Disclaimer: As always, I do not own any of the material from the anime and games that are featured in this story, as I only own Greg and the fic itself, while another one of GreyWolf4's OC's, Aritomo Ishida makes an appearance in this chapter.
ShardclawK: Welcome back to another update of this epic story starring everyone's psychic soldier and the unique supporting cast that is making this story more popular by the update. Thanks for those who reviewed the last chapter, including the two newest fans of COE who are now enthralled by this fic, Neo Exodia and Majin Naraku. Sorry if you thought this update took a bit longer than usual to show up, I had some writer's block as I was preparing this update, but it's eventually going, so bear with me if you don't think this update has the usual substance that make this story good.
Ran: You must have been surprised to see so much fans who wanted to see more of Noir in this fic, aren't you, Shardclaw? I do hope you get to explain how Chloe is alive and what role those women will play in this fic.
ShardclawK: We will get to the bottom of that sooner or later in this fic, Ran. My main objective at the moment is getting Omi hooked up with Kirika later on as well, as I've arranged it for one of the major pairings for this story.
Omi: If Shardclaw can use his God given powers as an author to kill Gendou Ikari, save Touji from a horrid fate, hook Snake and Misato up, and keep Chloe alive for the benefit of fiction, he might as well do me a favour with getting a second shot of love, right?
ShardclawK: Just doing my job, Omi. And don't worry, Youji, your shot is coming right away soon, I'm sure of that. Ah, and before I get corrected for any mistakes again by Prier and Dark Éclair, I will point out some details concerning Riku, Nagi and Tot's ages in this chapter, so for those who haven't read DarkFusion's Dragon, Crow and Rabbit for more details of the characters that have appeared in this fic to this point, be sure to read that fic when you get the chance.
Youji: Sucking up to DF all of a sudden, Shardclaw?
Shardclaw: Just reminding the fans of some important details, okay? Anyway, I won't drag the audience any further…let them sit back and take in the update, while I got to deal with the remainder of this writer's block in the most 'severe' of ways…
From the stage door, Mune-Mune and Sayaka of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenonashi step in, along with the rest of the Saber Marionette J girls who were Lime, Cherry, Bloodberry, Lorelai, and Marine entered wearing thin, hot pink lacy underwear, as some of them were holding unto a basket of strawberries, cherries, grapes, chocolate pudding and whipped cream. And if that wasn't enough, Reiko Hinomoto, Dixie Clements, Bloody Shadow, Miss Spencer, Aisha, Candy Cane, Makoto Aihara, Aigle, Evil Rose, and Anaesthesia from the Konami female wrestling game, Rumble Roses were right behind them, wearing their sexy bikini outfits. Miss Spencer (one of my personal favs from the game), Mune Mune, Bloodberry and Anaesthesia started to gang up on me from all sides.
Miss Spencer: Okay, Kusanagi-sama, you should be prepared for an all out attack for the sake to cure you of this block you have before our evil versions arrive after this update. Surely, you don't want to be an embarrassment when Mistress Spencer comes?
ShardclawK: Um…no, Miss Spencer. (Staring at the long, slender leg wrapped in black garners rubbing against my own leg.)
Mune-Mune: Goodie…because we are not going to stop until you've been effectively cured from the block, even if it takes whole week!
Anaesthesia: Operating time has begun.
As the girls carry me off, Ran and the others stare on in shock.
Ran: New year…same old treatment. Anyway, we should carry the show onwards now, so, sit back and enjoy the update, everyone.
ShardclawKusanagi presents:
Metal Gear: Soldier X
Chapter 23: The Hunted, Part 5
Inside the high commanding office of the Tuatha De Danaan…
Tessa Testarossa was seated behind her desk, now finishing paperwork surrounding the current unrest that was rumoured to be about in Japan's self defence force. Since SEELE has been seized by Solidus and Dead Cell, the famous JSSDF has been put on a temporary standby and was suddenly ordered not to interfere in any of the advances by the terrorists. This got Tessa thinking.
"Why would such a force suddenly give up not defending NERV anymore?" Tessa said to herself loudly. This didn't add up and made little sense. (Solidus is pulling the strings now on this defence force…NERV has now become a sitting duck if they or any other terrorist organization pulls something against them.)
Leaning back, she started to stare at the news reports strewn about, regarding Greg's involvement with the death of Gendou Ikari. She started to think again about the matter. It's pretty obvious this was connected to someone's malevolent plans, but at the moment, even with her resources, she is at a cold trail.
(Greg...what is it about you that draws so many enemies? What do they really want from you?) Tessa asked herself, as she heard a knock from the door. Sitting up straight, she called back. "You can enter."
A tall, handsome yet rugged Japanese male in his early thirties and having a powerful built entered the room, wearing a standard MIRTHRIL uniform of First Sergeant. He had black hair and hazel coloured eyes. He then saluted to Tessa before noticing the paperwork strewn about her.
"Commander Testarossa...sorry to interrupt you at this time." the man spoke to her in a stern tone.
"Not a problem, Aritomo." Tessa nodded. "I was just finishing up here. Is this about the current situation about the terrorists that are holding Tokyo-3 under siege?"
"Yes…I still don't understand why would had you have wanted our forces to enter the premises of that particular area." Aritomo said. "It's almost too sudden, I must add, to simply interfere with that group's affairs."
"Are you referring to NERV…or FOXHOUND?" Tessa asked.
"FOXHOUND, of course." He replied as he glanced at Greg's picture on the newspapers. "I take it he's involved in this as well?"
Tessa was silent for a few moments as she stood up. "He only wanted to make sure his friends in that city was safe for the time being until he finishes up his own mission. I have no intention of helping him directly in this matter…he has told me that he has enough allies in this fight as it is."
Aritomo stayed silent a bit before speaking once more. "I'm sure if he and his friends in that group caught on with how that Reese was stirring trouble like this, he would have been stopped long ago. Now look at the state of things…do you think he can exploit Reese once he gets to him?"
"I'm not certain that even Greg is capable of that. He is a skilled fighter, and a warrior at that as well, but he's not the kind to think rationally all the time about the situation." Tessa said. "Besides….I owe him twice for the favour of saving me, this is the most I can do for his friends who are in more need that he is."
"I do hope your personal feelings haven't persuaded you to do this, Capt. Testarossa." Aritomo spoke. "Greg Kinezono may be a good person, but he's bad influence and this is probably why Reese wants him out of the picture permanently."
"It's not about that, Sgt. Ishida." Tessa answered. "Just doing a favour for an old friend. You should at least consider that Greg is not considered part of the group anymore."
