are getting around Lum's prohibition
concerning spies to Tomobiki by using these creatures...and with Mendou and
the guards now with girlfriends, Sil, Tanoshii and the others are in dire
jeopardy...Ataru gets Reinoevan to summon her troopmates to Earth. Mie and
the others attend a reunion party at her house with friends Hotaru, Makoto and
Reinoevan bring to Earth to better persuade Mie to return to Sagussa. In
Misato's opinion (backed by Ataru), Mie has a choice: either return to
Sagussa or remain on Earth. Hotaru would prefer to have her sister return to
Sagussa, and confesses same to Mie later. Mie then explains that since
*satre'cha,* she has become two people: Mie Seikou and *daishi'cha* #337,
Terran and Sagussan. Hotaru agrees to help Mie find herself...
**** **** ****
And to that end...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
Mie's eyes open.
She smiles on seeing Makoto sleeping to one side of her and Reinoevan on
the other, a large blanket covering all three. Both were certainly determined
to exploit every chance at winning Mie's heart. Hotaru and Setsuna sleep in
another futon nearby. The other *daishi'cha* elected to sleep in the Seikou
home rather than crash aboard Pathfinder Troop Six's base ship, the warpsloop
"Kiboo'cha," now orbiting Earth. Twisting herself so that she could wrap an
arm around her would-be lovers, Mie stares out the window to view the sunrise.
The party, despite Hotaru's hidden agenda, had been wonderful. Of
course, the Terran guests had been ushered out before the ran-jugh...Sagussan
brandy...was brought out. More potent than Fukunokami super-vodka, one shot
would, according to Setsuna, have made a Terran drunk for a month. Mie
herself had three glasses. Very dry, akin to one of James Bond's martinis,
with a touch of peach. She would have to learn how to ferment the stuff.
By that time, Makoto and Rei are stirring. "'Morning," Mie smiles as
their eyes flutter open.
"Oh, 'morning," Makoto yawns as she stretches herself, then sits up.
"What time is it?"
"About six-thirty," Rei stares at a clock. "What time did Ataru want us
to meet him?"
"He said eight," Mie stands, walking over to nudge Hotaru and Setsuna.
"Up and at 'em, sleepy-heads! Let's get to work."
Both nurses moan. "Morning, already?" Hotaru yawns as she stretches
herself. "Lyna's Soul, how time flies."
"After nine thousand years in cryofreeze, it would for you," Setsuna
playfully growls as she yanks her bond-mate back into her embrace, then
overwhelms her with a kiss.
Mie quickly turns away as the two nurses become more passionate...then
jerks as Makoto and Rei give her very seductive stares. "Wh-what's w-with
th-that look?!" she stammers.
"You have to choose sooner or later, Mie-chan," Makoto purrs.
"Maybe we should help you choose," Rei smiles as she reaches over to
draw Mie back into bed...
* * *
Sometime later, the Sagussans come to Tomobiki High School. Despite
being in civilians, the weapons they bear quickly indicate their intention.
Misato, Usagi and Minako bring their sandpanthers Penpen, Luna and Artemis to
help in the search. Ataru is there waiting for them, as is Lum, who has been
given the day off to help flush out Oogi's spies. "We're all here, bright and
chipper!" Noa declares, flashing Ataru a mock salute. "Where to, boss?!"
"Darling and I discussed the matter last night," Lum smiles. "We
believe there'd be little cause for Oogi to send agents to Oshika since they
could be detected by Nokoko-chan, the Nendo-kata or Nicole's palace. Besides,
the more Darling's away from Tomobiki, the better the Niphentaxians like it."
"We'll give 'em an education on that point," Priss smiles.
Everyone laughs. "A team will go to Oshika and sweep it clear just in
case," Ataru muses. "Chances are, real Niphentaxians are there. Lum, Noa,
Honey and Mie will come with me. Sylia, you'll take charge of the others."
Makoto and Reinoevan blink, shocked that Mie was ordered to Oshika
without either of them. "Yes, sir," Sylia nods.
"And make it a clean sweep!" Lum insists. "If even one lives, it can
warn Oogi and who knows what'll happen then!"
"Right!!" the others nod.
"Except me," Ami holds up her hand.
"What's the problem, Ami?" Hotaru stares at the armourer.
"Mie's parents told me her Gladiator is now in an abandoned seaplane
hangar in Mitsushima on property her uncle owns," Ami announces. "I'm going
down there to see if it's salvageable."
Mie moans. Now her parents were in on the act! "Mie's Gladiator's
intact?!" Ataru blinks, surprised by that revelation, then turns to the pilot.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Well, I doubt it's flyable after it took a year-long dunk in the Sea of
Japan," Mie admits. "Besides, until Hotaru brought my memory back, I didn't
remember how to work the self-repair circuits, much less set an auto-distress
beacon to get help!"
"That would cause a problem," Lum admits.
"Okay, Ami, go ahead," Ataru nods.
The armourer nods, then heads off. "I'll bring some chonagh and chigh-
tagh for you later," Usagi calls out.
"Bring for two, Usagi-chan!" Ami calls back before heading off the
school grounds. "Ritsuko's coming down to help me!"
Misato flushes. "Ritsuko-chan's coming here?!" she gasps, then turns to
Usagi. "You let me handle her, Usagi-chan!!"
"No problem," the zoologist beams.
"Let's get the job done first!!" Ataru growls.
Usagi and Misato flush in embarrassment. Lum snickers. Due to the
unique closeness of the *daishi'cha,* some being together for thousands of
years in cryogenic suspension, what Ami did was easily understood. Ritsuko,
as well as being Misato's *marei'cha,* was Ami's *aiha'cha;* both were
armourers who specialized in Gladiator maintenance. Since Misato came alone
to Earth to examine Mie, Ami...like all the *daishi'cha* would loathe to be
anywhere for an unspecified period of time without their bond-mate...resolved
the problem by inviting Ritsuko to come work with her. Ritsuko would do the
same thing for Ami if Usagi was not around for her bond-mate.
The two groups separate, Lum's team heading to her scout for the trip to
Oshika. Sylia faces everyone else. "Okay, we'll work in pairs. Priss with
me, Makoto with Reinoevan, Asukanoevan with Usagi, Rei with Minako, Hotaru
with Setsuna, Haruka with Michiru, Nene with Linna. We'll split the town
according to the RSN case study manual on suppressing Tomobiki. Everyone
should be familiar with it. Let's go!"
The groups nod, heading off. Disappointment is clearly on the faces of
three of the *daishi'cha*...
* * *
"Why I get stuck with you is something I'll never understand!" Makoto
growls as she and Reinoevan walk down one side street, scanners and pistols
out. "Aren't you supposed to be Asuka's teammate?!"
"If you think I like this, think again!" Rei snarls. "Yes, I am Asuka's
teammate! But with Ami fixing Mie's Gladiator, Usagi needs a partner!"
"I'd prefer Usagi over you!!"
The Tritonian-born Pathfinder emits a barking laugh. "Sure! A ditzoid
ship driver with an equally ditzoid zoologist!! I'm sure you two would've
been pretty effective!"
The Yehisrite-born watchmistress growls. What was wrong with this
situation? Sure, Mie and Rei had known each other longer than the former knew
Makoto, but the Pathfinder had been empathically closer with her Oni-born
teammate, despite the very short time Rei and Asukanoevan had known the other
(as *daishi'cha* #95143, Asuka had been a Sagussan for a little over a
century). When the *daishi'cha* began discovering their emotions, it was
expected by many that the two would become bond-mates.
Deciding that physical confrontation would do no good...understandable
since Rei's fighting prowess impressed Lufy...Makoto switches tactics. "Well,
maybe I'm wrong. This morning was quite enjoyable."
Rei blinks. "It was, wasn't it? Maybe Mie would be interested in
making it a threesome."
Makoto blinks. All three women becoming *marei'cha,* forming a single
family group?! Was Mie prepared for that? And why was Rei so desperate to
get in Mie's good graces? "Could you and I ever get along?" she probes.
"If Mie can't make a choice, it may be the only way we could all be
happy," Rei admits, projecting a light smile. "After all, we're both
dedicated to making Mie happy."
*You're running away from something, Rei!* Makoto keeps her face
neutral. *And I'd swear on Lyna's grave in Tere'na-korgh that her name's
spelt A-S-U-K-A-N-O-E-V-A-N!* "Well, if Mie does want it, then I suppose we
could come to some sort of understanding," the watchmistress muses. "But what
about Asuka?"
The Pathfinder jolts, then scowls. "That's a low blow!"
"I've got a right to question your motives!" Makoto snarls. "If you
really loved Mie, I could understand that! In fact, I'd be willing to become
bond-mates with you since we both shared the same interest in Mie! But I have
this sneaking hunch that you're after her for some other reason!"
"What reason could that be?!" Rei muses.
"Simple! Twelve years ago, you and Asuka were pretty close, even if we
didn't then understand what it meant to love someone. Then almost right after
Mie disappears, you declare that you wanted to be Mie's bond-mate! Now, if
that doesn't smell like mouldy, rotten yanbe-chagh, I don't know what will!!"
"I'm entitled to change my mind. Maybe I didn't find Asuka attractive
anymore! And I don't!!"
"You certainly find her cooking attractive!" Makoto snarls. "Last
night, you totally demolished Asuka's bam-gi with salt-spiced chagh! A lot of
people wanted to try that, you know!"
"She's an excellent cook," Rei admits.
"And I remember that knitted sweater she made for you when you two were
Duty *Daishi'cha,*" Makoto probes further. "You never wore your duty jersey
after that, even taking that sweater into cryosleep when Linna and Nene took
your place!"
"It was the middle of winter!" Rei snaps. "James was working on the
heaters and I wasn't interested in getting pneumonia!!"
"Bullshit!" Makoto snaps, pointing accusingly at her. "You love Asuka
even now! I bet if she did *mavan'shagh* for you, you'd pillow her silly for
three hours afterward and forget Mie ever existed!! So what's the big deal?!
Trying to go for a two-in-one?!"
The Tritonian-born warrior's eyes flash as she spins on her. "What
makes you think I want to be with anyone else BUT Asuka?!!"
She gasps, realizing what she just admitted. Makoto blinks as she
lowers her hand. "So that's it," she hums. "It's because Asuka changed so
much after Ataru visited, right?"
Rei looks down, tears in her eyes. "Yes..."
Silence. Rei tries desperately to regain her self-discipline. Makoto
looks away, angry at herself. She heard of cases like this. While the
majority of *daishi'cha* had embraced the internal revelations Ataru's
presence provoked, there were some who actually were frightened by the storm
of emotions they found themselves capable of unleashing. People who were more
comfortable being more rational, in a mode akin to Fourth Republic Sagussans
in the wake of the Clone Wars, than empathic.
Makoto knew Asuka despite their different positions in the Sagussan
Navy. She was passionate, devoted to her troopmates...not to mention
dedicated to winning her teammate's love. Given that Rei was more comfortable
being in a rational mode of mind, Asuka's wild and free-spirited nature must
have hit her teammate like a cyclone. Rei really saw no other option than to
keep her would-be bond-mate at an emotional distance. And doing so was
tearing at her soul. She was desperate for any respite from Asuka...but at
the same time could not stand being parted from her!
"She has to know the truth," Makoto advises.
"And break her heart?" Rei wonders.
"You're already breaking her heart by chasing after Mie," Makoto warns.
"Besides, I wonder if you're prepared to live the rest of your life on Earth."
"What?!! What does that mean?!"
"It means that Mie may choose to stay here," Makoto warns. "She has a
family. Even Ataru believes that Mie has the right to make a choice. Then
again, if you did come to live here, you'll be apart from Asuka."
Rei winces. "What about Mie's family?!" she snaps. "She's a
*daishi'cha!* Her proper place is on Sagussa, not Earth!! I wouldn't abandon
the world that gave me a new life just to chase after someone who's so
unappreciative that she'd turn her back on Sagussa!!"
"Then how can you say you love Mie?" Makoto muses. "I want to love Mie.
Love means that I respect Mie's wishes. If she wishes to live on Earth
because she feels uncomfortable about returning to Sagussa, then I either
respect her wishes and consider living here, or else consider letting her go.
You really can't let her go because if you do, Asuka'll be all over you and
you'd have no place to run!"
They glare at each other. The Pathfinder shudders, realizing that the
watchmistress has her trapped and there is no way out. "There are days I
curse Ataru's coming to Sagussa, you know that," Rei finally sighs.
"Let Asuka know the truth," Makoto insists. "If she can't take it,
she'll look elsewhere. Or she'll conform into something you'd like. Don't
drag me and Mie into this! She's doesn't need this garbage!!"
The silence is punctuated by a beep emitting from Makoto's scanner. She
looks at it, blinking. "Shit, I just picked up something really strong!!
That direction!" she points down a side street.
"Confirmed," Rei looks at her scanner, then she nods. "Let's go!! We
have a job to do!"
They sprint down the street. A moment later, they stand before an
abandoned ramshackle home. "Two small communications devices and four
biodroids inside," Rei looks at her readings, then at Makoto. "How d'you want
to play this?"
"Straightforward," the watchmistress pulls out a stun grenade, arms it,
then tosses it through a window.
Passing students watch as a muffled explosion forces what appears to be
a normal Japanese family...father, mother, son and daughter...run out of the
home. Makoto and Rei shoot them down without so much as batting an eye!
"I'll go take care of the comm gear," Rei heads inside the house.
"Right," Makoto nods as she stares at what is left of the "family."
"You'd think fanatic jerks like the Niphentaxians would've come up with
something a little more challenging!"
* * *
In another part of town walk Asukanoevan, Usagi and Luna. The
Terran-born zoologist is unarmed, being the type who would normally eschew
weapons (and given her lackluster performance in "My Darlings United," has
little skill to use them despite being bond-mates with an armourer). The
Oni-born Pathfinder keeps an eye out as Usagi sweeps the area with a
tricorder. "Anything?" she glances at her partner.
"Nothing...wait!" Usagi yelps as she registers something. "A faint
reading in that direction!" she points down the street.
"Let's go!" Asuka snaps as she charges down the street.
Luna growls as she runs after the Pathfinder. "Hey, wait for me!!"
Usagi gasps.
Ahead, Asuka emits a growl. She needed to let off some steam before she
did something really stupid, like lose her temper in front of Rei. That would
blow any chance she had of making the Tritonian-born warrior her bond-mate.
What had made Rei so cold over the last dozen years?! True, she had been
friends with Mie for a long time, almost nine centuries, but that still did
not explain her sudden and intense desire for the long-missing pilot.
Everyone knew that Mie and Makoto were an item, had been even before Ataru
came. Asuka had not been pleased to hear that Mie was alive and well. It
made her troopmate more distant.
Turning a corner, Asuka sees Mendou sitting on a park bench passionately
kissing Sil. Annoyed, she then spins on Usagi as she catches up, then nearly
faints for lack of oxygen. "*De'ne,* you're reading that scanner wrong!!" she
snarls. "There's nothing here but Mendou and his girlfriend!"
Mendou and Sil look quizzically at the two Sagussans. "I'm sure one of
them's a biodroid," Usagi protests...
...but says nothing more as Luna emits a roar as she leaps at "Mendou."
Sil shrieks as the biodroid is mauled by the sandpanther, unable to defend
itself against claws which could rend solid steel like a knife punching
through hot butter! In a moment, what is left falls apart. Luna sniffs what
is left, then hungrily growls. "Good girl, Luna," Usagi smiles as she walks
up, stroking the sandpanther's fur. "Who knows what that thing could've done
if we didn't catch it!"
"I...I didn't even realize..." Sil stammers, eyes wide.
"You're lucky," Asuka pulls out her own scanner to confirm that Sil is
who she is, then slings her rifle. "Chances are we better look in on the
guards' girlfriends to make sure none of them are being bushwacked."
"Good point," Usagi nods, then bops Luna's head. "No, Luna! You can't
eat it! You'll get indigestion!"
An annoyed Luna glares at the zoologist, as if to say, "Can't I get
ANYTHING to eat around this place?!"
* * *
Sylia's team works throughout the morning sweeping Tomobiki clear of all
biodroids and wrecking their communication gear. By noon, the all-clear is
sounded as what is left of the biodroids is retrieved by the "Kiboo'cha's"
transporter and beamed to the back lawn of Tomobiki High School, joining the
biodroids who replicated Oogi and his guards. "Any news from Oshika?" the
Seishin-born Pathfinder inquires of Priss.
"All clear," Priss sighs as she pulls out a spheroid grenade-like
object. "Mie's on her way down."
Makoto brightens. Reinoevan looks nervous. An annoyed glare crosses
Asukanoevan's face. "Well, let's get this over with," Sylia stares at the
heaped pile of metamorphic flesh some distance away. "Clear out, everyone!"
Everyone backs away as Priss arms the baulximite flash-bomb. "Fire in
the hole!!!" she yells as she tosses the weapon into the pile of biodroids,
then leaps for cover.
