Bubblegum Crisis Post 2040 Files
Part 2: Hunters
Chapter 18: Suspicious Timing
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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"-I really am glad to see you!" Irene declared as they settled themselves on one of the many benches populating the indoor shopping center that was connected the sports complex. "I was afraid that, well..."
"I just came back from a week long visit to my parents," Linna explained as she glanced around at the well-lit and almost empty plaza since it was nearing closing time for the shops, although the gym maintained much later hours. "But I'll admit that I'd been... avoiding things up until then. I think the trip home was what I needed to lift my spirits again. It took a bad arranged date but I'm definitely better than I have been in the past couple of months."
"Are you sure?" her friend persisted.
"I'm better! Honest!" Linna said as she stretched out her weary limbs. "I just took my first judo class and I'm feeling great! It's like that physical release is what I've been needing for a long time. Although the bruises are something I'm going to have to get used to."
Irene frowned to herself and muttered, "I could just kill Reika! I didn't know she had stopped seeing you until she called and told me..." She suddenly stopped and then said softly, "It's just one more mistake she's made on top of everything else."
Linna's curiosity was in overdrive at those words but she was afraid to ask a question, to become involved in Reika's life no matter how indirectly. She did not want to be hurt again, especially over nothing. Suddenly, a mild pinch of pain went through her head and she rubbed her temples to counteract it. This small headache was probably her brain telling her to get up and leave, but she stayed. Her curiosity always had the upper hand. "It doesn't sound as if you two are getting along right now."
"We had a huge fight shortly after our parents passed away. And we haven't had a real conversation since, other than the one time she called and told me... Well, I just see her repeating a pattern." Irene sighed and then glanced at Linna cautiously. "Did she tell you about her first girlfriend? About their break-up?"
"No," Linna answered, her curiosity was definitely in control of her mouth now. "We didn't have an opportunity to talk about such things."
"They were together for a long time," Irene explained. "In fact, they were childhood best friends. And even though they weren't 'out' when their relationship progressed further, it was just one of those things everyone knew, except they thought no one did. But they had one of those intense, private relationships, even when they were just friends. When it was clear they were having relationship trouble, no one knew what to do but leave them alone and let them try to sort it out on their own, or wait for Reika to ask for help. But she never did. She kept everything bottled up, even though she did once acknowledge to me that they were indeed fighting a lot, only because I kept pushing for her to admit it. Reika had been attending Tokyo University when they finally broke up, even though she's always claimed it was amicable. I don't think it was a coincidence that right afterwards she lost all interest in school and wanted to move out of the country, as she claims 'to explore the world' while she was still young and irresponsible. Dad convinced her to at least stay and finish getting her degree but it was clear she was on emotional autopilot. After graduation, she ran away to America to start an anonymous life from scratch. And she never once talked about the break-up.
"I do love my sister dearly, but she and I are complete opposites. Even though she can seem very socially friendly, she's extremely private and doesn't make real friends. The few girlfriends she's had since then were clearly not serious relationships, at least from her perspective even though they may have thought otherwise. And it's not because she's cold-hearted; it's quite the opposite. I think she feels too much and being burned that first time was one time too many, and her way of controlling that risk is by keeping people at a distance. She's an actress because she's a natural. And her lack of success is because she doesn't have a passion for it as a career, not because she lacks talent by any means. She's so good that you can almost feel as if she believes the role she's taken on, whether it's for a couple of hours or years. So when she told me she was taking over the family business permanently, I hit the roof because she made a unilateral decision that affected both of us.
"I don't believe she was meant to be the head of... our family business, but she's going to do everything that the role requires because that's just the way she is. When she makes a hard decision, she sticks by it no matter what. It's her own form of stubbornness. The ironic thing is that I would support her as the new head if I honestly thought it was Reika being herself, rather than taking on a role and reading from a script she's making up as she goes along. She's effectively committing emotional suicide, and I feel so helpless but at the same time I just want to shake some sense into her..." Irene finally let out a sigh and said, "I think I'm rambling all of this because I want to let you know, it'd been a long time since I've seen her as emotionally alive as she was at my party, when she met you for the first time. I just want to point out that she made her decision about you before she made her decision about taking on the family business. And if anyone can talk sense into her at this point, I think it could be you."
Linna had already felt her heart start to tighten before those final words, so she shouldn't have been surprised at the hopeful and yet painful spasm she felt. Yet the damn headache got worse. So much so that there was a chill creeping through her despite the turmoil of conflicting emotions and sensations.
"Are you all right?" Irene asked, finally noticing the way her friend winced painfully as she anxiously rubbed her temples.
"I - I don't think so," Linna squinted as she tried to look around the indoor plaza. "Do you see any boomers around here?"
"Boomers?" Irene was obviously confused but looked around at her friend's request. "Um, no. Is there something I can do?"
Linna noticed the occasional shopkeeper as they started closing for the night, but no sign of any of the metallic servants. Then she noticed four attractive women walking in their direction, each carrying a gym bag in preparation for their own workouts. Even though it was clear they were together, they weren't talking to each other, instead staring straight ahead as they moved with smooth, purposeful strides. As one, they turned and looked at Linna and Irene, and stopped in their tracks when they were fifty meters away.
The next instant Linna felt a sharp stab of pain overwhelm her brain, causing her to cry out. The young woman then collapsed onto the floor, completely unconscious.
"Linna!" Irene cried out as she knelt by her friend. She turned frantically to the passively watching women and yelled, "Go get some help! Please!"
The electricity suddenly went out, dropping the plaza into complete blackness.
Oh shit! What else could go wrong?! Irene thought as she struggled to pick up Linna without tripping over herself or her friend in the darkness.
An unmistakable hissing noise suddenly cut through the air, followed by the sound of a painful cry and a heavy object hitting the floor from across the plaza. The pattern of noises repeated itself but from different areas of the darkness.
Irene froze. She knew too much about her family business to not recognize the sound of silencers being used, and quite effectively at that.
She mentally flashed on Sho and started to utter a small prayer just as she felt the sharp sting of being hit in the side.
-- End Chapter 18 --
