Kyoko's eye's flashed. Her black and silver dress flew upwards as
she continued to drop directly towards the ground. Her silver bow and
arrow was armed and pointing directly in front of her. It glimmered in the
moonlight coming from behind her. Her hair was up it the usual ponytail,
and was dancing around her head. Her legs were bent, and if she didn't
stop soon, she was going to slam into the ground.
Beside her, her partner Ryoko was flying directly at the ground as well. She was wearing her black battle suit. Her left shoulder and arm was red. It was one of her only battle suits without the puffy shoulders. Her sword formed and was in striking position. The wind blowing the opposite way was causing her hair to fly this way and that.
"Ready? Okay!" Nobuyuki called out to them. He clicked the shutter button of his camera and the two pirates blinked spots out of their eyes as they landed smoothly on the ground.
"All right, Ryoko, I want a copy of that picture. I ain't lettin' you have the only copy again!"
Kyoko told the one next to her. They had just gotten another picture of just the two of them taken. It was Ryoko's idea to get a more recent version of the picture on her dresser done.
"Fine, fine," Ryoko said.
Two weeks had passed since Kyoko had joined the family, and when Nobuyuki had gotten home from Kyoto, he had wasted no time in greeting her with his usual perverted and flirty personality. Needless to say, after their first meeting, Kyoko pretty much tried to avoid Tenchi's father.
Ryoko's dreams had still been bothering her in the past weeks. She had had a total of five in two weeks, ten in four, and they were exactly the same. The disembodied voice, her pain, lots and lots of blood; you know, the works. Each time she woke up screaming, and each time she felt like a fool because of it. Tenchi, Kyoko, and Sasami said she shouldn't, but it didn't help. Last time they told her that, she told them they should try it. They avoided talking to her the next day, in fear of their throats.
Amazingly, the Masaki household pretty much returned to normal…well, as normal as it ever could be. Kyoko, much to everyone's surprise (and Aeka and Ryoko's joy) did not go after Tenchi's heart. Instead, the two became nothing more than friends. And now, two weeks later, Kyoko found she fit in pretty well.
Ryoko and Kyoko turned back to the house, leaving behind their perverted photographer. They walked in silence until Ryoko voiced something Washuu had pointed out to her after breakfast the day before.
"You were 1,087 when you supposedly died, weren't you?" she asked, cyan eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, it's just that…uh," Ryoko hesitated. "It's just that, Kiyone said your GP file read 1112."
"Oh," Kyoko said, only mildly interested.
"I've never known the Galaxy Police to slip up like that," Ryoko was reaching the climax of her conversation.
"Typo," came the response.
"Well, you know how Washuu is researching the 'hackability' of important files. She said a few weeks ago, someone hacked into the Galaxy Police's files and changed a few things." She was almost there.
"Hmm, really?" Kyoko had an idea of where this was going. All right, accuse me, Ryoko. I dare ya! She mentally challenged. And, sure enough…
"Why did you change your age, of all things?" There it was. The accusation; the climax.
"Who said I did it?" the red headed pirate demanded.
"Washuu. She said your file was the only one changed." The demon summoner was getting nervous. Maybe Kyoko hadn't done anything. Not to mention, Ryoko was getting a death glare like no other. Suddenly, her partner's face broke into a mischievous grin.
"Well, all right, I did change my age and I reworded my cause of death," Kyoko admitted, thinking, And deleted half my file. "What are you going to do, tell on me?"
"Ha! I knew it! A hundred and fifty yen to me!" Ryoko screamed in triumph. Then realizing she had just screamed out that she and Washuu had had a bet on her best friend, she went to another question. "So, why did you hack into your file? You know you would have been better off prancing around in front of old what-his-name, Trakal or whatever."
"You mean that special operative?"
"That's the one."
"Yeah, I know, but I don't care."
"So, why'd ya do it?" Ryoko repeated.
"Shits and grins," Kyoko replied, not really knowing the answer herself.
"All right, new tactic, since you're being so stubborn," Ryoko joked. Kyoko laughed a little. "How'd you do it?"
The dark eyed woman stopped in her tracks. That's a good question, Ryoko.
Ryoko knew the one beside her had stopped walking, but she continued. "I mean, you never knew how to hack before."
"I…I know. I don't know how I did it," Kyoko said, looking up at the back of the summoner's head. This stopped Ryoko.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I don't know how to hack, so I don't know how I did it."
"Whatever," Ryoko said, not knowing what to make of her friend's response.
~*~
That night, when everyone was asleep, Kyoko lie in her bed, tossing and turning. Deep in her mind, she was losing control.
Everything was dark, and Kyoko, in her battle suit, stood in the middle of it all. Her mind was screaming at her, only, it wasn't her mind. It couldn't have been! It told her she must destroy the enemy.
"But, who is the enemy?" she asked herself. A cold feeling ran through her body, as if her blood had been frozen inside her arteries and veins.
