Finally! It's out! I finally finished this chapter! I swore to myself that I would finish it this week, and I did! Whew, now that that's out of the way, I want to say that I'm really sorry it took so long. I just got off my lazy ass and got a full time job, so time has been a little scarce, but I made time for this.
Moving on, I'm pleased to see a steady, if small, stream of hits to my profile and this story. It's nice to know you guys are still keeping your eyes on this. Special thanks to ArmorBlade for reviewing, and giving compliments at that. It really means a lot man, considering you inspired this. You also seem to have a knack for foreshadowing, although I'd like to say that there are a few curve balls in this chapter that no one saw coming. Probably. I'll let you guys get to it.
When Miyuki Takara regained consciousness, she found herself staring up at an uncomfortably bright light bulb dangling from the ceiling; she groaned and rubbed her eyes. When she looked again, she saw a bright blue blur hovering over her.
"Miyuki? Are you okay?" Konata asked.
"Konata?" Konata's face blurred in and out of focus, and her voice barely registered over the faint ringing in Miyuki's ears. "Your face looks funny!" Miyuki suddenly blurted out, grinning. Konata blinked in surprise.
"Wha- Ouch!" Konata pulled away as Miyuki grabbed and yanked on her curled ahoge.
"No fair! Give it back!" Miyuki wailed as she sat up, still reaching her hand out and making grabbing motions.
Konata made sure to keep her distance. "What's gotten into you, Miyuki?" she asked as she rubbed her scalp beneath her ahoge.
The door leading out of the recovery room opened, and Doc Church stepped inside. "Konata, keep it down- Oh. She's awake."
"Yeah, and she just tried to pull my hair out!" Konata exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," Miyuki said, looking guilty, "I just wanted to taste it..."
Konata gaped at her, but Doc Church simply held his chin in thought. "Okay," he said, "Tell me how many fingers I'm holding up." He held his hand out to Miyuki, holding up three fingers.
Miyuki tilted her head. "What did you say?"
Church raised his voice. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he repeated.
"Oh! That's easy!" Miyuki stared intently at his hand, but she soon looked confused. She grabbed his hand and pulled it closer to her face, still eying it intensely. "Wait a minute," she muttered, before suddenly licking his hand. "These aren't fingers! They're toes!" she exclaimed.
Doc Church wiped his hand on his shirt, grumbling to himself. He then took Miyuki's arm and sharply pinched it. Miyuki stared at the spot, her eyes wide with excitement, like she was waiting for something to happen. After a few seconds, however, she yelped and pulled her arm back.
"That was mean!" she whined.
Doc Church turned his attention to Konata, who looked somewhat dumbstruck. "Well," he started, "She appears to be suffering from severely impaired hearing, eyesight, reaction to touch, and mental functioning. Let me ask you something, Konata: did you give her any chems?"
"Well, I gave her a Mentat, but that can't have anything to do with it... could it?"
Doc Church nodded. "I'm afraid so. Your friend must have a very low chem tolerance, since she is, in fact, suffering from Mentat withdrawal. That blackout she experienced on the roof must have resulted from the shock of suddenly introducing chems to her system." Konata glanced at Miyuki, who was dazedly looking back and forth, as if tracking some invisible insect.
"Well, how do we fix her?" Konata asked worriedly.
Doc Church held his chin. "Well, I'd say that giving her another Mentat would snap her out of it. She'd probably get a high like usual and then go back to normal for a while. But she'll need to keep taking them, or she'll start acting like this again. In any case, she's not hurt, so there's nothing I can do for her now." He turned to Miyuki and raised his voice. "Hey, can you stand?"
Miyuki suddenly snapped her attention to him and laughed. "Of course, silly!" She jumped out of bed and began to stagger; Konata had to catch her and hold her up. "Whoops! My legs feel funny!"
Doc Church shook his head. "Her legs are probably numb, at least partially."
"You mean I have to help her walk like this?" Konata groaned.
"'Fraid so. I'd find some Mentats soon if I were you. And keep her away from other chems; there's no telling how badly she'll react to them if she's developed a Mentat dependency."
"Yeah, good call," Konata muttered as she helped Miyuki towards the door. "Thanks!"
She left the clinic and glanced up at the sky; it was starting to get dark now. "Come on, Miyuki," she said as she began to help the meganekko along.
"Where are we going, Kona-chan?" Miyuki asked as she leaned on Konata.
