Author's Note: Ok, just so you know, I'm probably going to mix and match the Scouts American given names with their Japanese names. Most likely use their American first names, and their Japanese last names (seeing as that seems to be the case anyways). So if there is a problem with that, hey, I'm going off of what I have, and what I don't have, is an extensive knowledge of the Japanese language. Now, if I chew them up horribly, feel free to shoot me…an email that is.
Enjoy!
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RBL_M1A2Tanker*
A Soldier in Tokyo
Chapter 1: What the F…rick…is going on?
"Sailor Moon…what are we going to do with this guy?" Sailor Mercury asked as the Scouts headed towards Mercury's home. They were walking a ways ahead of Tank, mostly to discuss their predicament, but partly because…well, he reeked.
Tank smirked, "Yea, I'd stay a bit clear of me too ladies." He walked quietly, always looking about. The several weeks of living on his own in a strange, and possibly hostile land tends to make one a bit paranoid. "Not that trouble needs help finding me. Hell, I seem to go get it." He mused, smiling wryly. "Question is…how the fu…er…hell did I get here? This is supposed to be a cartoon, not some real life place. This shi…grr…stuff isn't supposed to exist!" He berated himself for swearing, even if it was silent. He'd been doing that a bit much of late, and needed to correct it, at least while in the presence of civilians. He looked at the girls' outlines ahead, watching as they conversed amongst each other.
"You know…for being supposed cartoons, they don't look half bad from this angle." He appraised approvingly. "Oh knock it off. They're far too young anyways for you." That little incessant voice said from the back of his head. "So? Nothing wrong in looking is there? Besides, I know where my priorities are." He reasoned with said voice.
"I don't know Raye. Amy says he knows all about us, maybe he wants something?" Moon answered Mars.
"Like what? A bath maybe?" Mars held her nose for a moment, waving a hand before her face. The others giggled…well, all except for Mercury. She was the only one who knew how to speak English, and had the presence of mind to remember what he had done for them.
"Stop that Raye. He did help us out after all." Amy chided, stopping their giggling.
"Yea, kinda dumb if you ask me. Yea, sure, he's a soldier and all, but if he knows what he said he knows, then why would he attack something he knew he couldn't beat?" Sailor Jupiter responded. The others thought about it for a moment, realizing it made sense. Moon spoke up first.
"We'll have to be cautious with him then, and find out if he's with The Enemy or not." The others nodded. Moon continued, "In the meantime, what do you guys think of him?"
They thought for a moment.
"I don't know…I really can't tell what to make of him." The others nodded their ascent as they turned a corner into a dark alley. Mercury stepped back out and held up a hand, motioning Tank to stop. Instead he became concerned and closed the distance between them.
In a whisper he asked, "What's up? Trouble?" Amy blinked, still not sure what to make of the soldier, before she answered.
"No, no trouble Sergeant. We just wanted you to stand out here for a second. Won't take long." Tank cocked an eyebrow, then a thought.
"You're going to return to your normal selves I take it?"
Amy started, surprised yet again, before stammering, "Y-yes."
Tank nodded, and then took a position beside a drink dispenser. Amy found it difficult to see him, darkly dressed as he was. "Sheesh, what's with this kid?" He watched as she tried to see him better, but only saw a rough outline in the darkness.
Finally, he called out, "Look, if you don't mind, I'd really like to get inside a building and out of sight. Hurry up, please." He added that almost as an afterthought. Startled, she quickly slipped back into the alley. Tank shook his head, thinking, "Kids."
Within moments, several normal looking young women stepped out of the alley, and began searching for the soldier. Amy joined them last, and called softly, "Ok, we're ready. Let's go."
"Good." He stepped over to them, startling a couple of the girls. "What?" He asked, puzzled. "You telling me you've never had someone do that to you before?" A couple shook their heads after Amy translated. Tank sighed, muttering an apology. The two he startled smiled slightly, and nodded their heads, then began walking.
After about ten minutes of walking, they finally came to Amy Mizuno's home. They went in through the front door, slipped off their shoes, and proceeded to head upstairs when they noticed that they weren't being followed. Tank stood outside the door…looking slightly concerned. Amy walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong Sergeant?"
He wrung his mouth around a bit, and then finally ground out, "Well…see…there's a little problem. You know how you take off your footwear when you enter the house here?"
She nodded, puzzled. "Of course…it's only proper after all."
"Oh I don't have a problem with that at all. It's just that, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm not the cleanest guy around. This also extends to my feet…" He pointed at his boots, which were covered in dust as the proverbial light bulb clicked on. "I really don't want to get my funky feet on your floors. Maybe you have some plastic bags or something?" A couple of garbage bags were quickly located.
After wrapping his boots with the bags, he followed the Scouts upstairs to Amy's room. Her folks weren't around at the time, so it was a good time for them to converse without any possible chance of him being seen, and any troublesome questions asked.
The moment he stepped into the room, he noticed an odd thing. A couple of cats gazed upon him with far too intelligent eyes. One was black, the other white, with shiny moon crescents implanted on their foreheads. He also noticed that everyone was as far away from him as could possibly be. He shrugged inwardly, as he slipped his K-pod off, and then his LBE.
Serena gazed at the soldier as he took off some of his equipment. Without the helmet more of his facial features could be seen although the face paint hid quite a bit, even in the brightly lit room. She noticed that he had short, bright orange hair, and his face looked bristly. He looked up at them, with guarded, yet slightly teasing eyes, as he asked Amy something.
"What did he say?" Lita asked.
"Ahh…he wanted to know if he could use our bathroom. He said he hasn't had a shower in several weeks…and that he noticed that we couldn't stand him." A couple of the girls became somewhat ashamed of their actions, especially Serena. He said something again in that light bass voice of his. The girls turned to Amy.
"He said don't worry, he'd have done the same thing." They felt slightly better, but only a little.
Tank left his helmet and harness behind in the room while he followed Amy. "Blast these bags! I'll be glad to get out of these boots for awhile, just to feel carpet again." He nearly tripped on his baggy feet a couple times before he finally made it to the bathroom. It wasn't quite what he was used to. It was split into two areas, an actual washroom, with sink and bath area, and what looked like a laundry room.
"What? No shower?" He looked about, but couldn't quite find one in the room.
"Yes there is one. It's above your head." He turned his painted face up and, sure enough, there it was. The paint hid his embarrassment thankfully.
