Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it? I obviously don't own Tenchi.
Otherwise I'd have no need to even write this as a fanfic.
*****************************************************
Ryoko lay spooned against Hotsuma on the maroon couch in her replica of the
Masaki living room. Familiar rice-paper walls, art, and furniture surrounded
her. She'd been lulled nearly into sleep by the warmth of being curled next to
the tall space pirate under the throw blanket. So she wasn't pleased at all
when an insistent computer beep drew them both back to full consciousness.
Ryoko cursed lividly as the two space pirates hastily disentangled themselves
and rushed to dress. It was a silent agreement between the pair, that no one
see them behaving too intimately. Even if their gang knew about them, they
should only show such familiarity in private. To do otherwise would be
detrimental to their control of the other pirates.
Ryoko grabbed her black and red two-piece dress off the wraparound side of the
couch. She fumbled with the buttons, having to redo the top after spotting a
pucker of black satin where a toggle button had been missed and the red cherry
blossom pattern failed to match up. Behind her Hotsuma quickly captured his
flowing hair into one of his customary ponytails. She noticed that Hotsuma
seemed less flustered as he slipped into his black vinyl vest and zipped the
silver pull. Of course, Hotsuma could hide being flustered (among other
emotions) surprisingly well. As a result, Ryoko still couldn't tell what he was
thinking most of the time. She whipped her head back around and straightened
her spine as Hotsuma moved to stand beside her with an appropriate distance
separating them.
Once the desired image had been created, Ryoko gave Hotsuma a nod, and he
activated the holographic display above the room with his remote. The image of
a small greenish blue man looking nervously over his shoulder flickered into
view. At the answering beep from his computer the man fixed his gaze upon them.
He showed obvious relief as he appraised the duo.
"Well, Well...." Ryoko began. "What's up, Zel?" She planted her fists on her
hips and gave him one of her scarier snarls. He already looked nervous, and
that could be a very bad omen. An arms dealer who feared someone more than he
feared her might roll her over to that bigger fish. She intended to make
certain that Zeltris knew exactly who to fear.
"Good to see you too, Ryoko," Zeltris greeted her with a slight bow of his head.
"I put your message out to the right people, so you should have a fine selection
of associates at your rendezvous point. I wanted to send you a warning about
two of the interested parties, though." He added uncertainly, as he glanced
behind him. Over his shoulder Ryoko was able to make out a substantial mess in
his usually efficient hangar. A pair of techs was trying to repair the
haphazardly amputated nose cone of a cargo ship, while another young kid
tinkered with a welding robot that was shooting sparks from its control panel.
Other signs of chaos and destruction surrounded the businessman's lair.
"It looks like they had a wild little soiree at your place," Ryoko acknowledged
wryly. She chuckled audibly as Zeltris paled at her words. He paused seeming
shocked at her ability to accept such damage without concern. It was the
reaction Ryoko wanted. He should be fully aware that she could create havoc on
a far greater scale.
"If this is important enough to call us in the first place, Zeltris," Hotsuma
said with smooth menace. "Then I would also assume that it is important enough
for you to give us the relevant information without wasting anymore of our
valuable time." He crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke and met the
small man with a frigid stare.
Zeltris launched into his tale about the two rough pirate chicks who were in the
process of extorting information from him when Hotsuma's transmission had
arrived. "That blonde was insane! Everything in the hangar was breaking and
exploding around her, and she just stood there giggling! And that teal haired
one was as cool as they come!"
Ryoko flinched at the description and quickly sought to hide it behind narrowed
eyes. The details certainly described Kiyone and Mihoshi, but how would they
think they could possibly infiltrate Ryoko's gang. They certainly wouldn't be
going to such lengths for a social visit. If something were wrong on Earth,
they wouldn't beat around the bush either. Perhaps, they were simply planning a
GXP trap in space. Hmm.... That wasn't Kiyone's style. She wanted the credit
of a big collar badly enough that she wasn't about to share it in a big
anonymous ambush. Thoughts churned inside Ryoko's mind as she tried to decide
exactly how to deal with her former roommates. This could be fun. "Just leave
them up to me," she said suddenly. "I think we'll let those two prove
themselves." She grinned evilly at her compatriots and walked out of the room
still wondering what her former friends could be playing at.
Hotsuma turned to watch her go. She knew something more than she was telling,
and he was torn somewhere between admiration and annoyance. He pushed his
glasses up the bridge of his nose. The woman knew exactly what she was doing,
that much she'd proven already. He just didn't like being on the outside of her
plans.
Without a backwards glance he shut off the transmission from Zeltris. Very
well, it wasn't like he didn't have secrets of his own to maintain. He too had
a private room in this compound; in case of emergency his lab housed a crystal
transmitter to Yugi. Unlike her shadow, Yugi didn't just peer into Hotsuma's
mind. Perhaps, it was a testament to the distances involved in space travel,
but even on Earth he'd been afforded more privacy than her other minions. He
would allow Ryoko hers, for now. But he had no intention of relinquishing his
hold upon Ryoko and returning to the darkness. Towards that end he would keep
any secret.
***************************************************************
"Oh, Kiyone!" twittered the ecstatic blonde Galaxy Police Officer as she hopped
about Yagami's cockpit, "I'm so excited about seeing Ryoko again! It's been so
long since...."
"This is not a social visit!" Kiyone snapped in annoyance. "We are going there
to infiltrate Ryoko's gang and apprehend her!" She could see her partner's
enthusiasm immediately drain away, as Mihoshi turned large tearful blue eyes
upon her. Dealing with Mihoshi never was easy. She sighed and waited for the
weeping outburst to commence. It seemed that she'd already explained this a
hundred times.
"Why do we have to arrest her? Ryoko's our friend, and you're supposed to give
friends a second chance," Mihoshi reasoned simplistically. She twiddled her
fingers and stared miserably at them.
"Because she's hurting people, Mihoshi! People are losing their money, their
jobs, their health...." Kiyone groaned. "Aren't the other Galaxy Police
Officers your friends too? She's put half our class from the academy in the
hospital!" That half of the class included a certain snide redhead whom Kiyone
had disliked throughout their academy days. Kiyone grinned privately upon that
reflection.
