Disclaimer: I don't own Iria (though I wouldn't mind it….) and I'm not making any money off this. (If I was, do you think you'd see this disclaimer?) The only thing I own here is this story and Shiv. She's mine, do you hear me? Mine! *laughs nervously* Okay…on with the show…..
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 2: Punch
Iria looked uncertainly around the huge room. "I still don't understand how we got invited here," she muttered. "This place is so stuffed with snobs, it's making me gag."
Fujikuro nodded sympathetically. "I hear ya. Another two minutes of this and I'm gonna end up spiking the punch to make things interesting."
The slow waltz music that had been playing sped up and Iria turned to Fujikuro. "You know…this is a ball. People have a tendency to dance at things like this."
Fujikuro mumbled nervously while Iria took him by the arm and dragged him out to the dance floor.
"Okay, this isn't as bad as I thought," Fujikuro muttered grudgingly.
Iria raised an eyebrow. "As bad as you thought? I'm the one who was worried I'd end up with flattened toes!"
He smirked. "And I thought I'd end up with those killer heels of yours through my shoes!"
They laughed, a tiny part of their minds aware of how much they were enjoying this.
"Smile, please!", chimed a voice, and a light flashed very close by.
While the pair was blinking away the light spots, a familiar voice said, "A copy of the picture will be sent to your residence, but I'll keep the negatives, thank you."
"Shiv?", Fujikuro whispered, rubbing at his eyes.
The blurry figure smiled. "Of course. You know, you two make a cute couple. Having fun on your date?"
"This is not a date!", the two protested as loud as they dared.
Shiv shrugged. "Whatever you say, Fuji. By the way, I think that spike the punchbowl idea has merit. As I'm sure you may have guessed, I rigged the guest list. Or rather, Daine did. I figured I'd stayed out of sight long enough. And this was the perfect excuse to set you two up on a date."
Before they could protest, she continued. "Listen, Fuji, before you commence with the drugging, could you pull off a gentlemanly act of getting two ladies some punch….."
Her voice faded as she looked over at the refreshment table, face blanching. "No…no….Can't be….Not him…."
Iria looked concerned. "Shiv, are you feeling okay?"
Almost imperceptibly, the woman shook her head. Taking her by the arms, Iria and Fujikuro lead her outside. Seating her on a bench, Iria asked, "Shiv, what's the matter? Are you sick? Do you want to go home?"
Shiv shook her head frantically. "No…no, I'll….be okay…It's just…I swear I saw him…God…but it couldn't have been…."
"Who?", Fujikuro demanded. "Who was it, Shiv?"
She looked up at him, green eyes pale. "It was Jiko. I swear to God it was Jiko."
Now it was Fujikuro's turn to shake his head. "Can't be. He's dead, Shiv. You gotta be sick or something."
Shiv bit her lower lip. "I know….I know….But still….It looked so much like him…." She looked up quickly and locked eyes with him. "Just go, then. Go and see for yourself. He was standing over by the punch bowl. Go and see and tell me that is not Jiko."
Fujikuro looked to Iria and she nodded. "I'll stay with her," she said. "You go and look."
Fujikuro nodded and headed back inside.
Edging cautiously through the maze of bodies, Fujikuro headed back to the edge of the dance floor, skirting it to reach the refreshment table. He swept his eyes back and forth, looking for a familiar face. He was about to turn around and leave when he spotted something. It was…No, no it wasn't, but the resemblance was uncanny. The hair was dark brown like Jiko's, but the eyes were more blue than gray-green. In fact, he seemed to be even about the right age. A cold chill ran down Fujikuro's spine.
As he watched, the young man looked up and, just visibly, nodded. It was as though he knew, as though he knew everything. Fujikuro made ready to force his way over to him. Before he could, several couples headed out to the dance floor, blocking the young man from view. By the time they cleared, he had vanished.
"Did you see him?", Shiv asked. "Did you?"
