Some times I wonder. I really think there might be something seriously wrong with my head. Every time I begin to write a fanfic, I always do so because I have this really weird dream. And this dream is such a different and bizarre idea, I can't help but elaborate upon it. I am still working on my first fanfic. It's a Tenchi one with a "kinda" self-insertion. It's getting long and I feel I need a slight break from the usual humdrum. This new idea, once again, came to me in a really weird dream. It's so bizarre and out of place that I feel it may make for some good reading and perhaps thinking.
The basic premise is this: What would happen if Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry from Saber Marionette J were, instead of Marionettes, human? Kinda blasphemous considering the whole premise of SMJ is the fact that they are really not, well, physically not, human. I believe they are more human in their hearts and minds than most people on Terra II. Anyway, What would have happened if they were indeed human, real flesh and blood? What would have happened if Mesopotamia had destroyed itself in the high orbit above Terra II, killing everyone but those 6 men who escaped? Killing everyone, including Lorelei? How different a hand, do you think, fate would have dealt the inhabitants of Terra II? Since Mesopotamia is now gone, as is Lorelei, the whole purpose of Faust and Leyasu change. No longer are they living to save that woman, they are merely surviving to save themselves. History would have taken a drastic turn. Fate would have been much different.
But I feel, that despite the transgression of timelines, the love that those three marionettes, pardon, I mean women, feel towards Otaru would not change. They would be determined to remain by his side, no matter the consequence. They would protect him no matter the cost. I don't believe that their love for Otaru was a programmed reaction built into their Maiden Circuitry, a function designed solely to ensure that they would stay near the one that wakes them until they mature. I believe when they were awoken they knew right away that this man would be the one and right then and there, true love bloomed for this hapless little man who'd done nothing but accidentally activate them. Love at first sight might be more appropriate a term. Their puppy love and their desire to help Otaru and keep him close and dear to them really and truly was love in the purest sense. Only love could have driven them to do what they did at the end of SMJ.
Otaru is still there on Terra II. So are his marionettes, or so he thinks. He doesn't know what they truly are yet. They came to him suddenly one day, I'll explain how exactly a little later on. Their love is still there. Their Maiden Circuit is also there, but for a much different purpose. Remember, not only are they human now, but Lorelei is dead. Faust is around. So is Gartlant, but this is not about them. The saber dolls are around as well, once again for very different reasons. History has been changed significantly. This is no longer 200 years after but more around, perhaps 1000 years. The past has changed considerably. Time has changed considerably.
Time, I suppose this is what this tale is about. Time, you see, is everything. It is a stream that envelops us all and dives the course of our actions. Time is variable. What we do decides our course in time. We live simply with those that have chosen to continue traveling this course with us. Those that have chosen to take a different path in life and follow different events have left our path in this stream by "Dying" and going on to live their lives in another branch of this time stream. This stream only flows one way. There is no going back. Our choices guide our souls. Our choices decide other's fate.
This is not Saber Marionette J. This is not the SMJ that you've seen. Things are different. People are different. Places may have changed. History has changed. Purpose has changed. Lives have changed, the world has changed. But love, that driving force behind all that we do good for other people, has not. I'm interested to see how far Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry are willing to take their love for Otaru in this much different world. I am not forcing you to read this. I am not, in anyway, bashing the ideals of SMJ. Saber Marionette J is my all time favorite anime. I've never seen one with such emotion in such a spectacular ending. They gave their souls to the devil in order to save the man they loved and the planet they called home. Do not flame me and tell me that this is not how things should go. I know full well how things should "go". Don't flame me and tell me that this is simply blasphemous to the whole idea of SMJ, for you are wrong. SMJ is about survival. SMJ is about "human". SMJ is about love. I will try and fulfill these three prerequisites to the best of my ability.
I don't know how this will end. I'm not sure if this will be a tragedy, if those three women will die. I'm not sure if this will have a happy ending, or one with a twist, or if it will simply have one. This is a pet project. I am simply expanding upon a dream that I had. The twists and turns this story makes will surprise both you and me. I will let this tale weave itself. Nothing is in stone except one thing - Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry still love Otaru with all their hearts, all their minds, and all their souls.
As usual , Saber Marionette J and all its affiliated characters do not belong to me in any way. I'm not sure who created them (I could look it up, but I'm simply too lazy to do so) but who ever did so has my ultimate respect. Kudos to those Japanese guys, they really know how to weave a tale. If you have any constructive criticisms contact me at The_Dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com . Flames will be frowned upon if they have no legitimate grounds. Think before you open your mouth. It's that simple.
I've given this a PG-13 rating for some adult language and adult themes, nothing too severe (I hope), so go ahead and enjoy the story!
I've dedicated this story to my editor and good bud, the great Vik-Man. Putting up with my crap for 6 years and you still manage to smile. Thanks dude! Shout out to Chii-Chan! ^^ Thanks for hooking me up with SMJ in the first place!
Well... Let's get on with this, shall we?
[NOTE] Version 1.1.- Dated: 17 October 2002; I went through the whole 'fic and repaired some stupid problems that were made. The most noticeable mistakes were made at the start of Chap. 3 and the radio transmission in Chap. 4. Now I think you guys will be able to at least understand what was going on. On FF.net using "" "" to indicate actions makes the damn server think it's a set of link instructions and erases the whole line. I fixed most all of them so you can read them now. I'm sorry about the mix up. Take care and Enjoy!
Saber Marionette J- Human
Dark's A.U.
Eps. 1- Gray Eyes
"Where the end began"
So close, no matter how far,
Couldn't be much more from the heart.
Forever trust in who we are,
And nothing else matters.
I've never opened myself this way,
Life's desires, we live it our way.
All these words I don't just say,
And nothing else matters.
Trust and seek and I find in you,
Everyday for us something new.
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
So close, no matter how far,
Couldn't be much more from the heart.
Forever trust in who we are,
And nothing else matters.
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
Never opened my self this way,
Life is ours, we live it our way.
All these words I don't just say.
And nothing else matters!
Trust I seek and I find in you,
Every day for us something new!
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they say!
Never cared for games they play!
I never cared for what they do!
I never cared for what they know!
And I know!
...So close, no matter how far...
...Couldn't be much more from the heart...
...Forever trust in who we are...
...No nothing else matters.
~Nothing Else Matters.
Metallica.
Lime smiled as she greedily began licking away at the large, yellow lollipop. It was her favorite flavor, she had near every reason in the world to smile. The candy man smiled himself and shook his head. It amazed him every time he saw her. A marionette, SMILING, of all things! It never ceased to be a source of enjoyment every time he saw her grin at him, or giggle in that cute way, or hug him whenever he gave her free candy. He always felt warm inside making that defective doll smile. She was almost human.
"Would you two ladies like to have some as well?" he offered Cherry and Bloodberry. Cherry smiled her self and graciously accepted a piece from his cart. Bloodberry shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.
"I guess I'm not in the mood for sweets today."
Lime giggled. "Hehe, Bloodberry hasn't been in the mood for sweets since she gave Otaru that box of chocolates that turned out to be laxitiv~"
She suddenly felt a heavy fist press down on her head and push her to the ground, silencing her. Bloodberry blushed and smiled nervously.
"Err, umm, well! Look at the time! It's about time we started going, isn't that right, LIME?!" she said accenting her last statement with a glare to the blue haired little marionette she had pinned under her fist-o-death.
Lime, totally unfazed, smiled back up at Bloodberry. "What? We have nothing to do. That's why we left home." She started to frown. "Otaru said that he'd be gone the whole day again..."
Bloodberry turned an even deeper shade of red. "Err... Err... so he did, didn't he..."
The candy man broke out into a deep and rapturous laughter as he watched Bloodberry dig herself into an even deeper hole than she was already in. He shook his head after his chuckles subsided.
"It is all right. Here," he said drawing a long and slender piece of rock candy. It was sky blue with a small deep blue ribbon tied onto the stick. He could guess from what Lime had said what had happened. "You can give this to him as a gift if you do not want it. I'm sure he'll be unable to resist such a treat from a woman with such charm as yourself if you are sincere to him."
Bloodberry was momentarily speechless as she stared at the sweet in her hand and began to blush again for a much different reason.
"...Uh...uh...well- ...well thank you..."
The candy man merely smiled even more broadly than before. "Think nothing of it. My job is to make people happy by providing them with gifts and treats such as these." he said motioning to his tray strapped to his shoulders and backpack filled with assorted toys and trinkets. "It makes me feel good to bring such a thing to others, especially three fine marionettes such as yourselves."
Cherry bowed graciously to him and graced him with another one of her smiles. "Thank you very much, kind sir. We truly appreciate this."
The candy man turned and began to walk away. "Please, think nothing of it my dears. It is always my pleasure." And with that he turned to the direction he was heading and started to call out in a loud voice advertising his presence and goods. Almost immediately several children dashed out from a few shops along the road and ran up to him. He greeted them with the same smile he'd given to the three marionettes and received their small change in exchange for his delectables. Bloodberry watched him address a small young boy who was seeking a small pinwheel off his backpack, but who found himself a few coins short. The candy man took the child's change nonetheless and gave him two of the brightest pinwheels right off of his back. They all watched as the little boy ran off smiling as broadly as he could holding the pinwheels one in each hand, letting them catch and spin wildly in the breeze.
"What a kind, kind man," Cherry remarked, watching him go.
Blood berry looked once again at the sky blue piece of rock candy he had given her. "Yes," she said, her expression softening a bit. "He is, isn't he?" She tucked the candy away in her pocket and turned down to Lime who was still sitting cross legged on the ground happily licking the large lollipop the man had given her, totally oblivious to everything that had just happened.
"Come on you." She said trying to look as stern as she could possibly could. "We need to have that little talk about what we tell other people out in public again..."
Cherry couldn't help but giggle as she watched Bloodberry drag away Lime who wasn't listening to a word she was saying. It was indeed another fine day in Japoness.
"Now, now sir..." the attendant said rather nervously. "If you are not going to buy anything I must ask you to leave."
"Oh?" the young man said turning. He met the attendant's eyes with his own soft, gray ones. The attendant couldn't help but feel a slight chill as the man frowned at him. "All I seek is to sit here on this fine bench, out in the beautiful sunlight and enjoy the air and atmosphere that is all around us and you seek to drive me from this warm place solely because I do not purchase an item from your vendor? This indeed is very grave."
The attendant swallowed and was about to say something (he wasn't sure what himself) when the young man shook his head and continued. "No matter. I will purchase one your goods if that will allow me a spot on your bench. What do you have to offer?"
"Uh, d-drinks sir."
"Drinks, eh? Perhaps this is for the best then. I could use a soothing drop or two. Have you any Soonjan?"
"S-Soonjan?" the attendant looked at the young man incredulously for a moment despite his uneasiness. "Sir, the plant spice that is used to ferment and sweeten that drink has long since gone extinct. There hasn't been any Soonjan for hundreds of years!"
"Oh, damn!" the young man said shaking his head. "What else have you then?"
"Er... Sake is popular-" he stopped as the man hissed a bit and scowled at him.
"Sake! Hmph. Such a poor drink indeed. If that is all that you have guess then I have no other choice! Bring me your best, and I mean your best, or you will be a very sorry little man."
"Y-yes sir!" the attendant ran off behind the curtain that led to his back room and left the young man on the bench. The man looked to be about 25 - 26 years old. He had rather long, thick brown hair that he kept for the most part hidden under his long hood and cloak. Both were a dark brown and looked slightly tattered and weather-beaten. The man looked as if he had not shaved in a few days and his stubble was growing long. He removed his hood and leaned back on the bench of the outdoor drink vendor, basking in the sunlight. A moment later the attendant came back carrying a large bottle with the label "SAKE" printed on it.
"Here sir," he said putting the bottle on the low table that had been set up next to the bench. "This is the best we have."
The man grunted and popped the stopper free from the bottle. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a bit of the contents. The attendant held his breath a bit as the man took a sip. A moment later he looked up with his gray eyes, smiled, and nodded. The attendant smiled in return and left to go back behind the curtains again. He collapsed in the back storage room and let his breath out in one big gush. He didn't know why this man made him feel this way, but there was something... dangerous about him. He wasn't like most ruffians or roughnecks that could be found wandering in. He seemed more... more.... deadly than the others. The attendant regained his breath and shook his head. This job was becoming too much... he needed a drink.
The man on the bench outside smiled a bit and closed his eyes. This wasn't bad alcohol at all. If this is what sake was nowadays, perhaps he should have re-thought his old ideas of what a good drink should be like. The young man seemed to be a very odd fellow. He apparently came from nowhere and it seemed that he was headed back in the same direction. He'd wandered into the city from the badlands right in the middle of a raging plasma storm and scared the crap out of the guards who had been standing watch. They raged at him for his stupidity of being out in such a place on such a night, but the man, Gray Eyes, simply waved them off and continued into town. He'd spent the last few nights staying in alleyways and under bridges waiting out the cold and the darkness. What he was seeking rarely came out in the dark. In the day he drew much attention to himself. It was strange to see any man wearing such clothing in the city. He was covered from head to toe in his dark brown cloak, with dull black boots peeking out when ever he stepped forward. He could have been a mistaken for a monk if not for the short sleeves on the cloak that revealed the sleeves of a gray uniform of some sort and the small knife he had strapped to his shoulder. When he sat the cloak opened and any one watching could see the rest of the uniform through the loose folds. What he was doing in Japoness, no one really knew. Most really didn't care. Strangers were uncommon, but not unheard of there. The men would simply stare at the slim figure moving his way through the crowds in the odd clothes and got on with their own business. Such a man was no concern of their own.
Now, he simply sat there on that bench, sipping some of the Sake that had been provided and looked up into the bright and sunny sky. Closing his eyes he face broke into a smile. It was indeed a fine day in Japoness.
Otaru spat and cursed under his load. His seemingly never-ending quest for money had brought him to an old marionette repair shop. It was an old store run by an even older man. Otaru had the unique job of doing everything the very old geriatric could not. These tasks included carrying the broken marionettes and their parts to and from the storage room, delivering them to their respective owners, holding back the messy/dirty/electrically hot/sharp parts so that his boss could probe and work on the dolls without their interference and doing what ever else the old man tasked him with. Right now he was bent over double under a rather large marionette strapped to his back inside the dark workroom. It was a rather smallish room lined from floor to ceiling with old parts, marionettes and what ever other pieces of junk the old man pack-ratted away. There was a large worktable in the center with a small work lamp hanging just above. With a grunt, Otaru maneuvered his load over to it and set the thing down.
The thin old man turned on his lamp over the marionette and began to examine it. Otaru stretched out and cracked his back. Older models were always heavier than anything else. His employer looked over the top of his spectacles at Otaru and frowned.
"Are you already tired, Otaru?" he said in an aging, cracked voice that every old man in Japoness seemed to have.
Otaru cracked a smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, no, not really. I'm fine."
"Nonsense." said the old man, picking up some of his work tools. "I may be old, but I am not blind. Go ahead and rest in the front room, or outside boy. I will call upon you if I need anything."
"Thank you sir." Otaru said bowing once before heading out. He decided to go outside and sat down under the shop overhang and rested. It had been a long day. That was the third marionette he had to transport in as many hours. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package Cherry had given him before he left. Opening it, he began to munch on the contents. They were the little pickle slices he had come to love. He poured him self a small cup of water from the fountain beside him and sat there letting the warm sun shine on his face.
'Cherry's cooking is second to none.' he thought to himself. There were few pleasures he enjoyed more than a nice warm meal provided by her. It was refreshing for him to go home and to find his apartment filled with the smell of freshly made food.
'Heheh, It's great going home to find anybody other than Hanagata there!' he chuckled to himself. That guy really creeped Otaru out. He was madly in love with Otaru and for
some reason Otaru didn't have the same feelings in return. He'd never seemed to swing that way his entire life. He couldn't really figure out why. Most men on this planet were like Hanagata, but Otaru seemed to be the queer one, the one that was different from the rest. Since he'd gotten his three marionettes the term "Marionette Lover" had been whispered more than once while he was around. Before the dolls came into his life, he would have violently defended himself against such a comment- being a marionette lover was about as socially popular as prostitution (which should tell you a lot about an all male society). But since he received them into his care he really stopped caring. He knew himself that he cared for them, it was obvious. Their charm and color could not be found anywhere else. Old Gennai said that they were defective, and they should be looked at or destroyed, but Otaru thought differently. To him they weren't defective, they were perfect. Each of them was different, they each had a different personality, a different quality that made them special. They smiled, laughed, cried and got angry. He'd never seen any other marionette do that. In his opinion if that was what defective was, then they need to change the rules.
But they always had a knack for getting into trouble. Especially Lime. Otaru smiled to himself as he thought about her. She seemed so young and innocent. She was the one who always made the mistakes, always got in trouble and always managed to cost Otaru the most money. But she was also the one Otaru seemed most fond of. Her innocence, her childish smile, the way she giggled and hung on to him every moment she could; they were all traits he loved about her.
Not that Otaru specifically loved her more than the other two. They all were special to him in their own ways. Cherry had this charm and this meekness that always stood her apart from the other two. While Lime and Bloodberry were showing off or fighting Cherry was always the one on the side. She never fought, she never got in trouble, she was always polite, kind and courteous. She cooked, cleaned, washed and even shopped. If Otaru knew what it was like to have a mother, she could have been the one he never had.
And then there was Bloodberry. She was the bold one out of the group. She was always very straightforward. She never lied, she never tarnished the truth, she was probably the most honest out of all of them. She had a sense of honor, like a warrior, and it showed. Out of the three she was the strongest, the wildest, and the most open. More than once she had hinted darkly at "spending the night" in Otaru's futon. He wasn't sure exactly what she meant seeing as they were marionettes, but by the reaction from Cherry and Lime he was sure it was something taboo, a guilty pleasure of some sort...
In a fight, though, there were few others that Otaru would rather have at his side. Bloodberry was the best combat marionette in all of Japoness. It was her gift. Many a saber marionette had met their fate at the hands of Otaru's 'defective' war machine. He'd won many a bet with her and trusted her fighting instinct. Once in a while she made him a lot of money on those fights. To date, she'd never been scratched.
Cherry had her own gift. She had some sort of sixth sense in combat that Otaru'd never seen before. She could judge the movement and abilities of her targets and exploit their weaknesses, even before they moved. She could judge and determine when to strike and when to hold back better than any other marionette around. She too was 'defective' as labeled by the others, but she could out think, out smart and out fight just about any marionette about. Where Bloodberry was brawn and power, Cherry was wits and skill.
Then there was Lime. Lime was by far the fastest out of all of them. She could run circles around speeding bullets. Her agility and speed were unmatched. Frankly Otaru figured she needed the speed. Whenever she managed to infuriate Bloodberry enough, her speed was pretty much what kept her alive until either Bloodberry gave up the chase or Otaru managed to drag her down. Lime could outrun cars, out chase trains and spin circles around just about living or mechanical thing in Japoness. He'd seen Lime duck out of the way of gunfire, cannon fire, laser fire and even a structure fire. She could jump the highest, swim the fastest and, when her blood was boiled, survive the longest in a fight. One time she'd been hit head on with a very large semi-truck trying to defend Otaru while Cherry and Bloodberry were away. What should have killed her and torn her to pieces didn't. She held herself in front of the truck and brought the whole thing to a stop with nary a scratch to herself over a city block away.
Otaru finished the package of pickles and licked his fingers clean. He missed those three. If he was a marionette lover then so be it. If this is what it felt like to fall in love with a doll then this was just how things were going to be. No one dared press him about it. Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry could easily take care of anybody that mentioned anything about that. Everyone in Japoness knew to regard those marionettes as if they were real humans. They had very real tempers just like anyone else. Truth be told, most people liked them very much. No marionette around ever smiled. Many other men were charmed by those three for reasons unknown even to themselves. There was something about the way they walked, the way they talked, and the way they smiled. Most men felt a pleasant chill whenever a kind grin was beamed in their direction from those three 'defective' dolls.
The term 'most men' is used simply because there were a few who dislike Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry. Hanagata is one of their type. While he didn't really HATE them, he couldn't help but take a disliking to them. They are, after all, after the same affection he himself is seeking from Otaru. Then there are others who have a more venomous hatred towards them. To them, Otaru's dolls were no more than insignificant marionettes who'd simply fried their circuits and now run amok among the masses as upstarts or freaks. But they, for the most part, are quiet. They know that the whole of Japoness is against them. They also know that to confront these machines with ill intentions, while is not death, is complete and utter humiliation. It is these people that whisper behind Otaru's back. Now a days he simply ignores them. Those words mean nothing to him. They are from the ignorant and the minority.
He tucked the packet away and closed his eyes to the warm sunlight. The birds were singing happily in the breeze, the sky was a crystal blue with no signs of plasma clouds on any of the horizons, and the sun was bright and full. A happy mood prevailed over all of Japoness. All was at peace, all was well. Some children played happily along the road while workers and the odd marionette passed happily by.
Suddenly Otaru heard the old man calling him from the inside. His break was already over. Sighing, he stood and brushed himself off. Looking back up he grinned into the cerulean skies. It was indeed another fine day in Japoness.
