Jade checked her watch and sighed. She was at the airport waiting for Leya's plane to unload. Leya had called her about half an hour ago saying that her plane would land at around seven o'clock… and then they had run into interference on the plane so she had hung up. She was flying on a small commercial plane owned by a company she had never heard of. She looked out the window again to see if they had started the docking procedures yet.
"Why couldn't she have done what I told her to do and stayed home where it was safe? Or at least waited until I had given the all clear…" she sighed mournfully, "I should never have told her I was coming to Japan."
Ten minutes later, the flight attendant announced that flight A09 had landed and they were letting passengers unload. Jade fiddled with her keys again and blew a strand of hair out of her face for the twentieth time in the last few minutes. She checked her watch again and looked over at the gate. She sighed as she watched the older couples and children disembark from the plane. She sat down on the windowsill and closed her eyes, fully intending to take a little 'cat nap' (sorry, couldn't help myself ^ ^;) before Leya was off the plane.
Unfortunately, just as she was actually beginning to nod off, she heard a loud "Hey Girl!" being yelled in her direction. She gave a huge sigh and opened her eyes. Leya waved from the end of the line and trotted over to her. "Sorry I'm late. There were some technical difficulties or something like that."
Jade eyed her best friend, "Why didn't you stay home like I told you to?"
"It was getting boring… and besides, we all know how well I follow instructions." She grinned.
"About as well as a cow flies." Jade snorted.
"Precisely." Leya looked around the terminal, "I need to go get my bag from downstairs; and then we can go get something to eat." She walked off towards the escalator.
"Oh, Leya…" Jade called in a singsong tone.
"Oh, whatta…" she sang back, turning to Jade.
"Luggage pickup is this way." She hiked her thumb behind her towards the exit.
"Oh." She turned around and followed Jade to the pick up line. She looked around, "This airport is kind of backwards, isn't it?"
"Not really; they're just different from what you're used to. They're baggage things are in the front so that you can get your stuff and get out of the way of everyone else who's boarding."
"…Oh."
They waited for Leya's luggage to come around on the conveyor. As it came up, Jade's eyebrow went up at the size of it. It was roughly the size of an army duffel bag and looked filled to the brim with only one or two things.
"Here it is!" Leya said cheerfully as she bent to pull it off the conveyor belt. It fell with a clatter onto the thinly carpeted floor.
"What do you have in there, rocks? Or maybe boulders is more appropriate." Jade asked.
"Not telling! It's a surprise. I'll tell you when we get in the car." Leya winked. "And besides, it only looks heavy."
"Oh Lord." Jade said, looking heavenward. She dropped her head and shook it, "Why do I always get stuck with the weirdoes?"
Leya patted her shoulder, "Because you're special." She said sweetly. She turned and walked away with her unwieldy luggage.
Jade grumbled a few choice words under her breath and ran to catch up with Leya before her goofy friend tried to get into the wrong car.
"Man, that was the best restaurant I've ever been to. We should go there tomorrow for lunch." Leya patted her stomach in appreciation.
Jade grinned, "Glad you liked it, that's first restaurant I went to when I got here. They always have the best sushi." She licked her lips appreciatively.
Leya gave her friend a sly look, "Is that you talking or Riist?"
Jade waved her hand and got into the car, "That is irrelevant; Riist and I are the same person."
"Alright, whatever you say…" Leya giggled, hopping into the front passenger seat.
Jade started the car, "So… what's in that huge bag of yours?"
"A little something special for any demons that cross my path…" Leya gave a devious smile.
Jade raised an eyebrow, "Oh…?" she asked, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I'll show you at your apartment; it's really too big to show you in the car."
"Hmph." Jade grunted, returning her attention to the road. "By the way, I have to make a stop at an acquaintance's place before we go home."
"Okay." Leya said, curiosity getting the better of her, "Who?"
Jade, imitating Leya's earlier move, winked, "Now that's my little secret."
Leya flung herself hard against the back of the seat and sulked, ignoring Jade's amused expression.