"I have no grudges against him, or any of his friends. I knew Greg was one of both my younger brother and father's closest friends, and I would do anything to help them in this ordeal." Aritomo spoke.
"You just aren't on the approving sides of Roy Campbell and Reese himself, is that it?" she asked. Aritomo looked at Tessa with a stern look in his eyes.
He remembered why he was enemies with those two…a year back, his younger brother, Subaru died as a result of Reese's command abilities and then treating the whole matter as trivial. It later caused his father, Takeshi 'Night Owl' Ishida to mutiny against Campbell in a bid to make him rethink his stance on Reese and the other FOXHOUND recruits. However, because of Reese's negligence, it caused Major Nicholas Horton to open fire on Ishida, just as he and his unit were about to surrender. The rest of the unit was killed and Ishida himself was mortally wounded.
"It's still the same after all this time…it never changes." Aritomo spoke.
"Sgt. Ishida…we should work together at least to set things right. Just who knows who else Reese has targeted to crush." Tessa spoke. "I know it won't be easy, but we have all the assistance we need. If that's not enough, Greg can always get some more along the way."
"I'm certain that my abilities can help you in this, captain." Aritomo replied. "You have any ideas?"
"Yes….get Sagara and Mao in here. I have a recon mission for you three that is of great importance in regards of this matter…" Tessa spoke.
Meanwhile, back at Tokyo-2, around the same time, Riku, Nagi and Tot were still waiting for a response from Greg who had gone ahead to investigate the area some minutes before. With them in Team Warrior's transport van, the members of Weiss as well as Yuina and Seraph sat patiently for a response. It was then Tot interrupted the silence and spoke.
"I got a very, VERY funny feeling about this…" Tot spoke, picking up her own sword. "Greg's been gone for a while and now I'm thinking he may actually ran into trouble."
"You don't think he ran into trouble without calling us for backup?" Ran asked. Then he looked at Nagi. "Hey, aren't you supposed to at least sense if something's wrong at first, Nagi?"
"On a normal basis, but I think Tot is more good at it as I am." Nagi replied. "You can call it a woman's intuition if you will."
"We should go with Tot's idea." Ken spoke, getting ready. "I'm starting to think there's a good reason why Greg hasn't contacted us up to now."
"It's much more bigger than that." Tot spoke.
"More of the 'girl's intuition'?" Riku asked.
"Yeah, I can feel it in the air, just like fresh baked cookies." Tot answered. "But these cookies are evil."
"Uh...okay." Omi said, sweat dropping. He then faced Yuina and Seraph. "You two ready as well?"
"Yeah…I'm just a bit nervous." Yuina replied, continuously rubbing her hands together. "I just hope sempai is okay…"
It was then they heard the sound of the three gunshots fired from the outside of the mansion's garden area. Yuina and Nagi looked at through the van's front window to look as they heard the shots.
"Sounds like our cue." Riku spoke, drawing out his kunai. "Everyone, we can't wait on Greg any longer, let's go to him now."
Everyone agreed along with Riku as they made they way out of the van and headed out to the garden area of the isolated mansion.
Meanwhile, seconds before at the same time….
"Go ahead…I dare you to shoot me if you think I'm your enemy." Greg Kinezono spoke to Mireille, who still had her gun aimed at him. "Anywhere to the left of my head, would deem just well."
"Why you…! You asked for it!" Mireille shouted as she fired three shots at Greg's direction as he simply made himself an easy target for the two assassins. Greg carefully watched the bullets from the guns fire and timed their incoming speeds. With a focused glare, he can see the bullets coming at him in a speed at which he would be able to defend himself from. However, he merely sidestepped to the right as they simply passed the left side of his head.
"What!" Kirika shouted in shock as she saw the bullets her partner fired at Greg. But from her distance, she can see that Mireille wasn't really aiming for Greg, as the bullets ended up hitting a stealth camouflaged, armoured Arsenal Tengu a few meters from Greg's position in the bushels behind him.
"Auuugh!" the troop fell over as a small puddle of blood began to pour out of his protected head area. Greg simply turned around and stared at the corpse behind him.
(Note to self: 'Never tempt a hot French chick holding a gun at my face to shoot near the head. Be careful with words next time.) Greg thought to himself, feeling a graze across his left cheek caused by Mireille's fired bullet. (Maybe I should have said 'shoulder' instead.)
"What the hell?" Mireille shouted in shock, as she saw Greg put his arms down and inspected the corpse. "How did you know he was waiting for an ambush?"
"Hey, it's not like I was really expecting these guys to be around here. Besides, as soon as I got here, I sensed more emotional resonance for more than the three of us standing here right now." Greg said, lowering his gaze. "Besides…we're not alone."
As soon as he said that, he, Mireille and Kirika found themselves surrounded by several more Tengus that were armed with small submachine guns and katanas. Greg simply stood up and examined the area.
"Well, well…this is a surprising turn of events." Greg said, looking at one Tengu circling him and Noir with his katana drawn. "I could take you all by myself, but not today…these women need to be protected too, and I can't do everything by myself."
As if on cue, Riku, his partners, Yuina, Seraph and Weiss entered the area with their weapons drawn. They entered right in the middle of the stand off between Greg, Noir and the Tengu group.
"Tengus!" Riku shouted, drawing out some kunai. "What would they be doing here?"
"I don't know, but certainly we won't just stand around as Greg gets ganged up on." Nagi spoke.
Clutching unto the Ascension, he called out to them through an open channel of his Codec. He had already selected a fight song for this particular fight, as he was using Guilty Gear Isuka's 'Rift in the Clouds' for this battle.
"Well, it's about time you got here, Riku. Don't just stand there…help me cover for these women!" Greg spoke, then faced his two young apprentices. "Yuina! Nagi! Remember what I taught you! Now is the time to strut your stuff!"
"Uh…okay, sempai." Yuina nodded, as she and Seraph stood side by side. "Ready, Seraph?"
Seraph smiled a bit as she nodded at Yuina. "Yes, Yuina. Recite the password for the integration."
"Seraph…lend me your power!" Yuina cried out, while muttering her password, as her beautiful, magical transformation of integration began. Her normal average school girl look was changed into an angelic image of herself, large feathered wings suddenly were seen from her back, her long, flowing hair glittering in a faint purple colour, while her outfit shifted into a nearly, revealing outfit, with protective pads about her elbow and knee areas. She truly looked like a magnificent angel out of heaven. Everyone from Weiss, Noir, Riku and his partners looked on in amazement to this sight of Yuina and Seraph integrating into one being. Greg can only smirk to himself, as he saw some of the Arsenal Tengus were distracted.
