Tokyo-3 Arcana


Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, Dwarventongue.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).


Chapter 7

Two Short Meetings and a Hard Choice


Tokyo-3, Near Makoto Huyga's Apartment
Sunday, (Very) Late Night

Lieutenant Makoto Hyuga had a bad night. Sometime after he had gone to bed, there had been some kind of fight in the street behind his building. It had been loud and violent. The police had been called, and arrived amidst sirens and flashing lights. At the end, nothing had been resolved. Whoever had caused such a ruckus, had left the scene well before the police arrived. Makoto Huyga buried his head between the futon and a couple of pillows. It would be useless…


Tokyo-3, GeoFront, Central Dogma
Monday, Morning.
After NERV Shift Change

"Oh, my goodness, Lt. Hyuga! What happened to you?" Tomoyo fussed over the bespectacled bridge bunny, her shift had ended about half an hour before, and awaited impatiently for Lt. Hyuga to relieve her. Her annoyance disappeared when she saw him clearly. He was dirty, the right sleeve of his uniform was slightly torn at the shoulder, he sported a big bruise and a couple of small cuts over the left side of his face, and the left side of his spectacles was so cracked it was a miracle he could see anything.

Makoto sat heavily on his chair, holding a hand over his belly. "I got mugged." He winced a little as he sat.

While Tomoyo looked for a first aid kit, Shigeru Aoba examined Makoto's face. "Man, what size was the gorilla who used your face as a punching bag?"

"It was the biggest and ugliest guy I've ever seen. He must have been about seven feet tall and three feet thick at the chest! And he stank to high heaven. Three weeks old grime, and some kind of musk, mixed with rancid sweat. The foulest breath I had ever the displeasure of facing, too. Like something rotten had died in there. Believe me, a gorilla would have been an improvement."

Tomoyo had returned with the kit, and began to apply a cotton ball soaked on alcohol on Makoto's cuts while he winced, trying to endure the sting as best as possible.

Makoto winced again, as Tomoyo applied some disinfectant to his wounds. "Keep still! We don't want this to get infected, do we?" The brown-haired bridge bunny admonished.

"Sorry. That stings! Ow!"

"So, don't keep us in suspense, man. What happened?"

"I was walking to the train station, and as I passed in front of an alley, somebody pulled me by the sleeve, I almost tumbled down right there, but the guy just made me turn around, and punched me in the face and then in the stomach!"

Shigeru nodded, while Tomoyo took Makoto's glasses away and shone a flashlight on his eyes, looking at them through a magnifying glass. "Well, it seems your eyes are fine. I feared a piece of glass could have hit your eyes."

"Oh, no; my glasses broke when they hit the floor. That guy punches like a bear!"

Satisfied with the results, Tomoyo put the first aid kit back in its place, flagging it for replacement of some components. "Glad to see you're okay." Shily, she patted Makoto's hand, while, behind her, Shigeru smirked at Makoto's blush.

"But that's not the weird part."

"But, wait, there's more?" Shigeru's eyebrows shot up as he quoted some old advertisement campaign he had seen in the USA.

"Shut up and let me talk." At Aoba's silence, Makoto continued.

"So, I was on the floor, stunned by the punch, no glasses on, I can barely see the guy; so I decided to play Sleeping Beauty; so if I though I was in real danger, I could have a chance to attack by surprise. He grabs me by the jacket, checks my belt first, and then empties my pockets on the floor, growling 'These humies are too soft…'. I've been called several names, but never 'humie'; I have no idea what that means. Anyway, the guy just opens my wallet and empties it on the floor too!"

"What?" both Tomoyo and Aoba asked in disbelief.

"I swear he did! He took all the coins I had, even my lucky token I got at the arcade when I was a kid! Then he just drops me to the floor and leaves! I waited a couple of minutes to be sure he was gone, gather everything and here I am, although I missed my train. That's why I came here so late. I'll have to get new glasses and replace the uniform, but at least I have most of my money."

"Listen, do me a favor and go ask Dr. Akagi to check you out. I'll stay while you go." Tomoyo ordered him.

"But… your shift just ended. "

"So? I get some overtime if you get medical leave. And if you do, it just save me the trip back here."

"Don't argue with the lady, pal. Just take her to lunch later, okay?"

Both Tomoyo and Makoto blushed crimson while Shigeru smiled.

Maya heard the last part of their conversation as she entered Central Dogma. "Sorry, Dr. Akagi is out. She just got a report from the Marduk Institute."

Makoto gasped. "They found the Fourth?"