"To get some candy," Konata replied.
"Yay! I like candy!"
The girl quickly walked down the wide hallway, prompting armored troops to stop and salute as she passed. She couldn't help but smile as they did. Despite her small size and young age of fifteen, Lieutenant Akira Kogami was notorious as an officer of the Enclave Military. Her skills as a fighter had quickly brought her up through the common ranks, earning her the respect, if not spite, of her superiors.
Akira marched up the stairs to the mess hall. She scanned the room as she entered, and she quickly identified Colonel Autumn sitting at a table in the corner. A scowl quickly formed on her face. Hmph. Colonel Autumn, that smug bastard. What on earth could he want? She quickly put on a cheerful face, her golden eyes bright and shining. She straightened the officer's cap on her short pink hair as she approached the table.
"Lieutenant Akira Kogami reporting, sir!" she said as she snapped off an enthusiastic salute, causing her too-long sleeve to whip around.
Autumn turned to face her. "At ease, Lieutenant. I'm glad you could meet me here. Have a seat."
His thick southwestern accent irritated Akira. "Yes sir!" she replied cheerfully before sitting across from him.
"Now, I'm not one for pleasantries, Lieutenant, so I'm going to get straight to the point. I've called you here on behalf of President Eden himself to give you an important assignment." Akira blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered her cheerful expression.
"Oh! How exciting!" An assignment from President Eden? This might be worth my time after all.
Autumn continued. "We lost contact with one of our Eyebots yesterday. Before we did, however, it provided us with visuals of this individual." Autumn retrieved a photograph from his pocket and handed it to Akira. She examined the photo with false interest. The person pictured was a teenage girl with thick pink hair, round purple eyes, a blue jumpsuit, and glasses.
"The President has ordered the apprehension of this individual so that she may be questioned." Autumn leaned forward, looking serious. "This is a covert operation, Kogami. The President does not want to make our presence known in the Wasteland yet. You are to use the utmost discretion in fulfilling this mission."
"I understand, sir! I'll do my best!"
Autumn nodded. "Very good, Lieutenant. Report to the barracks at twenty-hundred hours; your support group will be waiting with mission details and equipment. Dismissed."
Akira stood and left the mess hall. A secret mission,huh? This girl must be some kind of VIP. This is my chance to show them all just what I'm capable of!
Konata glanced around the empty water plant. The pumps and machinery were quiet; Walter had shut them down for the night and was likely at her father's saloon for a drink. Konata's trademark smile crept onto her face. "Wait here, Miyuki. I'll be right back..."
"Okay!" Konata let go of Miyuki; she staggered, but she appeared able to stand.
Konata quietly approached the door to the back room and put her hand on the doorknob. Suddenly, she flung the door open and shouted "Hi, Leo!"
Leo Stahl dropped his Jet to the floor. "I'm not taking any chems!" he shouted as he spun around in his chair. "Oh, it's just you," he said when he saw her leaning on the door frame. "Damn it, Konata! Do you have to startle me like that? I nearly swallowed my inhaler!"
Konata snickered. "Of course I do. You know how much I like sneaking up on people. Anyway, I'm here to buy some chems. I know you keep a stash in here."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that? You break into it before or something?"
Konata grinned. "How'd you guess?"
Leo shook his head. "Fine, what's your fix? Jet? Psycho? Maybe a little Med-X?"
"Mentats."
"Mentats? Why would you need Mentats? Trying to hack someone's computer again?"
Konata chuckled. "Not this time. I've got a friend here who needs them." Konata gestured out the door, and Leo leaned back in his chair to see. Miyuki was gazing back and forth at nothing, a big open-mouthed grin on her face. "Poor girl's got a Mentat addiction." Konata continued.
"Mentat addiction? You sure about that?"
Konata nodded. "Doc Church said so."
Leo shook his head. "Alright, I've got a few tins. How many do you want?"
"Just one should do it."
At that moment, a loud clang brought Konata's attention back out to Miyuki, whose head was rebounding off a low hanging pipe. "Ouchies..." she mumbled after falling to the floor.
"On second thought, make that two tins."
Akira marched into the equipment room, surveying the group of soldiers that were to accompany her. An uninteresting bunch; two faceless goons in power armor, a despised fellow officer whose name she didn't remember, and... Huh? Who's this? The last member of her squad wore a uniform rather than armor, but he was clearly not an officer. In fact, his rank insignia identified him as a private.
