Author's Notes:
[Content Warning]: This chapter contains constant profanity, so if you don't care for that stuff…sorry!
Also, this is the longest so far out of the three chapters, weighing in at just over 11,000 words. So when/if you read this, make sure you 1) Have patience 2) Love reading and 3) Have plenty of time to spare.
Make sure to check out my profile for information on how to contact me outside of !
I apologize in advance for typos and sentence structure weirdness, I had three people review this before publishing, so hopefully everything is all well.
Chapter Three
"Ryoko"
Ryo-ohki meowed with excitement, staring down almost every bird that lightly dotted the sky.
"So eager are we?" Ryoko asked the cat-like animal, "Very well then."
The wild haired woman in front of me took Ryo-ohki and launched her straight into the air with minimal effort. My hand reached towards the cabbit instinctively, my body asking why Ryoko had just sent her pet airborne. I starred at Ryo-ohki as she gained more altitude; I was at a complete loss at what was going on. I blinked once, and right before my eyes Ryo-ohki's body started an amazing metamorphosis. Before I knew it a four winged ship hovered several hundred feet above me with Ryo-ohki's exact color scheme. In the center of the ship rested a ruby colored sphere, something told me that was the cockpit, as well as Ryo-ohki's centralized intelligence.
Ryoko took a few steps forward until she was positioned under Ryo-ohki's shadow, "No sudden movements," she said while looking straight up.
With marginal warning I was lifted directly into the air, the familiar feeling of butterflies starting tickling the inside of my stomach. I felt like the negative end of a magnet being attracted to the positive end; every hair on my head was tingling at the scalp. I carefully looked up and noticed a white beam of light originating from the bottom of Ryo-ohki's fuselage. Am I even allowed to use aircraft terminology with organic material? The very thought was intriguing in itself. The white light intensified and I could feel the inertia propelling my body into the ship.
When I opened my eyes I saw Ryoko standing in the middle of the room, her hands situated on two floating metallic orbs. Between the two, remained a stationary third orb that was slightly larger than the other two. Below me rested a beautiful onyx floor, the polish was so sharp that there was almost a clear reflection of myself on each individual tile. All around me I could see real time camera feeds of the environment outside, the holographic screens holding steady against the bulbous shaped room. I wonder, were they really cameras, or was Ryo-ohki really seeing all of this with her own eyes? When I looked up I noticed several diamond shaped crystals moving around almost as if they had a mind of their own. That also must be an extension of Ryo-ohki's conscious.
"Washu, you got those coordinates ready?" Ryoko growled.
A few seconds later Washu's voice broke into the room, "Of course, I'm uploading them to you now. And would it hurt to be a little nicer around your guest?"
Ryoko turned at me and shot a deathly stare. It caught me so off guard that my head flinched back a bit from the surprise. The intensity in her eyes seemed unnatural. I didn't even do anything, why put me on her bad side already?
"Can I help you?" I asked sarcastically and for the sake of saying something.
"I don't trust him…" Ryoko responded, speaking to the both of us.
Washu popped onto one of the monitors behind Ryoko and stared the both of us down. "But I do," she said, "and right now he needs our help. Don't forget about our deal Ryoko."
Ryoko continued staring at me for a few seconds before deciding to turn back around at Washu. "Whatever, but I'm not taking any chances with him. If he shows a single trace of hostility towards my life or anyone else's I will put him down."
"Wonderful, I appreciate the encouragement," I said sarcastically once more. It was probably in my best interest just to keep quiet. The last thing I want is to invoke this girl's wrath. To be honest, I didn't even know where my sarcasm was coming from, and why it was coming out now of all times.
"If you hurt him I'll hook you back up to my machines," Washu retorted coldly, her words feeling genuine even for an outsider like me.
Within an instant Ryoko's facial expression changed to that of a child embellished with fear. "Fine," she finished with a long sigh.
Washu looked past Ryoko and at me, "Justin, I'm still looking through your phone. My programs are currently recovering the corrupted data and I'll try and piece them back together by the time you get back. Also, Ryoko, on your way back stop by Tokyo and find him some clothes. Justin's shoulders are too broad to fit into any of Tenchi's old stuff."
Broad shoulders huh?
"Anything else?" Ryoko added, her voice once again filled with slight annoyance.
"Keep him safe." Washu responded. With that final notion the monitor went black.
Ryoko turned back again to look me over. Her golden eyes were noticeably dilated; personally I wasn't sure what to make of that. There are only two things that make eyes dilate naturally, and that's when you're with someone you love or when you're with someone you hate. I highly doubt she had any positive attraction to me. And yet, someone inside me said she was putting on an act. It was either that, or my instincts got screwed on the ride over here.
"It's going to be a long ride, go ahead and have a seat." She said as she looked back at the forward monitors.
