Disclaimer: Neither Mid-Boss nor I own Ranma ½ which belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-san or Star Ocean: Till the End of Time or any other anime that may appear in our story.
"Dialogue"
((Thoughts))
Original characters Ray Yagami belongs to Mid-Boss and Maaya Yamamoto belongs to me, arekuruu-inabikari-no-she
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Loud footsteps echoed in the silent alley as a man ran down its darkened path. In his hands the fleeing man held a gun and a small 'package'. His eyes darted left and right trying to peer into the eternal darkness for his pursuer, yet the only sounds he could hear were his hard breathing and his heart beating frantically against his chest, pausing momentarily to catch his breath.
Fear and terror filled his very soul as he remembered what had happened only a few scant minutes earlier as he and his friends were in a routine 'package' delivery only to find their client and his guards dead, their blood all over the walls and the floor, with their killer waiting for them. Oh how he remembered Jiro opening fire on the woman, no the demon, only to have him explode in a cloud of blood and gore as she appeared behind him.
But he ran even as his friends died as they were cut down by the woman with her five foot sword, taking the coward's way out, ignoring their pleas for help. Apparently the man caught his second wind and was preparing to run again when a female voice called out to him seemingly from everywhere and nowhere around him at the same time.
"If you give me the package, your death will be swift and you shall have the peace of grave."
"N-no please!" the man begged, "I'll give you the package b-but please…….please spare my life!"
"No." the voice answered
The man screamed in terror and fired his gun into the darkness surrounding him. In his crazed state of mind, the man never noticed the near invisible monofilament wire slowly wrapping around his neck like a hangman's noose.
With a hard tug the man was suddenly lifted a few feet off the ground being choked by the wire around his neck. The man's feet were kicking wildly, his gun and package lay forgotten beneath his struggling form, as both of his hands tried to free him from certain death. Less than a minute later his struggling ceased as death took his life away and his face rapidly turning into a shade of bluish purple.
Maaya came of the darkness and slowly approached the dead man's hanging body and kneeled down to pick up her 'package'. She briefly glared at the dead man and uttered.
"I refuse to sully my blade with the blood of a coward, Ataru Moroboshi."
Then she vanished once again into the night.
Prologue Two:
Beautiful Killer
To kill......
That is this woman's way of life......
To kill......
That is the only means in which she can survive......
Her name is Maaya......
There are none who know of her shrouded past......
There are none who ask about her past......
Through killing she finds her existence......
She weeps as she watches the winds and feels the currents of the universe upon her very soul......
This is the kind of woman Maaya is......
All women are special yet she is very unique......
All women possess many faces......
Yet, no man has ever seen the faces of Maaya…...
All that men can see is the shining sword she holds in her hands......
Even if these men, who see her gleaming blade, were to receive a brief smile......
They would never see it or know of it while they were still alive......
This woman's name is Maaya......
To kill......
This is her way of life...... (1)
The world around was just a blur to Maaya as she practiced with her bo staff on the deck of the Ragnarok twirling it around her like a baton. To the untrained eye it would seem as if she was dancing with a staff but in truth her kata emphasized on both crippling and lethal blows to the body.
It was still early morning and the planet's twin suns had still to rise and Maaya needed to pass the time before her meeting with another client later in the morning for another job, an assassination on a crime syndicate boss. Thinking about it made the swordswoman frown. The assassination would take on the same day on she would steal the disk for Kaji.
She was about to refuse, but stopped when she looked over the mission specifics and who the target would be. It was the same man who owned those files that they were going to steal from during the party. But what irked her the most was where he wanted to meet her.
Maaya's client had arranged for the meeting to be in the Sakura Tea House which was located in the middle of the seediest part of the city. The tea house was nothing more than a front for a very popular whore house and where most of the scum of this planet met.
Maaya wasn't very pleased but she reluctantly complied because the man told her that she could name her price and she could go as high as seven or eight digits when they met at the tea house. What also bothered her was that her client had only left two initials to identify him by and it was 'K.K.' But she put it out of her mind and went into another kata.
By the time dawn came Maaya was sweating after a hard early morning workout, she quickly retreated inside the ship since she didn't want anyone to see her wearing only short shorts and her chest bindings. For such a small planet there were a lot of perverts in it.
As she made her way down to her private quarters, Maaya had thought about asking Ray if he knew who this K.K. was but shoved that thought out her head as the guy was still in a depressed mood after what he had done three days ago. Though he was starting to come out of his funk, she respected him enough to give him space to grieve.