"Oh yea…there it is. Ok…so which handle is which, and where's the soap and clothing detergent?" She blinked at the latter, but pointed out where it was, where the other cleaning supplies where, and pointed out which knob turned on the heat and which the cold. She turned away, yet before leaving, she looked back, just as he fooled with the knobs, blasting himself in the face. Sputtering and flailing, he quickly shut the water back off. "Well that was fucking stupid of me…" he muttered, not realizing that she could hear him. She blushed slightly, and then more fearsomely when he unbuttoned and slipped his top off. "Ahh…I better get back to the others now…" She slid the door shut behind her.
"Hmm?" He looked in the direction of the sound, and caught just a slight glimpse of skirt as Amy shut the door. "Oops…beat she heard me too. Man…need to work on my language." He shrugged out of the rest of his clothing, and shoved everything into the washer. Within moments it was whirring contentedly, and not long after he was living in heaven as the shower did it's work.
"Hell yea…this is more like it!"
It was going to be a long time before he left…
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"I don't trust him. He hasn't told us anything. It's just too secretive for me." Lita scowled.
"Secretive? He told us nothing because we couldn't even stand to be around him." Mina pointed out.
Lita simply scowled again, but said nothing. "This language barrier does make this a bit difficult though." Amy mentioned, pondering. A seed of an idea had been planted, but she couldn't quite figure out what to make of it just yet.
The cats had been sitting on Amy's bed, also pondering. "Luna, what do you make of him." Artemis, the white colored cat asked his counterpart.
Luna shook her moon-studded head before replying, "I'm really not sure. From what the Scouts told us he was quite brave to attack a monster of greater power than himself. If this is a plot by The Enemy, then they are hiding it really well." Artemis nodded his agreement.
The others had listened to the comments, and most agreed. "We need to find out more about him. Where did he come from? What's his real name? Why is he here?" Mina was interrupted, "Don't you mean, how old is he, what does he really look like, and is he available?" Serena coyly tossed in. Mina scowled, face flushed.
"No…that's not what I meant at all. Although…" She suddenly became thoughtful, "…it wouldn't be a bad thing to know either." The others groaned, shook their heads, or showed other signs of exasperation.
Luna jumped in, "Mina is right though. We need to know all the things she mentioned, and more."
"Such as?" Lita asked.
"Such as how much does he really know? What plans does he have for us? Is be blackmailing us, setting us up, or joining us?" Artemis finished.
Serena replayed the scene in her head. "He attacked the youma without any fear. He seemed confident about what he was doing, even when the fight turned against him. Did he really know what he was up against?" Her mind was blank as to an answer to the last.
The others had also begun replaying the scene in their minds eyes, using their own perspectives to determine something from the unknown soldier.
"His attack was sudden, quickly executed. I almost didn't see it when he did it." Raye analyzed his fight using her knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. "Yet when he lost his gun, he started to use his helmet. Very unusual." She giggled a little though at the image of his painted face as he, almost cheerfully, pounded on the creatures' head.
Lita spoke aloud first. "He seems strong. He nearly beat the youma by himself. If this is a plot, he wasn't doing a good job of hiding it. He almost seemed to…enjoy the fight."
"Yes, I noticed that too." Raye interjected. A couple of the others nodded, although Amy seemed subdued. Serena turned her questioning gaze upon her.
"Amy, you were the only one who understood what he was saying. Did it seem like he was enjoying himself?" Amy flushed as the memory of what all was said returned.
"Well…not at first. He was very…ah…verbose in some of the words he used. Once he got the youma down though, he did seem to enjoy what he was doing. Like as if he felt he was winning."
"Verbose? What do you mean?" Luna asked.
Amy bit her lip, as the memory hit her again. Tank sitting on the youma's belly, pounding away on its' head, spouting something each time he brought it back up. "Bitch…Die…Who's your daddy…No soup for you!" She suppressed a giggle, then pondered, "Should I tell them everything I heard or not?"
Serena shoved her face into Amy's, slyly asking, "Come on Amy…what did he say?"
Amy took a deep breath, and began to recite everything she heard…without any editing.
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"Ahh lord…that was great!" Tank toweled himself off after having a second shower. Steam filled the foyer from the high heat he had used, with thick beads of condensation dripping down from the walls and ceiling. Towel around his waist, he stepped over to the washer and dryer, and noticed that the washer was finished. Nodding his approval he quickly shoved the wet contents into the dryer and started it. He stepped over to the sink, opened the mirrored cabinet, and gazed inside.
"Hmm…well, it's not much, but this'll work just fine." He pulled out a small razor, although he couldn't find much else. Shrugging inwardly about the lack of any shaving cream, he closed the cabinet back up, ready to shave. He hung his head though from his thoughtlessness. "Twit…how do you expect to shave if you can't see yourself?" He berated himself aloud before wiping the mirror off of condensation.
"Whoa…damn I'm looking scraggly!" He gazed at himself in surprise, forgetting his promise to cut back on his swearing. Sighing, then grimacing, he slowly worked the razor down his face as he began to dry-shave. "Errrgh! Man…this is going to burn for a day or so."
Continuing his struggles with the razor, he began to think about how things had turned even more askew than he would have ever dreamed.
"Alright…sitrep is still looking bad. Not only am I not in the right country, I'm not even in the right world. Obviously I'm not dreaming…this razor would have woken me up for certain." He grimaced as a particularly tough spot of beard resisted. "I only watched this show off an on when I had nothing better else to watch. So do I tell them what I do know?"
He pondered for a moment before answering his own question. "No. If this world is actually real, then it would be wrong of me to change any possible events that might be forthcoming. Doubt they'll like it, but tough. So what do I tell them?" He had no idea on this.
He chuckled aloud, "Heh, not every day I have to think of shit…er...stuff like this." He washed off the razor, and then cleaned up his mess in the sink before leaning up against the dryer, waiting for his stuff to finish.
"Hmm…" He mused as he looked himself over, "I lost some weight. Sweeeet. Top will be pleased with me, after he chews my ass a bit." He said cheerfully, imaging his First Sergeant actually being happy…well, for at least a moment.
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"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"And that's everything that he said." Amy finished telling them everything she had heard. "They did ask." She comforted herself with that, although the strange looks she was getting, or the silence they emitted wasn't very comforting, to say in the least.
Serena was the first to utter something. "Um…."
Never was a greater word spoken.
"He's…um…verbose indeed Amy." Luna weakly offered.
"What's taking him so long? He should be done by now!" Lita exclaimed irritably, breaking the mood.
Amy stood up. "I'll go check on him." She said quickly as she headed for the door. The others merely nodded their assent, although Lita's eye twitched slightly.
