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Chapter 32
She could not have known the deep pain that resided within my soul. She could not have felt the utter loneliness that I had known, the deep guilt that haunted me every moment of my day, nor the darkness that had forever clung to his every thought and action. I closed my eyes. I did not want her to know such pain.
Rei slept blissfully, an idyllic smile forever on her face. I tied the tie almost violently and yanked it into place. 'I do not deserve her'
I shrugged on my jacket and examined myself in the mirror. Blue on blue on a black suit. Impeccable as usual.
"So many dark colors? I though I had taught you better than that."
"Did I wake you?"
"No, your absence woke me." Rei sat up, stretching out like a cat "So early? It's five thirty in the morning."
I leaned over the bed to kiss her, "My work is never done. I'll be back early though. Say seven?"
She sighed happily, "Alright. I'll have something special for you when you get back."
"You spoil me far too much." I bowed slightly and then whistled my way to the door.
As soon as he had left, Rei stopped smiling and started to think. His words had been unintelligible, but she could see the latent fear which touched his eyes as he woke, as he relived his nightmare in his imagination.
His suave facade could not faze her. Gazing at the clock, she calculated quickly. About twelve hours before she had to be back in the apartment to greet him. Muttering to herself, "Alright, let's get busy."
Twenty minutes later, she was inside the shrine, stoking the holy fire to full force. Rei was dressed her in tradition priestess robes and began to meditate. The fire seemed to take of life of its own, roiling and burning up to the ceiling.
She whispered softly, "Tell me. Tell me what his dreams were."
The fire seemed to ponder that for a moment, then flared up even higher. She gasped at the vision. Soldiers dying, an endless stream of death consuming all that attacked it, and a terrible monster that sprang from a seemingly innocent woman. It was garbled, but she could glean enough from the general details to know that something was inherently wrong. But as soon as she tried to push further, the fire abruptly consumed the images, refusing to impart any more knowledge onto their master.
Rei sat back, puzzled. 'Why would Ryan be dreaming about such things?'
It made little sense. He watch beeped and she saw that it was almost ten. Had she spent four hours there already?
At any rate, she had a brunch with Minako in less than an hour, a sort of sendoff to the wonderful world of investment banking.
She gathered her robes around her and ran to her old room to change.
"Yo, Ryan."
I looked up to see my vice president of sales peeking into the room, "Hey, Jerry. What's up?"
"They just promoted Steve Chalmers to COO. Looks like you're going to get a load off of your back."
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." I paused for a moment, "That means we have a spot open for executive VP. I'll be sure to mention your name."
Jerry grinned, "Thanks, boss. But I'm just a little old sales guy. I know what I'm good at."
"Hey, with the sales reports I've been getting, you are more than good at it. I'll speak to the board."
He smiled and waved and retreated from my office quickly. I sighed in relief and made a note to call Steve to congratulate him. I also took the time to think.
'The last time I had dreams like this, something happened. I moved to Japan, in time to defeat the first wave of youma attacks. I do not believe in coincidences. Something is going to happen and soon'
That put a sour taste in my mouth.
"He had a nightmare last night."
"Has he tried counseling?"
Rei stuck her tongue out an Minako, "Be serious. I checked out his dream in the fire. It is strange, but I cannot penetrate it."
"Really? That is kinda of weird." Minako spoke carefully, "Have you considered the possibility that Ryan might be that mysterious contact we found a while ago? Too many pieces fit. He arrived at the same time, left at the same time."
"The thought has crossed my mind. But there's not nearly enough to tie him to us. Additionally, it's kinda strange to peg someone we know. Just because he showed up in my life."
"Yeah, I know. But we're out of suspects at this point."
"We'll see. I'll keep an eye on Ryan. I think I would almost like it if he were. He might be able to understand me better."
Minako shrugged, "How are you guys otherwise?"
"Wonderful. He's your typical doting boyfriend. Remember Mamoru when he started dating Usagi? He's terrible, but I like it anyway."
