"Are you alright?"
Umibozu sighs as he strips the muscle shirt from his chest, now just in his boxers. The plastic-like scars from dozens of past battles criss-cross his still hard muscles. Damn, he was still in pretty good shape. Well, he'll be ready for what was coming up, both with Mad Simon later...and right now.
He then gazes at Miki, who relaxes in their bed reading a newspaper, now in her usual cotton nightgown. Buddha, she was so beautiful. What had he EVER done to deserve someone like her? And because he was so busy putting out fires whenever they arose, he had nearly forgotten her. Well, that wouldn't happen tonight, nor ever again, he vows. He was a man of his word.
Rising, he sits beside her, gazing intently into her face. Miki blinks, unused to this sort of scrutiny from her husband, then sets the paper aside. "Are you alright?"
Leaning down, he gently covers her mouth with his own, showing a tenderness NO ONE would expect from Umibozu. Miki blinks, her own mouth fumbling in response, then as they break away, she gapes at him. "What was that for?"
"Well, let me ask you something, Mrs. Ijuuin," he smiles. "Why did you fall in love with a no-account merc like me?"
Miki blinks, suddenly sensing where this conversation might actually be going. "Well, Mr. Ijuuin, I suppose I'm going to have to show you why I did...and do...love you..."
* * *
"Hey, Saeko, c'mon in," Kaori smiles as the inspector steps in, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. "Um...what's with that? Something wrong?"
It was now fast approaching eleven o'clock, with Ren having already turned in. The cats were lounging around the place, a couple, including Sparkles, coming over to inspect this stranger in their new domain. "Where is she, Kaori?"
"Who?!" Kaori is non-plussed, then smiles. "Oh, you heard about Ren, huh! She's already gone to bed!"
"First guest bedroom beside Ryou's?"
"Er...hai," Kaori blinks confusedly.
"Thank you," Saeko smiles as she marches down the hallway, the cats trotting after her.
Kaori watches her, then scratches her head. "Do they know each other?" she muses...
* * *
The inspector stops at the door, then peeks inside the room. Ren had already set up all the necessary equipment to keep her in touch with the Sakuko's command centre in the Imperial Palace. So she was in reserve status. Smiling, Saeko steps in, then closes the door. The lady in question is now under the covers, a pillow tossed over her head to block outside light and one hand tucked under another pillow, no doubt holding her pistol.
Ren stirs, sniffs from her nose twitching fluttering in the air between them. "I smell a woman I haven't been with in nearly seven years," she whispers.
"Hai," Saeko grins.
"And has that woman come back for me?"
"Hai, dearest Angel, I have," Saeko purrs. "So...are you good and naked under those covers?"
"You'll have to take your clothes off and get in here to find out, my lovely Sparkles," Ren shifts the pillow off her head.
The moon then takes the chance to shine on Saeko through the window as the inspector deftly removes her blazer and skirt. Slowing down, she unbuttons her shirt, then reaches behind her to unsnap her strapless bra. As it falls from her, she then gently lowers the garter on her right leg holding her throwing knives. The garter belt and nylons come off, then her panties. Once that's done, she walks over to draw the covers back, grinning on what she sees. "Oh, God, I've forgotten how beautiful you are."
She slips atop Ren, who draws the shirt from her shoulders, then they shift to their sides as the hunter slips the covers over them. "So have I," Ren kisses her. "How long will you be here?"
"As long as you want me, Angel," Saeko smiles.
"Forever?"
"And beyond," they kiss again...
* * *
"Cityhunter - Grand Finale"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Parts 1-3 edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Based on "Cityhunter," created by Tsukasa Hojo
**** **** ****
PART THREE - REUNIONS
Next morning...
Kaori grumbles as she feels multiple feet bounce over her, then shifts herself, causing a couple of the cats who chose to share her bed to stumble off. Hammers is there, bouncing back on her as she leans down to lick the woman's chin. "Aaah, alright, already!!" Kaori grunts as she slowly rises, gazing at who else chose to be with her. "What is it, guys, you never seen a girl sleep before or does Ren chase you off her bed?"
Several mew as Kaori stumbles out of bed, slips a yukata over her shoulders, then heads out. With Ren and Shizuka living there, the rooms on the fifth floor were taken. Fortunately, if they needed space for clients...or the Saeba twins' parents should they elect to live with them...they still had loads of room.
Kaori stops, her ears picking up the clatter of computer keys in Shizuka's room. Looking in, she blinks on seeing Ren's assistant already up and plugging away on the compact PC now hooked to a modem and other units. "Do you ever sleep?"
"Oh, good morning, Kaori," Shizuka smiles. "Actually, yes, I did get a few hours sleep. I got orders from Director Aramaki. Mr. Saeba and his parents are on their way down right now, then a team from the Protection Unit will come to proof the house against whatever unwanted intruders we can expect. Miss Saeba's still asleep, but I think Miss Nogami's up and around."
"Oh, okay," Kaori heads to the kitchen. There, Saeko, now in her shirt and panties, nurses a cup of coffee. "'Morning, Saeko."
"'Morning, Kaori," Saeko smiles. "So what's the news from the Palace? When will Ryou and his parents come in?"
"Sometime later today..." Kaori blinks, then stares at her. "You were part of the Sakuko?!"
"Hai, for five very hectic years after high school," Saeko nods. "I was partnered up with Ren as her Inquisitor, the one who made the bag girls and boys sing like canaries after Ren caught them...IF she was ordered to take prisoners."
"So why'd you get out?"
"I was too good," Saeko sighs. "The job was getting to me in ways I didn't like. Ren persuaded me to switch to the police and work at things that way. Sometimes, I wish she hadn't."
Kaori blinks. Ren and Saeko were partners...and obviously lovers! "Then you knew about Ren and Ryou, right?!"
"Not until your brother told me some days before he died," Saeko sighs. "It was quite the shock. Before then, I knew Ren's full name, but I never once connected her to Ryou. I didn't know how Ryou'd react if I revealed that his partner had told someone else, even me, about Ren. How would that look to both of them? You know how he's like when he's confronting his past; you saw it when Bloody Mary told you about him not knowing his birthday. And I didn't want to ruin his partnership with Hideyuki-kun. I had no right to do that. And...when your brother died, I decided to keep silent about it...in honour of Hideyuki's memory."
Kaori senses Saeko confessing something else. "You really did love my brother, didn't you?"
"Hai, I did," Saeko nods. "Your brother was a very good man, Kaori. He meant a lot to me. Besides, back then, Dad would've suffered a lot of public embarrassment if his elder daughter was known to have an affair with another woman. Ren didn't want to hurt me, so we parted and stopped seeing each other. I met your brother a year after."
"Thank you," Kaori sighs. "Are you okay?"
"After making love to my precious little Angel and sleeping in her arms for the first time in so long?! I feel great!" Saeko loopily grins, the bounce in her step all too apparent even to a sexual neophyte like Kaori.
"But what about your old man?"
"Screw him!" Saeko snorts, surprising Kaori again with an uncharacteristic outburst of profanity. "If he can't take what I am, what I do on my own time, then I won't deal with him anymore."
"Could cost you your career, you know."
"Well, if he threatens me that way, there are ways to make him take a long vacation," Saeko icily smiles. "I may have been out of the Sakuko for seven years, but the current director and I are good friends. If I need help, he'll be there to help me."
"Lucky you," Kaori laughs, then blinks as the sounds of cars and trucks pulling alongside the house echo from outside. "Hey, who's that?!" she runs to the window.
Footsteps are heard in the stairwell. Kaori runs over as the door opens to reveal Ryou. "RYOU!!!!" she gasps, flying into his arms. "Are you alright?!!"
"Ooof!!" Ryou nearly collapses under Kaori's tackle, then smiles. "Yeah, I'm fine! Oh..." he looks behind him.
Kaori blinks as a shorter man looking like a grey-haired Ryou in his mid-fifties and a still-beautiful, tall woman of equal age come up, both carrying overnight bags. "Gods..."
"Kaori, these are my parents, Yoshihide and Ikuko Saeba," he smiles. "Mom, Dad, this is my partner, Kaori Makimura."
Kaori blushes. "How are you?" she tries a friendly wave.
"Good heavens, Ryou, are you starving this poor girl?!" Ikuko wonders, grabbing Kaori and dragging her inside. "We're going to get some real good food into you, Kaori-chan! Come along, Dear!"
"Hai, hai," Yoshihide nods, then elbows his son. "Nice pick for a partner...even if she's as skinny as a rail, son!!"