The young man with the gray eyes was on his fourth or fifth glass of the fine Sake when he over heard something peculiar. A moment before, two men had taken a seat not far from him and began to have a hushed conversation. They huddled close together and carried on what seemed to be a quiet argument. Being naturally nosy he cocked an ear and an eye. What he heard surprised him.
"Are you sure 'bout this? What happens if that little one becomes wise to what we are doing?"
"As long as we keep a straight face she wont know anything."
The young man with gray eyes leaned over slightly. 'She?'
"But just what if? She can sense an orange blossom's moves even before it makes them! What if she sees us and just, you know... KNOWS, like she always does?"
"Then we'll just have to make sure she doesn't SEE us then, ne?"
"What? We approach her from behind?"
"Exactly!"
"Ahhh, Ok. Which one to we take care of first?"
"I think the fast one."
"The fast one? Isn't that bitchy 'tank' more of a threat to us?"
"They're all a threat to us. But we have to think logically about this. If we stand back far enough we'll be able to plug two rounds into the speedy one's starry-eyed skull. We can then destroy the other two before they even reach us. If we kill the tank or the friggin' psychic one, that little speed demon will be on us before we even know it."
The gray-eyed fellow poured himself another cup. These fools were muttering rather loudly in public about an assassination. He guessed they weren't too bright.
"That'll be the last time they ever make a fool out of me."
"And you aren't worried about their lover pressing charges?"
"They aren't human. He can't press murder charges. They are simply defective marionettes. We may have to pay their worth, but I have rich friends that want to see them gone. They're a mockery to us men! I'm not worried about what happens after."
"A-all right man. What ever you say. I'll be right behind you."
They paused for a second.
"Did you bring them?"
"Of course."
Gray Eyes saw one of the men pull an object out of his coat through the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell exactly what it was but had a pretty good idea.
"Cht! You fool!" the other man hissed loudly. "Put that away! Don't pull it out until we're ready! Do you have the other one?!"
"Yea-Yeah, right here. Cool it man, we'll be all right. No one around here cares any. We'll be fine."
"Nonetheless, you moron, watch your self! I don't want to be caught 'fore we actually do anything!"
"Ok, ok."
They sat there a minute in silence and Gray Eyes poured himself another cup. This will be interesting. He decided to check this out. They may just lead him to what he was...
"You ready?" The man on the right said cutting Gray Eye's thoughts short.
The other man nodded. "Hai! Let's get this over with!"
"Yes, lets."
They both rose, threw a few coins on the counter (totally forgetting that they purchased nothing) and walked back into the street. Gray Eyes finished his cup and sat a moment. This indeed would be interesting. He wasn't one to change the course of fate, but if those women were the 'ones' he would have to make an exception. Humanity was more important than fate. Standing, he turned his cup over on the bottle and pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and planted it on the counter. He picked up the coins left by the two men, examined them a moment, and deposited them into his pocket. With out a word he pulled his hood back up and left the drink stand. The attendant in back would come out a few moments later to find nearly half the bottle of Sake empty and the gold coin, worth three times as much as the whole bottle, still resting on the counter.
Gray Eyes watched his steps and followed the two men as they walked stiffly along the streets of Japoness, obviously looking for something. He kept his distance as to not let the onlookers staring at him get the attention of either of the men. All along the street he saw various men and boys walking, he also saw, strangely enough, women; or rather, women robots. They'd surprised him at first. Some seemed to be real. But once he took a harder look he realized these were no more than mere manikins. They were simply machines designed to look like real women. He'd never encountered such things before, but as he thought, they began to make sense. Despite his surroundings, man still had his most basic of instincts and these dolls were merely reflections of that instinct.
Even still, it caused him to turn his head every time he encountered one. He could almost see one smile. Or another wink at him. ...Almost.
Suddenly a noise in front of him caught his attention. He found himself nearly running into the two men he was stalking and cursed under his breath. He stopped half way through the street and simply stared at what he saw before him. There were three marionettes walking down the street in front of them heading in his direction. They were dressed in bright, colorful outfits, each with their own flare and color. Even more stunning... they were smiling.
Gray Eyes looked twice. Not just smiling, he saw, but genuinely happy! They were walking and talking and grinning and waving and smiling back at all the men who were waving and shouting to them. When they laughed their whole faces lit up in beautiful smiles and sweet music flowed forth. He swallowed and simply stared as they walked toward him. He'd never seen a woman in his life before he arrived in Japoness much less ever seen one smile. He could feel something deep within himself turn and throb as he gazed upon them for the first time. His eyes started at their feet and slowly rose taking in every curve he could see, every smooth spot of skin he could catch, every lock of their hair that seemed to fall majestically from their heads. When he saw their eyes, he just about melted. The marionette's eyed were gorgeous. Each one so different yet so beautiful, their colors and shades reflecting in the light.
Just as they passed him, the young one; the one with the shimmering blue hair and the yellow bandanna holding it down; the one sucking happily on a half finished, large, yellow lollipop; caught him staring under his hood. She met his eyes with her own and giggled for a moment. Gray Eyes felt pure electricity flow through his body. She smiled to him and waved just as they passed by. It was from that moment on, till the end of his days, that Gray Eyes would forever shun other men as possible partners. The fairer sex had indeed captured him and he, forever on, became a woman hunter.
When he finally regained his breath he found himself asking "Who are those women..."
A short, grizzled man standing beside him thought the question was aimed at him. "What? You mean those Marionettes? Don't you know them? Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry. They're Otaru's."
Gray Eyes turned his gaze to the man beside him. "O-Otaru?"
"Yeah, Mamiya Otaru. I'd say he's the luckiest guy in Japoness."
Gray Eyes was silent as he stared after the trio walking away.
"He owns them?"
"Yes sir. He's the lucky one. Hell I'd be a Marionette lover as well if I lived with those three. Look at the ass on that tall one there. Oh my lord, I'd love to take her to bed one night."
Gray Eyes looked at the fellow beside him with a look of mixed disgust. "T-take her to bed?!" He couldn't even dream of defiling one of those women in such a way. To even touch one might be crossing the line. Nevertheless he still found his eyes trailing up the legs of the marionettes and staring right at those two soft, beautiful...
He felt something tickling in his nose and reached up to find he was having a small nosebleed!
He sniffed quickly and looked up at the three goddesses walking into the distance. What was happening to him? He'd never felt this way about any one or any THING before. It felt so new to him, but in a way so good. He felt warm just looking at them.
...Just looking at them...
Once again his eyes traced along every curve of their bodies and a dreamy smile filled his face. He felt the heat return and swallowed once again. Suddenly something stepped in front of his view blocking them. It was the two men who he had been following before. One of them had his arm outstretched and was holding something in it. It suddenly hit him why he had been out this way to begin with. They were going to kill them! Before he knew what he was really doing he was running towards them screaming at the top of his lungs.
"NO!! NOOOOO!!!"
Cherry picked up his voice almost immediately and turned to see what was happening. Lime and Bloodberry continued on oblivious to what was about to happen. Cherry's combat system kicked in as soon as her gaze fell upon the gun inside the palm of one of the men. It didn't take her sensitive combat analyzer to tell her those bullets loaded in those chambers were intended for them.
"Bloodberry!! Lime!!! Watch out!!"
In that instant Bloodberry and Lime turned several things happened at once. Cherry dropped to the ground as fast as gravity would let her. Bloodberry saw the men and the weapon and came straight to attention while Lime, who had also seen the gun, and began to twist her body out of the way. Gray Eyes reached the men, and the man with the gun pulled the trigger.
In a moment the shot echoed through out the street. The instant Gray Eyes realized the man had fired he went into a rage. With a scream of fury he grabbed the his outstretched arm from behind and twisted it around while slamming his other fist right into the man's kidneys. With a scream the man dropped the gun and fell to his knees. Gray Eyes clamped down even harder onto his forearm and in one smooth motion flipped the man high into the air behind him. Gray Eyes locked his cold eyes onto his partner and in an instant the other man lost his nerve. With a strangled sob he took off away from Gray Eyes...straight into the waiting arms of Bloodberry...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bloodberry left the man trying to pull his head out of the wall and turned her attention toward Lime and Cherry, who were still on the ground. Gray Eyes was already there crouched beside the marionettes. Cherry was fine, she hit the floor faster than any of them. Lime, on the other hand, hadn't been quite as lucky. She held her hand over her left arm near the shoulder and was whimpering a bit. When the man fired Lime's reaction time and speed saved her life. The bullet merely grazed her upper arm, but what Gray Eyes saw coming from there made him stop. Seeping slowly through Lime's fingers he could see rivulets of blood. Lime was bleeding.
...machines don't bleed...
This fact quickly registered in Gray Eye's mind. Quickly, almost automatically, he shed his cloak and hood and placed them around Lime. The Marionette felt something heavy cover her shoulders and turned to see the man she had been smiling at moments before putting his cloak over her, quickly covering her bleeding arm.
Suddenly everyone who had been standing by came up in a rush to see what had happened. They all crowded around the downed Marionette and began to prod her with questions. Almost immediately Bloodberry was in the fray yelling at the top of her lungs.
"Hey, HEY!! HEY, EVERYONE!! HEEY!!!!" She waited until everyone had quieted down before she continued. "Everyone, Lime is fine! She is ok-"
Suddenly a man pointed to the ground and exclaimed. "Oh LOOK! Blood!! Lime's been hit!!"
Everyone there took a step back about to agree with him, but suddenly realized Lime wasn't human. How could she bleed? Gray Eyes looked at the ground and saw the drops. He reached over and began to clasp his shoulder.
"She can't bleed you idiot!" he yelled up at him. "I'm the one that's been hit!"
Cherry looked up from Lime, Lime turned her head and Bloodberry knelt down beside him.
"What?" one man exclaimed. " But there was only one shot fired. How-"
Gray Eyes cut him off. "How?! Look at me! I've been shot you imbecile!" He moved his hand to reveal a deep, moderately bleeding wound in his arm. Cherry and Bloodberry exchanged looks for a brief instant before Bloodberry rose.
"All right! Everyone move out of the way! We need to get this guy off of the street!"
"What about Lime?" one man exclaimed.
Gray Eyes grunted as he rose. "Lime looks like she's in shock. We need to get her away from all you people and into some fresh air!"
Everyone took a stop back. What was that? Cherry stood catching on to what was happening.
"Please, Everyone, you can't crowd her, she needs room. We need to take her home!"
Bloodberry seemed to catch on as well and stood up to her full height. "All right, everyone get the hell outta the way. We have a sick Marionette here! We need to take her home!"
A few men looked a little indignant. "What?! How dare you order us around! Know your place Marionette!"
Bloodberry was about to retort when Gray Eyes rose supporting Lime up with him. There was fire once again in his cool eyes.
"She may only be a doll but I am a real flesh and blood man and I will rip your heart from your body if you talk to her like that again." The one who had spoken up stood there stunned. A man defending a marionette like that? Gray Eyes reached out and took hold of the man's collar. "I am telling YOU to get out of the way... Now move it!" The man swallowed and decided it was probably better to simply step out of the way than mess with this newcomer. The image of what Grey Eyes did to the man who fired the gun was still fresh on his mind. Gray Eyes had twisted his arm well out of its socket and tossed him high into the air as if we weighed nothing. The man landed funny nearly crushing his other shoulder.
Gray Eyes started to walk out when another man began to drive through the crowd in a large truck honking loudly. He called out to the three Marionettes.
"Hey! Hey move your asses! Quit blockin' the road!! The hell's going on here?!"
Cherry called over to him. "Sir! Sir! Our friend here is sick and needs to go back to our home!"
"Eh? Cherry? Sure! You girls can use my pickup to get back!"
Cherry smiled. "Thank you sir!"
He grinned back at her. "No problem ma'am. Hop in back! You too fellow. Ya look like you're bleeding pretty badly. I'd better get you to the hospital."
"I'll be fine," he said helping Lime into the back of the truck and then helping Cherry. "It won't be bleeding much longer. You just make sure you get this woman home! Got it?"
"What?!" The man said incredulously. "You're not coming."
"No, I've got other business. Get going! Now!"
"Nonsense." Bloodberry said calmly picking him up by the back of his shirt and tossing him into the truck. "You're coming with us."
Before Gray Eyes had a chance to protest she'd jumped in with him and motioned for the driver to move it and within moments they were away.
When they were all back safe at Otaru's apartment, Cherry shut the door tightly and removed the cloak from over Lime's shoulders. She was still bleeding through her fingers. Bloodberry sat down on Lime's other side.
"You all right Lime?"
Lime sniffed a bit but smiled anyway. "Hurts a bit."
Cherry shook her head. "I should imagine. This nick is rather deep. You almost got seriously hurt today Lime."
Lime giggled as best she could under Cherry's administrations. " I always almost get hurt. S'nothing. OUCH! Cherry~"
Cherry began to dab and clean the wound. Bloodberry squeezed Lime's hand. "Even still, you lucked-out. That was close."
Gray Eyes stood just inside the front door step and shuffled a bit nervously. He realized what he had just done, what he had just said and where he now was and that feeling of warmth had not only returned to his body, it spread. Ever since that man had mentioned taking one of these women to bed he felt this warm stirring in his loins. He wasn't sure of what to do or say. This was a totally new experience for him. He'd not only gazed upon the three most beautiful beings ever created, he'd saved their lives and even TOUCHED one, and now he was getting an unwelcome hard-on from it. He swallowed and stood by nervously watching the three goddesses tending to one another.
Bloodberry rose and turned to him. "Oh, you're still standing there. Come in! Please, Take a seat!"
Gray Eyes blushed a bit as Bloodberry pulled a chair up for him to sit on. "N-no, It's, It's, Y-you don't..." he stammered. Bloodberry seemed to notice his nervousness and smiled.
"Just take a seat before twist your tongue into knot."
Gray Eyes blushed even more and meekly took a seat. It took Cherry a few more minutes to tend to Lime's wound. After getting over the initial shock of someone trying to kill her, Lime went right back to her old self. She was complaining because in the course of the mess she had dropped her unfinished lollipop in the dust. When Cherry finished Lime had a large white cloth bandage over the wound.
"Hopefully," Cherry said, "The would will heal in a few hours. We never take very long to heal."
Lime tested her arm, spinning it around before finally smiling at Cherry.
"Mmm, Thank you Cherry!"
Cherry smiled in return. She stood and turned to Gray Eyes. "Now it's your turn."
He looked back into her eyes and began to sweat. Oh no...
"I believe we owe you a word of thanks," Cherry said examining his arm. She didn't seem to notice that the gray-eyed young man was in the verge of pissing in his pants from her soft administrations. "You saved our lives back there, especially Lime's."
Gray Eyes was silent as he felt the sting of Cherry's anti-biotic dab his arm.
Bloodberry went into the kitchen and began to rummage through one of the cupboards.
"Bloodberry, you'd better not mess up anything in there. I just got those things straightened up this morning!" Cherry said turning her head and calling to Bloodberry.
"Yeah!" Bloodberry said calling back out. Lime leaned forward and watched Cherry work on Grey Eye's wound. Unwittingly she placed her hand on his leg for support. Both of them noticed his body instantly tense up. Lime looked at him oddly.
"Oro? Are you ok?"
Gray Eyes did his best to crack a smile. "Y-y-y-yes-s-s-...muh-muh-muh-ma'am..." he said sweating badly. Lime looked at him oddly for another moment and then grinned knowingly to Cherry. She smiled slightly as well.
"Lime, don't play around with him like that!"
"Hehe" Lime chuckled moments before she pounced on the man hugging him tightly. "Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you~"
And for Gray Eyes everything seemed to stop. Lime clutched him tightly and a million feelings and emotions seemed to pass through his body. All his senses seemed to over load from her own little body. The first thing he noticed was her warmth, then the perfume she was wearing, the sweet smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, her breath on his ears, her heartbeat through her clothes, her sweet voice, her smiling face, and pressed upon his chest her two...
Lime quit holding him like that when she realized he'd gone limp in her arms and that he seemed to have sprung a strange, red leak from somewhere else....
Cherry was almost finished when she found something very strange about the man she was working on.
"What is this?" she said leaning forward, taking a better look at his arm.
"Eh? What is what?" Gray Eyes said looking down.
Cherry looked closer and poked at something in his wound. Grey Eyes yelped loudly when she did so.
"It looks like a thin piece of wire... Here let me pull it out."
"Eh?! What?!" Gray Eyes said panicking. "No! Nonono Wait! Please ma'am, you don't have to-"
But he was too late. Cherry grabbed the wire pulled on it hard.
"GEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!"
Deep in the heart of Gartlant a homeless man in a deep sleep woke very suddenly. Did he just hear someone scream? He cocked an ear but heard nothing further. He shrugged and settled back down. Must have been his imagination.
Gray Eyes exploded from his seat and stood cradling his inflamed arm.
"MA'AM!" he said doing his best to restrain the sound of pain in his voice. "PLEASE!! I told you it was fine!"
Cherry looked stunned for a minute. Lime and Bloodberry merely stood there looking shocked. Gray Eyes cussed and looked down at his arm bleeding anew. Cherry had pulled the wire half way out. It was useless now, He'd have to finish removing it and let it grow back in time...
He cussed once more and took hold of the it. Cherry watched his face twist in pain.
"Uhh...sir, Please I think that would be unwise..." She trailed off as Gray Eyes began to grunt with agony. He was pulling the thin wire out of his arm. Lime could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His breath became hoarse and ragged. Sweat rolled off his face and blood flowed from his arm in thin rivulets dripping on to the hard, wooden floor.
With a final grunt he pulled the thin piece of wire free from his arm. He opened his eyes a bit and let the tears roll free from them. Bloodberry could see the whites of his gray eyes stained red from the salt in his tears. He fixed his gaze onto Cherry and despite the pain, smiled slightly.
"Ma'am, please. Next time be a little bit more careful."
"And who do we owe our thanks to? I don't believe we've gotten your name yet." Bloodberry said raising her glass. After the wire, Grey Eyes was bandaged up properly and given a drink to calm his nerves a bit. Cherry cleaned up the blood that had dripped onto the floor with a smile despite Gray Eye's objection that he would do it himself. They all sat down afterwards and poured themselves something to drink. Cherry and Lime opted for tea while Bloodberry and Gray Eyes went for some Sake.
"My name?" Gray eyes said. "I don't think my name is very important."
"Ohh~" Lime whined a bit. "I wanna know your name."
"Yes, please, It's important to us."
"Come on~ You can tell us. We'd like to know who our hero is!"
Gray Eyes blushed and closed them. Hero? Him? He sighed and finally seemed to relent.
"I am called Keinaro. Hajima, Keinaro."
Bloodberry and Cherry stopped in mid sip and exchanged glances.
"...Ke....Keinaro? I haven't heard a first name like that..."
"In a very long time..." Keinaro said finishing Cherry's statement. "I know. It's an old name not used anymore."
Lime giggled. "Keinaro, I like that name."
Cherry and Bloodberry once again exchanged very serious glances.
"Where are you from Keinaro?"
"Naro, please. Naro is shorter."
"Err... Naro. Where do you come from?"
Naro took a sip before answering. "Well...Someplace very, very far away."
"Oro? Gartlant? New Texas? Petersburg?" Lime said curiously.
"No..." Naro said averting his eyes. "Let's just say that I'm a wanderer and leave it at that."
Cherry nodded slowly and poured herself another glass. "Would you like some more drink Keinaro-san?"
He nodded with a smile. "Yes please, ma'am." and offered his glass.
While she was filling his cup Bloodberry spoke up. "Well Naro, We thank you for calling out and giving us warning like that."
Naro blushed as Cherry and Lime extended their thanks as well.
"Please," he said turning crimson. "Don't mention it. It is the first time I have ever seen women such as yourselves. I..." He trailed off a moment. He knew exactly what he was about to say, and the logical part of his mind screamed at him to stop. As with any man in his position, logic was given a fat boot out the door.
"...Where I come from, we don't have marionettes. We don't have pictures. I've never known what a woman looked like until I arrived here. I was told they were like men only they had two bags hanging from their chests and their organs designed for reproduction were all on the inside of their bodies. We've been taught that women of old were vain, preening bitches. That their sole purpose was to attach themselves to a man and force him to support them until the very day they die. That they had no social value what so ever, except for an exquisite physical pleasure that only they can bring."
Bloodberry chuckled at his, Lime grinned, and Cherry blushed. "When I first arrived here, I saw those robots walking around. I saw those marionettes. When I first cast my eye upon them, I didn't know what to make of them. When I looked a little closer, however, I found that they were what those men from where I came from called woman and I couldn't believe myself. I thought, there are WOMEN in this place?! Real live WOMEN?! But as I traveled about, I saw that none of them smiled. None of them showed any form or trace of emotion. They all were totally blank, like their minds were a slate wiped clean of any thought. It wasn't until I went through a back alley one day that I realized the truth. I saw one of them laying on the ground in a cold puddle of water, her insides all pulled out. I ran to her thinking she was grievously wounded, but when I examined her, I found only machine parts, and I learned they were not women. They were only machines."
"It was a marionette." Lime said somberly. "They look like women but they aren't real. They don't ever do anything. They never play, they never smile, they're never happy."