"Sounds like heaven. I'm jealous."
Rei looked at her friend with a petulant smile, "Don't even think about it."
Minako looked shocked, "You don't trust me? You don't need to worry about him, he's as true to you as could be. Most unfortunate."
"You have no idea what a relief that is."
They chatteed about a few more things until the food arrived and their conversation slowly drifted back to the topic at hand. Rei though aloud, "What has Mamoru said about all this?"
"He's as in the dark as the rest of us. Although is quickly becoming Ryan's buddy. I think we may need to ask him to mine that friendship too. See what turns up."
"It won't be easy. He's rather good at hiding things about himself when he wants to."
"Hmm. It's a little depressing, ne?"
"Well, what can you do? We just need one break and we can figure out what's going on."
The hours ticked away, as Ryan toiled at his job and Rei at discerning meaning from his tortured dreams. As seven o'clock approached, both were a little disappointed by the day that they had led, but were looking forward to each other's companionship and company. Little did both know that certain forces had other plans for the night.
The green eyes gazed at the crystal ball and then closed her eyes. A smile tugged at the lips beneath them, as those eyes tracked the flow of energies through Earth and eventually fixed upon an opportune time to strike.
"Now!"
Quite unfairly, the alarm sounded in the middle of dessert. Rei dropped her hand to her bag, covering a muffled beeping. Her skin went a little paler and she excused herself from the table. "Sorry, Ryan-kun, I need to take this."
I smiled understandingly, knowing full well what the beeping sound meant. I carefully dissected my sponge cake and took a savory bite, while waiting for Rei to suddenly rush out of the room and down the stairs. Surprisingly, she did not, which led me to examine our bedroom. An opened window betrayed her exit and I sighed melodramatically. A short whisper, and I founded myself clothed in a formless black cloak which equally prevented easy identification and afforded maximum flexibility in the fight.
I set out over the rooftops to find them, and was aghast at the size of the force facing them. Unlike the smaller incursions of before, this time the enemy numbered in the dozens, and fought in surprisingly uniform formations. The senshi that had arrived on the scene had been forced to retreat several blocks to better defensive positions, holding out until reinforcements could arrive. There were no flying youma this time, an oversight for which I was thankful. With air support, the defeat of such an army would be well nigh impossible as opposed to highly unlikely.
But, without another thought, I summoned cloaking magic around me to shield my advance into the midst of their lines. I plotted a long ballistic trajectory which would place me between the first and second rank, where their energy attacks would be the most unwieldy and my close combat skills most useful.
'No time like the present.' I thought as I sailed through the air. The youma did not notice me until it was far too late, when I cut one down with my sword. Another turned to engage me, but I skewered it ask well, moving faster than I thought myself possible of.
The youma line came apart in disarray as the attackers sought to vanquish the swordsman in their midst. Above the battle cries, I heard the sound of a renewed senshi counteroffensive, taking full advantage of the disorganization of the attacking enemy.
A Mars Flame Sniper flambed the nearest youma, and a couple more attacks carved away portions of the enemy line. In a sense, I envied them their ability to attack at range, but contented myself with fending off the many blades of enemies all around.
Another senshi attack which I did not recognize vaporized a few more of the attackers, leaving little more than a third of the force left. A well aimed rose caught another in the back, leaving it to die in horrible pain.
The enemy fought on bravely, but to no avail as senshi reinforcements poured attack after attack onto the confused mass. I stole away from the slaughter, so not to catch any stray bolts.
I panted, watching the proceedings with a sense of victory. The senshi ably dispatched the rest of the attackers, leaving nothing to chance. I had long since abandoned any moral judgement about vanquishing youma, as they were mere extensions of their creator's will, physical manifestations of magic if you will.
Which explained why their bodies disappeared after every assault, leaving nothing but silence to reign over the battle field. I bowed my head in relief, then froze as I heard a distant clapping that seemed to echo off the tall buildings around me.
'It can't be....'