"Er...r-right, Dad," Ryou sighs, then looks to the two Sakuko agents who came with his parents. "Tell your friends to come right in when they arrive so we can get started right away."
"Yes, sir," Shun nods as they head to the main floor.
Ryou walks into the kitchen, seeing Ikuko already going through the pantry to get some food ready, chatting up a storm with Kaori and a very red-faced Saeko. Oh, so *she* was Sparkles, Ryou smiles inwardly. Maybe he could hook up with his sister to find some way to get Saeko back for all the times she tricked him into doing jobs for her...in a nice way, of course.
With that, he heads to the guest bedroom, peeking in to see Ren still buried under the covers. Walking over, he sits on the bed...and finds himself facing the business end of her Desert Eagle! "Hey, hey, take it easy!!" he ducks back.
Ren blinks, then gasps, lowering the pistol. "Geez, little bro', don't sneak up on me like that!!"
Suddenly, the reality of their situation clicks in. After twenty years of guessing if their dreams were real or not, here they were, alive, finally together! Blinking as impish grins cross their faces, they laugh, fiercely embracing...
* * *
"Well, this is quite a nice home you have here, Ryou-chan," Ikuko muses, gazing around the living room as everyone enjoys a home-cooked meal around the table. The cats dart in and around as they work at getting some freebies. "You must get a lot of business to afford a place like this."
"Some of the jobs I've done in the past paid for it," Ryou smiles. "I bought it the instant I came in from Los Angeles, using money I earned when I was working there. It formerly belonged to a Yakuza gang that was shut down about a year before I came in, so I got it really cheap...with all the fixings."
"The gun ranges and all that," Kaori muses.
"Hai," Ryou nods, sipping his soup.
"Well, it's nice to know that our son and daughter are both doing their best to help other people," Yoshihide smiles, then gazes at Saeko. "And I see our daughter has quite the catch."
The inspector's cheeks flame, ducking his stare as if it was an artillery round. She then gazes at Ryou. "Um...Ryou?"
"Yeah?" the sweeper looks at her.
"Um...I just want to say..."
"Saeko?"
"Hai?"
"Forget it."
Saeko blinks, then sees a churlish grin twitch Ryou's lips. "I'll get you back another way," he winks.
Kaori glares at him. "In what way?" she taps her foot.
"Leave them alone, Kaori-kun; it's between them," Ren hums. "No one elected you to be his surrogate mother, you know."
Kaori jerks, surprised that anyone would call her up for her keeping a handle on Ryou's lechery. The door then opens to reveal Reika. "Hi, everyone! Hey, Ryou, you're okay!! What's going on outside; this place is crawling with spooks!"
"My friends from the Sakuko, sister," Saeko smiles.
Reika smiles as introductions are made and she is updated on the goings on at the Saeba residence, then magically, Nurse, a chocolate-tip Siamese, lands in her arms, then starts to rub against her. "Hey, cut that out!!" the detective squeaks, then smiles at Ren. "So, you're Angel, eh?! Instant Dad finds out that you're after Onee-chan again, he'll freak right out!"
"I take it this was the fellow who tried to bring unwanted misery on my son and his partner?" Ikuko frostily hums.
"One and the same, Mrs. Saeba," Reika sighs.
"I see," Ryou's mother hums. "I'll have to have a chat with Shuntarou-kun about that fellow."
"Don't blame you," Reika smiles, then looks at Ryou. "By the way, some buddies of yours are on their way from America to help out. Marcius Phelstas, Sonia Field and Rosemary Taylor."
Ryou sighs. Old home week again. "Right."
"You okay, Ryou?" Kaori gazes concernedly at him.
"I dunno," he stares at her, then smiles at his mother. "Thanks for the meal, Mom. Excuse me, please."
He heads to the stairwell for the roof. "What's with him?" Saeko muses, gazing at Ren. "I mean, he's long resolved what happened between him and those two."
"With them, not with his own heart, Sparkles," Ren sighs...
* * *
"Hey, you okay?"
Ryou blinks as he finds Kaori standing beside him on the roof. On the ground, a technical van from the Sakuko's protection wing was setting up ground sensors, scoping out the area for possible avenues of attack. In her room, Shizuka was downloading data from local government offices to determine if there were vacant rooms anywhere close by which could be converted into an observation post for whoever might decide to avenge the New Harbour Centre raid. Saeko had called in police protection on Kaori's behalf to ward off the area from roving reporters; the media might, in its zeal to get news out, inadvertently make Kaori a target. Since the local media was more conscious of public safety concerns than their American counterparts...not to mention detesting being rolled...no reporter had called or visited since Ren chased them off. There were some trying to find out who Kaori's mystery friend was, but various civic offices had been told in an indirect way by Aramaki to be creative in misplacing the applicable files.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighs. "Still a bit of a headache."
"That's not what I mean," she bites her lips. Damn, it was so aggravating when she tried to make Ryou open up a bit more. If she said the wrong thing, or came at him too strong, he would close up in his peculiar shell and she'd get nowhere. "How does it feel to have your parents and sister with you now?"
He sighs, sensing the hesitance in her voice. She wanted to know much more. There were so many times he wished Kaori would just leave him alone. He was so afraid at times for her, wondering if he was cursed to see close friends die if he opened up too much.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that," he muses. "I mean, it's nice to have a family again...but I hardly know them, even Ren- chan. There's so much I've missed with them, growing up with them, learning my family's stories, making a life with them. They're strangers to me." Staring at her, he crosses his arms. "How would you feel if your real father was alive and well somewhere, someone you've never known...and then you bump into him one day?"
"Like I missed something really important," she sighs.
"Well, that's how it is with my family," he nods. "Even with my dreams of Ren-chan, I always...no, that's not it," he shakes his head. "I knew somewhere, I had relatives. I had kin in South America. My family there was named Saeba. But after what I've been through...I couldn't risk meeting them, them..."
"Losing them."
"Hai," Ryou sighs. "And it's not just family, Kaori. It's my friends, too. People I've cared for as a surrogate family, I guess. Look how many I've had to bury! Kenny, Bobby, Hideyuki, all good people, all gone. I nearly did it with Mary."
"And you're afraid it'll happen to me, right?"
Ryou slowly nods. "Hai."
"Thank you."
Surprise responds. Kaori smiles. "For caring so much," she leans on the fence beside him. "Look, I call myself your partner but there've been many times I've wanted a lot more from you. You want me to say it, Ryou? I love you. I'll be damned if I choose another man after being with you for so long. And I'd love it if you love me back, Ryou. That I'd be...your partner of partners."
"My wife, you mean," he muses.
"Hai."
He sighs. "I do love you, Kaori...but it's not exactly what you'd want from me," he bites his lips. "I'm scared, for you and for me. I'm very scared. If I bring you too close, do you die? Call it bad luck, a dark kami, what have you; it's been the story of my life. Atop that, when your brother died, I took an oath. I'd protect you, watch out for you. I'll do that no matter what. But with what I was through before, if you got too close..."
"It must've seemed like Hobson's choice to you," she muses.
They gaze at each other, allowing their other senses to drink in what was before them. So it was finally out in the open. Four years of dancing around the problem between them, now finally aired out, with a choice before them. Kaori's choice...marriage, being Mrs. Ryou Saeba...frightened Ryou, gave him images of visiting her at her family grave. Ryou's choice...keeping Kaori at a distance, as a friend and work partner, but no emotional involvement...would make him feel much easier, but break her heart.
Hobson's choice, indeed.
He offers his arm. She slides against him, resting her head on his chest, allowing his masculine scent to intoxicate her. She loved these moments when they were alone, when the nerve-fraying times of combat and the aggravating silliness in their lives was gone, even for just a few minutes. There was still a gulf between them emotionally. But now, the gulf had definable limits. They knew the parameters that made it possible. Alter the parameters and the gulf could easily go away. But how...?
"You were right, you know."
"Hmm...about what?"
"March twenty-sixth."
"Eh?" she looks at him.
"My birthday."
She blinks. During Bloody Mary's visit, Kaori learned that Ryou never knew his birthday. She picked March 26 for him since it was the anniversary of their first meeting. Smiling, she leans against him. "A prophetic day indeed. How old?"
"Right now, I'm thirty."
"Good age," she stares at him, then kisses his cheek...
...as both tense on hearing Saeko's startled gasp. They turn to see the inspector standing there, red-faced from intruding on them. "I'm sorry!" Saeko bows. "I didn't meant to..."
"Oh, it's okay!" Kaori sighs. "Something tells me you want to chat for a bit! I'll be with Ren."
