(chapter 18)

Naha Airbase

"Who tipped them off that we'd be meeting some people directly connected to the Director of ICEP?" said Colonel Smith.

A group of two dozen or so protesters had formed around the ICEP van, just outside the main gate.

"It would have to be someone within the local branch itself," replied Freya. "According to camera footage I, uh acquired.-"

"You mean how you used your 'subspace interlink' thing, to hack the traffic cameras," interrupted Agent Smith.

"Yeah, that thing you're not supposed to know about," replied Freya. "These guys were waiting for over an hour at the exit to the commercial airport. They packed up, and headed for here, within a few minutes of you giving Agent Jones a piece of your mind about his screw up."

"If we head out those gates," said Agent Smith. "Young Kubo, here, is going to be in danger. He's the only obvious liminal here. Freya can hide her wings, and Erika's remote projector means they'll have no idea she's actually still in that hangar over there."

"What?" said Colonel Smith. "My MPs didn't spot anyone else near those planes."

"Of course not," replied Erika. "Freya and your daughter were the only people who actually exited an aircraft. The white one with the green trim, to be precise. I shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm the black and purple one."

"Yes, I saw you near that one," said Colonel Smith, not quite understanding.

Erika's image flickered for a moment.

"OH!" exclaimed the Kobold that was with them. "That's why I couldn't smell you. You're a hologram, like on that 'Red Dwarf' show my sister Miko watches."

Realisation dawned on the face of his partner. "Oh Em Gee!" she said. "I thought those planes looked familiar. My otaku older brother has posters of them on his bedroom wall. They're from Macross something-or-rather. Do they both transform, or just the black one? I have an idea."

===/===

ICEP branch office, Okinawa

Agent Jones was pissed. First, that girl from Tokyo, who only got her coordinator job because her uncle was the Director of ICEP, had the gall to tell him off for not doing his job properly. Now he had this blow-hard PR guy complaining.

"We waited for nearly two hours at that airport, only to hear rumours that they had actually disembarked at the military base. We wanted to get footage of who you said was a local liminal being greeted at the airport by a couple of local council members, before she went to visit her family. Right now, all our camera crews have is footage of protesters trashing an ICEP van."

The office phone rang again.

"Coordinator Jones's office," said his secretary. "Hey, Yuna! What's shaking? What? You're shitting me! That's gotta be fake."

The secretary opened up her Twitter account, and clicked on the link her friend sent. "Mr Jones?"

"Yes Miss Mara?"

"You said Miss Smith was bringing a non-human to Maha Airport for a family visit, right?"

"Get to the point," he grumpily replied.

"Is she bringing Gojira down from Tokyo? Because I have a video of two giant robots, walking out of a hangar, at Maha Airbase."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Jones and the PR guy simultaneously.

===/===

Maha Airbase

While the protesters were distracted, Smith and the rest of the group left in a transport truck, via a service gate. "It's a good thing you can control your mecha remotely," said Smith. "We'll stop at the police station, and arrange a hire car."

"So, are you an AI?" the young rookie asked Erika. "Whoever built you must be a genius."

"A mad-scientist, maybe," said Erika. "I'm technically Haunted Armour."

"I thought that only happened with ancient suits of armour."

"Apparently, any type of fully-enclosed armour will do."

"And a mecha is technically armour, right?"

"That's right."

"Is it your family or hers we're visiting?"

"Mine."

"Do they know?"

"About being a liminal, or being in a relationship with a woman? No for the former. Yes for the latter. The trip to Okinawa is to introduce Freya to my parents."

"How shocked do you think they'll be?"

"We won't know, until we see them."

===/===

Oborozuka

Hiroshi was feeling self-conscious. Ventris and Galadriel were taking full advantage of him looking human, and had dragged him clothes shopping. If this was one of those manga or anime from his sisters' collections, they would be fighting each other for his exclusive attention. Instead, they had both decided to 'share' him. However, it wasn't their attention that was embarrassing him. It was all of the adults making comments, such as "Oh, look how cute they are!" and "D'aww! He's practising for when he's older and gets a girlfriend"

Some girls he recognised from his class giggled, as Ventris asked his opinion about a dress she found, and Galadriel grabbed a matching one.