Fujikuro nodded. "I saw him, all right. He does look like Jiko, but it's not him. The eyes are wrong and there's something about him I can't put my finger on…..and I don't like it."
Shiv looked at the ground. "I knew it couldn't be him….but I wanted it to. Did you…Did you talk to him?"
Fujikuro shook his head. "Not for lack of trying. When I tried to get over there, a crowd got in my way, and by the time they moved, he was gone."
Shiv sighed. "I guess it was too much to hope for. I…I think I'll head back. You two can stay. Don't let me spoil your date."
The pair drew a breath to argue, but thought better of it.
"If that's what you want, I guess we can't stop you," Iria admitted. "Just be careful, okay?"
Shiv's face brightened for a moment and she grinned. "Of course, but come on. This is me your talking to."
"Exactly," Iria and Fujikuro replied.
Shiv laughed. "I don't care what either of you say. You two are adorable together."
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other; fear, shock, and disbelief only some of the emotions that flashed across their faces.
Shiv opened her mouth to speak, when something struck the ground by her emerald green hem. She yelped and screamed, "Run! Get out of here NOW!!"
Leaping from the bench, she scrambled away, remarkably quickly in such high heels. Iria and Fujikuro didn't argue; they just ran behind in her wake. The sound of an explosion only added to their speed.
"This way!", Shiv yelled, motioning with her arm for them to follow.
They sped around the corner to where Ship waited. Shiv pushed her glove down and shouted into her wristband. "Daine, it's Shiv! Emergency, code red! Lower shields!"
Without the usual chipper voice preceding, the shields disappeared and the trio dove inside. The shields snapped back into existence and Shiv began digging around in the back storage compartment.
"I know I put it back here….Where the hell….Aha! There you are, you tricky bastard, you!"
With a flourish, she shook out her grayish coat. Draping it loosely around her shoulders, she rummaged some more until she pulled out a duffel bag, from which she removed her tank top, shorts, thigh belt, and bandoleer. "Give me a sec, you two," she called over her shoulder and dove into the small cubby hole, drawing a panel shut behind her.
A few minutes later, she scrambled out, fully clothed and looking ready for war.
Iria and Fujikuro's eyes went wide. "Are you sure that's not a little extreme?", Iria said, surprised at how squeaky her voice sounded.
Shiv shook her head and tossed them both duffel bags. "Somebody's gunning for us. If you wanna know the truth, I think Remington finally decided to fulfill his contract."
The pair opened the duffels, gaping in shock at was lay inside. In Iria's, there was her jumpsuit and white body armor. In Fujikuro's, there was his usual hunting clothes as well.
"Where'd you get this!?!", they shouted.
Shiv grinned. "Okay, so my stiletto wasn't the only thing I took from your house….I figured you'd be too busy getting ready for your date to notice. Iria! Catch!" And she tossed her her blaster rifle.
Iria gaped again. "Why the….What are you doing with my rifle?!?"
Shiv tried, and failed, to look innocent. "So….I was thinking…What if we get jumped? And then….I mean we need enough weapons to go around….By the way, Fuji, your stuff's in the bottom of your bag…..Anyway, I took the rifle, okay? Aren't you glad I did?"
Iria sighed. "Okay, I'm glad. Just don't make this a habit."
Shiv raised a hand solemnly. "Please, you can trust me." No one noticed her crossed fingers behind her back. "We'd better get moving," she continued, brusquely. "I wanna get rid of Remington as fast as possible, and out of here even faster. If we're ever gonna finish this, we're gonna finish it tonight."
*******
Yup, I'm at it again. You guys having fun yet? This story has been fun to write and I intend to keep going on it for quite a while. Keep looking for part three!
Ja! ^_^ \/
PS: Yeah, Daine did come from a book, Xelena...Hehe...Guess you know which one...Also, as for the chapter deal, I've been writing my Iria stories long before I started publishing them. That's how I've made it up to chapter thirteen now (!) and only have the first two up. More soon!
