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Patlabor: Personal Files
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 14: A Meeting With the Wolf
February 29, 2000
Sakaki walked out onto the catwalk, surveying the work that was going on.
"Shige!" he barked, noticing something wrong.
"Yes, chief?"
"You missed a spot!"
"Sorry, chief!"
Shige buffed clean the dirty sensor, sighing.
"Much better, Shige," Sakaki acknowledged.
"Thank god Noa and Asuma are supposed to be back today," Shige muttered. "I
won't have to keep waxing Alphonse any more."
"Shige!" Sakaki roared.
Shige flinched. "Yes, chief!"
"Don't forget to clean the monitors inside!"
"Right, chief."
Sigh.
* * * * *
"Well," the doctor said, looking over the results of Noa's physical.
"Looks like we can clear you for light duty today. If you keep up this
rate of recovery, and don't strain yourself, you should be completely fine
in two weeks."
"So, no Alphonse?" Noa pouted.
"Er... Alphonse?" the doctor asked.
"Her labor," Asuma explained simply.
"I see," the doctor replied, though clearly he didn't. "No, I'm afraid
not. No Alphonse for two weeks."
Noa sniffed sadly. "I miss him," she whimpered. Asuma squeezed her
shoulder reassuringly. Hopefully, she asked, "Are you sure? Can't I even
take him out for a spin, if I don't do anything strenuous in him?"
"Er...." The doctor wasn't entirely sure what to do. The woman looked so
desperate for the ability to use her labor, that he was reluctant to say
no, but he would be lying if he said it was entirely safe.
"How about if she were to sit in Alphonse's cabin, but not use him?" Asuma
suggested.
"That would be acceptable," the doctor said, grateful for having an option
over COMPLETELY disappointing the girl.
Noa nodded. "Good. Come on, Asuma- let's get back to headquarters. I
want to make sure the mechanics squad has been taking good care of them
while I was gone."
"Gaack!" Asuma choked out, staggering after Noa as she dragged him off by
the shirt.
The doctor shook his head as they went. "Cute couple, but wierd girl. Oh,
well- next!"
In walked a man with square-rimmed glasses, smiling so widely his eyes were
almost obscured by his cheeks. "Hello... I don't suppose you caught the
name of that young couple that just left, did you?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes, I did- why?"
"Oh, I think I've met them before, but we've never been formally
introduced. Oh, well. I suspect I'll meet them again later- we do seem to
keep running into each other."
* * * * *
The car drove up into the Division 2 Parking lot. Asuma helped Noa out and
they slowly made their way in the building. Asuma blinked- it was dark,
though he thought he saw movement in the shadows. Cautiously, he switched
on the lights.
Lined up from the doorway straight to Alphonse was the entire mechanics
squad. Shige, with a stern-faced Chief Sakaki behind him, were waiting at
the end of the line. Walking slowly while taking in the surprising
turn-out, Noa and Asuma slowly made their way over to the two senior
mechanics. As they did, the mechanics burst out into cheers and applause.
"Welcome back, Noa!" Shige said, clapping her on the arm. "We've been
keeping Alphonse clean and ready, just for you!"
Watching from the catwalk, Shinobu turned to Gotoh and said, "The mechanics
sure are enthusiastic about her return."
Gotoh nodded. "Of course. After all, thanks to Sakaki tutoring Noa in the
basics of mechanics, she's becoming one of them. Besides, I think that
Shige's a little glad that he won't have to buff and wax labor 1 any more."
Shinobu raised an eyebrow. "I thought Noa was only approved for light
duty."
Gotoh nodded. "Yep. Do you really think that's going to stop her from
babying her pet labor, though?"
Shinobu didn't have a chance to respond before Hiromi came up behind them.
"Captain Gotoh, sir- was a call for you. I picked it up- we're getting
something faxed to us."
"Who is it from?" Gotoh asked, still keeping his eyes on the jubilant
mechanics and the bewildered couple.
"Someone from headquarters, sir, requesting two of our officers by name for
a special detached assignment."
Gotoh was a little surprised at that one. "Oh?"
* * * * *
"I'm sorry, Alphonse- I wish I could take you out to stretch your legs, but
the doctor says I'm not allowed to.... I missed you, Alphonse, did you
miss me?"
Asuma, sitting on the platform next to the labor's cockpit, rolled his eyes
as Noa cooed over Alphonse. He didn't really blame her- after all, it had
been a little more than a month since she was able to even see Alphonse
(she'd refused to see him on the Valentines day she'd visited the
headquarters, since she wouldn't be allowed to touch him then). Still, for
some reason he couldn't identify it was starting to get on his nerves.
Perhaps it was the sheer enormity of the affection she was displaying for a
mere hunk of metal and circuitry, but for the first time he could remember
he was honestly starting to get annoyed at Alphonse.
Or maybe jealous, though he would never admit it.
"Shinohara!" Gotoh's voice rang out from the railing above. "Could you an
Noa please come to my office?"
'Finally!' Asuma thought to himself. 'I won't have to put up with this
anymore!'
"Can't I have a few more minutes?" Noa whimpered.
Asuma looked at her in the cockpit, her eyes wide and begging. "Captain,
could we have five more minutes?" he asked.
"Make it ten- this isn't that important," Gotoh answered.
"Thank you, sir!" Asuma replied. 'The things I put up with for that
girl...'
* * * * *
Gotoh waited patiently at his desk until Noa and Asuma walked in. Noa was
sighing wistfully as she walked in, but Asuma looked a little relieved.
"Ah, finally. I trust you've had enough time to start readjusting
yourselves to being back on the facilities?"
"Yes, sir," Asuma replied quickly, not giving Noa a chance to say that she
wanted more time with Alphonse.
"Good. Noa, I know you are only cleared for light duty, but you and
Shinohara were both specifically requested for a particular assignment.
I'm told that this mission shouldn't involve any strenuous work, but you
have my permission to hold back if you think something it going to be too
difficult for you," Gotoh noted.
"Thank you, sir," Noa said.
"What's the assignment?" Asuma asked.
Gotoh handed him a folder. "Everything you need to know is in there."
Asuma opened the folder and read for a few seconds. His eyes widened.
"You CAN'T be serious," he growled, slamming the folder back down on
Gotoh's desk.
"I am," Gotoh said. "I'm afraid that this is not an option for you,
Shinohara. It's only an option for Noa because of her injuries. These
orders come from the police commissioners office, itself."
Noa, curious as to what all the fuss was about, picked up the folder and
read it for herself.
"The investigation of the assault against the Quartermasters Corps. on the
20th of February by unknown forces has resulted in the discovery of the
theft of the classified technical documentation of a number of Shinohara
Heavy Industries productions, namely those for the Ingram, Peacemaker, and
various preliminary designs for the Mass Production models. It is
requested that you send officers Noa Izumi and Asuma Shinohara to liason
with Mr. Okami Shinohara of Shinohara Heavy Industries at his private
residence located at..."
So that was it. Asuma's father was involved. Of course he wouldn't want
to deal with this sort of assignment. Quickly, Noa skimmed the rest of the
orders- apparently, they were only supposed to discuss the details of the
case, and didn't necessarily need to figure out who it was who had engaged
in the theft. That was not so strange, but the selection of who it was to
ask these questions was.
"Captain Gotoh?" Noa queried. "Why are they asking US to conduct this
interview, anyway? I mean, we're just labor operatives- investigations
like this aren't our job."
Gotoh nodded. "You two were specifically requested, however. I suspect it
has something to do with Asuma's family connections."
Noa nodded. "That makes sense- it explains him. But why ME? What do I
have to do with any of this?"
Gotoh shrugged. "I don't know. If you want, you CAN refuse the
assignment...."
Noa shook her head. "No... I'm not able to pilot Alphonse, so I might as
well have something to do while I'm restricted to light duties."
Gotoh nodded. "Very well. You two might as well get going. I'll expect a
report when you get back on the third."
Asuma didn't look happy, but nodded and turned to leave. "Come on, Noa...
we'll take my personal car- it's more comfortable than the command car and
it's a six hour drive between here and dad's place."