She heads downstairs. Ryou blinks, then sighs. "I told you it was okay, Saeko."
"Not just for the New Harbour thing," she relaxes beside him.
"Even the other things," he smiles at her, then gazes at the city around them. "You're a good person to work with, Saeko-chan. Look, I know there are things you can't do now that you could in the Sakuko, so I'm happy to help when you want me."
"Thanks," Saeko sighs, then stares at him. "How about you and Kaori? You...finally working things out between you? Believe me, all of us want to see you two finally together."
"I feel like I'm at an impasse," Ryou admits. "In that way, you and Ren-chan are lucky."
"If Dad doesn't try to botch it up," she sighs. "When I go to work later, he'll probably try to lay on several new fiances for me; he's been awfully quiet about that for the last while."
"I suppose I've been lucky," he grins. "Parents are great to have around, but when they try to influence your love life..."
"Amen to that!" she rolls her eyes, then sighs. "Speaking of which, I'm going to work. I'll see you later."
"Yeah," he nods as she turns away, then smiles. "Saeko?"
"Yeah?" she looks at him.
"Don't break my sister's heart."
"I'd rather stab myself than do that."
* * *
"Senor De Perez, we can't begin to apologize for this debacle," Daisuke Satoshi bows to the gentleman sitting before him. "This is a loss of face for us as well as the organizations you represent. Be assured, we will find ways to compensate you..."
"Enough, Senor Satoshi," the Latino man before him sighs. In his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and the coldest blue eyes the Yakuza representatives sitting around him had ever seen, Simon De Perez was slender, yet whipcord lean under his fashionable suit. He was a man of very peculiar habits. He was a vegetarian who gained protein from eating seaweed soup. A non-smoker, he was also heavy into dairy products. Had any of the Yakuza known these were also the habits of a certain failed artist-turned-politician from Austria who died a half-century ago by his own hand, they would have more reasons to fear the man. "Raids like this were expected, no? There are always caballeros in every police force, people who happily leap over the laws they're supposed to safeguard. Don't worry about it, amigo. This is but a drop in the pocket compared to what we can bring up at a moment's notice."
"It'll be some time before we can establish a new place of business, Senor," one of Satoshi's assistants reports. "It will mean a loss of business. Can your friends support that?"
Honest criminals! The former general smothers a grin. These Japanese were still so naive, so gentlemanly, at times. "Yes, they can support such losses. We have business contacts elsewhere, so our customers will not be without their merchandise for long. In the meantime, what of Saeba? Has he been confirmed alive or dead?"
"We don't know," Satoshi sighs. "You have to understand, what Saeba did was seen by normal folk as a very good thing. People will move to support him if he's out there trying to heal. He didn't get out of that place unscarred; we've seen the security tapes. So he might be now under someone's protection."
"And Senorita Makimura?"
"Under police watch," Satoshi shakes his head. "She actually isn't as dangerous as one would suspect of Cityhunter's partner."
"Maybe," De Perez hums. "She may still have to be eliminated sooner or later. And the fellow who leaked the information about the New Harbour Centre to Senor Saeba?"
"The commissioner?" Satoshi snorts. "Believe it or not, he kisses the Interior Minister's ass too much to be THAT smart. No, the one really responsible is his daughter, Saeko Nogami. She's a sly one. She and Saeba have worked together many times before."
"But attacking a police officer carries strong repercussions here, Senor," another assistant warns.
"Perhaps, if it's done openly," De Perez icily smiles. "But from what I understand of your words, Senorita Nogami has been a very big thorn in your sides for a long time. There are ways to make things happen without it being so open, you know. I suggest you think hard about it, amigos. Excuse me, please."
Rising, he walks to the porch of the small mansion located in the woods of Chiba, across the harbour from Tokyo, his ears picking up the concerned chatter of his "allies" as they discuss the possible repercussions of a hit on Saeko Nogami. Fools. How were they supposed to get anywhere if they kept using gentleman's rules against the authorities?! No wonder some of his associates back in South America were so reticent on doing business here.
Still, Japan was an untapped market for their produce, so the risk was just as great as elsewhere. Some of the more modern gangs were bowing to the universal allure of money and opening their markets to trade in crack cocaine, but the Yakuza "gentry" would never stoop that low. Well, too bad for them, De Perez sneers. If they got in the way, they could be made to get OUT of the way.
So could the police...especially one annoying inspector.
Looking left, he smiles on seeing a middle-aged Spaniard, showing the fairer hints of Basque ancestry. He had offered his services to De Perez in the last years of power, helping the general flee from the slime who toppled his government, then faking his death so he could return to fight another day. Handy fellow.
"You have your friends here and ready, Fernando?"
"Si, Senor General," the man nods. "The woman?"
"The lady cop first, then the sweeper's friend."
"Si."
Fernando heads out. De Perez sighs as he gazes at the distant city across the vast bay blanketed with fog. Fernando was a good man, but nowhere in Hayato Ijuuin's class. Pity the idiot proved so sentimental, De Perez hums. Well, if he was around...there were rumours to that end...his turn would come soon enough.
* * *
"I cannot believe you allowed this to happen!!" Commissioner Nogami snarls at Saeko later in his office. "I've been fielding calls from reporters for the last two days! What's going on?!"
"What do you think, Father?" Saeko sighs. "Reporters aren't that stupid, you know. Someone must've figured out that you were trying to use them to hurt Ryou, so they want to know why. It's called 'being rolled.' Reporters don't like that at all."
The older policeman trembles, sinking into his chair. "And what's this about you ordering protection for Kaori Makimura?"
"She could be a target," Saeko reports.
"That's her problem for associating with Saeba..."
A knock is heard at the door. "Yes?!" both bark.
Saeko turns to see a young rookie standing there, a large bouquet of roses and carnations nearly burying her. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but this just came in for Inspector Nogami."
Saeko grins, taking the flowers and sniffing them. The card attached had the stencilled icon of a black angel on the cover. Opening it, she grins on reading the message, then nods to the young woman. "Thanks."
She salutes, then heads out. Saeko turns to her father. "If you'll excuse me, Father, I have some pressing business before me. As far as I'm concerned, the protection over Kaori stands...or do you want me to ask Umibozu-san to handle it?"
Nogami jerks; Falcon was worlds worse than Cityhunter. "I didn't think so," Saeko smiles, heading out.
He harrumphs, then blinks. Since when did Saeko suddenly pick up a new boyfriend? Had he passed the "test" Saeko always used to see if the one was worthy enough for her? Fatherly instincts take over as he walks out of his office, noting that Saeko had already left. A delighted grin splits his face. This was very good. So, she was finally remembering her proper duties. Not that he didn't mind her being a police officer; unlike most of Saeko's peers, her father did appreciate the good work she had done, even if she was too impetuous, too unpolitic at times. But even in this day and age, it wasn't right for a healthy young woman like Saeko to allow her eligibility for marriage to go to waste.
Walking over, he notices the other officers picking through their logs, then stares at the card. A black angel? He blinks as his hand opens the card to see the message:
"Sparkles, I'm lonely. Come warm your Angel up...Ren"
All colour drains from the commissioner's face. No, not HER! What was SHE doing back here?! Shuddering, he looks around, then turns to his secretary. "I'll be out for a while!"
"Yes, sir," she nods, then watches him go. "What's with him?"
"Search me," a passing patrolman shrugs.
* * *
Fernando grins as he watches Saeko's Porsche 911 stop before her small apartment in the north end of Shinjuku, the inspector stepping briskly out as she scampers into the building, a delighted grin on her face. Well, how nice of her to come home so soon; he was afraid that he'd have to wait all day for her to come back and face her punishment for hurting the general's operations.
A moment later, a tall woman drives a Mazda up beside Saeko's car, then steps out. The assassin blinks as familiar features come to him. The clothes, cut of the hair, the angular nose and slender body hardened by muscle yet still quite feminine. A Cityhunter- wanna be? A relative? Shaking his head, he watches her head stop to comb her hair, using a pocket mirror, then heads inside.
Another moment later sees an official car drive up. Saeko's father storms out of the vehicle, then gags on seeing the Mazda beside her daughter's vehicle. Wasn't this a happy circumstance?! A extra-special present for the general. With that, he nods to his friends, who disembark, heading in staggered pairs at two minute intervals towards the apartment building.
Saeko sighs, watching this through the blinds of her bedroom window. So, they had traced things to her, eh? Uncouth or what; didn't they understand the more important things in life? Well, they were about to get a very rude surprise in return; not that she was annoyed enough to deal with her father at a time like this. She hoped Ren was in a good enough mood.