The weapon explodes, disintegrating all solid matter within a five-metre
radius of the blast-point. The smoke quickly dissipates, leaving nothing
behind but a pile of ashes. Everyone sighs as they stare morbidly at the
remains of Oogi's spies. "So now what?" Setsuna inquires.
"We should send them back to Phentax Two," Minako proposes. "With a few
rigged grenades to go along with it."
"Did Ataru order that?!" Rei stares at her bond-mate.
"No, but we should be thinking a little more for ourselves," the Vosian-
born warsuit pilot muses. "Besides, if Oogi gets caught in the blast, who
knows what that'll do to the Church of Lum as a whole."
"Doesn't the Non-Interference Directive apply?" Michiru inquires.
"Hey, those *kimei'ne* fanatics are threatening OUR *daimon'cha* and his
Other!!" Nene growls.
The Oni-born biologist sighs, mock-slapping herself. "Oh, silly me! I
forgot about that!" she muses. "Of course it doesn't apply!! Whatever was I
thinking?!"
Everyone laughs. "Priss, you take care of the care package," Sylia
notions the pile of ashes.
"Right, boss," the Yehisrite-born Pathfinder smiles. "I'll give it some
extra special attention. After all, it IS a declaration of war! We gotta
make sure the Niphentaxians get the message!"
"Oooh, I can't wait!" Rei purrs...
* * *
Later that afternoon, Reinoevan walks into Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlour,
now dressed in a jeans and a beautiful home-knit sweater of grey, white and
black. "Mount Fuji, please," she calls out.
"Okay," Pamanba smiles as she proceeds to fill the order.
"Did you get those creepy things?" Shinobu wonders as Rei sits.
"Yep," the Tritonian-born Pathfinder sighs. "The town's as clean as a
whistle. We're sending the ashes back to Phentax Two, along with a few
grenades just to make sure Oogi gets the message."
"He better get the message," Pamanba snarls as she prepares the Mount
Fuji. "I wouldn't be surprised if after the rebels win, they try to drag Oogi
back to Vos for trial."
"Hasn't the Mikado tried that?" Rei wonders. "If he did, he'd score a
lot of points with folks on the homeworld."
"He tried," Pamanba admits as she places the Mount Fuji. "We sent a
regiment of Marines and a squadron of battleships to destroy Lumukyou in
retaliation. Unfortunately, the Niphentaxians have those System Destroyers
protecting their homeworld and inner colonies. No one knew about it until
they wiped out our fleet and slaughtered almost everyone aboard. We heard
that the few survivors, if they weren't executed, were made into slaves."
"Barbaric!" Shinobu spits out disgustingly. "I can see why Lum hates
them! They're animals!!"
"Every race has the potential for barbarism, Shinobu," Rei warns. "Even
my race. After all, we inherited all the beliefs and philosophy of the Fourth
Republic, so we or our descendants could easily revert."
"I've heard something about this War of Clone Rights," Shinobu hums.
"Was it really that bad?!"
"Five hundred years, ten billion dead," Rei reports.
Shinobu and Pamanba pale. "That's a joke, right?!" the Vosian huntress
fearfully squeaks.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Rei muses.
Pamanba shudders. "Boy, the Mikado would be nuts to try to attack Ataru
head on with you girls around."
"Don't worry," Rei smiles as she digs into her Mount Fuji. "We believe
in the subtle approach. Your former commander and his officers got a
demonstration of it sometime ago."
"That was you?!!" Shinobu blinks.
"Actually, it was Lufy," Rei reports. "She's a former *pirpirsiw'r*
like Makoto, Ami and Priss."
"Wait!" Shinobu hums as she remembers the gathering at the end of the
Spirit War. "Blonde hair, green streak in it, a star on her cheek, right?!"
"That's her," the Sagussan nods.
"You mean the Enchanting *Laqu'r* of Falcros?!" Pamanba blinks. "She
would've died about eight hundred years ago?!"
"Maybe," Rei shrugs. "Most of us don't remember our previous lives
after our bodies are regenerated in the matrix. There are some who do, but
it's all fragmented memories which remained after the *mei'na* of the previous
self has already fled the body. I have no memories of my old life. All that
I presently am first came into existence a millennia ago."
"Wow!" Shinobu whistles, feeling her arm. "You sure don't feel like a
zombie to me!"
"That's to be expected," Pamanba hums. "Most people who gave the
Maidens consideration knew right from the start that you'd have to be restored
to true life if you were to serve whatever planet you eventually settled."
"That'll have to be kept under the table," Shinobu muses. "The guys at
school are pretty antsy about the idea of you girls coming after Ataru-kun,
even if a lot of them now have girlfriends. They still can't accept that
Lum's going along with it."
"That's why we moved to get Lum's understanding and approval of it
before we approached Ataru," Rei explains. "We don't look at Lum as an enemy.
She's part of us because she's part of Ataru. We're a part of Ataru too, as
he is of us."
"Do you know that Noa was the one who arranged that?!" Shinobu inquires.
"She bonded Ataru-kun and Lum fourteen years ago."
Rei considers the point. "She did? Well, that's understandable. If I
was caught in that sort of situation, I'd've done the same thing. You could
confess that for all of us. We...weren't what you'd call competent in
expressing our emotions, much less trying to interpret others."
"Especially shielding yourselves from other people's emotions," Shinobu
muses. "Noa told me at the party last night that her encounter with Ataru-
kun, Lum and Nokoko was very painful."
"Understandable," Rei nods...then tenses.
"What is it?" Pamanba looks concerned.
The door opens and Asukanoevan steps in. The Oni-born warrior is
dressed in a fetching gold dress. "Hi," she smiles. "Triple-scoop
neapolitan, please."
"Right away," Pamanba smiles.
Shinobu looks at Asuka, then looks at Rei. The Tritonian-born warrior
stares at her teammate, a lustful hunger glowing deep in her eyes...metered
with something Shinobu suspects is a touch of intimidation. *Only time I ever
saw that was when Ataru-kun reacted to Lum prior to going to Icarus,* she
muses, quickly drawing a host of conclusions.
Asuka sits beside Rei, obviously doing her best not to let her libido
take control of her. "Sylia got orders from Ataru," the former announces.
"We're to stay in town until the Niphentaxian situation is considered secure.
We'll be living at the Toranoseishin Finance building."
"That's good," Rei nods, eating her Mount Fuji as Pamanba hands Asuka
her ice cream cone, then switches to Sagussan. "Igh'oghn nuni mei'ne, ipdagh
kyoghno saran-oe-mujoigh."
"What does that mean?!" Shinobu and Pamanba chorus.
"'When fanatics are blind, a thousand innocent people suffer their
wrath,'" Asuka translates. "It dates from the Clone Wars. The people who
initiated that conflict had no purpose beyond fighting for their cause. When
the government deprived them of the person they chose as their icon, they went
crazy..."
"And we have to undo that," Rei completes. "If Oogi is of the same
nature as the members of Tarun-Chong fourteen millennia ago, this battle's not
over yet."
Shinobu takes that in. "Ataru-kun would have to destroy Phentax Two
like he was forced to destroy Phentax Twelve."
"He destroyed a Niphentaxian colony?!" Pamanba gasps, then laughs.
"It's no wonder Oogi hates him. Ataru should have got a medal."
"He almost did," Shinobu confirms. "The people of Phentax Twelve
stumbled onto this bioroid production faculty and were using the products as
their slaves. Worse, they used a cursed crystal ball meant for Lum to control
the bioroids...the Avalonians. The crystal ball literally sucked the
life-energy out of the Niphentaxians living on Phentax Twelve. When Ataru-kun
destroyed the crystal ball to save Lum, he not only freed the Avalonians, he
killed every Niphentaxian on the planet...and to make sure that the curse
could never spread, he had to destroy Phentax Twelve itself. The rest of the
Galactic Federation understood that, according to Lum..."
"But Oogi never could," Pamanba concludes.
"Right," Shinobu nods.
As Ataru's former girlfriend and the Vosian huntress continue their
discussion, Asuka and Rei stare at the other. The former reaches to grasp the
latter's hand. Sensing the storm of emotions barely contained under Asuka's
skin, Rei bolts away. "No!!" she gasps, leaping back to put some distance
between her and her would-be bond-mate.
"Rei!" Asuka stares at her, standing. "Why are you running away?! You
know that Mie doesn't want anything to do with you!"
Shinobu and Pamanba quizzically stare at this scene, unsure as to what
happened. A mixture of pain and confusion is on Asuka's face. Rei's is
crossed by denial, pain and a touch of revulsion, all mixed with sadness.
"It's me you want, Rei," Asuka's voice lowers an octave as her hand reaches to
her dress. "Why are you chasing another's bond-mate when I'm around...?"
The clasp comes undone, Asuka's dress falling away to reveal nothing
underneath. Rei lets out a hoarse gasp as her teammate's mind then begins to
shed her psionic barriers. *Mavan'shagh.* Time of no secrets. The
uninhibited bearing of one's soul to another in the most erotic act a Sagussan
could perform. To Rei's psionic eyes, Asuka is not just a pretty sixteen year
old Oni, well-developed and highly exercised given her chosen profession.
Asuka is presently a glowing point of warm light. This image is a
visualization of her *mei'na,* the very core of her being, now freed from the
trappings of the flesh, exposed for all to see, touch, caress and meld. Rei's
*mei'na* automatically ignites, her own desires forcing her psi-barriers down
as she reach out to that icon of purity before her.
Sensing Rei's interest, Asuka's *mei'na* extends psionic tendrils,
metaphysical "hands" to grasp her target. Some intertwine with Rei's probes.
Others pass them, penetrating through the holes in Rei's defenses to integrate
with the Tritonian-born woman's own *mei'na.* Given time and Rei's
willingness to cooperate with Asuka, this process would form a *marei'cha*
bond, making them a couple in the eyes of their people.
"No!!!"
Asuka gasps as Rei brings her arms in an X-formation in front of her,
yanking away her psionic probes as her shields return to full strength,
effectively blinding her senses to Asuka's radiance. *Manuni'shagh.* Denial
of one's own intimate desires by denying the interest of others. The ultimate
slap in the face. But the exertion costs Rei all her strength; she collapses
to her knees, then passes out. "Rei!!!" Asuka gasps as she runs to her fallen
teammate's side, gently lifting the unconscious Rei onto her lap.
Shinobu blinks. Being psi-null, she does not comprehend what transpired
here. Pamanba had no choice in the matter. When Asuka stripped her shields,
her brainwave patterns became "visible" to the Vosian's tracking powers...and
by the sheer intensity of the Sagussan's mind, burned her own mind out. She
now lies on the floor, unconscious from the searing power of Asuka's mind, her
nose haemorrhaging. By that time, Rei's eyes are fluttering open. Asuka
glares at her, the betrayal and pain torquing her features. "Why?!" she
demands. "In Lyna's name, why?! Why?!! Why?!!"
Rei wants nothing else but to be left alone so she could try to put the
mess her own spirit in order. But Asuka would not back away. Retreat was not
in a Pathfinder's language. Then a friend's words come to her: "Let Asuka
know the truth. If she can't take it, she'll look elsewhere. Or she'll
change herself to conform into something you'd like..."
There was only one way to do that.
Asuka gasps as Rei relaxes all her guards, lowering them in her own
*mavan'shagh.* Anticipation crosses the former's face as she prepares to
drink from this heady ran-jugh, something she dreamt of for a century. And
this time, she will not be denied as her shields lower. Then, Asuka blinks as
thoughts and words come to her. Rei asking herself what was happening to the
person she cared for...
No.
Back then, they were Oai-eieoei and Uouiaioi'ii; they did not have names
when Ataru first visited. Like most *daishi'cha,* Asuka had drunk deeply from
the heady wine of uncontrolled emotions typical of a five-year old boy from
Earth, they becoming part of her soul. However, Rei only sipped from that
emotional bottle. While she did learn, as they all did, how to emote, she
kept her newfound knowledge in perspective. She liked being in control of
herself, using logic instead of venting her new emotions and potentially
losing command of the situation. After all, the warrior who lost all sense of
her situation soon became a dead warrior.
And Rei had lost all sense of what happened to Asuka.
Before Ataru's coming, Asuka had been as thoroughly analytical, as
rational as her teammate. Both had seriously discussed becoming bond-mates
long before they understood the emotion called love. But when Asuka's
mannerisms radically altered with the changes in her *mei'na,* Rei was
repulsed. To the latter, the woman she knew had ceased to exist, replaced by
this stranger with Asuka's face and voice, but with little else where it
really counted.
Which began Rei's interest in Mie. She was one of the first to learn of
the pilot's disappearance, as well as the *tre'cha* she performed with Hotaru
prior to her disappearance. Bombarded by an unrelenting Asuka, Rei sought a
place of refuge where she could still be in command of the situation. That
refuge was Mie. More precisely, the Mie which remained on Sagussa, hardly
changed by Ataru's appearance and the havoc he caused. With it, Rei's sanity
was kept intact...while her heart was cruelly divided between her past love of
Asuka and her present need for Mie.
"I didn't understand..." Asuka gasps, tightly embracing Rei.
Both stare at each other. "You became a stranger to me," Rei sniffs,
tears flowing down her cheeks. "The woman I was used to just disappeared
before my eyes..."
"I'm still here, Rei..."
"I know...and deep down, I hoped you'd come back..."
"I can't turn back the clock," Asuka admits.
Sadness crosses Rei's face as she nods. Makoto was right. She had been
unfair to many people, most of all herself. Asuka had deeply suffered, Mie
was confused and Makoto more than right to be angry. But Rei liked being the
way she was. It felt safe to her, as well as secure. How could she
accommodate Asuka? She could not. It would just produce more pain and
misery. "Nothing can go further from this," she looks away.
Asuka blinks, then tilts Rei's head back so they could stare into the
other's eyes. "Wanna bet?"
"Wha...?!" Rei gasps, but her voice is cut off as Asuka's lips caress
her teammate's...no!
Bond-mate's.
It had happened.
They stare at each other. "If you can accept me the way I am now,"
Asuka smiles. "I can more than accept you."
Rei shudders, sobs bursting from her lungs as she fiercely embraces
Asuka. The one who had stood by her for a century. The one who had never
given up on her dreams of winning Rei's love. And Rei did love Asuka. She
always had. There were parts of Asuka which intimidated, frightened her
bond-mate, but everyone was unique. Such was the way of the Universe. How
could you deny reality? Rei continues to cry as Asuka rocks her body,
soothing Rei with a soft mantra. "It's okay...it's okay...it's okay..."
Finally, Rei looks up, then places her hands on the other's cheek.
Since their minds automatically bonded when both performed *mavan'shagh* with
the other unshielded, there was no need for an additional mind-meld.
"Do vanan'cha...marei'cha-Asuka."
Asuka sniffs as she duplicate's Rei's actions.
"Do vanan'cha...marei'cha-Rei."
They kiss...
* * *
Several minutes later, a happy couple departs Shapiro's Ice Cream
Parlour, hand-in-hand. Shinobu remains in place, confusion etched on her
face. Something incredible had happened, but she had no idea what it was. Of
all the strange oddities she had encountered since Lum's arrival, this had to
be the oddest! "What do you think happened, Pamanba...?!" she turns to stare
at her friend...then blinks on not seeing her. "Pamanba?! Where are you?!"
She sees Pamanba slowly recovering, her skin pale from loss of blood,
clothes now stained red. "Pamanba!!!" Shinobu shrieks as she leaps to her
friend's side. "What happened?!!"
Pamanba yelps as Shinobu's words crash into her eardrums. "Ouch!!
Don't shout so loud, Shinobu! Lecasur's Soul, did someone get the number of
those asteroids that hit me?!"
Shinobu blinks, then stares out the window where Asuka and Rei had
gone...
* * *
To be continued...
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) For those of you now probably wondering, Sagussan uniforms are colour-
coded according to the wearer's mission task. The uniform is divided into
primary (blazer), secondary (pants) and tertiary (trimming) colours.
2) More Sagussan numbers: 10 = o, 100 = oa, 1000 = oe, 10000 = oai, 100000
= ou. Multiples of these, add the single numbers before the multiple, i.e. 50
= ui-o. To simplify matters when calling a *daishi'cha* by number when a zero
appears, the higher numbers are used. Reinoevan (*daishi'cha* #10272) would
be called "Oai-eieoei" (literally "ten thousand, two-seven-two").
4) And yet some more Sagussan terms:
igh - Equivalent of "to be."
I'sagh - Term applied to all healers.
Eii'sagh - Term applied to all nurses.
Do vanan'cha - The oath of bonding.
