Special thanks to Apparition7, green eyed bastard, and The Anibee!

Review please!


Pazu skittered nervously through the entrance. Quick check: Togusa was nowhere to be found. Thank God. Now, if he could just get inside all the way without anyone noticing...

Loud footsteps in the hall alerted him to the presence of another. Pazu looked down the hollow construct fearfully. Trying to be calm and rational, he said to himself, The worst it can be is Togusa, ready to kill the first living creature to cross his path --

And it was indeed Togusa striding down the hall. He looked murderous.

Pazu abandoned calm and rationality, bolting through the nearest open door. But he knew it wouldn't save him. Not when the most dangerous man in Japan was wandering around the halls.

Sure enough, Togusa's footsteps quickened and came nearer. Pazu stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, awaiting his fate.


"Togusa!" Saito barked. "Come help!"

Togusa had been about to follow Pazu into the open room. Now he straightened and gave Saito a curious look. "Sure. With what?"

"Supplies. Boma's got it in the back of the truck. Help him take it to the kitchen."

"We have a kitchen?" His interested piqued, Togusa trotted out the front door and saw a large man standing in the bed of a blue pick-up parked in the street.

"Hi." He nimbly levered himself up over the side into the bed. "I'm Togusa! And you must be Boma."

"Guilty as charged. You're our rookie, huh?"

"Yes, indeedy. We have a kitchen?"

Boma smiled -- but it seemed rusty, as if he didn't do it much. "And enough food to last out an earthquake. Canned stuff, mostly."

"As well as a can opener?"

Boma opened his mouth to reply. Then he stopped and frowned.

"Never mind," Togusa said dryly.(1) "I can bring one from home until we get one. What's what?"


"Not much of a kitchen."

"It's a generic term. Besides, the Chief wouldn't spring for a bigger room."(2) Saito set the last box down heavily on the window counter. "You organize the cans, and I'll get the coffee maker set up. Where'd Boma go?"

"He said he was going to get Batou." Togusa took out his pen knife and slit the plastic sealant. "I can't imagine why, it's not like he needs anything here."

Saito looked up at the irritated note in his voice. "You don't like him?"

Togusa pressed his mouth in a thin line. "A misunderstanding. I hope."

I'd love to hear the story behind that. Saito shrugged and pulled up the lid on the coffee maker. "I doubt Boma'll be able to pry him away from his training equipment."

"Training equipment?"

"Yeah. It's what he does when there's nothing to do, and he's tired of being an ass to everyone."

"He's a cyborg. It's not like he can build muscle, can he?"

"Hey, it's not my pay being blown on worthless crap like that. Where's the plug?"

"I'm sure you'll find it," Togusa said with amusement.

"Hah, hah. You know, Boma probably just wants to show you off."

Togusa froze in the middle of picking up a can. "Say what?"

"Just smile, nod, and act pleasant. He likes to adopt people."

"Adopt?"

"Surreptitiously. He'd never admit it, of course. But he likes you, so he's going to adopt you."

"Likes?"

"If you don't stop parroting back everything I say, I'll defenestrate you."

Togusa ignored that. "What do you mean, 'adopt?'" he demanded.

"It means he and only he, is going to show you how to hack, back-trace, and perform other nefarious cyber no-nos." Togusa still looked confused. "He's the teacher," Saito explained. "Ishikawa is too comfortable in his rut to bother, and Major would eat you alive." He grunted in satisfaction as he located the wall plug.

The natural man fiddled with the label of a particular can. "Could I...forego it?"

"Probably. You'd break his heart though, he loves teaching. Why?"

"Computers and I don't really mix." Togusa grimaced as he spoke. "I'm mediocre at best. He'd probably despair of me fifteen minutes in."

"Give him a chance, it won't kill you."

Togusa looked doubtful at that, but if he was planning to say something it was cut off by the voices of Batou and Boma down the hall. "Shit," he muttered.

Saito pretended not to hear any of them and pulled open the filter-basket. "Is this okay to use right off the bat?"

"Good heavens, certainly not. You don't know where it's been. Wash it out. I don't suppose you thought to buy dish soap?"

Saito dug around for a moment and produced a clear blue bottle and a sponge with a dramatic flourish. Naturally, this was when Batou and Boma arrived at the door.

Upon seeing Togusa in the room, Batou froze. Togusa gave him a cool nod, flashed Boma smile, and went back to organizing the cans.

"Hi," Saito said. Then he put the basket in the sink and turned on the water.

"Hi." Batou craned his neck to watch. "What are you doing?"

"Washing."

"Why?"

"Because according to Togusa, this thing is crawling with parasites and bacteria."

"Might be," Togusa called loudly from his spot.

"Might be crawling with parasites and bacteria," Saito amended.

In the ensuing put-down parade that erupted between cyborg and sharp-shooter, (with Boma watching on the sidelines in amusement) Togusa was left unsupervised for some minutes. Saito and Batou's voices carried so that they didn't hear the ripping of paper, or Togusa's agitated muttering.

The insult fest was interrupted by the heavy impact of a can hitting the floor.

"...everywhere... and the hands go everywhere..." Feverishly, the natural man tore off a wrapper with various Greek letters printed on the side. He rolled the can away negligently, grabbed another. "...when you brush your teeth and no one said anything..."

Boma, moving with surprising speed considering his bulk, went to Togusa's side and gently tugged the can out of his hands. Saito was already behind him, and grabbed his wrists gently.

"...and then they come..."

Saito hushed him gently, being experienced in such matters since he had two younger sisters. Togusa grimaced and laid his head back on Saito's shoulder to stare at the ceiling.


(1) Togusa always remembers the small details. grin

(2) This is where you see Major taking a break, in ESCAPE FROM. I don't think you see the back corner of the room...so why not add a small counter and sink? shrug

I'm evil, aren't I? Hee.