Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 Files
Chapter 11: The Burn of Desire
by P. Kristen Enos (bgcpost2040@aol.com)
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A Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 English Dub Version Fanfic. All rights belong to AIC, ADV Films and the other creative powers that be. I just want credit for writing the story. Contains spoilers! Rated PG13. Yuri warning! Nothing in here should be a shock if you've watched the episodes and paid attention. All I'm doing is filling in the gaps with my own interpretation of events! Special thanks to egret for betaing!
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Linna waited on the sidewalk as she anxiously glanced at any car that looked like it might pull up to the front of the office building. Even though she had agreed to a short meeting with Reika, she had belatedly realized she had no idea what kind of vehicle she was looking for as she waited.
The last time Linna had seen Reika was on that night when Reika received the news of her parents' untimely deaths. She vividly remembered the sight of the clearly distraught woman as she disappeared into a waiting car to go to an emergency family meeting. Linna's lack of patience had almost driven her crazy in the past week because she wanted to call and check up on the grieving woman, but she knew the situation was far too sensitive to approach with her usual bull-by-the-horns style. So Linna had no choice but to force herself to wait, as torturous as it was.
On the other hand, Irene hadn't been at the gym since the news and according to the front desk personnel wasn't scheduled to return for another week. Therefore Linna could not check on her friend either.
So naturally, she was both thrilled and worried when she had finally received a message from Reika the previous night.
Reika had sounded haggard and a little scattered as she left a message apologizing for not calling sooner, saying that she had been occupied with the preliminary funeral service in Tokyo followed by a visit to the family compound in Hong Kong where her parents' ashes were going to be housed. She also mentioned that she had some bad news but wanted to see Linna to tell her in person. Unfortunately, the only time she could see her was a maximum of fifteen minutes on the way to the airport for another out of country trip.
"Linna, are you going to join us for lunch?"
She turned to see two of her O.L. coworkers approach her. "Not today, thank you. I'm meeting someone."
"Oooh! Is he handsome?" one of them teased, expecting the usual denial of anything romantic in the other woman's life.
Linna said with a gentle smile, "I wouldn't quite use the word handsome."
Clearly floored and fascinated, her coworkers were about to barrage her with questions when a long, gray limousine suddenly pulled up to the curb beside them, causing all three women to stare with complete amazement and shock.
The back door opened and a tall, imposing man in a black business suit stepped out. He had very chiseled, hard features that were matched by the salt and pepper crew cut of his hair. Linna's jaw dropped to the ground even further when she realized that he was her would-be stalker from a week ago.
He bowed deeply and greeted, "Miss Yamazaki." He held the door open for her, clearly indicating that she should get in.
"I'll see you after lunch," Linna declared to her coworkers as she stepped into the limo and the bodyguard closed the door firmly behind her.
Kou then gave a bow of acknowledgement to the other amazed women, who hastily responded in kind. Without another word, he disappeared into the cab to occupy the passenger side of the front seat.
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"I'm so glad you're able to meet me on such short notice," Reika explained as the two women sat in the back of the car. "I was afraid I'd miss you with such a limited window."
"I would have found some way to free myself so we could meet," Linna answered softly as she tried to get used to the idea of being in a limousine. It helped a little bit that Reika herself was dressed in jeans and a casual shirt so the mood didn't feel so formal even though Linna was dressed in the standard Office Lady attire.
Linna tried not to be too obvious as she took in the details of the woman who sat next to her, yet she was appalled at how gaunt and unhealthy Reika looked. She wanted to hug the woman, or at least touch her in some way to show support but she kept to herself based on instinct.
"How are you doing?" she finally asked.
Reika shrugged a little helplessly. "I'm surviving at the moment. I've been so busy with trying to fill my dad's shoes that I haven't had much time to think about anything else. And I've been so exhausted otherwise. I guess it's a good thing because it keeps me from being completely depressed. How are you?"
Linna looked a little startled at the shifting of the focus to her but she answered, "I'm doing okay. I certainly haven't had quite the… traumatic experiences you've had lately. So when you say you're filling in for your dad, does this mean you've agreed to run the business after all?"
Reika was quiet for a moment as she stared at the ebony ring that was engraved with a tiger's head on her right hand.
"That's why I needed to talk to you," she finally said, barely keeping her voice firm as she spoke. "It turns out that Sho wouldn't be a suitable successor to the business after all, so I've agreed to take over. Permanently. I'm getting by right now with approaching it as a glorified acting job, but it will change once I'm used to my new role - no pun intended. With my acceptance, however, there are certain conditions which determine what my life path is going to be. And unfortunately, it does not include the possibility of the two of us."
"Oh." Linna felt her heart freeze but she kept her composure even though she was struggling to remain focused. After all, she had only seen this woman for a total of three times over the course of a week. It shouldn't hurt this bad, should it?
"I mean, we could have continued dating," Reika added, her gaze focused on the traffic scene through the window, "But I know there would have been a point where we couldn't progress further in terms of becoming serious, should things have worked out. I don't think it's fair to you to lead you on without being honest about that. And I already realize how awkward this is going to be at first since you are friends with Irene, which I fully encourage you to continue… You have no idea how sorry I am about this."
Linna swallowed and tried to fight back the swell of tears as she stared down at her hands, which were clenched together on her lap. "No, I -- I think I understand. And you're right about it not being fair to me. So thank you."
"I mean, it's probably just as well we end it now before we got too serious about each other," the other woman said as if she was trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do, her tone sounding shakier by the moment. "After all, I'm not expected to come back to Tokyo for another month, and it's only for a couple of days to conduct some meetings. After that, I don't know when I'd be able to come back to Tokyo for a visit, much less live. My grandfather assures me it won't always be this crazy but even he doesn't know when our current crisis period will be over. And--"
"Reika," Linna interrupted softly. "Could you tell your driver to drop me off a couple of blocks up the road, please? I need to go for a walk."
"Of course," she responded as she quickly relayed the order through the intercom.
In the overwhelming silence, Reika studied Linna's profile and then reached out hesitantly. She saw Linna stiffen as the fingers came close, but she didn't say or do anything that indicated that Reika should stop. Feeling as if permission was given, Reika gently ran her fingers through Linna's hair, seeing the other woman close her eyes but still not doing anything else. Keeping her hand on the back of the other woman's neck, she leaned forward and tenderly kissed her cheek.
By then, tears were already starting to trickle down from beneath her closed eyelids, but Linna didn't care as she leaned against the contact. She had one chance left and she was going to take it. With her eyes still closed and guided by instinct and heat, she turned to plant her mouth against Reika's.
The women kissed, definitely with more passion or hunger than needed for closure, but neither one of them stopped. It wasn't until the driver announced through the intercom speaker that they had reached Linna's requested drop-off point when they finally parted.
Wordlessly, they collected themselves before giving each other a look of farewell as Linna stepped out of the limousine.
-- End Chapter 11 --
-- End of Part 1: "Stripes in the Jungle" --
Special Author's Note on 5/23/01 - Here's where giving feedback makes a difference! Due to the incredible response, I am currently making arrangements and reexaming plot elements and pacing to make this an "ongoing" series, meaning not ending as soon as I originally planned, and always having the room for extension provided I am suitably inspired with ideas I want to explore, people continue to enjoy it, and I have the support of a beta reader.
Also, it seems the Chang sisters have proven to be popular, which means I'm reevaluating my plans to have one of them murdered in Part 2 (no surprise for OVA viewers) -- but no promises at this point.
See what happens as the result of an email or two?