"Indeed." Keinaro smiled. "I learned this and was somewhat shocked and somewhat disgusted. I wondered why men of this era would even conceive of making such a creation. All the marionettes I saw there after I found to be cold, heartless machines with only a pretty face. But as I thought about it, it began to make much more sense to me.
" 'This is a world of men' I thought, ' So it would make sense that they would create that which they more desire.' I guess despite the evil that was woman, man still yearned for her and that pleasure which she brings. I began to understand the direness of this place. I realized that I had come to a land where only dreams moved about the streets. Where only memories of past loves and lives wandered about in mechanical bodies. I thought that I had come to the wrong land." he trailed.
Cherry spoke up. "Wrong land? What were you seeking?"
Keinaro looked at her and smiled softly. "It doesn't matter right now. Everything I had thought of this place and of it's people changed when I saw you three for the first time this afternoon."
He took a sip and cleared his throat. "I'd never seen anything like you three before. I was shocked. The first thing I think I saw were your smiles. When I saw them everything changed. I was utterly shocked to see such a thing. You three smiling and laughing and genuinely happy and...and..." he trailed off again averting his eyes away from the three marionettes. "...I felt, I felt... I felt something warm inside me grow. It was... was so new to me. Like a burning deep in my chest. I saw you three being so human and smiling so broadly and I felt something change. It was the first time I ever saw women, real live women. I was so unprepared. It hit me like a thunderbolt. I saw...I saw these angels walking along the street. They were so beautiful to look at. It was the way they moved when they walked, the way their faces lit up when ever they smiled, just their whole fluidity, it moved me so. I've never seen such grace and loveliness in a singular body before. I can understand now why men yearned the way they did for your species."
He shook his head and met each one of their gazes. "You three, you three are the most beautiful things I have ever laid my eyes on."
There was a moment of silence as he stopped and finished his glass. None of the three marionettes quite knew what to say. No one with the exception of Otaru had ever said that to them. Bloodberry and Cherry simply stared into their glasses blushing slightly, but Lime smiled widely.
"Hehe, thank you~ You're so sweet!"
"Geh..." Naro said blushing deeply himself. "I...I mean that. I've never told anyone this before simply because...well, I've never felt this way about anyone like this before. Sure I've seen my fair share of handsome men before...but nothing like you three women. Nothing! When I saw you something changed in me, I think. I think, something deep down has changed itself, deeply. I don't think I could ever go back to another man, no not ever. Not after I've seen you."
Cherry blinked. This guy was more forward than they first thought. She smiled nevertheless and placed her hand over his. "Please, your embarrassing us. You don't need to say any more."
Naro looked down at her hand over his and swallowed. Cherry was surprised when he placed his other one over hers. He blushed and met her gaze once again. "D-do you mind? I've ne-never felt a... a...."
Cherry breathed in and narrowed her eyes. What was he asking? He couldn't really mean...
Slowly, she nodded her head. Gently Naro took her hand in his and held it. Lime and Bloodberry watched as Naro felt along the cracks and bumps in her palm and along the joints in her wrist and up her arm. She was so warm. He could still feel the sweat form in the pit of her palm. But she was so smooth, so exquisite. She felt too real to be actually there. Her nails were finely cut and gently manicured. He'd never seen anyone's nails like that before. Her skin was much, much softer than he had first imagined. It was like silk to him. No one he'd ever touched had felt like this. No one. He felt her arm up until her elbow before he finally lost his nerve and let go looking down and blushing profusely.
Cherry pulled her hand back and rubbed it softly inside the sleeves of her clothes, blushing slightly. Keinaro sat there awkwardly with his own hands in his lap. That is, he sat there until Lime jumped out of her spot and pounced on him bowling him over yelling, "ME NEXT! ME NEXT! ME NEXT!"
After they sent Lime to play outside and run some errands Cherry, Bloodberry and Keinaro resumed their seats and their drinking. Keinaro swallowed and looked shyly up at Cherry.
"Er, erm, Cherry, ma'am, I- I'm very sorry to, to have t-transgressed upon yourself l-like..."
She smiled at him and placed her own hand over his once again silencing him. She had been a little shocked at first, but now it made perfect sense to her. This was all very new to him. Of course he'd be a little curious.
"It's all right Keinaro-san. You don't need to worry about it."
"Yeah, b-but, still ma'am, I shou- I shouldn't have even-"
Cherry giggled. "Think nothing of it. You haven't done anything wrong."
Keinaro swallowed and smiled as best he could back at her.
Bloodberry arched an eyebrow and took a sip. "That as it may, I still have a question for you."
Naro nodded. "Sure, what?"
"Well, I guess it's several. You told us that when you first realized Marionettes were machines it was when you saw one with her parts strewn all over the ground."
"Yes, what about?"
"Well, when Lime was shot today, you saw her bleeding yet you didn't say anything. In fact you covered her shoulder with your cloak hiding it. Then, somehow, you hurt your other shoulder and played that off as the gunshot wound that was drawing blood."
Keinaro cocked his head and took a sip of the Sake. Cherry nodded in agreement. "I watched the bullet leave the barrel, Your arm was not in the way at all. It distinctly hit Lime, her shoulder is proof."
Bloodberry continued. "Why did you cover her up so? You would have had no reason to do so. If she was indeed bleeding you would have asked questions, or pointed it out, or even tended to the wound, not cover it up." She pointed a finger. "You were trying to hide it."
"Secondly when you grabbed that man, you popped his arm clear out of its socket and threw him into the air as if he were no more than a rag doll. No man I have seen could ever do that. Thirdly, how did you wound your arm like you did? Some trick knife? Lastly, When you were bleeding and Cherry was tending to your wounds, you had a wire in your arm; what was that?"
Keinaro rubbed the wound under the bandage as she continued to speak.
"There's only three people in the world that I know of who have wires in their arms like that. Me, Cherry, and Lime."
They fell silent as Naro gazed at the table.
Finally Bloodberry spoke again fixing her stare onto the Gray Eyed young man. "Where are you from Hajima?"
Slowly he looked up and met Bloodberry's eyes. He took a deep breath. Here was where he had to cross the line. It was no longer an adventure. From here on out it would be duty despite what he may think or want. He remembered why he had been sent here and who had sent him. He closed his gray eyes and sighed. Here goes the vacation.
"I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of where I come from...Aiko-chan."
The small glass that had been in Bloodberry's hand was smashed into a million small fragments. She rose to her feet and planted both her hands on the table.
"Who the HELL are you?!" she screamed. Cherry gasped and rose herself.
"Where have you come from?!" she demanded. Keinaro placed his glass on the table and avoided their glares.
"Please, please sit down."
Bloodberry, in fury, swiped her hand across the table scattering all the contents onto the floor. Keinaro could see fire burning in her eyes. Any trace of the happiness he'd seen earlier had been completely wiped from her face. Rage and fury shone like pure fire in her deep, compassionate globes. Cherry slammed her hand down on the table. Naro saw that same fire in her eyes as well. He swallowed. The beautiful, gentle woman who had been there only moments ago had been replaced by am angry demon-ness.
He stammered to her. "S-Satomi-chan, Please understa-"
He was stopped by Cherry. She'd pulled her hand back and slapped him across his face as hard as her little frame could muster. Time seemed to slow as Keinaro was thrown clear of the table and landed on the floor. When he hit he found himself bleeding from the mouth. Cherry had split his lip open.
"Don't you EVER call me by that name!! Ever!!" she was almost the point of screaming. Keinaro lay there sprawled on the floor unmoving, barely breathing. When she had hit him, for some reason, she had hurt him far worse than the wire in his arm had. Something deep inside his body seemed to shatter . The whole world began to spin wildly as he lay there. Slowly everything began to darken.
'Duty.'
The word kept repeating in his head.
'Duty.'
That was why he was here, right? That was the reason...
'Duty.'
'Humanity.'
'Pride.'
'Purpose.'
'Love.'
'...'
Bloodberry and Cherry watched as Naro's body seemed to go limp on the floor. They stood there a minute watching him bleed before something suddenly clicked in Cherry's mind.
"Oh my lord!" she screamed falling to his side. "Bloodberry! Bloodberry, I, think I..."
Bloodberry dropped to Cherry's side and felt Keinaro's neck. Cherry, meanwhile was becoming hysterical.
"Oh my lord! Oh my lord! Oh my- I've never killed a man before! Oh my GOD what have I done?!"
Bloodberry looked up. "Cherry...Cherry!" But she wasn't listening.
"Ohlordohlord, Never Bloodberry! Not even when we left! I never killed anyone then. But now! But now I've just KILLED a man!!"
Bloodberry reached over and took hold of her shoulders and shook her. "Cherry! Cherry! Cherry, listen to me! He's all right! He's not dead! Cherry!"
Cherry seemed to come around and locked eyes with Bloodberry. "What? He's ok? He's all right?!"
"Yes," Bloodberry smiled. "He's fine! You just knocked him out. That blood's from his mouth, not from his head."
"Really?!" she said bending over to examine him. To her immense relief she found a pulse. She sat back up and steadied her breathing.
"Oh, oh my. I thought that I had killed him." she said leaning against Bloodberry.
Bloodberry frowned. "So I gathered... Kind of a pity you didn't."
Cherry looked up at her. "What? Bloodberry!"
Bloodberry scowled down at the young man. "You heard what he called us. He knows who we are. ...And we know where he's from."
"Bloodberry..." Cherry said frowning sadly a bit. "They aren't after our lives." She placed her hand over her partner's chest bone. "You know what they want. He saved our lives. Everything he's told us has been the truth, I can tell. Either he doesn't know why they really want us, or he has truly changed."
Bloodberry stared back down at the Gray Eyed young man and shook her head. "I guess we'll see, ne?"
Otaru sat at the table glaring at Cherry and Bloodberry. He tapped his fingers across the tabletop trying his best to restrain his anger.
He'd come home to find a young man passed out laying on the futon next to his. The first thing he wanted to know was who he was and where he came from. He wasn't too happy to learn that he had been a stranger that the picked up off the street. When he asked why he was laying on the futon next to his own he was even more unhappy to learn that Cherry had knocked him out and he now had to stay until he got better.
So now all four of them sat centered around the table. Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry and Otaru. Otaru finished the cup of tea he had been drinking and slammed the glass back down on the table. To make matters worse, he found that they had broken several of his cups on the ground and spilled all of the better Sake all over the floor. Bloodberry and Cherry sat with their faces turned slightly downwards, while Lime sat there like a child scolded. Otaru fixed his eyes on her.
"I don't suppose you had anything to do with this?"
Lime flinched and slowly rose her head. "Otaru~"
"Oh no you don't! You're not going to pull that on me again."
"But, but Otaru-"
"I cannot believe you girls!" He said throwing his hands up. "I have to work everyday just feed you three. I have to get up early in the morning and I don't get home until late at night. Everyday I do the same thing just to make ends meet and when I'm gone, the only thing I expect of you three is to behave and keep the place neat around here. But it seems that I can't even trust you girls to do that. I can't even trust you to keep your noses clean and this place straight. What am I going to do with you? Eh? What am I going to do with you three?
"You pick up strangers off the street and bring them here, then you hurt him and leave them inside MY room. You break my kitchenware on top of that AND you make stains the wooden floor I spent all last week stripping and buffing. Now I've got to do all that over again! Just because you three can't handle yourselves. I don't believe this!
Cherry didn't say anything the whole time. She merely sat there looking at her lap. She was afraid of Otaru's stare. Bloodberry lay propped up on the floor by one arm looking rather solemn. Lime looked like she was about to cry.
"You three disappoint me, do you know that? You really do. Here I thought that you might have grown some and matured on me a bit, and then you go ahead and pull this junk on me. I don't work like I do because I have to! I am not obligated in anyway to take care of you three at all. I found you and took you out of the cold and out of the plasma storm out of my own free will. The law says I can put you back there just as easily. I could you know! I could simply throw you three back into the streets!"
"Otaru!"
"But I don't!" Otaru lowered his head and clenched his fists. "Each and every time I don't. Each and every time I forgive you three because I care about you. I care about you three very much! I bring you in, feed you, clothe you, you three don't even have to work. I don't make you work. I let you stay here simply because I care deeply enough about you guys to keep you from going out into the hell I face everyday. I never force you to do something that you three don't want to do. And the only things I ask in return is for your kindness and for you to keep yourselves out of trouble.
"But you always go off and pull something like this. You hurt me, you know that?" All three of them looked up at Otaru. "You hurt me every time you pull this garbage on me. It hurts me to sit here and yell at you three time and time again. It hurts me to put out more time and hours just to pay for what you break. But do you know what hurts most of all? When I realize that I had misplaced my trust in you three. That you aren't what I had thought you to be.
"I'm getting tired of this. I'm getting tired of you girls pulling this crap on me time and time again. I'm getting tired of coming home to the destruction that you've sown and reaped over and over again! You never learn. You never seem to catch on. Time and again I forgive you and time and again you betray that forgiveness. I don't want anymore of this. I'm not sure what I am going to do with you three now."
He rose from the table. Lime's lip was quivering and her eyes brimming with tears.
"Otaru..."
Bloodberry half rose. "Otaru, please listen. It wasn't like you say! You don't-"
Otaru raised his hands and shook his head. "I don't care! I don't care Bloodberry! I don't want excuses! I don't want this! I don't give right now!" He turned and started to walk towards his small room. "I don't know what I am going to do about you three. I don't, I just don't know. I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the night. I'm going to bed."
Cherry rose herself. "But, Otaru-sama, your dinner?"
"I don't CARE Cherry! I'm not eating tonight! I'm going to bed."
And with that he pulled the door to his room closed with a bang.
All three of the marionettes jumped when it slammed shut. Lime turned to Cherry.
"Cherry~..."
She opened her arms sadly and held Lime. "Oh Lime..."
"Cherry!" Lime broke down and began to cry onto Cherry. She held Lime close and tried her best to comfort her.
Bloodberry scowled and rose. "Shit!"
Cherry watched Bloodberry walk to the door. "Bloodberry! Where are you going?"
"Out for a walk!" she stormed before slamming the front door shut.
"Bloodberry..." Cherry said before turning her attention back to Lime.
She didn't come back until one in the morning. Cherry had stayed up holding Lime until she fallen asleep at her side. She pulled a blanket over the sleeping Marionette and waited for Bloodberry's return. She had been dozing herself when the front door slid open. Cherry didn't ask Bloodberry where she had been. She only offered her a cup of tea and a blanket, both of which Bloodberry graciously accepted. She'd gone off to simply think. She had a spot in the park where she could sit and rest. It was there she always went whenever Otaru yelled at any of them. She was always tempted to go to the local bar and drink her problems away, but she knew that would only end up making things worse for everyone. Bloodberry and trouble became two very close friends whenever she was intoxicated. Cherry sat with her and they both talked about nothing and everything, wearing the hours away waiting for morning. Neither of them could sleep.
The sun peeked over the rim of the far gate shedding its light all over Japoness enveloping the city in it's light. The whole city stirred to life slowly as the great orb of fire rose higher and higher into the sky. Slowly the shops opened up and the venders pulled out onto the street. The men of Japoness stirred to wakefulness and the entire city geared itself up for another day of life.
Slowly Otaru stirred in his bed and his eyes gently came open. With a groan he rolled over and began to stretch. He would have to go back to the shop today. Not that he really wanted to. The old man was one crazy son-of-a-bitch. Always making him carry more than he could and working him like a horse while all he did was sit on his stool and tinker around. If it wasn't for the very good pay he would have taken off a long time ago.
He heard a noise to his left and rolled over. He saw Keinaro still there with his eyes closed. It took Otaru a minute to realize who he was and what he was doing in his room. Suddenly all the events of the previous night came back to him in a rush. Otaru closed his eyes and groaned. He remembered what he had said to his three marionettes. He sat up and almost immediately felt sick to his stomach. He rarely ever yelled at them. And yet, last night he'd vented himself upon them with out even listening to what they had said in their defense. Otaru closed his eyes and shook his head. Shit, what had he done once again?
He rose and quickly got dressed. Just as he was about to open the door something caught his eye. He turned to his dresser. There was something on it. He walked over and picked it up. Otaru swallowed and really began to feel sick. It was some rock candy. Sky blue with a little blue ribbon attached to it and a small tag hanging off the bottom. He read the tag, knowing what it would say.
"Bloodberry"
Otaru remembered when he yelled at her not too long ago because she had given some chocolates that had been laxatives in disguise. It really wasn't her fault. She had no idea what they were and her intentions were only the best. Even still he'd lost his temper with her as well and said some things he shouldn't have. He'd never apologized to her for that.
Now he held the piece of candy in his hands and felt guilt like nothing else. Those marionettes were prone to accidents just like anyone else. He was sure they'd taken the young man off of the street with the best of reasons and even better intentions. The least he could have done was hear out what they had to say.
Otaru clutched the candy in his hands and lifted his head up. It was not too late.
He placed the piece inside his pocket, walked over to the door and slowly opened it. He could still try and undo the damage. He could still apologize.
He found Lime lying on the ground snoozing softly. She'd managed to kick her blanket off her body and was shivering slightly from the cold. Otaru bent over and gently pulled it over her and tucked her in. She seemed to smile in her sleep and cuddled into it. Otaru smiled himself and rose. He couldn't see Cherry or Bloodberry lying anywhere. Where had they gone?
A small breeze blew through the room and he noticed the door was ajar. Swallowing Otaru walked over and stepped outside. Cherry and Bloodberry were wrapped in a single blanket to ward off the cold and were sitting on the small bench outside the door. They both turned toward him as he stepped outside. Otaru avoided their gazes and watched the sun rise above the far wall. No one said anything for a moment. The marionettes because they were still afraid of what Otaru might do or say. Otaru because he was simply at a loss for words.
Finally, he found his tongue. "What are you two doing out here? It's cold."
Cherry and Bloodberry looked at each other a moment before answering. "The sunrise is beautiful this time in the morning." said Cherry.
"Indeed." Bloodberry agreed.
Otaru leaned against the doorframe and stood silently. Despite the blanket, he could still see Cherry and Bloodberry shivering slightly. Finally he sighed.
"Let's go inside you two. We can make some breakfast, have something to eat."
Both the marionettes nodded and stood. Otaru turned to go in but was stopped by Cherry's voice.
"Otaru-sama?"
"Yeah?" he said turning.
"O-Otaru-sama...are you...are you still upset with us?"
He looked to her and Bloodberry shivering in the cold and he smiled.
"No. You two know that I could never be angry with you for this long."
Cherry and Bloodberry smiled with relief.
"Now come inside. It's cold out here."
It was about that time that Keinaro finally regained consciousness. His mind had been swimming for some time and finally through the inky blackness came some light. Slowly he came too and stirred. The first thing he noticed was that there was something covering his body but his mind was still swimming in such a way that he couldn't yet deduce what it was (a blanket). Groaning he brought his hand up to his head. Where- where was he? What the hell was he doing here? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted suddenly by a voice.
"OTARUUUUUUUUU!!"
Suddenly a figure jumped right through a poster in the wall of the room Naro was in and landed right on top him.
"Otaru!! I've finally caught you alone!"
Keinaro came fully to his senses as felt the wind knocked out of him by the character. His eyes bulged as the person on his body began to cuddle with him. It was very young man of some sort with wild blonde hair wearing white tights and a rather large, rather floppy bow on his neck. The man didn't seem to notice that Keinaro was not this Otaru person.
"Otaruuu~ Finally you and I can have some quality time together with out those annoying marionettes around! We can finally realize the true love that has blossomed between us although you never choose to show it to me, I know deep in your heart you feel the same way about me because fate has decreed that we shall be one someday and I truly believe that because every night I dream about the good times we will have together and all the memorable moments we will share and on that blessed day that we finally consummate our love in the ultimate act of devotion you shall see that those cursed marionettes that you have chosen to hold onto are nothing more that mere pieces of junk and that the only love, the true love can only form between two men as our selves and we shall gaze into each other's eyes, you into mine and mine into yours and....and...Otaru since when did your eyes become gray?"
Just as they were stepping in outside, Bloodberry, Cherry and Otaru saw Hanagata explode out of the roof of Otaru's apartment and into the sky screaming away into the distance; the first and only human rocket in all of Japoness.
Bloodberry sniffed. "It looks like Keinaro's awake..."
"Who?" Otaru turned.
"Keinaro," Cherry said. "The man whom we brought home yesterday Otaru-sama."
Otaru looked up and watched as Hanagata's tiny figure entered a lone plasma cloud and heard the distant sound of violent thunder and smiled. "Hrm, he can't be all bad. I have to meet this character."
Inside the house, the noise of Hanagata breaking through the roof had woken Lime. She leaped up just in time to see Otaru walk in. With tears brimming in her eyes she pounced on him in an instant.
"Otaru! Otaru, I'm so sorry! I never wanted to make you mad and I'm sorry that I wasn't fast enough and that I got hurt and that you got angry at me. Otaru~ I promise that I'll be good from now on! I promise, I promise. I promise that I'll never leave here again so that I can't get into trouble and you can be happy with me, Otaru~"
Otaru's face softened and he held Lime back. "It's all right, Lime. I'm not angry with you. It'll be all right. You're not in trouble."
Lime heard this and looked up. "Otaru? You're not mad at me? You're not going to hate me forever and make us live on the street?"