The door opens to reveal a smiling Ren, a rose now sticking from the barrel of her Desert Eagle. "You're such a romantic," Saeko beams, walking over to draw the rose by her teeth from her lover's weapon, then draws one of her knives.
"I can't help myself at times," Ren blows a kiss her way, then leans back as the thunder of angry footsteps echoes from the nearby stairwell. "Hi, Commish! Long time, no see!!"
"You!!!" Nogami snarls, pointing accusingly at the hunter. "I thought you swore you'd never see my daughter again!!!"
"Well, I can't help myself, especially when Sparkles *bared* all to for me to see," Ren grins, then sighs. "Excuse me."
She aims behind the commissioner, then fires, the bullet tearing apart the head of the first of Fernando's team! Shoving the surprised elder Nogami into Saeko's room, Ren closes the door, then yanks a Mini-Uzi from her other holster. "Don't you just hate rude assassins, Sparkles?!!" she yells, her ears picking up storming feet from the other stairwell.
"They have no sense of propriety at all!!" Saeko replies as shadows appear on both sides. "Kill them all, Angel!!!"
"You promise to make love to me afterward?!!"
"I'm already very hot, my sweet little Crusader!!"
"What a demanding woman!" Ren gasps, then leaps out of the shadows, guns tracking on target.
The assassins don't see their deaths coming in time to evade as bullets stitch their heads and backs! Sloppy field discipline; what sort of penny-ante amateurs was De Perez hiring, anyway? As three go down, Ren rolls back into shadow as she reloads her pistol. "Saeko-chan, I want a commitment ceremony!!"
"Eh?!!" Saeko cries out. "You mean it?!!"
"Hai!!" Ren scopes both ways, noting the last two schmucks, one to each side, were keeping out of sight. Damn, couldn't risk shooting through the floorboards; if she missed with the Desert Eagle, she'd probably hit some poor innocent on another floor.
"What about children?!!" Saeko wonders.
"We'll adopt them!" Ren replies. "Get artificial insemination if you want that!! Hell, find some nice guy to do it with if he's willing to do it with us!!! What do you think?!"
"Oh, Angel, yes, yes, YES!!!!"
Below, Fernando smiles. Idiot was too busy chatting with her lover to worry about protecting herself. Too bad. Nodding to his compatriot at the other end of the floor, he bolts up, grinning to see Ren's back turned to him...then gasps as he notices the barrel of her pistol tucked under her armpit, aimed right at him. The other assassin screams as a storm of Uzi fire takes him down, the Desert Eagle barking to terminally stop Fernando in his tracks!!
Ren blinks, her ears picking up no laboured breathing from the lower floors...no matter how well you're trained, excitement and seeing your friends fall like dominoes always makes your heart pump faster, which increased oxygen demand...then sighs, opening the door to Saeko's apartment to see the inspector standing there, a coy smile on her face. "Hi, Sparkles," she winks as they kiss, then turns to see Commissioner Nogami on his back, gazing dazedly at the ceiling. "Hey, Commish, you okay?"
Giddy tears now flow down his face, the shock of the moment overwhelming him. "Y-you have m-my blessings...!"
Saeko and Ren exchange grins, then laugh...as the latter then screams, gripping her wounded armpit from the burn she got after an ejected hot shell casing from the Desert Eagle had seared through her blazer and shirt. "Damn, I knew I should use a revolver these days!" she grits her teeth as Saeko walks her over to the bed, the inspector trying desperately not to laugh...
* * *
"AIOWCH!!!!!!"
"Relax, Ren, this isn't so bad!" Mami sighs as she dabs the burn with a cotton swab. "It's third degree, but localized, not much more than a popped blister. You won't need stitches, but it'll sting for a bit. Now, hold still, you crybaby!"
Ren painfully fidgets, biting her lip, as the doctor cleans up the burn, then places a dressing over it. Mami set herself up on the third floor of Ryou's apartment when everyone moved in; Ryou's parents had a guest room on the fourth floor, which still left several rooms for clients when things returned to normal even if everyone elected to remain. Saeko, Ryou, Kaori and Reika relax by the doorway. "So how's your dad?" Ryou wonders.
"Pretty shaken up; the doctor said he'll be in observation for a week," Saeko sighs. "I must admit, I never expected people to come straight after me like that. Whoever organized that little raid wasn't too shy about causing a ruckus."
"Or they're from countries where it's expected to get back at the police for interfering in their business...like what still goes on in Latin America," Reika gazes at Ryou.
"Yeah," he nods.
Shizuka then walks up, a computer printout in hand. "Here's a picture of the one you wanted looked at, ma'am," she shows it to Ren as she slips on her jacket.
Gazing at the rough-hewn face, the hunter frowns. "Oh, I know this guy. Basque extremist who went independent some years back. He's an asshole!" she shakes her head. "Last known employment?"
"Simon De Perez," Shizuka smiles ruefully. "Fernando de la Rocha, age 36, born in the Spanish Pyrenees near Andorra. Expert in quick assassinations, usually concentrating on politicians or law enforcement...and misinformation ops."
"Including making people 'die,' right?" Reika hums.
"That's him...or WAS him, thanks to Miss Saeba," Shizuka nods. "Rumours of DGSE and MI6 black ops training in his youth before he decided to fight for his homeland, but with the recent moderation of the laws concerning the Basques, he found himself out of favour and a job. That's when General De Perez picked him up."
Ryou tenses, his eyes sullen with rage. Revelations like THAT, he could do without. "Well, it confirms it now. Simon's alive. When will Marcius, Mary and Sonia arrive?"
"Tomorrow morning from New York JFK via L.A. and Honolulu, due at Narita by five-thirty."
"Okay, he'll probably clear the airport by eight if Customs aren't a problem," Ryou sighs, then stifles a yawn. "We'll be there by then to pick them up. Good night, everyone."
"'Night!" the others chime.
"Will he be okay?" Reika hums.
"He should be," Saeko sighs as she allows Ren to draw her against the taller woman. "Personally, I'm glad. It's a chance for him to finally bury all those ghosts and get on with his life."
"Speaking of which, we better make some preparations," Ren holds out her hand. "Your revolver, Kaori."
Kaori blinks, then hands her the Smith & Wesson M629. Staring at the sights, Ren shakes her head. "Whatever possessed Ryou-chan to alter the sights? You can't hit the broadside of a barn."
"Well," Kaori blushes, then grins. "It was his way of keeping me from falling too deep into this. Let me have a life afterward when it was all over."
Ren and Saeko exchange looks. "Against De Perez, we'll all sooner or later be decisively engaged, even you, Kaori," the former gazes at the gun. "For you, it'll be worse; you've probably been scoped out as a 'soft' target, an easy kill. Let me work on this, then we'll hit the pistol range. Good night, folks."
The couple steps out of the examination room. Kaori blinks, then after parting from Reika and Mami, heads back to her bedroom. Soft target. Easy kill. A icy grip of fear seizes her heart as Ryou's words on the matter come back. There were people out there who'd have no compunction whatsoever of killing her, all because she was Cityhunter's partner. And Mad Simon was a man who had wiped out whole villages to keep people intimidated and repressed to maintain his hold on power. Fear is then replaced by sullen anger. How dare he?! Who gave him the right to make the life of her beloved partner hell, even now? Umibozu and Ryou had buried the hatchet a long time ago, in fact looked on that war as just doing business. Why couldn't people be like them?
Stepping into her bedroom, she closes the door, then flicks on the lights. No response. "Oh, darn, light burnt out!" she hisses, then tenses, the hairs on her neck standing on end. "Who's there?"
"Such nice mokkori thighs, Kaori-chan..." a finger gently strokes her legs.
A blaze of anger races through her as the thought of pulping Ryou with a hammer comes to mind...then she stops. He had called HER thighs "mokkori," Ryou's way of saying they were sexy.
Her...
Turning, she reaches down to cup his chin with her hand. "Are you here for a little ippatsu, Ryou-chan?"
"What do you think, Kaori-chan?" he stares at her.
They exchange a look, their eyes still visible from outside light. She smiles, drawing him towards the bed. "Yeah, you're still a hentai...but you're MY hentai."
"Always am, always will be," he grins as they sit down...
...then a cat yowls. "CITYHUNTER!!!!" both scream.
* * *
Outside the room, Reika lowers her eyes, the flash of defeat deep in those brown orbs as she turns away, fighting back her own tears. *You've won, Kaori. I hope you're happy together...*
* * *
To be continued...