And Sagussan foods and drinks:
pyogh - Common grain, similar to barley
kyi - Grain, similar to wheat
chagh - Generic term for vegetables
ku - Generic term for soup
gi - Generic term for meat
chigh - Generic term for fruit
cho - Generic term for dairy products
tagh - Generic term for non-alcoholic beverages
jugh - Generic term for alcoholic beverages
hogh-kyi - Noodles
chonagh - Cheese
kamchagh - Potatoes
yanbe-chagh - A fermented, spicy vegetable side dish
karugh-kalghku - Stormwalker rib soup
karugh-gi - Stormwalker meat, usually broiled
bam-gi - Nightlizard meat, usually boiled
torghsu-gi - Airdevil meat, also usually broiled
hogh-kyi-giku - Meat and noodle soup
pyogh-giku - Meat and grain soup
chigh-tagh - Fruit juice
karugh-chotagh - Stormwalker milk
ran-jugh - Sagussan brandy
**** **** ****
And without further adieu...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
"Mie..." a sultry voice calls out.
Mie Seikou's eyes flutter open. "Who...?"
Her eyes widen as she finds herself nude, floating in the middle of
space over some barren, desert world. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees
the flat disk of the Milky Way galaxy. By all rights, she should be dead.
She then feels...a presence. Just like the time of the Spirit War, when she
encountered Noa and her friends. Flipping around, she lets out a gasp. "Who
are you?"
Nearby her, also nude, is another woman. Her brown hair tied in a
ponytail, her suntanned skin unmarked save for the Sagussan numbers 61558 on
the back of her thighs, as well as a heart and lightning bolt tattoo on her
right cheek, she is a tall, statuesque beauty who would melt anyone's heart.
Haunting green eyes, even more entrancing than Lum's, focus on her as a serene
smile crosses her face. "Come to me, my love," she coos. "Now, we shall be
together."
Mie's hormones go into instant overdrive as she drinks in all the
details, then with a gentle push of her legs, she floats into her bond-mate's
arms. "How?" she gasps.
"True love, although you've forgotten it for twelve years," the other
purrs, her body and mind assaulting Mie from every direction...
* * *
...as Mie's eyes snap open. "Wait!!" she bolts up.
Panting, the Sagussan-born Kyushu native pushes the sheets back as she
looks outside. Full moon. Terrific. The first detailed dream she had about
her homeworld since her coming to Earth, and she had to wake up before her
seducer could identify herself. At least her sequential number was clear to
her, so when the time came, she could reunite with her.
That is, if she decided to return home...
* * *
"'Morning, everyone!!" Lum calls out as she walks into Shapiro's Ice
Cream Parlour.
"Good morning, Lum," Abraham Shapiro smiles as he brings up a banana
split. "How are you this morning?"
"Oh, fine," the Oni sits down at the counter, placing her lunch on the
table. "Last few days, then it's off to Oshika for me!"
"You must be happy, Lum-san," Pamanba warily smiles.
Lum glares at the former Mikado hunter, still somewhat angry that
Pamanba had tried to kill her and her classmates one day. One stun shot from
the Vosian ruined one of Lum's sailor suits. However, she was mollified by
Pamanba's decision to desert the Mikado, which became permanent when Lufy
slaughtered her superiors later at Noa's instigation. "I'm still keeping an
eye on you, Pamanba!" she snarls.
"Lum!!" Shinobu sighs. "Give it a rest!! Pamanba had no choice! It
was either fight Nassur-kun or be killed!" She then takes a whiff. "And
what's that awful smell?!"
"Oh, that's this stuff," Lum reaches into her bag and pulls out a
covered dish full of fermented vegetables in spicy sauce.
The smell drives Shinobu to her knees. "Ugh! What IS that?!"
"Yanbe-chagh," Lum smiles, replacing the dish in her bag. "Sagussan
kimch'i. It's always eaten with every meal. Want some?"
"No, thank you!!" Shinobu blanches, pinching her nose. "Gods, who
taught you how to make that garbage?!"
"Garbage?!" Lum snarls. "This stuff is very traditional on Sagussa. Do
you know how much Darling likes this stuff?! He ate a whole jarfull of my
first batch! I have to beat Honey back with a stick to make sure she doesn't
clean out the rest!!"
"Well, he puts anything into his mouth," Shinobu sighs.
"I'll let that comment go," Lum returns to her banana split.
"Interesting start to the day," Shapiro hums.
The door opens, allowing the guards and their girlfriends to step
inside. Pamanba quickly fills their orders, then welcomes Mendou and Sil as
they come in. "'Morning, Lum-chan!" Sil smiles.
"Hi, Sil-chan, Shutaro," Lum beams.
Tomobiki's newest couple sit in a private booth. "So it's really
happened," Shinobu stares at them. "They fell in love."
"That's good," Lum smiles, finishing her split, then opening her dish of
yanbe-chagh. "I just wonder how Shutaro's parents are going to take it. They
want him to marry Asuka-chan."
"With her expecting a child with Osooko?" Shinobu blinks.
"I know," Lum snickers. "And with Tobimaro and Ryooko poised to marry
Yuukiki and Reigi, there's no way out for their parents."
"Well, I guess peace won't come soon for them."
"Who says peace has to come via marriage?" Lum shrugs.
The door then opens as Mie walks in. Everyone turns to stare at the
Kyushu native...she had returned from her trip to Yame...then quickly turn
away, seeing the hungry, vicious look on her face. She walks up to the
counter, then sits beside Lum. The Oni essays a friendly smile. "H-hi,
Mie-chan. You're looking okay."
Mie evenly stares at Lum, then seeing the yanbe-chagh, grabs two
chopsticks, then dips into the dish. Everyone watches as she demolishes what
is left in the proverbial blink of an eye! "She's got to have a cast-iron
stomach if she can swallow that!!" Shinobu gasps.
"Hey, that's my snack!" Lum cries out.
"Delicious," Mie mutters as she hands the bowl back.
Lum stares at the empty bowl. "Um...glad you liked it."
Mie then stares at Pamanba. "Hey, you!!! C'mere!!!"
"Can I help you?" the Vosian walks up to her...
...then before anyone could react, is caught in an arm-lock, Mie
applying brutal pressure to Pamanba's shoulder. "I just heard what you did to
Lum-chan while I was down with the cold!!" the Kyushu native lowers her voice
to a gutteral whisper. "I don't like it when my friends get hurt! You better
thank what lucky stars you have that I wasn't there that day, because if I
was..." she takes a knife and gently traces it across Pamanba's throat,
"...you'd've had no chance to dessert from your friends!! Don't do it
again!!"
She lets Pamanba go, then pulls out a sandwich and begins to eat it.
The former huntress quickly scrambles away, putting as much distance between
her and Mie as possible. Everyone stares at Mie, including Shapiro. Of all
of Lum's classmates, this one was the oddest of the lot, for to the Vosian
observer, she was completely shrouded by riddles and mystery.
Everyone said she was just a hick country girl from Kyushu, the first
woman ever to truly befriend Ataru Moroboshi shortly after she arrived in
Tomobiki. That was just part of the story. Rumour had it that Mie was also a
crack pilot, having helmed the "Renegade" on a couple of missions, as well as
was involved in the Shingetsu disaster and the Spirit War. She was
overprotective of Lum, keeping the Oni free of the influences of her
classmates. If you were on Mie's good side, fine. If you were on her bad
side, you were courting a lengthy stay in a hospital; her fighting prowess, as
she just demonstrated, easily put her in Nassur's category.
"Mie, are you okay?" Lum gently prods.
Mie sighs. "No, I'm not fine," she leans on her elbows. "I haven't
been feeling well since I got back from Yame."
"Catch a cold again?"
"Nyaa!" Mie shakes her head. "Just a strange dream I keep having since
I returned from there."
"Dream!" Lum looks very concerned. Dreams she had about Noa, the
Sagussans and the Cyborg version of Ataru heralded the coming of the Spirit
War. "Nothing bad, I hope."
"Actually, they're okay...just damn mysterious," Mie muses. "Some girl
tries to seduce me, saying we're going to be back together again soon...but I
always wake up before I hear her name."
"Well, I hope she's a pretty girl," Lum smiles.
"Oh, that she is!" Mie chortles, deciding that Lum had heard enough for
now. Although she had long sensed Lum's growing knowledge of Sagussa...which
had to have started when Noa and her friends had come down the day of the
Spirit War...Mie had hesitated on telling her friend the truth about herself.
Partially, because Mie feared losing Lum's friendship. She really had no idea
how Lum would take the impending approach of Ataru's destiny; she had never
psi-probed Lum deep enough to learn that answer.
Also, Mie's own amnesia kept her tongue still. Mie Seikou was the type
of girl who, when she opened up, gave it to people honestly and forthrightly.
It galled her that it took the Sagussans twelve years to catch up with her.
Did they think she was dead? Did her bond-mate think she was dead? Did Mie
really have a home?
"Hey, Mie-chan!" Lum's voice cuts through her thoughts.
"What is it, Lum-chan?" Mie blinks, staring at the Oni.
"Boy, you're really out of it today," Lum looks concerned. "Do you want
to see Sakura-sensei or Ashin-san?"
"No, I'll be fine," Mie shakes her head, stretching herself. "I always
have Mom and all her herbal cures to go back to."
"Well, that's good," Lum sighs. "But remember one thing."
"What?"
"I want to be your second at your handfasting!"
Mie nods, smiling. "Deal!"
Everyone laughs...
* * *
"How did you finagle Lufy and Catty into taking our place as the Duty
*Daishi'cha?!*" Hotaru quizzically demands as she relaxes in the shipmistress'
chair of Warpshuttle 100, the image of Earth growing before them as they sweep
into orbit.
Makoto sighs, powering back the impulse drive as she looks back. "They
felt guilty because they didn't say anything about Mie being alive in the
first place," the Yehisrite-born First Fleet watchmistress growls. "I can't
believe Noa! How dare she say nothing about Mie living all these years on
Earth, especially to me?! I've just as much right to know about your twin
sister as you do!"
"They were probably afraid that Reinoevan would find out," Hotaru
explains. Save for being physically a year younger thanks to cryogenic
suspension as well as having raven-black hair, the Terran-born defence force
nurse would be an exact physical double of Mie. "And I suppose I'm glad for
it. I want you to be *Ashoi'cha's marei'cha,* not Rei!"
Makoto blushes at her watchmate's comment. "Thanks, Hotaru.
C'mon...let's boogie it down. I've waited twelve years for this!"
The two head off the bridge...
* * *
Students happily stream toward Tomobiki High School as the
fourth-to-last day in the term begins. Exams are finished and the college
entrance rolls have been posted for September commencement, many are already
looking forward to a final bout of cram school before continuing their
education elsewhere. Nostalgia is in the air as people look around, wondering
when next they would see this place. Lum and Mie walk up together. "So when
did Supersnob get a hold of his latest little squeeze?" the Kyushu native
inquires.
"Oh, you were down south when Sil came by," the Oni smiles. "She came
to ask me to become Uru's empress!"
Mie faints! "What?!! What did you say?!"
"I told her to stuff it and leave me alone!" Lum snorts. "I've got
other ideas about how I want my life to unfold!"
"Good for you, Lum-chan!" Mie sighs, then a lost look crosses her face.
"I wish I knew what was going to happen to me next."
"Don't give up hope, Mie-chan," Lum looks sympathetic. "If you want,
come move up and live with Darling and I!"
"We'll consider it," Mie smiles. *If we don't all move to Sagussa
first,* she mentally adds.
A hoverscooter is heard, followed by the flap of wings. "Hi, Lum-chan!
Hi, Mie-onee-chan!!" Ten-chan's voice calls out.
The two turn to see Ten-chan lower his hoverscooter to the ground.
Landing beside him is Alphonse, Noa's sandpanther. "Hi, Ten-chan," Lum
smiles. "Making sure Alphonse gets some exercise?!"
"Uh-huh!" the young Oni smiles, floating up to his cousin's eye level.
"Noa-onee-chan said I can keep an eye on him down here while you're still
waiting to move up north to be with Ataru."
"Oh, that's good," Lum smiles, then blinks. "Eh?!"
Delighted purrs echo from Alphonse's lips as Mie rubs her face into the
fleshy part of the sandpanther's neck. The two Onis stare at this curious
scene as Mie straightens herself, letting out a sigh. "Ah, fuzz therapy!" the
Kyushu native hums. "Always works!"
She heads into the school. "Is she okay?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum.
"I've never seen Mie-onee-chan act like that before!"
"She's been having bad dreams lately," a pensive look crosses Lum's
face. Why did Mie's actions with Alphonse look so familiar? Noa and Honey
acted the same way with the sandpanther; she had seen it a half-dozen times
since they came to stay with Ataru. Mie would not know how to do
that...unless she was...
"Are you okay?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum.
Lum blinks, looking at her cousin. "You know something, Ten-chan. I
just had the weirdest feeling about Mie-chan."
"What was that?"
"That's she's a *daishi'cha!*"
Alphonse growls an affirmative response; he knew a Sagussan when he
smelt one, especially one who could rub her face against his fur like that!
"Mie-onee-chan a Sagussan?!" Ten-chan stares at Lum. "First of all, what
would she be doing here?! All of them should be still on Sagussa except
Noa-onee-chan and Honey-onee-chan!"
Lum hums. "That should be true, but I did hear a rumour in the
Dreamscape one day about one of the *daishi'cha* having been missing twelve
years ago, just after Darling visited Sagussa. I never thought about that
until now, to be honest with you."
"Twelve years ago?!" Ten-chan blinks. "Oh, brother, if she's got family
back there, they must be worried sick about her!"
"True," Lum nods. "And Mie's not the type to abandon people like that.
Something's wrong here. I better find out what it is."
"Should I tell Noa-onee-chan?" Ten-chan inquires.
"Yes," Lum nods. "Darling, too."
"Right! C'mon, Alphonse!!"
Ten-chan and Alphonse take off for the Moroboshi home. Lum stares at
the school and the living mystery now inside. If Mie was a *daishi'cha,* the
proof would be on the back of her thighs, hidden by her skirt: a sequential
tattoo composed of Sagussan numbers. James, the Chamber of Eternity's central
computer, did that so that he could quickly identify the *daishi'cha* since
there were so many of them.
But if Mie was really a Sagussan, what was she doing on Earth?...unless
she did not remember who and what she was. Amnesia was a possibility; Mie was
an honest person with her close friends, especially Lum. It went totally
against her nature to keep a secret like that. If so, help was needed right
away. If Mie's dreams hinted that she had a bond-mate waiting for her back
home, Lum had no idea what could happen...
* * *
"Well, here we are!" Makoto smiles after she and Hotaru had beamed down
in a back alley some distance from Tomobiki High School, carrying backpacks
filled with emergency gear. Makoto also had a bandage covering her tattoo.
"Let's go find Mie!"
"Right!" Hotaru looks down at herself, clearly displeased. Both are now
dressed in blue jeans and heavy plaid shirts in lieu of their duty uniforms.
"Lyna's Soul, I look ridiculous in this thing! How could *Ashoi'cha*
recognize me when I'm in this?! If Setsuna saw me dressed like this, I'd die
of embarrassment!!"
"Hey, do you think I like wearing this?!" Makoto points at her bandaged
tattoo. "Besides, if we showed up in uniforms, every spy in this dump'd
recognize us and who knows what'd happen to Ataru-sama!"
"True," Hotaru sighs. "Let's go find her!! I'm as nervous as a long-
tailed sandpanther in a room full of rocking chairs!"
"Okay, okay!" Makoto nods as the two head down a street. They are quick
to notice the last few students racing off toward school. "Hey, those're the
uniforms Lum-san's schoolmates wear," she points. "Let's follow them!"
Hotaru nods...then both jolt as a frightened scream echoes from behind
them. They spin around to see Ayanba Onsen fearfully staring at them, her
eyes wide with confusion and horror. "Wh-what s-sort of n-no-waves a-are
y-you...?!" the former Most Perfect stammers, pointing warily at the two
Sagussans.
Hotaru and Makoto stare at the Vosian, then at each other. "Makoto, you
don't suppose this could be one of those spies who tried to hurt the Other
sometime ago?" the nurse inquires.
"Maybe," Makoto growls, icily eyeing Ayanba.
"Get away from me, you devils!!!" she races away.
The Sagussans stare quizzically at each other, then shrug and head off
toward Tomobiki High School...
* * *
"Why couldn't they just allow us to stay home instead of making us come
to school right up to graduation?" Shinobu yawns as everyone gathers in study
hall.
"Well, at least we can relax now that exams are done," Momoe stretches
herself, then stares at Mie, at a table by herself, a turbulent look on her
face. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she stares at her classmates. "What's
with Mie?"
"Who knows," Paama warily eyes the Kyushu native. "She's been grumpy
all morning."
"You should've seen what she almost did to Pamanba," Shinobu shudders.
"I'm glad that Mie wasn't around when Pamanba came into class that day. She
would've been carted out in a coffin."
"I guess she must be feeling lonely now that Lum is heading up to
Ataru," Kumiko muses.