Otaru laughed. "Lime, I can never be mad at you like that. I'll never kick you three out. You girls mean too much to me." He said looking at Cherry and Bloodberry as well.
Lime brightened immensely and promptly began to hold him even harder. "Otaru!"
Otaru was about to say something else when the door to his room slid open and a man stumbled out walking backwards.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry! I just put a hole in your roof! Some crazy moron just dived on me and started to cuddle and talked about coupling and I just..."
He turned and saw the marionettes and a young man he had never seen before. Naro's attention focused onto the marionettes and, swallowing, he took a step back. He suddenly remembered where he was and why he was still here.
He took a step back. Otaru nodded toward him. "And who might you be?"
Naro's mouth was dry and it took him a few seconds to work up his voice. "K-Keinaro, Hajima Keinaro."
Otaru looked taken back. "Hajima? That's not a Japoness name. You look like you could be from Gartlant, or Petersburg."
Keinaro smiled slightly. "N-no, I'm not from a-anywhere really."
Otaru looked as if he was about to say something when Lime cut him off. "Otaru~ I'm hungry! Let's make something to eat."
Otaru smiled. "Just what I was thinking. Cherry, would you mind?"
"No, of course Otaru-sama. For four people?"
"Er, four? No, five, Cherry. Keinaro-san will be joining us, right?"
Everyone turned to him. Behind Otaru's back Bloodberry shot pure venom and Cherry, likewise, made a similar face. Otaru and Lime, however smiled at him. Lime still didn't know who he was and had no reason to hate him. Otaru had come to the conclusion that who ever had the strength to turn Hanagata into a human comet and send him straight to plasma hell may not be half bad, so he decided to at least meet him over a meal. Keinaro swallowed. He didn't want to upset Bloodberry and Cherry any more than he already had. He still felt bad about what he said the day before, but he knew that someday he would have to bring it back up whether or not they liked it. He sorely didn't want to. He had fallen in love with their charm and personalities, their bodies were an added and welcome bonus. But he knew that in the end, he would have to hurt them terribly.
But it was his duty to do so. All of humanity depended upon his actions. He was bound by honor to do the right thing...
...The right thing...
...what ever that was.
Otaru saw that Keinaro seemed to be struggling with something. "Keinaro? Keinaro would you mind joining us for breakfast?"
Naro looked down and bit his lip. Cherry and Bloodberry didn't want him around. Their looks told him that much. He made his decision.
"No...No thank you Otaru-kun. I wouldn't wish to intrude upon your grace and hospitality."
"What?" Otaru said cocking his head. "No no, It's no bother at all. You're welcome to stay and share a meal with us."
But Keinaro was already gathering his cloak off the ground. "No, I'm afraid I've hurt you and your lovely women enough. I've already done too much. I can't bear causing any more pain."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Otaru said stepping forward. He noticed that Naro had used the word 'women' and not 'marionettes.'
"It is not my place to say." Naro said keeping his eyes on the ground, afraid to look up at Otaru or any of his marionettes. Pulling his hood up he quickly made for the door. "I- I thank you for your hospitality and for allowing me to stay the night."
"Hey wait!" Otaru said putting his hand on Keinaro's shoulder. "Where are you going?! Don't you want something to eat?"
Keinaro stopped right in front of the door at Otaru's touch, his back to him. Otaru could feel his body stiffen below his hand.
"...I am not welcome here." He said finally. "Please. I do not wish to be anymore of a bother."
Otaru was surprised to say the least. "Not welcome here?! Where did you get that impression from?! Of course you're welcome, this is my home. I ask you to stay for a small meal. After that if you wish to go, I will not stop you but at least-"
Naro reached up and pulled Otaru's hand off his shoulder turning his head back slightly. "Please. I am not welcome here. Let me be on my way."
Otaru took a step back and frowned. "Not welcome? What is it then? Isn't my hospitality good enough for you? Where are you going to go? I may not have very much, but I want to share what little I have with you. My marionettes trusted you enough to bring you back here, why do you want to leave?"
Naro wordlessly placed his hands on the doorframe and lowered his head.
"I don't know where you are from Hajima, but it seems they don't teach one manners! Please, at least take a seat."
Lime stepped forward. "Naro-san, Please. Stay for at least a bite or two?"
Keinaro started to dig his hands into the wooden doorframe. Why was this so hard. Why couldn't he simply leave and comeback only when the proper time had come? Why was this so painful? Why the hell did things have to be like this? Why couldn't he simply stay and sit and share a meal? Why couldn't he gracefully turn it down with out this emotional baggage? Why the hell?
Otaru watched him for a few seconds longer before he finally gave up. Shaking his head, he turned away scowling. "Fine. Get out of here. I don't want to eat with someone of your type anyway. NOW you are not welcome here. If my hospitality isn't good enough, just get the hell out! Find a dumpster if that's more your style!"
"Otaru!" Lime turned. "Otaru, no you don't-"
She stopped when she heard the door softly close behind her. She turned and found the doorway empty. Her eyes began to fill with tears once more.
"Ot-Otaru..."
Bloodberry walked over and placed her hand on Lime's shoulder. "Lime, you don't want to have anything to do with that man." She looked up at the closed door and breathed a little easier. "He's dangerous..."
Lime shook Bloodberry's hand off her shoulder. "Otaru! You don't understand! Yesterday, the reason why we brought him here was-"
Otaru sat and waved his hand at Lime. "Lime, I don't want to hear it."
"But Otaru, It's really, really important-"
"I said I don't want to hear it Lime!"
"Otaru..." Lime looked heartbroken a moment and she fell to her knees and began to cry. Otaru looked over his shoulder and immediately remembered what had happened last night. Once again he turned Lime down with out giving her a chance to talk. He frowned and shook his head once more. He promised him self he would at least give her that much. He stood up and sat by her and wrapping his arm around her.
"Oh, Lime, I'm sorry. Please, you don't have to cry. Tell me, what is it you wanted?"
She sniffed through her tears and looked Otaru in the face. "It's about yesterday, I-it's why we brought him home in the first place.."
Bloodberry hissed at down at her. "Tcha! Lime!"
Otaru looked up at her in surprise. "Bloodberry!" Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding Bloodberry?"
Bloodberry took a step back and said nothing. Otaru could still read her face nevertheless. She was hiding something. "Bloodberry..." He said menacingly.
"O-Otaru..."
He turned to Lime when she didn't answer. "Lime! Tell me what happened. I want to know exactly what happened!"
A few minutes later the door burst open and Otaru took off running as fast as he could down the street hoping he was heading in the same direction as Keinaro.
Japoness' business district, by now, was in full swing. The streets were lined and crowded with men and marionettes, shops and stores, various trinket sellers and even the occasional nobleman. Anything and everything available in Japoness could be found in the market place, both legal and illegal. Anything from pleasure marionettes to explosives to high end targeting systems and orange blossom data cores. If you wanted it, chances are you could find it there.
Otaru flung himself into the crowds doing his best to look over the heads of all those in his way searching for the brown and weather-beaten hood and over-cloak. He weaved his way in and out of the various crowds and moved as fast as his legs would permit in such a crowded place. He cursed at himself for letting his temper get the better of reason again. He'd yelled at the man who was probably the reason why he was able to yell at Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry the night before. If he hadn't been there Otaru would have gone home to find no one there, only to learn he would have lost the three most important things in his life. He shuddered. The thought was too horrible to think about. Life with out Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry would be too unbearable even to consider.
Otaru ducked around a cart merchant selling some of his goods and through a small crowd of people he saw a man walking swiftly away. He was wearing a faded brown cloak and hood and seemed to be pressing something up to his ear. He was talking into it. Waving his arms Otaru called out.
"Hey! HEY! Naro-san! NARO-SAN!!"
The man seemed to pause and look over his shoulder a moment before turning and taking off running.
"What? HEY! NARO-SAN! WAIT!!"
Otaru tried his best pile on as much speed as he could, but Keinaro was faster. He took off like a shot into the crowds holding his body low to the ground moving like a bullet. Otaru cursed for the five hundredth time that day and watched him go. Suddenly he had an idea. He had a pretty good idea of where Keinaro was headed. The road curved down the way. With a grunt, he took off down a near by alleyway.
Naro steamed along the ground making his way through the throng of people easily. He was breathing hard, but for very different reasons than exhaustion. Why on earth was this happening. Why was Otaru still chasing after him? Why couldn't he simply let all this go and just drop it? Why did it always come back to follow him? Those dammed women! Those dammed, dammed women. They were the reason why he was here, and now they were the reason he couldn't leave. Didn't they hate him? Didn't they, not twenty minutes ago, scorn and despise him?
Keinaro was confused. He didn't know why he felt this way about those women. All his life he had grown up with the impression that women were terrible creatures bent on consuming the desires of young men, and that they were a plague that had thankfully never touched the face of Terra II. But now that he had seen them, some thing in him seemed to change. He'd felt this warmth inside of himself that had never been there before. When he touched Cherry, he felt like he was on fire, like his heart was burning. And when she hit him something inside seemed to break. His warmth had been shattered and he suddenly felt an amazing weight on his soul. He felt he had done something too horrible for words.
These new feelings conflicted with his previous ones that he had taken with him on this voyage. He'd left full of purpose, full of the desire to help mankind in what he was about to do. He knew that he was on a quest for the bettering of all. It was his honor and duty to turn in what he had found for the sake of all man, anywhere. It was his role as a living creature upon this earth to do the task that had been given him.
But he knew that his new feelings that he had since learned existed inside himself conflicted with his older ones of pride and duty. They were fighting deep inside himself already. Keinaro hated this. He hated these feelings. On one side he had humanity and the safety of the planet for eons to come. On the other hand, he had, possibly, his own happiness and those of those three women and their master who even now relentlessly hunted him. Naro could not figure out why he couldn't shed these feelings. He felt guilty for meeting those women. He felt guilty for meeting their master. He felt guilty for leaving. He felt guilty for coming.
Why Otaru and those women plagued him he didn't know. It seemed he just couldn't let them be until the proper time had arrived. He wanted to simply leave them and let them be happy until the time came for him to fulfill his duty to his planet. That was the only way he figured he could appease both parts of himself. But they kept coming back. They kept coming back to him. He'd run and they seemed to follow.
He turned the corner to a nearby alley and collapsed against the wall.
"Shit..." he muttered to himself. He was beginning to regret ever meeting those women...
He didn't see Otaru until he placed his hand on Naro's shoulder. He looked up and jumped back in surprise. Otaru saw he was about to run again and took hold of his arm.
"Wait! Naro, wait a minute! Please!"
Keinaro paused and relaxed. It seemed fate would be cruel to him.
"Naro, why didn't you tell me you saved the lives of my marionettes?"
He paused a moment before answering. "It wasn't in my place. I had no business to." He said avoiding Otaru's gaze.
"Naro, that's nonsense. I had no idea I came so close to loosing my marionettes yesterday. I had no idea how close I came to never seeing them again."
"Please," Naro said softly, "Don't call them that."
Otaru arched an eyebrow. "Huh, call them what?"
"Marionettes. Please, they're not marionettes. They are women, Otaru."
Otaru paused. There he went again calling them women. Shaking his head Otaru took hold of Keinaro's shoulders. "Keinaro? What are you talking about? There are no women on this planet. They were all killed long, long ago back when-"
"Yes, I know the story!" Naro spat shaking off Otaru's grip. "Back when the colony ship self-destructed and killed everyone and everything left on board. I know how it goes. But those women that live with you are not marionettes! I've seen marionettes. They are lifeless dolls! They are soulless robots that roam and do as they're told. They don't smile, Otaru! Marionettes don't smile! They don't cry either! Nor do they laugh, or get angry, or get jealous. They simply do as they're told. They don't make their own decisions. Otaru you don't live with marionettes. You live with women, real live women. I'm not sure if you realize that or not by now, I can't possibly see how you could be so blind to the obviousness about them even now. They're not dolls Otaru! They're not soulless! They're not robots! They are living, thinking, breathing, laughing, frowning, smiling, crying women! Don't ever degrade them by calling them such petty machines. Never, Otaru."
Otaru was taken back by such an outburst. He'd never expected Naro to act like this. Despite it, he still saw some truth in what he had said. He may be right in a different sort of way. Even still, he had something he needed to ask. Looking up at Naro he saw that his gaze had once again fallen away from his own and to the ground.
"Naro...Naro look at me. I need to ask you something."
Slowly he rose his head. "What?"
"Naro, back when I asked you to stay, you told me that you weren't welcome in my home. What did you mean by that?"
Naro visibly swallowed. "I won't tell you."
"Wha-what?! Why not?!"
"Because, Otaru," he said looking up. "I don't want to make you sad. I don't want to make your women sad. I don't want to ruin everything for you four."
Otaru took a step forward. "What do you mean by that?"
"I can't say."
"Why not?"
"Because Otaru I told you!"
"You haven't told me anything!"
"Because I have no right to say it! I have no right to take away the happiness between you and your women! It is something between you and them and no one else!"
"I'm giving you the right! Tell me what you mean!!"
"God DAMMIT, Otaru!!" Keinaro said slamming his fist into the side of the building. To Otaru's surprise some of the wall shattered and crumbled to the ground.
"God DAMN YOU! Why do you want me to do this to you?! Why do you want me to ruin your lives?! Why can't you just leave me alone and let me stay away until the time comes?! I want you to be happy with your women Otaru! I want them to be happy with you! The time is going to come when you wont be able to share that love anymore! The time is going to come when you wont be able be with them any more... And... and..."
Keinaro started to sob. "...and I'll be the one to take them away from you... I'll be the one to ruin your lives..."
Otaru took a step forward. "What?"
To Otaru's utter shock, Keinaro slammed his fingers deep into the wall and pulled scoring deep marks into it. Otaru took his step back, his eyes wide open in shock. What the?!
Keinaro turned to face him with his own wild, angry eyes. "So get the hell away from me!! Get the hell away!! You don't want me yet!! You don't want me in your life!! Just get the fuck away!!!"
Leaving Otaru speechless, Keinaro turned and began to run back into the street. He got as far as the end of the alley when something stepped into his way. It was Bloodberry.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he screamed barreling towards her. Bloodberry only planted her feet and brought her fists up to a fighter's stance. Keinaro saw that the only way to escape would be to go through her. With eyes streaming tears and his heart screaming at him to stop he bellowed out and charged. Otaru saw what was going to happen and screamed out to Bloodberry.
"Bloodberry! Wait! Don't-"
With a crash the two collided and rolled out into the street. Keinaro landed on top and with a grunt jumped away. Bloodberry shot out with her arm and snagged him by his foot and pulling him back down. With a roar they clashed on the ground. Everyone in the market got out of the way and formed a ring as the two struggled and raged. Bloodberry ended up gaining the upper hand rolling on top of him. She had a hand around his neck and the other in a fist trying to pummel the young man's skull into the dirt. Keinaro had his hands full trying to pry her free from his throat and keeping her fist from liquefying his head.
Finally he realized there was no way for him to get out of this position unless... To the utter surprise of Bloodberry, Naro let out a scream and pulled his right leg up, bringing his knee to his chest, right between her legs.
"...Blood...berry..." He grunted, silently apologizing for what he was going to do. Violently he kicked outwards and upwards catching Bloodberry right in her stomach. Her eyes grew huge and her grip relaxed. She'd never expected such a violent offense from such a little man. With a another scream he hit her again, and again, and again until her grip finally broke. When it did she flew off his body with the force of his kick and landed near the side of the ring of people. Keinaro rolled off his back and onto his feet. He saw Bloodberry down struggling to get up and he turned to run. But the second he turned his body he found himself face to face with Cherry.
Keinaro wasn't stupid. He'd read the reports on each of the girls. Lime was the fastest, illustrated by her dodging the bullet the day before. He'd figured Bloodberry was the tank, she'd very nearly pummeled him into the ground. That left Cherry. She was the only true combat one in the whole group. She had a targeting system built into her body that judged the moves of her combatant and she moved accordingly. Keinaro knew better than to fight with her. She'd judge his move well before he could execute it. There was no defending from her either. He paused judging his options. Stay and loose or run, run like hell. Cherry saw him hesitate and smiled. This turned out to be his mistake.
When Keinaro saw her smile opted for the latter. His game was up. She'd already seen his move. With a grunt he turned and started to take off in he other direction...Right back into Bloodberry. She had, by now, gotten back to her feet. The last thing he saw before everything went black once again was Bloodberry's scowling face and her spiked fist three inches from his face.
Otaru saw Keinaro's body leave the ground and actually flip in the air before landing in a heap on the ground.
"BLOODBERRY!!" He screamed and ripped his way through the crowd. "Bloodberry!" he yelled again coming to the inside edge of the ring. Cherry was already on top of Keinaro checking him.
"Bloodberry!!" He screamed for a third time. "Bloodberry, what the hell did you do?!"
"Nothing." Replied Cherry standing. "She pulled her punch at the last second. He's only unconscious."
"What?!" Otaru went to Naro's side and knelt. He saw blood trickling from his mouth (the old cut Cherry gave him had reopened) but for the most part he seemed ok. His chest was rising and falling softly and his pulse was strong and steady. Otaru whirled upon Bloodberry.
"Bakayero!! Why did you attack him?!"
Bloodberry rubbed her arms and averted her eyes. "He is right. You want to have nothing to do with him." Otaru rose and approached her. He was quivering with anger, but decided to swallow it for the moment. They had a lot of explaining to do.
"You will pick him up..." He said, his voice tense with controlled anger. "And you will take him home." He turned to Cherry. "And you will bind him and make sure that he will be ok. Are the both of you clear on this."
"But Otaru-sama! You don't understand about this man."
Otaru narrowed his eyes and did his best to control his quivering voice. "Ch-Cherry!"
He saw her flinch and swallowed, remembering what he had promised himself earlier. "Ch-Ch-Cherry... w-what don't I understand about this man?"
"Master. He is dangerous. He's a soldier. Please, let us simply dispose of him. He will not be missed and-"
"Cherry." Bloodberry's face was solemn. "Remember why we came here."
"But Bloodberry! If we can just-"
"What then when he's gone? There will be others. There are always going to be others. We need to think now, and use our heads. Our time is now. This is the end of our vacation."
" But...Bloodberry..."
Bloodberry turned to Otaru. "Otaru. You've never asked us where we came from. You always just accepted us as is. And...for that we're grateful. But I think the time has come for us to tell you, just...just..." She paused and stared at the ground.
"Bloodberry." The anger had drained itself from Otaru's body. He wondered just what exactly had Cherry in such a mood... Bloodberry as well. This was more serious than he first thought.
Bloodberry looked back up and locked eyes with Otaru. He took a step back. Bloodberry...she looked like she was going to...to cry. Otaru had never seen her look like that before. She was always the strongest out of the three. Two things he'd never seen her do were get hurt or cry. Today she had done both.
"Otaru..." She said finally. "We need to tell you...just where we come from. We need to tell you just who we really are."
Slowly, Otaru nodded. "Take Keinaro back to the house." He said dryly. "If one man can make do this to you two, we'll need to keep him under our watch."
Slowly, both Bloodberry and Cherry nodded. They took Keinaro up and carried him away. The crowd parted to let them pass. They were totally silent. They'd never seen anything like this before. The marionettes had been angry, and worried, and sad. They spoke to Otaru with tone and real emotion. Otaru talked to them back as if they were his equal. They reacted with him just as much as he reacted with them. Quite a few of the men began to wonder as they watched them walk away. Were Otaru's Marionettes the defective ones, or were theirs?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is human? What is it that defines us as that creature. Is it our self-awareness? Is it our higher levels of thinking? Or is it our hearts?
Are we human simply because we have been born from another human? If so, what of clones? What of those created artificially? Are they not human because of their birth? Circumstance dumped them into a world where they think and breathe and feel like everyone else, but are outlaws and banned because of something they could not help. Criminals from a crime they were forced to commit.
These are questions we will be asking ourselves for years to come. These are questions we are asking right now. These are questions we have been asking for years.
When we blur the line between man and machine we also blur the line between right and wrong, good and evil. What is human? Human is what ever you desire it to be.
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
On nights when I can't settle down no matter what,
I just want to throw anything and everything away.
Don't bitch and complain, just open the door, ya know.
I don't have time to quibble with you.
I want to fly all over the place.
I wanna throw caution to the wind.
It isn't because I've lost anything
It's because nothing's even started yet.
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
What do you want? What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?
Cut through the darkness and run to grab what you want through the night!
Sometimes I'll let my guard down to your kindness,
but sometimes I worry.
I've been doing whatever I want as much as I wanted to,
But to tell the truth, to be with you is the best.
Believing, I want us to believe in each other.
I want it to be as plain as black and white.
Because it's not just intensity
Because it's not just gentleness...
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
Who do I want to hold? I should know.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
I can't protect even those unless I get moving.
Even if I get hurt, or I hurt someone, or I have to take the long way,
With my heart as it is, tumbling as I am, I'll pierce through the night!
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
Holding each other, getting hurt, then loss...
Everyone hurts the one they hold most dear.
Anyway, I just can't understand being shackled with a promise...
I can't put my finger on it...
What do you want? What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?
Cut through the dark and run to grab what you want through the night!
