Chap3

A story by Murasaki Iiro
..........One of The Enemy...........
Chapter Three: Riaquni Reconsiders


Riaquni's heart stopped at a sickening halt. The only sound she could hear was Khaeri's voice, loud, clear, and unfaltering.The sternness of his tone bothered her intensely. He was truly serious about this. Had he been driven completely mad by grief?

Riaquni.......It was the last thing she asked of me..........please........I need you to cooperate here.......we're in a much worse position than ever before.......

What's the point............we're all going to die either way.......What makes you think they would accept us as part of their group?We tried to kill them, Khaeri. Do you really think that they would forget that?I still have nightmares about my father's death......I can't imagine fighting on the same side of the Seiyans who have my family's blood on their hands...........

I know, Riaquni, It's hard for me too. Think about it though ....... They joined up with Prince Vegita..........and he was one of our strongest.....

What does that traitor have to do with us?.........Seiyans are Seiyans.They're all the same. It's a fact of nature. They hate us, and we hate them. Why should it change now?..... Simply because you just decided that it should?

It wasn't me who said this.........It was my mother. Her theory might work, Riaquni. We have no allies left. Even our own people have exiled us........So many of our friends died horrible deaths.........

Like I said before, there is no point! They will kill us the first chance they get. Why should they hear us out? I refuse to die groveling to some Seiyan murderer, begging for mercy.

This doesn't sound like you,Riaquni....Why are you saying this..........You can't let grandmother influence you like that. She can't get over what happened.She's bitter, Riaquni. She's just trying to get revenge. Where will this expedition take us anyway? ..............Straight to hell, most likely..... Not everything has to end this way.

Fate is inevitable, Khaeri. You of all people should know that by now. Look at what life has done to you................Do you not see it?

Fate is only what you let it become. .........My mother loved you as if you were one of her own daughters.......she trusted you to support me in this effort............Even if you won't listen to me, do it for her sake....Do it for my mother...............

It was true. Jinna was like a second mother to her. Through the darkest of hours, she was always there . She recalled a time eight years before, the day she lost her younger brother.

The memory echoed coldly from the inner sanctum of her thoughts. Everything was a sea of blackness, without the slightest glimpse of hope. He was dead, and so it seemed ,was everything else she found happiness in. Shouting rang through the corridors, unavoidable, following her from room to room......................

"So this is what they want, Zarbon?...........They killed an eight year-old boy..........Why didn't they face me instead?........It's not right......It should have been me instead of Xan............Zarbon.......he was only a child........Why did they attack?.......They knew he couldn't have defended himself if he tried........... ....Xan.......Xan........."


Her father's voice faded and cracked, only to be replaced by more screams of anguish.

"I want them dead! Let me at them! .......Those heartless demons.........Where do they get off murdering my grandson?.......... Who are they?.......Tell me, Koola, who are they!?!...."

"They disappeared, Father........gone,without a trace...........please, Father, Don't be irrational now, during a time like this........Death is difficult for all of us..........."

"Irrational!?!.......You dare call me irrational?.......Koola, they just burnt your brother's eight-year old son to a bloody crisp!..........."

"Father, please..........stop ! .....It's not a way to deal with loss....... I know.....It's killing me too............he barely even had a chance to live at all..............."

Trying to block out the words, she curled herself up into a tight ball . She strained to close out the screaming, but it seemed only to become louder still. The whole palace was in tears, servant ,general, and prisoner alike......there was no escape.........All she wanted was to cry in silence,shut away from the frenzied world around her.

Please............go away............leave me be.................

Just as she was about to sink into a black hole of despair, A tear-streaked, but smiling face emerged from the darkness. Jinna had been watching the whole time, looking for the right moment to interfere.

Ten-year old girls often pretended to be grown women, but they were still children, vulnerable and defenseless to the cruelties of reality. Jinna knew how lost and desolate Riaquni must have felt, and there was very little she could do to comfort her, let alone help her forget the events of that day.Sometimes being the one left living was a billion times more painful than to be the one who had died. All she could offer her right then was a shoulder to cry on.............

Riaquni threw her arms around Jinna's neck, sobbing uncontrollably. To the skinny girl in her embrace, it was the end of innocent childhood, unscarred by the turmoils of war and political unrest. For such a young person to live through a tragedy like this one, that struck so close to her heart, was too high a price to pay for the great warrior she would become.