You know who it is, her mind told her.
"Who are you?"
I am you.
"Get out of my head! You are not me!" she screamed, clutching her head in her hands.
Have you forgotten who you are? You are the Space Pirate Kyoko! You live to destroy!
"No, you can't make me!" Her voice shook with fear. Fear of herself. "You're right! I am the Space Pirate Kyoko! But you are not! Get out!" Tears began to well up in her eyes and spray out. Her breathing became unsteady, and she began to hyperventilate. She was losing control. Her mind was stopping her breathing.
Kyoko was jerked awake by the now familiar scream of Ryoko.
"Jesus, what is going on?" she asked herself, sitting up in bed. Her black silk pajamas were damp with sweat.
Ryoko's scream stopped, and Kyoko rose out of her bed. She leaned back, and her back popped in numerous places. Rubbing her eyes, she walked to the door and opened it. Stepping out onto the dimly lit floor, Kyoko began to follow Sasami, Kiyone, and Tenchi to Ryoko's room. They met up with Washuu, who was coming up the stairs.
When the group entered the pirate's room, they found her sitting up and staring out of the window. Her hair was messier than usual, as though she had been clawing at it. Apparently, she'd gotten pissed with herself for screaming again.
"Before you ask," she began without looking at anyone, "I'm fine, it was the exact same dream, and I still haven't figured out who the voice belongs to." She'd gotten the whole routine down.
"Ryoko, are…I…hmm," Kyoko was at a loss for words.
Sasami walked over to Ryoko's bedside and knelt down on the matters. The demon summoner turned her attention to the little princess and smiled.
"Do you want some hot cocoa?" Sasami asked. "I can make some."
"Sure, that sounds good," Ryoko replied, and she allowed herself to be lead out of bed by the blue hared princess.
"Are you going to join us?" Sasami asked, looking hopefully at the rest.
"I'll pass, Sasami-chan," Kyoko said. "I have a few things to think about."
"No thanks, Sasami. I'd probably fall asleep in it," said Tenchi.
"A firmative!" Washuu excitedly agreed.
"I'll join you three," Kiyone nodded.
"Party poopers!" Sasami whispered to the two who decided not to join in. Kyoko responded with a look of fake innocence. Tenchi didn't respond.
Everyone departed from the room. Kyoko walked slowly down the hall to her room. When she entered, she looked around. The walls were painted light blue, and sponged with dark blue. There were silver moons, stars, suns, and planets stamped over the contrasting blues. She had dark blue curtains over her windows and two sets of star lights in each corner. On her ceiling, though the light had already drained out of them, there were glow in the dark stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. The comforter on her futon was dark blue with silver suns, moons, and stars printed on it. The sheets were light blue with dark blue shapes. She had really done a successful job of creating the celestial mood of her room, and she was very proud of it. Of course, it was Washuu's science that helped bring it to life, but it was Kyoko's idea.
Kyoko walked over to her bed and lay back down, bringing the covers up to her stomach. She folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling.
I wonder if it's coincidence…she thought. Her dream flashed in her mind. The darkness, the feeling of loneliness, the voice in her head, telling her to destroy the enemy. But just who was the enemy? Kyoko was clueless.
1 It's gotta be coincidence. My dream has nothing to do with Ryoko's…
~*~
Sunlight drifted through the curtains in Mihoshi and Kiyone's room. Quiet footsteps could be heard as the teal hared GP Officer made her way over to the dresser. She was thankful to have a room, let alone a nice room like this. There were pastel yellow curtains, lamps, and blankets. No carpet, though. Just a nicely finished wooden floor. It was very fortunate that the two women had a place to stay, especially after being evicted from their apartment (they fell too far behind on payments).
Kiyone reached the dresser and quietly pulled out the top drawer. When she slid it out, she looked back at Mihoshi, to see if she had awakened. The blonde was still snoring, drool trickling down the left side of her mouth. Silently, Kiyone turned back to the drawer, and pulled out a pair of jeans shorts and a white T-shirt with red sleeves. She wished she could phase, like Ryoko, but, seeing she was nothing like the space pirate, she couldn't. So, she settled for the harder way: manual.
She slipped off her sky blue silky shorts and attempted to put on her jeans. However, her foot caught in the material, and the officer fell backwards onto her futon. Beside her, her partner snorted, grumbled, and slept on. Looking at her, Kiyone shook her head.
You could sleep through anything, Mihoshi, she thought. Which is why I drive.
Carefully, Kiyone finished getting dressed on her futon, then she quietly walked out of the room and down the stairs.
When she reached the landing, the mouth watering smell of Sasami's cooking reached her nostrils. She wanted to waltz right in the kitchen and taste test breakfast, but she knew she'd wind up eating it all. So, instead, she walked outside to get a breath of fresh morning air.