* * * * *
Noa looked at Asuma in concern as he drove the car through the streets of
downtown Tokyo in silence. They'd been on the road for almost an hour and
a half already, and so far he hadn't spoken one word since leaving Gotoh's
office. His face took on a very dark look, and she was starting to get
worried.
"Do you mind if I turn on the radio?" Noa asked, trying to get him to say
anything, even if it was just the word 'yes.'
Without answering, Asuma reached for the controls to the stereo and flipped
it to some station playing 50's American Rock and Roll. Noa sighed- that
didn't work as she'd planned. It was time to be blunt.
"Asuma, what's wrong? I thought you and your father worked things out last
time you saw him...."
Asuma blinked. "No... we didn't work things out. We got along better than
we had in years, but we didn't really work anything out."
"Well... well, maybe that's a good sign. Maybe you'll get along this time,
as well?" Noa suggested hopefully.
Asuma half-smiled. "Maybe. I doubt it, though."
"Wouldn't it be easier to get along better with him if you go into your
meeting hoping for things to go well?"
Asuma nodded quietly. "Yes, it would. And, believe it or not, I am. But
there's something I'm even more afraid of than just us 'not getting along.'
A couple of things, actually."
Noa blinked. "Really? What?"
Asuma took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of what he might do to you- I'm
afraid he'll start controlling you like he's tried controlling everyone
else he's ever met. And I'm afraid that if he tries, I'll get into a
serious fight with him, and I don't want you to see me like that- it can
get rather ugly real quickly."
Noa's eyes widened, and she started looking straight ahead instead of at
him. She hadn't even considered the possibility of her presence CAUSING
fights between Asuma and his father- she'd always envisioned brokering a
peace that would END the fights between them. In fact, that was partly why
she'd taken this assignment instead of declining it to stay near Alphonse.
"I'm sorry, Asuma. I didn't mean to cause you any problems," Noa said
after a moment.
Asuma laughed. "That's okay, Noa- you cause me plenty of other problems.
I'm used to it by now- one more problem won't matter."
Noa glared at him. "Hey! That's not nice!" She wasn't really upset,
however- rather, she was relieved. Asuma was almost back to normal- well,
at least he was almost back to being a pretty normal jerk, which come to
think of it WAS pretty normal for him.
* * * * *
It was getting dark when Asuma drove up to the Shinohara Mansion and
parked.
Asuma stepped out and opened the door for Noa. "Come on- we're probably
supposed to go in through the side door. The front door is reserved for
'important' people. Tsukai will let us in."
Noa got out of the car. "Tsukai?"
"The chief of my father's servants. He's been around as long as I can
remember- probably since my grandfather was still alive and in his prime.
He and Jitsuyama were more like fathers to me than dad ever was."
Noa clucked, but didn't say anything. She'd noticed that he'd started
becoming more somber the closer they got to the house, but didn't know what
to do about it.
Asuma paused at the door and turned to her, but refused to meet her eyes.
"Noa," he said hesitantly. "Please... don't hold whatever happens against
me."
Noa blinked. "Huh?"
"I don't know what you think is going to happen this trip- you may be
expecting to have some fun, to find out what my father's really like, maybe
even to see if you can patch the two of us up. Well, I don't know what
it's really going to be like, either, but I suspect that there'll be a
number of times you won't see me at my best. Just... don't hold it against
me. That's all I ask."
Without waiting for an answer, Asuma rang the doorbell. Trying to answer
anyway, Noa reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Asuma
tentatively squeezed back, but quickly dropped his hand the moment the door
started to open.
The elder of the two Shinoharas, Okami, stood there, smiling benevolently.
"Hello, son. Hello, Ms. Izumi. Welcome- I was expecting you. Come on in,
come on in...."
Asuma blinked. "Um... hi, dad. Where's Tsukai?"
Mr. Shinohara stepped aside, gesturing for his son and Noa to step in.
"Taking care of the last-minute details behind dinner. I know it's been a
long trip- you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Asuma almost answered 'yes' just out of spite, but his and Noa's matching
stomach growls at the thought of food made it too obvious that they hadn't.
"Er, I guess we could eat a bite or two," he admitted, taking off his
shoes and putting them in the cubbies. Noa did the same.
Okami started leading them to the dining room. "After dinner, I'll show
you two to your rooms, where you can catch up on what I expect is some
much-needed sleep. Business can wait until tomorrow- there's no need to
rush. I know that you've been given several days to discuss the matter of
these stolen documents with me, which is much more time than we'll need."
Asuma wasn't sure how to answer. His father wasn't acting anything like
how he was used to him acting- this was incredibly strange.
"Here we are," Mr. Shinohara announced upon arriving at the dinner table.
"Asuma, you sit here. Ms. Izumi, you might as well sit here. I'll go
check with Tsukai to see how dinner is coming along and to make certain
your bags get taken to the rooms." With that, he left.
Noa turned to look at Asuma as they took their seats next to each other.
"He certainly doesn't seem to be as bad as you make him out to be."
Asuma nodded. "He's never acted this way to me, before. He's probably
trying to impress you." He paused. "I forgot to say that you should be
careful what you say here- Dad sometimes bugged random rooms to find out
what I or my brother were talking about when he wasn't around."
Noa raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything. A few moments
later, Okami returned with Tsukai and a number of other servants who were
carrying trays full of food and drink.
"Well, it looks like dinner's ready," he announced in his most gracious
voice. "I believe it is time for us to eat."
* * * * *
The meal itself was a rather peaceful affair. Mr. Shinohara avoided
talking to his son and instead concentrated on playing the gracious host
with Noa- not really talking about anything important, but discussion
little things like the dinner they were having, the weather, and various
things like that.
Despite the seeming innocence of all this, Asuma noticed something about
his father's behavior. While Okami was encouraging everyone to drink, he
himself was leaving the wine alone. Asuma, not certain what his father was
planning, decided that under no circumstances would he get drunk that
night.
Noa, herself, didn't notice that anything was wrong at all. She was
enjoying the meal, and while she preferred sake to the western wines that
Tsukai kept filling her glass with, she drank like you would expect the
daughter of a liquor store owner to drink- like a fish. She was long
passed tipsy by the time she'd finished the main course, and she was
downright drunk when she'd gotten through dessert- not that she realized
it.
Tsukai and the other servants gathered the dirty dishes and disappeared
with a nod to Okami. Standing up, the elder Shinohara said, "Well, why
don't I show you two to your rooms."
Noa tried to get up and follow him, but the wine quickly made its presence
felt, and she nearly collapsed onto the table. Asuma, who had no such
problems, quickly caught her before she fell.
"Thanksh, Ash'ma. How'd that 'appen?" she giggled.
Okami looked suitably embarassed for her. "Oh, dear.... Asuma, would you
kindly help her?"
Asuma glared at his father- he was fairly certain that the older man had
been trying to get them drunk, but Noa DID need to be helped to somewhere
where she could lie down, and so there was little he could say about it.
"Of course I will." Putting her arm over his shoulders and slipping his
arm under her arms, he helped Noa to stand up and supported her as they
walked after his father.
"I'm putting you two in the adjoining guest rooms- that way, if you two
want to talk about anything over the night, you won't have far to go."
Asuma knew better than to talk about anything important in his father's
house, but there was something about where he was being placed that
disturbed him. "A guest room? You're putting me in a guest room?"
Okami nodded. "Sorry, son, but I'm afraid there really isn't a choice.
The part of the house your room is in is being remodeled, so I can't put
you in there. Besides...."
"Besides?"
Mr. Shinohara coughed. "Er, nothing...."
Asuma growled. He knew his father was hiding his real reason for putting
him up in the guest room, but he also knew that it was hopeless to try and
get it out of the older man.
"Anyway," Okami said. "Here we are. I assume you can help her into bed on
your own?"
"Er...." That threw Asuma for a loop. He looked over at the drunken Noa,
but she was too out of it to understand what was going on. He looked back
at his father, who had already started on his way down the hall. "Right,"
he muttered to himself.
Struggling to continue supporting Noa, he opened the door to the closest
room and half-carried, half-dragged her inside. Setting her giggling form
down on the bed, he began searching the room. He found a few pieces of
luggage in the closet which, thankfully, were Noa's and not his- he'd taken
her to the right room.