"Yuina!" Riku said in utter surprise. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, it's me. None of you have to be afraid." She assured them, before staring at the Tengus. "They, on the other hand…"
"Perfect. Yuina…show them your power, while Nagi and the rest of us take care of the excess baggage before they become more troublesome." Greg said, as he watched the two assassins while the background music played. "You two, stay behind me. This could get ugly."
"But…" Kirika stepped forward a bit. "We want to fight as well!"
"Not in your conditions, you won't." Greg replied seriously. "Don't worry…me and my friends won't let anything else happen to you two, leave everything to us."
"Um…alright." Mireille spoke, nodding her head reluctantly. Greg then turned back to see that Riku, Tot and Ran had already started to pummel some of the Tengus away from their positions, while Omi, Youji, Yuina and Tot were dealing with some of the Tengus as well. Seeing this got Greg thinking a bit.
(I would have loved to pummel some of these guys right now, but I can't risk a near bloodlust effect like the time Shiju pushed it against me if I start to fight against these Tengus, though I see no good reason to go all out on them.) Greg thought to himself. (Until I can find a way to prevent that from happening the next time I'm in a serious fight, I'd better cut back on the fighting for a bit for now.)
Nagi was taking his training with Greg to a serious factor and was readying several of the Tengus' to attack. As one swung his katana at him, Nagi simply side stepped, powering up a small psychic ball.
"Psyche Shot!" Nagi shouted, throwing the ball at the Tengu, which stumbled back from the stun, while Yuina charged at the stunned Tengu's side and executed one of her own moves.
"Holy Extension!" Yuina shouted, summoning an energy spike to erupt from the ground the Tengu was standing on and knocking him over, as he passed out. She then glanced to her side, as she readied her next attack.
"Homing Spear!" she said, mentally producing an electric spear from mid air. The spear then targeted one of the Tengus and flew at him, hitting his chest area and knocking him unconscious.
"She's good…" Youji said, cutting down two Tengus along with Riku. Youji's choice of weaponry was black belt level Shotokan karate, and fine, yet powerful wires he uses for strangulation and capture of his enemies.
"Yeah, Greg certainly trained her well." Riku said, striking down Tengus using his flame powers. "Looks like she is only getting started."
"Wandering Calmness!" Yuina cried out, lifting herself into the air and releasing a psychic bubble that floated above the Tengus. Then concentrating another Homing Spear attack, she let it fly across while the bubble was above two distant Tengu's heads. A number of smaller bubbles appeared as they touched the Tengus, temporarily stunning them.
"Now's our chance to strike!" Nagi shouted, setting for the next attack. Leaping a short distance into the air, he fired a psychic ball downwards at one of the Tengus who were stunned.
"Crow Descent!" Nagi shouted, as he ended knocking the Tengu out. Yuina used her wings to ascend above the Tengus and everyone else and performed an airborne Homing Spear that took down another one of the Tengus. Nagi was also holding his own as he performed an even powerful version of his psychic ball attack, Psyche Shot Plus on two of the Tengus who went down after that attack.
"Yeah, you show them, Yuina and Nagi! Don't use anything too powerful on such simpletons!" Greg supported them from the back, only to turn back and saw a Tengu trying to slash at him from behind. However, Greg was quick enough to swing the Ascension behind his back to parry the katana blow, before he grabbed the Tengu by the head and slammed him down head first into the ground.
"Predictable!" Greg said, knocking the Tengu out. (Even with everyone else fighting, I can still give them a hand without losing control of myself, just yet.)
A few seconds later, the last set of Tengus were put down after Tot and Ran had cut them down, and Omi had shot several poison darts at a group of them. Ken also was good at some CQC, as he wore short retractable, metallic claws around his gloves to slash at the Tengus with vicious attacks. A short time later, most of the Tengus were down for the count. It was a short and exhausting fight, but everyone seemed to be okay because of the teamwork.
"Is that all of them?" Ran spoke, his katana still drawn out and watching everyone around him.
"Seems so…after ten or more Tengus, you would think there would be more of these guys at a place like this?" Greg spoke, standing upright, as he went over to face Yuina. "Yuina, you and Nagi did good back there. Good work, you two."
"Thanks, sempai. I knew I can be helpful to you if you let me fight with you." Yuina replied, nodding her head.
"Those attacks really worked better than I expected…some of them were a lot more stronger than what Crawford used to teach me." Nagi said, as Greg grinned a bit.
"Heh…glad to hear that." Greg replied, smiling as he faced everyone else. "Listen up, everyone, the next time Yuina goes into battle, you'd better get used to her and Seraph integrating more often. I know it's a bit out of the genre, but sorry for not telling everyone about this before…I just wanted to surprise everyone of what she's really capable of. There's a lot more than meets the eye with this kid."
"Right, Greg. We'll remember that from now on." Riku chuckled nervously as he put away his weapons. Greg then walked towards the two injured females, dematerialising the Ascension as he faced the women. "Now, do you believe me?"
"Who…are you people?" Mireille asked out of slight amazement.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves, that's my comrades from FOXHOUND, Riku Hanabishi, Nagi Naoe and his girlfriend, Tot." Greg said, introducing his friends to the women. "And that happens to be the assassin group…"
"Let me guess…Weiss." Mireille finished for Greg. "You're certainly Weiss, are you men not?"
"You're quite correct on that." Ran replied calmly. "But how do you know that?"
"…me and my partner happened to have come across information about a group of male assassins who take care of the dirty jobs in Japan." Mireille spoke. "When you're part of Noir, almost any source of information is not so hard to find."
Everyone, expecting, Greg and Yuina looked at each other in shock. They had little idea what they meant by that, as Omi stepped closer to Kirika.
"You're kidding! You're actually Noir?" Omi spoke in surprise.
"Excuse me, but just what do you meant by Noir? I think my knowledge of assassins and mercenaries stretch only to some limits while I was staying with Geese some years back while I was taking some time apart from FOXHOUND." Greg spoke, raising an arm.
"Greg…you never knew of the famous French assassin who was rumoured to be among the best this world had ever known?" Youji told him. "But I'd never thought there was more than one of them, much less them being attractive females."
"Now's not the time to hit on women while on business, Youji." Ken warned his friend.
"He's right about that." Mireille answered. "I'm Mireille Bouquet, and this is my partner, Kirika Yuumura."
(Wait a minute…there are assassins young as Yuina which are part of Noir?) Greg thought in astonishment to himself. (I thought people like James are trained to be killers…)
"There's only three of us, another girl the same age as me." Kirika spoke. "But she's not here now…I thought you were part of them."