Lum flies in at that time. "Mie-chan!" she calls out.
Mie brightens up a bit, giving the Oni a faint wave as Lum lands in
front of her. "Something *is* wrong!" Natsuko hisses. "Mie's always more
emotional when she greets Lum!"
"I hope Lum finds out what's going on soon," Kakugari gulps. "At her
worst, Mie's more vicious than Ataru as the Cyborg!"
A teleport beam interrupts their thoughts as a familiar form dressed in
a silver school uniform, a tiger-striped cummerbund around his waist, appears
beside Lum! In a flash, he takes the Oni's hand in his own. "Lum-sama, is
this true?!" he demands.
Shocked, Lum lets go with a violent blast of lightning! When she
catches her breath, she then looks enraged. "Oogi?!! What are you doing back
here?!! I thought I told you to stay on Phentax Two!!"
"Oh, what's HE doing here?!" Shinobu's eyes roll.
The Niphentaxian president shrinks back, staring Lum in the eye. "Is
this true, Lum-sama?! My observers report that you are now planning to leave
the Holy City to live with the Great Evil!! How could you allow him to
deceive you like that?!!"
"Look, stupid, for the last time, Darling is NOT evil!!" she snarls at
Oogi. "I'm going up there, I'm going to marry Darling and we're going to live
happily ever after!! And if you keep bothering me about this, I'll LET
Darling do to Phentax Two what he did to Phentax Twelve!!!"
"So!!" Oogi growls, his eyes ablaze. "He IS responsible for the
mindless slaughter of five million colonists!! How could you allow him to go
unpunished for such a crime against your faithful and loyal servants, Lum-
sama?!"
Lum moans. When Oogi got like this, there was little she could do to
snap him back to what was "normal" for a Niphentaxian. Mie stands up,
hungrily eyeing Oogi. "Look, jerkoid, why don't you take the hint and get
lost?!!" she grabs the Niphentaxian by the collar, lifting him off his feet.
"If you don't split, I'll send you back in a body bag since I'm in a very
lousy mood today and I just elected you as my punching bag!!!"
"Do your worst, Mie!" Megane laughs.
"Unhand me, witch!!" Oogi protests. "Guards!!!"
A dozen Niphentaxian guards teleport out of nowhere, dogpiling the
surprised Mie before she could react. "Mie-chan!!" Lum gasps.
* * *
"Eh?!!" Makoto blinks as a psychic flash bolts into her mind as she and
Hotaru were about to walk onto the school grounds. "Oh, Lyna, no!! Mie's in
trouble!!!"
With a battle cry, the *pirpirsiw'r*-turned-*daishi'cha* races for the
school building. "Makoto, wait!!" Hotaru gasps, then moans as she runs after
the watchmistress. "Damn, why now?!"
* * *
In study hall, a half-dozen guards are sprawled on the floor as Mie
continues to spar with those still standing. Oogi is holding Lum back from
helping her classmate. "Don't, Lum-sama!" the president pleads. "This dark
angel of the Great Evil must be subdued if you are to be safe!!"
"Whose going to save me from you?!!" the Oni snarls, giving him another
dose of her powers.
Oogi looks utterly ecstatic, his grip on Lum tightening. "Oh, to be
bathed in the Great Lum's Holy Lightning is such an transcendental
experience!" he deliriously moans.
"This guy really DOESN'T have a life!!" Chibi shudders.
"And he looks like me?!" Mendou looks insulted.
"Hey, I can use some help here!!" Mie clobbers another guard.
An explosion answers her!! One of the side walls collapses. Everyone
jolts back in shock as a dark figure carrying what looks like a pump-action
shotgun walks through the smoke. Makoto's face clears the mist as she angrily
eyes the Niphentaxians assaulting the woman she loves. "***HANDS OFF MY
BOND-MATE, YOU KIMEI'NE!!!!!!***" she bellows as she opens fire.
Lum and her classmates hit the deck as grenades, knives and a host of
other weapons storm at the Niphentaxians!! The explosions that follow shake
the school right to its foundations, alerting Koosei, Sakura and Onsen in the
Principal's office two floors down. "That was way too much even for Lan!!!"
the homeroom teacher declares, bolting to his feet. "C'mon!!!"
As the three sprint out of the room, the Principal eyes Kotatsuneko.
"Ah, such a nice day, isn't it, Kota-chan?"
The cat-ghost nods, warily staring at the ceiling. By that time, the
last grenade has gone off, filling the study hall with smoke and burning
debris. "Shit, who does that girl think she is?!" Shinobu coughs as she opens
the window to vent the fumes. "John Rambo?!!"
"Rambo, move over!!!" Megane gasps.
As the smoke clears, Oogi shakes his head. "What hit me...?"
A hand grabs the president by the throat, boosting him up and slamming
him against a wall, the gaping muzzle of an Urban Assault Cannon now inches
from his nose! By that time, Lum has emerged from the dissipating smoke to
see Makoto poised to finish Oogi off. "Makoto...?!" Lum gasps, recognizing
the Yehisrite-born watchmistress from a psi-picture she saw in a visit to
Usagi's dreamsite.
"Awaiting your orders, ma'am," Makoto evenly declares.
Lum sighs, pointing down. "Put him down."
The Sagussan looks disappointed. "Aw..."
"Be creative when you do it," the Oni suggests, winking.
Makoto then icily smiles. "Yes, ma'am!!"
Everyone fearfully watches as Makoto unleashes all sorts of physical
tortures on Oogi, so grotesque that even the writers have trouble visualizing
them! Finally, after the president's pained screams have died away, Makoto
sweetly smiles at Lum. "He's down."
"Creative," Lum laughs. "I'll mention it to Darling."
"Thanks, ma'am," Makoto respectfully bows.
"Lum, you know this person?!" Shinobu stares at the Oni.
"Ah, this is Makoto," Lum smiles. "As you can guess, she's from
Sagussa. She's a friend of Usagi's and Ami's, Shinobu."
"Oh, yes!" Shinobu nods. "Welcome to Earth, Makoto-san."
"Thanks," Makoto smiles. "Usagi and Ami told me about you. You don't
look half as wild as your reputation makes you."
Shinobu blushes. "Well, I try..."
"I assume that there are no casualties," Hotaru inquires.
Everyone watches as the nurse walk in, medical kit and tricorder at the
ready. "No, Hotaru; all clear...except for them," Makoto nods at the fallen
Niphentaxians now scattered around the room.
"Hey, where's Mie?!" Megane looks around.
Makoto turns sheet-white. "Mie?!! Where is she?!!"
"I think *Ashoi'cha's* over there," Hotaru calmly points at a pile of
wreckage where Mie is sitting.
Makoto freaks as she sees a hand sticking out from under the pile of
broken desks. "***MIE-CHAN!!!!!!***" she screams, leaping over to tear away
at the wreckage to get at her bond-mate. "Where are you?!! Speak to me!!!"
Lum blinks as she stares at Makoto, then looks at Hotaru, her mind
finally registering something the nurse said. "Wait!!! You just said
*ashoi'cha!!* That means...?!"
"Elder sister," Hotaru smiles, blushing.
"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone else exclaims.
By that time, the wreckage is cleared off Mie, who is unconscious on the
floor. "Mie...!" Makoto gasps as she gently reaches down to lift her fellow
Sagussan into her arms.
Hotaru gasps as she races over to administer aid...just as Mie bolts up,
belting Makoto over the head! "***YOU IDIOT!!!!!! WHAT IN BUDDHA'S NAME WAS
ALL THAT ABOUT, BUSTING IN HERE LIKE THAT?!?!?!***"
"Yep," Lum nods, realizing that if Mie did remember her past life, she
would call on Lyna. "It's amnesia, alright."
"I'm sorry," Makoto yelps, looking contrite. "I felt you being attacked
and I automatically responded!"
"Well, next time, control yourself...eh?!" Mie's voice drops to a squeak
as she takes a close look at Makoto.
The watchmistress essays a light smile at the amnesiac pilot. Mie then
blinks as she turns to see Hotaru kneeling beside her. "Wh-who are y-
you...?!" she fearfully stammers.
"Oh, you *de'ne!*" Hotaru sighs. "I'm your sister!"
Hearing that, Mie does the most logical thing: she faints! "She took
that better than I thought," Lum muses...
* * *
"Is she alright?!" Sakura wonders as Mie is brought into the nurse's
station by Makoto and Hotaru.
"She just passed out from the shock of seeing her girlfriend and her
sister again," Lum announces as she follows the watchmistress and the nurse
inside, her classmates right behind her. "I'm sure she'll be out of it soon."
"Sister...?" Sakura stares curiously at Hotaru, then at Makoto.
"Girlfriend?! Who are these people?!"
"They're Mie-chan's people," a voice speaks from the doorway.
Everyone turns to see Tamiko Seikou standing there. "What?!" Shinobu
blinks, still trying to comprehend what has just been revealed. "What are you
saying, Tamiko?! That Mie...?"
"Is from Sagussa," Makoto supplies.
"But how?!!" Megane demands. "She's just a normal girl!"
"A normal girl who can pilot starships, not to mention figure out how to
do time-warps, and is way stronger than even Shinobu?!" Ryuunosuke probes,
staring at her classmate.
Megane considers the point, then nods. "Okay, so she's not so normal!
How the heck can you say she's from your planet?!"
"Easy," Lum walks over to pull up Mie's skirt, showing the sequential
tattoo on the back of her thighs. "All of Noa-chan's people have these on the
back of their legs." Staring at the tattoo, she reads the number.
"*Daishi'cha* Three-thirty-seven." She then blinks in surprise. "*Tcha!*
That means Mie's over nine thousand years old, counting all her years in
cryogenic suspension."
"Nine thousand years old?!!" Shinobu gapes. "No way!!"
"Way," Hotaru nods. "I should know since I'm *Daishi'cha* Three-thirty-
eight. We were both retrieved by the Gatherer at the same time...actually,
not too far from here, if I remember correctly."
Everyone looks dazed as they try to assimilate Hotaru's revelation.
"Okay, okay, so that proves it!" Megane snarls. "So what the hell IS she
doing here anyway?! Is she a spy?!"
Lum looks incensed, as do Tamiko and Hotaru. "You care to repeat that,
*ki'shi?!!*" Makoto angrily growls as she grabs Megane by his shirt, her fist
cocked to send him flying to the moon.
The guards' leader sputters fearfully at the watchmistress' intense
gaze. "Tamiko-chan, did Mie-chan have amnesia when your parents found her?"
Lum stares at Mie's adopted sister.
"Uh-huh," Tamiko nods. "Mom and Dad found her in what they thought was
a lifepod off Tsushima. According to Mom, she had a really nasty concussion;
it took them a year to get her to be able to talk with some sense of normalcy.
After that, Mom and Dad just decided to adopt her as part of the family. It
was no big deal."
"Wow!" Momoe sighs. "Poor Mie."
"But how did Mie live all those years in Yame when her slowed aging
process would have indicated that she definitely wasn't from around the area?"
Koosei inquires.
"Hey, everyone knew she was a stranger," Tamiko shrugs. "Just because
she was from out of town...WAY out of town," she emphasizes, eliciting
snickers from everyone else, "...didn't mean that we wouldn't accept her. We
did. No one had any problems with it."
Everyone whistles as they take in what Tamiko said. At that moment, a
groan escapes Mie's lips. Everyone crowds around her as her eyes flutter
open. "Where am I...?"
"In the nurse's station, Mie," Sakura smiles. "You okay?"
"I think so," Mie moans as she sits up, then blinking, turns to stare at
Hotaru. "Wh-who are y-you...?" she stammers.
"I'm your sister," Hotaru blushes, then leans over to embrace Mie. "Oh,
*Ashoi'cha,* are you okay?!"
"I...I really have a sister...?!" Mie blinks, then growls. "Gee, I wish
someone who'll remain unnamed would've told me that!"
Her eyes focus on the door, where a contrite Noa now stands, a very
annoyed Ataru beside her. "Hi, Mie," the former waves.
Lum, Hotaru and Makoto then surround Noa. "You care to give me an
explanation as to why you kept information about Mie-chan away from me, Noa?!"
the watchmistress growls, cracking her knuckles.
"Considering she's my sister, I had just as much right to know, Noa!"
the nurse adds, icily eyeing the *ashi'cha*. "Don't forget, you've got a
physical coming up very soon!"
"And I'd like to know why you kept Mie's identity a secret from me in
the three months we've been together in the Dreamscape!" the Oni adds, a flash
of lightning dancing over her body.
Noa remains calm. "Do the words 'Non-Interference Directive' mean
anything to any of you?!" she gently inquires.
"What about it?!!" Hotaru demands. "Mie is my sister!! The instant she
was found, I should've been told right away!! She belongs back on Sagussa
with the rest of us, not here in this tomobiki!!!"
"And what about Mie's family?" Noa stares at Hotaru.
The nurse stops, then turns to see Tamiko standing beside Mie. "Did you
honestly believe that bringing Mie back to Sagussa," Noa inquires, "...IF she
WANTS to return to Sagussa, by the way...would have no affect on her sister,
her brother or her parents?!"
Hotaru falls silent, realizing that Noa has brought up a very important
point. "Mie is in the same situation as Ataru and Lum," Noa points out. "She
has obligations on Earth which bear as much weight as her obligations back on
Sagussa. They have to be respected, Hotaru. If we don't respect them, we're
just as bad as the people who instigated the Age of Gisan'cha!"
"I understand," the nurse bows.
"Hey, it's okay," Tamiko walks over to wrap an arm around Hotaru. "It's
kind of nice to have an extra sister pop out of the blue like that. Not to
mention Mie's lover," she gives Makoto an appraising glance. "Shoot, sis, you
got good taste, you know that?"
Makoto flushes as Mie scratches her head, chuckling. "I guess I
do...even if I don't remember how I did it!"
"Ah, that's no problem!" Hotaru walks over to her sister's side. "We
can fix that in about two seconds."
"*Satre'cha?*" Lum inquires.
Hotaru nods. Lum, Ataru, Koosei and Noa step out of the room. Makoto
turns to everyone else. "Okay, jerks...out!!! Tamiko-san can stay!! This is
a private affair!!"
"What's going on...?!" Sakura demands...
...before the others find themselves in a pile outside the nurse's
station, the door slamming shut behind them. "Geez, they didn't have to be so
rough!" Shinobu grunts.
"*Satre'cha* means 'the refusion,'" Lum explains, essaying a sympathetic
smile. "Mie-chan must've done *tre'cha* with Hotaru prior to her coming to
Earth. It's a very precise mind-meld. No one save family and bond-mates can
be present when this happens. Other people's minds will cloud up the memory
transfer."
"But why DID Mie come to Earth?!" Shinobu demands.
"No one's really sure, not even Hotaru," Noa sighs. "Mie performed
*tre'cha* just prior to our return to cryofreeze after Ataru was sent back to
Earth. The only time people do *tre'cha* is when they sense they could die.
It's a way of keeping one's *mei'na* alive, passing the memories and
experiences to the next generation. As for Mie, she never indicated to Hotaru
why she did it. By the time any of us realized what was going on, it was too
late; she was gone."
"And with her amnesia when her Gladiator crashed on Earth, I doubt the
story'll ever be known," Ataru adds.
"Poor Mie-chan," Lum sighs.
A startled cry emits from the nurse's station. Everyone gasps as they
run to the door, just as it opens to reveal Tamiko. "Tamiko, is Mie...?"
Shinobu hesitantly inquires.
"See for yourself," Tamiko smiles as she turns to indicate Mie, now in
Makoto's embrace, the two passionately embracing. Hotaru is nearby, quietly
putting her medical equipment away.
"Oh, how romantic!" Kumiko swoons.
"C'mon, everyone, let's leave them alone," Ataru tries to usher everyone
out the door...just as a violent rumble is heard from outside. "What the
hell's that?!"
"Did Oogi bring friends?!!" Mendou gulps.
Mie and Makoto break apart, annoyed looks crossing their faces. "Oh,
no...!" the former moans. "Don't tell me..."
"Afraid it is," the latter sighs.
An explosion rips apart the side of the nurse's station, knocking
everyone over save Hotaru, Mie and Makoto!! As the smoke clears, a lithe
silver-haired, crimson-eyed Tritonian-born woman in a black combat uniform
with platoon commander's rank on her shoulder, bearing enough weapons to
instigate World War Three, emerges. "MIE!!!!!!"
Mie and Makoto turn to the new arrival. "Um...hi, Oai-eieoei," the
former smiles.
Everyone quickly notices the icy glares Makoto is exchanging with the
newcomer. "Don't tell me, let me guess," Ataru groans. "She wants to be
Mie's bond-mate, too...right?!"
"By the looks of it," Lum rolls her eyes.
Sagussa's *daimon'cha* lowers his head. "Why couldn't it be something
simple...like a thermonuclear war?!" he grumbles...
* * *
To be continued...