Asuma walked over to Noa on the bed. "Do you think you can get yourself
ready for bed?"
"Yep. Yep- I think so, yep." Noa said, nodding enthusiastically before
passing out.
Asuma sighed, looking her over. "Great, now what do I do?" Blushing, he
considered changing her into her pajamas himself, but decided that she
probably wouldn't like it if he did that. Instead, he just slipped her
under the covers and made certain that she was lying in a comfortable
position. Then, just like he had every night when she was off duty, he
gave her a quick peck on the forehead to say goodnight.
* * * * *
Watching with surveillance cameras from another room, Okami Shinohara
raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Yes, he definitely needs me to help get them
together."
Tsukai, sitting with him, cleared his throat. "Are you sure that's a good
idea, sir? You know that he has an inordinate amount of distrust in you
and your motives."
"He's still just an ungrateful kid," Okami argued. "He doesn't know what's
best for him, and I doubt he ever will. But it's obvious he likes this
girl- he surely won't mind if we get them together. And they don't really
need to know I'm doing it."
Tsukai shifted uncomfortably. "What about the girl, sir?"
"Eh?"
"What if the girl doesn't like Asuma, sir? She isn't your daughter- you
really don't have the right to interfere with how she acts."
"I'm the head of one of the largest industrial companies in all of Japan,
if not the world! I could BUY that girl if I so chose. I-"
"You are forgetting that we live in a society where people cannot be bought
and sold, sir," Tsukai admonished. "And you are forgetting that emotions
don't take kindly to being forced. You might have an easier time of it if
you find out how she feels about him, first."
Mr. Shinohara glared up at his servant. "You know, you're the only person
on this planet who could get away with speaking in that tone to me."
Tsukai nodded. "And sometimes you need me to say things in that tone, sir,
to prevent you from acting stupidly."
Okami nodded. "Sometimes." Looking back at the monitors, where Noa slept
peacefully and Asuma started getting ready for bed in his own room, he
sighed. "Okay, we'll do it your way. Tomorrow, I'll try and talk to Ms.
Izumi during breakfast, and find out how she feels. But as long as she
doesn't hate him, I'm going to put the two of them together. I could see
how my son feels for her- and you told me you found The Scarf in her
luggage, so I know he gave it to her. If a member of my family gets that
devoted to a girl, I'll make certain that he gets her. It's for their own
good."
Tsukai's face remained impassive, though there was a flicker of some
unidentifiable emotion in his eyes as he remembered Mr. Shinohara ignoring
his advice one time before- a time which resulted in the suicide of Asuma's
brother. At least he wasn't completely ignoring it this time, but unless
this Noa girl actually liked the younger Shinohara, this was likely to be a
rather nasty few days.
* * * * *
March 1, 2000
It was pretty early in the morning when Noa found that someone was trying
to shake her awake. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation... she had a mild
headache- no, make that a hangover- and her stomach wasn't feeling at its
best, either. There was only one person who would be rude enough to wake
her up when she was feeling like this, and she was ready to make that
person regret the day that they were born.
"Go away and let me sleep in, Asuma" she grumped, promising herself that
she'd get that revenge when she was actually able to get up.
Tsukai coughed. "I am terribly sorry about awakening you, but I am not my
employer's son. Instead, I am here to awaken you and prepare you for the
day- Mr. Shinohara believed that you might need my special hangover cure
before breakfast."
Noa's stomach churned at the thought of food. "Ugh... okay, okay. Let me
change first, though," she said, not even opening her eyes.
Tsukai nodded. "Very good, Ma'am. I'll be waiting outside to take you to
the tea room. You'll find your luggage in the closet, and the lavatory is
on your right." He slipped out of the room and closed the door with a
slight click.
Blearily, Noa sat up, using the caution gained from hangovers past to keep
herself from getting too noxious. Opening her eyes for the first time, she
noticed that, despite being under the covers, she'd slept in her clothes.
Carefully surveying her surroundings, she noticed that the room she was in
had a closet, a bed, a nightstand, and three doors. Otherwise, it was
incredibly sparse.
Thinking carefully, she started remembering the previous night. "Oh, yeah-
I'm being put up in one of the guest rooms. Poor Asuma, having to carry me
all the way up here... and then I passed out after I told him I could get
myself ready for bed." Walking over to the closet, she began going through
her luggage. "I wonder if he thought about putting me in my pajamas
himself." she giggled... and immediately regret it, as it caused her
splitting headache to almost double. Recovering, she completed her
thought. "I wonder what I would have done to him if he had."
Pulling out a fresh set of clothes, she disappeared into the bathroom.
Emerging a couple minutes later, feeling a little better though still
undergoing the effects of the previous night's alcohol, she walked to the
center of the room. "Now... which door is the one into the hallway?"
Deciding to go by trial and error, she opened the door on the left.
Stepping out, she quickly realized she had made a mistake- though not a bad
one, by any means. In fact, she almost thought of it as a happy mistake,
because she was able to see Asuma sleeping.
While he'd seen her sleeping a number of times, it was really the first
time she'd had a chance to watch him... well, to watch him sleeping in a
bed or some other item MEANT for sleeping on. During that stake-out,
niether one of them had succeeded in falling asleep. In the hotel room for
the engineering convention, he'd always fallen asleep last and woken up
first. In the hospital, whenever she opened her eyes he was in the chair
next to her- asleep or not. And any other time she might have had a chance
to catch him, well, usually he wasn't in a bed.
Greatly daring, she walked over to him and brushed the hair out of his eyes
with her fingertips. Then, mimicking his actions in the hospital (and,
unknown to her, the previous night), she bent down and lightly touched her
lips to his forehead. Then, blushing slightly, she rushed back to her
room, closing the door between them as quickly and as quietly as she could,
ignoring the hangover. Exiting out of the correct door, she nodded to
Tsukai. "Come on, let's try this hangover cure you say you have."
* * * * *
As Noa sipped the bitter tea that Tsukai had prepared for her, Okami
Shinohara walked into the room. Noticing her sitting at a small table, he
walked towards her and bowed formally.
"Hello, Ms. Izumi. I'm glad to see you looking so well... especially
considering how bad my servant said you looked this morning. My apologies-
I should have warned you about the potency of the wine we were serving."
Noa waved him off. "It's all right. This tea your servant gave me is
nothing short of miraculous when it comes to eliminating a hangover. Worst
tasting stuff I've ever drunk, though."
Okami smirked. He'd been given that same brew a few times in the past, and
he knew exactly how bad it was. "It is rather sour, isn't it?" Taking a
seat in the chair across from her, he continued, "It looks as though Asuma
is going to be sleeping in today. That son of mine is so lazy...."
Noa raised an eyebrow. "Usually, he wakes up before I do. He was probably
even more tired than usual, last night, having been up since early in the
morning, and having driven around for almost eight hours yesterday."
Okami raised an eyebrow. "Eight hours?"
Noa nodded. "He picked me up at the hospital, and drove two hours to take
me to base... then it was a six hour trip from headquarters to here. Come
to think of it, he was probably driving more than eight hours, since he had
to drive TO the hospital to pick me up."
Mr. Shinohara blinked. "You were in the hospital?"
Noa nodded. "I was injured and had to have surgery- my colon was punctured
and needed to be repaired. It wasn't even in the line of duty, just a
silly softball game that was being taken too seriously." Pausing for a
moment, she thought to put in a word for Asuma while she was at it. "Your
son was the one who rushed me to the hospital, and he stayed with me during
the surgery."
Okami nodded. 'I wasn't aware you'd done that, Asuma,' he thought to
himself. 'You really seem to care about this girl, and you won't do
anything to win her? Boy, you obviously don't know to look out for
yourself or you'd be married to her by now... you'd better be thanking me
for what I'm trying to do for you.'
Smiling at the girl, he said, "That was nice of him. I wonder... you
probably know him better than I do, now- you've been working with him for
almost a year- what are your impressions of Asuma?"