Umibozu sighs as he strips the muscle shirt from his chest, now just in his boxers. The plastic-like scars from dozens of past battles criss-cross his still hard muscles. Damn, he was still in pretty good shape. Well, he'll be ready for what was coming up, both with Mad Simon later...and right now.
He then gazes at Miki, who relaxes in their bed reading a newspaper, now in her usual cotton nightgown. Buddha, she was so beautiful. What had he EVER done to deserve someone like her? And because he was so busy putting out fires whenever they arose, he had nearly forgotten her. Well, that wouldn't happen tonight, nor ever again, he vows. He was a man of his word.
Rising, he sits beside her, gazing intently into her face. Miki blinks, unused to this sort of scrutiny from her husband, then sets the paper aside. "Are you alright?"
Leaning down, he gently covers her mouth with his own, showing a tenderness NO ONE would expect from Umibozu. Miki blinks, her own mouth fumbling in response, then as they break away, she gapes at him. "What was that for?"
"Well, let me ask you something, Mrs. Ijuuin," he smiles. "Why did you fall in love with a no-account merc like me?"
Miki blinks, suddenly sensing where this conversation might actually be going. "Well, Mr. Ijuuin, I suppose I'm going to have to show you why I did...and do...love you..."
* * *
"Hey, Saeko, c'mon in," Kaori smiles as the inspector steps in, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. "Um...what's with that? Something wrong?"
It was now fast approaching eleven o'clock, with Ren having already turned in. The cats were lounging around the place, a couple, including Sparkles, coming over to inspect this stranger in their new domain. "Where is she, Kaori?"
"Who?!" Kaori is non-plussed, then smiles. "Oh, you heard about Ren, huh! She's already gone to bed!"
"First guest bedroom beside Ryou's?"
"Er...hai," Kaori blinks confusedly.
"Thank you," Saeko smiles as she marches down the hallway, the cats trotting after her.
Kaori watches her, then scratches her head. "Do they know each other?" she muses...
* * *
The inspector stops at the door, then peeks inside the room. Ren had already set up all the necessary equipment to keep her in touch with the Sakuko's command centre in the Imperial Palace. So she was in reserve status. Smiling, Saeko steps in, then closes the door. The lady in question is now under the covers, a pillow tossed over her head to block outside light and one hand tucked under another pillow, no doubt holding her pistol.
Ren stirs, sniffs from her nose twitching fluttering in the air between them. "I smell a woman I haven't been with in nearly seven years," she whispers.
"Hai," Saeko grins.
"And has that woman come back for me?"
"Hai, dearest Angel, I have," Saeko purrs. "So...are you good and naked under those covers?"
"You'll have to take your clothes off and get in here to find out, my lovely Sparkles," Ren shifts the pillow off her head.
The moon then takes the chance to shine on Saeko through the window as the inspector deftly removes her blazer and skirt. Slowing down, she unbuttons her shirt, then reaches behind her to unsnap her strapless bra. As it falls from her, she then gently lowers the garter on her right leg holding her throwing knives. The garter belt and nylons come off, then her panties. Once that's done, she walks over to draw the covers back, grinning on what she sees. "Oh, God, I've forgotten how beautiful you are."
She slips atop Ren, who draws the shirt from her shoulders, then they shift to their sides as the hunter slips the covers over them. "So have I," Ren kisses her. "How long will you be here?"
"As long as you want me, Angel," Saeko smiles.
"Forever?"
"And beyond," they kiss again...
* * *
"Cityhunter - Grand Finale"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Parts 1-3 edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Based on "Cityhunter," created by Tsukasa Hojo
**** **** ****
PART THREE - REUNIONS
Next morning...
Kaori grumbles as she feels multiple feet bounce over her, then shifts herself, causing a couple of the cats who chose to share her bed to stumble off. Hammers is there, bouncing back on her as she leans down to lick the woman's chin. "Aaah, alright, already!!" Kaori grunts as she slowly rises, gazing at who else chose to be with her. "What is it, guys, you never seen a girl sleep before or does Ren chase you off her bed?"
Several mew as Kaori stumbles out of bed, slips a yukata over her shoulders, then heads out. With Ren and Shizuka living there, the rooms on the fifth floor were taken. Fortunately, if they needed space for clients...or the Saeba twins' parents should they elect to live with them...they still had loads of room.
Kaori stops, her ears picking up the clatter of computer keys in Shizuka's room. Looking in, she blinks on seeing Ren's assistant already up and plugging away on the compact PC now hooked to a modem and other units. "Do you ever sleep?"
"Oh, good morning, Kaori," Shizuka smiles. "Actually, yes, I did get a few hours sleep. I got orders from Director Aramaki. Mr. Saeba and his parents are on their way down right now, then a team from the Protection Unit will come to proof the house against whatever unwanted intruders we can expect. Miss Saeba's still asleep, but I think Miss Nogami's up and around."
"Oh, okay," Kaori heads to the kitchen. There, Saeko, now in her shirt and panties, nurses a cup of coffee. "'Morning, Saeko."
"'Morning, Kaori," Saeko smiles. "So what's the news from the Palace? When will Ryou and his parents come in?"
"Sometime later today..." Kaori blinks, then stares at her. "You were part of the Sakuko?!"
"Hai, for five very hectic years after high school," Saeko nods. "I was partnered up with Ren as her Inquisitor, the one who made the bag girls and boys sing like canaries after Ren caught them...IF she was ordered to take prisoners."
"So why'd you get out?"
"I was too good," Saeko sighs. "The job was getting to me in ways I didn't like. Ren persuaded me to switch to the police and work at things that way. Sometimes, I wish she hadn't."
Kaori blinks. Ren and Saeko were partners...and obviously lovers! "Then you knew about Ren and Ryou, right?!"
"Not until your brother told me some days before he died," Saeko sighs. "It was quite the shock. Before then, I knew Ren's full name, but I never once connected her to Ryou. I didn't know how Ryou'd react if I revealed that his partner had told someone else, even me, about Ren. How would that look to both of them? You know how he's like when he's confronting his past; you saw it when Bloody Mary told you about him not knowing his birthday. And I didn't want to ruin his partnership with Hideyuki-kun. I had no right to do that. And...when your brother died, I decided to keep silent about it...in honour of Hideyuki's memory."
Kaori senses Saeko confessing something else. "You really did love my brother, didn't you?"
"Hai, I did," Saeko nods. "Your brother was a very good man, Kaori. He meant a lot to me. Besides, back then, Dad would've suffered a lot of public embarrassment if his elder daughter was known to have an affair with another woman. Ren didn't want to hurt me, so we parted and stopped seeing each other. I met your brother a year after."
"Thank you," Kaori sighs. "Are you okay?"
"After making love to my precious little Angel and sleeping in her arms for the first time in so long?! I feel great!" Saeko loopily grins, the bounce in her step all too apparent even to a sexual neophyte like Kaori.
"But what about your old man?"
"Screw him!" Saeko snorts, surprising Kaori again with an uncharacteristic outburst of profanity. "If he can't take what I am, what I do on my own time, then I won't deal with him anymore."
"Could cost you your career, you know."
"Well, if he threatens me that way, there are ways to make him take a long vacation," Saeko icily smiles. "I may have been out of the Sakuko for seven years, but the current director and I are good friends. If I need help, he'll be there to help me."
"Lucky you," Kaori laughs, then blinks as the sounds of cars and trucks pulling alongside the house echo from outside. "Hey, who's that?!" she runs to the window.
Footsteps are heard in the stairwell. Kaori runs over as the door opens to reveal Ryou. "RYOU!!!!" she gasps, flying into his arms. "Are you alright?!!"
"Ooof!!" Ryou nearly collapses under Kaori's tackle, then smiles. "Yeah, I'm fine! Oh..." he looks behind him.
Kaori blinks as a shorter man looking like a grey-haired Ryou in his mid-fifties and a still-beautiful, tall woman of equal age come up, both carrying overnight bags. "Gods..."
"Kaori, these are my parents, Yoshihide and Ikuko Saeba," he smiles. "Mom, Dad, this is my partner, Kaori Makimura."
Kaori blushes. "How are you?" she tries a friendly wave.
"Good heavens, Ryou, are you starving this poor girl?!" Ikuko wonders, grabbing Kaori and dragging her inside. "We're going to get some real good food into you, Kaori-chan! Come along, Dear!"
"Hai, hai," Yoshihide nods, then elbows his son. "Nice pick for a partner...even if she's as skinny as a rail, son!!"