Stepping into her quarters, Maaya immediately removed her chest bindings and headed to the bathroom while she removed the last pieces of her clothing. Maaya stood naked as the warm water cascaded down her lithe body, relaxing the little cramps in her muscles.
Nearly half and hour later, the swordswoman finally came out the bathroom feeling refreshed, her body wrapped with a towel. Suddenly the video phone near her bed turned on and Maaya whirled around to glare at an ogling Kaji.
"You shouldn't have dressed up for me." Kaji said grinning
"I would call you a pervert but you already know that." said Maaya who was still glaring at Kaji and making sure her towel wasn't slipping as she sat on her bed.
"Is it a crime to look at a beautiful woman?" asked Kaji who was still grinning
Maaya just scoffed at his words and grabbed a small towel on her bed and proceeded to dry her hair,
"So did you find anything on my mysterious client before I go and meet him?"
"It took some digging but I finally found his identity." Kaji replied
"So, who is it?" asked Maaya as she finished drying her hair
"Katsura Kogoro." Kaji said simply
((I should've known.)) Maaya thought to herself as she cursed mentally.
"Are you okay with this?" Kaji asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
"Yeah, it's fine with me." Maaya said as she stood up and approached the video phone, "Thanks for the help, Kaji."
"Always happy to oblige a gorgeous lady such as yourself." said Kaji
"Flattery will get nowhere in life." said Maaya as he closed the video phone
After a couple of minutes later, Maaya stepped out of her room dressed with black cargo pants with matching shirt and short jacket that showed her washboard stomach. She passed by the living room and was inwardly pleased to see Ray sitting on the couch, eating some bacon and eggs with slices of bread.
"Going somewhere?" Ray asked before munching down a piece of bacon
"Yeah, I'm off to see a client." Maaya answered
"So soon, we haven't even done that job you told me about couple of day's ago?" said Ray with confusion showing on his face.
"A different client for the same job." said Maaya trying her best to explain the situation. She was very glad, though she didn't show it, that Ray was finally getting over what he had done and the healing could finally begin.
"You lost me." was the intelligent response
Maaya just sighed and said, "Look, I'll explain later okay?"
"Sure." said Ray before attacking his food once again. Maaya just nodded and left the living room, heading straight for the hanger where her motoslave was parked.
Minutes later, Ray heard a loud roar of engines before hearing tires tearing out of the hanger only to fade away in the distance moments later. He just shrugged and continued eating.
Maaya parked her motoslave in a dark, little side street. She had no fear that someone would try to steal her motoslave, any would be thieves would get a 'pleasant' surprise if they tried.
She looked around for a moment at headed straight on a building that stood on the corner of the street. Her eyes squinting at the sign above the door: Sakura Tea House.
Maaya gave a resigned sigh before steeling herself as she opened the door and parted the entry curtain.
As soon as she entered into the wooden building, a huge wave of cigarette smoke and loud boisterous noises assaulted her senses. Maaya shook her head slightly at the nauseous atmosphere before pushing forward.
Her eyes adjusting to the dim, hazy lighting of the tea house and she began to make out figures. The crowded club was brimming with men of all sorts. Crawling around these men or sometimes on top of them, were barely clothed or nude women. Maaya's nose wrinkled in absolute disgust.
"What do we have here?!" a loud drunken voice called out, "One fine woman!"
"Would you look at that!" another voice hooted, "Fresh meat!!!!"
Maaya paid no attention to any of the drunken idiots when a massive form blocked her path,
"Nice sword ya got there." the drunk man said, his face dangerously close to Maaya's face. The swordswoman fought hard not to flinch at the rancid breath that came from the man's mouth.
"Wanna see mine?" the man asked with poor disguised innuendo.
He never noticed her right hand slowly inching towards the hilt of her katana. The drunk then moved one of his massive arms to grab one of Maaya's arms. Fortunately (for the drunk), a cold voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Kai what the hell are you doing?"
"Nothing, Takuya, just talking to this woman is all." said Kai as he sobered up slightly.
"She doesn't have time for you or your games, Kai. That woman has an appointment with the boss." Takuya said glaring at Kai as the man paled.
The big man and the crowd quickly parted before the woman, easily creating a path for her that lead to a stairway.