Serena noticed this. "Hey Lita…what's up?"
"What?" She snapped slightly. Serena slightly rocked back from the comment.
"That! What's up? You're awfully on edge tonight." Lita sighed, eyes closing for a brief moment while she gathered her thoughts.
"I don't know." She finally said. "I guess I just don't like surprises, or unknowns, and this guy is both so far." The others slowly nodded their agreement at this as they replayed the events of the evening yet again.
Mina quickly quipped, "Well, we'll find out everything soon enough I'm sure."
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"Sergeant? Sergeant are you alright?" Amy called through the paper-thin door.
Within the room Tank groggily opened his eyes. "Oh man. Guess I was a bit tired. Didn't even know I dozed off." A soft voice called again from the other side of the door, and then he heard it start to slide. Still groggy, he turned his head in the direction of the sound, still leaning against the dryer with his arms across his chest, and nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Huh?" He gazed at a highly astonished and flushed young face dumbly before everything snapped into focus, almost with a physical snap. Automatically his modesty defensive systems activated, long before he realized they had, lashing out in a fierce full, almost terrorized cry.
"Ho shit! What the hell ya doing! Jesus crime-a-knitely I've only got a towel on here! You crazy!" While he was busy saying all that, his body was busy trying to hide himself, which it learned fast that, quite simply, you couldn't climb a tile wall. It just doesn't happen. Points for the attempt though.
Eyes wide as saucers one second, then covered while she turned away, she managed to choke out, "We were just wondering what was taking so long…I'll wait outside!" She nearly slammed the door back into place behind her.
For a few minutes both parties panted heavily from the adrenaline rush to their systems.
Taking several more deep breaths, Tank managed to spit out, "Damn…that wasn't pretty. Whew…never had that happen before. Not sure I want to have it happen again either." He felt a familiar stirring down below, and he angrily hissed, "At ease you! This is no time for that." He shook his head, and glanced at the dryer.
"Thank god it's done." He called out to the door, "I'll be out in just a couple minutes. Had to wait till my clothes were clean and dry."
"O…ok then." Amy shakily managed to reply, getting her own systems back under control. "I-I'll wait for you in the room…with the others I mean. I mean we'll all be waiting there for you…Ooooh!" She squinted in embarrassment as she dashed down the hallway, barely avoiding hitting a table.
The other Scouts and the cats looked up in surprise as Amy nearly crashed into the door, then slide it shut with a slam, panting against the door.
"What? What happened?" Artemis asked.
Mina raised an eyebrow. Serena simply blinked at the display.
Raye cocked her head slightly as she asked, "What's the deal with you?"
Amy only managed to shake her head in response. Swallowing, she managed, "N-n-n-never mind. It's nothing."
Lita scratched her head as they all glanced at one another before shrugging.
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Several minutes later…
Tank walked into the room, much calmer and considerably more awake than he had been earlier, and twenty times as refreshed. His boots were off still, and he left them in the bags he wore them in with.
"Just what the doctor ordered. Now, where were we?" He said cheerfully, placing his boots and the rest of his gear on the small balcony. All except for Amy were gazing on in wonder.
"Wow…he looks so much different without the stuff on his face." Serena thought. The others thoughts were much along those lines as well. His face was pale, with freckles dotting his cheeks, although they didn't detract from his looks. His eyebrows, in sharp contrast to his light orange hair, were a bright blond. His eyes though, were an aqua color, much like the color of water in a swimming pool.
He gazed back in return. "Hmmm…Amy is still a little bit flustered. Guess she didn't tell them. Oh well, if she didn't say a thing, neither will I." He noticed the cats for the first time. "Hey. Wassup cats?" He bent down at the knees and patted them with his palms. Luna and Artemis shot a quick glance at each other, and then padded over to him, not sensing any bad intentions. Smirking, he reached out and placed his hands, palms down in from of their faces.
"I'm impressed." Luna thought appreciatively. "He knows how to greet an animal correctly." Almost without thinking, she sniffed his hand, and then slid her head underneath it, which he gently scratched behind her ears. She purred.
Artemis had followed suit almost at the same time as her.
The girls were surprised. "Hey guys…have you ever seen them do that before?" All shook in the negative.
Tank spoke up before anything else could be said. "So, you're Luna and Artemis eh?" He now scratched their chins, which they enjoyed.
"Oooh…a little to the left would you?" Luna said in English, without even knowing she did it.
"Sure thing." He adjusted.
"Oh yes. That's the spot." Luna's feline grin grew tremendously.
Amy was flabbergasted. "Hey…how did you know…" He cut her off.
"That they knew English? I didn't actually. Call it a hunch." He finally sat down, crossing his legs underneath him. Disappointed, Artemis and Luna slowly moved away to sit next to Serena.
"Before we get down to it, I'd like to ask ya something Amy." She blinked.
"I know you have that…whatizit…Mercury computer which can tell ya just about everything. Could you look and see if maybe there's some kinda translator chip or something? I can't live in this country without an interpreter, and I don't intend to be here long enough to learn the language on my own."
She thought for a second about activating the visor, when she noticed him scowl slightly. "What is it?"
"Look, I told you I know about it. I even named it for ya. So what's with the delay?" She was about to retort when she realized that, there really wasn't a good reason for delaying. She reached up and activated the visor. A thin, narrow blue band shimmered across her eyes, and a small keyboard appeared before her. The seed of an idea that was planted earlier came into full bloom with his query, and in moments, she found just what he was looking for.
"Yes, there is something. It's a translator earpiece and vocal chip. Just a moment." She dabbed the keys some more as the others watched, although it was obvious they didn't know what it was she was doing. A small blue light shimmered a moment on the floor before her, and when it passed a small pill shaped chip and two micro earpieces had appeared. She picked them up and held them out to him.
He took both, first looking at them, then her dubiously. "This is it?" He said, right eyebrow cocked.
"Yes." She replied, dabbing the keyboard for instructions. "All you have to do is insert the earpieces into your ears, and swallow the vocal chip, and you'll be able to hear and talk in Japanese. There was something in here about other language, and an add-on that allows you to read as well, but I can't find it now."
He looked at the small items in his hand again, and then shrugged. "Well, let's hope it works then." He took the pill/chip and tossed it down. He then slipped the earpieces in, and then asked, "So how do I make sure I'm talking English or Japanese with these things on?"
"Ahhh…." She looked some more. "Just say 'translator on' or 'off.' That's it."