"Well, I still think something must've driven her to this, Kiyone," Mihoshi
sniffed, as she wiped her tears away. "And I'm going to find out exactly what!"
Declared the blonde, as she smacked her fist into her palm determinedly. "Or
else I'm not First Class Detective Mihoshi!"
"You do that, Mihoshi," Kiyone nodded. It was the best she was going to get out
of her partner at the moment. She donned a spiky pink wig, and adjusted the
zippered vinyl jumpsuit. Her makeup was on quite heavily, and a pair of alien
looking orange contacts and a fake scar on her right cheek completed the
ensemble. "Now how do you like this wig on me? Do you think with the makeup
it'll fool Ryoko?"
"Wow! I wouldn't even recognize you in that outfit, Kiyone!" Mihoshi grinned
exuberantly. She clapped her hands in appreciation. "Oh! It's my turn next,"
she giggled, rummaging through assorted costume pieces. A pink flowered
housecoat and a pair of clown shoes soared past Kiyone's head, and the luckless
officer began to worry about exactly what sort of costume pieces Mihoshi had for
undercover work.
Kiyone shook off the disturbing images as her partner called to her from across
the room. "How about this? I don't think Space Police Policeman could do any
better even. Hey I wonder if my action figures will fit inside this pouch?"
Mihoshi rattled excitedly. A spandex, leopard-print top and miniskirt showed
off Mihoshi's astonishing figure, and Kiyone covered herself with her arms,
feeling suddenly self-conscious. The ditzy officer had found a lilac colored
Afro wig, which was indeed a striking contrast to her normal wavy blonde hair.
She'd mismatched her contacts, and had one reptile eye paired with one cat eye.
That much was easily fixed. She'd glued pointy ear extensions over the tips of
her own ears to make a cat-girl look, but the edges needed more glue and were
curling up. All in all the effect wasn't bad with a few adjustments.
By the time they boarded the small transport ship, which they had been assigned
for this mission, Mihoshi wore a perfected version of her cat-girl costume.
Kiyone had finally convinced her to leave her action figures on Yagami, and the
pouch, which Mihoshi wore slung around her hips contained items that Kiyone
considered practical essentials--money, blaster, costume makeup, hacking and
lock-picking gear. They blasted off for sector zero point two ready for
anything.
The hopeful pirate wannabe's assembled in the backroom of a smuggler's bar on
the industrial planet of Kemvar at the edge of the band of waste planets. One
big city covered the over-populated and polluted planet, and it was legend that
the last tree on Kemvar had died from the pollution two hundred years ago. In
its dark crowded streets and rooms the pirates easily blended in with the bleak
and sinister citizens.
"This place looks like a cyberpunk nightmare!" Ryoko complained to her partner,
as they entered the crowded room. He grunted in agreement, and both pirates
broke from the conversation as they surveyed the room's occupants. Surly,
muscular men filled the room to capacity. Most of them were covered with scars
and excessive body hair. Ryoko scanned the room for a flash of teal and blonde
but came up empty. Still searching the room, she noticed that there were only
two women in the entire crowd. They were seated on the far right of the room,
and one was desperately trying to restrain the other from waving. She
suppressed a snicker as she studied them from the corners of her eyes. Oh, the
costumes were lovely, but they weren't difficult to see through under the
circumstances. Where the hell had Mihoshi been keeping that wig anyhow? Ryoko
sincerely hoped she didn't wet herself laughing tonight. It would be bad for
her image.
"All-right, you wannabe's!" Ryoko snarled as she hopped onto the nearest table.
She unsnapped her cape and let it fall to the table. "This is where we separate
the men from the boys! You may think you're good enough to join my gang," she
challenged with a wide grin, "but now you have to convince me!" An enthusiastic
roar greeted her words. The promise of violence carried a great deal of weight
with this crowd.
At her nod, Hotsuma reached behind a framed beer poster and tripped a concealed
switch. The dingy greenish wall in the back rolled apart to reveal a fighting
pit surrounded by catwalks and set so that anyone in this room could easily
watch the action. It wasn't uncommon on Kemvar for people to wager on fights to
the death. It was however illegal, and so the bars and clubs kept hidden fight
parlors. Ryoko had rented out both backrooms for the night, so that she could
hold these tryouts. These might not be fights to the death, but Kiyone and
Mihoshi were going to have to earn their pay tonight.
"It's time for you all to divide up by specialty. Blaster experts, over there!
Knife fighters, left front of the room! Bare-handers by that long table! All-
arounders in the middle!" She pointed and nodded as she directed each group of
fighters. Ryoko nodded with satisfaction as the pirates all filed into their
groups. Mihoshi had joined the ranks of the blaster experts, whereas Kiyone was
grouped with the All-around fighters. Ryoko was going to have fun with this
one.
Ryoko ordered the members of the groups to pair off, and transmitter targets
were assigned to each combatant. The object of the test was to destroy the
opponent's transmitter. Winners would advance to face each other, and the
pirates who held the top ten positions from each discipline would be allowed
into the gang.
"Blasters!" Ryoko bellowed. She grabbed Mihoshi and a creepy pirate with a
robotic eye. "Looks like you two are up first! Show me what you've got," she
chortled, as she pushed them towards the ring. "Give'em hell, girl!" she
advised, giving Mihoshi a slap on the back before taking a seat beside Hotsuma.
The other groups clustered together on the catwalks to watch, and Ryoko laughed
to herself. "That poor slob won't even know what hit him," she told Hotsuma
with a wink.
He watched the cyborg spook glare meaningfully at the shaking cat-girl, who was
stammering something about a good fight. "You're kidding right?" he replied,
raising an eyebrow. "That's Ro-shen. He's famous in the Orion Belt." Hotsuma
only recognized a couple of the hopefuls as having built a reputation, and Ro-
shen was easily the most successful of them. Ryoko just sat cross-legged on her
chair and leaned forward, laughing brightly with excitement. Hotsuma shook his
head and watched as Ro-shen drew his blaster and fired a quick volley at the
woman with the Afro. She yelped pitifully, and avoided the shots by quickly
dodging to the left and right of them. "What the hell is she doing?" he asked
in shock, as the woman covered her eyes with one hand, and began rapidly firing
at her opponent.
