Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket or Kiddy Grade, but Julian and Trent are mine! Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not yet A/N- Occasionally, in specific lines of dialogue, there will be words in brackets. These words are simply thoughts, and are not spoken aloud.
"You know. This isn't what I was expecting. For some reason, when I heard the name Alora, I thought this planet would be lush. And green. A beautiful island paradise with brilliant aquamarine water. And white sandy beaches. But no. That would be too easy. Still, my deductive reasoning must be working a little still, since I got the part about the sand right. But it's not smooth, white sand. No. It's orange...and it's everywhere. Every where I look, there's sand. Nothing else. Just sand. And more sand. And hey look folks, there's some sand over there too! It's like being trapped in the Sahara desert or something. Actually, there's only one place where there isn't any sand. In my mouth, as it were. But with a couple more of these freak Sand Storms, I'm sure that's bound to change as well. "Julian muttered to herself as she trudged after Éclair, Lumiere and Shigure through the miserable heat and sand, stopping for a moment to flick some sweat off her forehead."You know, you and I are still close enough to the ships that we could turn around and go back. I'm sure by the time they missed us; they'd be too far away to make the trek back for us. "Armblast told Julian as he sided up to her, a sly smile on his face. Julian glanced at him in silence for a few minutes before she smiled pleasantly at him.
"I'd rather eat sand, if it's all the same to you. From the looks of things, I think it would be readily available, wouldn't you agree? Besides, don't you have a job to do as well, Mr. Inspector? Or should I say Wizard?" Julian told him, lowering her voice as she eyed him in sly amusement.
"And how do you know my codename, Miss Quicksilver?" he asked her. He didn't seem too angry, merely curious.
"Oh, I have my way's of finding out information. You'd be surprised. (Especially if I told that the reason I know is because you're just a character from some anime I watch at home)" Julian replied with a ghost of a smile as they continued walking.
"Do you? How interesting. Tell me. Is that you're power as an ES Member, perhaps?"
"What? Oh, not at all (at least, I don't think so). You'll simply have to find out my abilities on your own like everyone else. It's no fair to ask me to tell you. (But when you do find out, it would be nice if you'd let me know you're discoveries.) "Julian replied as she gave him a coy look.
"Hmm. So I see. Well, I'll be watching you with baited breath then." Armblast replied, a suave smile on his face.
"You do that. All I ask is that you use plenty of mouth wash." Julian quipped as she lengthened her strides, hurrying to catch up with Shigure and the 2 girls. Armblast watched her walk off with a slight grin on his face before he paused. He lifted his hand to cover his nose and exhaled into his hand, his face puzzled as he pulled his hand away.
"Well, I don't have bad breath. I wonder why she said that?"
1 day later.
Julian glanced around the room in skepticism, her arms folded across her chest.
"Explain to me again why you and I are the one's posing as warehouse workers." She hissed at Shigure as she leaned on the handle of her broom, hot and sweaty from the heavy brown jumpsuit she wore.
"Well, someone needed to check these warehouses for that stolen Chlorophsofaphate. I figured this should be easy enough for us to do. Since we're not really ES members you know." Shigure replied with a grin as he shrugged. Julian glanced around the drab area they were in before she glanced back at Shigure, her expression unreadable.
"Actually, we are ES members, remember? According to this script, anyway. You have a power called Alter, and mine's called Create. You can alter any element, compound, or mixture into any other element, compound, or mixture at the sub-atomic layer. That's why the control panel in the ship changed from a regular control panel to a steering wheel. I on the other hand, can control or create any element, compound, or mixture down to the sub-atomic level. That explains the key. Get it? Anyway though, back to what we were discussing. We don't know what that stupid Chlorophsofafane even is, or what it looks like." Julian said as she rolled her eyes.
"...But I got a picture, see?" Shigure replied, whipping out a wrinkled picture with a flourish. Julian cocked an eyebrow as she took the picture, staring at the image of 3 metal tubes bearing faint GU markings. She looked up after a minute, giving Shigure a hard look.
"Don't you think it's possible that they...I don't know...TOOK THEM OUT of those containers?!" She snapped, her voice rising a bit in anger.
"Well, yeah. But Chlorophsofafane has to be kept cold. So it would be stored in some type of refrigeration unit." He replied with a casual wave of his hand.
"...How do you know that?!" Julian hissed as she moved her foot as a huge, brown rat scurried past, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"I read it in the file." Shigure announced with a shrug.