"Hmm…sure could have used this on some of the guys back home." He mused, before commanding, "Translator on." Nothing happened.
He looked back at Amy "So, does it work?" He asked in perfect Japanese
She smiled, while everyone else, minus the cats, started. "Yes, it works just as it should." She replied in Japanese. He smiled back. "Good."
He now turned his gaze to the others. "Well, I'm sure you all have lots of things to ask me. Past time that we got started isn't it?" Now past their shock, they nodded.
Lita took a step forward. He turned to face her, automatically tense. "Hmm, a toughie. Guess she is the muscle of the group, she acts like a brawler." She interrupted his thoughts.
"I'll go first." She speared him with her eyes. "Who are you? Who do you work for? What's your game?"
He leaned back slightly, and then chuckled. "Heh, blunt and to the point I see." He looked up at her. "Can't say as I'd blame you either. If I was in your position, I'm sure I'd do the same. I already told you what'd work to get my attention. I won't tell you my actual name, it's not really important here. As for whom I work for, and what's my 'game' as you so put it, that's easy. I work for the US Army, plain and simple. My job is as a tank crewman. Put me in a M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, and I'll get it where you need it to go, and do some major damage. My goal is to get back where I belong. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Since when did the US Army know anything about us though?" He turned in the direction of the new voice.
"Man…they sound much cuter now that I understand them. Hey, quit that! Back to business. That was Raye." He gazed at the Scout of Fire. "To be honest, I'd say they don't know a thing."
"Then how do you know us? Are you with The Enemy?" New voice, a higher pitched one than either Lita's or Raye's. He looked at Mina.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told ya, and no, I'm not."
"Prove it." Lita again. Serena, Amy, and the cats sat back and watched for the time being.
"Prove it? What, like me going up against that crazy chick wasn't proof enough? Had I known what I know now, I probably wouldn't have jumped in." This stunned them all.
"Why is that?" Luna asked.
"Because I don't want to get dragged into something I can't deal with, and already I've been drug into a situation I'm not sure I can deal with." He said crossly.
"What do you mean?" Serena this time.
He turned his quiet gaze on her, and she shuddered, as the eyes seemed to bore into her soul. "It's simple Meatball head. Yea, I know your nickname too. It's simple enough that I'm surprised you all haven't figured it out already." Serena's face flushed in anger at the familiar nickname being used by a complete stranger. Everyone else seemed to get angry too at the implication.
"What are you saying? Are you saying we're being duped?" Lita said in an angry tone.
His eyes finally flashed annoyance. "God, why haven't they figured it out yet?" "I'm not saying that at all. I know what you're capable of, now, and what you will be. All I'm saying is that you should have realized that…"
"…he's not from a posting by the US Army here in Japan." Amy finished. The others gazed at her. She gazed back. "He's right. It is simple. That patch on his shoulder, the fact that he doesn't know any Japanese, that he's nowhere near the few US Army bases that are in Japan. He was brought here without his knowledge from somewhere in the US."
"Exactly." Tank affirmed, cheered. "Well, at least as exact as they're going to get at this time."
This seemed to mollify Lita a bit.
"Ok, so what do you really know about us?" Raye asked.
Tank thought about this for a moment. "You know…I've thought about this for awhile. I've decided that I'm not going to tell you that just now." This set the others off.
"Why not?"
"What'cha hiding?"
"What's wrong with telling us?"
"I knew he was up to no good." The last angered him, and he decided to let Lita, the one who uttered it, know.
Jumping up, he whirled on Lita and closed to within inches of her face before she had time to react. Speaking very softly, his tone was neutral, but both understood what he implied as he said, "You can stop that right there. I don't have to tell you anything. I'm quickly getting tired of being assumed to be with your enemy. My reasons for telling or not are my own. I don't report to you, I don't follow you; I don't do anything that has to deal with you. I did you a favor tonight; the least you can do is show a little common courtesy. I strongly suggest you change your tune kid, right here, right now." Lita blinked rapidly as Tank gazed down upon her hard. "Thank you Drill Sergeant Gilbert." He sent a brief thanks to his short in stature Drill Sergeant from BASIC.
"Wha…where did this guy come from?" Lita thought to herself as the soldier bore down on her. "One second he was cool as an ice cube on the floor, next he's in my face." She had stared down demons and other worldly monsters, yet this guy was putting the fear of god in her unlike anything else in her young life ever had. She almost buckled under too, if not for that core of steel within her that helped her in a fight. She managed to steel her own gaze, but couldn't quite bring herself to have the righteous indignation that would have come to her if he were in the wrong. "But…he wasn't. I was bearing down on him kinda hard." She realized.
Finally, she swallowed her pride a bit and chewed out, while still gazing into his eyes, "Ok, I admit I was prodding you a bit too much. It was too strange tonight for me not to. I'm sorry."
His gaze shifted slightly from being hard and cold, to being understanding. The coldness was still there, but it had warmed considerably. "Understood. Just remember what assume means." He said.
Puzzled, she asked, "What does it mean?"
Smirking, he replied, "Assume, when broken up, means 'ASS-U-ME.' You've just made an ass out of both you and me. Remember that, it'll come in handy down the line." He backed away, sliding towards the balcony. His words rang in her head for a bit, and how true they were.
He continued, "Look, I don't have any 'sinister' plans in mind. I'm not asking you for anything, and I don't want anything. If at all possible, I don't want to get involved with you gals, period. I'm in the wrong place, in more ways than one, and I don't need to be getting dragged into your conflict. I just did you a favor and played a good distraction for ya." He slipped his LBE back on, looking at them as he did so.
"Considering how poorly I did against your opponent tonight, if I was you, I sure as hell wouldn't ask a soldier with no special abilities to speak of to join up. What I did tonight was really quite stupid of me." He slipped his boots on, tightening the straps on the tanker boots.
"So why did you?"
He looked up, confused. "I beg your pardon?"
Serena gazed at him, asking again, "Why did you do it? If you knew it was so dumb, why did you still get involved?"
He finished with the last bootstrap, and slowly stood up. He was quiet for a few minutes. Finally, his tone introspective, he answered. "It's just the way I am I guess. I saw a bunch of strangely dressed cute girls being attacked by something, and I just couldn't stop myself if I wanted to. I felt I had to do something." His eyes again gazed into Serena's, only this time, they weren't scanning her soul. His mental shields were down, and she could visibly see it. This time, she scanned his.
After a couple minutes, she smiled slightly, understanding him more completely than if he said a thousand words, although it was doubtful that he was even aware he had opened himself up that much.