Maya nodded. "And you won't believe who he is."


First Municipal Junior High School
2-A Classroom, End of the School Day

"Shinji, what in the Seven Hells name is happening? Hikari told me her new tenant can do magic. She healed a twisted ankle Hikari got while fleeing from a gang of little but nasty guys."

Shinji looked ay the ceiling, ordering his thoughts. "And Kensuke told me he met somebody during his weekend camping trip. From his description, it should be a dwarf. A female."

"I don't like this. I thought you were the only one who came from that other world."

"Oerth." Shinji nodded. "I need to talk to both of them. Be sure of who they are and from where they came from. If there is a way for people from Oerth to come here, then it might be dangerous. Some of the people and creatures there are quite nasty, and this world doesn't have any defenses against magic or monsters. Can you imagine the damage a Beholder could cause?" He shuddered.

"A what?"

"Nasty pieces of work. Imagine a creature with spherical shape, bigger than a beach ball,with a big eye in the middle, ten eyestalks on top of its body, and a sharp toothed mouth that could swallow you whole. Each eye has a different magic effect. They are greedy, paranoid, power-hungry, utterly amoral."

"Could you kill one of those? With magic, I mean?"

"Nope. Not alone, and not without stacking the chances in my favor with a whole deck of aces up my sleeve. One of their eyes has an anti-magic ray and other has a disintegration ray. They are damnably dangerous to fight against." Shinji shook his head. "What did Hikari tell you about her tenant?"

Asuka began to count with her fingers, each piece of Hikari's description of her strange guest was marked with a finger. "Short, about a meter tall, yellow skin, neon pink hair. Delicate features, she looks almost like a tiny woman, around 20 years old. Strange fashion sense, and she is apparently a priestess of a god or goddess called Desna. She acts like a small child in several ways. Energetic, playful, she gets along very well with Hikari's little sister, Nozomi; respectful to Mr. Horaki, mostly ignores Kodama, but not like she's hostile to her. They met past Friday, after school."

"Hmm… I'll have to talk to her, but I think it would look somewhat strange if I am the one asking."

"Hey, I could go with her, check this mysterious tenant, and then tell you what I can find out."

"I don't like it…" Shinji tapped on his chin, thinking. "I don't want you to risk yourself, not yet." Asuka growled. "Stop that." Shinji patted her shoulder. "You are not ready. Not yet."

Asuka turned her face away, crossing her arms. "When, then? "

"You need to have at least a few offensive spells at your disposal. I think I'll have to accelerate your classes."

Asuka smiled like a shark. "Oh, yes! When do we begin?"


Mrs. Hayabusha's Inn
Later that day.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hayabusha. Is Miss Rusilka here? My friend, Shinji Ikari here, would like to talk with her." Kensuke introduced his friend to the old innkeeper. Both bowed deeply towards the old woman.

"She's at the back, boys. She asked permission to work in the garden. She has been hammering something fierce all day long, and most of yesterday. I don't know where did she get those little chisels, but look!" The old woman showed Kensuke a pebble.

"A stone?"

"Look closer."

Kensuke did, and realized the pebble had been intrincately carved with both celtic knots and something that looked like angular letters. He passed the pebble to Shinji, who looked at it intensely. 'I don't recognize the runes...', he thought.

"Go, go. Tell her it's time to eat. She shouldn't be working so long without at least eating something."

"I will, Mrs. Hayabusha. Come, Shinji."

Both boys bowed to the owner of the house, and went to the garden.

"Hello, Ms. Burningforge! I'd like to introduce you to the friend from school I told you about. This is Shinji Ikari."

"Well met, Young Ikari. Kensuke speaks highly of you."

Shinji hit his left shoulder with his right fist and dug into his dwarven language lessons. "(Well met, Ms. Burningforge. May your forebears look upon your work and smile.)"

Rusilka's eyebrows shot up and answered in kind, putting her little hammer and chisel down on the table. "(And may your children look upon yours and aspire to do better.)" She smiled widely, and switched back to Japanese. "I didn't expect to find a dwarvenfriend here. This city is quite strange. I haven't seen a single dwarf here since Mr. Aida showed me the place."

"I fear you may be the only one. This world hasn't had a dwarf around ever, I think." Shinji sat on a garden chair, while Kensuke did the same a moment later.

"Really?" She looked dejected.

"Wait, wait, wait. Dwarvenfriend? Shinji, is there something you haven't told me?"

"Of course there is. There's a lot I haven't told you. Depending on Ms. Burningforge's opinion, I might tell you something."