"Er...r-right, Dad," Ryou sighs, then looks to the two Sakuko agents who came with his parents. "Tell your friends to come right in when they arrive so we can get started right away."
"Yes, sir," Shun nods as they head to the main floor.
Ryou walks into the kitchen, seeing Ikuko already going through the pantry to get some food ready, chatting up a storm with Kaori and a very red-faced Saeko. Oh, so *she* was Sparkles, Ryou smiles inwardly. Maybe he could hook up with his sister to find some way to get Saeko back for all the times she tricked him into doing jobs for her...in a nice way, of course.
With that, he heads to the guest bedroom, peeking in to see Ren still buried under the covers. Walking over, he sits on the bed...and finds himself facing the business end of her Desert Eagle! "Hey, hey, take it easy!!" he ducks back.
Ren blinks, then gasps, lowering the pistol. "Geez, little bro', don't sneak up on me like that!!"
Suddenly, the reality of their situation clicks in. After twenty years of guessing if their dreams were real or not, here they were, alive, finally together! Blinking as impish grins cross their faces, they laugh, fiercely embracing...
* * *
"Well, this is quite a nice home you have here, Ryou-chan," Ikuko muses, gazing around the living room as everyone enjoys a home-cooked meal around the table. The cats dart in and around as they work at getting some freebies. "You must get a lot of business to afford a place like this."
"Some of the jobs I've done in the past paid for it," Ryou smiles. "I bought it the instant I came in from Los Angeles, using money I earned when I was working there. It formerly belonged to a Yakuza gang that was shut down about a year before I came in, so I got it really cheap...with all the fixings."
"The gun ranges and all that," Kaori muses.
"Hai," Ryou nods, sipping his soup.
"Well, it's nice to know that our son and daughter are both doing their best to help other people," Yoshihide smiles, then gazes at Saeko. "And I see our daughter has quite the catch."
The inspector's cheeks flame, ducking his stare as if it was an artillery round. She then gazes at Ryou. "Um...Ryou?"
"Yeah?" the sweeper looks at her.
"Um...I just want to say..."
"Saeko?"
"Hai?"
"Forget it."
Saeko blinks, then sees a churlish grin twitch Ryou's lips. "I'll get you back another way," he winks.
Kaori glares at him. "In what way?" she taps her foot.
"Leave them alone, Kaori-kun; it's between them," Ren hums. "No one elected you to be his surrogate mother, you know."
Kaori jerks, surprised that anyone would call her up for her keeping a handle on Ryou's lechery. The door then opens to reveal Reika. "Hi, everyone! Hey, Ryou, you're okay!! What's going on outside; this place is crawling with spooks!"
"My friends from the Sakuko, sister," Saeko smiles.
Reika smiles as introductions are made and she is updated on the goings on at the Saeba residence, then magically, Nurse, a chocolate-tip Siamese, lands in her arms, then starts to rub against her. "Hey, cut that out!!" the detective squeaks, then smiles at Ren. "So, you're Angel, eh?! Instant Dad finds out that you're after Onee-chan again, he'll freak right out!"
"I take it this was the fellow who tried to bring unwanted misery on my son and his partner?" Ikuko frostily hums.
"One and the same, Mrs. Saeba," Reika sighs.
"I see," Ryou's mother hums. "I'll have to have a chat with Shuntarou-kun about that fellow."
"Don't blame you," Reika smiles, then looks at Ryou. "By the way, some buddies of yours are on their way from America to help out. Marcius Phelstas, Sonia Field and Rosemary Taylor."
Ryou sighs. Old home week again. "Right."
"You okay, Ryou?" Kaori gazes concernedly at him.
"I dunno," he stares at her, then smiles at his mother. "Thanks for the meal, Mom. Excuse me, please."
He heads to the stairwell for the roof. "What's with him?" Saeko muses, gazing at Ren. "I mean, he's long resolved what happened between him and those two."
"With them, not with his own heart, Sparkles," Ren sighs...
* * *
"Hey, you okay?"
Ryou blinks as he finds Kaori standing beside him on the roof. On the ground, a technical van from the Sakuko's protection wing was setting up ground sensors, scoping out the area for possible avenues of attack. In her room, Shizuka was downloading data from local government offices to determine if there were vacant rooms anywhere close by which could be converted into an observation post for whoever might decide to avenge the New Harbour Centre raid. Saeko had called in police protection on Kaori's behalf to ward off the area from roving reporters; the media might, in its zeal to get news out, inadvertently make Kaori a target. Since the local media was more conscious of public safety concerns than their American counterparts...not to mention detesting being rolled...no reporter had called or visited since Ren chased them off. There were some trying to find out who Kaori's mystery friend was, but various civic offices had been told in an indirect way by Aramaki to be creative in misplacing the applicable files.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he sighs. "Still a bit of a headache."
"That's not what I mean," she bites her lips. Damn, it was so aggravating when she tried to make Ryou open up a bit more. If she said the wrong thing, or came at him too strong, he would close up in his peculiar shell and she'd get nowhere. "How does it feel to have your parents and sister with you now?"
He sighs, sensing the hesitance in her voice. She wanted to know much more. There were so many times he wished Kaori would just leave him alone. He was so afraid at times for her, wondering if he was cursed to see close friends die if he opened up too much.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that," he muses. "I mean, it's nice to have a family again...but I hardly know them, even Ren- chan. There's so much I've missed with them, growing up with them, learning my family's stories, making a life with them. They're strangers to me." Staring at her, he crosses his arms. "How would you feel if your real father was alive and well somewhere, someone you've never known...and then you bump into him one day?"
"Like I missed something really important," she sighs.
"Well, that's how it is with my family," he nods. "Even with my dreams of Ren-chan, I always...no, that's not it," he shakes his head. "I knew somewhere, I had relatives. I had kin in South America. My family there was named Saeba. But after what I've been through...I couldn't risk meeting them, them..."
"Losing them."
"Hai," Ryou sighs. "And it's not just family, Kaori. It's my friends, too. People I've cared for as a surrogate family, I guess. Look how many I've had to bury! Kenny, Bobby, Hideyuki, all good people, all gone. I nearly did it with Mary."
"And you're afraid it'll happen to me, right?"
Ryou slowly nods. "Hai."
"Thank you."
Surprise responds. Kaori smiles. "For caring so much," she leans on the fence beside him. "Look, I call myself your partner but there've been many times I've wanted a lot more from you. You want me to say it, Ryou? I love you. I'll be damned if I choose another man after being with you for so long. And I'd love it if you love me back, Ryou. That I'd be...your partner of partners."
"My wife, you mean," he muses.
"Hai."
He sighs. "I do love you, Kaori...but it's not exactly what you'd want from me," he bites his lips. "I'm scared, for you and for me. I'm very scared. If I bring you too close, do you die? Call it bad luck, a dark kami, what have you; it's been the story of my life. Atop that, when your brother died, I took an oath. I'd protect you, watch out for you. I'll do that no matter what. But with what I was through before, if you got too close..."
"It must've seemed like Hobson's choice to you," she muses.
They gaze at each other, allowing their other senses to drink in what was before them. So it was finally out in the open. Four years of dancing around the problem between them, now finally aired out, with a choice before them. Kaori's choice...marriage, being Mrs. Ryou Saeba...frightened Ryou, gave him images of visiting her at her family grave. Ryou's choice...keeping Kaori at a distance, as a friend and work partner, but no emotional involvement...would make him feel much easier, but break her heart.
Hobson's choice, indeed.
He offers his arm. She slides against him, resting her head on his chest, allowing his masculine scent to intoxicate her. She loved these moments when they were alone, when the nerve-fraying times of combat and the aggravating silliness in their lives was gone, even for just a few minutes. There was still a gulf between them emotionally. But now, the gulf had definable limits. They knew the parameters that made it possible. Alter the parameters and the gulf could easily go away. But how...?
"You were right, you know."
"Hmm...about what?"
"March twenty-sixth."
"Eh?" she looks at him.
"My birthday."
She blinks. During Bloody Mary's visit, Kaori learned that Ryou never knew his birthday. She picked March 26 for him since it was the anniversary of their first meeting. Smiling, she leans against him. "A prophetic day indeed. How old?"
"Right now, I'm thirty."
"Good age," she stares at him, then kisses his cheek...
...as both tense on hearing Saeko's startled gasp. They turn to see the inspector standing there, red-faced from intruding on them. "I'm sorry!" Saeko bows. "I didn't meant to..."
"Oh, it's okay!" Kaori sighs. "Something tells me you want to chat for a bit! I'll be with Ren."