~Outlaw Star - Through the Night
[To Be Continued...]
The basic premise is this: What would happen if Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry from Saber Marionette J were, instead of Marionettes, human? Kinda blasphemous considering the whole premise of SMJ is the fact that they are really not, well, physically not, human. I believe they are more human in their hearts and minds than most people on Terra II. Anyway, What would have happened if they were indeed human, real flesh and blood? What would have happened if Mesopotamia had destroyed itself in the high orbit above Terra II, killing everyone but those 6 men who escaped? Killing everyone, including Lorelei? How different a hand, do you think, fate would have dealt the inhabitants of Terra II? Since Mesopotamia is now gone, as is Lorelei, the whole purpose of Faust and Leyasu change. No longer are they living to save that woman, they are merely surviving to save themselves. History would have taken a drastic turn. Fate would have been much different.
But I feel, that despite the transgression of timelines, the love that those three marionettes, pardon, I mean women, feel towards Otaru would not change. They would be determined to remain by his side, no matter the consequence. They would protect him no matter the cost. I don't believe that their love for Otaru was a programmed reaction built into their Maiden Circuitry, a function designed solely to ensure that they would stay near the one that wakes them until they mature. I believe when they were awoken they knew right away that this man would be the one and right then and there, true love bloomed for this hapless little man who'd done nothing but accidentally activate them. Love at first sight might be more appropriate a term. Their puppy love and their desire to help Otaru and keep him close and dear to them really and truly was love in the purest sense. Only love could have driven them to do what they did at the end of SMJ.
Otaru is still there on Terra II. So are his marionettes, or so he thinks. He doesn't know what they truly are yet. They came to him suddenly one day, I'll explain how exactly a little later on. Their love is still there. Their Maiden Circuit is also there, but for a much different purpose. Remember, not only are they human now, but Lorelei is dead. Faust is around. So is Gartlant, but this is not about them. The saber dolls are around as well, once again for very different reasons. History has been changed significantly. This is no longer 200 years after but more around, perhaps 1000 years. The past has changed considerably. Time has changed considerably.
Time, I suppose this is what this tale is about. Time, you see, is everything. It is a stream that envelops us all and dives the course of our actions. Time is variable. What we do decides our course in time. We live simply with those that have chosen to continue traveling this course with us. Those that have chosen to take a different path in life and follow different events have left our path in this stream by "Dying" and going on to live their lives in another branch of this time stream. This stream only flows one way. There is no going back. Our choices guide our souls. Our choices decide other's fate.
This is not Saber Marionette J. This is not the SMJ that you've seen. Things are different. People are different. Places may have changed. History has changed. Purpose has changed. Lives have changed, the world has changed. But love, that driving force behind all that we do good for other people, has not. I'm interested to see how far Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry are willing to take their love for Otaru in this much different world. I am not forcing you to read this. I am not, in anyway, bashing the ideals of SMJ. Saber Marionette J is my all time favorite anime. I've never seen one with such emotion in such a spectacular ending. They gave their souls to the devil in order to save the man they loved and the planet they called home. Do not flame me and tell me that this is not how things should go. I know full well how things should "go". Don't flame me and tell me that this is simply blasphemous to the whole idea of SMJ, for you are wrong. SMJ is about survival. SMJ is about "human". SMJ is about love. I will try and fulfill these three prerequisites to the best of my ability.
I don't know how this will end. I'm not sure if this will be a tragedy, if those three women will die. I'm not sure if this will have a happy ending, or one with a twist, or if it will simply have one. This is a pet project. I am simply expanding upon a dream that I had. The twists and turns this story makes will surprise both you and me. I will let this tale weave itself. Nothing is in stone except one thing - Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry still love Otaru with all their hearts, all their minds, and all their souls.
As usual , Saber Marionette J and all its affiliated characters do not belong to me in any way. I'm not sure who created them (I could look it up, but I'm simply too lazy to do so) but who ever did so has my ultimate respect. Kudos to those Japanese guys, they really know how to weave a tale. If you have any constructive criticisms contact me at The_Dark_Phoenix@hotmail.com . Flames will be frowned upon if they have no legitimate grounds. Think before you open your mouth. It's that simple.
I've given this a PG-13 rating for some adult language and adult themes, nothing too severe (I hope), so go ahead and enjoy the story!
I've dedicated this story to my editor and good bud, the great Vik-Man. Putting up with my crap for 6 years and you still manage to smile. Thanks dude! Shout out to Chii-Chan! ^^ Thanks for hooking me up with SMJ in the first place!
Well... Let's get on with this, shall we?
[NOTE] Version 1.1.- Dated: 17 October 2002; I went through the whole 'fic and repaired some stupid problems that were made. The most noticeable mistakes were made at the start of Chap. 3 and the radio transmission in Chap. 4. Now I think you guys will be able to at least understand what was going on. On FF.net using "" "" to indicate actions makes the damn server think it's a set of link instructions and erases the whole line. I fixed most all of them so you can read them now. I'm sorry about the mix up. Take care and Enjoy!
Saber Marionette J- Human
Dark's A.U.
Eps. 1- Gray Eyes
"Where the end began"
So close, no matter how far,
Couldn't be much more from the heart.
Forever trust in who we are,
And nothing else matters.
I've never opened myself this way,
Life's desires, we live it our way.
All these words I don't just say,
And nothing else matters.
Trust and seek and I find in you,
Everyday for us something new.
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
So close, no matter how far,
Couldn't be much more from the heart.
Forever trust in who we are,
And nothing else matters.
Never cared for what they do!
Never cared for what they know!
But I know...
Never opened my self this way,
Life is ours, we live it our way.
All these words I don't just say.
And nothing else matters!
Trust I seek and I find in you,
Every day for us something new!
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters!
Never cared for what they say!
Never cared for games they play!
I never cared for what they do!
I never cared for what they know!
And I know!
...So close, no matter how far...
...Couldn't be much more from the heart...
...Forever trust in who we are...
...No nothing else matters.
~Nothing Else Matters.
Metallica.
Lime smiled as she greedily began licking away at the large, yellow lollipop. It was her favorite flavor, she had near every reason in the world to smile. The candy man smiled himself and shook his head. It amazed him every time he saw her. A marionette, SMILING, of all things! It never ceased to be a source of enjoyment every time he saw her grin at him, or giggle in that cute way, or hug him whenever he gave her free candy. He always felt warm inside making that defective doll smile. She was almost human.
"Would you two ladies like to have some as well?" he offered Cherry and Bloodberry. Cherry smiled her self and graciously accepted a piece from his cart. Bloodberry shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.
"I guess I'm not in the mood for sweets today."
Lime giggled. "Hehe, Bloodberry hasn't been in the mood for sweets since she gave Otaru that box of chocolates that turned out to be laxitiv~"
She suddenly felt a heavy fist press down on her head and push her to the ground, silencing her. Bloodberry blushed and smiled nervously.
"Err, umm, well! Look at the time! It's about time we started going, isn't that right, LIME?!" she said accenting her last statement with a glare to the blue haired little marionette she had pinned under her fist-o-death.
Lime, totally unfazed, smiled back up at Bloodberry. "What? We have nothing to do. That's why we left home." She started to frown. "Otaru said that he'd be gone the whole day again..."
Bloodberry turned an even deeper shade of red. "Err... Err... so he did, didn't he..."
The candy man broke out into a deep and rapturous laughter as he watched Bloodberry dig herself into an even deeper hole than she was already in. He shook his head after his chuckles subsided.
"It is all right. Here," he said drawing a long and slender piece of rock candy. It was sky blue with a small deep blue ribbon tied onto the stick. He could guess from what Lime had said what had happened. "You can give this to him as a gift if you do not want it. I'm sure he'll be unable to resist such a treat from a woman with such charm as yourself if you are sincere to him."
Bloodberry was momentarily speechless as she stared at the sweet in her hand and began to blush again for a much different reason.
"...Uh...uh...well- ...well thank you..."
The candy man merely smiled even more broadly than before. "Think nothing of it. My job is to make people happy by providing them with gifts and treats such as these." he said motioning to his tray strapped to his shoulders and backpack filled with assorted toys and trinkets. "It makes me feel good to bring such a thing to others, especially three fine marionettes such as yourselves."
Cherry bowed graciously to him and graced him with another one of her smiles. "Thank you very much, kind sir. We truly appreciate this."
The candy man turned and began to walk away. "Please, think nothing of it my dears. It is always my pleasure." And with that he turned to the direction he was heading and started to call out in a loud voice advertising his presence and goods. Almost immediately several children dashed out from a few shops along the road and ran up to him. He greeted them with the same smile he'd given to the three marionettes and received their small change in exchange for his delectables. Bloodberry watched him address a small young boy who was seeking a small pinwheel off his backpack, but who found himself a few coins short. The candy man took the child's change nonetheless and gave him two of the brightest pinwheels right off of his back. They all watched as the little boy ran off smiling as broadly as he could holding the pinwheels one in each hand, letting them catch and spin wildly in the breeze.
"What a kind, kind man," Cherry remarked, watching him go.
Blood berry looked once again at the sky blue piece of rock candy he had given her. "Yes," she said, her expression softening a bit. "He is, isn't he?" She tucked the candy away in her pocket and turned down to Lime who was still sitting cross legged on the ground happily licking the large lollipop the man had given her, totally oblivious to everything that had just happened.
"Come on you." She said trying to look as stern as she could possibly could. "We need to have that little talk about what we tell other people out in public again..."
Cherry couldn't help but giggle as she watched Bloodberry drag away Lime who wasn't listening to a word she was saying. It was indeed another fine day in Japoness.
"Now, now sir..." the attendant said rather nervously. "If you are not going to buy anything I must ask you to leave."
"Oh?" the young man said turning. He met the attendant's eyes with his own soft, gray ones. The attendant couldn't help but feel a slight chill as the man frowned at him. "All I seek is to sit here on this fine bench, out in the beautiful sunlight and enjoy the air and atmosphere that is all around us and you seek to drive me from this warm place solely because I do not purchase an item from your vendor? This indeed is very grave."
The attendant swallowed and was about to say something (he wasn't sure what himself) when the young man shook his head and continued. "No matter. I will purchase one your goods if that will allow me a spot on your bench. What do you have to offer?"
"Uh, d-drinks sir."
"Drinks, eh? Perhaps this is for the best then. I could use a soothing drop or two. Have you any Soonjan?"
"S-Soonjan?" the attendant looked at the young man incredulously for a moment despite his uneasiness. "Sir, the plant spice that is used to ferment and sweeten that drink has long since gone extinct. There hasn't been any Soonjan for hundreds of years!"
"Oh, damn!" the young man said shaking his head. "What else have you then?"
"Er... Sake is popular-" he stopped as the man hissed a bit and scowled at him.
"Sake! Hmph. Such a poor drink indeed. If that is all that you have guess then I have no other choice! Bring me your best, and I mean your best, or you will be a very sorry little man."
"Y-yes sir!" the attendant ran off behind the curtain that led to his back room and left the young man on the bench. The man looked to be about 25 - 26 years old. He had rather long, thick brown hair that he kept for the most part hidden under his long hood and cloak. Both were a dark brown and looked slightly tattered and weather-beaten. The man looked as if he had not shaved in a few days and his stubble was growing long. He removed his hood and leaned back on the bench of the outdoor drink vendor, basking in the sunlight. A moment later the attendant came back carrying a large bottle with the label "SAKE" printed on it.
"Here sir," he said putting the bottle on the low table that had been set up next to the bench. "This is the best we have."
The man grunted and popped the stopper free from the bottle. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a bit of the contents. The attendant held his breath a bit as the man took a sip. A moment later he looked up with his gray eyes, smiled, and nodded. The attendant smiled in return and left to go back behind the curtains again. He collapsed in the back storage room and let his breath out in one big gush. He didn't know why this man made him feel this way, but there was something... dangerous about him. He wasn't like most ruffians or roughnecks that could be found wandering in. He seemed more... more.... deadly than the others. The attendant regained his breath and shook his head. This job was becoming too much... he needed a drink.
The man on the bench outside smiled a bit and closed his eyes. This wasn't bad alcohol at all. If this is what sake was nowadays, perhaps he should have re-thought his old ideas of what a good drink should be like. The young man seemed to be a very odd fellow. He apparently came from nowhere and it seemed that he was headed back in the same direction. He'd wandered into the city from the badlands right in the middle of a raging plasma storm and scared the crap out of the guards who had been standing watch. They raged at him for his stupidity of being out in such a place on such a night, but the man, Gray Eyes, simply waved them off and continued into town. He'd spent the last few nights staying in alleyways and under bridges waiting out the cold and the darkness. What he was seeking rarely came out in the dark. In the day he drew much attention to himself. It was strange to see any man wearing such clothing in the city. He was covered from head to toe in his dark brown cloak, with dull black boots peeking out when ever he stepped forward. He could have been a mistaken for a monk if not for the short sleeves on the cloak that revealed the sleeves of a gray uniform of some sort and the small knife he had strapped to his shoulder. When he sat the cloak opened and any one watching could see the rest of the uniform through the loose folds. What he was doing in Japoness, no one really knew. Most really didn't care. Strangers were uncommon, but not unheard of there. The men would simply stare at the slim figure moving his way through the crowds in the odd clothes and got on with their own business. Such a man was no concern of their own.
Now, he simply sat there on that bench, sipping some of the Sake that had been provided and looked up into the bright and sunny sky. Closing his eyes he face broke into a smile. It was indeed a fine day in Japoness.
Otaru spat and cursed under his load. His seemingly never-ending quest for money had brought him to an old marionette repair shop. It was an old store run by an even older man. Otaru had the unique job of doing everything the very old geriatric could not. These tasks included carrying the broken marionettes and their parts to and from the storage room, delivering them to their respective owners, holding back the messy/dirty/electrically hot/sharp parts so that his boss could probe and work on the dolls without their interference and doing what ever else the old man tasked him with. Right now he was bent over double under a rather large marionette strapped to his back inside the dark workroom. It was a rather smallish room lined from floor to ceiling with old parts, marionettes and what ever other pieces of junk the old man pack-ratted away. There was a large worktable in the center with a small work lamp hanging just above. With a grunt, Otaru maneuvered his load over to it and set the thing down.
The thin old man turned on his lamp over the marionette and began to examine it. Otaru stretched out and cracked his back. Older models were always heavier than anything else. His employer looked over the top of his spectacles at Otaru and frowned.
"Are you already tired, Otaru?" he said in an aging, cracked voice that every old man in Japoness seemed to have.
Otaru cracked a smile and rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, no, not really. I'm fine."
"Nonsense." said the old man, picking up some of his work tools. "I may be old, but I am not blind. Go ahead and rest in the front room, or outside boy. I will call upon you if I need anything."
"Thank you sir." Otaru said bowing once before heading out. He decided to go outside and sat down under the shop overhang and rested. It had been a long day. That was the third marionette he had to transport in as many hours. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package Cherry had given him before he left. Opening it, he began to munch on the contents. They were the little pickle slices he had come to love. He poured him self a small cup of water from the fountain beside him and sat there letting the warm sun shine on his face.
'Cherry's cooking is second to none.' he thought to himself. There were few pleasures he enjoyed more than a nice warm meal provided by her. It was refreshing for him to go home and to find his apartment filled with the smell of freshly made food.
'Heheh, It's great going home to find anybody other than Hanagata there!' he chuckled to himself. That guy really creeped Otaru out. He was madly in love with Otaru and for
some reason Otaru didn't have the same feelings in return. He'd never seemed to swing that way his entire life. He couldn't really figure out why. Most men on this planet were like Hanagata, but Otaru seemed to be the queer one, the one that was different from the rest. Since he'd gotten his three marionettes the term "Marionette Lover" had been whispered more than once while he was around. Before the dolls came into his life, he would have violently defended himself against such a comment- being a marionette lover was about as socially popular as prostitution (which should tell you a lot about an all male society). But since he received them into his care he really stopped caring. He knew himself that he cared for them, it was obvious. Their charm and color could not be found anywhere else. Old Gennai said that they were defective, and they should be looked at or destroyed, but Otaru thought differently. To him they weren't defective, they were perfect. Each of them was different, they each had a different personality, a different quality that made them special. They smiled, laughed, cried and got angry. He'd never seen any other marionette do that. In his opinion if that was what defective was, then they need to change the rules.
But they always had a knack for getting into trouble. Especially Lime. Otaru smiled to himself as he thought about her. She seemed so young and innocent. She was the one who always made the mistakes, always got in trouble and always managed to cost Otaru the most money. But she was also the one Otaru seemed most fond of. Her innocence, her childish smile, the way she giggled and hung on to him every moment she could; they were all traits he loved about her.
Not that Otaru specifically loved her more than the other two. They all were special to him in their own ways. Cherry had this charm and this meekness that always stood her apart from the other two. While Lime and Bloodberry were showing off or fighting Cherry was always the one on the side. She never fought, she never got in trouble, she was always polite, kind and courteous. She cooked, cleaned, washed and even shopped. If Otaru knew what it was like to have a mother, she could have been the one he never had.
And then there was Bloodberry. She was the bold one out of the group. She was always very straightforward. She never lied, she never tarnished the truth, she was probably the most honest out of all of them. She had a sense of honor, like a warrior, and it showed. Out of the three she was the strongest, the wildest, and the most open. More than once she had hinted darkly at "spending the night" in Otaru's futon. He wasn't sure exactly what she meant seeing as they were marionettes, but by the reaction from Cherry and Lime he was sure it was something taboo, a guilty pleasure of some sort...
In a fight, though, there were few others that Otaru would rather have at his side. Bloodberry was the best combat marionette in all of Japoness. It was her gift. Many a saber marionette had met their fate at the hands of Otaru's 'defective' war machine. He'd won many a bet with her and trusted her fighting instinct. Once in a while she made him a lot of money on those fights. To date, she'd never been scratched.
Cherry had her own gift. She had some sort of sixth sense in combat that Otaru'd never seen before. She could judge the movement and abilities of her targets and exploit their weaknesses, even before they moved. She could judge and determine when to strike and when to hold back better than any other marionette around. She too was 'defective' as labeled by the others, but she could out think, out smart and out fight just about any marionette about. Where Bloodberry was brawn and power, Cherry was wits and skill.
Then there was Lime. Lime was by far the fastest out of all of them. She could run circles around speeding bullets. Her agility and speed were unmatched. Frankly Otaru figured she needed the speed. Whenever she managed to infuriate Bloodberry enough, her speed was pretty much what kept her alive until either Bloodberry gave up the chase or Otaru managed to drag her down. Lime could outrun cars, out chase trains and spin circles around just about living or mechanical thing in Japoness. He'd seen Lime duck out of the way of gunfire, cannon fire, laser fire and even a structure fire. She could jump the highest, swim the fastest and, when her blood was boiled, survive the longest in a fight. One time she'd been hit head on with a very large semi-truck trying to defend Otaru while Cherry and Bloodberry were away. What should have killed her and torn her to pieces didn't. She held herself in front of the truck and brought the whole thing to a stop with nary a scratch to herself over a city block away.
Otaru finished the package of pickles and licked his fingers clean. He missed those three. If he was a marionette lover then so be it. If this is what it felt like to fall in love with a doll then this was just how things were going to be. No one dared press him about it. Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry could easily take care of anybody that mentioned anything about that. Everyone in Japoness knew to regard those marionettes as if they were real humans. They had very real tempers just like anyone else. Truth be told, most people liked them very much. No marionette around ever smiled. Many other men were charmed by those three for reasons unknown even to themselves. There was something about the way they walked, the way they talked, and the way they smiled. Most men felt a pleasant chill whenever a kind grin was beamed in their direction from those three 'defective' dolls.
The term 'most men' is used simply because there were a few who dislike Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry. Hanagata is one of their type. While he didn't really HATE them, he couldn't help but take a disliking to them. They are, after all, after the same affection he himself is seeking from Otaru. Then there are others who have a more venomous hatred towards them. To them, Otaru's dolls were no more than insignificant marionettes who'd simply fried their circuits and now run amok among the masses as upstarts or freaks. But they, for the most part, are quiet. They know that the whole of Japoness is against them. They also know that to confront these machines with ill intentions, while is not death, is complete and utter humiliation. It is these people that whisper behind Otaru's back. Now a days he simply ignores them. Those words mean nothing to him. They are from the ignorant and the minority.
He tucked the packet away and closed his eyes to the warm sunlight. The birds were singing happily in the breeze, the sky was a crystal blue with no signs of plasma clouds on any of the horizons, and the sun was bright and full. A happy mood prevailed over all of Japoness. All was at peace, all was well. Some children played happily along the road while workers and the odd marionette passed happily by.
Suddenly Otaru heard the old man calling him from the inside. His break was already over. Sighing, he stood and brushed himself off. Looking back up he grinned into the cerulean skies. It was indeed another fine day in Japoness.
The young man with the gray eyes was on his fourth or fifth glass of the fine Sake when he over heard something peculiar. A moment before, two men had taken a seat not far from him and began to have a hushed conversation. They huddled close together and carried on what seemed to be a quiet argument. Being naturally nosy he cocked an ear and an eye. What he heard surprised him.