"Disgusting insect," said a voice Galadriel recognised from school. "Can't you find a boy bug to fawn over?"

Ventris hid nervously behind Hiroshi. She recognised that voice. It was generally followed by rocks and sticks being thrown at her from him and his two friends.

"Heyyy! It's the popsicle," said Galadriel. "Are your boyfriends jealous that our boyfriend is a better kisser, or something?"

Several seconds pass, as he tries to find a comeback that doesn't sound either lame, or make him sound gay. "Shaddup! He can't even find a human girl."

"Given how bad you smell," said Hiroshi, "You're looking to find yourself a goblin. I thought toshing stopped being a job last century. Or is it just a hobby for you three?"

Galadriel stifled a laugh. "What's so funny?" asked Ventris, confused.

"It's something I've seen orphan kids do," said Galadriel. "They dig around near the stormwater and sewerage outflows, searching for stuff that was lost down sinks and gutters."

"F%ck You! My family has money and influence! What have you got? Two lesbian parents, and a tiny apartment."

"You take that back," Hiroshi calmly replied. "Mama-Freya is bi, thank you very much."

"What's going on here?" said a stern voice. "Little foreigner thinks he can mouth-off to Aniki's son does he?" Three adults come into view. Two of them look like 'shaved gorilla' and 'baldy' only scaled-up in size.

"What beanstalk did you fall from?" said Hiroshi. "By the way, it's dangerous to use Yakuza terminology around this area. Didn't you hear what happened to the Dragonbusters?"

"Those mooks? I heard their leader was beaten up by a sixteen year old blonde, in a maid's costume. We're going to move in, now they're out. So you'd better start showing some respect," one of them said, before drawing a pistol from his jacket.

"I would seriously reconsider that attitude in Oborozuka," said a voice from nearby.

"Hello, Miss Kuroko," said Galadriel. "Is young Midori with miss Lucoa again?"

"Why, yes she is," replied Kuroko. "Apparently, she really gets on well with Shouta."

The three adults seem confused as to why the group hasn't flinched at the sight of the pistol, so the other two draw theirs for 'emphasis' in the matter.

"They still haven't noticed," commented Galadriel, brushing her hand over her shirt, as if to remove a bug from it. Young baldy was quicker on the uptake and looked at his older counterpart's chest. There were two faint green lines, roughly two centimetres apart, leading from his chest to something on the side of Kuroko's head, that to a casual observer looked like a mobile phone accessory.

"My big sister does like to paint," commented Hiroshi.

Ventris, still hiding behind Hiroshi, timidly asked "Didn't your older sisters say they were going to the firing range today?"

Young baldy's face went pale. "D-dad," he croaked. "I think we should leave."

"What did I tell you about backing down?" he growled.

The boy flinched for a moment, before replying. "Never back down when you have the upper-hand. But Dad, they've got the upper-hand. She's painting you."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" said gorilla's counterpart. "I don't see any paint."

Delinquent and 'small gorilla' suddenly go pale, as they remember the terminology from their online gaming sessions. "We really need to back down, Aniki," said Delinquent. "He has two older sisters, who were going to the firing range. Where's the other one?"

"Let's get her to come out," said the new candidate for Village Idiot, as he pointed his pistol towards Hiroshi, and cocked its hammer.

Kuroko turned her head towards him. CRACK. The pistol, and his hand, vanished in a flash of blue energy.

"Look at the bright side," said Kuroko, as the rest of the group scattered. "The wound is already cauterised, so you won't bleed out." She then whispered in his ear. "Stay out of Oborozuka, or we'll let one of the dragons deal with you instead. You have seven to choose from."