Rating: PG-13 - language, violence
Ghosts of the Past
Part 2: Punch
Iria looked uncertainly around the huge room. "I still don't understand how we got invited here," she muttered. "This place is so stuffed with snobs, it's making me gag."
Fujikuro nodded sympathetically. "I hear ya. Another two minutes of this and I'm gonna end up spiking the punch to make things interesting."
The slow waltz music that had been playing sped up and Iria turned to Fujikuro. "You know…this is a ball. People have a tendency to dance at things like this."
Fujikuro mumbled nervously while Iria took him by the arm and dragged him out to the dance floor.
"Okay, this isn't as bad as I thought," Fujikuro muttered grudgingly.
Iria raised an eyebrow. "As bad as you thought? I'm the one who was worried I'd end up with flattened toes!"
He smirked. "And I thought I'd end up with those killer heels of yours through my shoes!"
They laughed, a tiny part of their minds aware of how much they were enjoying this.
"Smile, please!", chimed a voice, and a light flashed very close by.
While the pair was blinking away the light spots, a familiar voice said, "A copy of the picture will be sent to your residence, but I'll keep the negatives, thank you."
"Shiv?", Fujikuro whispered, rubbing at his eyes.
The blurry figure smiled. "Of course. You know, you two make a cute couple. Having fun on your date?"
"This is not a date!", the two protested as loud as they dared.
Shiv shrugged. "Whatever you say, Fuji. By the way, I think that spike the punchbowl idea has merit. As I'm sure you may have guessed, I rigged the guest list. Or rather, Daine did. I figured I'd stayed out of sight long enough. And this was the perfect excuse to set you two up on a date."
Before they could protest, she continued. "Listen, Fuji, before you commence with the drugging, could you pull off a gentlemanly act of getting two ladies some punch….."
Her voice faded as she looked over at the refreshment table, face blanching. "No…no….Can't be….Not him…."
Iria looked concerned. "Shiv, are you feeling okay?"
Almost imperceptibly, the woman shook her head. Taking her by the arms, Iria and Fujikuro lead her outside. Seating her on a bench, Iria asked, "Shiv, what's the matter? Are you sick? Do you want to go home?"
Shiv shook her head frantically. "No…no, I'll….be okay…It's just…I swear I saw him…God…but it couldn't have been…."
"Who?", Fujikuro demanded. "Who was it, Shiv?"
She looked up at him, green eyes pale. "It was Jiko. I swear to God it was Jiko."
Now it was Fujikuro's turn to shake his head. "Can't be. He's dead, Shiv. You gotta be sick or something."
Shiv bit her lower lip. "I know….I know….But still….It looked so much like him…." She looked up quickly and locked eyes with him. "Just go, then. Go and see for yourself. He was standing over by the punch bowl. Go and see and tell me that is not Jiko."
Fujikuro looked to Iria and she nodded. "I'll stay with her," she said. "You go and look."
Fujikuro nodded and headed back inside.
Edging cautiously through the maze of bodies, Fujikuro headed back to the edge of the dance floor, skirting it to reach the refreshment table. He swept his eyes back and forth, looking for a familiar face. He was about to turn around and leave when he spotted something. It was…No, no it wasn't, but the resemblance was uncanny. The hair was dark brown like Jiko's, but the eyes were more blue than gray-green. In fact, he seemed to be even about the right age. A cold chill ran down Fujikuro's spine.
As he watched, the young man looked up and, just visibly, nodded. It was as though he knew, as though he knew everything. Fujikuro made ready to force his way over to him. Before he could, several couples headed out to the dance floor, blocking the young man from view. By the time they cleared, he had vanished.
"Did you see him?", Shiv asked. "Did you?"
Fujikuro nodded. "I saw him, all right. He does look like Jiko, but it's not him. The eyes are wrong and there's something about him I can't put my finger on…..and I don't like it."