"Follow me if you would please." Takuya said as he led Maaya up the stairs.
Kai sighed in relief at evading unnecessary trouble and he freaked when a throwing knife flew by, mere inches away from his face, imbedding itself halfway into the wall behind him. He looked at the Maaya who was following Takuya and she turned he head sideways to give him a silent glare that sent shivers down his spine. He vowed not to cross paths with the woman again.
"My sincere apologies about their rowdy behavior downstairs, Yamamoto-san., they will be harshly reprimanded for that." Takuya said as they neared the room where his boss was.
"... ... ..." Maaya didn't answer but was instead immersed on her own thoughts.
"He is waiting for you inside." Takuya's voice snapped Maaya out of her musings as he opened the shoji screen and gestured for her to enter.
Maaya took off her shoes before entering and saw a handsome middle-aged man with black hair tainted with flecks of gray sitting cross-legged on a low table. The man looked at Takuya who nodded in response as he closed the screen and left the two alone. Maaya kneeled across the table and waited patiently for the man to begin.
"I am Katsura Kogoro." he introduced himself, "Leader of the Choshu faction."
Katsura looked at Maaya to see any reaction from the kneeling woman but saw none.
"I lead those men you saw downstairs," he said, "I direct every move they make and answer to no one but me."
Again, Katsura looked at the silent swordswoman for any reaction. Suddenly, her blue eyes locked gazes with him and he could see a flicker of recognition within those sapphire orbs.
"Katsura Kogoro." she stated, "I have seen and known your work as a politician yet you lead an organization wanted by the government that you work for."
Katsura just smiled at her
"How very true." he said "You know my reputation well, Ms. Yamamoto. But my actions are purely for the good of the people of Amuro."
"By using killers and murderers to clean the streets?" asked Maaya sarcastically
"Yes." Kagura answered without any hesitation
"So to fight against the evils of the underworld, you use their own methods against them?" asked Maaya, though it seemed that she was stating it as a fact rather than a question.
"What you say is true. However, we aren't here today to talk about me are we?" Kagura asked with a small smile
Maaya nodded not caring about the change of subject.
"Why did you ask me?" asked Maaya simply
"I beg your pardon?" Kagura said a little confused about her question
"Why did you need an assassin of the cross to do a simple assassination?" Maaya elaborated
"Because I want to turn that party into a massacre, show them no mercy, and make it seem like it was the work of a rival crime syndicate. That's why I needed your expertise." Kagura answered
"I see." she said contemplating for a moment, "Nine million Fol upfront, that's my asking price." If Kagura was shocked he certainly didn't show it.
"How can I be assured..." asked Kagura before trailing off as he saw her cold glare directed at him, "...forgive me for my doubts. It seems that I had forgotten that an assassin of the cross always kills their targets."
"What will you achieve from this?" Maaya asked
"The means to revolutionize this world." was his answer
The swordswoman just nodded as she stood up and headed for the door.
"One of my men will leave the money in front of your ship tomorrow early morning." Kagura said to Maaya before she left.
"And you will have your massacre."
Two days later...
The stars were shining brightly in the night sky as Ray and Maaya drove towards Kanryu's estate a few miles out of the city limits in their sports car.
Ray was dressed with a regular black tuxedo with tails and Maaya wore a dark blue spaghetti strap dress that had two high slits on the side. Her hair had been tied in a high ponytail showing off her bare back. The trip was very silent but as they neared the estate Ray glanced at Maaya while he was driving and asked,
"So how's it going down?"
"We go in and enjoy ourselves until you see Kanryu start making the deals. Then I'll sneak out and create a diversion while you use that time to go to his private room to steal the disk." Maaya paused briefly to let the information sink in before continuing, "Once you have them, get the car and leave without me. I'll rendezvous with you at the space port."
Maaya didn't want Ray to find out about what she was going to do and hoped that they would be off Amuro by then.
"Are you sure that you want me to leave?" asked Ray, "You might need some help escaping."
"I'll be fine." said Maaya, "I've got my motoslave on autopilot and following us."
Ray looked at the car's rear view mirror and saw that Maaya's motoslave was following them although at a distance.
A few minutes later, their car stopped at the gates leading into the crime boss's huge estate and Maaya directed her motoslave to hide amongst the trees near the gates. As soon as the wide gates opened, Ray drove the car inside and parked it where the valet showed them.
"Shall we go milady?" Ray asked Maaya with a grin as he opened the door for her.