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Mie's Story" Part 2
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
IN THE FIRST PART OF "MIE'S STORY," Mie dreams about a would-be bond-mate from
her homeworld, Sagussa. That person is *daishi'cha* #61558, Makoto, a
Yehisrite-born watchmistress from the First Sagussan Fleet who, having heard
that the woman she loves is still alive, comes to Earth alongside Mie's
sister, *daishi'cha* #338, Hotaru, a defence fleet nurse. Thanks to her
dreams, Mie is not in a pleasant mood, as Oogi discovers when the Niphentaxian
leader tries to talk Lum out of moving to Oshika. When Mie is nearly
overwhelmed by Oogi's guards, Makoto arrives and literally cleans house (like
Lufy, she is a former *pirpirsiw'r*). Mie faints when she sees Hotaru and
Makoto. Recovering in the nurse's station later, Mie is given her memories
back by Hotaru through *satre'cha* (the refusion). As everyone learns that
their classmate is a Sagussan, another, *daishi'cha* #10272, bursts in,
determined to make Mie her bond-mate...
**** **** ****
And with that...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
Makoto, Hotaru and the *daishi'cha* who came in just after the amnesiac
pilot had her memories returned, stand in room 337, their names and sequence
numbers written on the blackboard. "I'm Makoto, *daishi'cha* #61558 of the
First Sagussan Fleet," the first bows. "A pleasure to meet you all."
"I'm Hotaru, *daishi'cha* #338, *eii'sagh* of the Sagussan Fleet Medical
Unit," the second then bows. "Honoured. I'm very pleased to meet my sister's
friends and classmates."
"I am Reinoevan, *daishi'cha* #10272, first officer of Pathfinder Troop
Six," the third bows, her hands in a splayed-finger prayer. "I bid you all
peace, logic and harmony."
"Thank you," Koosei nods. "Now, will you kindly explain why you came
blasting in like that? I know you have no love for Tomobiki, but that still
doesn't excuse you from making a mess of this place."
"What did you expect?!" Makoto growls. "Mie was under attack by those
*kimei'ne* Niphentaxians! I defended my bond-mate!!"
Reinoevan looks very incensed. "YOUR bond-mate?!" she snarls, spinning
on Makoto. "*Ki'shi!!* You DARE presume she's YOURS?!?!"
"Well, I don't see Mie jumping your bones, *kide'ne!!*" Makoto snarls,
icily eyeing her rival. "Besides, when she recovered from *satre'cha,* she
kissed ME!!!! What're you going to do about that?!!"
The whole class trembles as the battle auras growing around Makoto and
Reinoevan eclipse the classroom. "*Tcha!*" Lum gasps. "Even Nassur-chan
would be scared of those battle auras!!"
"Ataru-kun, do something!" Shinobu pleads. "They're going to kill each
other and probably take the school and us with them!!"
"Hey, even the Cyborg and the *saikoo jinseijitsu* aren't crazy enough
to take on two Sagussans fighting over a bond-mate, especially if one used to
be a *pirpirsiw'r* and the other's a Pathfinder!" Ataru sheepishly shrugs.
"We're dead!!" Lan gulps.
After a moment, Makoto then slyly stares at Mie. "Mie-chan, it's me you
want, isn't it?" she coos, sliding onto the teacher's desk, her hand
unbuttoning her shirt.
"She's taking her clothes off!!!" Chibi exclaims.
"They BOTH are!!!" Kakugari moans.
Reinoevan is now slinking against the backboard, her combat jersey
undone, revealing everything she has. "Don't you want something a little more
sensual, Mie-chan?" she seductively purrs.
Mie is utterly enthralled. "Lyna's Soul, I never thought Rei loved Mie
THAT much!!" Hotaru gasps, her face turning a beautiful red as her powers
sense the psychic assault Makoto and Reinoevan are using on her sister in
concert with their impromptu strip show. "If I wasn't bonded to Setsuna, I'd
take them both!!"
"So would I!" Noa gasps, just as awed.
Suddenly, a transporter beam materializes between Mie and her would-be
lovers a tall, brunette Fukunokami woman dressed in a standard duty jumpsuit
with light green top, dark green pants and gold trim. "Alright, you sex-
kittens, that's enough!" she orders.
Makoto and Reinoevan are surprised. "Misato-i'sagh, what are you doing
here?!!" the latter demands.
"There's a sick woman here and I'm not going to permit you two horny
little vixens to have your way with her until I've verified her health,"
Misato growls. "So knock it off with the *mavan'shagh!*"
"Yes, I'sagh," both girls reluctantly nod, clearly disappointed.
Makoto and Reinoevan obediently dress. "I don't believe her!!"
Ryuunosuke blinks, awed by Misato's ability to handle the situation. "She
just told them to knock it off and they did! Who is she?! An executioner?!"
"Actually, she's a psychologist," Noa smiles.
An explosion occurs!! "A psychologist?!!" everyone exclaims.
"That's right," the *ashi'cha* nods. "You see, there's a very old
saying on Sagussa...*Igh te'a i'sagh.*"
"What's that mean?!" Shinobu stares at Lum.
"'Doctors ARE God,'" the Oni translates.
Pleased that Makoto and Reinoevan are controlling themselves, Misato
turns to see Mie passed out on the floor, blood draining from her nose, a
delirious look etched on the pilot's face. "Oh, my!" the psychologist
blushes. "I never thought those two would be THAT good when they tried to
seduce someone!"
* * *
As Misato, Hotaru and Sakura examine Mie in the nurse's station,
everyone relaxes in room 337. That is when Oogi staggers in, still bruised
and bleeding from Makoto's pounding him when she blasted into study hall to
save Mie. "Lum-sama...?" he moans.
"What's HE doing here?!!" Ataru demands, angered to see the Niphentaxian
president on Earth.
Startled by Ataru's voice, Oogi screams as he draws his katana, leaping
to the attack. Before he could get close, however, Makoto and Reinoevan jump
him. "BASTARD, HANDS OFF ATARU-SAMA!!!!!!"
Oogi then gets a further beating!! "Boy, those girls really are loyal
to Ataru, aren't they?!" Chibi whistles, awed by their devotion.
"Now I understand why Ataru has to go back to this place," Ryuunosuke
muses. "He's got to wean those girls from worshipping him like Oogi and his
pit of morons worship Lum!"
"Lum, were we EVER that bad?!" Megane stares at the Oni.
"Sometimes, you were worse," Lum sympathetically smiles. "But you were,
despite your libidos going out of control all the time, still my friends.
That's the difference between you and the likes of him," she then icily glares
at Oogi, now tied into an imitation pretzel.
The other boys blush. "Wh-where d-did you g-get s-such Amazons f-from,
y-you d-devil...?!" Oogi grunts as he tries to crawl toward Ataru, the
determination in his eyes still blazing.
"Actually, these lovely ladies found me," Ataru crosses his arms,
projecting a triumphant smile. "And with them, I'll finally be able to
eliminate all the other pains who're standing in the way of my marrying
Lum...and **you're** atop that list!!" he points at Oogi.
"***WHAT?!?!?!***" Oogi bolts to his feet, miraculously healed and very
angry. "You dare try to make war against the Holy Church of Lum?!!"
"I never WANTED a church in my name!!!" Lum barks.
Oogi then looks as if he had just been stabbed. "L-lum-s-sama...?!" he
glances fretfully at the Oni.
"Hey, that reminds me!" Lan snarls as she marches up to Oogi. "Who the
hell gave you the right to probe into MY personal diaries so you can write
your stupid holy book, anyway?!!"
"Yeah!!" Shinobu appears on the other side of the president. "And what
about the entries from MY diary?!!"
"And mine?!!" Mendou partially draws his katana.
"And ours?!!" the guards growl.
"I'm sure Oyuki, Benten and Nassur would be interested in how you got
their entries, too," Ataru adds, savouring the pain Oogi must now be feeling
at having his holy icons reject everything the Niphentaxians have constructed
in Lum's name. "Maybe I should ask one of you ladies to mind-probe this jerk
to find out," he stares at Noa.
"We'd be more than happy to," the *ashi'cha* beams.
"Who are you?!!" Oogi leaps over to seize Noa's hand. "How could this
devil of devils enthrall you so?! What magic has he spread over you to make
you support him in his quest to destroy Lum-sama, the Most Holy of Holies, the
Supreme Agent of Creation...?!!"
Makoto and Reinoevan pound him into okonomiyaki!!! "Bastard, **Ataru**
is the Supreme Agent of Creation!!!" the former snarls.
"Apologize to him for your insult!!!" the latter growls.
"Even Memory would back that assertion," Shinobu nods.
"True, true," Megane readily nods, remembering Dark Memory's words about
the matter in "Return of Memory."
"But you're totally wrong, sir," Noa projects a mirthless smile, shaking
her head. "You don't understand. We like Lum very much!"
"You do?!!" Oogi appears in front of her, again healed.
"How does he keep doing that?!!" Makoto demands. "He's more resilient
than we made Ataru!!"
"Of course we do," Noa beams. "Let me demonstrate. Lum!"
"Yes, Noa?!" the Oni flies up to the Sagussan.
Noa then sweeps Lum off her feet, swamping her with a very passionate
kiss. The whole class let out admiring whoops. Oogi looks ready to either
die of heart failure or kill. "***HOW DARE YOU FORCE YOURSELF ON THE GREAT
LUM-SAMA, YOU DISRESPECTFUL WENCH?!?!?!***"
Noa returns a dazed Lum to her feet. "Why, I have more right to do that
than you ever will!" she smiles.
Oogi spins on Mendou. "Mendou-sama, how could you permit that
disrespectful dyke to do that to Lum-sama?!!"
"Hey, it's none of my business what Lum does," Mendou hums, then draws
his katana, moving to make Oogi a head shorter. "And remember this, buster!!!
My bioroid sister is a lesbian and I don't take too kindly to the idea of
hearing people like her insulted!!!"
Oogi catches the blade between his hands. "Mendou-sama, how could you
accept that slave as being a part of your family?!!"
"***WHAT?!?!***" Mendou bellows. "You dare call Shutako-chan a slave?!!
NO Mendou has been, is, or will ever be a slave, not even if she is a
bioroid!!! Now apologize for your insult or else they'll be looking for a NEW
president on Phentax Two!!!"
Ataru blinks as he observes matters. Unlike Otako, herself possessed by
a cursed controlling orb which had been created by a friend of the Invaders
who then believed she had not been invited to Lum's baptism party, Oogi was
what he would term a moderate when it came to listening to orders from Lum or
any of her "holy company." Now either Oogi had undergone a radical conversion
or...
"Pistol!" he barks.
Reinoevan passes him a personal defence pistol. Everyone screams as
Ataru snap-aims and fires, the weapon at full power! Oogi is hit by the blast
in the chest, then literally falls apart into a blob of flesh-like gelatin.
People stare at what is left of the "president," then stare at Ataru. "I
thought as much," Ataru hands the pistol back to the pathfinder. "That wasn't
Oogi."
Makoto kneels, science tricorder in hand. "You're right, Ataru," she
hums as she takes a scan. "This is some sort of proto-life creature!"
"What's that?!" Shinobu exclaims.
"An allasomorphic biodroid which can make itself look like anything or
anyone on command," Lum explains. "I never thought the Niphentaxians advanced
that far in genetic engineering!"
"They probably stole it from the Avalonians," Makoto sighs. "The same
concept is used in creating solid bioroids; just throw in some extra
chromosomes and controlling proteins which de-stabilize the biodroid's cells
into becoming malleable on command."
"So Oogi's testing the waters," Megane muses.
"What do you mean, Aisuru?" Lum stares at the guards' leader.
"Lum, that thing just insinuated that there were Niphentaxian observers
on Earth," Megane reminds her. "Which means he must be now aware of what's
happening to you, not to mention all of us."
"We got our girlfriends," Paama adds.
"As have I my fiancee," Mendou grimly notes.
"Plus your leaving Tomobiki for Oshika," Shinobu stares at Lum. "He
probably even knows of Noa's arrival."
"Oh, wonderful," the Oni slaps her forehead.
"Lum, you've had your scanners attuned to sweeping Tomobiki for
Niphentaxian lifesigns since that incident with the Avalonians, haven't you?"
Noa curiously stares at her bond-mate.
"Yes! So's Lan!"
Lan nods. "What are you saying, Noa?" Shinobu wonders.
"I'm saying that whatever agents Oogi has here are the same type of
being as this delightful creature," the *ashi'cha* indicates the fallen
proto-life being. "Trained and obedient watchdogs who can't be detected by
life scanners unless they're specifically programmed to look for their type of
DNA...and until now, hidden because we never considered that they'd be here."
"Great!!" Megane snarls. "So how do we get rid of them...oh, no...!" a
horrorstruck look then crosses his face.
"What is it, Aisuru-kun?" Chibi stares at the guards' leader.
"What about Tan-chan?!!" Megane demands. "What will happen to her if
Oogi finds out that I'm dating her?!"
"She'll be probably assassinated," Lum warns. "Ditto with Sil, Aijooa,
Yasashii and Kenmei. After all, the one thing Oogi and his lunatics fear
above all others is our getting out of our so-called 'roles' within the
precepts of the Church of Lum."
Mendou and the guards faint! "ASSASSINATED?!?!?!"
"Relax," Ataru cuts in. "We can stop this."
"How?!!" Megane spins on his former classmate. "You can defend yourself
at least!! Tan-chan and the others can't!!!"
"They can be protected," Ataru calmly replies, then turns to Reinoevan.
"Rei, you said you were from a pathfinder troop, right?"
"Yes, sir," she nods.
"Where are your troop-mates?"
"Back on Sagussa, sir."
"Then what are they doing there?!" Ataru snaps. "I've got a job for
them! Get them down here...and I mean YESTERDAY!!!!"
"Yessir!!!" Reinoevan snaps a salute, then runs off.
Lum and Noa stare concernedly at Ataru. "You want to bring all of
Pathfinder Six here?!" the Oni stammers. "Darling, Priss is part of that
troop! She's just as bad as Lufy!!"
"Then let's bring Lufy, too!" Ataru shrugs. "Hell, let's get every
*pirpirsiw'r* on Sagussa down here if that'll do the trick!"
With that, he heads out. Lum and Noa moan. "Lyna's Soul, he sure
believes in overkill, doesn't he?" the *ashi'cha* muses. "'Bring all the
*pirpirsiw'r*,' he states. Does he realize how many that is?"
"Let's see," the Oni hums as she tries to remember names. "Lufy, Score,
Aminobishoojo, Priss, Angel, Kaori, Yookihi..."
* * *
"Well, you seem to be in pretty good shape for someone whose been
suffering from amnesia for twelve years," Misato muses as she pulls her hand
away from Mie's face. "At least the *satre'cha* was executed properly. No
trace of Hotaru's mind in yours."
"I'sagh!" Hotaru blushes at the doctor's unspoken compliment. "I am
trained in mental-restoration duties, remember?"
"Yes, you are," Misato sighs, smiling. "Well, you've got quite the
decision ahead of you, Mie. I don't envy your present position. I'll stay
here if you want some advice."
"Thanks, Misato," Mie nods.
Misato and Sakura then step out of the office to allow Mie to have a
chance to be alone with Hotaru. "What do you mean that Mie has a big choice
ahead of her?" the latter stares at the former.
"She has two options ahead of her," the psychologist sighs. "She can
elect to remain here on Earth with her adopted family. Or she can return to
Sagussa and resume her life as a *daishi'cha.*"
"I thought it would be an automatic choice," Sakura muses. "Returning
Mie to Sagussa."
"For us, it's a little different," Misato muses. "Mie was born here in
her previous existence, hence she can fit reasonably well on Earth. She has
in fact fitted quite well in Terran society, first in Yame with her family and
close friends, then here in Tomobiki. Her lifespan may present future
psychological problems when her family dies out before she physically ages
past twenty-five Earth years, but there are long-lived races living throughout
the local cluster."
"What if she returns to Sagussa?" Sakura inquires. "Given her piloting
skills, she has to belong to your defence force."
"She does," Misato nods. "She'll be welcome back, although knowing her
commanding officer, there will be an investigation as to why she came to Earth
twelve years ago. It's just a formality; she'll be let off the hook due to a
host of medical reasons, plus lack of hard evidence. Once she gets back into
the routine, not to mention obtaining a bond-mate, she'll be back into the
swing of things. In fact, Mie will possess quite an advantage over the rest
of us. She's been raised by a loving and caring family. We were all
programmed by two very highly advanced, sentient computers...which wasn't
enough since we never learned how to properly emote, hence our need to have
contact with Ataru twelve years ago. I can easily guess that her home will be
the warmest hearth for her future family on Sagussa."
"But the choice is hers, right?"
"Naturally," Misato nods. "Hotaru won't agree with me since she is
Mie's sister. Ditto with Makoto and Rei since they're in love with Mie and
can't see themselves moving to Earth just to be with her. And Lyna only knows
how Mie's family here would take to the idea of moving to Sagussa. But in the
end, it has to be Mie's decision."