The sky was a bright, forget-me-not blue with little tiny puffs of clouds. The sun cast a bright, yellowish white light on the ground. In the distance, the lake glimmered. The breeze sang softly in Kiyone's ears. It spoke words to quiet to understand, but loud enough, you knew they were there. The wind never sang like that.
The blue eyed young woman walked down to the shore of the lake. When she reached the pearly white sand, she realized the wind's song was actually being sung by…Funaho? Nah…couldn't be. Carefully, Kiyone jumped from rock to rock until she reached the roots of the former ship. Up in its branches, Kyoko sat, singing the song.
2 "Nani ge nai kono omoi
Nee, hito wa donna kotoba de
Yondeiru no
3 Shiroi suna no tsuki"
The words flowed from her mouth and to the wind. Her voice was like that of an angel's, beautiful and soft.
4 "Toji kometa hanashi o
Hikari furasu you ni
Kikasete ne sotto."
Kyoko looked down to see Kiyone, mesmerized by her voice, and she immediately stopped. She brushed her long, red bangs out of her eyes and blushed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was out here," she apologized.
"Don't apologize!" Kiyone told her. "You have a beautiful voice!"
"Thank you," the red head mumbled, going a deeper shade of crimson.
"Please, continue!"
The space pirate smiled at the begging officer. "I…I don't remember the rest."
"Oh." Kiyone was disappointed. "Where'd you learn to sing like that?"
"I dunno. I've been singing for as long as I can remember." Kyoko jumped from the tree and landed gingerly on the roots. Her red hair was back in a long, low braid. She was wearing her usual black. Her shorts, boots, and shirt were black, and on her shirt was a silver crescent moon and star. Red, black, and silver seemed to be the pirate's favorite colors.
"Do you think we should head back to the house for breakfast?" she asked the Galaxy Police officer.
"Yeah, probably." Kiyone turned and began to walk back towards the shore. Kyoko followed her, floating over the water.
~*~
Nighttime had fallen upon the city of Okayama. Clouds and haze covered the moon. A lone wolf jumped swiftly from tree to tree until it reached its destination. Carefully, it jumped to the ground, landing in a crouching position. The wind ruffled its black cloak as it stood and lowered its hood to get a better look at the house that lay before it…
Ryoko sat on the windowsill in her room, her golden eyes watching outside. The dull black sky didn't prevent her from looking at her surroundings. Many things ran through her head.
My dreams. What do they mean? She thought. They were all the same. She had only recently begun to wonder if they had any real significance to reality. She would spend hours on end thinking about them, wondering if they meant something was going on.
The demon summoner was so engrossed in her thoughts; she jumped when she saw a shadow move out on the lawn. But it was only a shadow. Or so she thought. But when it kept moving closer and closer to the house, she realized it was a living person. A living person with a black cloak and messed up hair.
NO! Ryoko screamed mentally. Damnit!
Quietly, she slipped off the windowsill and teleported outside. She hid in the shadows, waiting for the visitor to arrive…
A little Kyoko ran through the woods. Ahead of her ran an even younger Ryoko, and ahead of her ran a few of the girls' old classmates. Their faces couldn't be made out, but they were there. They were there playing hide and seek tag, just like back before the cyan hared little girl and the red hared little girl became pirates.
"Come on, Kyoko! Can'tcha catch us?" a little boy called over his shoulder.
"I'm coming, Haruki, and it's gonna be you I'm gonna get!" Kyoko threatened. She knew there was no way she was going to catch him on foot, but in the air was a different story. The little girl rose and began to fly as her surroundings changed. It became a little child's dream world. A world where the clouds were cotton candy and the trees were gumdrops and licorice.
She flew over the cyan-hared child, who'd stop to drink happily from a chocolate river. Quickly, she gained on a little boy who had dark mahogany skin and long, black hair. Her hand reached out and found the boy's back, and she pushed. He fell face first into the river and came up, spitting chocolate out of his mouth like a fountain.
"No fair flying!" Haruki complained.
"No one said it was against the rules," Kyoko said, a look of pure innocence overtaking her. The rest of the kids came out of hiding and began to laugh.
"Bombs away!" the red head screamed as she landed on the ground, took a few steps back and ran at the river. Her feet pushed hard against the surgary grass and she jumped into the chocolate water, causing it to splash up and ripple. Following her example, the rest of the boys and girls, including Ryoko, jumped in as well. Kyoko began to splash one of the faceless girls when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw two outlines standing in fighting stances.
One of the outlines had spiked and out of control hair and a very slim body.
"Ryoko?" she whispered. Everything around her froze where it was as Kyoko looked at the other outline. It was tall, slim, and unrecognizable to the little girl. Their voices drifted into the dream world. They were shouting at each other. The candy world disappeared as the now modern Kyoko stood, staring at the illuminated shapes…
Kyoko grumbled and cursed as hating voices drifted through her open window. She pulled the blanket up to cover her head, but it was no use. The battling people still disturbed her. Cursing again, she got up and walked over to the window. She looked out, but saw no one.