She put on her cute face and skipped over to the group. "Hi there, everyone! Let's all start with a sound-off to introduce ourselves!" She vigorously saluted, purposefully whipping her sleeve at one of the troopers. "Lieutenant Akira Kogami, reporting! Now you guys!"
The trooper next to her sounded off. "Corporal Jacob Dixon, reporting."
"Private First Class Jeffrey Callow, reporting," the second trooper said.
The officer sighed before saying "Sergeant James Platner, reporting."
Akira turned to the last person, tilting her head. The man went rigid, and gave a tense salute. "Private Minoru Shiraishi, reporting!" He kept his eyes squinted shut, and had very short spiked brown hair.
"Minoru Shiraishi?" She gave Platner a questioning look.
"He's been assigned to this mission as your partner. Colonel Autumn said that you could help him get some experience in the field."
Akira's eye twitched, dropping her facade for a split second. That bastard wants me to babysit some recruit?! Just you wait, Autumn, I'll get you for this someday!
"Oh, that sounds like fun!" She turned to her new partner. "I'll show you everything there is to know about fieldwork, just you watch!"
Minoru bowed deeply. "Thank you, Akira-sama! It will be an honor to work alongside such a military prodigy!"
Well, Akira thought, at least he knows how to grovel... "Oh, you're making Akira blush!" she said, putting her hands to her rosy cheeks.
"Ahem," Platner interrupted, "You'll find the rest of the details in your mission briefing." He held out a folder, which she took with feigned interest. "If there's nothing else, we should load our equipment onto the Vertibird and head out. We can only fly at night."
Akira looked at the rectangular crate on the table. "This is all our equipment?" she asked.
"Yes, you'll find an equipment list in the mission briefing."
She ignored him and opened the crate. Inside were several days worth of food and water, two settler's outfits for disguises, two duffel bags, two laser rifles, four laser pistols, an assault rifle, and plenty of ammunition.
"Aw, no plasma weapons?" she pouted.
"With respect, ma'am, the Colonel wants to keep this mission low key. We're only bringing what the wastelanders are familiar with; we'll draw less attention that way."
Cheap bastard. "Well, that's okay! We won't need them anyway!" She hopped up and sat on the crate. "Come on, boys! Let's load up! We're burning moonlight!" The two troopers begrudgingly lifted up the crate and headed for the launch silo.
"Come on, Miyuki, we're almost home." Konata had practically carried Miyuki back to the saloon after pulling her up off the floor. They finally reached the platform, and Konata leaned Miyuki against the wall. Konata took a moment to catch her breath. "You know, you get kinda heavy after a while."
Miyuki gave her an expectant glare. "Where's the candy? You promised candy!"
"Yeah, yeah. Just a second..."
Konata dug the tin from her pocket and removed a Mentat. Before she could react, Miyuki had snatched the pill and had begun chewing on it. Konata stuck her tongue out in disgust as Miyuki swallowed. A few seconds later, she began coughing.
"That candy tasted bad!" she wailed.
Konata snickered. "That's because you're not supposed to chew it!" Miyuki ignored her and started pouting.
About a minute passed, and Miyuki started to glance around like she had just woken up. "Konata?" she asked, "Where are we?"
Konata ignored the question. "Miyuki, quick! What's two plus two?"
Miyuki gave her an odd look. "Four."
"What's eight times eight?"
"Sixty-four."
"What's two-thousand three-hundred ninety-four times five-hundred eighty-nine divided by forty-five?"
"Thirty-one-thousand three-hundred thirty-four point eight."
"I'll take your word for that." Konata threw her hands up in the air. "Yay, Miyuki's back!"
Miyuki rubbed her head. "Where did I go, exactly? I remember finishing the pipe, and then the next thing I know, I'm standing here." She looked up. "And why is it dark out?"
"Well..." Konata pressed her fingertips together. "You may have blacked out and fell off the roof and then developed an addiction to Mentats..."
Miyuki's eyes widened. "I fell off the roof?! And I have an addiction?!"
Konata held her hands up. "Don't worry, it's not that bad! Doc Church fixed your head up, and I got you these." Konata handed Miyuki the tins. "Just pop one of these whenever things start to get hazy, and you'll be fine."
Miyuki stopped panicking. "Well, if you say so..."
At that moment, the door to the saloon opened, and Mister Burke stepped out, glaring at Miyuki as he passed them.