"As I said, I'm not with Dead Cell, though I am what you can call a rogue agent." Greg said, then going into his investigative tone of voice. "Are they the ones who attacked you?"
"So they claim…a Romanian knife thrower and an African American woman with golden blonde hair." Mireille spoke. "They…ambushed us…we never saw what was coming…thanks to their friends."
"So…Vamp and Fortune were here, then?" Greg asked.
"Friends? You mean there were more than the two of them?" Riku asked.
"Yes…the members of Schwartz." Kirika said, as Nagi stepped out in a fit of anger.
"What did you say!" Nagi said, holding unto Kirika. "Did by any chance an American with glasses was with two other men, one with scars about his body and the other with orange and long hair?"
"Yes. How did you know about them?" Kirika replied.
Before Nagi could answer, Greg had already placed an arm on his shoulder to stop Nagi from answering.
(Nagi, I know you must be angry at knowing that Crawford was responsible for this, but don't tell them about past your relations with shorty, Carrot-top and Farfie just yet.) Greg spoke telepathically to Nagi.
(But…) Nagi stopped midway.
(Trust me on this, kid. We don't need to add coal to the fire as it is. If these two know you used to hung around with Schwartz…well, I'm not going there to answer that for you.) Greg spoke. (Give them some time first for them to trust us.)
Nagi reluctantly nodded to Greg as he heard this. (I…I understand. I'll be careful next time.)
Greg nodded as Nagi spoke ahead. "I…I only heard of some details about them in my time in FOXHOUND. So far, we haven't done much as to pinpointing their actions, especially for what happened with you two."
"Are you saying both the members of Dead Cell and Schwartz attacked the three of you and took your partner as well?" Riku asked.
"Yes…her name is Chloe." Kirika spoke.
"I see, so they took your friend, huh?" Omi asked and Kirika nodded.
"Any idea why they'd do that?" Greg asked.
"I'm…we're not really sure why. It happened so fast." Mireille spoke, holding unto her head. "Even with all our skills…we still were no match for them. They were too strong. We thought they had us for sure, but the leader…he suddenly called it off before they could finish it off."
"And they left you as you are like this?" Nagi asked trying to fight the urge not to get angry as he listened to their story.
"Not without leaving a message." Mireille spoke, but Greg already knew part of what she would say. "Crawford said, 'Don't interfere any longer if you want her to live.'"
(Solidus…I'm sure he's the one who organized this. He's sending ME that warning, I bet.) Greg thought, clenching his fists. (NO ONE tells me not to interfere in my plans and hurts other people just to send the message!)
"That's why we thought at first when we saw you, Greg Kinezono, you would have been one of them…the leader of Schwartz mentioned your name." Mireille spoke, looking at Greg. "You shouldn't have challenged me like that, you know? I would have ended up killing you if we didn't catch on seeing these men who attacked us."
Greg simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well, at least I got you to do some of the work done for me, I was going to use my powers to deflect the shots, but why play safe with fate when I can work a situation like before and turn it against the enemies? Actually…I was never really counting that trick would work anyway. It was a brave or grave situation."
Some of the people listening sweat dropped to Greg's comment, as Kirika started to grimace, holding unto her stomach. Omi ran over to help her up as she sat down on the fountain wall.
"Are you alright?" Omi asked.
"Ugghh…the bullet didn't go too far, but…" Kirika lowered her head, slowly losing consciousness. Mireille went over to her and held her at her sides, facing the Weiss members.
"Please…I don't think we could hold out any longer like this…" Mireille begged. "Do something…"
"Don't worry…we'll make sure to take good care of you two." Omi reassured. "Right, Ran?"
"I see no problems with this, but I have to talk to Manx and Birman about this development. They probably won't sound so happy when they hear the full details." Ran spoke. "Any ideas on how we should treat them, Riku?"
"Well, the first thing we should do is get you two to our current base of operations and get you guys healed." Riku spoke. "My Mom should be able to heal those wounds up in a few minutes, no prob."
"Okay, we got that department handled." Greg simply nodded to Riku's comment. He then looked at Nagi and Yuina before speaking. "I need you two to stay with me and help me scout the area first before we leave, just to make sure no more of these guys are planning a third attempt on anyone else that comes here."
"Okay, Greg. Want us to take point this time?" Nagi asked.
"Yeah, but don't go anywhere yet…I'm going to contact Rio first and tell her what's happened." Greg said, getting on one knee. "See if you can help Noir get to the transport van and meet back here when you're done."
"Okay, sempai." Yuina nodded, as she, Nagi, Riku, Omi and Tot carefully guided Kirika and Mireille out of danger and back to the van they came, as Greg activated his real time Codec 2 and switched to Rio's frequency. Her face instantly came onscreen.
"Greggie? What's going on?" Rio asked, slightly worried about what's happening. "Something went wrong?"
"No, mom…everyone's okay at my end." Greg replied as he looked around. "But we've come across some…snags."
"Snags?"
"We're in Tokyo-2 right now, in the high class rural areas." Greg said, confirming the location. "We encountered two injured female who seemed to have been attacked by Soldius's forces."
A shocked look came on Rio's face. "What! Why would they take advantage and do that?"
"These are not normal, average chicks I've come across. They claim to be the famous French assassin, Noir." Greg answered, causing Rio to look at him in surprise.
"Did you just say Noir?"
"Yeah…a French woman around your age and a Japanese girl around Omi's." Greg explained. "That's part of them, anyway…they were attacked a day before by what possibly been Schwartz and Dead Cell. They claim one of their members have been taken by them."
"Greg…if you're saying Solidus along with Schwartz in the same sentence, I'm already starting to think this was just no normal attack." Rio said, shaking her head. "We better approach this more carefully, Greggie. This thing is starting to be even hotter than what happened with Mantis."
"No kidding, it's just from one conspiracy after another." Greg said. "First, Reese and the Patriots, now Thorn and then this. What the hell's really going on around here?"
"I wished I knew too, Greg. If Solidus is preparing something even more nasty than what every other creep that made your life hell, I don't think we will stand a chance." Rio said.
"That's why I'm going to get to the bottom of this and get some answers." Greg spoke. "And stop them before they try anything else."
"So, what are you going to do now, Greg?"
"We're coming back to the mansion soon, so it's best you get Yanagi prepared to take care of Noir when they get there. They have some nasty wounds." Greg said.
"Okay, then, I'll get everyone prepared. Oh, Greggie…Nastsasha came up with some new information concerning Shade, she says it's important that you know about this when you see her." Rio spoke.