Slowly, she got up on the sill and jumped down. The cold wind rushing the opposite way woke her up a little, but not enough. She stumbled slightly as her feet hit the ground. Slowly (and still grumbling angrily), she walked to the front of the Masaki house to see two shadows. She knew one of them was Ryoko, so that's who she focused her attention on.
"Hey Ryoko-san, would you mind keeping it DOWN?!" Kyoko screamed.
"Uh…um…" Ryoko was obviously shaken by the fact someone had heard her. "Sorry, Kyoko-san! Go back to sleep, now."
"Yeah, whatever," Kyoko yawned. She turned around and began to walk back to the house when the other person's voice stopped her.
"Hold it!" they called in a deep voice. Well, it was definitely a girl's voice, and Kyoko knew she had heard it before, but it wasn't until she felt the bright purple whip wrap itself around her wrist did she realize who it was. Suddenly, Kyoko didn't feel so tired anymore. She froze in place as the cold voice rang out across the grass again.
"What are you doing alive?" she asked. Kyoko whipped around, breaking the grip of the whip on her wrist.
"I guess I should ask you the same question…Nagi," Kyoko said, anger rising. She walked over to stand by her partner, and they shared a momentary glance before they turned their eyes back to the bounty hunter. She had silvery purple hair that was thrown back, and bright red eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate any person's mind. Her black cloak covered her extremely odd ensemble underneath.
The three stared each other down. Then, Kyoko, fed up with the staring contest, brought forth her bow and arrows. Nagi, seeing her movement, quickly pulled her gold and red sword from her belt. Ryoko, not wanting to be the only one without a weapon, formed her red sword. Then, she attacked Nagi.
The bounty hunter saw the attack coming, and silently deflected Ryoko's attack. The two swords clashed, and Kyoko fired the first arrow. It narrowly missed the struggling pair.
"Kyoko, forget the arrows and get out of here!" Ryoko screamed.
"Hell no, I ain't leavin' you alone!" Kyoko called as Nagi tried to come after her. The red headed pirate dodged the attack.
That was all that was said for a while. The three continued to fight, two on one, until Kyoko screamed when Nagi's sword made contact with her left shoulder. Nagi could hear and feel the flesh and muscle tearing. Blood spilled out over the black nightshirt that covered Kyoko's upper body. Kyoko fell to her knees, clutching her wound. Nagi took advantage of her fall and backhanded the pirate. She fell backwards, sprawled out on the ground.
Nagi turned around to go after Ryoko, who was on the ground, wiping blood from her lip. Behind her, Tenchi, Kiyone, Washuu, and Aeka stood, staring confusedly at her. She smirked and shook her head.
"Ryoko, your backup is here," she sneered.
Ryoko turned around to see everyone staring at her, perplexed. When she turned back, Nagi had disappeared. She looked everywhere, but there was no sign of the bounty hunter.
"Well, Ryoko, Kyoko," Nagi's voice echoed across the sky as the ship Ken- ohki came into view. "We'll continue this battle when you're more worthy of a fight." Peels of her laughter shattered the sky, and the silvery white ship shot out of the planet's atmosphere.
Ryoko got off the ground, letting her sword fade. She walked over to her partner and pulled her up. They both stared up at the sky and Kyoko's hand shot up to the crystal dangling from her neck, but Ryoko stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"No, it's not worth it," she said. Kyoko started to object, but, stopped. "We should have Washuu check out your shoulder."
The red head lifted her hand to her injury as the two began to walk back. Tenchi and Washuu ran over to the two.
"Was that…" Tenchi began. Washuu immediately took to caring for Kyoko.
"Yeah, that was Nagi." Ryoko glanced back to the sky.
"Are you all right?" The young successor reached for Ryoko's face, using his thumb to wipe the blood that dripped from her lip. The summoner raised her hand to his and held it, pressing her cheek into his palm, and closing her eyes. Tenchi blushed deeply.
"I'm fine," she assured him, speaking in a soft tone.
The quartet walked back into the house, joining Aeka (who looked furious at the thought of Ryoko touching her precious Tenchi) and Kiyone at the door. Washuu had somehow managed to convince Kyoko to follow her to the lab, and everyone else departed to his or her rooms.
"Well, Kyoko," Ryoko said, before she ascended the steps, "looks as though we have to work on our fight, seeing as we're not worthy of battle."
Kyoko could hear the sarcasm in her friend's voice. She smiled devilishly and replied, "Oh, that'll be fun…"
~Notes from Minagi~
Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It may not be the best one, but at least it works. There are a few things I want to say. First off, the song Kyoko was singing was "Hiiru no Tsuki". It's the first Outlaw Star ending song, and therefore, I DON'T OWN IT! Second, pat yourself on the back if you understood the part where I referred to Nagi as "a lone wolf". In the TV episode "No Need for Arch Rivals", Kiyone refers to Nagi as the same thing. Well, thanx for reviewing! Keep em coming, I love to hear feedback!