Noa blinked- she wasn't entirely certain how to answer that one. This was
Asuma's FATHER- it wasn't one of her superiors in the police department who
would get them fired for their relationship, it was a close relative who
had a right to know something about his son's love life. Maybe it would be
safe to tell him about said relationship- and she was dying to tell
someone- ANYONE about their relationship.
Then again, this was ASUMA'S father. Who was THE Shinohara from Shinohara
Heavy Industries. Who created the two things she most loved in the world-
Asuma and Alphonse. Who might not like it if the simple daughter of a
liquor store owner from Hokkaido was dating his son. Asuma still had never
given her a satisfactory answer as to why he'd never made a move on her
before she confronted him that day- perhaps it was because he feared his
father's disapproval.
No, wait- Asuma wanted to defy his father, not seek his approval.
Well, if her boyfriend wanted to defy his father, maybe there was something
she could do to help him- and that would be to break the news that they
were dating.
"My impressions? He's a bit bossy at times, he's a bit of a jerk at times,
and he's a bit insensitive at times, but... but he's never steered me
wrong, he's mostly bossy for fun, he always comes through in a pinch, and
he accepts my odd little quirks." She looked Okami straight in the eyes.
"I think that's why I asked him if we could start dating."
That stopped the elder Shinohara in his tracks. "You... what?"
"Asuma and I've been dating for about two month now... well, actually,
we've been dating almost since we met, we just didn't realize that was what
we were doing until a couple months ago."
"That... would that happen to have been the same day he visited me last
time?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah... he told me about your conversation. But only after I
confronted him about our relationship."
Okami nodded. "So he told you about his concern with your affection for
your labor?"
Noa paused and didn't say anything for a moment. "What?" she asked coldly.
Okami cringed back, the ice in her voice intimidating even him. "He...
said that you seemed to care more about that labor of yours than anything
else, and that he feared your obsession with this... Alphonse... would make
any relationship impossible."
"He... did?" she asked. Okami nodded. "Excuse me... I have to go
somewhere right now. I think I need some fresh air."
Standing up slowly, Noa left the room in a daze.
'Hmm,' Okami thought to himself. 'I think I made a mistake...'
* * * * *
Asuma walked into the tea room, and spotted his father, looking a little
distressed. "Hey, dad- have you seen Noa anywhere? She wasn't in her room
when I went to wake her up."
The elder Shinohara hesitated. "Um... I think she said she was going to
try and find some fresh air."
Asuma sighed. "Well, I guess she doesn't have to be here for this... let's
get started with this interview."
Okami acted as if he hadn't even heard his son. "Asuma... why didn't you
tell me that the two of you had started going out?"
Asuma coughed. "It isn't any of your business WHO I'm dating. How'd you
find out?"
"She told me."
"Oh, well- we were trying to keep it a secret, but... but you ARE my
father. I guess it's all right for you to know. But we can talk about
this later- business first. Do you have any clue why those particular
plans were stolen."
Mr. Shinohara growled- he had something important to tell his son, and like
he usually did when he talked with his son he got angry. "Business?
Please- I can cover the business in a matter of seconds- I just pulled some
strings with the police commissioner to get you and Ms. Izumi here so I
could see if I could help you out with getting something started with her."
Asuma's eyes widened in shock. "Why would people take those plans? I
dunno- maybe because they include much of the advanced technology that we
include in all of our police and military grade labors. Who might do it?
Any other company building labors or looking into building labors. Only
people I could think of which would have the resources for that would by
Shaft Enterprises or one of their subsidiaries. Anything else you might
want to ask? No? Good. Now, back to that girl of yours; I think that
I've accidentally gotten you in trouble with her when I-"
"Wait a second!" Asuma cried, recovering. "You did WHAT? You mean this
whole thing is just you making one of your shady deals with the
commissioner? Why?! Did you stage the whole attack, too?" Suddenly,
something else his father said clicked. "And what the hell did you do to
get me in trouble with Noa?"
"I told her something you should have talked with her about months ago- I
told her about your concerns regarding that labor of hers."
Asuma blinked. "You told her WHAT? Dammit- why the hell did you say
something about that?" Turning away, he said, "We'll be leaving by
lunchtime. If you ever want to see me again, you'd better hope I can patch
things up with her."
* * * * *
Noa, sitting on a rock outside of the mansion, watched as Asuma spotted her
and ran up, waving.
"Noa, there you are," he said breathlessly. "I've been looking all over
for you."
"Why, hello Asuma," Noa said with forced calm. "You'll never guess what
your father and I talked about not too long ago."
'Oh, damn- she's pissed,' Asuma thought to himself.
"See, you told your father something you should've told me a long time ago.
And he told that thing to me."
Asuma nodded. "Yes, I did. And I'm sorry."
Noa glared at him. "Is that all you have to say- I'm SORRY?"
"What more can I say? I was afraid that Alphonse was too important to you
for you to let me into your life. It wasn't even something I was aware of
consciously, until my father asked me why I wasn't making a move on you.
But now I know you ARE able to care about me, and not just Alphonse. It
wasn't an issue any more, and I was afraid you'd take it the wrong way. So
I never brought it up."
Noa raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Not an issue any more? Are you
sure about that? Are you COMPLETELY certain that you aren't even the least
bit jealous of Alphonse? Are you?"
Asuma opened his mouth but clamped it shut before he said anything. He
just couldn't bring himself to answer 'yes.'
Noa sighed. "See? It's an issue still. You should have told me about
it."
Asuma sighed. "Well, what do you expect? You spend so much time and
lavish so much attention on that labor, I STILL don't know if you care more
about it or me. You've already said that he fills a part of your heart I
don't- of COURSE I'm jealous! But I don't want you to get rid of Alphonse
or anything- it's part of who you are. Just like you accepted me being a
jerk to you sometimes, I accepted having to be jealous over a labor. So
what is talking to you about it going to do?"
Noa tensed, gathering herself. "Maybe talking to me is going to reassure
you. Asuma... if we ever... if we ever get to the point where we get
married and have kids, will you react the same way if I lavish attention on
them instead of you, the same way I do with Alphonse?"
Asuma shook his head. "No, but we aren't married."
"And Alphonse isn't a kid- he's a labor. At most, he's a pet. I love him,
but there's no way I could care more about him than I could care for a
person. If I had to choose between Alphonse and you, believe me- I'll
choose you."
Asuma took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then slowly let it out.
Re-opening his eyes, a slight smile appeared on his face. "Hmm... is this
our first official fight?"
Noa blinked. "I think so...."
Asuma's smile widened slightly. "You won. Don't get used to it, though-
you can bet I'll win the next one."
"What do you mean I won?"
"Noa... I think, for the first time, I really know that you like me more
than Alphonse. Thank you." Pulling her into his arms, he tenderly kissed
her forehead. "Now, according to everything I know about fighting with
girlfriends, the best part is making up. So whadya say to leaving this
place and having a night out on the town? My treat?"
Noa blinked. "But our job-"
"Is taken care of. Come on- pack your bags. We're leaving. We've don't
need to be back at headquarters for several days- we've got plenty of time
for a date. That's an order, from backup to forward!"
"Yes, sir!" she said, saluting with a smile.
* * * * *
Viewing the scene outside from another of his hidden cameras, Tsukai
smiled. "See, sir? Talking to her DID help."
"Help? I damn near ruined it!" Okami said.
"Yes, but only because you brought something out into the open that would
have festered and weakened their relationship if nothing had been done
about it," Tsukai noted. "Asuma won't appreciate it, but you did a good
job today, sir."
"Asuma wouldn't have appreciated it, anyway," Okami noted gruffly. "But
thank you, Tsukai."
Watching Asuma put his arm around Noa and lead her off on the monitor,
Tsukai smiled. "It was worth it, sir."
-------------------------
Next Episode: Shinohara's Ex-girlfriend from high school, Kashima, shows
up after he gets a little nervous and cuts things off rather abruptly when
he and Noa are getting a little romantic. Why is he so nervous, and why
did she decide to show up now?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
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From: "David A. Tatum" desaix@sysnet.net
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Subject: PLB14.txt
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 19:33:09 -0500
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Patlabor: Personal Files
An Episodic Patlabor Fanfic by David A. Tatum
Disclaimer: Insert legal junk here...
