Awwww. Look at that Riot! the adoreable little thing. haha
Terry feeling awk asf.
Return of Boxers Iori
Crazy things tended to happen when they were together, so - to some degree - Kyo had expected strange stuff to happen. He thought finding Iori in bed and Rioted out and screaming something about roasted duck (the thought made his stomach rumble), was the extent of today's madness.
He had taught himself not to be surprised at the things his rival did anymore… but he surely didn't expect the ground beneath his feet to explode to the tune of a squeaky voice screaming curses at him.
He was launched about thirty feet down the street, expertly rolled out of his fall, and escaped the small natural disaster with nothing but a skinned elbow. He trotted back toward the house, and around the small crater in the road, to find Iori's American bandmate shaking him by the throat and screaming.
"-did I tell you?! Didn't I say to be nice? Orange here was about to roast your ass because you can't be discreet. Are you trying to kill us?! You know it's not me in there you little shit! Now where's Howard! Let him out right now!"
Iori looked like he was having a seizure.
That was normal.
This scruffy American kid screaming Japanese at the Blood Riot … really wasn't.
And it didn't help when he caught sight of him. The kid dropped Iori on the the pavement, where he continued to foam at the mouth and convulse, and approached him menacingly… or as menacing as he could. He was an entire half-head shorter and every single time Kyo had encountered Rock Howard, the kid had been scared out of his wits. He seemed to be easily intimidated, moderately timid, and according to Yuki, fairly nice.
Didn't she say he didn't speak Japanese either? Wait… it's only been a couple of months since they visited in Japan…
There were many reasons why this could not be happening, but the reality, and absurdity, of the situation were all too real. Rock Howard jabbed finger into his chest and began snarling at him like an animal. Behind him, Riot seemed to have calmed down and gone back to hide inside Iori's mess of a brain. Iori was crying and blubbering and generally freaking out. When he caught sight of Rock, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack. Terry went over to hug him and Iori just clung to him and sobbed. Kyo stared blankly at them, hardly conscious of the shrill voice lecturing from beneath his chin.
"Kusanagi you fuck! Why are you here. Did you take my TV again you piece of shit?! You trying to kill me or something? The hell is wrong with you!"
...
He didn't respond, he was staring at the person who looked a lot like Iori Yagami and acted like Rock Howard. Rock Howard… or…Iori... this is too weird... made an annoyed noise and whirled to address the two of them in English.
"Howard! Is that you?... Can you hurry up and stop crying? It's embarrassing. Go put on some pants or something. You're always lecturing me about that… And RIOT, don't! Do you hear me?! DON'T!"
Switching Bodies?... Impossible.
Chizuru Kagura was sitting in her drawing room dressed in her silken robe. She had her Director of Laboratory Research on the phone, and he was currently browsing his documents on what this strange condition could possibly be.
But Gammy… he wouldn't lie to me, and he sounded pretty panicked.
What sort of strange technology was this? A method which could move souls? How incredibly strange, and how incredibly dangerous. If this was real, then anyone could be anyone else, which meant she couldn't tell who was who, which meant nobody could be trusted, which meant-
*Excuse me madame, I think I've found something. Apparently there's a file in Makishima's old notes concerning Bio-electric Field Effect Transistors, FETs. Similar in function to their chemical counterparts, you know - the ones we use while testing concentration in our manufacturing department. ChemFETS are really the star of the show down there. Otherwise we'd need to use Absorbance to measure it. Really it's-"
"Akira!"
"Amazing tha- oh… ehem … excuse me. Apparently Makishima has detailed plans to use Bio Electric FETS to mimic and reproduce brainwave functions. I'm not too sure how he planned to do it, but the papers indicate the doctor was working on a way to use this 'reprogramming' method to-*
"It's late, Akira. Don't give me jargon. Tell me plainly, is it scientifically possible?"
*It's quite a leap, but you of all people know of the Clone scientist's brilliance. Do you think this can be a basis for a new product? Perhaps a cure for Alzheimer's we-*
"Can you reverse the effects?! Can you determine who the product has been used on?! How do I know who's been switched! Can you find out?! Akira!"
The man on the phone stuttered for a moment, then seemed to collect himself.
*I couldn't say for certain, Madame… I've never-*
Chizuru snarled.
Her heart was beating quickly, uneasiness had settled in her heart.
"FIND OUT! FIND OUT, AKIRA!"
*uh… um, of course Madame… I'll have Jolen- ah, my assistant look into it immediately. I think she's still at the lab.*
Chizuru clutched her phone as hard as she could and hunched over her knees. She held her head on one hand, and tried to take deep breaths. The felt the beginnings of paranoia encroaching on her consciousness. What if somebody had swapped bodies with one of the housekeepers? Has somebody been watching her every step? Listening to her every conversation? Maybe IKARI has infiltrated, they'd jump at a chance to spy on me!
"Alright… thank you Akira, I'm just a bit stressed. Forgive my outburst."
*Of course, Madame. Have a good evening.*
"Thank you."
CLICK
Chizuru's face was stony as she stood.
She looked up into the mirror before her.
How long as it been there? Who had installed it? It could be a single-way mirror, and there was a video recorder on the other side. It could be hitched to one of the IKARI satellites and that Bastard could be sitting there, sipping his coffee and watching her.
The very thought caused rage to rise in her heart.
She laid a palm against the glass, and with a surge, it undulated and shattered to dust. Behind was a plain, white wall… but that offered no comfort.
Too obvious. Heidern would never do that… the spycam has to be somewhere he knows I won't look… but where?!
Everything looked suspicious, so she closed her eyes.
Her hands shook in terror and indignation, so she calmed her heart.
She was Chizuru Kagura.
She was the master of difficult decisions.
Renovations started now.
The Kagura Estate was composed of several buildings constructed over the centuries. Over the next two weeks, each would be bulldozed to the ground and rebuilt. Every tree would be cut down and burnt to ash. The mind of every person who worked here would fall under the strictest scrutiny.
She sighed.
Nothing could be taken for granted. Everything… everyone must be checked. Immediately.
Everything would be burnt and replaced. Anyone who carried the slightest bit of suspicious would be burnt and replaced as well.
heeey
Heey you know who else was burnt and replaced?
(rubs hands together)