Ryoko laughed so hard that she had to hold her sides, as she watched Mihoshi
clumsily rush and fire blindly at the confused sniper. She cheered loudly, when
one of Mihoshi's blasts struck home and sent the target shattering to the
corrugated metal floor. She turned to face her awestruck partner. "I think she
might just go all the way in that category," Ryoko choked as she wiped the
corners of her eyes.
"That was dumb luck!" Hotsuma replied in disbelief. She didn't match Zeltris's
description to the slightest degree, but this obviously had to be one of the
women he'd warned them about. Judging from Ryoko's reaction, Ryoko knew of her.
He let his questions wait for now; they'd be answered soon enough. For now, it
was enough to know that Ryoko didn't consider the women any immediate danger to
them.
"Yeah, they don't get any dumber or any luckier," Ryoko responded cheerfully.
The bold blue-haired woman and her reserved partner continued to trade
observations and quips as they watched the blaster contest unfold before them.
From the sidelines Kiyone too was cheering her partner on. In the final
pairing, Mihoshi faced down a brown haired space cowboy with a customized spread
shooter. It used internal splitters and mirrors to disperse six separate shots
in each blast.
Ryoko gripped the edge of her seat for support, as she watched Mihoshi hop past.
The ditz was desperately running away from the cowboy's preemptive attack, and
her mewling ow's and oh's filled the room like a litany. Ryoko snorted quietly
as a flash from the six-shooter singed the backside of Mihoshi's micro mini.
"Yeeeeep! Hey, that's no fair! You're not supposed to...oh...oh...oh... "
Squealed the desperate officer. Her blaster had run out of charge, so Mihoshi
dug through her pouch searching for her backup. Everything else seemed to come
to hand first, and she settled her grip upon the first solid square object that
she happened upon. The harried officer pulled the item out and held it between
her and the attacking cowboy, like a vampire hunter holding off the undead with
a crucifix. At the same instant the cowboy fired again. He watched in dull
horror as Mihoshi pulled out her makeup mirror and held it between them. The
flares of light raced through the air between them, and the one that was meant
for the cat-girl's transmitter bounced harmlessly off the outstretched mirror.
It reflected back at her pursuer and exploded against his target. The young
man's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
"Did I call it, or what?" Ryoko barked. "That match was like taking candy from
a baby!" She nodded decisively, and she and Hotsuma continued a running
commentary during the next two categories--alternately proving and disproving
their theories on the abilities of each fighter. When the All-around fighters
lined up to go, Ryoko again developed that intensity that she'd displayed during
the Blaster Face-off. The third match in would mark the debut fight of the
pink-haired punk girl, who'd been eyeing the rowdy space pirate all evening.
Kiyone fought exceptionally well against her opponents, despite the nagging fear
that Mihoshi would somehow blow their cover while she was preoccupied with her
qualifying fights. The first man she faced loomed over her at easily twice her
size, and Kiyone wondered exactly which pro-wrestling school he'd failed out of
before moving on to piracy. Although he was capable with weapons, he favored
barehanded attacks, and Kiyone spent most of her time on the defensive. She
dodged, using her speed to full advantage, while she looked for weaknesses to
exploit. He used his left fist in a guard stance to block his transmitter from
direct blows, while lashing out with his other meaty fist and kicking with his
muscular, trunk-like legs. He seemed ready to believe that as a girl she would
be easily deterred by the thought of having to really hurt him to get to the
transmitter.
Kiyone waited for one of his kicks and ducked between his legs. She punched
straight up into his groin and cursed in pain when her knuckles struck a
protective cup. Kiyone bit back a scream and kicked the back of his supporting
leg out from under him, as she scrambled out of the way still cradling her
injured fist.
She saw him limp to his feet and come after her again. Kiyone still angry about
her bloodied knuckles pulled her blaster and aimed for his transmitter. The
same fist came up protectively, testing to see if she really was tough enough to
shoot through him. Kiyone narrowed her field of vision to her intended target
and calmly squeezed the trigger. She watched the giant drop his hand
immediately and try to jump out of the way of her shot.
At the opening, Kiyone leapt forward and aimed a sidekick for his now exposed
shoulder. His own inertia carried him into the line of her kick and red glass
target button shattered under her spiked heel. Kiyone snapped her leg back
quickly and hopped backwards as the muscleman overbalanced and fell towards her.
He was too tall to avoid entirely, and the detective loudly crashed to the floor
on her bottom as the man landed facedown between her sprawled legs. "Why does
this stuff always happen to me?" she moaned at her graceless finish. From above
a woman's voice cackled stridently, while Mihoshi grinned cluelessly and gave
her partner a thumbs-up signal.
Kiyone too made it to the final match in her division, and her opponent was not
only fast and strong but also seemingly untroubled about using excessive force
during his attacks. He displayed it openly by firing a blaster shot at her head
rather than her transmitter. Kiyone screamed and quickly beat out a small fire,
which had started in her wig. The man sneered at her and gave her a
condescending wink. This fight could get dirty.
Kiyone felt her contacts stinging in her eyes at the smoke from the charred tips
of pink hair. She let the anger charge her with energy, but kept her mind
concentrated on only the battle before her. He'd pay for that, but only if she
kept control rather than falling into an obvious trap. She watched him reach
back to draw a sword from a sheath on his back. His long brown hair was bound
just above his shoulders and wrapped with a red leather thong just like the
handle of his katana--only the last foot of hair swinging free below the
wrapping. He narrowed his yellow-green eyes, and the stretchy red fabric of his
top rippled with his muscles like a predatory second skin as he rushed her.
Kiyone caught a glimpse of silver in his black wrist sheaths, and she jumped to
the side, ducking under his swipe as she drew one of his own blades to use
against him.
"Woohoo! Way to go Kiy... um... Kei-lynn!" Mihoshi caught herself from above.