Maaya said nothing and both walked to the entrance where four armed guards were looking at the invitations for the party goers. Both had noticed that some had just given the guards a wad of cash to be let in. She particularly resisted the urge to kill one of the guards when he made a crude remark to another guard when they showed their invitations and were let in.
Takeda Kanryu was stinking rich and the crime boss made every effort to flaunt his wealth to his associates who attended the party. Decorations that screamed 'rich', food so exotic that they it had to be imported a month before the party, and even the serving girls were either dressed in various lingerie or costumes.
"A guy could get used to this." said Ray as he grabbed to glasses of champagne from a ditzy blonde in a bunny outfit who almost tripped on her feet, "Weird hairstyle though, looks like meatballs." he just shrugged and proceeded to ogle the various girls in different lingerie
Maaya just sighed at her partner's perverted nature, "Just don't forget."
"I won't forget, but it seems that these girls got some competition." he said smirking at Maaya who just looked away with a very faint flush of pink on her face.
Both just made their way to the bar to order some drinks and keep a lookout for Kanryu. About an hour and a half of waiting, Maaya's target came down the grand stairs with escort in tow. The crime boss looked at the crowd of people and headed towards another man who was seated in one of the couches with a girl on both arms.
"Target spotted." Ray said softly to Maaya who gave him a slight nod. She was about to go to the ladies room to sneak out when the lights slowly dimmed and a spotlight turned on, focusing on a man with a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we hope that you are enjoying the party this evening but we have a very special guest for Mr. Kanryu and you all." the man announced and waited for a moment, "She has taken time off her busy schedule to give a small performance for our celebrant. Ladies and gentlemen I give you the star of the music world, Ms. Lacus Clyne!!!"
The spotlight turned away from the man and focused and became even brighter as it revealed a beautiful young woman with long pink hair with green eyes shining like emeralds. She was wearing a simple but very elegant light blue gown.
"They don't pull any punches do they?" asked Ray out loud as Lacus took a deep breath as music came from behind her and she began to sing,
Nani mo ka mo umaku yukanai modokashisa ni
Aseru kimochi wo osaete
Hagayusa to iradatashisa ni kokoro midare
Kakaekonda hiza kozou
(Nothing is going the way it should
I hastily subdue these feelings of impatience
All this anxiety and nervousness is sending my heart into disorder
Just a boy hugging his knees in the midst of it all)
Kuyashisa wo koraete namida ni furuete
Naita yoru ga akeru
(Shivering and in tears, I repress all my regret
I cried all night, but now it seems dawn is breaking...)
Even though the young woman had just started singing both Ray and Maaya could tell that everyone was entranced by her music. Ray listened slowly. He imagined that the singer had short blond hair and blue eyes instead.
"I miss you…….." he said with a low voice and lost himself reminiscing about the past as he listened to Lacus.
Sou
Tashika ni kimi no iu toori da yo
Ima nara hikikaeseru keredomo
Tsumaranai iji wo haritsuduketeru
Arukihajimeta ijou akiramenai
(So, undoubtedly you're right
Even though right now I may try to turn back
And I keep on being stubborn about it, though I know it's monotonous
I'll start walking again, this time even farther, and I won't give up)
Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo...
(If I could get just one more chance...)
Subete kono mune no naka ni shimatte okou
Yume ga kanau made...
(I'll keep it all locked away in my heart
Until my dreams come true...)
Yarusenai hakanasa ni mi wo yudaneru hodo
Sonna ayaui jidai ni
Agaitemo te no todokanai kishi wo mezashi
Muga muchuu de oyoida
(I surrendered myself to a dismal emptiness
in the most critical of times
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite reach
Aiming for the shore
I had to swim for my life)
Nagare ni sakarau koe mo agerarenai
Yukitomari no basho de
(Withstanding the current, I can't even raise my voice
It could have been the end right there, but...)
Sou
Ai ga subete tasukeru to wa
Omowanai dakedo kimi no hohoemi
Kokoro wo iyasu sono kuchibiru ni
Tachiagaru yuuki wo morau no sa
(I don't think that love can save everything,
but there's something about your smile
that somehow healed my heart, and in your lips
I found the strength to stand up again)
Maaya then noticed that Kanryu and the man were making their way to a more private room slowly as to not attract any attention to themselves. She was going to tell Ray that she was leaving and to get ready but stopped when she noticed the far away look in his eyes and he looked rather melancholic.