"Poor girl," Sakura sighs. "She'll be hurt either way..."
* * *
At the end of the day, everyone streams out of Tomobiki High School for
home. Mie, Hotaru, Tamiko and Suzume walk out together, Makoto and Misato
trailing them. "Well, we might as well get you introduced to Mom and Dad,"
Mie stares at her twin sister.
"I hope our parents are ready for this," Suzume sighs, giving the
psychologist an appraising eye.
"My, you seem to be keen on some dirty thoughts," Misato hums, dressed
in civilian clothes so as to not draw attention to herself.
"Suzume-chan's always been a little too ecchi for my tastes," Tamiko
hums, then longingly stares at Misato. "But I can see what makes you so
attractive, Sensei."
"Sorry...already taken," Misato blushes.
"Pity," Tamiko muses.
"My, we should talk, eh, sis?!" Mie glares at Tamiko.
Hotaru laughs. Moments later, the group reaches the Seikou house. Mie
blinks as her powers sense other Sagussans inside. "Are you the only people
who came here?!" she quizzically stares at Hotaru and Makoto.
"Oh, no," Hotaru blushes. "We sent our shuttle back to pick up some
friends who wanted to see you."
"Right," Mie sighs. *You're playing dirty, sis!*
Just as they arrive, the door opens and Aminobishoojo looks out. "Well,
there you are!!!" the *pirpirsiw'r*-born armourer steps out to embrace Mie.
"Oh, it's so good to see you again, Mie!! C'mon in! Everyone's waiting for
you!!"
"Setsuna-chan!" Hotaru smiles as she sees her bond-mate, a tall green-
haired Oni who also works at the Fleet Medical Unit.
"Everyone's here, Hotaru!" Setsuna embraces Hotaru.
Mie stares at the living room, now decorated for a party. A banner
marked WELCOME HOME, MIE! in Japanese and Sagussan hangs from one wall. A
virtual feast lavishly prepared by Hotaru's and Setsuna's friends is laid out
on the table. In the middle of it, surrounded by a half-dozen *daishi'cha*
fashionably dressed in Terran clothes, are her parents, now enjoying the
company of Mie's countrywomen. "Hey, there's the guest of honour!" Usagi
leaps up, running over to embrace Mie. "It's so good to see you again, Mie!!
We missed you so much!"
"I wish I could reciprocate that," Mie blushes.
The Terran-born zoologist shrugs. "Understandable. Don't be sad,
though. If you do come back, you'll never be alone."
Hotaru shudders, a resentful look crossing her face at Usagi's comment.
Setsuna's hand steadies her. Mie glances briefly at her sister, realizing
that while Hotaru may be adamant on the idea of Mie going back to Sagussa, her
friends freely and happily acknowledged that Mie had a right to choose her own
destiny. "Well, since we're all here, we might as well dig in," Mie blushes.
The other Sagussans let out a cheer. "Hey, we're not all here yet!"
Setsuna declares. "Ataru-sama, Lum-san, Noa and Honey still have to come."
"Oh, I sent Luna out to find them," Usagi beams.
"She found us!!" Lum's voice calls out.
The *daishi'cha* emit squeals on seeing Ataru as he comes in with Lum,
Noa and Honey behind him. "Hi, guys," Mie walks over to embrace her friends.
"Some surprise party, eh?"
"Hotaru-chan must be going overboard trying to persuade you to come
back," Lum whispers as they embrace.
"She is, isn't she?" Mie hums, then shrugs. "Well, I can't wait to see
what Rei might have in mind when she shows up later."
"I don't envy you your decision, Mie," Ataru chuckles as he gets swamped
by Usagi's and Ami's embraces. "Ooof!! Hi, girls!"
"Hey, couldn't we invite some other guys around here?!" a blonde-haired
Vosian Mie recognizes as *daishi'cha* #86582, a warsuit pilot, inquires. "I
wouldn't mind getting started on my first kid!"
"What are you talking about, Minako?!" Usagi rubs her cheek against
Ataru's. "We got THE man right here!"
"Hey!!!" Lum threateningly growls. "If anyone's going to have Darling's
first child, it's going to be ME!!!!"
"Just kidding!" Usagi smirks, waving the angry Oni down.
Everyone laughs, then the Sagussans tense. "What is it?!" Lum looks
concerned.
"Just some more guests arriving," Hotaru announces as she opens the
door. "Hi, everyone! C'mon in!!"
The six members of Pathfinder Troop Six stream in, dressed in civilians
but visibly armed. *Really covering your bases this time, aren't you, sis?!*
Mie sighs as she greets everyone.
"Hey, hotshot, how's it going?!" a brown-haired Yehisrite with a musical
note tattoo on her cheek that Mie recognizes as *daishi'cha* #22860, comes up
to slap Mie in the back, nearly driving the hapless pilot to her knees. "I'm
Priss now. Nice to see you again!"
"Nice to see you too, Priss," Mie grunts as she knocks the kink out of
her back. "I see you're as friendly as ever."
Ataru walks over. "Which one of you is the commander?"
"I am, sir," a brunette Seishin woman stands at attention. "Troop
Commander Sylia, *daishi'cha* #76073, at your service."
"Good," Ataru nods, smiling. "Try not to drink too much tonight, girls.
I'll need all of you tomorrow morning if we're going to flush out all of
Oogi's little robot spies."
"Hey, we can take it," Priss laughs.
"Yeah!!" a brunette Fukunokami with her hair cut in flowing bangs to her
collars snorts. "You fight better drunk!"
"Up yours, Linna!" Priss threateningly growls as she moves to walk over
to join Makoto. "Why don't you pillow Nene there!"
"I think I will," Linna hums, scooping the red-haired Ellsian
communications expert. "C'mon, Nene!! Let's get physical!"
Everyone save Sylia laughs. A touch of annoyance is on the troop
commander's face, as if she personally does not approve of two of her troopers
being bond-mates. "Speaking of which, Rei," an Oni with strawberry-blonde
hair stares at Mie's would-be lover. "Care to cut a rug?"
"No, thanks, Asuka," Reinoevan dismisses her with a wave, a touch of
fear in her eyes. "I've got other things on my mind."
With that, she walks over to join Mie. Asukanoevan glares at her
troopmate with a mixture of anger and anguish. "Seems to me Rei's got someone
interested in her," Ataru whispers to Lum.
"*Tcha!*" the Oni nods, watching Asukanoevan place herself down beside
Minako and her bond-mate Rei, a brunette Aimaiyite who also is a warsuit
pilot. "By the looks of it, Rei doesn't seem too hot about letting Asuka get
at her. In fact, I'd swear that Rei's a little intimidated by Asuka."
"Sort of like the way Ataru was with you before the Spirit War, Lum,"
Noa notes. "I wonder why. I know Rei and Mie have been friends since Rei
became a *daishi'cha,* but I distinctly remember that Mie was always closer to
Makoto."
"Maybe Rei's trying to use Mie to get Asuka away from her," Honey hums,
then looks at Noa and Lum. "Then again, Sylia would agree to Rei and Mie
coming together. She doesn't like the idea of people under her command having
relationships with each other. Could get real messy if they get into a tight
spot and there'd be no one around for anyone to perform *tre'cha.*"
"True," Lum nods as the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it!!" Tamiko calls out as she opens the door, then smiles.
"Hi, everyone! C'mon in!! We're just getting started!"
Ataru and Lum turn to see a lot of their classmates stream in. Mendou
and the guards come with their girlfriends, Shinobu comes with Pamanba, Lan is
by herself and Ryuunosuke is with Nagisa. "What is SHE doing here?!" the Oni
threateningly growls, projecting a laser-like stare at Pamanba.
The Vosian fearfully leaps behind Shinobu. "Lum, will you cut it out?!"
Ataru's former girlfriend snaps. "Give Pamanba a chance!"
"Yeah, right!!" Lum snorts as she proceeds to sample the food.
"Boy, Lum can sure carry a grudge, can't she?!" Pamanba sighs.
"Give her time, Pamanba," Shinobu looks sympathetic, then blinks on
seeing the Sagussans. "Wow!! I didn't realize Mie had all these friends
waiting for her back on Sagussa!"
Everyone comes in to greet everyone else. People immediately come over
to try the food. "Wow, who cooked all this?!" Megane blinks on seeing the
variety of meats, soups and what look like potatoes.
"We all did," Setsuna walks up to refill her plate with strips of
broiled marinated meat similar to beef. "All of us know how to cook so we all
pitched in before we came here to throw the party. Try it!"
Guests quickly dig in, then file their way to the middle of the living
room where they join everyone else. People quickly notice the attention
Makoto and Reinoevan are trying to heap on Mie. "Don't you think that's a
little too dangerous this early in the game?" Ataru whispers to Misato.
"Mie's got to decide what to do with herself before she considers which one to
take as her bond-mate."
"Well, Hotaru's as headstrong as her sister, and she is quite determined
to bring Mie back to Sagussa," the psychologist notes, taking down a dish of
what looks like turkey meat.
Ataru shrugs, then nibbles away on his plate of yanbe-chagh mixed with
fried hogh-kyi. The Terrans, having been repulsed by the pungent odor the
fermented dish produces, stare as he enjoys the dish like it was ramen or
beefbowl. "He's actually eating that stuff?!" Shinobu gapes.
"His taste buds must've been wiped out when Lum tried to force him to
eat some of her early concoctions," Tanoshii muses.
"Hey, I heard that!" Lum growls.
Usagi then appears in front of Ataru, a plate of her personal yanbe-
chagh in hand. "Here, Ataru! Try mine!!"
"Oh, no you don't, Usagi!" Rei shoves the zoologist away. "Ataru-sama
gets to try mine first!!"
"Oh, yeah?!" Haruka, a tomboyish Terran-born biologist, shoves Rei away.
"Everyone knows my yanbe-chagh is the best on all Sagussa!"
"I can attest to that!" her bond-mate Michiru, a green-haired Oni
biologist, beams from nearby as she finishes her meal.
Promptly, everyone who brought their personal yanbe-chagh recipes launch
an argument as to who will get to serve their *daimon'cha* first. Everyone
not of Sagussa watch this in disbelief, some immediately reminded of the way
the Niphentaxians venerate Lum. "HOLD IT!!!!" Ataru barks.
The Sagussans freeze. Ataru takes samples from everyone's plates, stirs
them together, then consumes the mixed dish. "Excellent!" he declares,
smacking his lips.
"But you didn't...?!" Ami begins.
"Ami, I'm not going to play favourites with you girls!" Ataru shakes his
head. "Besides, I only started to eat this stuff when Lum began preparing it
before Noa arrived. Give me a while before I can judge who makes the best
food, even if I *want* to judge who makes the best! Is that okay?!"
The girls nod. "Now, instead of trying to out-do each other by currying
my favour, why don't you let the others sample your dishes and get their
opinions," Ataru suggests. "Rei, you give Usagi a sample. Haruka, give
Setsuna a taste of yours. C'mon, now..."
The *daishi'cha* do as he requests. Sure enough, compliments start to
fly as everyone approves of the other's dish. With that situation ended,
Ataru returns to the buffet table to refill his dish. Nearby, Pamanba watches
this, quite awed that Ataru could keep such control on these women. "You
know, I'd swear that Ataru was the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager with the
way these women act around him," she quietly mutters to Lan.
"He IS the Chosen One," the Seishin teen confirms.
"Eh?!!" Pamanba gasps, then drops her voice. "No way!"
"Oh, shoot, it was easy to figure out the way Koosei and Dakejinzou
behave around Darling," Lan mutters. "They're the only two alive today who've
ever walked the Voyager's decks, other thank Koruneko-san. But don't think
you can try to signal the Mikado to give him the news, much less anyone else.
You even think of trying it, you're bucking for a very early grave."
"I wouldn't," Pamanba shudders, warily eyeing Priss, Makoto and Ami.
"Our constitution states that no Vosian is to interfere in the affairs of the
Voyager or the Maidens. And with people like *them* protecting Ataru," she
notions to the three former *pirpirsiw'r,* "...even the Mikado would be out of
his mind if he tried to directly challenge either Ataru or Lum!"
"Since when has the Mikado ever obeyed your constitution?" Lan muses,
then shrugs. "Then again, you're right. Believe me, when certain people in
this galaxy learn what's coming to Darling, this part of space is going to be
very quiet from then on."
"People like Schwartz, Elle...but especially that trench-wave Oogi,"
Pamanba spits out the last name like a curse. "I was there when the
Niphentaxians dropped their bio-bomb on Lecashuto!"
"Was it really that bad?" Shinobu blinks.
The huntress looks down, tears in her eyes. "It was awful," Pamanba
declares. "Five million people killed just because the Mikado tried to have
one of Nassur's friends put to death. Old people, couples, even little
children clutching stuffed chichi bears..."
She stops, covering her eyes as she vividly remembers being part of the
graves unit which buried the dead. "I mean...even if they got the Mikado,
which they didn't, did they have to kill all those people, people who probably
never even heard of Nassur or Lum or Phentax Two?" Pamanba wonders, wiping her
face. "Who'll make Oogi answer for that sort of crime?! It's hideous!"
"Who'll make the Mikado answer for slaughtering three hundred thousand
colonists on Colony Seventy-one?" Lan counters. "It really depends on
people's perspective. This isn't a perfect galaxy."
"Nothing's perfect," Shinobu muses, then stares at Ataru, who is busy
chatting with Rei and Minako. "Not even paradise."
The others look. "S'funny," Lan hums.
"What is?" Pamanba stares at the Seishin teen.
"There's a legend on Uru about the Chosen One and the Maidens," Lan
muses. "It states that if the Maidens of Aruka...Noa and Honey...come back,
the Chosen One will come and salvage Uru from it's darkest hour."
"Vos has a similar legend," Pamanba nods. "It dates from Lecasur's
time. After a time of darkness and great evil, the Chosen One will come and
lead Vos into a time of peace and prosperity."
Shinobu glances again at Ataru. "I don't think the people who told
legends like that ever imagined this Chosen One to be a person like Ataru
Moroboshi," she snorts.
"Ridiculous, isn't it?!" Lan snickers.
The three women laugh. Ataru sneezes. Meanwhile, Mie separates herself
from the crowd, then proceeds to the front porch, inhaling deeply. Hotaru
steps out a moment later. "You okay, Mie?" the nurse looks concerned.
Mie flashes her an annoyed stare. "You played dirty, Hotaru."
"And if I did?!" Hotaru walks up to her, crossing her arms. "So?!! I
want my family to be made whole again! Outside of Setsuna, you're my family,
Mie! What in Lyna's name is wrong with that?!"
"Nothing, if I *was* alone these past twelve years," Mie admits.
"Mie, you don't belong here!" Hotaru pleads. You belong back home with
people who understand you, people who care for you!!"
"I've got them here, too," Mie reminds her. "My parents didn't have to
take me in when they found me twelve years ago. They did! Doesn't that
deserve some sort of respect?!"
"I..." Hotaru looks away, tears flowing down her face. "Mie, do you
have any idea what it's been like?!"
Mie sympathetically shakes her head. "All alone in that damn chamber
for twelve years," Hotaru gasps. "Wondering whether you were alive or dead!
You didn't even tell me why you did *tre'cha* with me...and when James told me
that you were nowhere to be found, I thought the worst! And that doesn't
mention what your disappearance did to Makoto! She just wanted to die! All
of us...Setsuna, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Minako, Haruka, Michiru and I...we had to
band together to prevent Makoto from killing herself. But there were times
when I felt as bad as she! There were times I wanted to die, when I thought
that you were dead and there was nothing left of you but the memories you gave
me..."
Her voice breaking, she spins around to embrace her sister. "Then we
found out you were alive," she sighs. "Finally, it was over. The Dream Time
wasn't a time of contemplation for us. It was a nightmare because you were
gone! Why, Mie?! Why did you go?!" She then shudders as sobs wrack her.
"Wh-why w-won't y-you c-come back...?!"
The nurse's voice breaks as she wails, tightly embracing the sister she
feared she would never see again. Mie stands there, sadness and confusion
storming on her face. *What possessed me to leave these people?! To leave my
own flesh-and-blood, the woman who would've died for me, all my friends...?!*
one part of her wonders.
*What of those who cared for you, a total stranger, when you came here
twelve years ago?* the other part calmly inquires. *Your father, your mother,
Tamiko, Suzume, all your friends? Don't they deserve some consideration for
all they've done for you?!*
Sighing, Mie shifts Hotaru away from her. "Hotaru?"
"Y-you're going to s-stay, aren't you...?" Hotaru hesitantly inquires,
looking away from her sister.
Smiling, Mie shifts Hotaru so they could stare eye-to-eye. "I don't
know, *Oshoi'cha,*" she calmly intones the Sagussan word for "younger sister."