Shiv looked at the ground. "I knew it couldn't be him….but I wanted it to. Did you…Did you talk to him?"
Fujikuro shook his head. "Not for lack of trying. When I tried to get over there, a crowd got in my way, and by the time they moved, he was gone."
Shiv sighed. "I guess it was too much to hope for. I…I think I'll head back. You two can stay. Don't let me spoil your date."
The pair drew a breath to argue, but thought better of it.
"If that's what you want, I guess we can't stop you," Iria admitted. "Just be careful, okay?"
Shiv's face brightened for a moment and she grinned. "Of course, but come on. This is me your talking to."
"Exactly," Iria and Fujikuro replied.
Shiv laughed. "I don't care what either of you say. You two are adorable together."
Iria and Fujikuro looked at each other; fear, shock, and disbelief only some of the emotions that flashed across their faces.
Shiv opened her mouth to speak, when something struck the ground by her emerald green hem. She yelped and screamed, "Run! Get out of here NOW!!"
Leaping from the bench, she scrambled away, remarkably quickly in such high heels. Iria and Fujikuro didn't argue; they just ran behind in her wake. The sound of an explosion only added to their speed.
"This way!", Shiv yelled, motioning with her arm for them to follow.
They sped around the corner to where Ship waited. Shiv pushed her glove down and shouted into her wristband. "Daine, it's Shiv! Emergency, code red! Lower shields!"
Without the usual chipper voice preceding, the shields disappeared and the trio dove inside. The shields snapped back into existence and Shiv began digging around in the back storage compartment.
"I know I put it back here….Where the hell….Aha! There you are, you tricky bastard, you!"
With a flourish, she shook out her grayish coat. Draping it loosely around her shoulders, she rummaged some more until she pulled out a duffel bag, from which she removed her tank top, shorts, thigh belt, and bandoleer. "Give me a sec, you two," she called over her shoulder and dove into the small cubby hole, drawing a panel shut behind her.
A few minutes later, she scrambled out, fully clothed and looking ready for war.
Iria and Fujikuro's eyes went wide. "Are you sure that's not a little extreme?", Iria said, surprised at how squeaky her voice sounded.
Shiv shook her head and tossed them both duffel bags. "Somebody's gunning for us. If you wanna know the truth, I think Remington finally decided to fulfill his contract."
The pair opened the duffels, gaping in shock at was lay inside. In Iria's, there was her jumpsuit and white body armor. In Fujikuro's, there was his usual hunting clothes as well.
"Where'd you get this!?!", they shouted.
Shiv grinned. "Okay, so my stiletto wasn't the only thing I took from your house….I figured you'd be too busy getting ready for your date to notice. Iria! Catch!" And she tossed her her blaster rifle.
Iria gaped again. "Why the….What are you doing with my rifle?!?"
Shiv tried, and failed, to look innocent. "So….I was thinking…What if we get jumped? And then….I mean we need enough weapons to go around….By the way, Fuji, your stuff's in the bottom of your bag…..Anyway, I took the rifle, okay? Aren't you glad I did?"
Iria sighed. "Okay, I'm glad. Just don't make this a habit."
Shiv raised a hand solemnly. "Please, you can trust me." No one noticed her crossed fingers behind her back. "We'd better get moving," she continued, brusquely. "I wanna get rid of Remington as fast as possible, and out of here even faster. If we're ever gonna finish this, we're gonna finish it tonight."
*******
Yup, I'm at it again. You guys having fun yet? This story has been fun to write and I intend to keep going on it for quite a while. Keep looking for part three!
Ja! ^_^ \/
PS: Yeah, Daine did come from a book, Xelena...Hehe...Guess you know which one...Also, as for the chapter deal, I've been writing my Iria stories long before I started publishing them. That's how I've made it up to chapter thirteen now (!) and only have the first two up. More soon!