"...You know, this is stupid. We should have just laid low. Tried to find a way home. But no! We end up being dragged into the freaking storyline! It's not fair. I want to go home." Julian gripped as she began to sweep the floor with the broom again.
"But...I don't turn into a dog here." Shigure muttered, a sad look on his face.
Julian continued to sweep in silence for a minute, waiting for another worker to walk past before she opened her mouth to reply. "Who really cares if you turn into a dog. Does that make you less of a man? You're a person aren't you? It's better to be something different, than something ordinary. You're not like everybody else. When you're like everybody else, that's boring."
Shigure stopped in mid-sweep and stared at her, his expression unreadable. "So. Are you saying you wouldn't mind being cursed? He asked as he cocked an eyebrow.
Julian stared at him, a flush coloring her face and neck. (Think. Come on, think! You got yourself into this mess. Now talk your way out of it.) "Uh, well, uh...I didn't mean that exactly...,"she said, her sentence drifting off as the comlink began to vibrate in her pocket. (Score! Saved by the bell) Julian handed her broom to Shigure as she pulled the vibrating com- link from her pocket, glancing around quickly before she ducked behind some crates and flipped the cover open.
"This is Juli...uh, I mean Quicksilver." She said, her eyes wide as she realized that she'd nearly told them her real name. Which was something an ES Member would not have known anymore.
"Éclair here. We got a lead. You 2 can turn in the brooms and come meet us here at the LaMuse." Eclair said, her voice full of static as it crackled.
"Got it." Julian hissed, flipping the cover closed with her thumb. She glanced at Shigure when she was finished, a grin on her face.
"Come on. Our work here is done."
Meanwhile, 5 more days have passed since Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru had returned from their class trip.
Hatori stood on the porch outside of Shigure's office, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he stared out into the yard. He could see Shigure's editor stomping down the path to the house and he momentarily closed his eyes, taking a long drag on his cigarette before they snapped open, an irate gleam to them.
"Um, Hatori...Have you decided what you're going to do about this yet? If Shigure's gown much longer...Akito's going to find out." Yuki said as he stopped in the doorway, his face expressionless.
"Yes I know. You need to get to door. Shigure's editor is here." Hatori replied flatly as he pulled his cigarette from his mouth. He exhaled as he flicked the ash off the end of his cigarette, slanting a look in Yuki's direction.
"Me? But...what am I supposed to tell her?" Yuki asked as he frowned.
" I don't care. Tell her anything." Hatori replied as he stuck his cigarette back in his mouth as someone knocked on the front door.
Sighing, Yuki pushed away from the doorway and turned to head for the front door, pulling it open to find Mei waiting on the other side.
"Good afternoon. You must be looking for Shigure." Yuki replied, giving Mei a faint smile as he opened the door a bit wider, hoping he was doing a good job masking his panic.
"Yes. Is he here? His deadline is in 5 days. I need his manuscript." Mei said, twisting her hands together in nervous anticipation.
"Um, well..." Yuki began to say when Kyo came to the door, shoving him aside.
"If you're lookin' for Shigure, he's not here. He skipped town 10 days ago with his girlfriend." Kyo announced before he slammed the door, leaving a stunned Mei standing on the porch in silence. She blinked rapidly several times before she fell to her knee's, wailing in panic.
"SHIGURE!?! Why do you do these things to me?!"
Hatori rolled his eyes with a sigh as he heard her yelling, taking another drag on his cigarette. Fine mess Shigure had gotten himself into now. And Kyo didn't help matters just then either.
Julian and Shigure had been trekking back to the LaMuse through the heat and sand when Shigure suddenly stopped, an odd look on his face.
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" Julian asked as she turned to look at him, a questing frown on her face.
"I...suddenly had this...bad feeling. I think we may have been gone for much longer than 2 days," He said as he looked at her.
Julian stared at him silence for a few minutes, her lips pursed as she studied him. "You enjoy being the bearer of bad tidings, don't you." She said with a sigh as she placed her hands on the small of her back and stretched.
"...Sorry." Shigure said sheepishly as they resumed walking, though he wasn't exactly sure what HE was apologizing for.
"It's fine. You'd just better start thinking of some REALLY good reasons why we've been gone. Because as I said yesterday, telling them we'd been sucked into an anime OR that we were away on a romantic weekend is NOT an option."
"Can't they even build these things big enough so I can at least move?" Julian muttered as she turned the water on, splashing it on her face to get some of the dust from the sand off. She glanced up into the mirror as she patted her face dry, he heart nearly stopping as she saw Trent's face staring back at her.