Beside her, her partner Ryoko was flying directly at the ground as well. She was wearing her black battle suit. Her left shoulder and arm was red. It was one of her only battle suits without the puffy shoulders. Her sword formed and was in striking position. The wind blowing the opposite way was causing her hair to fly this way and that.
"Ready? Okay!" Nobuyuki called out to them. He clicked the shutter button of his camera and the two pirates blinked spots out of their eyes as they landed smoothly on the ground.
"All right, Ryoko, I want a copy of that picture. I ain't lettin' you have the only copy again!"
Kyoko told the one next to her. They had just gotten another picture of just the two of them taken. It was Ryoko's idea to get a more recent version of the picture on her dresser done.
"Fine, fine," Ryoko said.
Two weeks had passed since Kyoko had joined the family, and when Nobuyuki had gotten home from Kyoto, he had wasted no time in greeting her with his usual perverted and flirty personality. Needless to say, after their first meeting, Kyoko pretty much tried to avoid Tenchi's father.
Ryoko's dreams had still been bothering her in the past weeks. She had had a total of five in two weeks, ten in four, and they were exactly the same. The disembodied voice, her pain, lots and lots of blood; you know, the works. Each time she woke up screaming, and each time she felt like a fool because of it. Tenchi, Kyoko, and Sasami said she shouldn't, but it didn't help. Last time they told her that, she told them they should try it. They avoided talking to her the next day, in fear of their throats.
Amazingly, the Masaki household pretty much returned to normal…well, as normal as it ever could be. Kyoko, much to everyone's surprise (and Aeka and Ryoko's joy) did not go after Tenchi's heart. Instead, the two became nothing more than friends. And now, two weeks later, Kyoko found she fit in pretty well.
Ryoko and Kyoko turned back to the house, leaving behind their perverted photographer. They walked in silence until Ryoko voiced something Washuu had pointed out to her after breakfast the day before.
"You were 1,087 when you supposedly died, weren't you?" she asked, cyan eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, it's just that…uh," Ryoko hesitated. "It's just that, Kiyone said your GP file read 1112."
"Oh," Kyoko said, only mildly interested.
"I've never known the Galaxy Police to slip up like that," Ryoko was reaching the climax of her conversation.
"Typo," came the response.
"Well, you know how Washuu is researching the 'hackability' of important files. She said a few weeks ago, someone hacked into the Galaxy Police's files and changed a few things." She was almost there.
"Hmm, really?" Kyoko had an idea of where this was going. All right, accuse me, Ryoko. I dare ya! She mentally challenged. And, sure enough…
"Why did you change your age, of all things?" There it was. The accusation; the climax.
"Who said I did it?" the red headed pirate demanded.
"Washuu. She said your file was the only one changed." The demon summoner was getting nervous. Maybe Kyoko hadn't done anything. Not to mention, Ryoko was getting a death glare like no other. Suddenly, her partner's face broke into a mischievous grin.
"Well, all right, I did change my age and I reworded my cause of death," Kyoko admitted, thinking, And deleted half my file. "What are you going to do, tell on me?"
"Ha! I knew it! A hundred and fifty yen to me!" Ryoko screamed in triumph. Then realizing she had just screamed out that she and Washuu had had a bet on her best friend, she went to another question. "So, why did you hack into your file? You know you would have been better off prancing around in front of old what-his-name, Trakal or whatever."
"You mean that special operative?"
"That's the one."
"Yeah, I know, but I don't care."
"So, why'd ya do it?" Ryoko repeated.
"Shits and grins," Kyoko replied, not really knowing the answer herself.
"All right, new tactic, since you're being so stubborn," Ryoko joked. Kyoko laughed a little. "How'd you do it?"
The dark eyed woman stopped in her tracks. That's a good question, Ryoko.
Ryoko knew the one beside her had stopped walking, but she continued. "I mean, you never knew how to hack before."
"I…I know. I don't know how I did it," Kyoko said, looking up at the back of the summoner's head. This stopped Ryoko.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I don't know how to hack, so I don't know how I did it."
"Whatever," Ryoko said, not knowing what to make of her friend's response.
~*~
That night, when everyone was asleep, Kyoko lie in her bed, tossing and turning. Deep in her mind, she was losing control.
Everything was dark, and Kyoko, in her battle suit, stood in the middle of it all. Her mind was screaming at her, only, it wasn't her mind. It couldn't have been! It told her she must destroy the enemy.
"But, who is the enemy?" she asked herself. A cold feeling ran through her body, as if her blood had been frozen inside her arteries and veins.
You know who it is, her mind told her.
"Who are you?"
I am you.
"Get out of my head! You are not me!" she screamed, clutching her head in her hands.