Ryo looked out the peephole of his apartment to see who was at his door this late in the evening, knowing that Akira was in his kitchen getting a snack. He gave an annoyed sigh and ignored the two girls outside his door in favor of joining Akira in the kitchen.
"Who's at the door, Ryo?" Akira asked as he swallowed the fruit he was chewing.
"It's no one." He said sharply.
Another knock, this time louder than the first, sounded in the room. Ryo ignored it and began to calmly slice an apple into quarters. Akira looked over at the door with a worried frown. There was a pause and then there was a slam that nearly cracked the door.
"I know you're there, Ryo! Let me in!" a muffled, exasperated female voice called from the hall. "Let me in or I'll break this damn door in two!" said female voice shouted, accompanied by another hard slam.
"Ryo! That's Riist!" Akira exclaimed.
Ryo looked up from his apple slicing, "Yes, I know…" he said calmly.
"Well, aren't you going to let her in?!"
"No."
Akira stood and glared at his childhood friend, "Well, I am."
Ryo set his knife down with exaggerated care and looked at Akira, "Remember who's home this is, Akira Fudo."
Akira stared at him for a moment, then turned and deliberately made for the door, "If I don't let her in, she's going to break down your door."
Ryo went back to the task of cleaning and eating his apple, "Fine. But she isn't staying long."
Akira opened the door just as Riist was beginning to run at it to knock it down. She skidded to a stop, standing stiffly in front of him. Another girl peeked out from behind her curiously.
"Hello, Riist." He said courteously.
"Akira." Riist nodded in greeting. She took a deep breath and visibly tried to relax. "May we come in?"
Akira looked towards Ryo. Ryo gave a half shrug. "Sure." He opened the door wider.
Riist walked gracefully in with the other girl behind her. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked at the two boys, "Akira, Ryo, I'd like you to meet Leya. Leya, this is Ryo and Akira." She introduced. Akira bowed slightly at Leya and she did the same. Ryo ignored them.
After introductions, Riist looked seriously over at Akira. "Akira, I need to ask a favor of you."
"What would that be?" he asked easily, looking over at Leya as she tried to start a conversation with Ryo.
"Leya was not supposed to come here… with the multitude of demons in the area, there's a great possibility that she could be killed. She's absolutely fearless, but she's only human and I'm afraid that Azieral might find out about her being here and use it to his advantage…" she paced a bit in the small room, "I was wondering if you could help me defeat Azieral before he can use her to get at me."
He nodded, "I'll try my best to help you; but remember, I have my own mission that needs to be accomplished. I can't guarantee that I'll be of much help to you in your time of need."
Riist sat down, "I understand. If there is any way that I can help you in your cause, you have just to call on me. I have a feeling that we will be bumping into each other much during my stay here." She smiled up at him.
"Jade!" Leya whined, walking over and plopping down on the couch beside her. She laid her head on Riist's shoulder. "I can't get Ryo to talk to me…!" she finished, clearly pouting.
Riist patted her head, "It'll be alright, he always does that." She turned her head and whispered in Leya's ear, "Personally, I think he has a phobia of beautiful young ladies." She grinned mischievously.
Leya giggled and glanced over at the sullen Ryo, "Is that a fact?" she asked conspiratorially.
"What are you two giggling about?" Akira asked, cocking his head in puzzlement.
Riist and Leya both waved a hand at him, "It's a girl thing—"
"Don't worry about it—" they began at the same time. They both stopped and looked at each other, and then began to giggle again.
"We've really got to stop doing that." Riist said, grinning in amusement.
Ryo decided to enter the conversation at that point. "Why did she look over at me? Am I to assume that I was the butt end of some private joke?" he folded his hands in front of him on propped elbows and set his head on them.
"Would you be upset if you were?" Leya asked coyly.
Ryo grunted, "Not likely."
Riist smirked at Leya, "See what I mean?"
Leya hunched her shoulders and giggled again.
Akira gave a lop-sided grin, "I think I know what you two were talking about… and no, that's just the way Ryo is. He doesn't have much faith in the opposite sex for some reason." He leaned in closer to Riist, "That is what you were talking about, isn't it?"