Chapter 32
She could not have known the deep pain that resided within my soul. She could not have felt the utter loneliness that I had known, the deep guilt that haunted me every moment of my day, nor the darkness that had forever clung to his every thought and action. I closed my eyes. I did not want her to know such pain.
Rei slept blissfully, an idyllic smile forever on her face. I tied the tie almost violently and yanked it into place. 'I do not deserve her'
I shrugged on my jacket and examined myself in the mirror. Blue on blue on a black suit. Impeccable as usual.
"So many dark colors? I though I had taught you better than that."
"Did I wake you?"
"No, your absence woke me." Rei sat up, stretching out like a cat "So early? It's five thirty in the morning."
I leaned over the bed to kiss her, "My work is never done. I'll be back early though. Say seven?"
She sighed happily, "Alright. I'll have something special for you when you get back."
"You spoil me far too much." I bowed slightly and then whistled my way to the door.
As soon as he had left, Rei stopped smiling and started to think. His words had been unintelligible, but she could see the latent fear which touched his eyes as he woke, as he relived his nightmare in his imagination.
His suave facade could not faze her. Gazing at the clock, she calculated quickly. About twelve hours before she had to be back in the apartment to greet him. Muttering to herself, "Alright, let's get busy."
Twenty minutes later, she was inside the shrine, stoking the holy fire to full force. Rei was dressed her in tradition priestess robes and began to meditate. The fire seemed to take of life of its own, roiling and burning up to the ceiling.
She whispered softly, "Tell me. Tell me what his dreams were."
The fire seemed to ponder that for a moment, then flared up even higher. She gasped at the vision. Soldiers dying, an endless stream of death consuming all that attacked it, and a terrible monster that sprang from a seemingly innocent woman. It was garbled, but she could glean enough from the general details to know that something was inherently wrong. But as soon as she tried to push further, the fire abruptly consumed the images, refusing to impart any more knowledge onto their master.
Rei sat back, puzzled. 'Why would Ryan be dreaming about such things?'
It made little sense. He watch beeped and she saw that it was almost ten. Had she spent four hours there already?
At any rate, she had a brunch with Minako in less than an hour, a sort of sendoff to the wonderful world of investment banking.
She gathered her robes around her and ran to her old room to change.
"Yo, Ryan."
I looked up to see my vice president of sales peeking into the room, "Hey, Jerry. What's up?"
"They just promoted Steve Chalmers to COO. Looks like you're going to get a load off of your back."
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that." I paused for a moment, "That means we have a spot open for executive VP. I'll be sure to mention your name."
Jerry grinned, "Thanks, boss. But I'm just a little old sales guy. I know what I'm good at."
"Hey, with the sales reports I've been getting, you are more than good at it. I'll speak to the board."
He smiled and waved and retreated from my office quickly. I sighed in relief and made a note to call Steve to congratulate him. I also took the time to think.
'The last time I had dreams like this, something happened. I moved to Japan, in time to defeat the first wave of youma attacks. I do not believe in coincidences. Something is going to happen and soon'
That put a sour taste in my mouth.
"He had a nightmare last night."
"Has he tried counseling?"
Rei stuck her tongue out an Minako, "Be serious. I checked out his dream in the fire. It is strange, but I cannot penetrate it."
"Really? That is kinda of weird." Minako spoke carefully, "Have you considered the possibility that Ryan might be that mysterious contact we found a while ago? Too many pieces fit. He arrived at the same time, left at the same time."
"The thought has crossed my mind. But there's not nearly enough to tie him to us. Additionally, it's kinda strange to peg someone we know. Just because he showed up in my life."
"Yeah, I know. But we're out of suspects at this point."
"We'll see. I'll keep an eye on Ryan. I think I would almost like it if he were. He might be able to understand me better."
Minako shrugged, "How are you guys otherwise?"
"Wonderful. He's your typical doting boyfriend. Remember Mamoru when he started dating Usagi? He's terrible, but I like it anyway."