She heads downstairs. Ryou blinks, then sighs. "I told you it was okay, Saeko."
"Not just for the New Harbour thing," she relaxes beside him.
"Even the other things," he smiles at her, then gazes at the city around them. "You're a good person to work with, Saeko-chan. Look, I know there are things you can't do now that you could in the Sakuko, so I'm happy to help when you want me."
"Thanks," Saeko sighs, then stares at him. "How about you and Kaori? You...finally working things out between you? Believe me, all of us want to see you two finally together."
"I feel like I'm at an impasse," Ryou admits. "In that way, you and Ren-chan are lucky."
"If Dad doesn't try to botch it up," she sighs. "When I go to work later, he'll probably try to lay on several new fiances for me; he's been awfully quiet about that for the last while."
"I suppose I've been lucky," he grins. "Parents are great to have around, but when they try to influence your love life..."
"Amen to that!" she rolls her eyes, then sighs. "Speaking of which, I'm going to work. I'll see you later."
"Yeah," he nods as she turns away, then smiles. "Saeko?"
"Yeah?" she looks at him.
"Don't break my sister's heart."
"I'd rather stab myself than do that."
* * *
"Senor De Perez, we can't begin to apologize for this debacle," Daisuke Satoshi bows to the gentleman sitting before him. "This is a loss of face for us as well as the organizations you represent. Be assured, we will find ways to compensate you..."
"Enough, Senor Satoshi," the Latino man before him sighs. In his early fifties with salt-and-pepper hair and the coldest blue eyes the Yakuza representatives sitting around him had ever seen, Simon De Perez was slender, yet whipcord lean under his fashionable suit. He was a man of very peculiar habits. He was a vegetarian who gained protein from eating seaweed soup. A non-smoker, he was also heavy into dairy products. Had any of the Yakuza known these were also the habits of a certain failed artist-turned-politician from Austria who died a half-century ago by his own hand, they would have more reasons to fear the man. "Raids like this were expected, no? There are always caballeros in every police force, people who happily leap over the laws they're supposed to safeguard. Don't worry about it, amigo. This is but a drop in the pocket compared to what we can bring up at a moment's notice."
"It'll be some time before we can establish a new place of business, Senor," one of Satoshi's assistants reports. "It will mean a loss of business. Can your friends support that?"
Honest criminals! The former general smothers a grin. These Japanese were still so naive, so gentlemanly, at times. "Yes, they can support such losses. We have business contacts elsewhere, so our customers will not be without their merchandise for long. In the meantime, what of Saeba? Has he been confirmed alive or dead?"
"We don't know," Satoshi sighs. "You have to understand, what Saeba did was seen by normal folk as a very good thing. People will move to support him if he's out there trying to heal. He didn't get out of that place unscarred; we've seen the security tapes. So he might be now under someone's protection."
"And Senorita Makimura?"
"Under police watch," Satoshi shakes his head. "She actually isn't as dangerous as one would suspect of Cityhunter's partner."
"Maybe," De Perez hums. "She may still have to be eliminated sooner or later. And the fellow who leaked the information about the New Harbour Centre to Senor Saeba?"
"The commissioner?" Satoshi snorts. "Believe it or not, he kisses the Interior Minister's ass too much to be THAT smart. No, the one really responsible is his daughter, Saeko Nogami. She's a sly one. She and Saeba have worked together many times before."
"But attacking a police officer carries strong repercussions here, Senor," another assistant warns.
"Perhaps, if it's done openly," De Perez icily smiles. "But from what I understand of your words, Senorita Nogami has been a very big thorn in your sides for a long time. There are ways to make things happen without it being so open, you know. I suggest you think hard about it, amigos. Excuse me, please."
Rising, he walks to the porch of the small mansion located in the woods of Chiba, across the harbour from Tokyo, his ears picking up the concerned chatter of his "allies" as they discuss the possible repercussions of a hit on Saeko Nogami. Fools. How were they supposed to get anywhere if they kept using gentleman's rules against the authorities?! No wonder some of his associates back in South America were so reticent on doing business here.
Still, Japan was an untapped market for their produce, so the risk was just as great as elsewhere. Some of the more modern gangs were bowing to the universal allure of money and opening their markets to trade in crack cocaine, but the Yakuza "gentry" would never stoop that low. Well, too bad for them, De Perez sneers. If they got in the way, they could be made to get OUT of the way.
So could the police...especially one annoying inspector.
Looking left, he smiles on seeing a middle-aged Spaniard, showing the fairer hints of Basque ancestry. He had offered his services to De Perez in the last years of power, helping the general flee from the slime who toppled his government, then faking his death so he could return to fight another day. Handy fellow.
"You have your friends here and ready, Fernando?"
"Si, Senor General," the man nods. "The woman?"
"The lady cop first, then the sweeper's friend."
"Si."
Fernando heads out. De Perez sighs as he gazes at the distant city across the vast bay blanketed with fog. Fernando was a good man, but nowhere in Hayato Ijuuin's class. Pity the idiot proved so sentimental, De Perez hums. Well, if he was around...there were rumours to that end...his turn would come soon enough.
* * *
"I cannot believe you allowed this to happen!!" Commissioner Nogami snarls at Saeko later in his office. "I've been fielding calls from reporters for the last two days! What's going on?!"
"What do you think, Father?" Saeko sighs. "Reporters aren't that stupid, you know. Someone must've figured out that you were trying to use them to hurt Ryou, so they want to know why. It's called 'being rolled.' Reporters don't like that at all."
The older policeman trembles, sinking into his chair. "And what's this about you ordering protection for Kaori Makimura?"
"She could be a target," Saeko reports.
"That's her problem for associating with Saeba..."
A knock is heard at the door. "Yes?!" both bark.
Saeko turns to see a young rookie standing there, a large bouquet of roses and carnations nearly burying her. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but this just came in for Inspector Nogami."
Saeko grins, taking the flowers and sniffing them. The card attached had the stencilled icon of a black angel on the cover. Opening it, she grins on reading the message, then nods to the young woman. "Thanks."
She salutes, then heads out. Saeko turns to her father. "If you'll excuse me, Father, I have some pressing business before me. As far as I'm concerned, the protection over Kaori stands...or do you want me to ask Umibozu-san to handle it?"
Nogami jerks; Falcon was worlds worse than Cityhunter. "I didn't think so," Saeko smiles, heading out.
He harrumphs, then blinks. Since when did Saeko suddenly pick up a new boyfriend? Had he passed the "test" Saeko always used to see if the one was worthy enough for her? Fatherly instincts take over as he walks out of his office, noting that Saeko had already left. A delighted grin splits his face. This was very good. So, she was finally remembering her proper duties. Not that he didn't mind her being a police officer; unlike most of Saeko's peers, her father did appreciate the good work she had done, even if she was too impetuous, too unpolitic at times. But even in this day and age, it wasn't right for a healthy young woman like Saeko to allow her eligibility for marriage to go to waste.
Walking over, he notices the other officers picking through their logs, then stares at the card. A black angel? He blinks as his hand opens the card to see the message:
"Sparkles, I'm lonely. Come warm your Angel up...Ren"
All colour drains from the commissioner's face. No, not HER! What was SHE doing back here?! Shuddering, he looks around, then turns to his secretary. "I'll be out for a while!"
"Yes, sir," she nods, then watches him go. "What's with him?"
"Search me," a passing patrolman shrugs.
* * *
Fernando grins as he watches Saeko's Porsche 911 stop before her small apartment in the north end of Shinjuku, the inspector stepping briskly out as she scampers into the building, a delighted grin on her face. Well, how nice of her to come home so soon; he was afraid that he'd have to wait all day for her to come back and face her punishment for hurting the general's operations.
A moment later, a tall woman drives a Mazda up beside Saeko's car, then steps out. The assassin blinks as familiar features come to him. The clothes, cut of the hair, the angular nose and slender body hardened by muscle yet still quite feminine. A Cityhunter- wanna be? A relative? Shaking his head, he watches her head stop to comb her hair, using a pocket mirror, then heads inside.
Another moment later sees an official car drive up. Saeko's father storms out of the vehicle, then gags on seeing the Mazda beside her daughter's vehicle. Wasn't this a happy circumstance?! A extra-special present for the general. With that, he nods to his friends, who disembark, heading in staggered pairs at two minute intervals towards the apartment building.
Saeko sighs, watching this through the blinds of her bedroom window. So, they had traced things to her, eh? Uncouth or what; didn't they understand the more important things in life? Well, they were about to get a very rude surprise in return; not that she was annoyed enough to deal with her father at a time like this. She hoped Ren was in a good enough mood.