"See ya in a few." Greg said, as he switched off his Codec. He then stood up and looked at the mansion in front of him while thinking.
(Solidus…now you've gone and interfere with assassins in your little game.) Greg thought to himself. (Damn…just what is he plotting anyway? At first, both him and the Patriots don't want me, so he's joined up with Schwartz and have taken a female assassin. Is this some new twist to his plans? What are you really doing, Solidus?)
"Excellent work, Crawford." Solidus Snake spoke as he watched a sleeping Chloe in a holding cell back at SEELE headquarters. Behind them, Revolver Ocelot, Vamp, Fortune, Schuldich and Farfarello. "Your group certainly performed the tasks amazingly well, I should add."
"It was no trouble." Crawford spoke, shrugging his shoulders. "It was quite a privilege to have done an errand like this for you."
"May I ask just why we had to go for this particular girl?" Schuldich asked. "According to the information concerning the Noir group, Kirika had more potential than this girl for our group."
"In a timing, Schuldich. You will learn why I chose her exceptionally." Solidus said. "Think of her as a…special case."
"Special case?" Crawford asked.
"This girl was originally dead, but somehow…she survived the mortal wounding given." Solidus spoke. "It appeared there something about her sanity level that would make a nice substitute for the Patriots S3 plan, but I have other plans for her. Noir also had S3 capabilities for Ultimatum Gear, but this one will do a nice substitute for Kinezono for now."
"Intriguing…" Crawford spoke. "But that doesn't answer why we would need her."
"You won't need to know just yet. It will come to light when the time comes." Solidus spoke. He then watched Schuldich. "I take it that your psychic powers will keep her subdued even as she wakes up?"
"Of course, this is a simple task for someone like myself. Want me to wake her up?" Schuldich asked as he grinned.
"Not yet…but I do want her under restraint if she tries anything." Solidus spoke. "Vamp, you and Farfarello can stay to make her welcome, but don't frighten the poor girl."
"Why certainly, King." Vamp spoke. "I know just how to handle children, I promise she will give no trouble."
"Crawford, I expect you in Keel's office in ten minutes, there's a matter revolving this issue that I must discuss with you and your group." Solidus spoke. "Your psychic better convert that girl at the end of the meeting by the time I see her again."
"You don't have to doubt my skills, I can easily put her on a leash through her mind and she will be controllable for your bidding." Schuldich spoke.
Ocelot simply scoffed at this as he walked out of the room ahead of everyone else. As Crawford stepped out, Fortune began to spoke as she walked alongside with him.
"I still don't see why you thought it was necessary to let those two live." Fortune spoke. "We could have finished them then and there..."
"Please, Ms. Jackson, this was done entirely out of necessity." Crawford replied calmly as he fixed his glasses.
"Necessity?" Fortune asked.
"The other young one of that group will be most useful later on." Crawford answered. "It won't be long until she'll developed quite the connection between her and the youngest member of Weiss. That is one of the factors that will lead up to that usefulness."
"Is this the same thing what Solidus was explaining about that girl?" Fortune asked. "I still don't see why you of all people would sympathises with his plans."
"Don't worry, I didn't make this decision on my own." Crawford said with a confident smile. "Just before I left I had a talk with Mr. Sears about this and he approved of this. After all, it's standard policy."
"And why didn't you inform us about this earlier?" Fortune asked suspiciously.
"There was no need for you to know." Crawford answered. "Now, if you excuse me…I have a meeting with him in a few moments. I do hope you take care of that girl as well…it appears that the rest of Solidus's plans rest entirely on her."
As Crawford walked off, Fortune only shook her head in disbelief. She knew something wasn't right with this.
(Why would Solidus want to have this particular girl?) Fortune thought to herself. (Going after Kinezono would be more worth the hassle compared to this…so what's so special about her that would help our plans come to reality?)
Fortune simply started to walk once more, thinking she would deal with the matter another time. Little did she know that Mr. M was hiding within the shadows, watching everything unfold. Next to his left ear, he had a cell phone and was talking to someone else on the other end.
"Yes…the girl is now in Solidus' custody." Mr. M spoke. "Just as you predicted…the remainder of Noir still lives. I think they should consider Kinezono and his groups' assistance given the present situation."
"……."
"No, Shade hasn't decided to join the fold yet. He is still unknown to be found." Mr. M spoke. "I suspect he will go after Kinezono and his friends soon….if that happens, it could very well upset our plans for him."
"……"
"I know what must be done at the time. By any means, Kinezono cannot perish just yet…his role in this war is vital to the success of the mission." Mr. M spoke. "I will await word on the next objective. Until then, I will keep a leash on Shalashashka. Thank you again for you time, sir."
Meanwhile, back at the Uruha mansion sometime later, in the living room area….
"There…all done." Yanagi Hanabishi spoke simply as she removed her hand from an open spot from Kirika's abdomen. Noir was being treated for their wounds, as Riku's mother used her natural healing powers to heal the damage done to the female assassins, while Greg, Nagi, Yuina, Seraph, Weiss, Riku and Tot stood near by in the living room of the mansion with Kurei, Recca, Neon and the fellow Uruha clan ninjas, Joker and Raiha. Rio and the rest of Warrior were also in the room, listening to the details of what they discovered earlier.
"Amazing….it feels as if they were never there." Mireille spoke, feeling a lot more better than she used to. She then glanced at Kurei and Recca. "I must thank the two of you for going through this amount of trouble of saving us, we'd wouldn't know what would have happened if the wounds were worst."
"It's not a problem…you should be thanking my wife really, she is quite useful in situations like this." Recca spoke.
"Take his word for it. She even healed my worst wounds which I got from fighting Shade and Mantis some time back." Greg spoke. "Now then…what about are you two going to do about finding Chloe?"
"We won't rest until we get her back somehow." Kirika spoke. "She may look like a bad person, but she is not like that…she even risked her life saving me."
"You saying you were enemies once?" Riku asked.
"Yes…she was part of major assassin organization called the Soldats." Mireille spoke. "They trained her and Kirika to be the best assassins alive, but they were responsible for erasing her memory as well. I helped her pieced back the puzzles of her past together until eventually we met up with Chloe."
"The three of us managed to get our answers to our questions, but Chloe…she died trying to protect us." Kirika spoke, nearing tears. "But…"
"But what happened?" Omi asked.
"We are still not sure of why it happened…the only thing which dead in her was her breathing, but not her heart. The wound wasn't really fatal." Kirika nodded. "It took a while, but we were able to nurse her back to health, while we hid out here in Japan using one of Mireille's accounts."