"Are you sure 'bout this? What happens if that little one becomes wise to what we are doing?"
"As long as we keep a straight face she wont know anything."
The young man with gray eyes leaned over slightly. 'She?'
"But just what if? She can sense an orange blossom's moves even before it makes them! What if she sees us and just, you know... KNOWS, like she always does?"
"Then we'll just have to make sure she doesn't SEE us then, ne?"
"What? We approach her from behind?"
"Exactly!"
"Ahhh, Ok. Which one to we take care of first?"
"I think the fast one."
"The fast one? Isn't that bitchy 'tank' more of a threat to us?"
"They're all a threat to us. But we have to think logically about this. If we stand back far enough we'll be able to plug two rounds into the speedy one's starry-eyed skull. We can then destroy the other two before they even reach us. If we kill the tank or the friggin' psychic one, that little speed demon will be on us before we even know it."
The gray-eyed fellow poured himself another cup. These fools were muttering rather loudly in public about an assassination. He guessed they weren't too bright.
"That'll be the last time they ever make a fool out of me."
"And you aren't worried about their lover pressing charges?"
"They aren't human. He can't press murder charges. They are simply defective marionettes. We may have to pay their worth, but I have rich friends that want to see them gone. They're a mockery to us men! I'm not worried about what happens after."
"A-all right man. What ever you say. I'll be right behind you."
They paused for a second.
"Did you bring them?"
"Of course."
Gray Eyes saw one of the men pull an object out of his coat through the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell exactly what it was but had a pretty good idea.
"Cht! You fool!" the other man hissed loudly. "Put that away! Don't pull it out until we're ready! Do you have the other one?!"
"Yea-Yeah, right here. Cool it man, we'll be all right. No one around here cares any. We'll be fine."
"Nonetheless, you moron, watch your self! I don't want to be caught 'fore we actually do anything!"
"Ok, ok."
They sat there a minute in silence and Gray Eyes poured himself another cup. This will be interesting. He decided to check this out. They may just lead him to what he was...
"You ready?" The man on the right said cutting Gray Eye's thoughts short.
The other man nodded. "Hai! Let's get this over with!"
"Yes, lets."
They both rose, threw a few coins on the counter (totally forgetting that they purchased nothing) and walked back into the street. Gray Eyes finished his cup and sat a moment. This indeed would be interesting. He wasn't one to change the course of fate, but if those women were the 'ones' he would have to make an exception. Humanity was more important than fate. Standing, he turned his cup over on the bottle and pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and planted it on the counter. He picked up the coins left by the two men, examined them a moment, and deposited them into his pocket. With out a word he pulled his hood back up and left the drink stand. The attendant in back would come out a few moments later to find nearly half the bottle of Sake empty and the gold coin, worth three times as much as the whole bottle, still resting on the counter.
Gray Eyes watched his steps and followed the two men as they walked stiffly along the streets of Japoness, obviously looking for something. He kept his distance as to not let the onlookers staring at him get the attention of either of the men. All along the street he saw various men and boys walking, he also saw, strangely enough, women; or rather, women robots. They'd surprised him at first. Some seemed to be real. But once he took a harder look he realized these were no more than mere manikins. They were simply machines designed to look like real women. He'd never encountered such things before, but as he thought, they began to make sense. Despite his surroundings, man still had his most basic of instincts and these dolls were merely reflections of that instinct.
Even still, it caused him to turn his head every time he encountered one. He could almost see one smile. Or another wink at him. ...Almost.
Suddenly a noise in front of him caught his attention. He found himself nearly running into the two men he was stalking and cursed under his breath. He stopped half way through the street and simply stared at what he saw before him. There were three marionettes walking down the street in front of them heading in his direction. They were dressed in bright, colorful outfits, each with their own flare and color. Even more stunning... they were smiling.
Gray Eyes looked twice. Not just smiling, he saw, but genuinely happy! They were walking and talking and grinning and waving and smiling back at all the men who were waving and shouting to them. When they laughed their whole faces lit up in beautiful smiles and sweet music flowed forth. He swallowed and simply stared as they walked toward him. He'd never seen a woman in his life before he arrived in Japoness much less ever seen one smile. He could feel something deep within himself turn and throb as he gazed upon them for the first time. His eyes started at their feet and slowly rose taking in every curve he could see, every smooth spot of skin he could catch, every lock of their hair that seemed to fall majestically from their heads. When he saw their eyes, he just about melted. The marionette's eyed were gorgeous. Each one so different yet so beautiful, their colors and shades reflecting in the light.
Just as they passed him, the young one; the one with the shimmering blue hair and the yellow bandanna holding it down; the one sucking happily on a half finished, large, yellow lollipop; caught him staring under his hood. She met his eyes with her own and giggled for a moment. Gray Eyes felt pure electricity flow through his body. She smiled to him and waved just as they passed by. It was from that moment on, till the end of his days, that Gray Eyes would forever shun other men as possible partners. The fairer sex had indeed captured him and he, forever on, became a woman hunter.
When he finally regained his breath he found himself asking "Who are those women..."
A short, grizzled man standing beside him thought the question was aimed at him. "What? You mean those Marionettes? Don't you know them? Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry. They're Otaru's."
Gray Eyes turned his gaze to the man beside him. "O-Otaru?"
"Yeah, Mamiya Otaru. I'd say he's the luckiest guy in Japoness."
Gray Eyes was silent as he stared after the trio walking away.
"He owns them?"
"Yes sir. He's the lucky one. Hell I'd be a Marionette lover as well if I lived with those three. Look at the ass on that tall one there. Oh my lord, I'd love to take her to bed one night."
Gray Eyes looked at the fellow beside him with a look of mixed disgust. "T-take her to bed?!" He couldn't even dream of defiling one of those women in such a way. To even touch one might be crossing the line. Nevertheless he still found his eyes trailing up the legs of the marionettes and staring right at those two soft, beautiful...
He felt something tickling in his nose and reached up to find he was having a small nosebleed!
He sniffed quickly and looked up at the three goddesses walking into the distance. What was happening to him? He'd never felt this way about any one or any THING before. It felt so new to him, but in a way so good. He felt warm just looking at them.
...Just looking at them...
Once again his eyes traced along every curve of their bodies and a dreamy smile filled his face. He felt the heat return and swallowed once again. Suddenly something stepped in front of his view blocking them. It was the two men who he had been following before. One of them had his arm outstretched and was holding something in it. It suddenly hit him why he had been out this way to begin with. They were going to kill them! Before he knew what he was really doing he was running towards them screaming at the top of his lungs.
"NO!! NOOOOO!!!"
Cherry picked up his voice almost immediately and turned to see what was happening. Lime and Bloodberry continued on oblivious to what was about to happen. Cherry's combat system kicked in as soon as her gaze fell upon the gun inside the palm of one of the men. It didn't take her sensitive combat analyzer to tell her those bullets loaded in those chambers were intended for them.
"Bloodberry!! Lime!!! Watch out!!"
In that instant Bloodberry and Lime turned several things happened at once. Cherry dropped to the ground as fast as gravity would let her. Bloodberry saw the men and the weapon and came straight to attention while Lime, who had also seen the gun, and began to twist her body out of the way. Gray Eyes reached the men, and the man with the gun pulled the trigger.
In a moment the shot echoed through out the street. The instant Gray Eyes realized the man had fired he went into a rage. With a scream of fury he grabbed the his outstretched arm from behind and twisted it around while slamming his other fist right into the man's kidneys. With a scream the man dropped the gun and fell to his knees. Gray Eyes clamped down even harder onto his forearm and in one smooth motion flipped the man high into the air behind him. Gray Eyes locked his cold eyes onto his partner and in an instant the other man lost his nerve. With a strangled sob he took off away from Gray Eyes...straight into the waiting arms of Bloodberry...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bloodberry left the man trying to pull his head out of the wall and turned her attention toward Lime and Cherry, who were still on the ground. Gray Eyes was already there crouched beside the marionettes. Cherry was fine, she hit the floor faster than any of them. Lime, on the other hand, hadn't been quite as lucky. She held her hand over her left arm near the shoulder and was whimpering a bit. When the man fired Lime's reaction time and speed saved her life. The bullet merely grazed her upper arm, but what Gray Eyes saw coming from there made him stop. Seeping slowly through Lime's fingers he could see rivulets of blood. Lime was bleeding.
...machines don't bleed...
This fact quickly registered in Gray Eye's mind. Quickly, almost automatically, he shed his cloak and hood and placed them around Lime. The Marionette felt something heavy cover her shoulders and turned to see the man she had been smiling at moments before putting his cloak over her, quickly covering her bleeding arm.
Suddenly everyone who had been standing by came up in a rush to see what had happened. They all crowded around the downed Marionette and began to prod her with questions. Almost immediately Bloodberry was in the fray yelling at the top of her lungs.
"Hey, HEY!! HEY, EVERYONE!! HEEY!!!!" She waited until everyone had quieted down before she continued. "Everyone, Lime is fine! She is ok-"
Suddenly a man pointed to the ground and exclaimed. "Oh LOOK! Blood!! Lime's been hit!!"
Everyone there took a step back about to agree with him, but suddenly realized Lime wasn't human. How could she bleed? Gray Eyes looked at the ground and saw the drops. He reached over and began to clasp his shoulder.
"She can't bleed you idiot!" he yelled up at him. "I'm the one that's been hit!"
Cherry looked up from Lime, Lime turned her head and Bloodberry knelt down beside him.
"What?" one man exclaimed. " But there was only one shot fired. How-"
Gray Eyes cut him off. "How?! Look at me! I've been shot you imbecile!" He moved his hand to reveal a deep, moderately bleeding wound in his arm. Cherry and Bloodberry exchanged looks for a brief instant before Bloodberry rose.
"All right! Everyone move out of the way! We need to get this guy off of the street!"
"What about Lime?" one man exclaimed.
Gray Eyes grunted as he rose. "Lime looks like she's in shock. We need to get her away from all you people and into some fresh air!"
Everyone took a stop back. What was that? Cherry stood catching on to what was happening.
"Please, Everyone, you can't crowd her, she needs room. We need to take her home!"
Bloodberry seemed to catch on as well and stood up to her full height. "All right, everyone get the hell outta the way. We have a sick Marionette here! We need to take her home!"
A few men looked a little indignant. "What?! How dare you order us around! Know your place Marionette!"
Bloodberry was about to retort when Gray Eyes rose supporting Lime up with him. There was fire once again in his cool eyes.
"She may only be a doll but I am a real flesh and blood man and I will rip your heart from your body if you talk to her like that again." The one who had spoken up stood there stunned. A man defending a marionette like that? Gray Eyes reached out and took hold of the man's collar. "I am telling YOU to get out of the way... Now move it!" The man swallowed and decided it was probably better to simply step out of the way than mess with this newcomer. The image of what Grey Eyes did to the man who fired the gun was still fresh on his mind. Gray Eyes had twisted his arm well out of its socket and tossed him high into the air as if we weighed nothing. The man landed funny nearly crushing his other shoulder.
Gray Eyes started to walk out when another man began to drive through the crowd in a large truck honking loudly. He called out to the three Marionettes.
"Hey! Hey move your asses! Quit blockin' the road!! The hell's going on here?!"
Cherry called over to him. "Sir! Sir! Our friend here is sick and needs to go back to our home!"
"Eh? Cherry? Sure! You girls can use my pickup to get back!"
Cherry smiled. "Thank you sir!"
He grinned back at her. "No problem ma'am. Hop in back! You too fellow. Ya look like you're bleeding pretty badly. I'd better get you to the hospital."
"I'll be fine," he said helping Lime into the back of the truck and then helping Cherry. "It won't be bleeding much longer. You just make sure you get this woman home! Got it?"
"What?!" The man said incredulously. "You're not coming."
"No, I've got other business. Get going! Now!"
"Nonsense." Bloodberry said calmly picking him up by the back of his shirt and tossing him into the truck. "You're coming with us."
Before Gray Eyes had a chance to protest she'd jumped in with him and motioned for the driver to move it and within moments they were away.
When they were all back safe at Otaru's apartment, Cherry shut the door tightly and removed the cloak from over Lime's shoulders. She was still bleeding through her fingers. Bloodberry sat down on Lime's other side.
"You all right Lime?"
Lime sniffed a bit but smiled anyway. "Hurts a bit."
Cherry shook her head. "I should imagine. This nick is rather deep. You almost got seriously hurt today Lime."
Lime giggled as best she could under Cherry's administrations. " I always almost get hurt. S'nothing. OUCH! Cherry~"
Cherry began to dab and clean the wound. Bloodberry squeezed Lime's hand. "Even still, you lucked-out. That was close."
Gray Eyes stood just inside the front door step and shuffled a bit nervously. He realized what he had just done, what he had just said and where he now was and that feeling of warmth had not only returned to his body, it spread. Ever since that man had mentioned taking one of these women to bed he felt this warm stirring in his loins. He wasn't sure of what to do or say. This was a totally new experience for him. He'd not only gazed upon the three most beautiful beings ever created, he'd saved their lives and even TOUCHED one, and now he was getting an unwelcome hard-on from it. He swallowed and stood by nervously watching the three goddesses tending to one another.
Bloodberry rose and turned to him. "Oh, you're still standing there. Come in! Please, Take a seat!"
Gray Eyes blushed a bit as Bloodberry pulled a chair up for him to sit on. "N-no, It's, It's, Y-you don't..." he stammered. Bloodberry seemed to notice his nervousness and smiled.
"Just take a seat before twist your tongue into knot."
Gray Eyes blushed even more and meekly took a seat. It took Cherry a few more minutes to tend to Lime's wound. After getting over the initial shock of someone trying to kill her, Lime went right back to her old self. She was complaining because in the course of the mess she had dropped her unfinished lollipop in the dust. When Cherry finished Lime had a large white cloth bandage over the wound.
"Hopefully," Cherry said, "The would will heal in a few hours. We never take very long to heal."
Lime tested her arm, spinning it around before finally smiling at Cherry.
"Mmm, Thank you Cherry!"
Cherry smiled in return. She stood and turned to Gray Eyes. "Now it's your turn."
He looked back into her eyes and began to sweat. Oh no...
"I believe we owe you a word of thanks," Cherry said examining his arm. She didn't seem to notice that the gray-eyed young man was in the verge of pissing in his pants from her soft administrations. "You saved our lives back there, especially Lime's."
Gray Eyes was silent as he felt the sting of Cherry's anti-biotic dab his arm.
Bloodberry went into the kitchen and began to rummage through one of the cupboards.
"Bloodberry, you'd better not mess up anything in there. I just got those things straightened up this morning!" Cherry said turning her head and calling to Bloodberry.
"Yeah!" Bloodberry said calling back out. Lime leaned forward and watched Cherry work on Grey Eye's wound. Unwittingly she placed her hand on his leg for support. Both of them noticed his body instantly tense up. Lime looked at him oddly.
"Oro? Are you ok?"
Gray Eyes did his best to crack a smile. "Y-y-y-yes-s-s-...muh-muh-muh-ma'am..." he said sweating badly. Lime looked at him oddly for another moment and then grinned knowingly to Cherry. She smiled slightly as well.
"Lime, don't play around with him like that!"
"Hehe" Lime chuckled moments before she pounced on the man hugging him tightly. "Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you~"
And for Gray Eyes everything seemed to stop. Lime clutched him tightly and a million feelings and emotions seemed to pass through his body. All his senses seemed to over load from her own little body. The first thing he noticed was her warmth, then the perfume she was wearing, the sweet smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, her breath on his ears, her heartbeat through her clothes, her sweet voice, her smiling face, and pressed upon his chest her two...
Lime quit holding him like that when she realized he'd gone limp in her arms and that he seemed to have sprung a strange, red leak from somewhere else....
Cherry was almost finished when she found something very strange about the man she was working on.
"What is this?" she said leaning forward, taking a better look at his arm.
"Eh? What is what?" Gray Eyes said looking down.
Cherry looked closer and poked at something in his wound. Grey Eyes yelped loudly when she did so.
"It looks like a thin piece of wire... Here let me pull it out."
"Eh?! What?!" Gray Eyes said panicking. "No! Nonono Wait! Please ma'am, you don't have to-"
But he was too late. Cherry grabbed the wire pulled on it hard.
"GEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!"
Deep in the heart of Gartlant a homeless man in a deep sleep woke very suddenly. Did he just hear someone scream? He cocked an ear but heard nothing further. He shrugged and settled back down. Must have been his imagination.
Gray Eyes exploded from his seat and stood cradling his inflamed arm.
"MA'AM!" he said doing his best to restrain the sound of pain in his voice. "PLEASE!! I told you it was fine!"
Cherry looked stunned for a minute. Lime and Bloodberry merely stood there looking shocked. Gray Eyes cussed and looked down at his arm bleeding anew. Cherry had pulled the wire half way out. It was useless now, He'd have to finish removing it and let it grow back in time...
He cussed once more and took hold of the it. Cherry watched his face twist in pain.
"Uhh...sir, Please I think that would be unwise..." She trailed off as Gray Eyes began to grunt with agony. He was pulling the thin wire out of his arm. Lime could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. His breath became hoarse and ragged. Sweat rolled off his face and blood flowed from his arm in thin rivulets dripping on to the hard, wooden floor.
With a final grunt he pulled the thin piece of wire free from his arm. He opened his eyes a bit and let the tears roll free from them. Bloodberry could see the whites of his gray eyes stained red from the salt in his tears. He fixed his gaze onto Cherry and despite the pain, smiled slightly.
"Ma'am, please. Next time be a little bit more careful."
"And who do we owe our thanks to? I don't believe we've gotten your name yet." Bloodberry said raising her glass. After the wire, Grey Eyes was bandaged up properly and given a drink to calm his nerves a bit. Cherry cleaned up the blood that had dripped onto the floor with a smile despite Gray Eye's objection that he would do it himself. They all sat down afterwards and poured themselves something to drink. Cherry and Lime opted for tea while Bloodberry and Gray Eyes went for some Sake.
"My name?" Gray eyes said. "I don't think my name is very important."
"Ohh~" Lime whined a bit. "I wanna know your name."
"Yes, please, It's important to us."
"Come on~ You can tell us. We'd like to know who our hero is!"
Gray Eyes blushed and closed them. Hero? Him? He sighed and finally seemed to relent.
"I am called Keinaro. Hajima, Keinaro."
Bloodberry and Cherry stopped in mid sip and exchanged glances.
"...Ke....Keinaro? I haven't heard a first name like that..."
"In a very long time..." Keinaro said finishing Cherry's statement. "I know. It's an old name not used anymore."
Lime giggled. "Keinaro, I like that name."
Cherry and Bloodberry once again exchanged very serious glances.
"Where are you from Keinaro?"
"Naro, please. Naro is shorter."
"Err... Naro. Where do you come from?"
Naro took a sip before answering. "Well...Someplace very, very far away."
"Oro? Gartlant? New Texas? Petersburg?" Lime said curiously.
"No..." Naro said averting his eyes. "Let's just say that I'm a wanderer and leave it at that."
Cherry nodded slowly and poured herself another glass. "Would you like some more drink Keinaro-san?"
He nodded with a smile. "Yes please, ma'am." and offered his glass.
While she was filling his cup Bloodberry spoke up. "Well Naro, We thank you for calling out and giving us warning like that."
Naro blushed as Cherry and Lime extended their thanks as well.
"Please," he said turning crimson. "Don't mention it. It is the first time I have ever seen women such as yourselves. I..." He trailed off a moment. He knew exactly what he was about to say, and the logical part of his mind screamed at him to stop. As with any man in his position, logic was given a fat boot out the door.
"...Where I come from, we don't have marionettes. We don't have pictures. I've never known what a woman looked like until I arrived here. I was told they were like men only they had two bags hanging from their chests and their organs designed for reproduction were all on the inside of their bodies. We've been taught that women of old were vain, preening bitches. That their sole purpose was to attach themselves to a man and force him to support them until the very day they die. That they had no social value what so ever, except for an exquisite physical pleasure that only they can bring."
Bloodberry chuckled at his, Lime grinned, and Cherry blushed. "When I first arrived here, I saw those robots walking around. I saw those marionettes. When I first cast my eye upon them, I didn't know what to make of them. When I looked a little closer, however, I found that they were what those men from where I came from called woman and I couldn't believe myself. I thought, there are WOMEN in this place?! Real live WOMEN?! But as I traveled about, I saw that none of them smiled. None of them showed any form or trace of emotion. They all were totally blank, like their minds were a slate wiped clean of any thought. It wasn't until I went through a back alley one day that I realized the truth. I saw one of them laying on the ground in a cold puddle of water, her insides all pulled out. I ran to her thinking she was grievously wounded, but when I examined her, I found only machine parts, and I learned they were not women. They were only machines."
"It was a marionette." Lime said somberly. "They look like women but they aren't real. They don't ever do anything. They never play, they never smile, they're never happy."
"Indeed." Keinaro smiled. "I learned this and was somewhat shocked and somewhat disgusted. I wondered why men of this era would even conceive of making such a creation. All the marionettes I saw there after I found to be cold, heartless machines with only a pretty face. But as I thought about it, it began to make much more sense to me.