Have you forgotten who you are? You are the Space Pirate Kyoko! You live to destroy!
"No, you can't make me!" Her voice shook with fear. Fear of herself. "You're right! I am the Space Pirate Kyoko! But you are not! Get out!" Tears began to well up in her eyes and spray out. Her breathing became unsteady, and she began to hyperventilate. She was losing control. Her mind was stopping her breathing.
Kyoko was jerked awake by the now familiar scream of Ryoko.
"Jesus, what is going on?" she asked herself, sitting up in bed. Her black silk pajamas were damp with sweat.
Ryoko's scream stopped, and Kyoko rose out of her bed. She leaned back, and her back popped in numerous places. Rubbing her eyes, she walked to the door and opened it. Stepping out onto the dimly lit floor, Kyoko began to follow Sasami, Kiyone, and Tenchi to Ryoko's room. They met up with Washuu, who was coming up the stairs.
When the group entered the pirate's room, they found her sitting up and staring out of the window. Her hair was messier than usual, as though she had been clawing at it. Apparently, she'd gotten pissed with herself for screaming again.
"Before you ask," she began without looking at anyone, "I'm fine, it was the exact same dream, and I still haven't figured out who the voice belongs to." She'd gotten the whole routine down.
"Ryoko, are…I…hmm," Kyoko was at a loss for words.
Sasami walked over to Ryoko's bedside and knelt down on the matters. The demon summoner turned her attention to the little princess and smiled.
"Do you want some hot cocoa?" Sasami asked. "I can make some."
"Sure, that sounds good," Ryoko replied, and she allowed herself to be lead out of bed by the blue hared princess.
"Are you going to join us?" Sasami asked, looking hopefully at the rest.
"I'll pass, Sasami-chan," Kyoko said. "I have a few things to think about."
"No thanks, Sasami. I'd probably fall asleep in it," said Tenchi.
"A firmative!" Washuu excitedly agreed.
"I'll join you three," Kiyone nodded.
"Party poopers!" Sasami whispered to the two who decided not to join in. Kyoko responded with a look of fake innocence. Tenchi didn't respond.
Everyone departed from the room. Kyoko walked slowly down the hall to her room. When she entered, she looked around. The walls were painted light blue, and sponged with dark blue. There were silver moons, stars, suns, and planets stamped over the contrasting blues. She had dark blue curtains over her windows and two sets of star lights in each corner. On her ceiling, though the light had already drained out of them, there were glow in the dark stars, planets, and other celestial bodies. The comforter on her futon was dark blue with silver suns, moons, and stars printed on it. The sheets were light blue with dark blue shapes. She had really done a successful job of creating the celestial mood of her room, and she was very proud of it. Of course, it was Washuu's science that helped bring it to life, but it was Kyoko's idea.
Kyoko walked over to her bed and lay back down, bringing the covers up to her stomach. She folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling.
I wonder if it's coincidence…she thought. Her dream flashed in her mind. The darkness, the feeling of loneliness, the voice in her head, telling her to destroy the enemy. But just who was the enemy? Kyoko was clueless.
1 It's gotta be coincidence. My dream has nothing to do with Ryoko's…
~*~
Sunlight drifted through the curtains in Mihoshi and Kiyone's room. Quiet footsteps could be heard as the teal hared GP Officer made her way over to the dresser. She was thankful to have a room, let alone a nice room like this. There were pastel yellow curtains, lamps, and blankets. No carpet, though. Just a nicely finished wooden floor. It was very fortunate that the two women had a place to stay, especially after being evicted from their apartment (they fell too far behind on payments).
Kiyone reached the dresser and quietly pulled out the top drawer. When she slid it out, she looked back at Mihoshi, to see if she had awakened. The blonde was still snoring, drool trickling down the left side of her mouth. Silently, Kiyone turned back to the drawer, and pulled out a pair of jeans shorts and a white T-shirt with red sleeves. She wished she could phase, like Ryoko, but, seeing she was nothing like the space pirate, she couldn't. So, she settled for the harder way: manual.
She slipped off her sky blue silky shorts and attempted to put on her jeans. However, her foot caught in the material, and the officer fell backwards onto her futon. Beside her, her partner snorted, grumbled, and slept on. Looking at her, Kiyone shook her head.
You could sleep through anything, Mihoshi, she thought. Which is why I drive.
Carefully, Kiyone finished getting dressed on her futon, then she quietly walked out of the room and down the stairs.
When she reached the landing, the mouth watering smell of Sasami's cooking reached her nostrils. She wanted to waltz right in the kitchen and taste test breakfast, but she knew she'd wind up eating it all. So, instead, she walked outside to get a breath of fresh morning air.
The sky was a bright, forget-me-not blue with little tiny puffs of clouds. The sun cast a bright, yellowish white light on the ground. In the distance, the lake glimmered. The breeze sang softly in Kiyone's ears. It spoke words to quiet to understand, but loud enough, you knew they were there. The wind never sang like that.