"Man, what's that guy's problem?" Konata asked.
Miyuki kept her head down. "Konata-san, I think I'll stay out here for a while and get some air."
"Uh, sure, that's fine," Konata replied. "I'll head in and start making dinner then." Miyuki nodded and Konata went inside.
Miyuki rested her hands on the railing and looked out over Megaton. She noticed the bomb's tail-fin sticking up over the Church of Atom and took a deep sigh.
"You feeling alright?"
Miyuki turned and saw Lucas Simms watching her. "I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little... off."
Simms leaned on the railing beside her. "You're lucky. Most people would be feeling a little dead after a fall like that." He faced her. "But that's not what you meant, is it?"
Miyuki shook her head.
"You're worried about the bomb."
Miyuki nodded.
Simms looked back out over the town. "I know how you feel. Most people don't even realize it's still a threat. They figure if it ain't gone off by now, it never will. I respectfully disagree."
Miyuki frowned. "I can't imagine what would happen if it went off. That would be just awful."
Simms looked thoughtful. "Listen, I heard about how you fixed the pipes for Walter. It feels strange to ask, since you've already helped us more than any stranger ever has, but, maybe you could try disarming the bomb? You know, for good? I could pay you, if that's what you want."
Miyuki shook her head. "I wouldn't need a reward. I just want to help, but I don't know if I can. I'm not trained for this kind of thing."
"If you don't think you can handle it, then that's fine. But I'm willing to bet that you're smart enough to figure it out." He stood up. "Maybe some Mentats could help," he suggested, causing Miyuki to sweatdrop. "Anyway, just think about it." With that, he turned and walked away.
Miyuki took another look at the bomb. I have to help somehow, but I don't know if I can disarm the bomb. Maybe I could turn in Mister Burke? No, I'm certain someone would get hurt if they tried to arrest him. What should I do?
Sojiro interrupted her thoughts. "Miyuki-san, you should come in soon. It's getting cold out, and Konata's almost done cooking dinner!"
"Alright, I'll be right in. Thank you, Izumi-san."
Sojiro smiled and nodded before closing the door.
Miyuki took a final glance back over the town. These people deserve to live without this thing hanging over them. I think... At the very least, I need to try. She nodded to herself and looked determined. That's what I'm going to do. I'll try to disarm the bomb!
Miyuki gently closed the saloon's door and glanced around. Since it was just after three in the morning, there was no one in sight. She started down the network of ramps and platforms towards the bomb. Sneaking out of the saloon without waking Konata or Sojiro had been difficult, but she had somehow managed to dress and get her things without disturbing them.
She set off across the platform towards the ramp that led to the plaza. At the foot of the ramp, she found herself faced with the undetonated atomic bomb. Easily twice twice the size of a car, the explosive looked imposing sitting in the diffuse moonlight. Miyuki swallowed one of her Mentats and took a book from her backpack.
Duck and Cover! was an educational book that mainly served to illustrate the dangers of explosive devices, but it also contained detailed diagrams of various types of explosive weapons, including atomic bombs. She read over the general information about atomic weaponry until her Mentat kicked in. With the chem enhancing her considerable comprehension, she turned to the diagrams and began to study them.
After a minute, she approached the bomb, ignoring the faint ticking from her Pip-Boy as she stepped in the irradiated water. She located the access hatch and pried it open, revealing the inner workings of the bomb. Miyuki sweatdropped; the inside of the bomb looked more complex than she had pictured. She consulted the diagram once more and reached into the casing.
"That's quite far enough. Turn around, slowly."
Miyuki froze with fear and slowly turned to face the source of the voice. She found herself face to face with Mister Burke, staring down the barrel of a silenced 10mm pistol.
Burke smiled nefariously. "I thought you might try to play the hero. So I kept my eye on you. Now, you're going to do what you should have done when we first met. You're going to rig this bomb to explode."
Miyuki put on a defiant face, but her fear still showed. "N-No, I refuse to do that!"
Burke's voice remained tauntingly cool and calm. "Now now, Miss – Miyuki, is it? – we both know that you're going to do as you're told."
"And just what makes you think I would do that?" Again, her trembling voice betrayed her fear.
"You're going to do it because you're a coward. You know that if you don't, I will shoot you. And no one will hear, no one will know that you're dead. You're afraid to die, and you're going to cling to some feeble hope that you can stop me before I detonate the bomb. That's why you're going to do it."