The swordswoman just shook her head and made her way through the crowd to go to the ladies room. Once she was inside, Maaya quickly checked if anyone else was inside. Finding the room empty besides her, she quickly made her way to a window and forced it open.
Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo...
(If only I could get just one more chance...)
Kawa no nagare wa kyou mo hageshii keredo
Kimi no te wa hanasanai
Itsumo kono mune no naka no ai wo shinjiteiyou
Yume ga kanau made...
(The flow of the river is intense even today
But I won't let go of your hand
I'll believe in the love that's in my heart forever
Until my dreams come true...)
Taking a quick peek and seeing no patrolling guards, Maaya climbed out of the ladies room and shut the window behind her. She sensed someone coming and immediately hid in some bushes nearby.
Less than a minute later, a pair of guards strolled by talking to each other. Maaya waited for another minute before sprinting towards the large gates. Avoiding some more patrols and as soon as Maaya neared the gates she leapt high and landed on top of the wall. She ran towards the spot where her motoslave had hidden itself.
Sou
Ai ga subete wo tasukeru to wa
Omowanai dakedo kimi no hohoemi
Kokoro wo iyasu sono kuchibiru ni
Tachiagaru yuuki wo morau no sa
(I don't think that love can save everything,
but there's something about your smile
that somehow healed my heart, and in your lips
I found the strength to stand up again)
Tashika ni kimi no iu toori da yo
Ima nara hikikaeseru keredomo
Tsumaranai iji wo haritsuduketeru
Arukihajimeta ijou akiramenai
(So, undoubtedly you're right
Even though right now I may try to turn back
And I keep on being stubborn about it, though I know it's monotonous
I'll start walking again, this time even farther, and this time I won't give up)
Maaya quickly leapt down and hid herself within the trees as she began to take her clothes off. She opened a compartment on the motoslave and pulled out her hard suit. A minute later, Maaya sat on her motoslave and patiently waited.
Mou ichido kono te ni chansu wo...
(If only I could get just one more chance...)
Kawa no nagare wa kyou mo hageshii keredo
Kimi no te wa hanasanai
Itsumo kono mune no naka no ai wo shinjiteiyou
Yume ga kanau made...
(The flow of the river is intense even today
But I won't let go of your hand
I'll believe in the love that's in my heart forever
Until my dreams come true...) (2)
There was a great shout of applause for the singer as she finished her song. Taking a long bow, the young woman smiled at the crowd and walked slowly out of the spotlight as the light slowly went back on.
Ray was about to say something to Maaya when he noticed that she was gone. He cursed softly and headed towards the men's room. Ray waited until he was alone in the room and tapped the mini communicator in his right ear.
"Are you there, Maaya? If you are please answer me." he said quietly
"I'm here." said Maaya over the comlink
"Where the hell are you?!" asked Ray
"I'm ready and waiting."
"Ms. Clyne just finished and I don't know where Kanryu went to." said Ray
"Don't worry, I know where he is. Just be ready to move when I give the signal." said Maaya
Ray could hear the roar of the motoslave's engine coming to life
"How will I know what the signal is?" he asked dreading the answer
"You'll know." was the only thing Maaya said before turning off her communicator.
Ray stood silent for a moment before walking out of the men's room and towards the stairs. As he got to the stairs Ray heard a huge explosion going off before seeing a huge shadow crash through one of the mansion's huge windows.
All hell broke loose afterwards and Ray separated himself from the fleeing horde of people as a hail of gunfire tore through them dropping them like flies. He ignored the shouts and screams and ran up the stairs, towards one of the hallways that led to Kanryu room.
Earlier………
"How will I know what the signal is?" asked Ray
"You'll know." Maaya answered as she cut the link between them and activated the hard suit.
She instantly felt her suit growing and hardening until it finished its transformation. The swordswoman adjusted her body to the added weight that the suit was putting on before riding out of her hiding spot and towards the gate.
Approaching the gates, she could see a couple guards waving their weapons at her, ignoring their orders to stop Maaya aimed the motoslave's AA Cannon at the main gate and fired.
BOOM!!!!!!
The gate and its guards were incinerated caused by the cannon's HEAT (high explosive anti tank) rounds. Maaya just drove through the remains of the main gate and increased her speed. Nearing the mansion, she made the motoslave 'jump' and crashed through one of its windows.