Shrugging, he grabbed his K-pod, and placed it on his head. "I'll be on the balcony here while you talk things over. If you can't come up with a decision or something, just let me know. You'll be able to find me again easily I'm sure." He stepped all the way onto the balcony, and leaned against the railing, hands holding on for balance.
The Scouts drew away into a circle into the corner to talk, while Tank looked up at the sky and the stars. "Hmmm…very pretty night tonight. Although this stupid overhang on Amy's ceiling blocks most of it." He leaned back a bit more, so he could stretch his back a bit, and see more of the sky.
In their circle…
"Can we believe him?" Mina asked.
"I don't know, I don't sense any misdirection on his part. I get the impression that he did just what he said he did. A favor." Luna shrugged her feline shoulders.
Serena thought a moment, and then turned to Amy. "Hey Amy, while he's not looking, use your visor on him. Get everything you can, we might need to know someday." Slightly curious at the gentle command, she did it. She looked up at him with the visor on, and let it scan him several times in several ways as he leaned back a bit more to gaze at the sky.
"He looks so…innocent right now." She murmured.
Lita snorted. "Yea, well, you didn't see what I saw. It was like…he had ice water in his veins." She shuddered.
"You did antagonize him though." Artemis pointed out.
She sputtered a moment before coughing out, "So?" Pride is a tough thing to let go, and she rarely had a cause to let it go for. Except for this time.
"He's honorable guys. I can feel it in my heart and soul. If he wants to be left alone, then we'll do it." Serena finally said in one of her few moments where the leader in her could be plainly seen. "I get the feeling that we'll be seeing more of him though."
They all gazed at her questioningly. She shrugged, "I don't know why, I just do." Finally, she straightened up. "Let's tell him what we think."
"Right." The others nodded, and then straightened as well. They all turned to face him, and faced…
An empty balcony.
"What the?" They rushed over, not finding a trace of him on the balcony. They looked over, but could only see inky darkness below them. The wind rustled the bushes and tress about them, and ruffled their hair and dresses slightly, but as for the soldier, nothing was heard.
****************************************
While the Scouts had been discussing things, Tank had continued to stare up at the sky, trying to identify major star formations (the few he knew anyways). Problem was, the overhang on the balcony kept blocking the next formation he was trying to identify, or at least part of it, so he'd lean out a bit more, all the way to the point only his toes of his boots where keeping him from slipping.
Tanker had always been known to be curious, sometimes, some folks claimed he got 'tunnel-vision' with his curiosity, and he'd forget things.
For example…
A Kevlar helmet, by itself, weighs eleven pounds. Add the foam inserts, the web harness, the strap, the camouflage cover, and it felt like it weighed less, but it sometimes could weigh just a bit more. In any case…
Tank continued to lean back further and further, trying to find that one last formation he knew, and hoping that he wouldn't get busted by the cops for being a peeping tom or something, when a more basic law kicked in. The Law of Gravity.
"Aw shit." He managed to mumble as his body flipped, his hands still latched to the railing. So he looked much like an old flip toy, except that there was a bar in the middle, unlike on the flip toy. His face was mashed against the bar, although nothing was broken thanks to the helmet. Stunned, he let go of the railing, and he fell a story, into the darkness.
Or, to be more precise, into the bushes directly below the balcony.
The Scouts rushed out and looked hard for him, but, thanks to his camouflaged BDUs, he was saved from their gazes while he lay down between a couple juniper bushes, face down in the dirt.
"Awwwww…damn…that…hurt." He muttered finally, after several long minutes of cursing himself mentally for his stupidity. "Ok…two acts of stupidity a night are no longer allowed."
Painfully, he pried himself from the bushes, just as the Scouts had left the balcony. He looked up, and, noticing that no one was there, decided, "Ah screw it. I said my piece. If they want to let me know, they'll come for me."
Brushing himself off, he removed the bags from his boots, pocketing them for later personal use, and headed back to his temporary home.
********************************************
"Any sign?" Luna asked.
The Scouts shook their heads. "Didn't see a thing. But, it's too dark to really see anything. We'll probably see more tomorrow." Raye reported.
Luna nodded. "Yes, tomorrow would be a better time to look for him, that is, if you want to." She gazed up at Serena.
"We'll look around here tomorrow, at least. He might have hurt himself or something."
"Good idea. Now," Artemis yawned, "it's getting late. We should head back home now." A couple of the others yawned as well.
Mina picked up Artemis and carried him in her arms as she headed home. "Did you hear why he got involved for?" She whispered, as if she didn't want the others to hear.
The white cat looked up at her. "Well, yes I did. Why?"
"He said it was because he saw some cute girls being attacked. Maybe he's a husband from the past?" Artemis's lips twitched a bit, then he sighed. "Should have known." Narrowing his eyes, he smirked, "He also said they were strangely dressed too. Or did you forget that part?" She didn't hear that though, her thoughts were a million miles away from the present as she tried to dig up memories of the past, in the hopes that maybe the solder was one of their soldiers, or even better.
She would be trying for a long time.
*******************************************************
"Ahhh…finally. Made it back." He smiled in relief. He wasn't sure he'd find it at first, but it wasn't as far away as he thought it would be. Wearily he closed in on the wood line, when he felt a dark presence behind him. He closed his eyes, lip-synching several strong words as he slowly turned.
"So you are the interloper." A strange looking, thin man stood before him. His jaw was straight and strong, with his long orange hair tied into a ponytail. He stood taller than Tank, but wasn't as stocky. His body looked strong nonetheless. He wore white gloves and a black outfit that seemed to be tailored to fit around his torso, but flowed loosely on his arms.
"Shit…dammit dammit dammit! Now I really wish I didn't get involved!" He berated himself, while answering warily, "Yea, I guess you could say I am. Who are you?"
The figure chuckled. "Who am I? I'm surprised you don't know already. I'm Zocite. General of Queen Beryl's armies, and second only to her in power."
"Oh great, I hooked me a big one then didn't I?" His body tensed, not sure what the deal was, but was quite sure he wasn't going to like it.
"So, what'cha coming to pay little ol' me a visit for Zeke?" The taller man frowned at the nickname.
"It is Zocite. You will refer to me as such." He scowled as the camo clad man laughed at him.
"Why is it that everyone is making assumptions tonight?" His gaze hardened. "Look Zeke, Zoke, whatever you want to be called, I could give two shits. I don't work for you, so I'll call you whatever I wish. Comprende?"