"Eaghhhhhhhh! "She screamed without thinking, backing into the wall.
"Geez! Julian! You don't need to yell. I can hear you just fine." Trent said dryly as he fiddled with one of his beads around his dread, a grin on his face.
"What's the matter with you?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?! You could have at least said something, you know!"
"And miss that priceless reaction? Never." He replied with a snicker.
"If I could get to you, I'd smack that smirk so far into next year you'd never find your face again." She hissed as she narrowed her eyes menacingly.
"Quicksilver? Are you alright?" She heard Armblast ask as he knocked on the door, presumably waiting for her reply.
"I'd forgotten about them." She muttered under her breath." I'm fine! " She called as she glared at Trent, her arms folded across her chest.
"Oh, well, alright then. "Armblast said. Julian continued to glare at Trent in silence as she listened to Armblast's steps fade away, not daring to speak until she was sure she wouldn't be overheard.
"Trent Callahan! I'm going to murder you if I ever get back there! You could have at least TOLD me what dvd you were putting in! I don't like surprises, remember?!" She hissed at him as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I thought you LIKED Kiddy Grade?" Trent asked defensively.
"I DO like Kiddy Grade! But unlike Fruits Basket, it's not some place I'd want to...visit! And as you saw, I had an uninvited guest with me! How do you explain to one anime character that's he's just been sucked into a DIFFERENT anime?!"
"Seems you did a pretty good job to me."
"Whatever! Just put the fruits basket dvd back in! I'll get him home, and then you can send me to someplace else. Alone. Maybe if I travel to each Anime Series I own, I'll get spit out of the dvd payer or something."
"Uh...but I can't just stay up all night and switch anime's for you every half hour. I have class in the morning. And then I got to work. "Trent said as he frowned at her.
"...Then just send me back to the Fruits Basket world. I can stay there until you come back after work. "
"Won't your neighbours wonder who I am? I could ruin your reputation, you know."
"If anyone asks, I went...uh...out of the country, and you're watching my apartment for me and feeding my cat. You WILL remember to feed Sam, right?" Julian said, fixing him with a level stare.
"Sure. No prob. Now, you just go get Shigure, while I switch DVD's, and I'll see you tomorrow at about 5pm our time, got it?" Trent said with a cheesy grin as he stepped out of sight.
"Got it! See ya! "Julian replied, hurriedly banging out the door. She hurried to the bridge, where Shigure stood talking with Éclair and Lumiere still.
"Hey. Shigure! We got to go! "She said as she latched onto his arm, pulling him towards the hatch of the ship, figuring it was better for them to disappear in the desert. Maybe Éclair and Lumiere would think a sand monster got them or something.
"Huh? What? "Shigure said as she pulled him along, looking confused until he began to feel the effects of Trent changing the DVD.
"We're going home." Julian said between clenched teeth as everything turned gray, ignoring the shouts from Éclair, Lumiere, and Armblast.
"...Home..." Shigure mummered before they disappeared from sight.
"...Uh...where'd they go?" Éclair asked in confusion as Shigure and Julian suddenly disappeared, stopping short at the end of the hatch, Armblast bumping into her.
"Well. This should be an interesting report." He hissed in her ear, his breath tickling her face.
"..."
Hallelujah!!! I'm free of the Kiddy Grade Anime!!! Next Couple chapters will be in the Fruba world. Mainly because I can't find (grr!!!) The paper I'd written down on who gets to go to which anime. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. It got a...bit long. He he.
Special thanks to my reviewers!! I love to get reviews.
KerriCarrie- Yeah, I was originally going to have the days equal each other, but I was getting tired of Kiddy Grade, and I had that part with Mei above that I wanted to use, so I upped the time difference. And if ya saw, they're gone from the Kiddy Grade world finally. I has having issues with the premise of what was going on, lol. And anything happening that I want to happen in the story? Yeah, well Anime's kinda like that. Case in point would be R.O.D the TV series. It's a cool series though, by the way.
Samika-Yeah, I tried to explain it above. If the stupid story line would have gone the way I wanted it too, people would have actually gotten to see Shigure and Julian the Y class members in action...but...he he he.
Sensei Tora-san-Glad you liked it so much. I try to update faithfully, but...sometimes that doesn't happen, he he.
Lhuntathraeil- Sure thing! Here's a second helping, lol. By the way...I was wondering. Is there a story or anything behind your penname? It's cool and original...