"Motoslave, heavy arms mode." she ordered as her motoslave suddenly transformed in mid-air conforming itself around her hard suit with its AA Cannon attaching itself to her right arm becoming a double barreled gatling gun.
Marbled tiles cracked under the heavy weight of the transformed motoslave and Maaya used the shock that everyone was momentarily under and unleashed a wave of AP rounds. She continued to fire not sparing anyone within the deadly range of her firearm. Maaya paused momentarily to scan her surroundings for Ray and was glad that he had already left to get the disk.
Knowing her task to be almost over, she moved towards the room where she saw Kanryu go in and scanned the room. The scan revealed at least 20 people armed and waiting for her to burst through the door, Maaya just aimed at a target closest to the wall in front of her and opened fire.
She destroyed the weakened wall with a punch of her motoslave and stepped inside. Maaya could feel the little sounds of bullets bouncing of her motoslave's armor grabbed one of the bodyguards and snapped him like a twig before swatting three more away with one swing of her gatling gun. She knew that Kanryu might try to run away and jumped backwards spraying the room with deadly projectiles.
After a full minute, Maaya stopped firing and what was left of the room resembled a war zone with blood and dead bodies everywhere. All of them were dead except one who was seriously injured, she approached Kanryu's bullet-riddled corpse and spoke out loud using the motoslave's voice scrambler to mask her true voice.
"Rau Le Creuset sends his regards." she said using the name that Kagura had given her in the mission specifics.
Her job finished, Maaya had her motoslave transform back into a cycle and prepared to leave, her motoslave warned her of police forces en route. Maaya was about to leave when she caught something moving at the corner of her eye. She turned to see the young woman who had given them the glasses of champagne earlier slowly crawling towards something couldn't see.
Without hesitation Maaya grabbed a gun from one of the dead guards and approached the girl. She saw a trail of blood coming from the young woman's stomach and knew that the poor woman was dying. The woman apparently hadn't noticed or ignored Maaya as she stood over her crawling form and emptied the gun over her heart.
Maaya looked at her outstretched hand and saw it millimeters away from a small bloody locket. Picking it up, Maaya opened it and saw a picture of a pink-haired girl. She saw the words 'Love you forever, little sister' inscribed under the girl's picture. Her motoslave gave off a warning that the police were less than five minutes away. Maaya looked at the locket and acted quickly. She was long gone by the time they arrived, leaving only dead bodies in her wake.
Later that evening……
Maaya entered the living room of the Ragnarok only to see Ray using his laptop while sitting on the couch
"Hey what took you so long?" asked Ray as he looked up from his laptop
"Had to make sure that no one was following me." said Maaya
Ray nodded and his eyes narrowed when he saw something catching light on her right hand.
"What's that in your hand?" he asked pointedly looking at the object on her hand.
"Just a keepsake." Maaya answered softly and headed straight for her room, "Did you get the disk?"
"Yup, I'm having Melfina decipher the codes now." said Ray
"Good job, Ray." Maaya said to Ray who waved it off, "I'm calling it in for today. Good night."
"Night." said Ray as he went back to his laptop
Maaya went into the bathroom as soon as she stepped into her room and washed the dry blood off the locket. Drying it off with a hand towel, she went back into her bedroom and undressed. Maaya, almost naked, laid on top of her bed before pulling out a hidden knife in one of her pillows and used it to inscribe something within in the locket.
Satisfied with what she had inscribed, Maaya put it around her neck and opened the locket once more.
"Never forget." Maaya said to herself, looking at the pink haired girl in the locket and reading what she had inscribed before closing the locket and falling into a dreamless sleep. (3)
Few days later…………
"A surge of deadly shoot-outs between rival gangs has erupted all over the city following the aftermath of the horrific massacre at the Takeda estate. The death toll has risen to over 100 including police officers, civilians, and gang members. The government has finally decided to send in the National Guard to put a stop to these waves of murders….."
Maaya turned off the plasma screen and sighed as she drank her tea. She had decided to forgo practice today and woke up late this morning. Her hair was somewhat frazzled and she was till in her underwear. But she didn't care since she was alone in the ship, since Melfina had told her that Ray had left to some unknown location before she woke up. She was pleased that he was too busy with deciphering the data disk to watch the news. The swordswoman didn't want to hear him 'lecturing' her for killing so many people.
"The means to revolutionize this world." she uttered, repeating what Kagura had told her at the tea house.