The evil General smirked slightly. "Heh, feisty."
"Yea yea, get to the point. You didn't come here just to tell me who you were did you?"
"True, I didn't. I came just to see who you worked for." He closed his eyes a second as he continued. "I admit that I assumed you were working for those meddlesome Sailor Brats when you attacked my Pistola. Very nicely done I must say. Quite impressive for someone lacking any powers to speak of."
A bead of sweat dripped down Tanks face as he gazed at the creature before him. "Ok…ok…what's this dude do…ahhh…works for Beryl, check. Is quite strong, check. Probably could kick my ass right now…check. Guess I'll have to play this out and see what he's got up his sleeve."
"So, I really must know, impressive one, whose side are you on?" His gaze shifted ever so slightly. Promising great things…either helpful, or painful, depending upon the answer.
"Neither Zeke. All I'll say is that I ended up here when I sure as hell didn't want to be. I'll tell you what I told the Scouts, I don't want to be involved in your conflict. You don't need me, and I sure as fuck don't need you." His words sounded tough, but with only one bullet left in his 9mm, his options were less than stellar.
Zocite thought about this for a moment. "Well, see, now I'm in a bit a bind here. See, you did attack one of my collectors."
"Had I known, I would have left it for the Scouts to deal with. I was playing that deal without the full deck being available." Tank retorted.
"Even so, you still managed to harm it greatly."
"I did?" Tank said, surprised.
"Very much so. Which is why I'm so impressed, I'm willing to offer you a deal."
"What kinda deal?" He asked, wary.
"Join us."
Tank dropped his head, incredulous. "What is it with you guys? You just want people to join you on the drop of a hat?"
"Well, if the opportunity presents itself, yes. Much easier on the recruiting that way."
"Heh, I know about recruiting. How do you think Uncle Sam got me in this uniform?"
"Eh?" Zocite looked a little closer at the tanker. His eyes widened perceptively as a realization hit him.
"Ah, I see, you are a United States soldier. That explains your temperament. Japanese soldiers are very good fighters and all, but they are just a bit…lacking. Hard to explain, and I really do have other matters to attend to. What is your answer?"
"I'd like to know the full deal before I attempt to cut the deck for the shuffle."
"Fair enough." Zocite walked forward a few steps. "You join us, you'll become quite powerful. That, added to your, shall we say, 'improvisational' skills would make you quite a deadly foe for the Brats indeed. You don't, then I'll probably have to kill you."
"Ah, and you almost had me sold too, but that last option just didn't hit me right. See, I don't respond too well to threats." Zocite hadn't noticed, but Tank had slipped forward a bit closer. Quickly he bent down and pulled the tanto knife from his boot, and the 9mm from its holster. He stuck the pistol under the General's chin, and the knifepoint at his evil heart. "As I'm sure you don't either. So I'm going to make a counter proposal."
Calmly, Beryl's general replied, "By all means, do tell."
"How about, I don't join you, and I don't join the Scouts. I get my tail back to where it belongs, and I'm out of your hair to do with as you please to the Scouts. Or vice versa, whichever comes first." He jabbed the knife gently into his chest a bit. "How's that dig ya?"
Zocite chuckled at this. "Quite the cool customer you are. You have to know that you're no match for me, yet you put me in quite the precarious position."
"Oh don't get me wrong, I know that you guys are impervious to bullets. Which is why I've A; got the barrel under your chin, and B; I have this knife pointed at your heart. If I have to go, I want the satisfaction of at least knocking you around a bit, or pissing you off greatly. Either way, it'll probably get the Scouts attention. Now that's something we're trying to avoid, isn't it?"
Zocite smiled, "Touché. Nicely done. I see you are quite skilled indeed." Tank interrupted him.
"And stop kissing my ass. I hate brown-nosers; they're a waste of time. I still take the first comment as a compliment though." Tank said cheerfully.
Zocite's smile vanished. In its place was a snarl. "Very well then. Do me the satisfaction of telling me who you are, so I can put it on your tombstone if you go back on the deal."
Tank blinked, but the taller man didn't see it. "I'll give you what I gave the Scouts. Call me Sergeant, Tank, or Tanker. Any of those three will do just nicely. Oh, and if I go back on the deal, it'll be because of something your hench…critters…do to me, not the other way around. I'll keep my nose clean, if you do the same."
The evil General's mouth twitched at the mentioning of 'nose clean,' but nodded, "It's a deal then. I'll be watching you closely." A sudden black flame burst around the General, with the force of it knocking Tank several feet away.
"Ah, shit." He sat up, and didn't see the black clad man. Rubbing his rump, he sat himself back up, holstering his weapons as he did so.
"Well now I've done it. I've just started a new occupation, Equal Opportunity Pisser-offer. I better get something more decent, this one's benefits seem to suck so far." Tank walked further up into the park, certain that he was being watched from somewhere, and he didn't want anyone knowing where he was living.
*************************************************
From a roof across the way…
"So, he didn't join us?"
"No, he didn't." Zocite replied.
"Strange, most Americans I hear jump at the chance for power, or money. This one seems different, doesn't he?" Jadeite asked, without really expecting an answer.
"I'm not sure what to make of him. We should keep an eye on him though; I feel he could be trouble down the road for us. And no attacks are to be made on him." Zocite ordered.
Jadeite laughed in response, "Ha ha ha ha, and what if Queen Beryl orders it? Then we won't have a choice will we?" Zocite twitched his lips a bit at this, for it was true.
"I'm sure she's well aware of the situation here. I suppose she'll approve for now. In the meantime, let's get back. We've got more energy to collect." Black flames surrounded them both, and they left the rooftop.
************************************************
"Huh? What's that?" He looked up at a distant rooftop, only to catch the briefest of black flashes against the moon.
"So they were watching. Well, I'm glad they left, I'm tired." He crept into the wood line, and made his way back to the gnarled old tree where he kept his rifle and other gear. He undid the tarp and set up his little campsite for the night, and probably most of the next day as well. After he got a good little fire going, he took off his LBE, K-pod and holster, and proceeded to clean his pistol while he mulled over his situation.
"Well, sitrep is even worse than I thought. Scouts might be out for my blood, although that's unlikely. Beryl, or at least Zeke will be on me like a hawk, so I've successfully screwed the pooch here. Zeke did make a good point though…" He started to say his thoughts out loud.