"Sounds like heaven. I'm jealous."
Rei looked at her friend with a petulant smile, "Don't even think about it."
Minako looked shocked, "You don't trust me? You don't need to worry about him, he's as true to you as could be. Most unfortunate."
"You have no idea what a relief that is."
They chatteed about a few more things until the food arrived and their conversation slowly drifted back to the topic at hand. Rei though aloud, "What has Mamoru said about all this?"
"He's as in the dark as the rest of us. Although is quickly becoming Ryan's buddy. I think we may need to ask him to mine that friendship too. See what turns up."
"It won't be easy. He's rather good at hiding things about himself when he wants to."
"Hmm. It's a little depressing, ne?"
"Well, what can you do? We just need one break and we can figure out what's going on."
The hours ticked away, as Ryan toiled at his job and Rei at discerning meaning from his tortured dreams. As seven o'clock approached, both were a little disappointed by the day that they had led, but were looking forward to each other's companionship and company. Little did both know that certain forces had other plans for the night.
The green eyes gazed at the crystal ball and then closed her eyes. A smile tugged at the lips beneath them, as those eyes tracked the flow of energies through Earth and eventually fixed upon an opportune time to strike.
"Now!"
Quite unfairly, the alarm sounded in the middle of dessert. Rei dropped her hand to her bag, covering a muffled beeping. Her skin went a little paler and she excused herself from the table. "Sorry, Ryan-kun, I need to take this."
I smiled understandingly, knowing full well what the beeping sound meant. I carefully dissected my sponge cake and took a savory bite, while waiting for Rei to suddenly rush out of the room and down the stairs. Surprisingly, she did not, which led me to examine our bedroom. An opened window betrayed her exit and I sighed melodramatically. A short whisper, and I founded myself clothed in a formless black cloak which equally prevented easy identification and afforded maximum flexibility in the fight.
I set out over the rooftops to find them, and was aghast at the size of the force facing them. Unlike the smaller incursions of before, this time the enemy numbered in the dozens, and fought in surprisingly uniform formations. The senshi that had arrived on the scene had been forced to retreat several blocks to better defensive positions, holding out until reinforcements could arrive. There were no flying youma this time, an oversight for which I was thankful. With air support, the defeat of such an army would be well nigh impossible as opposed to highly unlikely.
But, without another thought, I summoned cloaking magic around me to shield my advance into the midst of their lines. I plotted a long ballistic trajectory which would place me between the first and second rank, where their energy attacks would be the most unwieldy and my close combat skills most useful.
'No time like the present.' I thought as I sailed through the air. The youma did not notice me until it was far too late, when I cut one down with my sword. Another turned to engage me, but I skewered it ask well, moving faster than I thought myself possible of.
The youma line came apart in disarray as the attackers sought to vanquish the swordsman in their midst. Above the battle cries, I heard the sound of a renewed senshi counteroffensive, taking full advantage of the disorganization of the attacking enemy.
A Mars Flame Sniper flambed the nearest youma, and a couple more attacks carved away portions of the enemy line. In a sense, I envied them their ability to attack at range, but contented myself with fending off the many blades of enemies all around.
Another senshi attack which I did not recognize vaporized a few more of the attackers, leaving little more than a third of the force left. A well aimed rose caught another in the back, leaving it to die in horrible pain.
The enemy fought on bravely, but to no avail as senshi reinforcements poured attack after attack onto the confused mass. I stole away from the slaughter, so not to catch any stray bolts.
I panted, watching the proceedings with a sense of victory. The senshi ably dispatched the rest of the attackers, leaving nothing to chance. I had long since abandoned any moral judgement about vanquishing youma, as they were mere extensions of their creator's will, physical manifestations of magic if you will.
Which explained why their bodies disappeared after every assault, leaving nothing but silence to reign over the battle field. I bowed my head in relief, then froze as I heard a distant clapping that seemed to echo off the tall buildings around me.
'It can't be....'