((So he plans to use this as an excuse to leave the government vulnerable to an internal attack.)) Maaya thought to herself, ((But was sacrificing all those lives necessary for the betterment of this planet?)) She fingered the locket around her neck for a moment then shook her head in an effort to get rid of painful memories.
Maaya then heard the video phone ringing in her room and got up from the couch to answer it.
It was still ringing incessantly and she quickly turned it on, revealing Kaji's disheveled face.
"Hey Kaji what's the…….."
"No time, Maaya! Get away from Amuro now!" Kaji shouted at her
"Huh, what the hell are you talking about?!" asked Maaya slightly disturbed at the urgency of Kaji's voice.
"Kagura's coup is going to happen in less than two hours!" replied Kaji
"So, how does a coup include our safety?" asked Maaya again
"He plans on killing off most of his lackeys in the Chousu organization and other he plans to put down all other crime syndicates." Kaji explained
"So the bastard's going to double cross us." Maaya snarled
"He's already double crossed you guys, just leave Amuro before it's too late." said Kaji with a pleading expression on his face.
"But how about you? Aren't you going to leave as well?" Maaya asked as she saw his face look at something or someone off screen. "Kaji?"
"I'm sorry, Maaya but it's already too late for me." Kaji said as he gave her a sad smile
Maaya saw the shadow of a man with a gun, before her informant closed their video link with each other.
Kaji closed the link between him and Maaya wished that things were different between them. He remembered that one time where had he asked her to go steady with him and had she said to him,
"No man can accept a woman's love covered in blood and sadness."
But Kaji pushed all his thoughts aside as he turned around and stared down the barrel of his killer's gun.
"You're late." he said smiling at the assassin
BANG!!!
(4)
"Damn it!" Maaya shouted angrily, both her fists hitting slamming down on the metal desktop. Kaji was a good man despite his playboy nature. She would make sure that his sacrifice wasn't in vain.
"Melfina, home in to Ray's signal and make contact! This is a priority one!" Maaya shouted as she ran out of her private quarters and towards the ship's armory to be ready just in case any 'guests' came before Ray did.
"On it!" said Melfina as she directed the ship's scanner to look for Ray
An hour later……
Ray walked through the cemetery with a solemn look on his face. He passed by the rows of tombstones without making a sound until he stopped in front of a solitary tombstone. He knelt and placed a bouquet of different flowers on it before saying a quick prayer for the deceased.
"Wherever you are kid, I'm sorry." he said softly before standing up and moving to another tombstone, under a Sakura tree in full bloom.
There he laid a bouquet of white roses and looked at the tombstone silently, then waked away without saying a word.
Walking out of the empty cemetery, Ray got inside his parked sports car and was about leave when the car's communicator turned on,
"Ray, do you hear me?" he heard Maaya's voice asking him over the link
"Crystal." he said
"Are you heading back to the space port?" she asked
He turned on the car and drove away from the cemetery and got on the highway leading towards the space port.
"I'm heading back now." he replied
"Get here back here as soon as you can." she ordered
"Why, what's wrong?" Ray asked as he noticed three cars tailing him, "Tell me when I get there, I got people following me."
"What did you say?! Just get rid of them and get here fast we're leaving Amuro!" Maaya said angrily at him and she cut Ray off before he could ask why, "There's going to be a coup' de ta in less than hour and our client double crossed us!"
"Shit." was the only thing Ray could say to sum up their situation.
Ray turned off the communicator and pulled out a small object from underneath the driver seat and threw it out the window. The object bounced towards the tailing cars before attaching itself to one of the cars. He just smirked and pushed a button on the car's steering wheel.
BOOOOOM!!!!!!!
The car went up in flames as the sticky bomb exploded, and Ray shifted gears and speed up as the two remaining cars opened fire on him, while trying to catch up to his sports car. All three played a deadly game of cat and mouse across the long stretch of highway. When one the remaining two appeared on Ray's right side and opened fire.
Ray quickly pressed the brakes and swerved to the right hard, clipping the tail end of the pursuer's car causing it to spin uncontrollably and blew up when it collided the guard rail at over 150 mph. Ray pulled out another sticky bomb and threw it to the last car as it approaching his spinning car, preparing to ram it.
He could see the driver's shocked face as the bomb landed in top of the car's hood. Ray triggered the bomb and the car light up with a fiery explosion as what was left of it hurdled over Ray's car and landed behind him.
