Insert standard disclaimer here.

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"This crystal?" Ulric asked.

"Yes." The Khan of the Smoke Jaguars answered. "The coordinator of the Draconis Combine's grandson had it in his possession. When we captured him, we took it from him.

If Ilkhan Ulric was offended or upset by the tiny offering or the insult it implied, it could neither be seen on his face nor heard in his voice. "I see," he said. "Thank you." He took the crystal and held it up to the light.

There was a flash of non-light.

"Oro!"

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

"Yeeeeeeek!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Ugh..."

A bunch of people seemed to fall out of the crystal, landing in a heap. The one on top silently got up and helped his comrade to stand, then extracted a woman from the pile. The other man did the same for a young girl. A small man with long, bright red hair helped a young woman to her feet. An attractive woman got up and nudged the man at the bottom of the pile -- who had spikey brown hair and was rather tall in comparison to the others -- out of his daze. "Kitsune," he muttered at her.

"Baka," she returned.

"Who are you?" Ulric asked curiously.

"Eh? Kenshin, dore da?" the young woman with long hair in a ponytail said.

"Oro," was all that the red-haired man, apparently Kenshin, replied with. "Kaoru-dono--"

He was interrupted by the first man. "Ahou," he muttered, resting his hand on the strange-looking hilt of a strange-looking sword and looking at the assembled clanners with a suspicious gaze.

The two groups looked at each other. It quickly became obvious that their respective languages were not what the other group spoke. Natasha stared thoughtfully at the red-haired man. "Kenshin," she said at last.

He transferred his gaze to her. "Aa?"

She bowed. "Watashi wa Natasha desu."

He returned the bow. "Watashi wa Himura Kenshin de gozaru, Natasha-dono."

Natasha nodded sharply at turned to Ulric. "They're speaking Japanese."

"The language of the Combine," he muttered. "Do you know it?"

"I've just about used up all I know," she replied. "We need to find a translator of some sort."

"Hahiro will be visiting us soon, will he not?" Phelan asked. "It was his crystal originally, and he is Japanese, so perhaps he will be able to find out more than any one else."

Ulric nodded.

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AN:

Ayce Shade - Thank you, and sorry if I sounded spoilt. Here goes with #2.