"I have to find myself. I'm two people if you think about it. *Daishi'cha*
Three-thirty-seven and Mie Seikou. I've got to find my way back into becoming
one person again."
"I...I can understand that," Hotaru nods.
"Will you help me?"
Brightening, Hotaru yelps as she embraces Mie again. "Yes!!!"
Mie returns her embrace. Watching this from inside the home, Mie's
parents nod, then return to the party...
* * *
To be continued...
Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Mie's Story" Part 3
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
gorgo@havajava.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-third of a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura"
created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
IN THE SECOND PART OF "MIE'S STORY," the third *daishi'cha* introduces herself
as Reinoevan, a member of Pathfinder Troop Six. Makoto and Reinoevan are
avowed rivals for Mie's love, as both demonstrate by performing *mavan'shagh*
(psionic seduction) in front of the pilot. That is stopped by Misato, a
psychologist who came to Earth to examine Mie. It is revealed that "Oogi" is
a proto-life biodroid, an allasomorphic creature which can disguise itself as
anyone. Realizing the Niphentaxians are getting around Lum's prohibition
concerning spies to Tomobiki by using these creatures...and with Mendou and
the guards now with girlfriends, Sil, Tanoshii and the others are in dire
jeopardy...Ataru gets Reinoevan to summon her troopmates to Earth. Mie and
the others attend a reunion party at her house with friends Hotaru, Makoto and
Reinoevan bring to Earth to better persuade Mie to return to Sagussa. In
Misato's opinion (backed by Ataru), Mie has a choice: either return to
Sagussa or remain on Earth. Hotaru would prefer to have her sister return to
Sagussa, and confesses same to Mie later. Mie then explains that since
*satre'cha,* she has become two people: Mie Seikou and *daishi'cha* #337,
Terran and Sagussan. Hotaru agrees to help Mie find herself...
**** **** ****
And to that end...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
Mie's eyes open.
She smiles on seeing Makoto sleeping to one side of her and Reinoevan on
the other, a large blanket covering all three. Both were certainly determined
to exploit every chance at winning Mie's heart. Hotaru and Setsuna sleep in
another futon nearby. The other *daishi'cha* elected to sleep in the Seikou
home rather than crash aboard Pathfinder Troop Six's base ship, the warpsloop
"Kiboo'cha," now orbiting Earth. Twisting herself so that she could wrap an
arm around her would-be lovers, Mie stares out the window to view the sunrise.
The party, despite Hotaru's hidden agenda, had been wonderful. Of
course, the Terran guests had been ushered out before the ran-jugh...Sagussan
brandy...was brought out. More potent than Fukunokami super-vodka, one shot
would, according to Setsuna, have made a Terran drunk for a month. Mie
herself had three glasses. Very dry, akin to one of James Bond's martinis,
with a touch of peach. She would have to learn how to ferment the stuff.
By that time, Makoto and Rei are stirring. "'Morning," Mie smiles as
their eyes flutter open.
"Oh, 'morning," Makoto yawns as she stretches herself, then sits up.
"What time is it?"
"About six-thirty," Rei stares at a clock. "What time did Ataru want us
to meet him?"
"He said eight," Mie stands, walking over to nudge Hotaru and Setsuna.
"Up and at 'em, sleepy-heads! Let's get to work."
Both nurses moan. "Morning, already?" Hotaru yawns as she stretches
herself. "Lyna's Soul, how time flies."
"After nine thousand years in cryofreeze, it would for you," Setsuna
playfully growls as she yanks her bond-mate back into her embrace, then
overwhelms her with a kiss.
Mie quickly turns away as the two nurses become more passionate...then
jerks as Makoto and Rei give her very seductive stares. "Wh-what's w-with
th-that look?!" she stammers.
"You have to choose sooner or later, Mie-chan," Makoto purrs.
"Maybe we should help you choose," Rei smiles as she reaches over to
draw Mie back into bed...
* * *
Sometime later, the Sagussans come to Tomobiki High School. Despite
being in civilians, the weapons they bear quickly indicate their intention.
Misato, Usagi and Minako bring their sandpanthers Penpen, Luna and Artemis to
help in the search. Ataru is there waiting for them, as is Lum, who has been
given the day off to help flush out Oogi's spies. "We're all here, bright and
chipper!" Noa declares, flashing Ataru a mock salute. "Where to, boss?!"
"Darling and I discussed the matter last night," Lum smiles. "We
believe there'd be little cause for Oogi to send agents to Oshika since they
could be detected by Nokoko-chan, the Nendo-kata or Nicole's palace. Besides,
the more Darling's away from Tomobiki, the better the Niphentaxians like it."
"We'll give 'em an education on that point," Priss smiles.
Everyone laughs. "A team will go to Oshika and sweep it clear just in
case," Ataru muses. "Chances are, real Niphentaxians are there. Lum, Noa,
Honey and Mie will come with me. Sylia, you'll take charge of the others."
Makoto and Reinoevan blink, shocked that Mie was ordered to Oshika
without either of them. "Yes, sir," Sylia nods.
"And make it a clean sweep!" Lum insists. "If even one lives, it can
warn Oogi and who knows what'll happen then!"
"Right!!" the others nod.
"Except me," Ami holds up her hand.
"What's the problem, Ami?" Hotaru stares at the armourer.
"Mie's parents told me her Gladiator is now in an abandoned seaplane
hangar in Mitsushima on property her uncle owns," Ami announces. "I'm going
down there to see if it's salvageable."
Mie moans. Now her parents were in on the act! "Mie's Gladiator's
intact?!" Ataru blinks, surprised by that revelation, then turns to the pilot.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Well, I doubt it's flyable after it took a year-long dunk in the Sea of
Japan," Mie admits. "Besides, until Hotaru brought my memory back, I didn't
remember how to work the self-repair circuits, much less set an auto-distress
beacon to get help!"
"That would cause a problem," Lum admits.
"Okay, Ami, go ahead," Ataru nods.
The armourer nods, then heads off. "I'll bring some chonagh and chigh-
tagh for you later," Usagi calls out.
"Bring for two, Usagi-chan!" Ami calls back before heading off the
school grounds. "Ritsuko's coming down to help me!"
Misato flushes. "Ritsuko-chan's coming here?!" she gasps, then turns to
Usagi. "You let me handle her, Usagi-chan!!"
"No problem," the zoologist beams.
"Let's get the job done first!!" Ataru growls.
Usagi and Misato flush in embarrassment. Lum snickers. Due to the
unique closeness of the *daishi'cha,* some being together for thousands of
years in cryogenic suspension, what Ami did was easily understood. Ritsuko,
as well as being Misato's *marei'cha,* was Ami's *aiha'cha;* both were
armourers who specialized in Gladiator maintenance. Since Misato came alone
to Earth to examine Mie, Ami...like all the *daishi'cha* would loathe to be
anywhere for an unspecified period of time without their bond-mate...resolved
the problem by inviting Ritsuko to come work with her. Ritsuko would do the
same thing for Ami if Usagi was not around for her bond-mate.
The two groups separate, Lum's team heading to her scout for the trip to
Oshika. Sylia faces everyone else. "Okay, we'll work in pairs. Priss with
me, Makoto with Reinoevan, Asukanoevan with Usagi, Rei with Minako, Hotaru
with Setsuna, Haruka with Michiru, Nene with Linna. We'll split the town
according to the RSN case study manual on suppressing Tomobiki. Everyone
should be familiar with it. Let's go!"
The groups nod, heading off. Disappointment is clearly on the faces of
three of the *daishi'cha*...
* * *
"Why I get stuck with you is something I'll never understand!" Makoto
growls as she and Reinoevan walk down one side street, scanners and pistols
out. "Aren't you supposed to be Asuka's teammate?!"
"If you think I like this, think again!" Rei snarls. "Yes, I am Asuka's
teammate! But with Ami fixing Mie's Gladiator, Usagi needs a partner!"
"I'd prefer Usagi over you!!"
The Tritonian-born Pathfinder emits a barking laugh. "Sure! A ditzoid
ship driver with an equally ditzoid zoologist!! I'm sure you two would've
been pretty effective!"
The Yehisrite-born watchmistress growls. What was wrong with this
situation? Sure, Mie and Rei had known each other longer than the former knew
Makoto, but the Pathfinder had been empathically closer with her Oni-born
teammate, despite the very short time Rei and Asukanoevan had known the other
(as *daishi'cha* #95143, Asuka had been a Sagussan for a little over a
century). When the *daishi'cha* began discovering their emotions, it was
expected by many that the two would become bond-mates.
Deciding that physical confrontation would do no good...understandable
since Rei's fighting prowess impressed Lufy...Makoto switches tactics. "Well,
maybe I'm wrong. This morning was quite enjoyable."
Rei blinks. "It was, wasn't it? Maybe Mie would be interested in
making it a threesome."
Makoto blinks. All three women becoming *marei'cha,* forming a single
family group?! Was Mie prepared for that? And why was Rei so desperate to
get in Mie's good graces? "Could you and I ever get along?" she probes.
"If Mie can't make a choice, it may be the only way we could all be
happy," Rei admits, projecting a light smile. "After all, we're both
dedicated to making Mie happy."
*You're running away from something, Rei!* Makoto keeps her face
neutral. *And I'd swear on Lyna's grave in Tere'na-korgh that her name's
spelt A-S-U-K-A-N-O-E-V-A-N!* "Well, if Mie does want it, then I suppose we
could come to some sort of understanding," the watchmistress muses. "But what
about Asuka?"
The Pathfinder jolts, then scowls. "That's a low blow!"
"I've got a right to question your motives!" Makoto snarls. "If you
really loved Mie, I could understand that! In fact, I'd be willing to become
bond-mates with you since we both shared the same interest in Mie! But I have
this sneaking hunch that you're after her for some other reason!"
"What reason could that be?!" Rei muses.
"Simple! Twelve years ago, you and Asuka were pretty close, even if we
didn't then understand what it meant to love someone. Then almost right after
Mie disappears, you declare that you wanted to be Mie's bond-mate! Now, if
that doesn't smell like mouldy, rotten yanbe-chagh, I don't know what will!!"
"I'm entitled to change my mind. Maybe I didn't find Asuka attractive
anymore! And I don't!!"
"You certainly find her cooking attractive!" Makoto snarls. "Last
night, you totally demolished Asuka's bam-gi with salt-spiced chagh! A lot of
people wanted to try that, you know!"
"She's an excellent cook," Rei admits.
"And I remember that knitted sweater she made for you when you two were
Duty *Daishi'cha,*" Makoto probes further. "You never wore your duty jersey
after that, even taking that sweater into cryosleep when Linna and Nene took
your place!"
"It was the middle of winter!" Rei snaps. "James was working on the
heaters and I wasn't interested in getting pneumonia!!"
"Bullshit!" Makoto snaps, pointing accusingly at her. "You love Asuka
even now! I bet if she did *mavan'shagh* for you, you'd pillow her silly for
three hours afterward and forget Mie ever existed!! So what's the big deal?!
Trying to go for a two-in-one?!"
The Tritonian-born warrior's eyes flash as she spins on her. "What
makes you think I want to be with anyone else BUT Asuka?!!"
She gasps, realizing what she just admitted. Makoto blinks as she
lowers her hand. "So that's it," she hums. "It's because Asuka changed so
much after Ataru visited, right?"
Rei looks down, tears in her eyes. "Yes..."
Silence. Rei tries desperately to regain her self-discipline. Makoto
looks away, angry at herself. She heard of cases like this. While the
majority of *daishi'cha* had embraced the internal revelations Ataru's
presence provoked, there were some who actually were frightened by the storm
of emotions they found themselves capable of unleashing. People who were more
comfortable being more rational, in a mode akin to Fourth Republic Sagussans
in the wake of the Clone Wars, than empathic.
Makoto knew Asuka despite their different positions in the Sagussan
Navy. She was passionate, devoted to her troopmates...not to mention
dedicated to winning her teammate's love. Given that Rei was more comfortable
being in a rational mode of mind, Asuka's wild and free-spirited nature must
have hit her teammate like a cyclone. Rei really saw no other option than to
keep her would-be bond-mate at an emotional distance. And doing so was
tearing at her soul. She was desperate for any respite from Asuka...but at
the same time could not stand being parted from her!
"She has to know the truth," Makoto advises.
"And break her heart?" Rei wonders.
"You're already breaking her heart by chasing after Mie," Makoto warns.
"Besides, I wonder if you're prepared to live the rest of your life on Earth."
"What?!! What does that mean?!"
"It means that Mie may choose to stay here," Makoto warns. "She has a
family. Even Ataru believes that Mie has the right to make a choice. Then
again, if you did come to live here, you'll be apart from Asuka."
Rei winces. "What about Mie's family?!" she snaps. "She's a
*daishi'cha!* Her proper place is on Sagussa, not Earth!! I wouldn't abandon
the world that gave me a new life just to chase after someone who's so
unappreciative that she'd turn her back on Sagussa!!"
"Then how can you say you love Mie?" Makoto muses. "I want to love Mie.
Love means that I respect Mie's wishes. If she wishes to live on Earth
because she feels uncomfortable about returning to Sagussa, then I either
respect her wishes and consider living here, or else consider letting her go.
You really can't let her go because if you do, Asuka'll be all over you and
you'd have no place to run!"
They glare at each other. The Pathfinder shudders, realizing that the
watchmistress has her trapped and there is no way out. "There are days I
curse Ataru's coming to Sagussa, you know that," Rei finally sighs.
"Let Asuka know the truth," Makoto insists. "If she can't take it,
she'll look elsewhere. Or she'll conform into something you'd like. Don't
drag me and Mie into this! She's doesn't need this garbage!!"
The silence is punctuated by a beep emitting from Makoto's scanner. She
looks at it, blinking. "Shit, I just picked up something really strong!!
That direction!" she points down a side street.
"Confirmed," Rei looks at her scanner, then she nods. "Let's go!! We
have a job to do!"
They sprint down the street. A moment later, they stand before an
abandoned ramshackle home. "Two small communications devices and four
biodroids inside," Rei looks at her readings, then at Makoto. "How d'you want
to play this?"
"Straightforward," the watchmistress pulls out a stun grenade, arms it,
then tosses it through a window.
Passing students watch as a muffled explosion forces what appears to be
a normal Japanese family...father, mother, son and daughter...run out of the
home. Makoto and Rei shoot them down without so much as batting an eye!
"I'll go take care of the comm gear," Rei heads inside the house.
"Right," Makoto nods as she stares at what is left of the "family."
"You'd think fanatic jerks like the Niphentaxians would've come up with
something a little more challenging!"
* * *
In another part of town walk Asukanoevan, Usagi and Luna. The
Terran-born zoologist is unarmed, being the type who would normally eschew
weapons (and given her lackluster performance in "My Darlings United," has
little skill to use them despite being bond-mates with an armourer). The
Oni-born Pathfinder keeps an eye out as Usagi sweeps the area with a
tricorder. "Anything?" she glances at her partner.
"Nothing...wait!" Usagi yelps as she registers something. "A faint
reading in that direction!" she points down the street.
"Let's go!" Asuka snaps as she charges down the street.
Luna growls as she runs after the Pathfinder. "Hey, wait for me!!"
Usagi gasps.
Ahead, Asuka emits a growl. She needed to let off some steam before she
did something really stupid, like lose her temper in front of Rei. That would
blow any chance she had of making the Tritonian-born warrior her bond-mate.
What had made Rei so cold over the last dozen years?! True, she had been
friends with Mie for a long time, almost nine centuries, but that still did
not explain her sudden and intense desire for the long-missing pilot.
Everyone knew that Mie and Makoto were an item, had been even before Ataru
came. Asuka had not been pleased to hear that Mie was alive and well. It
made her troopmate more distant.
Turning a corner, Asuka sees Mendou sitting on a park bench passionately
kissing Sil. Annoyed, she then spins on Usagi as she catches up, then nearly
faints for lack of oxygen. "*De'ne,* you're reading that scanner wrong!!" she
snarls. "There's nothing here but Mendou and his girlfriend!"
Mendou and Sil look quizzically at the two Sagussans. "I'm sure one of
them's a biodroid," Usagi protests...
...but says nothing more as Luna emits a roar as she leaps at "Mendou."
Sil shrieks as the biodroid is mauled by the sandpanther, unable to defend
itself against claws which could rend solid steel like a knife punching
through hot butter! In a moment, what is left falls apart. Luna sniffs what
is left, then hungrily growls. "Good girl, Luna," Usagi smiles as she walks
up, stroking the sandpanther's fur. "Who knows what that thing could've done
if we didn't catch it!"
"I...I didn't even realize..." Sil stammers, eyes wide.
"You're lucky," Asuka pulls out her own scanner to confirm that Sil is
who she is, then slings her rifle. "Chances are we better look in on the
guards' girlfriends to make sure none of them are being bushwacked."