Two black and red chairs, ones of similar design to Washu's chairs, materialized behind Ryoko and me. I took a seat and felt the hovering chair adjust to my weight. Ryoko viewed the monitor in front of her and finally decided to sit down. Upon doing so she crossed her legs as well as her arms and then closed her eyes. If she was putting on the "ignore him" act, she was doing quite a good job, so good that I became convinced that my previous assumption could have been wrong. I could feel the ship accelerating forward, the land around me rolling by on the monitors, no different than what you would see out a car window. I felt incredibly uncomfortable in my newfound silence; Ryoko sure was making this entire ordeal more awkward than it needed to be. Instead of being warm hearted like everyone else I've met this morning, she's the first person to outright admit some form of resentment towards me. And the worst part was that I hadn't the slightest clue as to why. Not to mention that she didn't "trust me," which was something I didn't understand either. The only possible way she could feel like that is because I'm from 'another dimension,' just saying that make me chuckle inside because it was so peculiar.
I leaned back into the chair and observed the clouds sailing by. Washu's final words in the lab were still echoing through my head, reverberating through every crevice in my mind. I didn't question them because they felt so sincere, coming from a parent, and in all respect to Washu I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I was supposed to befriend Ryoko, get her to open up to me…and then what? I was beginning to doubt the integrity of Washu's request, especially considering how bizarre of a request it was. I didn't want to admit it, but I was apprehensive about engaging Ryoko in any sort of social interaction. Her demeanor was that of a defensive introvert, someone who only talked to you if they had good enough reason to. I knew that words alone weren't going to be able to break the ice; I needed to find common ground with her in order to successfully communicate. And that in itself is where all the trouble begins. Who is this person standing in front of me? Are my initial judgments even correct? Just by looking into her golden eyes, I could tell she was burying something so deep that no amount of light could possibly reach it. It only intrigued me the more and more I thought about it. If I was going to engage her in anyway, I'd need a foolproof plan.
The cockpit was airtight; I couldn't even hear any humming of potential moving parts throughout the ship. That is assuming that there are any moving parts. Technically speaking I'm currently sitting inside an animal. Nothing about Ryo-ohki's transformation made sense, let alone how she was managing to fly through the air. I could sit here for the entire flight and question the physics behind it, but in reality it didn't matter for the simple fact that it works. I suppose I'll just learn to accept this like I have everything else, albeit in stride. Out of habit I looked at my watch, only to notice that it was wrong, at least for Japanese Standard Time. That's right, the watch is still on Eastern Standard Time. However, I don't think it accurately reflects the time in this world.
"Ryoko…" I said, leaving the impression that I had more to say.
"What?" she replied monotonously.
"Actually…forget it," time to spark my interest, "Ryo-ohki, can you hear me?"
A drawn out meow rushed through the room. I don't speak cabbit, but that response was all I really needed. Still, it was weird.
"Awesome, can you pull up a global map that details the regional time zones?"
One of the monitors to my left expanded and a map of Earth started loading on the screen. I looked at my watch; the time read 1:34 AM. However, upon looking at the current time for the east coast of the United States the time read 7:01 PM. Japan is thirteen hours ahead of the east coast since daylight savings is still in effect. I had already known that this little trip of mine had taken me back in time so to speak, but I needed to settle just how off synch I was with my own universe. I set my watch to Japan's native time, put it back around my wrist, and latched the locking system. It responded with a satisfying click.
"Thanks Ryo-ohki." I said as I made my way back to the chair.
She responded with a cheerful meow.
I wonder how long it will take me to get used to talking with an animal that actually understands human language. If there was money to bet on, I'd say Washu had something to do with Ryo-ohki. It would make perfect sense after all considering the similarity to Ryoko's own name. Everywhere I looked it seemed that Washu had played a hand in it somehow. Maybe it was a sign, especially since she's my best chance out of here.
"She doesn't work for free you know…" Ryoko said, barely opening her mouth.
"Meaning?" I asked.
"She'll expect something in return." Ryoko responded.
Four of those diamond shaped crystals swept down from above and stopped right in front of me. I could see reflected images within the crystals of Ryo-ohki in her animal form looking at me with beady eyes. She looked like a dog that was expecting a biscuit after you had it perform a talent like barking on command or shaking your hand with their paw. I took a step to the right; the four crystals moved themselves back in front of me almost instantly. So that's how it's going to be.
"I don't have any food if that's what you're expecting." I said while looking into the crystals.
The eyes stared back with a gloomy look, now she was attempting to put a guilt trip on me. "Listen, when we get back I'll be sure to get you something, okay?"
"She likes carrots," Ryoko added once more.
"Thanks," I replied, "Have a change of heart on me all of the sudden?"
"Not even," she said, "but not even you should have to deal with Ryo-ohki and her obsession with carrots. Don't forget your promise to her, or she'll never let you forget."
I stared back into the crystals, "First chance I get you'll have yourself a carrot, okay?"
Ryo-ohki eyes lit up and she responded with another meow. The crystals dispersed from around me and made their way back up to the ceiling where they continued their orbit. By now we were already over the Pacific Ocean, at this rate we'd reach the west coast of America in just under an hour or two. Ryoko was still sitting in her chair; her posture was sending me signals that she didn't want to be bothered. To be honest I was reluctant to even take a step towards her for fear of her gunning me down without second thought. She was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Why was she making this difficult for me? If she really was putting on some routine, then all I needed to do was push the right buttons, otherwise I'd fail and get skinned alive. There were still a couple hours of flight time left, so it's best not to upset her too early on for the sake of surviving the trip back.