Yet, for Riaquni, her aunt's silent guidance brought strength, and it gave her the will to survive the next day, the next week, and the years to follow...................

Riaquni.......are you there?.........Riaquni?.............Answer me.........

There was a long pause.

Fine. I'll do it.

So, you'll help me?..............

Not you, your mother...........I owe her one.........

Why the sudden change of heart?..............

Oh, no............It's nothing really.........I was just thinking back......Your mother was an awesome lady......She didn't deserve a death like that................I'm really going to miss her.............

Khaeri pondered his cousin's words, searching for the meaning behind them.Yes, his mother was a truly awesome lady. He would treasure every moment with her for as long as he lived.

So am I, Riaquni, ...........So am I..........

The connection between them faded as Khaeri began to lose concentration. He had a lot to accomplish by the next morning, and the tasks that lay before him were not simple ones. Riaquni was only one obstacle of many. Khaeri still had to deal with his brothers, Sasdan and Zautrai, who were both more powerful than himself, although younger. The success of this operation balanced heavily on their shoulders, despite his mother's insistence of his seniority.........

Riaquni lifted herself out of the snow, brushing off the frozen powder from her body suit and armor. The ends of her silky hair had frozen to stiff points and her hands were beginning to be overtaken by a n uncomfortable numbness. The temperature had dropped steeply as the moon came to its peak in the midnight sky. She hesitated to turn and face her mother and grandmother. They would not take this unprecedented news very well ...........

Miles from where Riaquni stood, the five million residents of North City were each celebrating the holiday season in their own way. Some were at home with their families and friends, sitting down to a hearty five-course meal. Young, single salarymen partied mindlessly with scantily clad women in dimly-lighted clubs , an experience most would not remember on Christmas morning. Tourists from cities far away filled the luxury hotels, looking for an elegant, cheaper alternative to the classic vacation getaway.

To say the very least, business was booming.

On the corner of Shimura Street and 101st avenue, a smallish, nondescript sushi restaurant was open for business. A neatly painted, red and black lacquer sign displayed the Kanji for
Shimura Street Sushi. Paper and wood sliding doors and low, four legged tables gave it a traditional Japanese touch. The menu was framed and secured to the doorpost, advertising descent, but not cheap, prices. There was a varying array of dishes to be had: crispy tempura , cold fuka, mekajiki shreds wrapped in seaweed and avocado............Delicious...........

That night, the night before Kurisumasu , was especially busy,more so than usual . Behind a glass- shielded counter, a sixteen-year old boy hummed to himself as he doused the next batch of chicken teriyaki with soy sauce . He was dressed in a black kimono jacket with a thin pinstripe pattern and relaxed-fit khaki pants.The boy had already removed his black worker-style boots and traded them in for the more appropriate geta clogs. A red headband kept wisps of wild lavender hair from his face. The kanji imprinted on it in India ink script read Fubuki Kiniro , or Golden Blizzard , no doubt, his name.

The heat from the hibachi turned his alabaster-pale face a flushed pink. He yawned halfheartedly , his oddly-slanted ,wine-colored eyes beginning to fade away into weariness.............

Fubuki- san! Lazy boy! You can sleep later! ..........Watch the Teriyaki, will you?......I don't want this place going up in flames on Christmas..................baka............are you listening to me?!?

Mr. Kanbokuda, the owner of Shimura Street Sushi, gave his youngest chef a sharp rap on the back of the head. Despite his repeated spells of incompetence, he was possibly the best assistant chef he had ever employed. It was too bad that Kiniro was still in school, and only worked at night. If he would agree to forego college for a full apprenticeship, perhaps he could inherit the business someday. He certainly did have a way with food..................

Kiniro suddenly forgot about his current desire for a nap, and paused to think of a respectful retaliation to Mr. Kanbokuda's wake-up call.

.A thousand apologies ,Kanbokuda-sensei............

That's all right boy, no need to grovel.........just pay a tad more attention to what you're doing tonight, okay? .....

Kiniro bowed submissively to the master sushi chef and returned to the issue of the teriyaki.

This is gonna be a long night........... he complained under his breath, hoping that nobody would hear.


Author's note - Ha! You didn't expect that last bit did you?So.......the question remains........Who is Fubuki
Kiniro, and why, in the name of Kami, is he working in a North City sushi restaurant? What in the world is he doing in this plot line anyway? Until next time..........
Review please!
----Murasaki Iiro