"I really don't have any special skills to speak of. Give me a tank, and a tight crew and I'm set. Doubt I'll find that here. So…I'm going to need some training. What kind though?" He thought for a bit and he took a brush to the barrel. "Well, martial arts would probably be the best way to go, at least as a backup to what I have. I'll also need a job, so I can get some ammo and a change of clothes. But whom do I go to for training? Damn, I wish Barsoum was here." Barsoum was his roommate, a black-belt master in the art of Sho Ren Ryu, and had taught him some pointers.
He added some lubricant as he reassembled his weapon. He had just slid the locking switch back into place when two things happened. One, he got his answer, and two, an accented voice suddenly cried out in English, "What the fuck…who the hell hit me?"
"Hmm…that almost sounds like Barsoum. Nah, he's not here." But, just to satisfy his curiosity, he turned in the direction of the sound. What he saw was more shocking than seeing cartoon characters in the flesh.
Before him a semi transparent figure could be seen thrashing about with a bush. He glowed slightly bluish, and he was dressed in the same uniform as Tank, sans the helmet and other gear. Upon his head was a camouflaged cap with a rank pin in the middle. Upon his large nose sat a pair of glasses, behind which angry eyes darted about, looking for the thing that hit him. Upon his chest was a name, which said in big, black, bold letters, "BARSOUM."
"Barsoum? Is that you?" Tank stood up, completely at a loss. "No way, I just wished for you to be here, it can't be that damn easy." He rubbed his eyes with the back on his hands, and when he opened, Barsoum now stood before him, awe struck.
"Whoa…am I dead or something?" The Californian native of Egyptian descent reached out to touch Tank. But before he touched, he stopped himself, and slapped his face, hard.
"This is impossible, I can't be seeing you. I'd have to be dead and in heaven or something, and this doesn't look like Heaven."
"Heh, yea, I'd say you're right man." Tank replied, still rooted in place.
"Ok, now I know you're not him, cause if you were Tank you'd be speaking English. Great, I'm in Hell."
"Oh shit! Translator off!" Tank exclaimed, forgetting he left the translator on. Quickly, he said, "Barsoum, it's me man! I'm not dead, but you sure don't look like you're alive."
"Tank? How is it possible? You're reported to be dead man!" Barsoum said incredulously.
"Do I look dead to you dick?" Tank snapped.
His roommate burst up laughing. His laugh was an interesting one, it sounded like a slow motion rivet gun going off, only at a higher pitch. "Yea, you're Tank alright. Where the fuck you been man?" He reached out a hand to clasp Tank's. Tank reached out to clasp it back with joy, only to pass right on through, and onto his face.
Unable to help himself, Barsoum burst out laughing again, harder than ever. "Ok bitch, that shit isn't funny. You're pulling some kinda Obi-Wan Kenobi shit on me. All I see is an image of you, I can't touch you man." Tank picked himself back up, and looked at Barsoum, who shook his head.
"Dunno, looked funny to me man." He broke out laughing again.
Growling slightly, Tank controlled his anger and asked, "Ok wise-ass. What's this about me being reported dead?"
Suddenly dead sober, Barsoum slipped his cover off his head, and sat on the ground. Tank followed."Well, you know that Field Exercise we were doing?"
"Yea…"
"Well, the story goes that after you and Lott were relieved, he went into the drivers' hole to sleep, and you went to piss or something."
"Yea, that's following so far." Tank expected the story to change quite a bit now, and he wasn't disappointed.
"Well, you went to do your stuff, and that's where things get a bit strange."
"Strange?" Tank scratched his head.
"Yea, that's what I said isn't it? Evens said he saw you head into the tree line with your M4 drawn, like you were chasing something. About ten minutes later, he said he heard you yell out 'Terrorists! There's a bomb!' or some such shit. Some gunshots where heard, and then an explosion. When they went to check it out, they found several bodies, but none match conclusively. There was one on top of what looked like a detonator, with an M4 around him."
Tank was shocked into silence as his roommate told him all.
"They said that you managed to get the remote, and blow the bomb up, takin you and them all with it. It was some kinda old boys militia thing, and they wanted to make a statement by blowing up some tanks or something. It's been a few weeks ago now. You got the Silver Star for it; you saved at least a tank, maybe two and their crews. Talk of giving you the Congressional man. Or so they say." Barsoum looked at his friend with searching eyes.
His mouth dry, and his eyes slowly starting to water, Tank could only reply, "I…no. That can't be true. It's obviously not true, I'm here and alive." He told everything that happened to him for the past few weeks, starting from when he entered the tree line.
"And just about ten minutes ago, I had to deal with so dick who wanted me to join or 'die.'" Barsoum interrupted him.
"Ok, this isn't the cartoon show with the weird names in it, like Tootie-Fruitie, or Peperoni and Fettecini, or Garlic Jr, or whatever it is, is it?"
"No man, it isn't DragonBall Z, although I'd almost wish it was. I at least know that shit. This crap escapes me, I only watched it out of sheer boredom."
"Ok, just had to get that straight." Barsoliny shook his head, saying, "Man, I'd say you were crazy if I wasn't here talking to you."
"Yea, I'd feel the same way man. So what's with the Obi-Wan look? Light glowing blue just isn't your color dude." He motioned to Barsoum's form.
He shrugged in reply. "Beats me man. I was just getting ready to head for Staff Duty when I heard this voice behind me say, 'You've been called for.' Scared the shit outta me. Next thing I know, I'm dancing in the bushes." He shrugged again.
"All I know is I was figuring out my options, which aren't much. Figured I should get some martial arts training, and some other little details. All I said was, 'I wish Barsoum was here,' and the next thing I know you…"
Both finished, "…were dancing in the bushes."
"Man, you did this to me. Whatever did I do to you?" Barsoum chided him, mostly kidding.
"Hey, if I thought it was that easy, I'd wish for a…" he took the first thing that came to mind, "…blue-bladed lightsaber, or even better I'd wish my sorry ass back." Just out of curiosity, both men held out their hand, just in case a lightsaber did fall from the trees. Nothing landed in their hands, although a walnut did land on Tank's uncovered head.
"Ow! You little bitch!" He could hear the squirrel laughing at him. He grabbed the nut and threw it back, and was satisfied to hear the chirps get much louder when he came close to hitting.
"There, take that! That's one more person to piss off!" He shook his fist at the woodland creature that had scampered off, although it's eyes did roll about a bit…screwy like. Barsoum was rolling on the ground in his laughter.
Tank couldn't help himself, and he laughed a bit himself, but his heart was heavy.
"Damn…I wonder how Mom took it…or my brothers." He turned to Barsoum, and asked soberly, "Hey man, any mention of how my family took it?" This stopped Barsoum's laugh fest.