The door opens to reveal a smiling Ren, a rose now sticking from the barrel of her Desert Eagle. "You're such a romantic," Saeko beams, walking over to draw the rose by her teeth from her lover's weapon, then draws one of her knives.
"I can't help myself at times," Ren blows a kiss her way, then leans back as the thunder of angry footsteps echoes from the nearby stairwell. "Hi, Commish! Long time, no see!!"
"You!!!" Nogami snarls, pointing accusingly at the hunter. "I thought you swore you'd never see my daughter again!!!"
"Well, I can't help myself, especially when Sparkles *bared* all to for me to see," Ren grins, then sighs. "Excuse me."
She aims behind the commissioner, then fires, the bullet tearing apart the head of the first of Fernando's team! Shoving the surprised elder Nogami into Saeko's room, Ren closes the door, then yanks a Mini-Uzi from her other holster. "Don't you just hate rude assassins, Sparkles?!!" she yells, her ears picking up storming feet from the other stairwell.
"They have no sense of propriety at all!!" Saeko replies as shadows appear on both sides. "Kill them all, Angel!!!"
"You promise to make love to me afterward?!!"
"I'm already very hot, my sweet little Crusader!!"
"What a demanding woman!" Ren gasps, then leaps out of the shadows, guns tracking on target.
The assassins don't see their deaths coming in time to evade as bullets stitch their heads and backs! Sloppy field discipline; what sort of penny-ante amateurs was De Perez hiring, anyway? As three go down, Ren rolls back into shadow as she reloads her pistol. "Saeko-chan, I want a commitment ceremony!!"
"Eh?!!" Saeko cries out. "You mean it?!!"
"Hai!!" Ren scopes both ways, noting the last two schmucks, one to each side, were keeping out of sight. Damn, couldn't risk shooting through the floorboards; if she missed with the Desert Eagle, she'd probably hit some poor innocent on another floor.
"What about children?!!" Saeko wonders.
"We'll adopt them!" Ren replies. "Get artificial insemination if you want that!! Hell, find some nice guy to do it with if he's willing to do it with us!!! What do you think?!"
"Oh, Angel, yes, yes, YES!!!!"
Below, Fernando smiles. Idiot was too busy chatting with her lover to worry about protecting herself. Too bad. Nodding to his compatriot at the other end of the floor, he bolts up, grinning to see Ren's back turned to him...then gasps as he notices the barrel of her pistol tucked under her armpit, aimed right at him. The other assassin screams as a storm of Uzi fire takes him down, the Desert Eagle barking to terminally stop Fernando in his tracks!!
Ren blinks, her ears picking up no laboured breathing from the lower floors...no matter how well you're trained, excitement and seeing your friends fall like dominoes always makes your heart pump faster, which increased oxygen demand...then sighs, opening the door to Saeko's apartment to see the inspector standing there, a coy smile on her face. "Hi, Sparkles," she winks as they kiss, then turns to see Commissioner Nogami on his back, gazing dazedly at the ceiling. "Hey, Commish, you okay?"
Giddy tears now flow down his face, the shock of the moment overwhelming him. "Y-you have m-my blessings...!"
Saeko and Ren exchange grins, then laugh...as the latter then screams, gripping her wounded armpit from the burn she got after an ejected hot shell casing from the Desert Eagle had seared through her blazer and shirt. "Damn, I knew I should use a revolver these days!" she grits her teeth as Saeko walks her over to the bed, the inspector trying desperately not to laugh...
* * *
"AIOWCH!!!!!!"
"Relax, Ren, this isn't so bad!" Mami sighs as she dabs the burn with a cotton swab. "It's third degree, but localized, not much more than a popped blister. You won't need stitches, but it'll sting for a bit. Now, hold still, you crybaby!"
Ren painfully fidgets, biting her lip, as the doctor cleans up the burn, then places a dressing over it. Mami set herself up on the third floor of Ryou's apartment when everyone moved in; Ryou's parents had a guest room on the fourth floor, which still left several rooms for clients when things returned to normal even if everyone elected to remain. Saeko, Ryou, Kaori and Reika relax by the doorway. "So how's your dad?" Ryou wonders.
"Pretty shaken up; the doctor said he'll be in observation for a week," Saeko sighs. "I must admit, I never expected people to come straight after me like that. Whoever organized that little raid wasn't too shy about causing a ruckus."
"Or they're from countries where it's expected to get back at the police for interfering in their business...like what still goes on in Latin America," Reika gazes at Ryou.
"Yeah," he nods.
Shizuka then walks up, a computer printout in hand. "Here's a picture of the one you wanted looked at, ma'am," she shows it to Ren as she slips on her jacket.
Gazing at the rough-hewn face, the hunter frowns. "Oh, I know this guy. Basque extremist who went independent some years back. He's an asshole!" she shakes her head. "Last known employment?"
"Simon De Perez," Shizuka smiles ruefully. "Fernando de la Rocha, age 36, born in the Spanish Pyrenees near Andorra. Expert in quick assassinations, usually concentrating on politicians or law enforcement...and misinformation ops."
"Including making people 'die,' right?" Reika hums.
"That's him...or WAS him, thanks to Miss Saeba," Shizuka nods. "Rumours of DGSE and MI6 black ops training in his youth before he decided to fight for his homeland, but with the recent moderation of the laws concerning the Basques, he found himself out of favour and a job. That's when General De Perez picked him up."
Ryou tenses, his eyes sullen with rage. Revelations like THAT, he could do without. "Well, it confirms it now. Simon's alive. When will Marcius, Mary and Sonia arrive?"
"Tomorrow morning from New York JFK via L.A. and Honolulu, due at Narita by five-thirty."
"Okay, he'll probably clear the airport by eight if Customs aren't a problem," Ryou sighs, then stifles a yawn. "We'll be there by then to pick them up. Good night, everyone."
"'Night!" the others chime.
"Will he be okay?" Reika hums.
"He should be," Saeko sighs as she allows Ren to draw her against the taller woman. "Personally, I'm glad. It's a chance for him to finally bury all those ghosts and get on with his life."
"Speaking of which, we better make some preparations," Ren holds out her hand. "Your revolver, Kaori."
Kaori blinks, then hands her the Smith & Wesson M629. Staring at the sights, Ren shakes her head. "Whatever possessed Ryou-chan to alter the sights? You can't hit the broadside of a barn."
"Well," Kaori blushes, then grins. "It was his way of keeping me from falling too deep into this. Let me have a life afterward when it was all over."
Ren and Saeko exchange looks. "Against De Perez, we'll all sooner or later be decisively engaged, even you, Kaori," the former gazes at the gun. "For you, it'll be worse; you've probably been scoped out as a 'soft' target, an easy kill. Let me work on this, then we'll hit the pistol range. Good night, folks."
The couple steps out of the examination room. Kaori blinks, then after parting from Reika and Mami, heads back to her bedroom. Soft target. Easy kill. A icy grip of fear seizes her heart as Ryou's words on the matter come back. There were people out there who'd have no compunction whatsoever of killing her, all because she was Cityhunter's partner. And Mad Simon was a man who had wiped out whole villages to keep people intimidated and repressed to maintain his hold on power. Fear is then replaced by sullen anger. How dare he?! Who gave him the right to make the life of her beloved partner hell, even now? Umibozu and Ryou had buried the hatchet a long time ago, in fact looked on that war as just doing business. Why couldn't people be like them?
Stepping into her bedroom, she closes the door, then flicks on the lights. No response. "Oh, darn, light burnt out!" she hisses, then tenses, the hairs on her neck standing on end. "Who's there?"
"Such nice mokkori thighs, Kaori-chan..." a finger gently strokes her legs.
A blaze of anger races through her as the thought of pulping Ryou with a hammer comes to mind...then she stops. He had called HER thighs "mokkori," Ryou's way of saying they were sexy.
Her...
Turning, she reaches down to cup his chin with her hand. "Are you here for a little ippatsu, Ryou-chan?"
"What do you think, Kaori-chan?" he stares at her.
They exchange a look, their eyes still visible from outside light. She smiles, drawing him towards the bed. "Yeah, you're still a hentai...but you're MY hentai."
"Always am, always will be," he grins as they sit down...
...then a cat yowls. "CITYHUNTER!!!!" both scream.
* * *
Outside the room, Reika lowers her eyes, the flash of defeat deep in those brown orbs as she turns away, fighting back her own tears. *You've won, Kaori. I hope you're happy together...*
* * *
To be continued...