" 'This is a world of men' I thought, ' So it would make sense that they would create that which they more desire.' I guess despite the evil that was woman, man still yearned for her and that pleasure which she brings. I began to understand the direness of this place. I realized that I had come to a land where only dreams moved about the streets. Where only memories of past loves and lives wandered about in mechanical bodies. I thought that I had come to the wrong land." he trailed.
Cherry spoke up. "Wrong land? What were you seeking?"
Keinaro looked at her and smiled softly. "It doesn't matter right now. Everything I had thought of this place and of it's people changed when I saw you three for the first time this afternoon."
He took a sip and cleared his throat. "I'd never seen anything like you three before. I was shocked. The first thing I think I saw were your smiles. When I saw them everything changed. I was utterly shocked to see such a thing. You three smiling and laughing and genuinely happy and...and..." he trailed off again averting his eyes away from the three marionettes. "...I felt, I felt... I felt something warm inside me grow. It was... was so new to me. Like a burning deep in my chest. I saw you three being so human and smiling so broadly and I felt something change. It was the first time I ever saw women, real live women. I was so unprepared. It hit me like a thunderbolt. I saw...I saw these angels walking along the street. They were so beautiful to look at. It was the way they moved when they walked, the way their faces lit up when ever they smiled, just their whole fluidity, it moved me so. I've never seen such grace and loveliness in a singular body before. I can understand now why men yearned the way they did for your species."
He shook his head and met each one of their gazes. "You three, you three are the most beautiful things I have ever laid my eyes on."
There was a moment of silence as he stopped and finished his glass. None of the three marionettes quite knew what to say. No one with the exception of Otaru had ever said that to them. Bloodberry and Cherry simply stared into their glasses blushing slightly, but Lime smiled widely.
"Hehe, thank you~ You're so sweet!"
"Geh..." Naro said blushing deeply himself. "I...I mean that. I've never told anyone this before simply because...well, I've never felt this way about anyone like this before. Sure I've seen my fair share of handsome men before...but nothing like you three women. Nothing! When I saw you something changed in me, I think. I think, something deep down has changed itself, deeply. I don't think I could ever go back to another man, no not ever. Not after I've seen you."
Cherry blinked. This guy was more forward than they first thought. She smiled nevertheless and placed her hand over his. "Please, your embarrassing us. You don't need to say any more."
Naro looked down at her hand over his and swallowed. Cherry was surprised when he placed his other one over hers. He blushed and met her gaze once again. "D-do you mind? I've ne-never felt a... a...."
Cherry breathed in and narrowed her eyes. What was he asking? He couldn't really mean...
Slowly, she nodded her head. Gently Naro took her hand in his and held it. Lime and Bloodberry watched as Naro felt along the cracks and bumps in her palm and along the joints in her wrist and up her arm. She was so warm. He could still feel the sweat form in the pit of her palm. But she was so smooth, so exquisite. She felt too real to be actually there. Her nails were finely cut and gently manicured. He'd never seen anyone's nails like that before. Her skin was much, much softer than he had first imagined. It was like silk to him. No one he'd ever touched had felt like this. No one. He felt her arm up until her elbow before he finally lost his nerve and let go looking down and blushing profusely.
Cherry pulled her hand back and rubbed it softly inside the sleeves of her clothes, blushing slightly. Keinaro sat there awkwardly with his own hands in his lap. That is, he sat there until Lime jumped out of her spot and pounced on him bowling him over yelling, "ME NEXT! ME NEXT! ME NEXT!"
After they sent Lime to play outside and run some errands Cherry, Bloodberry and Keinaro resumed their seats and their drinking. Keinaro swallowed and looked shyly up at Cherry.
"Er, erm, Cherry, ma'am, I- I'm very sorry to, to have t-transgressed upon yourself l-like..."
She smiled at him and placed her own hand over his once again silencing him. She had been a little shocked at first, but now it made perfect sense to her. This was all very new to him. Of course he'd be a little curious.
"It's all right Keinaro-san. You don't need to worry about it."
"Yeah, b-but, still ma'am, I shou- I shouldn't have even-"
Cherry giggled. "Think nothing of it. You haven't done anything wrong."
Keinaro swallowed and smiled as best he could back at her.
Bloodberry arched an eyebrow and took a sip. "That as it may, I still have a question for you."
Naro nodded. "Sure, what?"
"Well, I guess it's several. You told us that when you first realized Marionettes were machines it was when you saw one with her parts strewn all over the ground."
"Yes, what about?"
"Well, when Lime was shot today, you saw her bleeding yet you didn't say anything. In fact you covered her shoulder with your cloak hiding it. Then, somehow, you hurt your other shoulder and played that off as the gunshot wound that was drawing blood."
Keinaro cocked his head and took a sip of the Sake. Cherry nodded in agreement. "I watched the bullet leave the barrel, Your arm was not in the way at all. It distinctly hit Lime, her shoulder is proof."
Bloodberry continued. "Why did you cover her up so? You would have had no reason to do so. If she was indeed bleeding you would have asked questions, or pointed it out, or even tended to the wound, not cover it up." She pointed a finger. "You were trying to hide it."
"Secondly when you grabbed that man, you popped his arm clear out of its socket and threw him into the air as if he were no more than a rag doll. No man I have seen could ever do that. Thirdly, how did you wound your arm like you did? Some trick knife? Lastly, When you were bleeding and Cherry was tending to your wounds, you had a wire in your arm; what was that?"
Keinaro rubbed the wound under the bandage as she continued to speak.
"There's only three people in the world that I know of who have wires in their arms like that. Me, Cherry, and Lime."
They fell silent as Naro gazed at the table.
Finally Bloodberry spoke again fixing her stare onto the Gray Eyed young man. "Where are you from Hajima?"
Slowly he looked up and met Bloodberry's eyes. He took a deep breath. Here was where he had to cross the line. It was no longer an adventure. From here on out it would be duty despite what he may think or want. He remembered why he had been sent here and who had sent him. He closed his gray eyes and sighed. Here goes the vacation.
"I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of where I come from...Aiko-chan."
The small glass that had been in Bloodberry's hand was smashed into a million small fragments. She rose to her feet and planted both her hands on the table.
"Who the HELL are you?!" she screamed. Cherry gasped and rose herself.
"Where have you come from?!" she demanded. Keinaro placed his glass on the table and avoided their glares.
"Please, please sit down."
Bloodberry, in fury, swiped her hand across the table scattering all the contents onto the floor. Keinaro could see fire burning in her eyes. Any trace of the happiness he'd seen earlier had been completely wiped from her face. Rage and fury shone like pure fire in her deep, compassionate globes. Cherry slammed her hand down on the table. Naro saw that same fire in her eyes as well. He swallowed. The beautiful, gentle woman who had been there only moments ago had been replaced by am angry demon-ness.
He stammered to her. "S-Satomi-chan, Please understa-"
He was stopped by Cherry. She'd pulled her hand back and slapped him across his face as hard as her little frame could muster. Time seemed to slow as Keinaro was thrown clear of the table and landed on the floor. When he hit he found himself bleeding from the mouth. Cherry had split his lip open.
"Don't you EVER call me by that name!! Ever!!" she was almost the point of screaming. Keinaro lay there sprawled on the floor unmoving, barely breathing. When she had hit him, for some reason, she had hurt him far worse than the wire in his arm had. Something deep inside his body seemed to shatter . The whole world began to spin wildly as he lay there. Slowly everything began to darken.
'Duty.'
The word kept repeating in his head.
'Duty.'
That was why he was here, right? That was the reason...
'Duty.'
'Humanity.'
'Pride.'
'Purpose.'
'Love.'
'...'
Bloodberry and Cherry watched as Naro's body seemed to go limp on the floor. They stood there a minute watching him bleed before something suddenly clicked in Cherry's mind.
"Oh my lord!" she screamed falling to his side. "Bloodberry! Bloodberry, I, think I..."
Bloodberry dropped to Cherry's side and felt Keinaro's neck. Cherry, meanwhile was becoming hysterical.
"Oh my lord! Oh my lord! Oh my- I've never killed a man before! Oh my GOD what have I done?!"
Bloodberry looked up. "Cherry...Cherry!" But she wasn't listening.
"Ohlordohlord, Never Bloodberry! Not even when we left! I never killed anyone then. But now! But now I've just KILLED a man!!"
Bloodberry reached over and took hold of her shoulders and shook her. "Cherry! Cherry! Cherry, listen to me! He's all right! He's not dead! Cherry!"
Cherry seemed to come around and locked eyes with Bloodberry. "What? He's ok? He's all right?!"
"Yes," Bloodberry smiled. "He's fine! You just knocked him out. That blood's from his mouth, not from his head."
"Really?!" she said bending over to examine him. To her immense relief she found a pulse. She sat back up and steadied her breathing.
"Oh, oh my. I thought that I had killed him." she said leaning against Bloodberry.
Bloodberry frowned. "So I gathered... Kind of a pity you didn't."
Cherry looked up at her. "What? Bloodberry!"
Bloodberry scowled down at the young man. "You heard what he called us. He knows who we are. ...And we know where he's from."
"Bloodberry..." Cherry said frowning sadly a bit. "They aren't after our lives." She placed her hand over her partner's chest bone. "You know what they want. He saved our lives. Everything he's told us has been the truth, I can tell. Either he doesn't know why they really want us, or he has truly changed."
Bloodberry stared back down at the Gray Eyed young man and shook her head. "I guess we'll see, ne?"
Otaru sat at the table glaring at Cherry and Bloodberry. He tapped his fingers across the tabletop trying his best to restrain his anger.
He'd come home to find a young man passed out laying on the futon next to his. The first thing he wanted to know was who he was and where he came from. He wasn't too happy to learn that he had been a stranger that the picked up off the street. When he asked why he was laying on the futon next to his own he was even more unhappy to learn that Cherry had knocked him out and he now had to stay until he got better.
So now all four of them sat centered around the table. Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry and Otaru. Otaru finished the cup of tea he had been drinking and slammed the glass back down on the table. To make matters worse, he found that they had broken several of his cups on the ground and spilled all of the better Sake all over the floor. Bloodberry and Cherry sat with their faces turned slightly downwards, while Lime sat there like a child scolded. Otaru fixed his eyes on her.
"I don't suppose you had anything to do with this?"
Lime flinched and slowly rose her head. "Otaru~"
"Oh no you don't! You're not going to pull that on me again."
"But, but Otaru-"
"I cannot believe you girls!" He said throwing his hands up. "I have to work everyday just feed you three. I have to get up early in the morning and I don't get home until late at night. Everyday I do the same thing just to make ends meet and when I'm gone, the only thing I expect of you three is to behave and keep the place neat around here. But it seems that I can't even trust you girls to do that. I can't even trust you to keep your noses clean and this place straight. What am I going to do with you? Eh? What am I going to do with you three?
"You pick up strangers off the street and bring them here, then you hurt him and leave them inside MY room. You break my kitchenware on top of that AND you make stains the wooden floor I spent all last week stripping and buffing. Now I've got to do all that over again! Just because you three can't handle yourselves. I don't believe this!
Cherry didn't say anything the whole time. She merely sat there looking at her lap. She was afraid of Otaru's stare. Bloodberry lay propped up on the floor by one arm looking rather solemn. Lime looked like she was about to cry.
"You three disappoint me, do you know that? You really do. Here I thought that you might have grown some and matured on me a bit, and then you go ahead and pull this junk on me. I don't work like I do because I have to! I am not obligated in anyway to take care of you three at all. I found you and took you out of the cold and out of the plasma storm out of my own free will. The law says I can put you back there just as easily. I could you know! I could simply throw you three back into the streets!"
"Otaru!"
"But I don't!" Otaru lowered his head and clenched his fists. "Each and every time I don't. Each and every time I forgive you three because I care about you. I care about you three very much! I bring you in, feed you, clothe you, you three don't even have to work. I don't make you work. I let you stay here simply because I care deeply enough about you guys to keep you from going out into the hell I face everyday. I never force you to do something that you three don't want to do. And the only things I ask in return is for your kindness and for you to keep yourselves out of trouble.
"But you always go off and pull something like this. You hurt me, you know that?" All three of them looked up at Otaru. "You hurt me every time you pull this garbage on me. It hurts me to sit here and yell at you three time and time again. It hurts me to put out more time and hours just to pay for what you break. But do you know what hurts most of all? When I realize that I had misplaced my trust in you three. That you aren't what I had thought you to be.
"I'm getting tired of this. I'm getting tired of you girls pulling this crap on me time and time again. I'm getting tired of coming home to the destruction that you've sown and reaped over and over again! You never learn. You never seem to catch on. Time and again I forgive you and time and again you betray that forgiveness. I don't want anymore of this. I'm not sure what I am going to do with you three now."
He rose from the table. Lime's lip was quivering and her eyes brimming with tears.
"Otaru..."
Bloodberry half rose. "Otaru, please listen. It wasn't like you say! You don't-"
Otaru raised his hands and shook his head. "I don't care! I don't care Bloodberry! I don't want excuses! I don't want this! I don't give right now!" He turned and started to walk towards his small room. "I don't know what I am going to do about you three. I don't, I just don't know. I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the night. I'm going to bed."
Cherry rose herself. "But, Otaru-sama, your dinner?"
"I don't CARE Cherry! I'm not eating tonight! I'm going to bed."
And with that he pulled the door to his room closed with a bang.
All three of the marionettes jumped when it slammed shut. Lime turned to Cherry.
"Cherry~..."
She opened her arms sadly and held Lime. "Oh Lime..."
"Cherry!" Lime broke down and began to cry onto Cherry. She held Lime close and tried her best to comfort her.
Bloodberry scowled and rose. "Shit!"
Cherry watched Bloodberry walk to the door. "Bloodberry! Where are you going?"
"Out for a walk!" she stormed before slamming the front door shut.
"Bloodberry..." Cherry said before turning her attention back to Lime.
She didn't come back until one in the morning. Cherry had stayed up holding Lime until she fallen asleep at her side. She pulled a blanket over the sleeping Marionette and waited for Bloodberry's return. She had been dozing herself when the front door slid open. Cherry didn't ask Bloodberry where she had been. She only offered her a cup of tea and a blanket, both of which Bloodberry graciously accepted. She'd gone off to simply think. She had a spot in the park where she could sit and rest. It was there she always went whenever Otaru yelled at any of them. She was always tempted to go to the local bar and drink her problems away, but she knew that would only end up making things worse for everyone. Bloodberry and trouble became two very close friends whenever she was intoxicated. Cherry sat with her and they both talked about nothing and everything, wearing the hours away waiting for morning. Neither of them could sleep.
The sun peeked over the rim of the far gate shedding its light all over Japoness enveloping the city in it's light. The whole city stirred to life slowly as the great orb of fire rose higher and higher into the sky. Slowly the shops opened up and the venders pulled out onto the street. The men of Japoness stirred to wakefulness and the entire city geared itself up for another day of life.
Slowly Otaru stirred in his bed and his eyes gently came open. With a groan he rolled over and began to stretch. He would have to go back to the shop today. Not that he really wanted to. The old man was one crazy son-of-a-bitch. Always making him carry more than he could and working him like a horse while all he did was sit on his stool and tinker around. If it wasn't for the very good pay he would have taken off a long time ago.
He heard a noise to his left and rolled over. He saw Keinaro still there with his eyes closed. It took Otaru a minute to realize who he was and what he was doing in his room. Suddenly all the events of the previous night came back to him in a rush. Otaru closed his eyes and groaned. He remembered what he had said to his three marionettes. He sat up and almost immediately felt sick to his stomach. He rarely ever yelled at them. And yet, last night he'd vented himself upon them with out even listening to what they had said in their defense. Otaru closed his eyes and shook his head. Shit, what had he done once again?
He rose and quickly got dressed. Just as he was about to open the door something caught his eye. He turned to his dresser. There was something on it. He walked over and picked it up. Otaru swallowed and really began to feel sick. It was some rock candy. Sky blue with a little blue ribbon attached to it and a small tag hanging off the bottom. He read the tag, knowing what it would say.
"Bloodberry"
Otaru remembered when he yelled at her not too long ago because she had given some chocolates that had been laxatives in disguise. It really wasn't her fault. She had no idea what they were and her intentions were only the best. Even still he'd lost his temper with her as well and said some things he shouldn't have. He'd never apologized to her for that.
Now he held the piece of candy in his hands and felt guilt like nothing else. Those marionettes were prone to accidents just like anyone else. He was sure they'd taken the young man off of the street with the best of reasons and even better intentions. The least he could have done was hear out what they had to say.
Otaru clutched the candy in his hands and lifted his head up. It was not too late.
He placed the piece inside his pocket, walked over to the door and slowly opened it. He could still try and undo the damage. He could still apologize.
He found Lime lying on the ground snoozing softly. She'd managed to kick her blanket off her body and was shivering slightly from the cold. Otaru bent over and gently pulled it over her and tucked her in. She seemed to smile in her sleep and cuddled into it. Otaru smiled himself and rose. He couldn't see Cherry or Bloodberry lying anywhere. Where had they gone?
A small breeze blew through the room and he noticed the door was ajar. Swallowing Otaru walked over and stepped outside. Cherry and Bloodberry were wrapped in a single blanket to ward off the cold and were sitting on the small bench outside the door. They both turned toward him as he stepped outside. Otaru avoided their gazes and watched the sun rise above the far wall. No one said anything for a moment. The marionettes because they were still afraid of what Otaru might do or say. Otaru because he was simply at a loss for words.
Finally, he found his tongue. "What are you two doing out here? It's cold."
Cherry and Bloodberry looked at each other a moment before answering. "The sunrise is beautiful this time in the morning." said Cherry.
"Indeed." Bloodberry agreed.
Otaru leaned against the doorframe and stood silently. Despite the blanket, he could still see Cherry and Bloodberry shivering slightly. Finally he sighed.
"Let's go inside you two. We can make some breakfast, have something to eat."
Both the marionettes nodded and stood. Otaru turned to go in but was stopped by Cherry's voice.
"Otaru-sama?"
"Yeah?" he said turning.
"O-Otaru-sama...are you...are you still upset with us?"
He looked to her and Bloodberry shivering in the cold and he smiled.
"No. You two know that I could never be angry with you for this long."
Cherry and Bloodberry smiled with relief.
"Now come inside. It's cold out here."
It was about that time that Keinaro finally regained consciousness. His mind had been swimming for some time and finally through the inky blackness came some light. Slowly he came too and stirred. The first thing he noticed was that there was something covering his body but his mind was still swimming in such a way that he couldn't yet deduce what it was (a blanket). Groaning he brought his hand up to his head. Where- where was he? What the hell was he doing here? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted suddenly by a voice.
"OTARUUUUUUUUU!!"
Suddenly a figure jumped right through a poster in the wall of the room Naro was in and landed right on top him.
"Otaru!! I've finally caught you alone!"
Keinaro came fully to his senses as felt the wind knocked out of him by the character. His eyes bulged as the person on his body began to cuddle with him. It was very young man of some sort with wild blonde hair wearing white tights and a rather large, rather floppy bow on his neck. The man didn't seem to notice that Keinaro was not this Otaru person.
"Otaruuu~ Finally you and I can have some quality time together with out those annoying marionettes around! We can finally realize the true love that has blossomed between us although you never choose to show it to me, I know deep in your heart you feel the same way about me because fate has decreed that we shall be one someday and I truly believe that because every night I dream about the good times we will have together and all the memorable moments we will share and on that blessed day that we finally consummate our love in the ultimate act of devotion you shall see that those cursed marionettes that you have chosen to hold onto are nothing more that mere pieces of junk and that the only love, the true love can only form between two men as our selves and we shall gaze into each other's eyes, you into mine and mine into yours and....and...Otaru since when did your eyes become gray?"
Just as they were stepping in outside, Bloodberry, Cherry and Otaru saw Hanagata explode out of the roof of Otaru's apartment and into the sky screaming away into the distance; the first and only human rocket in all of Japoness.
Bloodberry sniffed. "It looks like Keinaro's awake..."
"Who?" Otaru turned.
"Keinaro," Cherry said. "The man whom we brought home yesterday Otaru-sama."
Otaru looked up and watched as Hanagata's tiny figure entered a lone plasma cloud and heard the distant sound of violent thunder and smiled. "Hrm, he can't be all bad. I have to meet this character."
Inside the house, the noise of Hanagata breaking through the roof had woken Lime. She leaped up just in time to see Otaru walk in. With tears brimming in her eyes she pounced on him in an instant.
"Otaru! Otaru, I'm so sorry! I never wanted to make you mad and I'm sorry that I wasn't fast enough and that I got hurt and that you got angry at me. Otaru~ I promise that I'll be good from now on! I promise, I promise. I promise that I'll never leave here again so that I can't get into trouble and you can be happy with me, Otaru~"
Otaru's face softened and he held Lime back. "It's all right, Lime. I'm not angry with you. It'll be all right. You're not in trouble."
Lime heard this and looked up. "Otaru? You're not mad at me? You're not going to hate me forever and make us live on the street?"
Otaru laughed. "Lime, I can never be mad at you like that. I'll never kick you three out. You girls mean too much to me." He said looking at Cherry and Bloodberry as well.
Lime brightened immensely and promptly began to hold him even harder. "Otaru!"