He sat back up, and looked up into Tank's eyes, and saw nothing but sadness there.
"Dude, I won't lie to you, they took it rough. They had a service for you at Arlington. It was awesome man. Most of the company, and a lot of the battalion went there. Lots of guys wearing Cav Stetsons. I think the most impressive though was your bro. Shit man, you never told me he was so damn big! And he looked sharp in that black Berea." Tears came unbidden from Tank's face, but he remained (mostly) composed as images of his family passed through his mind's eye.
"Heh, yea. I can see him there in that." He muttered. Barsoum nodded before continuing.
"They had a chopper fly over, a full band, honor guard, the works. Your Mom's a tough woman dude, she held up really well, up to the point they…" Tank waved his hand to cut him off.
"Enough man. I appreciate the info, but that's more imagery than I think I can handle right now, and I need everything I can muster." His voice was shaky, but his tone was firm.
Barsoum waited a few minutes while Tank composed himself a bit more before asking, "So what's you're plan man? What'cha need ol' Barsoliny for?"
"What I mentioned earlier. Training. But I can't spar with you, I need something physical to hit ya know." Barsoum begrudged him that with a sideways nod.
"So, I'm going to find me a local I can train with as well. Give me as many different training and styles that there are, especially since it looks like I'll be here awhile." Tank said the last grimly.
"Do you know any locals?"
"I know of at least one, maybe a few more than that. They're, or should be in a district around here that's part of Tokyo, so I think I'm set. It might be a couple days or so before I'm able to approach'em. In the meantime, we've got things to do." Tank turned to Barsoum, grinning slightly.
Barsoum shuddered, "Whew…man, glad I'm a sheet now, you never did that shit with me when we sparred."
Tank chuckled, "Heh, that's because you could kick my ass easily then. Now I don't have to worry about being hurt by you." Barsoum laughed at that.
"Yea, but that means you'll be someone else's punching bag bitch instead of mine."
Tank shrugged in response. "Well, I'm going to turn in. I have a plan, and now I have you here. Things are looking bad, but since it seems I'm stuck here, I'm going to make the most of it."
"It's also not so bad as it was before you arrived. Glad to see at least one familier face." Tank stretched, yawning as he did so. From above, a chattering could be heard. Barsoum looked up, then smirked at his friend, "Hey man, I think he's still upset at you. So where...what the fuck! That little shit just threw something at me!" Barsoum jumped up, as several other missiles came down at him, some ranging from simple nuts to pieces of bark and sticks. Barsoum shook his fist at the little creature, screaming, "You little piece of shit! You're fucking lucky I can't touch anything, or I'd beat the whole fucking shit out of you!"
"Shut up man. Someone might hear you." Tank called from his tent, trying to contain his laughter.
"I don't give a fuck. What the hell they going to see huh? And why's that little shit throwing shit at me? You started it!" Barsoum pointed a finger accusingly at Tank.
"Because he can see you, you twit. Get under cover, he'll probably leave ya alone then." Tank scooted over a bit to make room. Missiles raining down still, Barsoum slipped into the little tent alongside Tank. He chuckled, "Heh, make your buddy smile man. Gimme a little more room would ya?"
"You're a ghost now, how much room do you need!?!"
"Oh I need a lot man. I need my privacy, you know that."
"Ya want privacy, get your own tent. Or maybe I'll find ya one for ya.
"Nice, nice. So what we doing tomarrow?" The tarp/tent shook as the squirrel lobbed more things down on them both. "Ya know...if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to get that fucker."
"Forget'em man. Tomarrow, and for many days after that, we gunna be trainin. Hey, it's not like you have anything else to do now." Tank said as Barsoum looked at him with a annoyed look. "Besides, if the guy I know is here, he might be able to show you some tricks of his own."
Barsoum scoffed. "I don't need anything new. I'm perfect." He grinned broadly.
Tank rolled his eyes, "Yea, whatever there 'Obi-Wan,' I believe ya." Barsoum laughed a bit, then said in deeper voice, "Use the Force Luke..."
"Oh don't start that shit man. Not while I'm trying to sleep."
"The Force is strong with this one."
Inwardly, Tank sighed, "Oh brother. What did I get myself into?"
**********************************************
Several days later....
A phone rang loudly for several minutes in a home in a district of Tokyo. A slender hand picked it up, and framed her smiling face as she said, "Hello, Tendo residence."
On the other end, a low bass voice replied, "Hello. This is the Tendo Dojo isn't it?"
"Why, yes it is. Are you thinking of becoming a student?"
"In a way, yes. Does a Ranma Saotome live there by any chance?"
"Yes he does." Kasumi answered pleasently.
"Is he there now?
"I'm sorry, no. He's gone out for a bit to train. If you're looking for him, you should be able to find him near the harbor." Kasumi answered. A thought occured to her, "If I may, who is it that's inquiring? I could leave a message."
"That's ok Kasumi. I think I'll find him. I greatly appreciate it. You have a pleasant day." The line went dead as the other party hung up. Kasumi shrugged her slender shoulders as she hung up the receiver. She started to get back to her chores when she realized something.
"He called me by my name. How did he know that?" A small ball of fear formed in the pit of her stomach as she placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh my!"
**********************************************
On a plateau just outside Nerima, Ranma Saotome goes through his normal training routine. Lightning-fast punches and kicks fly as he concentrated everything on his imaginary foe before him. In the backgroun, sunlight sparkles strangely on the waters of the Jepoc Circle.
Breaking stride for a moment to catch his breath, he stretches a bit as he thinks aloud, "It's been awhile since something happened to me. Not a bad thing at all if you ask me. Still...why do I get the feeling something's about to happen?"
From behind him, a low bass voice said, "Excuse me, are you Ranma Saotome?"
Whirling in surprise, the cursed martial artist took in the person before him. He had on some khaki slacks, with a white short sleeved shirt. His hair was a light orange, with light blue eyes. His face was pale, and, like his arms, bedecked in freckles. His arms were fairly thin, yet toned. He walked forward with his hands in his pockets, smiling slightly.
Not sensing a threat, Ranma just gazed back, wary nonetheless, as he answered, "Yea, I'm Ranma Saotome."
The man stopped about five feet away from the pig-tailed fighter, looking him over. Ranma didn't like that, but allowed it nonetheless.
Looking up quickly, Tank asked with a smile, "Pleased to meet you Ranma. I have a proposition for you..."
To be continued….