Kiyone grimaced at the close call and redoubled her efforts to beat him as
quickly as possible. At the same time she saw an opportunity for revenge
against his hair, and she grasped it roughly by the binding, while she smoothly
severed the last foot and a half of hair with his razor sharp knife. He whirled
to face her, the remaining binding unraveling and releasing his roughly shorn
locks, which now only reached to just above his waist. Kiyone held up her prize
triumphantly and shot him a wink before tossing the severed mane at him.
She braced herself for the onslaught of venomous curses and brutal attacks, but
she was completely unprepared for what happened next. He caught the shorn
ponytail, and after a moment of staring silently his deep chuckle filled the
fight parlor. "That's the best luck you've had all night, lady!" he goaded.
Kiyone instantly flashed back to her many close calls and inelegant wins from
the night. So what if she wasn't lucky, she had the skill to compensate. "It
had nothing to do with luck," she replied aloofly. "You just left yourself
open." She watched the nearly murderous anger fill his eyes again, and she
grinned in satisfaction as he attacked her with a series of lunges and slashes.
It took everything she had to avoid his attack, but he was getting sloppier with
his fury.
Finally, she managed a successful back flip over one of his swipes and stood
stunned for a moment. He used her disbelief to his advantage and grabbed her
wrathfully, spinning her around, and placing the blade against her throat.
"Playtime is over." He growled at her leaning his head forward so that he could
whisper threateningly in her ear, as he reached for her transmitter. Ryoko and
several other spectators rose in alarm, poised to intervene if he didn't stop at
the transmitter.
Kiyone felt the flat side of the cool metal resting against her skin and knew
that she didn't have time to think if she wanted to stay in this competition.
She kicked her leg straight upward, smacking him in the head, before twisting
her body around in his grasp. She swept his leg out from under him, riding him
down to the ground as he grasped her upper arms. Before he could move further,
she shot out her right fist. It was still sore from her unlucky punch earlier,
but it would suffice. As they landed winded on the corrugated metal, she
smashed his transmitter with a hard jab.
The man panted tiredly, still holding Kiyone by the arms, and eyed the strange
woman with something approaching respect. "So you're not just a pretty face,"
he rasped at her. "Next time, you're toast, ...Kei-lynn." He promised with a
deep chuckle, before blowing her a little kiss.
After that final battle the top ten from each division lined up according to
their fighting rank, and Hotsuma took down their names. The losers were
inconsequential and were dismissed without further word. Kiyone gave her name
as Kei-lynn, and bit the inside of her cheek when her final rival identified
himself as Aicheron, a class A criminal who she'd been trying unsuccessfully to
track for the past three months. She quietly looked forward to busting his ass.
Kiyone nearly stopped breathing when the cold blonde pirate asked Mihoshi for
her name. Mihoshi paused thoughtfully. "Um.... It's Mi... Yah!" she screamed
as Kiyone stamped on her foot from the next line.
"Miya?" Hotsuma queried with raised eyebrows. Ryoko had her back turned trying
to smother a bout of laughter at the officers' antics and the ludicrous
pseudonym.
"Um... yep! I'm Miya!" Mihoshi replied cheerfully. "That's my name! Miya-
miya," she tittered sounding vaguely like Ryo-ohki. She giggled at the serious
man, as he wrote it into his record. Kiyone noticed once again just how easily
things seemed to go for her partner, and she sighed in private frustration. She
could feel eyes studying her from behind, and she shot around to hit Aicheron
with a dirty look when she caught him staring at her.
The new pirate band were led back to the hidden base, and those with smaller
ships were carried aboard Gaiyan with their ships either docked in one of the
larger vessels or carried by tractor beam. The two detectives were among those
aboard Gaiyan, and Ryoko was taking the opportunity to order them about--asking
them to serve her sake and going over ridiculous duty rosters with them.
Upon arriving at the base, Kiyone decided to take the opportunity to explore
while the rest of the gang settled in. She kept Mihoshi close in tow, as they
navigated the cave tunnels looking for information on the pirate's operation.
As they reached the junction between two hallways the sound of voices stopped
them in their tracks.
"I do believe you promised me an upgrade," Ryoko's voice purred from around the
corner, and Kiyone peeked around the wall to see the cyan haired woman cornering
her partner against one of the rough, stone walls.
"Careful, Princess, anyone could come along and see us," Hotsuma cautioned as he
adjusted his glasses. "You know I'll be only to happy to see to your needs in
private," he replied silkily.
Kiyone couldn't see exactly what Ryoko did next because her body blocked the
action from view, but she had a fine guess as the tall man closed his eyes and
arched his neck back, breathing rapidly. As Kiyone watched, he grabbed Ryoko
roughly against him and kissed her heatedly, exploring the softness of her mouth
with his sensitive tongue. The blue haired woman wrapped her arms around his
neck and made small hungry noises, which filtered down the empty corridor.
"You seem to be in a fine mood tonight, partner," he observed as he finally
broke away from the pull of her lips. He traced his fingers lightly along the
smooth skin of her cheek, and Ryoko leaned into his warm hand.
"Of course! Tonight was wonderful," she grinned. She traced a finger slowly
down Hotsuma's chest. "But you made me a promise this morning that I'm still
going to hold you to," the pirate cooed suggestively. "Now, let's teleport
someplace a little more private and discuss it." She leaned in towards his lips
again, just before the pair flickered out of being in the quiet passageway.
"He he. That was so sweet!" Mihoshi bubbled, clasping her hands and staring
dreamily at the spot the two pirates had just vacated. "Now I'm not nearly so
worried about Ryoko. Don't you agree, Kiy..."
Kiyone clamped her hand over the bouncy blonde's mouth. She was still in a
state of shock. Ryoko had never been more than three inches from Tenchi, if she
could help it. Now she was suddenly pirating in space with a strange new lover.
It wasn't just that it was such a large change, but it had happened so fast to
Kiyone's knowledge. "Actually, Miya, I'm just starting to worry now," she
whispered.
Kiyone heard the soft thud of footfalls directly behind them and whirled around.
She stared directly into a pair of yellowish-green eyes, and her breath caught
in her throat. What else could happen to her tonight?