The driver of the sports car just smirked and drove away before the police came. He had less than forty minutes to make it back to the space port.
Half an hour later………
As Ray entered the space port he saw signs of a battle and sped up his car to where the Ragnarok was docked. Nearing where their ship was docked he could see an ongoing battle and saw Maaya tearing armed gunmen apart with her sword. The gunmen could only hit her afterimage before getting skewered by her blood-stained blade.
"Melfina, open the hangar, I'm coming in!" Ray ordered to the ship's Core AI
"Roger that, Ray." said Melfina as the ramp leading to the hangar was lowered.
He looked at saw that Maaya had finished off the remaining gunmen and leapt on top of his car as he sped by and drove up the ramps as they closed behind them.
"Are you alright?" Ray asked the swordswoman as he got out the car
"It'll take a lot more than thugs with guns to bring me down." Maaya said, "But right now we don't have too much time left." She then ran out the hangar and to the bridge with Ray in tow.
"Melfina, turn all engines online and prepare for departure." Maaya said to the small female holographic image that greeted them once they arrived at the bridge.
Melfina was silent for a moment before saying, "Main engines powering up, energy levels at 45 percent and rising."
"Attention, crew of the Ragnarok! You have not been given the clearance to launch! Disable all systems and prepare to be……." Maaya turned off the transmission from the space port control tower and sat on the pilot's chair.
"He's probably been paid to keep us here." Ray just nodded at what Maaya said and took a seat on a nearby chair. Melfina showed him a live feed of more armed men storming towards them, "We've got some more company."
"Main engines have reached full power and we are ready for lift off." said Melfina to Maaya
"LAUNCH!!!" Maaya shouted as the thrusters ignited and the Ragnarok slowly rose from the ground before gaining speed. The ships' abrupt lift off caused its connecting support towers to collapse, raining debris on the incoming gunmen, killing them instantly.
Both the ship and its occupant were a little shaken as they escaped the planet's gravity, piercing through the inner and outer atmosphere, and minutes later they were amongst the sea of stars in space.
"We have achieved planetary launch and have escaped its gravity." Melfina informed both Ray and Maaya
Ray just gave a sigh of relief, "At least its over."
"Warning, long-range scanners have detected a dozen pirate-class space fighters." said Melfina
Maaya said nothing but gave a look at Ray that made him take a small gulp.
"Turn the ship around and fire at the targets with the Valiants." said Maaya as the Ragnarok turned around and Ray aimed at the approaching fighters on his screen.
"Targets locked!" Ray said as he acquired the targets in his crosshairs
"Open fire!" Maaya shouted as laser fire erupted from the tips of the Ragnarok's four wings taking out three in one swoop.
Maaya saw that the remaining fighters were still approaching and said, "Melfina, begin energy collection for the Halconnen!"
A large rectangular barrel of a cannon came out from underneath the ships' bridge and energy quickly gathered at the end of the cannon until a large orb of energy was formed.
"Halconnen fully charged." said Melfina
"FIRE!!!" shouted Maaya as a huge beam of energy fired from the cannon destroying the remaining fighters in multiple explosions.
"Melfina, are there any more incoming fighters on the long range scanners?" asked Ray
"Long range scan reveals nothing but space debris." answered Melfina
Maaya nodded and said, "Power down all weapon systems and keep a constant passive scan on all scanners."
"Affirmative." said Melfina as her holographic image vanished to her assigned tasks.
"So, where are we going now?" Ray asked Maaya after a couple minutes of silence of the bridge
"I'm up for a short vacation." Maya said in response
"Vacation?" Ray asked uncertainly
"Melfina use current star maps to plot a course for the planet Char." said Maaya
Seconds later Melfina's voice came through the speakers, "Course set."
"Ready engines for gravitic warp." Maaya said to Ray
"Engines ready for warp." Ray said seconds after fast typing.
"Engage."
In the vacuum of space, the Ragnarok stood still for a moment before vanishing in a bright light from entering gravitic warp space, heading straight for the planet Char. Towards a fated encounter that would lead them to their destinies…
(1)- From the beginning of Outlaw Star Ep.6
(2) – Gundam Seed 2nd ending song "River"
(3) – Think of what's inscribed inside Ed's pocket watch from Full Metal Alchemist
(4) – a rendition of Kaji's death scene from Neon Genesis Evangelion