"Good point," Usagi nods, then bops Luna's head. "No, Luna! You can't
eat it! You'll get indigestion!"
An annoyed Luna glares at the zoologist, as if to say, "Can't I get
ANYTHING to eat around this place?!"
* * *
Sylia's team works throughout the morning sweeping Tomobiki clear of all
biodroids and wrecking their communication gear. By noon, the all-clear is
sounded as what is left of the biodroids is retrieved by the "Kiboo'cha's"
transporter and beamed to the back lawn of Tomobiki High School, joining the
biodroids who replicated Oogi and his guards. "Any news from Oshika?" the
Seishin-born Pathfinder inquires of Priss.
"All clear," Priss sighs as she pulls out a spheroid grenade-like
object. "Mie's on her way down."
Makoto brightens. Reinoevan looks nervous. An annoyed glare crosses
Asukanoevan's face. "Well, let's get this over with," Sylia stares at the
heaped pile of metamorphic flesh some distance away. "Clear out, everyone!"
Everyone backs away as Priss arms the baulximite flash-bomb. "Fire in
the hole!!!" she yells as she tosses the weapon into the pile of biodroids,
then leaps for cover.
The weapon explodes, disintegrating all solid matter within a five-metre
radius of the blast-point. The smoke quickly dissipates, leaving nothing
behind but a pile of ashes. Everyone sighs as they stare morbidly at the
remains of Oogi's spies. "So now what?" Setsuna inquires.
"We should send them back to Phentax Two," Minako proposes. "With a few
rigged grenades to go along with it."
"Did Ataru order that?!" Rei stares at her bond-mate.
"No, but we should be thinking a little more for ourselves," the Vosian-
born warsuit pilot muses. "Besides, if Oogi gets caught in the blast, who
knows what that'll do to the Church of Lum as a whole."
"Doesn't the Non-Interference Directive apply?" Michiru inquires.
"Hey, those *kimei'ne* fanatics are threatening OUR *daimon'cha* and his
Other!!" Nene growls.
The Oni-born biologist sighs, mock-slapping herself. "Oh, silly me! I
forgot about that!" she muses. "Of course it doesn't apply!! Whatever was I
thinking?!"
Everyone laughs. "Priss, you take care of the care package," Sylia
notions the pile of ashes.
"Right, boss," the Yehisrite-born Pathfinder smiles. "I'll give it some
extra special attention. After all, it IS a declaration of war! We gotta
make sure the Niphentaxians get the message!"
"Oooh, I can't wait!" Rei purrs...
* * *
Later that afternoon, Reinoevan walks into Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlour,
now dressed in a jeans and a beautiful home-knit sweater of grey, white and
black. "Mount Fuji, please," she calls out.
"Okay," Pamanba smiles as she proceeds to fill the order.
"Did you get those creepy things?" Shinobu wonders as Rei sits.
"Yep," the Tritonian-born Pathfinder sighs. "The town's as clean as a
whistle. We're sending the ashes back to Phentax Two, along with a few
grenades just to make sure Oogi gets the message."
"He better get the message," Pamanba snarls as she prepares the Mount
Fuji. "I wouldn't be surprised if after the rebels win, they try to drag Oogi
back to Vos for trial."
"Hasn't the Mikado tried that?" Rei wonders. "If he did, he'd score a
lot of points with folks on the homeworld."
"He tried," Pamanba admits as she places the Mount Fuji. "We sent a
regiment of Marines and a squadron of battleships to destroy Lumukyou in
retaliation. Unfortunately, the Niphentaxians have those System Destroyers
protecting their homeworld and inner colonies. No one knew about it until
they wiped out our fleet and slaughtered almost everyone aboard. We heard
that the few survivors, if they weren't executed, were made into slaves."
"Barbaric!" Shinobu spits out disgustingly. "I can see why Lum hates
them! They're animals!!"
"Every race has the potential for barbarism, Shinobu," Rei warns. "Even
my race. After all, we inherited all the beliefs and philosophy of the Fourth
Republic, so we or our descendants could easily revert."
"I've heard something about this War of Clone Rights," Shinobu hums.
"Was it really that bad?!"
"Five hundred years, ten billion dead," Rei reports.
Shinobu and Pamanba pale. "That's a joke, right?!" the Vosian huntress
fearfully squeaks.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Rei muses.
Pamanba shudders. "Boy, the Mikado would be nuts to try to attack Ataru
head on with you girls around."
"Don't worry," Rei smiles as she digs into her Mount Fuji. "We believe
in the subtle approach. Your former commander and his officers got a
demonstration of it sometime ago."
"That was you?!!" Shinobu blinks.
"Actually, it was Lufy," Rei reports. "She's a former *pirpirsiw'r*
like Makoto, Ami and Priss."
"Wait!" Shinobu hums as she remembers the gathering at the end of the
Spirit War. "Blonde hair, green streak in it, a star on her cheek, right?!"
"That's her," the Sagussan nods.
"You mean the Enchanting *Laqu'r* of Falcros?!" Pamanba blinks. "She
would've died about eight hundred years ago?!"
"Maybe," Rei shrugs. "Most of us don't remember our previous lives
after our bodies are regenerated in the matrix. There are some who do, but
it's all fragmented memories which remained after the *mei'na* of the previous
self has already fled the body. I have no memories of my old life. All that
I presently am first came into existence a millennia ago."
"Wow!" Shinobu whistles, feeling her arm. "You sure don't feel like a
zombie to me!"
"That's to be expected," Pamanba hums. "Most people who gave the
Maidens consideration knew right from the start that you'd have to be restored
to true life if you were to serve whatever planet you eventually settled."
"That'll have to be kept under the table," Shinobu muses. "The guys at
school are pretty antsy about the idea of you girls coming after Ataru-kun,
even if a lot of them now have girlfriends. They still can't accept that
Lum's going along with it."
"That's why we moved to get Lum's understanding and approval of it
before we approached Ataru," Rei explains. "We don't look at Lum as an enemy.
She's part of us because she's part of Ataru. We're a part of Ataru too, as
he is of us."
"Do you know that Noa was the one who arranged that?!" Shinobu inquires.
"She bonded Ataru-kun and Lum fourteen years ago."
Rei considers the point. "She did? Well, that's understandable. If I
was caught in that sort of situation, I'd've done the same thing. You could
confess that for all of us. We...weren't what you'd call competent in
expressing our emotions, much less trying to interpret others."
"Especially shielding yourselves from other people's emotions," Shinobu
muses. "Noa told me at the party last night that her encounter with Ataru-
kun, Lum and Nokoko was very painful."
"Understandable," Rei nods...then tenses.
"What is it?" Pamanba looks concerned.
The door opens and Asukanoevan steps in. The Oni-born warrior is
dressed in a fetching gold dress. "Hi," she smiles. "Triple-scoop
neapolitan, please."
"Right away," Pamanba smiles.
Shinobu looks at Asuka, then looks at Rei. The Tritonian-born warrior
stares at her teammate, a lustful hunger glowing deep in her eyes...metered
with something Shinobu suspects is a touch of intimidation. *Only time I ever
saw that was when Ataru-kun reacted to Lum prior to going to Icarus,* she
muses, quickly drawing a host of conclusions.
Asuka sits beside Rei, obviously doing her best not to let her libido
take control of her. "Sylia got orders from Ataru," the former announces.
"We're to stay in town until the Niphentaxian situation is considered secure.
We'll be living at the Toranoseishin Finance building."
"That's good," Rei nods, eating her Mount Fuji as Pamanba hands Asuka
her ice cream cone, then switches to Sagussan. "Igh'oghn nuni mei'ne, ipdagh
kyoghno saran-oe-mujoigh."
"What does that mean?!" Shinobu and Pamanba chorus.
"'When fanatics are blind, a thousand innocent people suffer their
wrath,'" Asuka translates. "It dates from the Clone Wars. The people who
initiated that conflict had no purpose beyond fighting for their cause. When
the government deprived them of the person they chose as their icon, they went
crazy..."
"And we have to undo that," Rei completes. "If Oogi is of the same
nature as the members of Tarun-Chong fourteen millennia ago, this battle's not
over yet."
Shinobu takes that in. "Ataru-kun would have to destroy Phentax Two
like he was forced to destroy Phentax Twelve."
"He destroyed a Niphentaxian colony?!" Pamanba gasps, then laughs.
"It's no wonder Oogi hates him. Ataru should have got a medal."
"He almost did," Shinobu confirms. "The people of Phentax Twelve
stumbled onto this bioroid production faculty and were using the products as
their slaves. Worse, they used a cursed crystal ball meant for Lum to control
the bioroids...the Avalonians. The crystal ball literally sucked the
life-energy out of the Niphentaxians living on Phentax Twelve. When Ataru-kun
destroyed the crystal ball to save Lum, he not only freed the Avalonians, he
killed every Niphentaxian on the planet...and to make sure that the curse
could never spread, he had to destroy Phentax Twelve itself. The rest of the
Galactic Federation understood that, according to Lum..."
"But Oogi never could," Pamanba concludes.
"Right," Shinobu nods.
As Ataru's former girlfriend and the Vosian huntress continue their
discussion, Asuka and Rei stare at the other. The former reaches to grasp the
latter's hand. Sensing the storm of emotions barely contained under Asuka's
skin, Rei bolts away. "No!!" she gasps, leaping back to put some distance
between her and her would-be bond-mate.
"Rei!" Asuka stares at her, standing. "Why are you running away?! You
know that Mie doesn't want anything to do with you!"
Shinobu and Pamanba quizzically stare at this scene, unsure as to what
happened. A mixture of pain and confusion is on Asuka's face. Rei's is
crossed by denial, pain and a touch of revulsion, all mixed with sadness.
"It's me you want, Rei," Asuka's voice lowers an octave as her hand reaches to
her dress. "Why are you chasing another's bond-mate when I'm around...?"
The clasp comes undone, Asuka's dress falling away to reveal nothing
underneath. Rei lets out a hoarse gasp as her teammate's mind then begins to
shed her psionic barriers. *Mavan'shagh.* Time of no secrets. The
uninhibited bearing of one's soul to another in the most erotic act a Sagussan
could perform. To Rei's psionic eyes, Asuka is not just a pretty sixteen year
old Oni, well-developed and highly exercised given her chosen profession.
Asuka is presently a glowing point of warm light. This image is a
visualization of her *mei'na,* the very core of her being, now freed from the
trappings of the flesh, exposed for all to see, touch, caress and meld. Rei's
*mei'na* automatically ignites, her own desires forcing her psi-barriers down
as she reach out to that icon of purity before her.
Sensing Rei's interest, Asuka's *mei'na* extends psionic tendrils,
metaphysical "hands" to grasp her target. Some intertwine with Rei's probes.
Others pass them, penetrating through the holes in Rei's defenses to integrate
with the Tritonian-born woman's own *mei'na.* Given time and Rei's
willingness to cooperate with Asuka, this process would form a *marei'cha*
bond, making them a couple in the eyes of their people.
"No!!!"
Asuka gasps as Rei brings her arms in an X-formation in front of her,
yanking away her psionic probes as her shields return to full strength,
effectively blinding her senses to Asuka's radiance. *Manuni'shagh.* Denial
of one's own intimate desires by denying the interest of others. The ultimate
slap in the face. But the exertion costs Rei all her strength; she collapses
to her knees, then passes out. "Rei!!!" Asuka gasps as she runs to her fallen
teammate's side, gently lifting the unconscious Rei onto her lap.
Shinobu blinks. Being psi-null, she does not comprehend what transpired
here. Pamanba had no choice in the matter. When Asuka stripped her shields,
her brainwave patterns became "visible" to the Vosian's tracking powers...and
by the sheer intensity of the Sagussan's mind, burned her own mind out. She
now lies on the floor, unconscious from the searing power of Asuka's mind, her
nose haemorrhaging. By that time, Rei's eyes are fluttering open. Asuka
glares at her, the betrayal and pain torquing her features. "Why?!" she
demands. "In Lyna's name, why?! Why?!! Why?!!"
Rei wants nothing else but to be left alone so she could try to put the
mess her own spirit in order. But Asuka would not back away. Retreat was not
in a Pathfinder's language. Then a friend's words come to her: "Let Asuka
know the truth. If she can't take it, she'll look elsewhere. Or she'll
change herself to conform into something you'd like..."
There was only one way to do that.
Asuka gasps as Rei relaxes all her guards, lowering them in her own
*mavan'shagh.* Anticipation crosses the former's face as she prepares to
drink from this heady ran-jugh, something she dreamt of for a century. And
this time, she will not be denied as her shields lower. Then, Asuka blinks as
thoughts and words come to her. Rei asking herself what was happening to the
person she cared for...
No.
Back then, they were Oai-eieoei and Uouiaioi'ii; they did not have names
when Ataru first visited. Like most *daishi'cha,* Asuka had drunk deeply from
the heady wine of uncontrolled emotions typical of a five-year old boy from
Earth, they becoming part of her soul. However, Rei only sipped from that
emotional bottle. While she did learn, as they all did, how to emote, she
kept her newfound knowledge in perspective. She liked being in control of
herself, using logic instead of venting her new emotions and potentially
losing command of the situation. After all, the warrior who lost all sense of
her situation soon became a dead warrior.
And Rei had lost all sense of what happened to Asuka.
Before Ataru's coming, Asuka had been as thoroughly analytical, as
rational as her teammate. Both had seriously discussed becoming bond-mates
long before they understood the emotion called love. But when Asuka's
mannerisms radically altered with the changes in her *mei'na,* Rei was
repulsed. To the latter, the woman she knew had ceased to exist, replaced by
this stranger with Asuka's face and voice, but with little else where it
really counted.
Which began Rei's interest in Mie. She was one of the first to learn of
the pilot's disappearance, as well as the *tre'cha* she performed with Hotaru
prior to her disappearance. Bombarded by an unrelenting Asuka, Rei sought a
place of refuge where she could still be in command of the situation. That
refuge was Mie. More precisely, the Mie which remained on Sagussa, hardly
changed by Ataru's appearance and the havoc he caused. With it, Rei's sanity
was kept intact...while her heart was cruelly divided between her past love of
Asuka and her present need for Mie.
"I didn't understand..." Asuka gasps, tightly embracing Rei.
Both stare at each other. "You became a stranger to me," Rei sniffs,
tears flowing down her cheeks. "The woman I was used to just disappeared
before my eyes..."
"I'm still here, Rei..."
"I know...and deep down, I hoped you'd come back..."
"I can't turn back the clock," Asuka admits.
Sadness crosses Rei's face as she nods. Makoto was right. She had been
unfair to many people, most of all herself. Asuka had deeply suffered, Mie
was confused and Makoto more than right to be angry. But Rei liked being the
way she was. It felt safe to her, as well as secure. How could she
accommodate Asuka? She could not. It would just produce more pain and
misery. "Nothing can go further from this," she looks away.
Asuka blinks, then tilts Rei's head back so they could stare into the
other's eyes. "Wanna bet?"
"Wha...?!" Rei gasps, but her voice is cut off as Asuka's lips caress
her teammate's...no!
Bond-mate's.
It had happened.
They stare at each other. "If you can accept me the way I am now,"
Asuka smiles. "I can more than accept you."
Rei shudders, sobs bursting from her lungs as she fiercely embraces
Asuka. The one who had stood by her for a century. The one who had never
given up on her dreams of winning Rei's love. And Rei did love Asuka. She
always had. There were parts of Asuka which intimidated, frightened her
bond-mate, but everyone was unique. Such was the way of the Universe. How
could you deny reality? Rei continues to cry as Asuka rocks her body,
soothing Rei with a soft mantra. "It's okay...it's okay...it's okay..."
Finally, Rei looks up, then places her hands on the other's cheek.
Since their minds automatically bonded when both performed *mavan'shagh* with
the other unshielded, there was no need for an additional mind-meld.
"Do vanan'cha...marei'cha-Asuka."
Asuka sniffs as she duplicate's Rei's actions.
"Do vanan'cha...marei'cha-Rei."
They kiss...
* * *
Several minutes later, a happy couple departs Shapiro's Ice Cream
Parlour, hand-in-hand. Shinobu remains in place, confusion etched on her
face. Something incredible had happened, but she had no idea what it was. Of
all the strange oddities she had encountered since Lum's arrival, this had to
be the oddest! "What do you think happened, Pamanba...?!" she turns to stare
at her friend...then blinks on not seeing her. "Pamanba?! Where are you?!"
She sees Pamanba slowly recovering, her skin pale from loss of blood,
clothes now stained red. "Pamanba!!!" Shinobu shrieks as she leaps to her
friend's side. "What happened?!!"
Pamanba yelps as Shinobu's words crash into her eardrums. "Ouch!!
Don't shout so loud, Shinobu! Lecasur's Soul, did someone get the number of
those asteroids that hit me?!"
Shinobu blinks, then stares out the window where Asuka and Rei had
gone...
* * *
To be continued...