The blue eyed young woman walked down to the shore of the lake. When she reached the pearly white sand, she realized the wind's song was actually being sung by…Funaho? Nah…couldn't be. Carefully, Kiyone jumped from rock to rock until she reached the roots of the former ship. Up in its branches, Kyoko sat, singing the song.
2 "Nani ge nai kono omoi
Nee, hito wa donna kotoba de
Yondeiru no
3 Shiroi suna no tsuki"
The words flowed from her mouth and to the wind. Her voice was like that of an angel's, beautiful and soft.
4 "Toji kometa hanashi o
Hikari furasu you ni
Kikasete ne sotto."
Kyoko looked down to see Kiyone, mesmerized by her voice, and she immediately stopped. She brushed her long, red bangs out of her eyes and blushed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was out here," she apologized.
"Don't apologize!" Kiyone told her. "You have a beautiful voice!"
"Thank you," the red head mumbled, going a deeper shade of crimson.
"Please, continue!"
The space pirate smiled at the begging officer. "I…I don't remember the rest."
"Oh." Kiyone was disappointed. "Where'd you learn to sing like that?"
"I dunno. I've been singing for as long as I can remember." Kyoko jumped from the tree and landed gingerly on the roots. Her red hair was back in a long, low braid. She was wearing her usual black. Her shorts, boots, and shirt were black, and on her shirt was a silver crescent moon and star. Red, black, and silver seemed to be the pirate's favorite colors.
"Do you think we should head back to the house for breakfast?" she asked the Galaxy Police officer.
"Yeah, probably." Kiyone turned and began to walk back towards the shore. Kyoko followed her, floating over the water.
~*~
Nighttime had fallen upon the city of Okayama. Clouds and haze covered the moon. A lone wolf jumped swiftly from tree to tree until it reached its destination. Carefully, it jumped to the ground, landing in a crouching position. The wind ruffled its black cloak as it stood and lowered its hood to get a better look at the house that lay before it…
Ryoko sat on the windowsill in her room, her golden eyes watching outside. The dull black sky didn't prevent her from looking at her surroundings. Many things ran through her head.
My dreams. What do they mean? She thought. They were all the same. She had only recently begun to wonder if they had any real significance to reality. She would spend hours on end thinking about them, wondering if they meant something was going on.
The demon summoner was so engrossed in her thoughts; she jumped when she saw a shadow move out on the lawn. But it was only a shadow. Or so she thought. But when it kept moving closer and closer to the house, she realized it was a living person. A living person with a black cloak and messed up hair.
NO! Ryoko screamed mentally. Damnit!
Quietly, she slipped off the windowsill and teleported outside. She hid in the shadows, waiting for the visitor to arrive…
A little Kyoko ran through the woods. Ahead of her ran an even younger Ryoko, and ahead of her ran a few of the girls' old classmates. Their faces couldn't be made out, but they were there. They were there playing hide and seek tag, just like back before the cyan hared little girl and the red hared little girl became pirates.
"Come on, Kyoko! Can'tcha catch us?" a little boy called over his shoulder.
"I'm coming, Haruki, and it's gonna be you I'm gonna get!" Kyoko threatened. She knew there was no way she was going to catch him on foot, but in the air was a different story. The little girl rose and began to fly as her surroundings changed. It became a little child's dream world. A world where the clouds were cotton candy and the trees were gumdrops and licorice.
She flew over the cyan-hared child, who'd stop to drink happily from a chocolate river. Quickly, she gained on a little boy who had dark mahogany skin and long, black hair. Her hand reached out and found the boy's back, and she pushed. He fell face first into the river and came up, spitting chocolate out of his mouth like a fountain.
"No fair flying!" Haruki complained.
"No one said it was against the rules," Kyoko said, a look of pure innocence overtaking her. The rest of the kids came out of hiding and began to laugh.
"Bombs away!" the red head screamed as she landed on the ground, took a few steps back and ran at the river. Her feet pushed hard against the surgary grass and she jumped into the chocolate water, causing it to splash up and ripple. Following her example, the rest of the boys and girls, including Ryoko, jumped in as well. Kyoko began to splash one of the faceless girls when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw two outlines standing in fighting stances.
One of the outlines had spiked and out of control hair and a very slim body.
"Ryoko?" she whispered. Everything around her froze where it was as Kyoko looked at the other outline. It was tall, slim, and unrecognizable to the little girl. Their voices drifted into the dream world. They were shouting at each other. The candy world disappeared as the now modern Kyoko stood, staring at the illuminated shapes…
Kyoko grumbled and cursed as hating voices drifted through her open window. She pulled the blanket up to cover her head, but it was no use. The battling people still disturbed her. Cursing again, she got up and walked over to the window. She looked out, but saw no one.