Miyuki scowled as tears welled up in her eyes. She hated being called a coward. She hated the thought of all these people dieing. But worst of all, she hated the fact that Burke was right.
"Now, get to work." Burke shoved the Fusion Pulse Charge at her. "And don't try anything funny. The charge has indicators that will tell me whether it is attached properly or not."
Miyuki turned away from him and examined the charge.
"Well?" Burke asked impatiently as he jabbed her back with the gun barrel.
"Just a minute," she hissed back angrily. She hesitantly stepped forward and took a deep sigh before setting to work.
Rigging the charge wasn't all that difficult. It was designed so that anyone with explosives experience would be able to connect it to the bomb's explosive core correctly. The job did require bypassing several connections, however, so caution was required.
After several minutes, Miyuki turned around, head hung low. "There. It's done," she reported weakly.
Mister Burke pushed her aside and examined her work. A sinister grin spread on his face. "Excellent. Allistair Tenpenny thanks you." he said, glancing at her. Miyuki kept her eyes on the ground.
Burke grabbed her by the arm and lead her to a small building across the plaza. He opened the door and shoved her inside, causing her to fall to her knees. "Feel free to make yourself at home. I most certainly will not be needing this shack any longer." Burke turned to look at the bomb. "The blast will be quite the spectacle, you know. How lucky you are to have a front row seat."
Miyuki clenched her fists. "I'll stop you. Somehow, I'll find a way out of here and I'll stop you."
Burke chuckled. "I sincerely doubt that. Goodbye, Miss Miyuki. We will not meet again."
Akira leaned back in her fold-down seat, arms crossed impatiently. The continuous droning buzz from the Vertibird's twin rotors only served to irritate her more. Across from her sat Minoru, who sat up straight and kept his hands folded neatly in his lap. After several minutes of silence, Minoru decided to speak.
"You know, these Vertibirds are an amazing piece of technology! In today's world, most people can't find enough power to turn on a light bulb, and here we can build something that flies!"
Akira glanced at him. "So? What's so impressive about that? So someone figured out how to spin metal blades enough to go up." She held up a finger and spun it in the air. "Big deal."
Minoru looked puzzled. That's odd. She was so friendly back at the base. "Oh, well I guess it's nothing special. I was just trying to make conversation."
Akira sighed. With the others seated in the cockpit, she decided it was acceptable to drop her act. "Okay kid, let's get one thing straight. I don't like you. I never will. So you can stop trying to be friendly, 'cause it's just gonna piss me off."
She flipped over to bright-eyed, sweet voiced cute mode. "Understand?"
Minoru looked somewhat shocked. "I... I understand, Akira-sama."
"Good!" she replied with an eyesmile. She turned toward the cockpit. "Oh pilot!" she called. "How much longer until we get there?" She put on a pouting face. "Akira just can't wait to get into the action!"
Platner turned towards her. "ETA is two hours." he said simply.
Akira slouched down and crossed her arms again. "Bastard," she mumbled.
Minoru caught this and looked thoughtful. "So, you don't like anyone, and yet you act cute and nice to them?"
"Figure that out on your own, Sherlock?" Akira said as she casually picked her teeth with her pinkie.
"Well, why do you do that?"
"Why do you think?"
Minoru still gave a questioning look; Akira rolled her eyes.
"To manipulate people, stupid. Half the reason I got my rank is 'cause I'm so damn cute."
"Oh. So does that mean that you're not as good a fighter as they say?"
Akira snapped to attention and gave Minoru a furious glare, causing him to sweatdrop.
"Now listen here, pal." Her voice was hushed, but it dripped with acid. "I'm the best damn fighter you'll ever meet. I'm ten times as good as any other trooper and a hell of a lot meaner. Keep giving me shit and you'll experience that first hand. Got it?!"
Minoru was pale. "Y-Yes, Akira-sama! I'm sorry I questioned you!"
"Good!" she replied, once again jarringly shifted to cute mode.
Miyuki was frantically searching the inside of Burke's house for a way to escape. But Burke had locked the door behind him, and the only remotely useful item in the shack had been a sawed-off shotgun, which only had one shell anyway. She sat down in the armchair and covered her face. It had been at least an hour since Burke had left, and hopeless tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. I can't believe it... I've doomed all these people, and there's nothing I can do about it.