"So, things were pretty quiet and peaceful until Dead Cell and Schwartz attacked." Ran spoke.
"It does seem that NERV and Tokyo-3 just aren't on Dead Cell's most wanted list." Rio said. "Greggie…what should we do?"
"We're in over our heads with this…we got Solidus targeting assassins now just to get competition out of the way." Greg said, placing a hand on his chin. "He is certainly trying to buy me time from going after Reese and the Patriots by doing this. All in all…we got another conspiracy on our hands that we have to deal with for the time being."
"I'm more concerned about how Chloe was affected by Schuldich's and Crawford's telepathic powers." Nagi said to Kirika and Mireille. "Breaking Schuldich's hold on your friend won't be very easy."
"What do you mean?" Greg asked. "His telepathy can't be any stronger than Mantis' right?"
"I'm not so sure about that." Nagi answered. "You see Greg, you and Mantis had something that kept thoughts and all of that from entering your mind. Schuldich, who has had his powers from birth, doesn't and has never had one."
"Nani? You saying Carrot-top is capable of that?" Greg exclaimed. "How come?"
"That's why it's easier for him to read as well as take over people's minds." Nagi said. "In a way he's better at telepathy than any psychic I've met."
"Don't see how that guy can live from day to day without an empathic barrier and still be sane." Maya spoke.
"I don't know how exactly Schuldich does it, but he seems to have a way tune out what he doesn't wish to listen to." Nagi said.
"Hate to admit it, but Schuldich seems to fare batter in that area than I expected." Greg said, shaking his head. "For the time being that is."
"So, what are you suggesting?" Mireille spoke.
"Seems there's no other way to leave this hanging…" Greg said, looking at Kurei. "You two are already deemed targets by some of the nastiest bad guys we've come around and there's no telling if they will be in a good mood to spare your lives if you go at it next time. Kurei…would it be alright that they stay here until they fully recover and we pinpoint where their friend could be?"
"We always have extra rooms and hospitality here at the mansion and they seem willing enough to help us with information about what Schwartz is doing with Dead Cell." Kurei spoke.
"But…! We certainly can't just stay here and…" Mireille spoke, before Riku cut her off.
"Don't worry about us…almost everyone in s front of you two is capable of protecting one another if things get hot, and it's very unlikely that anyone of the bad guys would come here to try something." Riku spoke. "That's like making the biggest mistake in their lives."
"Besides, you two should be grateful I was concerned for both of you." Greg said. "I happen to have a generally high respect and charm for the women of this planet, so you don't have to worry about thanking me just yet. Take things easy for the time being and we will take care of everything."
"Uh, okay." Kirika said, getting up as a couple of maids standing close by stood next to the female assassins and showed them out of the living room to their own rooms. It was then Youji stepped closer to a concerned looking Omi.
"You seem to want to help that girl from Noir..." Youji noted.
"I don't want her to lose someone close to her because of Schwartz." Omi replied. "I know from experience how that feels. Also, I know what it's like to be manipulated by Schuldich; believe me, it isn't a pleasant experience. I don't want that other girl Chloe to suffer through that experience and end up doing something she'll regret forever..."
"Tell me about it…" Greg said, in a low tone as he looked at Yuina, who was clueless to what he was talking about.
Youji then grinned.
"I see..." He said. "It's so obvious now, you've gone and fallen for that Kirika girl, haven't you?"
"H-hey…wait a minute! It's nothing like that!" Omi exclaimed, blushing a little. "I just want to help."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Youji said and then turned to Ran. "Hey Ran, you think I'm right?"
"It's possible." Ran admitted simply.
"Ran, not you too!" Omi said.
"I guess that means I'm right since Ran knows you the best in this group." Youji said with a grin.
"Hey, if Omi wants to help the girl, let him do his thing." Greg said, overhearing the conversation. "You two normally tease Omi so often?"
"All the time whenever we're all together, like now." Omi spoke.
"Don't take it that way, Omi. It's natural for someone in your age to help out a girl the same age as you, right?" Greg said, turning his back. "Besides…from the looks of things, you're in some need of some pickup lines."
"Eh?" Omi looked on in shock, as some of people in the room started to laugh.
"I know a little 'something-something' on how to get girls to be eating out of your hand, so if you need my advice, be sure to ask me, okay?" Greg said, leaning closer to Omi.
"Normally, that would be my expertise, Greg, but I'm glad that you're willing to help Omi as well…he and I never had any luck with girls in the past." Youji said, with a sad grin. "I know it…all too well…"
Greg simply looked at the two men and suddenly picked up a strong emotional sense of past remorse and sadness from them. It was then he knew it was true what Youji meant. Before he got to ask what he meant, Nastasha Romanenko's voice spoke behind Greg's back.
"Greg…may I have a word with you please?" The Russian woman spoke. "It's very important."
"Ah, yes, Nas. I'll come to you in a minute." Greg said, then looking back at everyone else. "Look, I got to speak with something private with her for awhile. I'm sure Mireille still have questions about us, so Riku, I'm leaving the details of explaining what has happened so far to them."
"Why do I get to do it?" Riku asked, in a near unsatisfied tone.
"Because you're used to telling better details than I am and I did most of the talking from before with Yuhi, Chidori, Shota and the others back at the Suzumi place, remember?" Greg said with a grin. "Anymore of that and that in itself will be kind of repetitive, don't you think?"
"Whatever you say, Greg." Riku replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Might as well take Ran and the others with me…"
"Uh, uh….Nagi stays with me." Greg said, stopping Nagi before he walked off. "I'll be needing your help in a bit, Nagi, it's something very important."
"Okay, Greg. But we'd better not keep Nastasha waiting any longer." Nagi said, as he and Greg started to walk upstairs and meet her at the top of the staircase.
"Alright, Nas…what is it you got to tell us?" Greg folded his arms and asked.
"You're certain that Shade has been around for almost five centuries, correct?" Nastasha asked. "The information Geese told you about him seems kind of conspicuous until I did some research of my own and came with some…disturbing intel."
"Yeah, and that he participated insome majorwars in the past. What about the intel?" Greg replied, feeling a sort of instant disgust at the thought of that name and the person who bore it. (How I long to call him Mid-Boss again just to feel better…)
"One of them was theSecond Sino JapaneseWar in 1937, which he was part of the Japanese invasion of China." Nastasha spoke. "It was the Japanese who overrun Nanking, which at the time was a capital of China. One of the most horrendous acts he did when he was the colonel of that army, was using dead and wounded soilder to fill up trenches, just so the tanks have access. And it was also reported that if there weren't enough, his men shot people indiscrimnately to fill the trenches up."
