Requisite Disclaimer: I don't own Read or Die, and I doubt I ever will. It's not like this is keeping me up at night, but I don't want to get sued, either. Sony has some pretty deep pockets, man!
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1:37 A.M. GMT. Coastal Devon County, Southwest England.
It was a clear, moonlit night with an occasional gentle breeze blowing in from the coast. From a distance, the sprawling facility that abutted the coast could have easily been mistaken for some sort of low-key holiday resort or spa. Aside from the fact that it was occupying some choice real estate, nothing really stood out about the Royal Library Special Operations Division's medical facility. The grounds used to be a privately operated mental asylum for the well-heeled, but were discreetly acquired by Mr. Gentleman on behalf of the Library several years back when the asylum closed it's doors after years of mounting financial losses. Now it was where the Library's agents and operatives were sent to recuperate if they were injured in the line of duty. Depending on the severity of the injuries, an agent was either given physical therapy before being sent back out into the field or received their pension after signing a non-disclosure agreement with the Library. However, there was no protocol regarding injured double-agents.
Working as an orderly in this facility wasn't as exciting or glamorous as field work by some of the agents, but the Library preferred people with extensive backgrounds in medicine and physical therapy to staff the facility. This also meant that the meant that the facility was designed for physical rehabilitation, not incarceration. But the orderlies were informed of Joker's vaguely worded memo- "Keep a close watch on the amnesiac in facility". So during the graveyard shift, they would check on the dark-haired occupant of Room 21 every five minutes. Even when wide awake, the occupant seemed quite docile and easily confused. Given the occupant's conduct since arrival at the facility, the extra scrutiny Joker requested seemed unwarranted. The orderly on duty that night had no reason to assume that tonight would be any different. As a matter of routine, he shone the flashlight into Room 21, expecting to see the occupant sleeping as usual. However, the bed was empty. He shone the flashlight around the room, thinking that perhaps the occupant was getting a drink of water or pacing around within the compact room. There was nobody in the room and no sign of the occupant. As he walked in, the orderly noticed something in a heap on the floor next to the wall. It was a paper nightgown, belonging to the occupant. He examined it briefly before running to a phone at the end of the hall. This was a direct line to the Library's headquarters, to be used only in emergencies.
"This is Thursk! Get me Joker straightaway- Number 21 has escaped!"
**Approx. 48 hours later- 3:12 P.M. JST . Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.**
On the surface, Yomiko was rather pleased with some of her new purchases. Her nose was firmly buried in an 80 year old copy of Jaroslav Hasek's The Good Soldier Svejk. It even included some barely legible scrawling and doodles in the margins, thought to be made by Hasek himself. Nothing as sinister as a song to wipe out mankind- just the bemused scribbling and doodling of a Czech soldier from the Great War. This find had set her back quite a bit, but Yomiko figured she could survive on Ramen noodles from the 100 Yen store until the next payday.
"Just the one book? Is everything all right, child?" the store's elderly clerk asked the bespectacled Yomiko as he rung up her purchase.
The Paper's reply was limited to a short "Mmm-Hmm." and a quick nod from behind the book. Had she looked up from her new purchase, she would've noticed the extremely disappointed expression on the clerk's face. Rare book sales wasn't exactly a high-volume business, but until a month ago, Yomiko was almost single-handedly paying for his upcoming holiday to Australia's Gold Coast. Now what few sales there were began to taper off, including from his best customer. This wasn't a good sign- or perhaps it was just the damned recession. There was only so many books that even the shop's best customer could buy. Still, the mousy young woman always seem to have her undivided attention focused on whatever book her nose was buried in. It was a small wonder she didn't step out in front of traffic or something unfortunate along those lines.
Wheeled suitcase in tow, Yomiko began making her way down the crowded streets back to her modest apartment. She tried her best not to think about Nancy. Even if she got her health back completely, she would be facing severe charges for her actions. But the more Yomiko tried to forget Nancy, the more she dwelled on her last visit with her. It left her feeling an odd mixture of sorrow and anger. After having been through so much already, it made her sad to think that Nancy would never know another day as a free person. Yomiko wasn't so soft that she completely forgot about Nancy's betrayal of her and the Library to the Ijin. But she in the end, she was the one who prevented Ikkyu's elaborately planned atrocity. The Paper was also angry that there were people out there like Ikkyu who were nothing more than self-aggrandizing murderers- wether he was willing to kill off his own lover or all of humanity. That sort of anger really didn't suit Yomiko.
But The Paper once again thought back to her only visit to Nancy at the Library's hospital facility on the coast. She remembered that look of unmatched joy and amazement on Nancy's face as she watched one of Yomiko's paper butterflies taking flight in the sunny afternoon sky. It was almost childlike in it's purity and sincerity. For just that one moment, the two of them didn't have to worry about amnesia, imprisonment, betrayal, the Ijin or anything else. Yomiko wanted that moment to last a lifetime.
As she got to her modest apartment's front door, Yomiko had the feeling that something was amiss. She fumbled for the lock with one hand- the front door hadn't been tampered with. As she pulled a rigid razor-sharp 3X5 card out, she was beginning to think she was overreacting. But through her glasses, she caught a glimpse of somebody sitting in the only seat in her apartment that wasn't overflowing with books. Yomiko's new purchase slipped out of her hands fell to the floor as she got a good look at the uninvited visitor sitting in her apartment. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Hi!" Nancy Makuhari pertly greeted the stunned Yomiko.
A.N. Ummmm....so whaddaya think? Bet you didn't see that coming! This is my first non Outlaw Star fan-fic.