Otherwise I'd have no need to even write this as a fanfic.
*****************************************************
Ryoko lay spooned against Hotsuma on the maroon couch in her replica of the
Masaki living room. Familiar rice-paper walls, art, and furniture surrounded
her. She'd been lulled nearly into sleep by the warmth of being curled next to
the tall space pirate under the throw blanket. So she wasn't pleased at all
when an insistent computer beep drew them both back to full consciousness.
Ryoko cursed lividly as the two space pirates hastily disentangled themselves
and rushed to dress. It was a silent agreement between the pair, that no one
see them behaving too intimately. Even if their gang knew about them, they
should only show such familiarity in private. To do otherwise would be
detrimental to their control of the other pirates.
Ryoko grabbed her black and red two-piece dress off the wraparound side of the
couch. She fumbled with the buttons, having to redo the top after spotting a
pucker of black satin where a toggle button had been missed and the red cherry
blossom pattern failed to match up. Behind her Hotsuma quickly captured his
flowing hair into one of his customary ponytails. She noticed that Hotsuma
seemed less flustered as he slipped into his black vinyl vest and zipped the
silver pull. Of course, Hotsuma could hide being flustered (among other
emotions) surprisingly well. As a result, Ryoko still couldn't tell what he was
thinking most of the time. She whipped her head back around and straightened
her spine as Hotsuma moved to stand beside her with an appropriate distance
separating them.
Once the desired image had been created, Ryoko gave Hotsuma a nod, and he
activated the holographic display above the room with his remote. The image of
a small greenish blue man looking nervously over his shoulder flickered into
view. At the answering beep from his computer the man fixed his gaze upon them.
He showed obvious relief as he appraised the duo.
"Well, Well...." Ryoko began. "What's up, Zel?" She planted her fists on her
hips and gave him one of her scarier snarls. He already looked nervous, and
that could be a very bad omen. An arms dealer who feared someone more than he
feared her might roll her over to that bigger fish. She intended to make
certain that Zeltris knew exactly who to fear.
"Good to see you too, Ryoko," Zeltris greeted her with a slight bow of his head.
"I put your message out to the right people, so you should have a fine selection
of associates at your rendezvous point. I wanted to send you a warning about
two of the interested parties, though." He added uncertainly, as he glanced
behind him. Over his shoulder Ryoko was able to make out a substantial mess in
his usually efficient hangar. A pair of techs was trying to repair the
haphazardly amputated nose cone of a cargo ship, while another young kid
tinkered with a welding robot that was shooting sparks from its control panel.
Other signs of chaos and destruction surrounded the businessman's lair.
"It looks like they had a wild little soiree at your place," Ryoko acknowledged
wryly. She chuckled audibly as Zeltris paled at her words. He paused seeming
shocked at her ability to accept such damage without concern. It was the
reaction Ryoko wanted. He should be fully aware that she could create havoc on
a far greater scale.
"If this is important enough to call us in the first place, Zeltris," Hotsuma
said with smooth menace. "Then I would also assume that it is important enough
for you to give us the relevant information without wasting anymore of our
valuable time." He crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke and met the
small man with a frigid stare.
Zeltris launched into his tale about the two rough pirate chicks who were in the
process of extorting information from him when Hotsuma's transmission had
arrived. "That blonde was insane! Everything in the hangar was breaking and
exploding around her, and she just stood there giggling! And that teal haired
one was as cool as they come!"
Ryoko flinched at the description and quickly sought to hide it behind narrowed
eyes. The details certainly described Kiyone and Mihoshi, but how would they
think they could possibly infiltrate Ryoko's gang. They certainly wouldn't be
going to such lengths for a social visit. If something were wrong on Earth,
they wouldn't beat around the bush either. Perhaps, they were simply planning a
GXP trap in space. Hmm.... That wasn't Kiyone's style. She wanted the credit
of a big collar badly enough that she wasn't about to share it in a big
anonymous ambush. Thoughts churned inside Ryoko's mind as she tried to decide
exactly how to deal with her former roommates. This could be fun. "Just leave
them up to me," she said suddenly. "I think we'll let those two prove
themselves." She grinned evilly at her compatriots and walked out of the room
still wondering what her former friends could be playing at.
Hotsuma turned to watch her go. She knew something more than she was telling,
and he was torn somewhere between admiration and annoyance. He pushed his
glasses up the bridge of his nose. The woman knew exactly what she was doing,
that much she'd proven already. He just didn't like being on the outside of her
plans.
Without a backwards glance he shut off the transmission from Zeltris. Very
well, it wasn't like he didn't have secrets of his own to maintain. He too had
a private room in this compound; in case of emergency his lab housed a crystal
transmitter to Yugi. Unlike her shadow, Yugi didn't just peer into Hotsuma's
mind. Perhaps, it was a testament to the distances involved in space travel,
but even on Earth he'd been afforded more privacy than her other minions. He
would allow Ryoko hers, for now. But he had no intention of relinquishing his
hold upon Ryoko and returning to the darkness. Towards that end he would keep
any secret.
***************************************************************
"Oh, Kiyone!" twittered the ecstatic blonde Galaxy Police Officer as she hopped
about Yagami's cockpit, "I'm so excited about seeing Ryoko again! It's been so
long since...."
"This is not a social visit!" Kiyone snapped in annoyance. "We are going there
to infiltrate Ryoko's gang and apprehend her!" She could see her partner's
enthusiasm immediately drain away, as Mihoshi turned large tearful blue eyes
upon her. Dealing with Mihoshi never was easy. She sighed and waited for the
weeping outburst to commence. It seemed that she'd already explained this a
hundred times.
"Why do we have to arrest her? Ryoko's our friend, and you're supposed to give
friends a second chance," Mihoshi reasoned simplistically. She twiddled her
fingers and stared miserably at them.
"Because she's hurting people, Mihoshi! People are losing their money, their
jobs, their health...." Kiyone groaned. "Aren't the other Galaxy Police
Officers your friends too? She's put half our class from the academy in the
hospital!" That half of the class included a certain snide redhead whom Kiyone
had disliked throughout their academy days. Kiyone grinned privately upon that
reflection.