"Go ahead, young manling. It might help me understand what's happening."

"First, I need to ask you to keep what we speak here a secret, Kensuke."

"Why the mystery?"

"Several reasons, but the main one is Caution. We don't know what happened to bring Ms. Burningforge to Earth. "

"C'mon, Shinji! Are you trying to tell me she's from another world?"

"And another race, " Shinji looked at the dwarf, asking for her permission. She nodded, curious. "She's not human, she's part of a race older than man. She's a dwarf."

"Sure, she's a bit short, but she's not a dwarf."

Shinji sighed. "Kensuke, pay attention. Dwarfism among humans is a medical condition. People with that condition don't get to grow as tall as they should, and many have deformities. A member of the dwarven race is a perfectly healthy individual."

Rusilka laughed, her laugh was deep and full, it reminded Shinji of a waterfall, a big one. "He's right. A dwarf is stronger and has more endurance than a human. We work the stone and the metal. We live below the earth you walk on and inside the mountains. Our memories are long and our patience runs deep."

Kensuke still didn't believe him. It took the both of them to convince the bespectacled boy they were serious.

By the end of their talk, Shinji had established a tentative alliance with the dwarven female. And found out that she had no clear memories of where did she come from. She could remember many things, mainly techniques to work metal and stone, tactics, combat. Stuff to do. Her family and very few close friends. People very close to her.

But beyond that, her memory was full of holes. She didn't remember the name of her ruler, what stronghold she had grown in, the borders of their domain.

Shinji exchanged a few gold coins for Rusilka. Using the funds he now knew he could access by using his NERV ID card. It was enough to pay for a few weeks in Mrs. Hayabusha's Inn. The old lady was delighted to have Rusilka at her house. The dwarf was the very image of a model guest. She was quiet, considerate, helpful and respectful.

Part of it was due to the dwarves long ingrained respect for age and experience. And part just because Rusilka was still a young dwarf, eager to please her host.

As they were getting ready to go back to Misato's place, Shinji examined the coins. According to the dwarf, they were common use coins from the region, standard coinage. Shinji didn't recognize the mint. And he had long experience with most coinage from the Flanaess.

'And I still have to talk to Hikari's guest...' he thought.


Suzuhara's House.
Toji's Bedroom

Toji Suzuhara was not a deep thinker, usually. He mostly reacted to whatever happened around him. However, this time, he wasn't ready to answer the proposal the lady from NERV had brought to him. He had been there since he had been given leave to go home during the late period at school. He had gone directly home from schoool, and was now sitting on his father's favorite chair, the one he liked to sit on whenever the head of the house needed to give some matter a long, deep session of thinking. Toji found it really did help him to think about it.

Piloting an Evangelion...

Who would have thought he would be selected..?

Toji, unlike his short friend, Kensuke, was very well aware of the risks that entailed. He remembered how Shinji had broken down after the fight with the Fourth Angel, he had seen with his own eyes how much the damage the Evangelion had received had hurt his friend.

On the other hand, accepting the offer would be a big help with Sakura's hospital bills. His sister had been gravely injured during the Third Angel's rampage. And the bills were eating the Suzuhara's savings very quickly. By the end of the year, Toji's father's savings would be gone.

Thinking of his sister focused his decision. In a way, it was his fault she had been injured. He had dismissed the first scream of the evacuation sirens. Had he obeyed, they would have arrived to the shelter on time, instead of being trapped on a building that collapsed partially over them. He had been the lucky one, a girder protected him from the worst of the damage, but Sakura's legs were broken in several places, with some nerve damage. She would need months, if not years, of therapy to walk again.

He needed to talk to his father. Still, he had already decided.


Author Notes.

Makoto's mugger came from Golarion too. An orc. His bizarre behavior is easy to explain. People from Oerth has no idea what bills and credit cards are or how to use them. They don't have either. All transactions are done with coins or ingots or jewels. Wallets are rare, and mostly used to carry documents.

'Humies' is the word orcs and orks (space orcs) have for humans in Warhammer and Warhammer 40,ooo. I'm not sure how the orcs in Pathfinder call humans, but I do like the idea of some cross-pollination between settings...

Ah, manling is how the dwarves in Wrahammer Fantasy call the humans. There used to be a space race equivalent to dwarves a long time ago, the Squats, but due to low sales, they were discontinued from the line, and were said to have been exterminated by Tyranids (basically, a space locust swarm, with a big influence from the Alien movies). Currently, there is a Squat in the Necromunda line, I have no idea if GW has any plans to reintroduce the Squats as an army in WH40K.