Episode 14: A Meeting With the Wolf
February 29, 2000
Sakaki walked out onto the catwalk, surveying the work that was going on.
"Shige!" he barked, noticing something wrong.
"Yes, chief?"
"You missed a spot!"
"Sorry, chief!"
Shige buffed clean the dirty sensor, sighing.
"Much better, Shige," Sakaki acknowledged.
"Thank god Noa and Asuma are supposed to be back today," Shige muttered. "I
won't have to keep waxing Alphonse any more."
"Shige!" Sakaki roared.
Shige flinched. "Yes, chief!"
"Don't forget to clean the monitors inside!"
"Right, chief."
Sigh.
* * * * *
"Well," the doctor said, looking over the results of Noa's physical.
"Looks like we can clear you for light duty today. If you keep up this
rate of recovery, and don't strain yourself, you should be completely fine
in two weeks."
"So, no Alphonse?" Noa pouted.
"Er... Alphonse?" the doctor asked.
"Her labor," Asuma explained simply.
"I see," the doctor replied, though clearly he didn't. "No, I'm afraid
not. No Alphonse for two weeks."
Noa sniffed sadly. "I miss him," she whimpered. Asuma squeezed her
shoulder reassuringly. Hopefully, she asked, "Are you sure? Can't I even
take him out for a spin, if I don't do anything strenuous in him?"
"Er...." The doctor wasn't entirely sure what to do. The woman looked so
desperate for the ability to use her labor, that he was reluctant to say
no, but he would be lying if he said it was entirely safe.
"How about if she were to sit in Alphonse's cabin, but not use him?" Asuma
suggested.
"That would be acceptable," the doctor said, grateful for having an option
over COMPLETELY disappointing the girl.
Noa nodded. "Good. Come on, Asuma- let's get back to headquarters. I
want to make sure the mechanics squad has been taking good care of them
while I was gone."
"Gaack!" Asuma choked out, staggering after Noa as she dragged him off by
the shirt.
The doctor shook his head as they went. "Cute couple, but wierd girl. Oh,
well- next!"
In walked a man with square-rimmed glasses, smiling so widely his eyes were
almost obscured by his cheeks. "Hello... I don't suppose you caught the
name of that young couple that just left, did you?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes, I did- why?"
"Oh, I think I've met them before, but we've never been formally
introduced. Oh, well. I suspect I'll meet them again later- we do seem to
keep running into each other."
* * * * *
The car drove up into the Division 2 Parking lot. Asuma helped Noa out and
they slowly made their way in the building. Asuma blinked- it was dark,
though he thought he saw movement in the shadows. Cautiously, he switched
on the lights.
Lined up from the doorway straight to Alphonse was the entire mechanics
squad. Shige, with a stern-faced Chief Sakaki behind him, were waiting at
the end of the line. Walking slowly while taking in the surprising
turn-out, Noa and Asuma slowly made their way over to the two senior
mechanics. As they did, the mechanics burst out into cheers and applause.
"Welcome back, Noa!" Shige said, clapping her on the arm. "We've been
keeping Alphonse clean and ready, just for you!"
Watching from the catwalk, Shinobu turned to Gotoh and said, "The mechanics
sure are enthusiastic about her return."
Gotoh nodded. "Of course. After all, thanks to Sakaki tutoring Noa in the
basics of mechanics, she's becoming one of them. Besides, I think that
Shige's a little glad that he won't have to buff and wax labor 1 any more."
Shinobu raised an eyebrow. "I thought Noa was only approved for light
duty."
Gotoh nodded. "Yep. Do you really think that's going to stop her from
babying her pet labor, though?"
Shinobu didn't have a chance to respond before Hiromi came up behind them.
"Captain Gotoh, sir- was a call for you. I picked it up- we're getting
something faxed to us."
"Who is it from?" Gotoh asked, still keeping his eyes on the jubilant
mechanics and the bewildered couple.
"Someone from headquarters, sir, requesting two of our officers by name for
a special detached assignment."
Gotoh was a little surprised at that one. "Oh?"
* * * * *
"I'm sorry, Alphonse- I wish I could take you out to stretch your legs, but
the doctor says I'm not allowed to.... I missed you, Alphonse, did you
miss me?"
Asuma, sitting on the platform next to the labor's cockpit, rolled his eyes
as Noa cooed over Alphonse. He didn't really blame her- after all, it had
been a little more than a month since she was able to even see Alphonse
(she'd refused to see him on the Valentines day she'd visited the
headquarters, since she wouldn't be allowed to touch him then). Still, for
some reason he couldn't identify it was starting to get on his nerves.
Perhaps it was the sheer enormity of the affection she was displaying for a
mere hunk of metal and circuitry, but for the first time he could remember
he was honestly starting to get annoyed at Alphonse.
Or maybe jealous, though he would never admit it.
"Shinohara!" Gotoh's voice rang out from the railing above. "Could you an
Noa please come to my office?"
'Finally!' Asuma thought to himself. 'I won't have to put up with this
anymore!'
"Can't I have a few more minutes?" Noa whimpered.
Asuma looked at her in the cockpit, her eyes wide and begging. "Captain,
could we have five more minutes?" he asked.
"Make it ten- this isn't that important," Gotoh answered.
"Thank you, sir!" Asuma replied. 'The things I put up with for that
girl...'
* * * * *
Gotoh waited patiently at his desk until Noa and Asuma walked in. Noa was
sighing wistfully as she walked in, but Asuma looked a little relieved.
"Ah, finally. I trust you've had enough time to start readjusting
yourselves to being back on the facilities?"
"Yes, sir," Asuma replied quickly, not giving Noa a chance to say that she
wanted more time with Alphonse.
"Good. Noa, I know you are only cleared for light duty, but you and
Shinohara were both specifically requested for a particular assignment.
I'm told that this mission shouldn't involve any strenuous work, but you
have my permission to hold back if you think something it going to be too
difficult for you," Gotoh noted.
"Thank you, sir," Noa said.
"What's the assignment?" Asuma asked.
Gotoh handed him a folder. "Everything you need to know is in there."
Asuma opened the folder and read for a few seconds. His eyes widened.
"You CAN'T be serious," he growled, slamming the folder back down on
Gotoh's desk.
"I am," Gotoh said. "I'm afraid that this is not an option for you,
Shinohara. It's only an option for Noa because of her injuries. These
orders come from the police commissioners office, itself."
Noa, curious as to what all the fuss was about, picked up the folder and
read it for herself.
"The investigation of the assault against the Quartermasters Corps. on the
20th of February by unknown forces has resulted in the discovery of the
theft of the classified technical documentation of a number of Shinohara
Heavy Industries productions, namely those for the Ingram, Peacemaker, and
various preliminary designs for the Mass Production models. It is
requested that you send officers Noa Izumi and Asuma Shinohara to liason
with Mr. Okami Shinohara of Shinohara Heavy Industries at his private
residence located at..."
So that was it. Asuma's father was involved. Of course he wouldn't want
to deal with this sort of assignment. Quickly, Noa skimmed the rest of the
orders- apparently, they were only supposed to discuss the details of the
case, and didn't necessarily need to figure out who it was who had engaged
in the theft. That was not so strange, but the selection of who it was to
ask these questions was.
"Captain Gotoh?" Noa queried. "Why are they asking US to conduct this
interview, anyway? I mean, we're just labor operatives- investigations
like this aren't our job."
Gotoh nodded. "You two were specifically requested, however. I suspect it
has something to do with Asuma's family connections."
Noa nodded. "That makes sense- it explains him. But why ME? What do I
have to do with any of this?"
Gotoh shrugged. "I don't know. If you want, you CAN refuse the
assignment...."
Noa shook her head. "No... I'm not able to pilot Alphonse, so I might as
well have something to do while I'm restricted to light duties."
Gotoh nodded. "Very well. You two might as well get going. I'll expect a
report when you get back on the third."
Asuma didn't look happy, but nodded and turned to leave. "Come on, Noa...
we'll take my personal car- it's more comfortable than the command car and
it's a six hour drive between here and dad's place."