Slowly, she got up on the sill and jumped down. The cold wind rushing the opposite way woke her up a little, but not enough. She stumbled slightly as her feet hit the ground. Slowly (and still grumbling angrily), she walked to the front of the Masaki house to see two shadows. She knew one of them was Ryoko, so that's who she focused her attention on.
"Hey Ryoko-san, would you mind keeping it DOWN?!" Kyoko screamed.
"Uh…um…" Ryoko was obviously shaken by the fact someone had heard her. "Sorry, Kyoko-san! Go back to sleep, now."
"Yeah, whatever," Kyoko yawned. She turned around and began to walk back to the house when the other person's voice stopped her.
"Hold it!" they called in a deep voice. Well, it was definitely a girl's voice, and Kyoko knew she had heard it before, but it wasn't until she felt the bright purple whip wrap itself around her wrist did she realize who it was. Suddenly, Kyoko didn't feel so tired anymore. She froze in place as the cold voice rang out across the grass again.
"What are you doing alive?" she asked. Kyoko whipped around, breaking the grip of the whip on her wrist.
"I guess I should ask you the same question…Nagi," Kyoko said, anger rising. She walked over to stand by her partner, and they shared a momentary glance before they turned their eyes back to the bounty hunter. She had silvery purple hair that was thrown back, and bright red eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate any person's mind. Her black cloak covered her extremely odd ensemble underneath.
The three stared each other down. Then, Kyoko, fed up with the staring contest, brought forth her bow and arrows. Nagi, seeing her movement, quickly pulled her gold and red sword from her belt. Ryoko, not wanting to be the only one without a weapon, formed her red sword. Then, she attacked Nagi.
The bounty hunter saw the attack coming, and silently deflected Ryoko's attack. The two swords clashed, and Kyoko fired the first arrow. It narrowly missed the struggling pair.
"Kyoko, forget the arrows and get out of here!" Ryoko screamed.
"Hell no, I ain't leavin' you alone!" Kyoko called as Nagi tried to come after her. The red headed pirate dodged the attack.
That was all that was said for a while. The three continued to fight, two on one, until Kyoko screamed when Nagi's sword made contact with her left shoulder. Nagi could hear and feel the flesh and muscle tearing. Blood spilled out over the black nightshirt that covered Kyoko's upper body. Kyoko fell to her knees, clutching her wound. Nagi took advantage of her fall and backhanded the pirate. She fell backwards, sprawled out on the ground.
Nagi turned around to go after Ryoko, who was on the ground, wiping blood from her lip. Behind her, Tenchi, Kiyone, Washuu, and Aeka stood, staring confusedly at her. She smirked and shook her head.
"Ryoko, your backup is here," she sneered.
Ryoko turned around to see everyone staring at her, perplexed. When she turned back, Nagi had disappeared. She looked everywhere, but there was no sign of the bounty hunter.
"Well, Ryoko, Kyoko," Nagi's voice echoed across the sky as the ship Ken- ohki came into view. "We'll continue this battle when you're more worthy of a fight." Peels of her laughter shattered the sky, and the silvery white ship shot out of the planet's atmosphere.
Ryoko got off the ground, letting her sword fade. She walked over to her partner and pulled her up. They both stared up at the sky and Kyoko's hand shot up to the crystal dangling from her neck, but Ryoko stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"No, it's not worth it," she said. Kyoko started to object, but, stopped. "We should have Washuu check out your shoulder."
The red head lifted her hand to her injury as the two began to walk back. Tenchi and Washuu ran over to the two.
"Was that…" Tenchi began. Washuu immediately took to caring for Kyoko.
"Yeah, that was Nagi." Ryoko glanced back to the sky.
"Are you all right?" The young successor reached for Ryoko's face, using his thumb to wipe the blood that dripped from her lip. The summoner raised her hand to his and held it, pressing her cheek into his palm, and closing her eyes. Tenchi blushed deeply.
"I'm fine," she assured him, speaking in a soft tone.
The quartet walked back into the house, joining Aeka (who looked furious at the thought of Ryoko touching her precious Tenchi) and Kiyone at the door. Washuu had somehow managed to convince Kyoko to follow her to the lab, and everyone else departed to his or her rooms.
"Well, Kyoko," Ryoko said, before she ascended the steps, "looks as though we have to work on our fight, seeing as we're not worthy of battle."
Kyoko could hear the sarcasm in her friend's voice. She smiled devilishly and replied, "Oh, that'll be fun…"
~Notes from Minagi~
Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It may not be the best one, but at least it works. There are a few things I want to say. First off, the song Kyoko was singing was "Hiiru no Tsuki". It's the first Outlaw Star ending song, and therefore, I DON'T OWN IT! Second, pat yourself on the back if you understood the part where I referred to Nagi as "a lone wolf". In the TV episode "No Need for Arch Rivals", Kiyone refers to Nagi as the same thing. Well, thanx for reviewing! Keep em coming, I love to hear feedback!