"Good God..." was all Greg can mutter, but he tried not to show as the Russian woman continued.
"Over a count of ninety thousand troops who surrendered to the Japanese, were victims tothe 'kill all captives' command, which were forged by Shade himselfand also ordered bayonet practice on the prisoners, allowing inexperienced young troops and Shade himself to take part in this." Nastasha said, as Greg was now shaking his head in disbelief.
(This man's not even human to kill so many people in such a single lifetime...) Greg thought.
"That's not even the worst of it...his division was put in charge for hunting fugitive soldiers, but Shade ended up turning it into a hunt for young and old women, even children." Nastasha said. "He and his division raped their captives, while their superiors did nothing."
"How horrifying..." Nagi muttered as he listened in. Even as a former Schwartz assassin, this was too much for even him to believe.
"Thus, the Japanese looted plundered the city, while killing off thousands of civilians and it continued on in the Vietnam War that started in 1954 to 1975." Nastasha spoke. "As a French mercenary, Shade was also one for the Americans and was known for his brutality in the war as he and his men slaughtered hundreds of innocent victims,and also engaging in raping the the women he kidnapped. I can go on and on with the number of atrocities in Vietnam alone, but..."
"You don't need to go on if you don't want to, Nas." Greg said, putting up a hand. "Before I can say we've heard enough, is there any other details about his past we should know about?"
"Yes, there were the wars in the Afghanistan during the '80s'." Nastasha said. "At the time, he was a merc for the Russians, though he was really on a mission for the Patriots to turn the people against the Soviet backed government when insurgency began for the progressive government. Shade was sent in and his methods included brutally mudering hundreds of villagers."
"It's a cycle of violence and Shade's always the cause of it." Greg replied, now having heard enough, then a sick thought came to mind. "But, Nas...even for him to go as far as raping his female captives...how come he isn't...?"
"Sick from sickness? Shade has nothing to fear from sexually transmitted diseases…that is probably common for a human regenerator." She continued. "That…monster…has spend most of his extracurricular time in his life, raping and ruining women to the point that they were degraded to mere objects for his twisted desires."
Nagi only shook his head, as he suddenly watched Greg's face become darkened as he hung his head.
"So…we're dealing with a sadist, huh?" was Greg's simple question.
"The worst kind." Nastasha spoke, before walking closer to Greg. "I came across intel of one particular victim…her name is Sayoko Tachikawa. If you need some information about her, you should ask your apprentice and his friends."
"Nagi?" Greg asked him. "You know her?"
Nagi nodded his head. "I certainly do…she is quite a nice person once she gets to know you. I'm sure she will make good friends with you as well, Greg. But…"
"But what, Nagi?" Greg asked seriously.
"Well…I won't exactly tell you now, we'll just wait until we meet Sayoko and then, you'll see for yourself why I'm having the same resentment as you are having right now." Nagi said sadly before he started to walk off. But Greg stopped him before he lefty the area.
"Wait, Nagi!" Greg called out to him. "I know I'm sorry if this brought anything you dislike at the moment, but…"
"It's not really your fault, Greg. I don't like Shade as much as you do…but I think Nastasha is warning us that he is not a guy to be taken lightly by personality alone." Nagi said. "Greg…I know how much you want to at least avenge the evil he as done, but be careful about this. You're not the kind of guy to let people like Shade get to you."
"Yeah…I got to stop getting this over my head." Greg said, then patting Nagi. "Actually…this is something I'm concerned if you're not trying to get your hands dirty, but I need this particular info."
"About what, Greg?" Nagi asked. "I'll be sure to get it for you without any trouble."
"Okay then…I'll need as much of the old Delta Squad reports on…Victor Masterson." Greg said seriously, causing Nagi's eyes to widen. He knew Greg was somehow referring to Silent Scorpion's own late father.
"James Masterson's father!" Nagi exclaimed, as Greg did a hush signal over his lips. "Why would you ask for your best friend's family records?"
"Nagi…in this world, you got to play outside the rules to win. I'm just making sure to take some sideline action before we do anything else." Greg said, standing upright. "If Reese was able to go as far and eliminate my records of joining FOXHOUND from existence, he may have something vital from the Delta Squad Victor used to take command in. There's a particular and very important person I must find."
"But…what about Campbell or Riku? Or as a matter of fact, everyone else?" Nagi asked in a nervous tone.
"If they ask, tell them it's for the good of the mission." Greg replied. "Don't worry…you'll thank me when I find 'that man'."
"I'll get to work right away." Nagi bowed to Greg reluctantly. "Should I have Omi help me with the work as well?"
"Yeah, you might better as do it…if he asks why, just give him the same answer like before." Greg said, as Nagi walked off, trying to figure out why Greg would want to see his best friend's family records. Little did Nagi and everyone else know, Greg was going all out in finding the one person who can at least curb his bloodlust in battle. Suddenly taking out the Ascension, he started to examine the serrated blades of the spear. It was still tainted in blood. Greg started to shake his head, as a pounding came unto his body as he started to think about Shade.
"Shade…must burn for this…" Greg said, gripping his chest as if he was getting a heart attack. Shutting his eyes, he concentrated himself not to lose control of his powers right there and then. But the guilt of knowing Shade had done so much horrendous things in the past hung unto Greg like a second skin.
(No…not here…not now…I'm not like them yet…) Greg said, returning his senses to reality. He simply wiped his sweat calming over his forehead and took some deep breaths. (The sooner I find the famous swordmaker, Hanzo Hattori…the better. If his skills can somehow create a reversed blade version for my Ascension, I won't have to worry so much about using it in battle. But that means I still have to make…'adjustments'. This means I still have calls to make…when will this madness ever end?)
Greg simply shook his head as he started to walk out of the living room, unknowing to him that Rio was standing at a far corner, watching him in silence. She was remembering the conversation Greg had with Kyo and Iori concerning his powers.
(So…there will be a time my own powers will betray me once again. Is there any salvation for me, just when I only want to protect everyone dear to me?) Greg's words ran through her mind in an echo.
"You just hang on a bit longer, Greggie. I'm sure there's a way you can use your powers without having to hurt yourself from now." Rio said to herself. "You can count on me."
Meanwhile, somewhere else at the mansion, while Riku was approaching Noir's resting quarters. He was in a middle of the Codec conversation with Michael Hansen, who was somehow intrigued by the discovery of Noir in Japan by Greg and how things got to be.
"So, did Greg said just how he managed to find the assassin called Noir?" Michael asked.
"Never mentioned it. I think he's on to something, he just won't say what it is, though." Riku said.