* * * * *
Noa looked at Asuma in concern as he drove the car through the streets of
downtown Tokyo in silence. They'd been on the road for almost an hour and
a half already, and so far he hadn't spoken one word since leaving Gotoh's
office. His face took on a very dark look, and she was starting to get
worried.
"Do you mind if I turn on the radio?" Noa asked, trying to get him to say
anything, even if it was just the word 'yes.'
Without answering, Asuma reached for the controls to the stereo and flipped
it to some station playing 50's American Rock and Roll. Noa sighed- that
didn't work as she'd planned. It was time to be blunt.
"Asuma, what's wrong? I thought you and your father worked things out last
time you saw him...."
Asuma blinked. "No... we didn't work things out. We got along better than
we had in years, but we didn't really work anything out."
"Well... well, maybe that's a good sign. Maybe you'll get along this time,
as well?" Noa suggested hopefully.
Asuma half-smiled. "Maybe. I doubt it, though."
"Wouldn't it be easier to get along better with him if you go into your
meeting hoping for things to go well?"
Asuma nodded quietly. "Yes, it would. And, believe it or not, I am. But
there's something I'm even more afraid of than just us 'not getting along.'
A couple of things, actually."
Noa blinked. "Really? What?"
Asuma took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of what he might do to you- I'm
afraid he'll start controlling you like he's tried controlling everyone
else he's ever met. And I'm afraid that if he tries, I'll get into a
serious fight with him, and I don't want you to see me like that- it can
get rather ugly real quickly."
Noa's eyes widened, and she started looking straight ahead instead of at
him. She hadn't even considered the possibility of her presence CAUSING
fights between Asuma and his father- she'd always envisioned brokering a
peace that would END the fights between them. In fact, that was partly why
she'd taken this assignment instead of declining it to stay near Alphonse.
"I'm sorry, Asuma. I didn't mean to cause you any problems," Noa said
after a moment.
Asuma laughed. "That's okay, Noa- you cause me plenty of other problems.
I'm used to it by now- one more problem won't matter."
Noa glared at him. "Hey! That's not nice!" She wasn't really upset,
however- rather, she was relieved. Asuma was almost back to normal- well,
at least he was almost back to being a pretty normal jerk, which come to
think of it WAS pretty normal for him.
* * * * *
It was getting dark when Asuma drove up to the Shinohara Mansion and
parked.
Asuma stepped out and opened the door for Noa. "Come on- we're probably
supposed to go in through the side door. The front door is reserved for
'important' people. Tsukai will let us in."
Noa got out of the car. "Tsukai?"
"The chief of my father's servants. He's been around as long as I can
remember- probably since my grandfather was still alive and in his prime.
He and Jitsuyama were more like fathers to me than dad ever was."
Noa clucked, but didn't say anything. She'd noticed that he'd started
becoming more somber the closer they got to the house, but didn't know what
to do about it.
Asuma paused at the door and turned to her, but refused to meet her eyes.
"Noa," he said hesitantly. "Please... don't hold whatever happens against
me."
Noa blinked. "Huh?"
"I don't know what you think is going to happen this trip- you may be
expecting to have some fun, to find out what my father's really like, maybe
even to see if you can patch the two of us up. Well, I don't know what
it's really going to be like, either, but I suspect that there'll be a
number of times you won't see me at my best. Just... don't hold it against
me. That's all I ask."
Without waiting for an answer, Asuma rang the doorbell. Trying to answer
anyway, Noa reached over and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Asuma
tentatively squeezed back, but quickly dropped his hand the moment the door
started to open.
The elder of the two Shinoharas, Okami, stood there, smiling benevolently.
"Hello, son. Hello, Ms. Izumi. Welcome- I was expecting you. Come on in,
come on in...."
Asuma blinked. "Um... hi, dad. Where's Tsukai?"
Mr. Shinohara stepped aside, gesturing for his son and Noa to step in.
"Taking care of the last-minute details behind dinner. I know it's been a
long trip- you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Asuma almost answered 'yes' just out of spite, but his and Noa's matching
stomach growls at the thought of food made it too obvious that they hadn't.
"Er, I guess we could eat a bite or two," he admitted, taking off his
shoes and putting them in the cubbies. Noa did the same.
Okami started leading them to the dining room. "After dinner, I'll show
you two to your rooms, where you can catch up on what I expect is some
much-needed sleep. Business can wait until tomorrow- there's no need to
rush. I know that you've been given several days to discuss the matter of
these stolen documents with me, which is much more time than we'll need."
Asuma wasn't sure how to answer. His father wasn't acting anything like
how he was used to him acting- this was incredibly strange.
"Here we are," Mr. Shinohara announced upon arriving at the dinner table.
"Asuma, you sit here. Ms. Izumi, you might as well sit here. I'll go
check with Tsukai to see how dinner is coming along and to make certain
your bags get taken to the rooms." With that, he left.
Noa turned to look at Asuma as they took their seats next to each other.
"He certainly doesn't seem to be as bad as you make him out to be."
Asuma nodded. "He's never acted this way to me, before. He's probably
trying to impress you." He paused. "I forgot to say that you should be
careful what you say here- Dad sometimes bugged random rooms to find out
what I or my brother were talking about when he wasn't around."
Noa raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything. A few moments
later, Okami returned with Tsukai and a number of other servants who were
carrying trays full of food and drink.
"Well, it looks like dinner's ready," he announced in his most gracious
voice. "I believe it is time for us to eat."
* * * * *
The meal itself was a rather peaceful affair. Mr. Shinohara avoided
talking to his son and instead concentrated on playing the gracious host
with Noa- not really talking about anything important, but discussion
little things like the dinner they were having, the weather, and various
things like that.
Despite the seeming innocence of all this, Asuma noticed something about
his father's behavior. While Okami was encouraging everyone to drink, he
himself was leaving the wine alone. Asuma, not certain what his father was
planning, decided that under no circumstances would he get drunk that
night.
Noa, herself, didn't notice that anything was wrong at all. She was
enjoying the meal, and while she preferred sake to the western wines that
Tsukai kept filling her glass with, she drank like you would expect the
daughter of a liquor store owner to drink- like a fish. She was long
passed tipsy by the time she'd finished the main course, and she was
downright drunk when she'd gotten through dessert- not that she realized
it.
Tsukai and the other servants gathered the dirty dishes and disappeared
with a nod to Okami. Standing up, the elder Shinohara said, "Well, why
don't I show you two to your rooms."
Noa tried to get up and follow him, but the wine quickly made its presence
felt, and she nearly collapsed onto the table. Asuma, who had no such
problems, quickly caught her before she fell.
"Thanksh, Ash'ma. How'd that 'appen?" she giggled.
Okami looked suitably embarassed for her. "Oh, dear.... Asuma, would you
kindly help her?"
Asuma glared at his father- he was fairly certain that the older man had
been trying to get them drunk, but Noa DID need to be helped to somewhere
where she could lie down, and so there was little he could say about it.
"Of course I will." Putting her arm over his shoulders and slipping his
arm under her arms, he helped Noa to stand up and supported her as they
walked after his father.
"I'm putting you two in the adjoining guest rooms- that way, if you two
want to talk about anything over the night, you won't have far to go."
Asuma knew better than to talk about anything important in his father's
house, but there was something about where he was being placed that
disturbed him. "A guest room? You're putting me in a guest room?"
Okami nodded. "Sorry, son, but I'm afraid there really isn't a choice.
The part of the house your room is in is being remodeled, so I can't put
you in there. Besides...."
"Besides?"
Mr. Shinohara coughed. "Er, nothing...."
Asuma growled. He knew his father was hiding his real reason for putting
him up in the guest room, but he also knew that it was hopeless to try and
get it out of the older man.
"Anyway," Okami said. "Here we are. I assume you can help her into bed on
your own?"
"Er...." That threw Asuma for a loop. He looked over at the drunken Noa,
but she was too out of it to understand what was going on. He looked back
at his father, who had already started on his way down the hall. "Right,"
he muttered to himself.