At that moment, a faint click could be heard from the door, followed by a muffled exclamation of victory. The door suddenly burst open, revealing a triumphant looking Konata.
"Fear not, Yuki-chan! That was one hell of a tough lock, but now I'm here to rescue you!"
Miyuki's eyes brightened. "Konata? How did you know I was here?"
Konata grinned. "You're really not as sneaky as you think, Yuki-chan. Tripping over a sensor module when you left my room didn't help either."
Miyuki blushed.
"So I followed you out and hid when you went to the bomb. So, what exactly did you do to it?"
Miyuki looked down at the floor, ashamed. "I... I'm sorry Konata, but... I rigged the bomb to explode!"
Konata held her chin and nodded. "That's what I thought."
Miyuki looked up at her. "Y-You're not angry?"
Konata shrugged. "That Burke guy had a gun pointed at you. I think the blame is on him. I don't suppose you can disarm it now?"
Miyuki shook her head. "No, the only way to disarm it now is to destroy the transmitter that controls the pulse charge."
Konata nodded. "Alright then." She tossed the hunting rifle to Miyuki. "Then that's just what we're gonna do. Did Burke say anything about where he was headed?"
"No," Miyuki said as she gripped the rifle in thought, "But he did say something about Allistair Tenpenny. Does that help?"
"That means he's headed for Tenpenny Tower," Konata said. "That explains why we haven't gone boom yet. Tenpenny Tower is a long walk from here. If we run, we can catch him." Konata turned towards the door.
"Wait," Miyuki said, "What if we don't make it in time? Shouldn't we warn the townspeople?"
"No, they wouldn't believe you anyway. And if Simms heard, he'd probably shoot you. Besides," Konata said with a grin, "What fun is a quest if there's no penalty for failure?"
"Yay! We're finally here!" Akira exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. About damn time. She jumped down out of the Vertibird into the cool morning air. The sun was just poking over the eastern horizon, turning the smoggy sky pale yellow. "Come on, Shiraishi-san! No time to waste!"
Minoru climbed down through the hatch and onto the dirt. They both wore the loose settler's outfits over their uniforms.
They started making their way down the ridge. "So, where are we headed?" Minoru asked.
"Some shitty little town made out of junk. It's supposed to be one of biggest settlements out here, but I can't imagine why."
Minoru frowned slightly; he was still thrown off by Akira's bitter side, but he had a nagging feeling that he was going to see a lot more of it.
They reached the bottom of the ridge and began walking down the street of a ruined town. Minoru glanced around at the destroyed houses.
"This sure is a lot of destruction. So many people died that day, when the bombs fell. It's kind of sad, don't you think?"
Akira shrugged. "Not really. If you ask me, the rest of the world should just give up and die already. Then the Enclave could finally come in and rebuild it all the right way."
They came upon an old gas station, next to which was a sign pointing the way to Megaton. "This must be the place," Akira said. "Let's get this over with."
They followed the path until they came to the high scrap metal walls of Megaton. They entered the town and took a moment to examine their surroundings. Akira scowled. "Ugh. What a disgusting place."
"I don't know, it seems kinda charming to me."
Akira was about to say something derogatory when she noticed a dark skinned man with a cowboy hat and duster approaching them. He sported a Chinese assault rifle and a five pointed sheriff's star.
"Here comes the local boy scout," Akira muttered to Minoru.
"Just keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking."
"Howdy, strangers. Name's Lucas Simms, town sheriff. What brings you folks to Megaton?"
Pffft. Nice hat, Calamity Jane. "Hi there, Mister Sheriff! I'm Akira Kogami, and this is my friend, Minoru Shiraishi! We're so happy to meet you!"
"My, you seem awfully happy." Simms commented. A little too happy.
Akira put on her cutest pout. "But I'm not happy! We're looking for my cousin, and we're so worried that she's gotten into trouble." She looked up at Simms hopefully, her eyes glittering. "Maybe you've seen her? She has long pink hair and she wears glasses. Please, Mister Sheriff, have you seen her?"
Now what could these characters want with Miss Takara? "Hm, a girl like that sounds hard to miss. Can't say that I've seen her, though. Wish I could help." He glanced at Minoru. "What's the matter, son? You've been awfully quiet."
Minoru sweatdropped, wondering what to say, but Akira spoke for him. "Oh, it's so sad! My cousin is his girlfriend, and he's just so worried that he hasn't talked much lately. Isn't that right, Shiraishi-san?"