Riist crossed her arms and looked away, "I liked my theory better."
Leya looked up from her giggle spree for a moment, "I liked your theory better, too." She looked over her shoulder at Ryo, "It's really too bad… he's kinda cute."
Ryo's eyebrows shot up at the sudden turn of the conversation. He opened his mouth a moment, and then shut it, deciding to refrain from commenting.
Riist looked flabbergasted at her friend a moment and turned to Akira to see his opinion of this comment. He had a dumbfounded look on his face that matched how she felt. She turned back to Leya's innocent expression, "You're not serious, are you?"
Leya looked pointedly at Riist, "Have I ever kidded you about a guy before?"
Riist busted out laughing, "You got me there." She grinned, wiping her eyes.
Akira chuckled a little, "You girls are so weird. Where did you say you were from?"
"The United States." Leya supplied helpfully.
Akira looked confusedly at Leya, "Where?"
"Oh! You probably don't speak much English, do you?" Leya continued… in English.
Riist shook her head at Leya and turned to answer Akira—
"She said they're Americans." Ryo said to Akira. He looked at his best friend, "You haven't been studying your English too much, haven't you?"
Akira had the grace to look embarrassed, "I haven't really had the time to study it very much… although I did understand the word 'cute'." He said, using the English word for it.
Riist grinned, "I think anyone would know that word in any language..."
Ryo brought a seat from the kitchen over and sat down, supporting his head on his hands. He looked at Riist, "How long have you known Azieral?" he asked her, changing the subject quickly.
"I've known him for almost four years now." Her face darkened, "He was the one who killed my family."
"What can you tell us about him? Anything that might help us track him down?" he persisted.
"Just look for his mob of demons… all of the demons in a hundred mile radius will be attracted to his power." She paused and studied him, "Why are you so interested in him?"
"That is none of your business." Ryo growled, scowling at her darkly.
Riist shrugged, "Fine. But if you find him before I do… he's mine." She gave him a feline stare.
Leya sighed, "Jade… how did you get him to talk to you so easily? When I tried, it was like talking to a rock!" she pouted, sticking her lower lip out.
Ryo glanced over at her and smiled mockingly, "That's because you don't have anything that interests me."
Leya raised an eyebrow and put a hand over her heart, "My God! It's a Miracle! Ryo spoke to me in English!" she announced breathlessly. She put her hands on her hips, "And what do you mean I don't have anything that interests you? Are you a homo or something?"
Riist put a hand over her mouth, trying to squelch the laugh that was threatening to burst from her lips. Ryo glared at her.
"One peep from you and your guts will hang on my wall as fiddle strings." He growled, switching back to Japanese.
Riist put on an innocent look and she pretended to zip her lip, lock it, and throw away the key. She still had a small smile on her face, however.
Ryo looked over at his clock and then turned back to his uninvited guests. "It's late. You should be going home now." He showed them to the door, "I enjoyed our little chat. We must do this again sometime." He replied dryly.
"I enjoyed it too, but you are correct. We must be leaving so that Leya can settle into her new life. Perhaps we can have tea together at the local café." She bowed and left, dragging Leya away.
Ryo closed the door with a sigh and turned back to Akira. "I never want to see those two American girls in my home again." He stated to Akira with deadly calm.
"What did the other girl… Leya? …Say to you at the end there?" Akira asked, genuinely curious.
Ryo scowled, "She accused me of being a homosexual." He snapped, glaring accusingly at his best friend for letting them in in the first place.
Akira chuckled, "You can't really blame her; she was disappointed that you didn't give much of a conversation."
Ryo narrowed his eyes, "You will be next if you don't start shaping up yourself." He said, pointing at him.
"Leya I can't believe that you were so rude to that boy!" Jade scolded, continuing to drag her friend downstairs to the car.
"I was only rude to him because he was rude to me first." She stated matter of factly. "And besides, I didn't see you defending him."
"The Japanese are a very polite people. What you just did is the equivalent of giving a deadly insult. I'm surprised he didn't shoot you with his shotgun." She glanced at Leya, "Didn't you read any of those Japanese grammar books that I gave you?"