"Well, I still think something must've driven her to this, Kiyone," Mihoshi
sniffed, as she wiped her tears away. "And I'm going to find out exactly what!"
Declared the blonde, as she smacked her fist into her palm determinedly. "Or
else I'm not First Class Detective Mihoshi!"
"You do that, Mihoshi," Kiyone nodded. It was the best she was going to get out
of her partner at the moment. She donned a spiky pink wig, and adjusted the
zippered vinyl jumpsuit. Her makeup was on quite heavily, and a pair of alien
looking orange contacts and a fake scar on her right cheek completed the
ensemble. "Now how do you like this wig on me? Do you think with the makeup
it'll fool Ryoko?"
"Wow! I wouldn't even recognize you in that outfit, Kiyone!" Mihoshi grinned
exuberantly. She clapped her hands in appreciation. "Oh! It's my turn next,"
she giggled, rummaging through assorted costume pieces. A pink flowered
housecoat and a pair of clown shoes soared past Kiyone's head, and the luckless
officer began to worry about exactly what sort of costume pieces Mihoshi had for
undercover work.
Kiyone shook off the disturbing images as her partner called to her from across
the room. "How about this? I don't think Space Police Policeman could do any
better even. Hey I wonder if my action figures will fit inside this pouch?"
Mihoshi rattled excitedly. A spandex, leopard-print top and miniskirt showed
off Mihoshi's astonishing figure, and Kiyone covered herself with her arms,
feeling suddenly self-conscious. The ditzy officer had found a lilac colored
Afro wig, which was indeed a striking contrast to her normal wavy blonde hair.
She'd mismatched her contacts, and had one reptile eye paired with one cat eye.
That much was easily fixed. She'd glued pointy ear extensions over the tips of
her own ears to make a cat-girl look, but the edges needed more glue and were
curling up. All in all the effect wasn't bad with a few adjustments.
By the time they boarded the small transport ship, which they had been assigned
for this mission, Mihoshi wore a perfected version of her cat-girl costume.
Kiyone had finally convinced her to leave her action figures on Yagami, and the
pouch, which Mihoshi wore slung around her hips contained items that Kiyone
considered practical essentials--money, blaster, costume makeup, hacking and
lock-picking gear. They blasted off for sector zero point two ready for
anything.
The hopeful pirate wannabe's assembled in the backroom of a smuggler's bar on
the industrial planet of Kemvar at the edge of the band of waste planets. One
big city covered the over-populated and polluted planet, and it was legend that
the last tree on Kemvar had died from the pollution two hundred years ago. In
its dark crowded streets and rooms the pirates easily blended in with the bleak
and sinister citizens.
"This place looks like a cyberpunk nightmare!" Ryoko complained to her partner,
as they entered the crowded room. He grunted in agreement, and both pirates
broke from the conversation as they surveyed the room's occupants. Surly,
muscular men filled the room to capacity. Most of them were covered with scars
and excessive body hair. Ryoko scanned the room for a flash of teal and blonde
but came up empty. Still searching the room, she noticed that there were only
two women in the entire crowd. They were seated on the far right of the room,
and one was desperately trying to restrain the other from waving. She
suppressed a snicker as she studied them from the corners of her eyes. Oh, the
costumes were lovely, but they weren't difficult to see through under the
circumstances. Where the hell had Mihoshi been keeping that wig anyhow? Ryoko
sincerely hoped she didn't wet herself laughing tonight. It would be bad for
her image.
"All-right, you wannabe's!" Ryoko snarled as she hopped onto the nearest table.
She unsnapped her cape and let it fall to the table. "This is where we separate
the men from the boys! You may think you're good enough to join my gang," she
challenged with a wide grin, "but now you have to convince me!" An enthusiastic
roar greeted her words. The promise of violence carried a great deal of weight
with this crowd.
At her nod, Hotsuma reached behind a framed beer poster and tripped a concealed
switch. The dingy greenish wall in the back rolled apart to reveal a fighting
pit surrounded by catwalks and set so that anyone in this room could easily
watch the action. It wasn't uncommon on Kemvar for people to wager on fights to
the death. It was however illegal, and so the bars and clubs kept hidden fight
parlors. Ryoko had rented out both backrooms for the night, so that she could
hold these tryouts. These might not be fights to the death, but Kiyone and
Mihoshi were going to have to earn their pay tonight.
"It's time for you all to divide up by specialty. Blaster experts, over there!
Knife fighters, left front of the room! Bare-handers by that long table! All-
arounders in the middle!" She pointed and nodded as she directed each group of
fighters. Ryoko nodded with satisfaction as the pirates all filed into their
groups. Mihoshi had joined the ranks of the blaster experts, whereas Kiyone was
grouped with the All-around fighters. Ryoko was going to have fun with this
one.
Ryoko ordered the members of the groups to pair off, and transmitter targets
were assigned to each combatant. The object of the test was to destroy the
opponent's transmitter. Winners would advance to face each other, and the
pirates who held the top ten positions from each discipline would be allowed
into the gang.
"Blasters!" Ryoko bellowed. She grabbed Mihoshi and a creepy pirate with a
robotic eye. "Looks like you two are up first! Show me what you've got," she
chortled, as she pushed them towards the ring. "Give'em hell, girl!" she
advised, giving Mihoshi a slap on the back before taking a seat beside Hotsuma.
The other groups clustered together on the catwalks to watch, and Ryoko laughed
to herself. "That poor slob won't even know what hit him," she told Hotsuma
with a wink.
He watched the cyborg spook glare meaningfully at the shaking cat-girl, who was
stammering something about a good fight. "You're kidding right?" he replied,
raising an eyebrow. "That's Ro-shen. He's famous in the Orion Belt." Hotsuma
only recognized a couple of the hopefuls as having built a reputation, and Ro-
shen was easily the most successful of them. Ryoko just sat cross-legged on her
chair and leaned forward, laughing brightly with excitement. Hotsuma shook his
head and watched as Ro-shen drew his blaster and fired a quick volley at the
woman with the Afro. She yelped pitifully, and avoided the shots by quickly
dodging to the left and right of them. "What the hell is she doing?" he asked
in shock, as the woman covered her eyes with one hand, and began rapidly firing
at her opponent.