Struggling to continue supporting Noa, he opened the door to the closest
room and half-carried, half-dragged her inside. Setting her giggling form
down on the bed, he began searching the room. He found a few pieces of
luggage in the closet which, thankfully, were Noa's and not his- he'd taken
her to the right room.
Asuma walked over to Noa on the bed. "Do you think you can get yourself
ready for bed?"
"Yep. Yep- I think so, yep." Noa said, nodding enthusiastically before
passing out.
Asuma sighed, looking her over. "Great, now what do I do?" Blushing, he
considered changing her into her pajamas himself, but decided that she
probably wouldn't like it if he did that. Instead, he just slipped her
under the covers and made certain that she was lying in a comfortable
position. Then, just like he had every night when she was off duty, he
gave her a quick peck on the forehead to say goodnight.
* * * * *
Watching with surveillance cameras from another room, Okami Shinohara
raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Yes, he definitely needs me to help get them
together."
Tsukai, sitting with him, cleared his throat. "Are you sure that's a good
idea, sir? You know that he has an inordinate amount of distrust in you
and your motives."
"He's still just an ungrateful kid," Okami argued. "He doesn't know what's
best for him, and I doubt he ever will. But it's obvious he likes this
girl- he surely won't mind if we get them together. And they don't really
need to know I'm doing it."
Tsukai shifted uncomfortably. "What about the girl, sir?"
"Eh?"
"What if the girl doesn't like Asuma, sir? She isn't your daughter- you
really don't have the right to interfere with how she acts."
"I'm the head of one of the largest industrial companies in all of Japan,
if not the world! I could BUY that girl if I so chose. I-"
"You are forgetting that we live in a society where people cannot be bought
and sold, sir," Tsukai admonished. "And you are forgetting that emotions
don't take kindly to being forced. You might have an easier time of it if
you find out how she feels about him, first."
Mr. Shinohara glared up at his servant. "You know, you're the only person
on this planet who could get away with speaking in that tone to me."
Tsukai nodded. "And sometimes you need me to say things in that tone, sir,
to prevent you from acting stupidly."
Okami nodded. "Sometimes." Looking back at the monitors, where Noa slept
peacefully and Asuma started getting ready for bed in his own room, he
sighed. "Okay, we'll do it your way. Tomorrow, I'll try and talk to Ms.
Izumi during breakfast, and find out how she feels. But as long as she
doesn't hate him, I'm going to put the two of them together. I could see
how my son feels for her- and you told me you found The Scarf in her
luggage, so I know he gave it to her. If a member of my family gets that
devoted to a girl, I'll make certain that he gets her. It's for their own
good."
Tsukai's face remained impassive, though there was a flicker of some
unidentifiable emotion in his eyes as he remembered Mr. Shinohara ignoring
his advice one time before- a time which resulted in the suicide of Asuma's
brother. At least he wasn't completely ignoring it this time, but unless
this Noa girl actually liked the younger Shinohara, this was likely to be a
rather nasty few days.
* * * * *
March 1, 2000
It was pretty early in the morning when Noa found that someone was trying
to shake her awake. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation... she had a mild
headache- no, make that a hangover- and her stomach wasn't feeling at its
best, either. There was only one person who would be rude enough to wake
her up when she was feeling like this, and she was ready to make that
person regret the day that they were born.
"Go away and let me sleep in, Asuma" she grumped, promising herself that
she'd get that revenge when she was actually able to get up.
Tsukai coughed. "I am terribly sorry about awakening you, but I am not my
employer's son. Instead, I am here to awaken you and prepare you for the
day- Mr. Shinohara believed that you might need my special hangover cure
before breakfast."
Noa's stomach churned at the thought of food. "Ugh... okay, okay. Let me
change first, though," she said, not even opening her eyes.
Tsukai nodded. "Very good, Ma'am. I'll be waiting outside to take you to
the tea room. You'll find your luggage in the closet, and the lavatory is
on your right." He slipped out of the room and closed the door with a
slight click.
Blearily, Noa sat up, using the caution gained from hangovers past to keep
herself from getting too noxious. Opening her eyes for the first time, she
noticed that, despite being under the covers, she'd slept in her clothes.
Carefully surveying her surroundings, she noticed that the room she was in
had a closet, a bed, a nightstand, and three doors. Otherwise, it was
incredibly sparse.
Thinking carefully, she started remembering the previous night. "Oh, yeah-
I'm being put up in one of the guest rooms. Poor Asuma, having to carry me
all the way up here... and then I passed out after I told him I could get
myself ready for bed." Walking over to the closet, she began going through
her luggage. "I wonder if he thought about putting me in my pajamas
himself." she giggled... and immediately regret it, as it caused her
splitting headache to almost double. Recovering, she completed her
thought. "I wonder what I would have done to him if he had."
Pulling out a fresh set of clothes, she disappeared into the bathroom.
Emerging a couple minutes later, feeling a little better though still
undergoing the effects of the previous night's alcohol, she walked to the
center of the room. "Now... which door is the one into the hallway?"
Deciding to go by trial and error, she opened the door on the left.
Stepping out, she quickly realized she had made a mistake- though not a bad
one, by any means. In fact, she almost thought of it as a happy mistake,
because she was able to see Asuma sleeping.
While he'd seen her sleeping a number of times, it was really the first
time she'd had a chance to watch him... well, to watch him sleeping in a
bed or some other item MEANT for sleeping on. During that stake-out,
niether one of them had succeeded in falling asleep. In the hotel room for
the engineering convention, he'd always fallen asleep last and woken up
first. In the hospital, whenever she opened her eyes he was in the chair
next to her- asleep or not. And any other time she might have had a chance
to catch him, well, usually he wasn't in a bed.
Greatly daring, she walked over to him and brushed the hair out of his eyes
with her fingertips. Then, mimicking his actions in the hospital (and,
unknown to her, the previous night), she bent down and lightly touched her
lips to his forehead. Then, blushing slightly, she rushed back to her
room, closing the door between them as quickly and as quietly as she could,
ignoring the hangover. Exiting out of the correct door, she nodded to
Tsukai. "Come on, let's try this hangover cure you say you have."
* * * * *
As Noa sipped the bitter tea that Tsukai had prepared for her, Okami
Shinohara walked into the room. Noticing her sitting at a small table, he
walked towards her and bowed formally.
"Hello, Ms. Izumi. I'm glad to see you looking so well... especially
considering how bad my servant said you looked this morning. My apologies-
I should have warned you about the potency of the wine we were serving."
Noa waved him off. "It's all right. This tea your servant gave me is
nothing short of miraculous when it comes to eliminating a hangover. Worst
tasting stuff I've ever drunk, though."
Okami smirked. He'd been given that same brew a few times in the past, and
he knew exactly how bad it was. "It is rather sour, isn't it?" Taking a
seat in the chair across from her, he continued, "It looks as though Asuma
is going to be sleeping in today. That son of mine is so lazy...."
Noa raised an eyebrow. "Usually, he wakes up before I do. He was probably
even more tired than usual, last night, having been up since early in the
morning, and having driven around for almost eight hours yesterday."
Okami raised an eyebrow. "Eight hours?"
Noa nodded. "He picked me up at the hospital, and drove two hours to take
me to base... then it was a six hour trip from headquarters to here. Come
to think of it, he was probably driving more than eight hours, since he had
to drive TO the hospital to pick me up."
Mr. Shinohara blinked. "You were in the hospital?"
Noa nodded. "I was injured and had to have surgery- my colon was punctured
and needed to be repaired. It wasn't even in the line of duty, just a
silly softball game that was being taken too seriously." Pausing for a
moment, she thought to put in a word for Asuma while she was at it. "Your
son was the one who rushed me to the hospital, and he stayed with me during
the surgery."
Okami nodded. 'I wasn't aware you'd done that, Asuma,' he thought to
himself. 'You really seem to care about this girl, and you won't do
anything to win her? Boy, you obviously don't know to look out for
yourself or you'd be married to her by now... you'd better be thanking me
for what I'm trying to do for you.'
Smiling at the girl, he said, "That was nice of him. I wonder... you
probably know him better than I do, now- you've been working with him for
almost a year- what are your impressions of Asuma?"