"Yep, that's right! Worried sick with nothing to say. Why, who's saying something? I'm not saying anything, I'm just being quiet- youch!" A sharp sideways kick to the shin from a still smiling Akira shut him up.
"That's just too bad," Simms said, "What did you say her name was?"
Akira's eyebrows tilted upward in worry. "Her name? I mean... her name is... uh, her name is..."
Okay, now I know these two are up to something. "Miyuki Takara?" Simms supplied.
"That's it!" Akira exclaimed. "Have you heard anything about her?"
Simms nodded. "Sure have. Heard that she was headed to Andale. I little town down south. Not really that far away. She might still be there."
"Oh, thank you Mister Sheriff! I feel so much better now! Come on, Shiraishi-san, let's go." She waved at Simms. "Bye-bee!"
As Simms watched them leave, Jericho walked over. "That kid was bullshitting, big time. And she thinks you bought the whole thing."
"I know, Jericho. That's why I did a little bullshitting myself."
"Yeah. That was pretty smooth sending them off to Andale. I wish I could see their faces when they figure it out!"
"Provided they get through Fairfax." Simms said.
"Oh yeah, those guys used to give my boys hell back in the day. So, what if they do manage to make it back here?"
"Then they'll be pissed, and you, me, and Stockholm will have to make it clear that they're not welcome."
Jericho grinned. "Sounds good. My trigger finger's been getting a little itchy lately."
Miyuki fell down to her hands and knees on a patch of asphalt that was still mostly intact. Sweat lined her brow, and she was panting heavily. Even Konata had stopped to lean on a faded billboard and catch her breath. She pulled a bottle of water from her bag and took several gulps before passing it to Miyuki. The vault dweller took the plastic bottle eagerly, too exhausted to care about radiation or backwash.
They had been running for an hour now, and had stopped to rest on the top of a hill. "Look, Yuki-chan," Konata said, pointing beyond the billboard, "I can see it in the distance."
Miyuki looked up and saw, beyond the barren valley of dead trees beneath them, beyond the distant section of overpass still standing on a ridge, beyond whatever was past that ridge, and beyond whatever was past that, stood a tall tower. It was difficult to make out in the Wasteland's characteristic dust and smog, but it was definitely visible.
"I'd say we're almost a quarter of the way there," Konata commented.
Miyuki's eyes widened. "A quarter?!" Miyuki wondered just how tall this tower was, if it could be seen from so many miles away. She wiped more sweat from her forehead; even now, still only about six in the morning, the harsh sun was beating down on her back from the east. Miyuki was suddenly grateful for her miniskirt and V-neck letting in a cool breeze, but that left her exposed to the sun. She wondered how long it would take for her pale skin to burn. She suddenly realized why Konata, and almost everyone else, had at least a light tan.
"Come on, we gotta keep moving. We don't know how much of a head start he's got on us." Konata prompted as she started to head down the hill
Miyuki pushed herself to her feet and followed, her legs already aching again after the short break.
So, what'd you think? Personally, I like the antagonistic perspective offered by Akira's character, and she's damn fun to write dialog for. And Miyuki being forced to arm the bomb, how's that for a shocking plot twist? You can bet that the next chapter will feature plenty of action, and another new character will be introduced probably two chapter's from now. Maybe three. Then the action picks up for a while. And I don't want to spoil anything, but let me just say that I can't wait to introduce Kagami. I've got something special planned for her. Suffice it to say that you guys have a lot to look forward to. Don't miss it.
There's one last thing I want to add. I've been considering moving this story out of the crossover section and putting it in the Lucky Star section to make it more visible, again following in ArmorBlade's footsteps. But I'm not sure... on the one hand, staying in the crossover section will keep my story accessible. It'll always be one the front page, hell, it'll always be the first entry now that Tastychainsaws has finished his story. But the readers will only trickle in if their incredibly bored, curious, or they happen to like both franchises. On the other hand, moving it to the main section will expose it to a larger readership, but once it's complete, that's it. It gets buried, and people can only find it if they dig through genre filters for it or if they happen to see it in someone's favorite list. I'm just wondering what you guys think the best stratagy is. It's not like I don't appreciate the readers I have now, but I feel like there are others who would like it that don't want to come and see it, for whatever reason. I would especially like advice from you, ArmorBlade, since you've already taken that plunge; are you better off for it? Just something I wanted to say before the story gets too long to change.