Ryoko laughed so hard that she had to hold her sides, as she watched Mihoshi
clumsily rush and fire blindly at the confused sniper. She cheered loudly, when
one of Mihoshi's blasts struck home and sent the target shattering to the
corrugated metal floor. She turned to face her awestruck partner. "I think she
might just go all the way in that category," Ryoko choked as she wiped the
corners of her eyes.
"That was dumb luck!" Hotsuma replied in disbelief. She didn't match Zeltris's
description to the slightest degree, but this obviously had to be one of the
women he'd warned them about. Judging from Ryoko's reaction, Ryoko knew of her.
He let his questions wait for now; they'd be answered soon enough. For now, it
was enough to know that Ryoko didn't consider the women any immediate danger to
them.
"Yeah, they don't get any dumber or any luckier," Ryoko responded cheerfully.
The bold blue-haired woman and her reserved partner continued to trade
observations and quips as they watched the blaster contest unfold before them.
From the sidelines Kiyone too was cheering her partner on. In the final
pairing, Mihoshi faced down a brown haired space cowboy with a customized spread
shooter. It used internal splitters and mirrors to disperse six separate shots
in each blast.
Ryoko gripped the edge of her seat for support, as she watched Mihoshi hop past.
The ditz was desperately running away from the cowboy's preemptive attack, and
her mewling ow's and oh's filled the room like a litany. Ryoko snorted quietly
as a flash from the six-shooter singed the backside of Mihoshi's micro mini.
"Yeeeeep! Hey, that's no fair! You're not supposed to...oh...oh...oh... "
Squealed the desperate officer. Her blaster had run out of charge, so Mihoshi
dug through her pouch searching for her backup. Everything else seemed to come
to hand first, and she settled her grip upon the first solid square object that
she happened upon. The harried officer pulled the item out and held it between
her and the attacking cowboy, like a vampire hunter holding off the undead with
a crucifix. At the same instant the cowboy fired again. He watched in dull
horror as Mihoshi pulled out her makeup mirror and held it between them. The
flares of light raced through the air between them, and the one that was meant
for the cat-girl's transmitter bounced harmlessly off the outstretched mirror.
It reflected back at her pursuer and exploded against his target. The young
man's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
"Did I call it, or what?" Ryoko barked. "That match was like taking candy from
a baby!" She nodded decisively, and she and Hotsuma continued a running
commentary during the next two categories--alternately proving and disproving
their theories on the abilities of each fighter. When the All-around fighters
lined up to go, Ryoko again developed that intensity that she'd displayed during
the Blaster Face-off. The third match in would mark the debut fight of the
pink-haired punk girl, who'd been eyeing the rowdy space pirate all evening.
Kiyone fought exceptionally well against her opponents, despite the nagging fear
that Mihoshi would somehow blow their cover while she was preoccupied with her
qualifying fights. The first man she faced loomed over her at easily twice her
size, and Kiyone wondered exactly which pro-wrestling school he'd failed out of
before moving on to piracy. Although he was capable with weapons, he favored
barehanded attacks, and Kiyone spent most of her time on the defensive. She
dodged, using her speed to full advantage, while she looked for weaknesses to
exploit. He used his left fist in a guard stance to block his transmitter from
direct blows, while lashing out with his other meaty fist and kicking with his
muscular, trunk-like legs. He seemed ready to believe that as a girl she would
be easily deterred by the thought of having to really hurt him to get to the
transmitter.
Kiyone waited for one of his kicks and ducked between his legs. She punched
straight up into his groin and cursed in pain when her knuckles struck a
protective cup. Kiyone bit back a scream and kicked the back of his supporting
leg out from under him, as she scrambled out of the way still cradling her
injured fist.
She saw him limp to his feet and come after her again. Kiyone still angry about
her bloodied knuckles pulled her blaster and aimed for his transmitter. The
same fist came up protectively, testing to see if she really was tough enough to
shoot through him. Kiyone narrowed her field of vision to her intended target
and calmly squeezed the trigger. She watched the giant drop his hand
immediately and try to jump out of the way of her shot.
At the opening, Kiyone leapt forward and aimed a sidekick for his now exposed
shoulder. His own inertia carried him into the line of her kick and red glass
target button shattered under her spiked heel. Kiyone snapped her leg back
quickly and hopped backwards as the muscleman overbalanced and fell towards her.
He was too tall to avoid entirely, and the detective loudly crashed to the floor
on her bottom as the man landed facedown between her sprawled legs. "Why does
this stuff always happen to me?" she moaned at her graceless finish. From above
a woman's voice cackled stridently, while Mihoshi grinned cluelessly and gave
her partner a thumbs-up signal.
Kiyone too made it to the final match in her division, and her opponent was not
only fast and strong but also seemingly untroubled about using excessive force
during his attacks. He displayed it openly by firing a blaster shot at her head
rather than her transmitter. Kiyone screamed and quickly beat out a small fire,
which had started in her wig. The man sneered at her and gave her a
condescending wink. This fight could get dirty.
Kiyone felt her contacts stinging in her eyes at the smoke from the charred tips
of pink hair. She let the anger charge her with energy, but kept her mind
concentrated on only the battle before her. He'd pay for that, but only if she
kept control rather than falling into an obvious trap. She watched him reach
back to draw a sword from a sheath on his back. His long brown hair was bound
just above his shoulders and wrapped with a red leather thong just like the
handle of his katana--only the last foot of hair swinging free below the
wrapping. He narrowed his yellow-green eyes, and the stretchy red fabric of his
top rippled with his muscles like a predatory second skin as he rushed her.
Kiyone caught a glimpse of silver in his black wrist sheaths, and she jumped to
the side, ducking under his swipe as she drew one of his own blades to use
against him.
"Woohoo! Way to go Kiy... um... Kei-lynn!" Mihoshi caught herself from above.