"Hmm…I'd suggest you keep watch on Greg for the time being. I don't like where this is going, especially if Greg is responsible for finding those two women like that." Michael said. "I'm sure when sensei Yukimura gets there, he will get to the bottom of what's going on as well."
"Sanada-san is coming here?" Riku asked.
"Yes, he's coming to see Greg about something important." Michael answered. "Look Riku, just promise that you won't let Greg know too much about sensei Yukimura without his permission."
"Of course, Michael, but why?" Riku asked in reply.
"You certainly do well know why." Michael replied. "I mean…from what you said about Greg, I don't think he's going to accept Yukimura so easily like that, especially when he knows about his background. Just try to keep things quiet about him until he thinks it's the right time, okay?"
"I got you. I'll be sure the message gets through." Riku said, as he logged off. (I'm sure this will get more complicated later on…Greg, what is it that's about you that makes so much enemies attracted to you? And what is it that you know that makes you be hunted so often?)
Meanwhile in the United States, in the famed Geese Towers at the centre of SouthTown….
Geese Howard was seated behind his desk, reading a newspaper. Most of the reports were still surrounding the happenings of Tokyo-3, Greg, SEELE and NERV and vice versa. He started to shake his head, thinking when Greg will put his foot to stop the growing evil by seeing about the Virtuous Mission soon.
"This plan of yours…you think it's just an excuse to execute revenge on those who harmed his life like this?" a woman's voice spoke from the darkness at the side of his desk. "Greg is not the kind of person who will go down that kind of road."
"That is true, but Greg has the ability so snap himself back before he could corrupt himself." Geese simply replied. "I did sponsor the research responsible for his powers…I know of the possible details what his powers could go through if he goes insane once more."
"And…THAT is part of the grand plan?" the woman spoke. "What kind of sensei you are to Greg to threat him like this? Slowly and surely, he'll lose path of his ideals and he'll become an inhumane monster with a lust for blood and destruction!"
"So says one of the people who raised him…you know of this as well as I do. It's not his entire fault that his powers continue to ravage him…his own cursed powers are doing that for him." Geese simply replied. "Worry not…Greg thinks I'm not concerned about his welfare and future, but in reality, I'm pulling out all the stops as a dictator and a crime lord to help him from where I sit. You and everyone involved in Greg's life will be in for one hell of a surprise when you see the results."
There was a sigh from the woman. "Of course…there's nothing Geese Howard is capable of accomplishing…you're only helping Greg achieve his goals."
"You may be still of some good use." Geese spoke. "Get the other two of Greg's oldest friends with you and prepare to return to Japan. He will certainly be needing your help then…Aika Sumeragi."
A blonde Japanese woman in a red, tight fitting dress and an extremely short skirt appeared from the shadows and bowed to Geese. "About time…and here I thought you wanted me to stay out of the situation for a bit longer. You suggested it in the first place when the thing with Mantis began."
"Now is your time to complete your training with Greg…his time of another hard battle draws near and now I fear for him." Geese spoke. "If you are too late…"
"I understand. I must do what is necessary to help Greg." Aika said, before turning her back. "But if you dare pull anything to harm Greg's life, or those around him…you'll have to answer to me."
Geese simply smirked as Aika left the room. After he was left to himself, Geese stood up and watched the city he had in his grasp as he contemplated what lied in store for Greg Kinezono.
"It won't be long before everything goes to hell soon…Greg must be prepared to face the fact of his powers or all that matters to him will be lost…." Geese said to himself as he watched the city in silence.
Greg's true battle has merely begun…
ShardclawK: And that concludes this chapter. Sorry if you didn't get the amount of action and details you wanted, I'm still somewhat slumping to this writer's block I have. That's probably why I took long to update, but things should get kicking sooner or later, as we're nearing the end of the arc of this fic. The next arc will be not like anything you've thought was possible in this fic, and it will be one of the darkest parts to be portrayed in this fic as well, so things will get real grim at the turn of Chapter 25. Be on the lookout for that. That reminds me…I still got more of my OC's to introduce, not to mention a couple of more surprise twists that will show up later on. Better get on those right away when I get the chance…
Ran: And now for an important announcement, Shardclaw wants to thank DarkFusion if he's reading this greatly for sending him the subbed collection of the Weiss Kreuz series which he got through the mail last week. He says how he was quite compelled watching the anime and thoroughly enjoyed it to the end. He even approved of some of the pairings for that one…you should have seen him look at the scenes with Nagi and Tot together.
ShardclawK watching Tot and Nagi kissing on Episode 22: Awww…that is SO CUTE! (Ahem.) Anyway, I'm sure to get some good ideas for this fic and COE later on with that collection, but I must deal with getting Youji hooked up later. Don't worry, there will be more of a romance between Omi and Kirika, and I already have someone planned for Mireille as well, (you will have to read on to find out) but as a word of advice, be sure to grab Agent Aika before you advance with the fic, because now's the time to finally bring them back along with a few surprises!
Greg: I'm already getting a funny feeling about this…soon, he's going to have a horde of miniskirt wearing women chasing me for my powers. I'm living a nightmare…
ShardclawK: Anyway, I do hope this update has satisfied you fans, as I got some doubt how quickly I can cook up the next update. By the time I do that, DMC 3, (which is rumoured to be out next week) will pretty much take up much of my social life if I don't get Xenosaga Episode 2 first that is. At least I'll get ideas to finish End of Eva May Cry…
Just then, the girls of Steel Angel Kurumi, which were Kurumi, Saki and Karinka stepped in, wearing sexy, revealing sophomore vest tops, and tight mini skirts. They started to gang up on me with their ecchiness.
Kurumi: Shardclaw-sama…we heard you got a nasty writer's block. Poor boy! But don't worry…until DF sends his shipments over to you, Tempest said that we'll must take the initiative to help you solve your problem with our…voracious appetites for…'meat.'
Saki: Along with us, we brought a shipment of our sexy schoolgirl clothing for the Negima girls you have, as well as enough ice cubes and ice cream you can use as…massage on our bodies, because we tend to…get hot easily. And the usual large resupply of…'vital supplies.'
ShardclawK: Aw, snap! You girls are too much! Why am I still here? I'm in dire need to be cured!
As I get carried off once more, Ran simply shook his head.
Ran: I guess that's all to it, folks. We'd better hope Shardclaw-san will use the power he is given and portray us just as well as he did before prior watching the series, as well give him ideas. I wonder what surprises lay in store for the next updates?
Ken: We might as well stayed tuned…I'm sure this will be one hell of a ride.
Collis aka ShardclawKusanagi.