Noa blinked- she wasn't entirely certain how to answer that one. This was
Asuma's FATHER- it wasn't one of her superiors in the police department who
would get them fired for their relationship, it was a close relative who
had a right to know something about his son's love life. Maybe it would be
safe to tell him about said relationship- and she was dying to tell
someone- ANYONE about their relationship.
Then again, this was ASUMA'S father. Who was THE Shinohara from Shinohara
Heavy Industries. Who created the two things she most loved in the world-
Asuma and Alphonse. Who might not like it if the simple daughter of a
liquor store owner from Hokkaido was dating his son. Asuma still had never
given her a satisfactory answer as to why he'd never made a move on her
before she confronted him that day- perhaps it was because he feared his
father's disapproval.
No, wait- Asuma wanted to defy his father, not seek his approval.
Well, if her boyfriend wanted to defy his father, maybe there was something
she could do to help him- and that would be to break the news that they
were dating.
"My impressions? He's a bit bossy at times, he's a bit of a jerk at times,
and he's a bit insensitive at times, but... but he's never steered me
wrong, he's mostly bossy for fun, he always comes through in a pinch, and
he accepts my odd little quirks." She looked Okami straight in the eyes.
"I think that's why I asked him if we could start dating."
That stopped the elder Shinohara in his tracks. "You... what?"
"Asuma and I've been dating for about two month now... well, actually,
we've been dating almost since we met, we just didn't realize that was what
we were doing until a couple months ago."
"That... would that happen to have been the same day he visited me last
time?"
Noa nodded. "Yeah... he told me about your conversation. But only after I
confronted him about our relationship."
Okami nodded. "So he told you about his concern with your affection for
your labor?"
Noa paused and didn't say anything for a moment. "What?" she asked coldly.
Okami cringed back, the ice in her voice intimidating even him. "He...
said that you seemed to care more about that labor of yours than anything
else, and that he feared your obsession with this... Alphonse... would make
any relationship impossible."
"He... did?" she asked. Okami nodded. "Excuse me... I have to go
somewhere right now. I think I need some fresh air."
Standing up slowly, Noa left the room in a daze.
'Hmm,' Okami thought to himself. 'I think I made a mistake...'
* * * * *
Asuma walked into the tea room, and spotted his father, looking a little
distressed. "Hey, dad- have you seen Noa anywhere? She wasn't in her room
when I went to wake her up."
The elder Shinohara hesitated. "Um... I think she said she was going to
try and find some fresh air."
Asuma sighed. "Well, I guess she doesn't have to be here for this... let's
get started with this interview."
Okami acted as if he hadn't even heard his son. "Asuma... why didn't you
tell me that the two of you had started going out?"
Asuma coughed. "It isn't any of your business WHO I'm dating. How'd you
find out?"
"She told me."
"Oh, well- we were trying to keep it a secret, but... but you ARE my
father. I guess it's all right for you to know. But we can talk about
this later- business first. Do you have any clue why those particular
plans were stolen."
Mr. Shinohara growled- he had something important to tell his son, and like
he usually did when he talked with his son he got angry. "Business?
Please- I can cover the business in a matter of seconds- I just pulled some
strings with the police commissioner to get you and Ms. Izumi here so I
could see if I could help you out with getting something started with her."
Asuma's eyes widened in shock. "Why would people take those plans? I
dunno- maybe because they include much of the advanced technology that we
include in all of our police and military grade labors. Who might do it?
Any other company building labors or looking into building labors. Only
people I could think of which would have the resources for that would by
Shaft Enterprises or one of their subsidiaries. Anything else you might
want to ask? No? Good. Now, back to that girl of yours; I think that
I've accidentally gotten you in trouble with her when I-"
"Wait a second!" Asuma cried, recovering. "You did WHAT? You mean this
whole thing is just you making one of your shady deals with the
commissioner? Why?! Did you stage the whole attack, too?" Suddenly,
something else his father said clicked. "And what the hell did you do to
get me in trouble with Noa?"
"I told her something you should have talked with her about months ago- I
told her about your concerns regarding that labor of hers."
Asuma blinked. "You told her WHAT? Dammit- why the hell did you say
something about that?" Turning away, he said, "We'll be leaving by
lunchtime. If you ever want to see me again, you'd better hope I can patch
things up with her."
* * * * *
Noa, sitting on a rock outside of the mansion, watched as Asuma spotted her
and ran up, waving.
"Noa, there you are," he said breathlessly. "I've been looking all over
for you."
"Why, hello Asuma," Noa said with forced calm. "You'll never guess what
your father and I talked about not too long ago."
'Oh, damn- she's pissed,' Asuma thought to himself.
"See, you told your father something you should've told me a long time ago.
And he told that thing to me."
Asuma nodded. "Yes, I did. And I'm sorry."
Noa glared at him. "Is that all you have to say- I'm SORRY?"
"What more can I say? I was afraid that Alphonse was too important to you
for you to let me into your life. It wasn't even something I was aware of
consciously, until my father asked me why I wasn't making a move on you.
But now I know you ARE able to care about me, and not just Alphonse. It
wasn't an issue any more, and I was afraid you'd take it the wrong way. So
I never brought it up."
Noa raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Not an issue any more? Are you
sure about that? Are you COMPLETELY certain that you aren't even the least
bit jealous of Alphonse? Are you?"
Asuma opened his mouth but clamped it shut before he said anything. He
just couldn't bring himself to answer 'yes.'
Noa sighed. "See? It's an issue still. You should have told me about
it."
Asuma sighed. "Well, what do you expect? You spend so much time and
lavish so much attention on that labor, I STILL don't know if you care more
about it or me. You've already said that he fills a part of your heart I
don't- of COURSE I'm jealous! But I don't want you to get rid of Alphonse
or anything- it's part of who you are. Just like you accepted me being a
jerk to you sometimes, I accepted having to be jealous over a labor. So
what is talking to you about it going to do?"
Noa tensed, gathering herself. "Maybe talking to me is going to reassure
you. Asuma... if we ever... if we ever get to the point where we get
married and have kids, will you react the same way if I lavish attention on
them instead of you, the same way I do with Alphonse?"
Asuma shook his head. "No, but we aren't married."
"And Alphonse isn't a kid- he's a labor. At most, he's a pet. I love him,
but there's no way I could care more about him than I could care for a
person. If I had to choose between Alphonse and you, believe me- I'll
choose you."
Asuma took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then slowly let it out.
Re-opening his eyes, a slight smile appeared on his face. "Hmm... is this
our first official fight?"
Noa blinked. "I think so...."
Asuma's smile widened slightly. "You won. Don't get used to it, though-
you can bet I'll win the next one."
"What do you mean I won?"
"Noa... I think, for the first time, I really know that you like me more
than Alphonse. Thank you." Pulling her into his arms, he tenderly kissed
her forehead. "Now, according to everything I know about fighting with
girlfriends, the best part is making up. So whadya say to leaving this
place and having a night out on the town? My treat?"
Noa blinked. "But our job-"
"Is taken care of. Come on- pack your bags. We're leaving. We've don't
need to be back at headquarters for several days- we've got plenty of time
for a date. That's an order, from backup to forward!"
"Yes, sir!" she said, saluting with a smile.
* * * * *
Viewing the scene outside from another of his hidden cameras, Tsukai
smiled. "See, sir? Talking to her DID help."
"Help? I damn near ruined it!" Okami said.
"Yes, but only because you brought something out into the open that would
have festered and weakened their relationship if nothing had been done
about it," Tsukai noted. "Asuma won't appreciate it, but you did a good
job today, sir."
"Asuma wouldn't have appreciated it, anyway," Okami noted gruffly. "But
thank you, Tsukai."
Watching Asuma put his arm around Noa and lead her off on the monitor,
Tsukai smiled. "It was worth it, sir."
-------------------------
Next Episode: Shinohara's Ex-girlfriend from high school, Kashima, shows
up after he gets a little nervous and cuts things off rather abruptly when
he and Noa are getting a little romantic. Why is he so nervous, and why
did she decide to show up now?
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Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
anime fanfics available at
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