Kiyone grimaced at the close call and redoubled her efforts to beat him as
quickly as possible. At the same time she saw an opportunity for revenge
against his hair, and she grasped it roughly by the binding, while she smoothly
severed the last foot and a half of hair with his razor sharp knife. He whirled
to face her, the remaining binding unraveling and releasing his roughly shorn
locks, which now only reached to just above his waist. Kiyone held up her prize
triumphantly and shot him a wink before tossing the severed mane at him.
She braced herself for the onslaught of venomous curses and brutal attacks, but
she was completely unprepared for what happened next. He caught the shorn
ponytail, and after a moment of staring silently his deep chuckle filled the
fight parlor. "That's the best luck you've had all night, lady!" he goaded.
Kiyone instantly flashed back to her many close calls and inelegant wins from
the night. So what if she wasn't lucky, she had the skill to compensate. "It
had nothing to do with luck," she replied aloofly. "You just left yourself
open." She watched the nearly murderous anger fill his eyes again, and she
grinned in satisfaction as he attacked her with a series of lunges and slashes.
It took everything she had to avoid his attack, but he was getting sloppier with
his fury.
Finally, she managed a successful back flip over one of his swipes and stood
stunned for a moment. He used her disbelief to his advantage and grabbed her
wrathfully, spinning her around, and placing the blade against her throat.
"Playtime is over." He growled at her leaning his head forward so that he could
whisper threateningly in her ear, as he reached for her transmitter. Ryoko and
several other spectators rose in alarm, poised to intervene if he didn't stop at
the transmitter.
Kiyone felt the flat side of the cool metal resting against her skin and knew
that she didn't have time to think if she wanted to stay in this competition.
She kicked her leg straight upward, smacking him in the head, before twisting
her body around in his grasp. She swept his leg out from under him, riding him
down to the ground as he grasped her upper arms. Before he could move further,
she shot out her right fist. It was still sore from her unlucky punch earlier,
but it would suffice. As they landed winded on the corrugated metal, she
smashed his transmitter with a hard jab.
The man panted tiredly, still holding Kiyone by the arms, and eyed the strange
woman with something approaching respect. "So you're not just a pretty face,"
he rasped at her. "Next time, you're toast, ...Kei-lynn." He promised with a
deep chuckle, before blowing her a little kiss.
After that final battle the top ten from each division lined up according to
their fighting rank, and Hotsuma took down their names. The losers were
inconsequential and were dismissed without further word. Kiyone gave her name
as Kei-lynn, and bit the inside of her cheek when her final rival identified
himself as Aicheron, a class A criminal who she'd been trying unsuccessfully to
track for the past three months. She quietly looked forward to busting his ass.
Kiyone nearly stopped breathing when the cold blonde pirate asked Mihoshi for
her name. Mihoshi paused thoughtfully. "Um.... It's Mi... Yah!" she screamed
as Kiyone stamped on her foot from the next line.
"Miya?" Hotsuma queried with raised eyebrows. Ryoko had her back turned trying
to smother a bout of laughter at the officers' antics and the ludicrous
pseudonym.
"Um... yep! I'm Miya!" Mihoshi replied cheerfully. "That's my name! Miya-
miya," she tittered sounding vaguely like Ryo-ohki. She giggled at the serious
man, as he wrote it into his record. Kiyone noticed once again just how easily
things seemed to go for her partner, and she sighed in private frustration. She
could feel eyes studying her from behind, and she shot around to hit Aicheron
with a dirty look when she caught him staring at her.
The new pirate band were led back to the hidden base, and those with smaller
ships were carried aboard Gaiyan with their ships either docked in one of the
larger vessels or carried by tractor beam. The two detectives were among those
aboard Gaiyan, and Ryoko was taking the opportunity to order them about--asking
them to serve her sake and going over ridiculous duty rosters with them.
Upon arriving at the base, Kiyone decided to take the opportunity to explore
while the rest of the gang settled in. She kept Mihoshi close in tow, as they
navigated the cave tunnels looking for information on the pirate's operation.
As they reached the junction between two hallways the sound of voices stopped
them in their tracks.
"I do believe you promised me an upgrade," Ryoko's voice purred from around the
corner, and Kiyone peeked around the wall to see the cyan haired woman cornering
her partner against one of the rough, stone walls.
"Careful, Princess, anyone could come along and see us," Hotsuma cautioned as he
adjusted his glasses. "You know I'll be only to happy to see to your needs in
private," he replied silkily.
Kiyone couldn't see exactly what Ryoko did next because her body blocked the
action from view, but she had a fine guess as the tall man closed his eyes and
arched his neck back, breathing rapidly. As Kiyone watched, he grabbed Ryoko
roughly against him and kissed her heatedly, exploring the softness of her mouth
with his sensitive tongue. The blue haired woman wrapped her arms around his
neck and made small hungry noises, which filtered down the empty corridor.
"You seem to be in a fine mood tonight, partner," he observed as he finally
broke away from the pull of her lips. He traced his fingers lightly along the
smooth skin of her cheek, and Ryoko leaned into his warm hand.
"Of course! Tonight was wonderful," she grinned. She traced a finger slowly
down Hotsuma's chest. "But you made me a promise this morning that I'm still
going to hold you to," the pirate cooed suggestively. "Now, let's teleport
someplace a little more private and discuss it." She leaned in towards his lips
again, just before the pair flickered out of being in the quiet passageway.
"He he. That was so sweet!" Mihoshi bubbled, clasping her hands and staring
dreamily at the spot the two pirates had just vacated. "Now I'm not nearly so
worried about Ryoko. Don't you agree, Kiy..."
Kiyone clamped her hand over the bouncy blonde's mouth. She was still in a
state of shock. Ryoko had never been more than three inches from Tenchi, if she
could help it. Now she was suddenly pirating in space with a strange new lover.
It wasn't just that it was such a large change, but it had happened so fast to
Kiyone's knowledge. "Actually, Miya, I'm just starting to worry now," she
whispered.
Kiyone heard the soft thud of footfalls directly behind them and whirled around.
She stared directly into a pair of yellowish-green eyes, and her breath caught
in her throat. What else could happen to her tonight?