Otaru was about to say something else when the door to his room slid open and a man stumbled out walking backwards.
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry! I just put a hole in your roof! Some crazy moron just dived on me and started to cuddle and talked about coupling and I just..."
He turned and saw the marionettes and a young man he had never seen before. Naro's attention focused onto the marionettes and, swallowing, he took a step back. He suddenly remembered where he was and why he was still here.
He took a step back. Otaru nodded toward him. "And who might you be?"
Naro's mouth was dry and it took him a few seconds to work up his voice. "K-Keinaro, Hajima Keinaro."
Otaru looked taken back. "Hajima? That's not a Japoness name. You look like you could be from Gartlant, or Petersburg."
Keinaro smiled slightly. "N-no, I'm not from a-anywhere really."
Otaru looked as if he was about to say something when Lime cut him off. "Otaru~ I'm hungry! Let's make something to eat."
Otaru smiled. "Just what I was thinking. Cherry, would you mind?"
"No, of course Otaru-sama. For four people?"
"Er, four? No, five, Cherry. Keinaro-san will be joining us, right?"
Everyone turned to him. Behind Otaru's back Bloodberry shot pure venom and Cherry, likewise, made a similar face. Otaru and Lime, however smiled at him. Lime still didn't know who he was and had no reason to hate him. Otaru had come to the conclusion that who ever had the strength to turn Hanagata into a human comet and send him straight to plasma hell may not be half bad, so he decided to at least meet him over a meal. Keinaro swallowed. He didn't want to upset Bloodberry and Cherry any more than he already had. He still felt bad about what he said the day before, but he knew that someday he would have to bring it back up whether or not they liked it. He sorely didn't want to. He had fallen in love with their charm and personalities, their bodies were an added and welcome bonus. But he knew that in the end, he would have to hurt them terribly.
But it was his duty to do so. All of humanity depended upon his actions. He was bound by honor to do the right thing...
...The right thing...
...what ever that was.
Otaru saw that Keinaro seemed to be struggling with something. "Keinaro? Keinaro would you mind joining us for breakfast?"
Naro looked down and bit his lip. Cherry and Bloodberry didn't want him around. Their looks told him that much. He made his decision.
"No...No thank you Otaru-kun. I wouldn't wish to intrude upon your grace and hospitality."
"What?" Otaru said cocking his head. "No no, It's no bother at all. You're welcome to stay and share a meal with us."
But Keinaro was already gathering his cloak off the ground. "No, I'm afraid I've hurt you and your lovely women enough. I've already done too much. I can't bear causing any more pain."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Otaru said stepping forward. He noticed that Naro had used the word 'women' and not 'marionettes.'
"It is not my place to say." Naro said keeping his eyes on the ground, afraid to look up at Otaru or any of his marionettes. Pulling his hood up he quickly made for the door. "I- I thank you for your hospitality and for allowing me to stay the night."
"Hey wait!" Otaru said putting his hand on Keinaro's shoulder. "Where are you going?! Don't you want something to eat?"
Keinaro stopped right in front of the door at Otaru's touch, his back to him. Otaru could feel his body stiffen below his hand.
"...I am not welcome here." He said finally. "Please. I do not wish to be anymore of a bother."
Otaru was surprised to say the least. "Not welcome here?! Where did you get that impression from?! Of course you're welcome, this is my home. I ask you to stay for a small meal. After that if you wish to go, I will not stop you but at least-"
Naro reached up and pulled Otaru's hand off his shoulder turning his head back slightly. "Please. I am not welcome here. Let me be on my way."
Otaru took a step back and frowned. "Not welcome? What is it then? Isn't my hospitality good enough for you? Where are you going to go? I may not have very much, but I want to share what little I have with you. My marionettes trusted you enough to bring you back here, why do you want to leave?"
Naro wordlessly placed his hands on the doorframe and lowered his head.
"I don't know where you are from Hajima, but it seems they don't teach one manners! Please, at least take a seat."
Lime stepped forward. "Naro-san, Please. Stay for at least a bite or two?"
Keinaro started to dig his hands into the wooden doorframe. Why was this so hard. Why couldn't he simply leave and comeback only when the proper time had come? Why was this so painful? Why the hell did things have to be like this? Why couldn't he simply stay and sit and share a meal? Why couldn't he gracefully turn it down with out this emotional baggage? Why the hell?
Otaru watched him for a few seconds longer before he finally gave up. Shaking his head, he turned away scowling. "Fine. Get out of here. I don't want to eat with someone of your type anyway. NOW you are not welcome here. If my hospitality isn't good enough, just get the hell out! Find a dumpster if that's more your style!"
"Otaru!" Lime turned. "Otaru, no you don't-"
She stopped when she heard the door softly close behind her. She turned and found the doorway empty. Her eyes began to fill with tears once more.
"Ot-Otaru..."
Bloodberry walked over and placed her hand on Lime's shoulder. "Lime, you don't want to have anything to do with that man." She looked up at the closed door and breathed a little easier. "He's dangerous..."
Lime shook Bloodberry's hand off her shoulder. "Otaru! You don't understand! Yesterday, the reason why we brought him here was-"
Otaru sat and waved his hand at Lime. "Lime, I don't want to hear it."
"But Otaru, It's really, really important-"
"I said I don't want to hear it Lime!"
"Otaru..." Lime looked heartbroken a moment and she fell to her knees and began to cry. Otaru looked over his shoulder and immediately remembered what had happened last night. Once again he turned Lime down with out giving her a chance to talk. He frowned and shook his head once more. He promised him self he would at least give her that much. He stood up and sat by her and wrapping his arm around her.
"Oh, Lime, I'm sorry. Please, you don't have to cry. Tell me, what is it you wanted?"
She sniffed through her tears and looked Otaru in the face. "It's about yesterday, I-it's why we brought him home in the first place.."
Bloodberry hissed at down at her. "Tcha! Lime!"
Otaru looked up at her in surprise. "Bloodberry!" Suddenly his eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding Bloodberry?"
Bloodberry took a step back and said nothing. Otaru could still read her face nevertheless. She was hiding something. "Bloodberry..." He said menacingly.
"O-Otaru..."
He turned to Lime when she didn't answer. "Lime! Tell me what happened. I want to know exactly what happened!"
A few minutes later the door burst open and Otaru took off running as fast as he could down the street hoping he was heading in the same direction as Keinaro.
Japoness' business district, by now, was in full swing. The streets were lined and crowded with men and marionettes, shops and stores, various trinket sellers and even the occasional nobleman. Anything and everything available in Japoness could be found in the market place, both legal and illegal. Anything from pleasure marionettes to explosives to high end targeting systems and orange blossom data cores. If you wanted it, chances are you could find it there.
Otaru flung himself into the crowds doing his best to look over the heads of all those in his way searching for the brown and weather-beaten hood and over-cloak. He weaved his way in and out of the various crowds and moved as fast as his legs would permit in such a crowded place. He cursed at himself for letting his temper get the better of reason again. He'd yelled at the man who was probably the reason why he was able to yell at Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry the night before. If he hadn't been there Otaru would have gone home to find no one there, only to learn he would have lost the three most important things in his life. He shuddered. The thought was too horrible to think about. Life with out Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry would be too unbearable even to consider.
Otaru ducked around a cart merchant selling some of his goods and through a small crowd of people he saw a man walking swiftly away. He was wearing a faded brown cloak and hood and seemed to be pressing something up to his ear. He was talking into it. Waving his arms Otaru called out.
"Hey! HEY! Naro-san! NARO-SAN!!"
The man seemed to pause and look over his shoulder a moment before turning and taking off running.
"What? HEY! NARO-SAN! WAIT!!"
Otaru tried his best pile on as much speed as he could, but Keinaro was faster. He took off like a shot into the crowds holding his body low to the ground moving like a bullet. Otaru cursed for the five hundredth time that day and watched him go. Suddenly he had an idea. He had a pretty good idea of where Keinaro was headed. The road curved down the way. With a grunt, he took off down a near by alleyway.
Naro steamed along the ground making his way through the throng of people easily. He was breathing hard, but for very different reasons than exhaustion. Why on earth was this happening. Why was Otaru still chasing after him? Why couldn't he simply let all this go and just drop it? Why did it always come back to follow him? Those dammed women! Those dammed, dammed women. They were the reason why he was here, and now they were the reason he couldn't leave. Didn't they hate him? Didn't they, not twenty minutes ago, scorn and despise him?
Keinaro was confused. He didn't know why he felt this way about those women. All his life he had grown up with the impression that women were terrible creatures bent on consuming the desires of young men, and that they were a plague that had thankfully never touched the face of Terra II. But now that he had seen them, some thing in him seemed to change. He'd felt this warmth inside of himself that had never been there before. When he touched Cherry, he felt like he was on fire, like his heart was burning. And when she hit him something inside seemed to break. His warmth had been shattered and he suddenly felt an amazing weight on his soul. He felt he had done something too horrible for words.
These new feelings conflicted with his previous ones that he had taken with him on this voyage. He'd left full of purpose, full of the desire to help mankind in what he was about to do. He knew that he was on a quest for the bettering of all. It was his honor and duty to turn in what he had found for the sake of all man, anywhere. It was his role as a living creature upon this earth to do the task that had been given him.
But he knew that his new feelings that he had since learned existed inside himself conflicted with his older ones of pride and duty. They were fighting deep inside himself already. Keinaro hated this. He hated these feelings. On one side he had humanity and the safety of the planet for eons to come. On the other hand, he had, possibly, his own happiness and those of those three women and their master who even now relentlessly hunted him. Naro could not figure out why he couldn't shed these feelings. He felt guilty for meeting those women. He felt guilty for meeting their master. He felt guilty for leaving. He felt guilty for coming.
Why Otaru and those women plagued him he didn't know. It seemed he just couldn't let them be until the proper time had arrived. He wanted to simply leave them and let them be happy until the time came for him to fulfill his duty to his planet. That was the only way he figured he could appease both parts of himself. But they kept coming back. They kept coming back to him. He'd run and they seemed to follow.
He turned the corner to a nearby alley and collapsed against the wall.
"Shit..." he muttered to himself. He was beginning to regret ever meeting those women...
He didn't see Otaru until he placed his hand on Naro's shoulder. He looked up and jumped back in surprise. Otaru saw he was about to run again and took hold of his arm.
"Wait! Naro, wait a minute! Please!"
Keinaro paused and relaxed. It seemed fate would be cruel to him.
"Naro, why didn't you tell me you saved the lives of my marionettes?"
He paused a moment before answering. "It wasn't in my place. I had no business to." He said avoiding Otaru's gaze.
"Naro, that's nonsense. I had no idea I came so close to loosing my marionettes yesterday. I had no idea how close I came to never seeing them again."
"Please," Naro said softly, "Don't call them that."
Otaru arched an eyebrow. "Huh, call them what?"
"Marionettes. Please, they're not marionettes. They are women, Otaru."
Otaru paused. There he went again calling them women. Shaking his head Otaru took hold of Keinaro's shoulders. "Keinaro? What are you talking about? There are no women on this planet. They were all killed long, long ago back when-"
"Yes, I know the story!" Naro spat shaking off Otaru's grip. "Back when the colony ship self-destructed and killed everyone and everything left on board. I know how it goes. But those women that live with you are not marionettes! I've seen marionettes. They are lifeless dolls! They are soulless robots that roam and do as they're told. They don't smile, Otaru! Marionettes don't smile! They don't cry either! Nor do they laugh, or get angry, or get jealous. They simply do as they're told. They don't make their own decisions. Otaru you don't live with marionettes. You live with women, real live women. I'm not sure if you realize that or not by now, I can't possibly see how you could be so blind to the obviousness about them even now. They're not dolls Otaru! They're not soulless! They're not robots! They are living, thinking, breathing, laughing, frowning, smiling, crying women! Don't ever degrade them by calling them such petty machines. Never, Otaru."
Otaru was taken back by such an outburst. He'd never expected Naro to act like this. Despite it, he still saw some truth in what he had said. He may be right in a different sort of way. Even still, he had something he needed to ask. Looking up at Naro he saw that his gaze had once again fallen away from his own and to the ground.
"Naro...Naro look at me. I need to ask you something."
Slowly he rose his head. "What?"
"Naro, back when I asked you to stay, you told me that you weren't welcome in my home. What did you mean by that?"
Naro visibly swallowed. "I won't tell you."
"Wha-what?! Why not?!"
"Because, Otaru," he said looking up. "I don't want to make you sad. I don't want to make your women sad. I don't want to ruin everything for you four."
Otaru took a step forward. "What do you mean by that?"
"I can't say."
"Why not?"
"Because Otaru I told you!"
"You haven't told me anything!"
"Because I have no right to say it! I have no right to take away the happiness between you and your women! It is something between you and them and no one else!"
"I'm giving you the right! Tell me what you mean!!"
"God DAMMIT, Otaru!!" Keinaro said slamming his fist into the side of the building. To Otaru's surprise some of the wall shattered and crumbled to the ground.
"God DAMN YOU! Why do you want me to do this to you?! Why do you want me to ruin your lives?! Why can't you just leave me alone and let me stay away until the time comes?! I want you to be happy with your women Otaru! I want them to be happy with you! The time is going to come when you wont be able to share that love anymore! The time is going to come when you wont be able be with them any more... And... and..."
Keinaro started to sob. "...and I'll be the one to take them away from you... I'll be the one to ruin your lives..."
Otaru took a step forward. "What?"
To Otaru's utter shock, Keinaro slammed his fingers deep into the wall and pulled scoring deep marks into it. Otaru took his step back, his eyes wide open in shock. What the?!
Keinaro turned to face him with his own wild, angry eyes. "So get the hell away from me!! Get the hell away!! You don't want me yet!! You don't want me in your life!! Just get the fuck away!!!"
Leaving Otaru speechless, Keinaro turned and began to run back into the street. He got as far as the end of the alley when something stepped into his way. It was Bloodberry.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he screamed barreling towards her. Bloodberry only planted her feet and brought her fists up to a fighter's stance. Keinaro saw that the only way to escape would be to go through her. With eyes streaming tears and his heart screaming at him to stop he bellowed out and charged. Otaru saw what was going to happen and screamed out to Bloodberry.
"Bloodberry! Wait! Don't-"
With a crash the two collided and rolled out into the street. Keinaro landed on top and with a grunt jumped away. Bloodberry shot out with her arm and snagged him by his foot and pulling him back down. With a roar they clashed on the ground. Everyone in the market got out of the way and formed a ring as the two struggled and raged. Bloodberry ended up gaining the upper hand rolling on top of him. She had a hand around his neck and the other in a fist trying to pummel the young man's skull into the dirt. Keinaro had his hands full trying to pry her free from his throat and keeping her fist from liquefying his head.
Finally he realized there was no way for him to get out of this position unless... To the utter surprise of Bloodberry, Naro let out a scream and pulled his right leg up, bringing his knee to his chest, right between her legs.
"...Blood...berry..." He grunted, silently apologizing for what he was going to do. Violently he kicked outwards and upwards catching Bloodberry right in her stomach. Her eyes grew huge and her grip relaxed. She'd never expected such a violent offense from such a little man. With a another scream he hit her again, and again, and again until her grip finally broke. When it did she flew off his body with the force of his kick and landed near the side of the ring of people. Keinaro rolled off his back and onto his feet. He saw Bloodberry down struggling to get up and he turned to run. But the second he turned his body he found himself face to face with Cherry.
Keinaro wasn't stupid. He'd read the reports on each of the girls. Lime was the fastest, illustrated by her dodging the bullet the day before. He'd figured Bloodberry was the tank, she'd very nearly pummeled him into the ground. That left Cherry. She was the only true combat one in the whole group. She had a targeting system built into her body that judged the moves of her combatant and she moved accordingly. Keinaro knew better than to fight with her. She'd judge his move well before he could execute it. There was no defending from her either. He paused judging his options. Stay and loose or run, run like hell. Cherry saw him hesitate and smiled. This turned out to be his mistake.
When Keinaro saw her smile opted for the latter. His game was up. She'd already seen his move. With a grunt he turned and started to take off in he other direction...Right back into Bloodberry. She had, by now, gotten back to her feet. The last thing he saw before everything went black once again was Bloodberry's scowling face and her spiked fist three inches from his face.
Otaru saw Keinaro's body leave the ground and actually flip in the air before landing in a heap on the ground.
"BLOODBERRY!!" He screamed and ripped his way through the crowd. "Bloodberry!" he yelled again coming to the inside edge of the ring. Cherry was already on top of Keinaro checking him.
"Bloodberry!!" He screamed for a third time. "Bloodberry, what the hell did you do?!"
"Nothing." Replied Cherry standing. "She pulled her punch at the last second. He's only unconscious."
"What?!" Otaru went to Naro's side and knelt. He saw blood trickling from his mouth (the old cut Cherry gave him had reopened) but for the most part he seemed ok. His chest was rising and falling softly and his pulse was strong and steady. Otaru whirled upon Bloodberry.
"Bakayero!! Why did you attack him?!"
Bloodberry rubbed her arms and averted her eyes. "He is right. You want to have nothing to do with him." Otaru rose and approached her. He was quivering with anger, but decided to swallow it for the moment. They had a lot of explaining to do.
"You will pick him up..." He said, his voice tense with controlled anger. "And you will take him home." He turned to Cherry. "And you will bind him and make sure that he will be ok. Are the both of you clear on this."
"But Otaru-sama! You don't understand about this man."
Otaru narrowed his eyes and did his best to control his quivering voice. "Ch-Cherry!"
He saw her flinch and swallowed, remembering what he had promised himself earlier. "Ch-Ch-Cherry... w-what don't I understand about this man?"
"Master. He is dangerous. He's a soldier. Please, let us simply dispose of him. He will not be missed and-"
"Cherry." Bloodberry's face was solemn. "Remember why we came here."
"But Bloodberry! If we can just-"
"What then when he's gone? There will be others. There are always going to be others. We need to think now, and use our heads. Our time is now. This is the end of our vacation."
" But...Bloodberry..."
Bloodberry turned to Otaru. "Otaru. You've never asked us where we came from. You always just accepted us as is. And...for that we're grateful. But I think the time has come for us to tell you, just...just..." She paused and stared at the ground.
"Bloodberry." The anger had drained itself from Otaru's body. He wondered just what exactly had Cherry in such a mood... Bloodberry as well. This was more serious than he first thought.
Bloodberry looked back up and locked eyes with Otaru. He took a step back. Bloodberry...she looked like she was going to...to cry. Otaru had never seen her look like that before. She was always the strongest out of the three. Two things he'd never seen her do were get hurt or cry. Today she had done both.
"Otaru..." She said finally. "We need to tell you...just where we come from. We need to tell you just who we really are."
Slowly, Otaru nodded. "Take Keinaro back to the house." He said dryly. "If one man can make do this to you two, we'll need to keep him under our watch."
Slowly, both Bloodberry and Cherry nodded. They took Keinaro up and carried him away. The crowd parted to let them pass. They were totally silent. They'd never seen anything like this before. The marionettes had been angry, and worried, and sad. They spoke to Otaru with tone and real emotion. Otaru talked to them back as if they were his equal. They reacted with him just as much as he reacted with them. Quite a few of the men began to wonder as they watched them walk away. Were Otaru's Marionettes the defective ones, or were theirs?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is human? What is it that defines us as that creature. Is it our self-awareness? Is it our higher levels of thinking? Or is it our hearts?
Are we human simply because we have been born from another human? If so, what of clones? What of those created artificially? Are they not human because of their birth? Circumstance dumped them into a world where they think and breathe and feel like everyone else, but are outlaws and banned because of something they could not help. Criminals from a crime they were forced to commit.
These are questions we will be asking ourselves for years to come. These are questions we are asking right now. These are questions we have been asking for years.
When we blur the line between man and machine we also blur the line between right and wrong, good and evil. What is human? Human is what ever you desire it to be.
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
On nights when I can't settle down no matter what,
I just want to throw anything and everything away.
Don't bitch and complain, just open the door, ya know.
I don't have time to quibble with you.
I want to fly all over the place.
I wanna throw caution to the wind.
It isn't because I've lost anything
It's because nothing's even started yet.
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
What do you want? What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?
Cut through the darkness and run to grab what you want through the night!
Sometimes I'll let my guard down to your kindness,
but sometimes I worry.
I've been doing whatever I want as much as I wanted to,
But to tell the truth, to be with you is the best.
Believing, I want us to believe in each other.
I want it to be as plain as black and white.
Because it's not just intensity
Because it's not just gentleness...
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
Who do I want to hold? I should know.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
I can't protect even those unless I get moving.
Even if I get hurt, or I hurt someone, or I have to take the long way,
With my heart as it is, tumbling as I am, I'll pierce through the night!
Don't make fun of it! Don't destroy it! Don't cheapen it!
That one thing everyone has that they won't give up.
Only love! Only dreams! Only you!
Those are the only things I won't let go, ever.
Holding each other, getting hurt, then loss...
Everyone hurts the one they hold most dear.
Anyway, I just can't understand being shackled with a promise...
I can't put my finger on it...
What do you want? What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?
Cut through the dark and run to grab what you want through the night!
~Outlaw Star - Through the Night
[To Be Continued...]