"Not really… they were too confusing for me. Anyways, how were you able to learn the language in such a short time?"
"I have enhanced senses, remember? That also includes expanded brainpower. Besides, I have been studying the language for years now, even before Azieral showed up and slaughtered everyone. Him coming to Japan was the perfect excuse to use my knowledge of the language."
"Oh… well, can you teach me the language? You'll probably make more sense to me than those books were." Leya thought back to something Jade said earlier, "Wait a minute, he has a shotgun?! What's he do in his spare time? Go hunting or something?"
Jade smiled wryly at her, "Something like that; he and Akira are demon hunters. And to answer your earlier question, I'll teach you. You're more of a verbal learner anyways, right."
"Something like that." Leya looked over at Jade and grinned.
Back at her apartment, Jade showed Leya around her 'home away from home' and gave her the spare bedroom.
"I'm amazed." Leya commented, clearly impressed. "I didn't think you could afford an apartment like this!" she bounced onto the bed with her large bag.
"You'd be surprised at what kind of concessions you can find living near a campus; especially one riddled with demons." Jade said, beginning to put Leya's clothes on hangers in the small closet.
"I guess it's a good thing I brought this baby along then…" she patted the oversized bag beside her.
"That reminds me, you still haven't told me what's in there." Jade pointed out, looking over at Leya.
Leya gave an evil giggle, "It's the latest little gadget I've made for my protection… and it works, too!" she unzipped the bag and began to pull out… the weirdest machine Jade had ever seen.
Jade cocked her head in puzzlement, "…Uh, what is it…?"
Leya patted it fondly, "This little beauty is my DemonX2K. It's a robot that I've built that comes equipped with all sorts of little goodies that can destroy a demon with one blow." She pressed a button on the side of the machine. "I can control it with my voice or with a remote from a safe distance. Its night vision is way better than any demons that I've come across!"
Jade watched as the robot, now the size of a medium dog, unfolded itself and stood on the floor. It resembled a rather large praying mantis with a lavender visor instead of eyes. The wings on its back were connected to a small, but powerful, jet pack that also doubled as an ammo pack for whatever projectiles it used; it wasn't apparent at a glance. The mantis fanned its wings before looking at Jade.
"I must say I'm impressed… I've got to ask you though, where did you get that metal from?" She asked, looking at the gleaming black metal.
Leya pulled out a small remote box and began to adjust the settings, "Do you remember my dad working at the plant before he retired?"
Jade nodded, transfixed by the robot's gleaming visor.
"After he retired, he began working on some new ways to strengthen metal they refined there. He came up with a few samples that were very strong, but too heavy to use on more than foundations. His last experiment left him with a metal that was like obsidian, but almost as light as aluminum. Since it scorched black in the making, he decided to call it Dark Aluminum." She gave a lop-sided grin, "Not very original, was it?"
Jade looked at her friend and smiled, shaking her head, "No, not really."
"After having so much success with his last sample, he asked the guys at the plant for a few bars of metal and began reproducing it; but he never sold it because he wasn't sure if it was going to stay stable. I decided to use some of it for Killer here." She said, pointing her chin at the robot.
"'Killer'?" Jade asked, raising her eyebrow questioningly.
"Oh, that's what I've been calling DX2K." she looked fondly at the robot, "He's my baby."
"Orders." The robot chirped in a metallic voice.
Jade jumped, "It talked!" she squeaked.
"Tsk, you honestly don't think I would make a robot that doesn't speak do you?" Leya snorted. "Of course it talks! It can go fetch me a pizza if I wanted it to!" she added, pressing a button on the remote. The robot paused its quiet whirring and slowly folded up again. The end result made it look like a frame for a small go‑kart.
Jade was silent for a moment, then she looked at Leya, "So you've tried it in battle already?"
Leya looked down at the folded robot, "…Yeah." She picked it up and set it back in the bag. She put the bag in the corner of the room beside the closet.
Jade looked back over at the bag, then back at Leya, "You might want to see if you can make a couple more of those robots." She warned.