I got out of the chair and started dragging it closer to Ryoko, who seemed to ignore my advancement towards her. One of Ryo-ohki's crystals appeared in my upper-right peripheral vision, almost as if she was getting ready for any potential repercussions. Once I was an arm's length away from Ryoko I sat back into the chair, put my right elbow on my knee, placed my fist under my chin and just stared. If Ryoko was going to make this situation awkward for me, then I feel inclined to make it just as equally awkward for her.
It didn't take long at all before Ryoko opened her left eye and starting staring back, "What the hell do you want?"
I looked at her directly, "I want you to lighten up."
Ryoko opened both of her eyes and swiveled her chair at me, "Who says I'm not?"
"Your complexion tells me all I need to know. You're stressed about something and you're taking it out of me for no good reason," I replied.
"Is that so?" Ryoko responded reluctantly.
"Well to be honest, those are the signals you're sending me right now. I just want to clear the air and figure out why the hell you're acting so damn cynical." I said, trying to sound honest.
"Oh, is that the only reason you're talking to me? Because you can't figure me out? Get fucking real, kid," Ryoko replied distastefully.
"Or maybe it's because I'm genuinely interested in you, ever think of that?" Hmm, that sounded better before it came out of my mouth.
Ryoko looked around the room, like she was searching for a response, "Please, don't try to flatter me."
I couldn't help but laugh at her previous statement, "Oh come on, you think I'm just going to go ahead and give up? I mean hell; why else would you be spying on me unless you didn't have some sort of curiosity of your own?"
Ryoko stirred in her chair a bit and looked away at the monitors.
"While we're on the subject," I said while getting up out of my chair to walk around the room, "why didn't you confront me to begin with, like all the other girls did earlier this morning?"
I felt like I was some defense attorney pacing myself around a courtroom, questioning the suspect under fire. I didn't realize it but the entire time one of Ryo-ohki's crystals had been following me around the room. She must have been interested in what I had to say.
"There's no possible way that you could actually be afraid of me. If anything, I'm the one who should be afraid of you, not the other way around," I continued, still pacing around the room.
"Excuse me?" Ryoko replied. The subtle feminine hostility in her voice quickly made me realize that I had just said something stupid.
"Okay…" I said while holding my hand out in front of my body, "Let me rephrase that. You're an alien…no" God dammit, I might as well through myself into the fire.
Ryoko was now looking at me attentively with both of her golden eyes. They seemed to be…glowing? Was she enjoying this, this little act of hers, this dilemma of mine? Now that it was obvious that I was placing myself in an uncomfortable situation, it looked as if Ryoko was going to take advantage of it. Still, there was a chance I could dig my way out. I just needed to word myself carefully.
I closed my eyes and exhaled to calm my nerves, "Let's start over once more shall we? When I first met you earlier this morning, you were floating, mkay? Floating. That in itself is enough to catch anyone off guard and well…humans don't necessarily react well when they see something that supersedes the natural laws of physics that they're used to and…" I stopped myself mid-sentence and placed my hand over my face in shame, "You know what? Nevermind."
Ryoko's demeanor had quickly changed while I was rambling. Instead of closing herself off, she was now laying in her chair as lazy as could be. She looked straight at me without saying a word, a wicked grin sweeping across her face. If she had a gun in her hand, I'd honestly fear for my life.
"What's wrong?" Ryoko asked sarcastically, "breaking under the pressure?"
This woman's mood swings were so far beyond me, "Suuuuure, why not? It might have something to do with the fact that your eyes are glowing. Or maybe it could be that right now you're acting downright scary as hell, and it's making me rather uncomfortable. In fact, I think you're doing all of this out of sheer enjoyment - Why? Damned if I know, maybe you're just bored or something."
Oh god, I was letting her get to me. I immediately stopped talking and just stared at the ceiling, my lips creased shut.
"Hmm?" Ryoko finally said, "My eyes are glowing?" Her tone was so friendly and calm that it almost seemed sadistic for a person like me. She was mocking me, I just know it!
Hold on, this has to be part of her strategy; she's a smart one, I'll give her that. Or maybe I was just dumb for so easily letting her get to me. "Now wait just a damn minute," I said finally gaining back my composure, "answer my original question."
Ryoko tilted her head slightly to the left, "Which one? You just asked like a million questions."
"The first one, smartass," I snapped, slightly irritated now.
"Watch it kid…" Ryoko replied with a vicious tone. Her grin disappeared almost instantly. Is it possible that she's bipolar or something? I can't be stuck in a small space with a woman with personality disorders!
"Sorry, the original question was: why didn't you greet me like all the other girls did this morning, why did you have to wait until we were in Washu's lab?" I asked. I was officially on this woman's leash.
"I have my reasons," Ryoko answered.
"Which are?"
"I'm not obligated to tell you."
My jaw nearly dropped to the floor, after all that effort Ryoko was still taking me for a ride. "You're ridiculous," I said while throwing my hands in the air.
"And you're easy," she responded with a smirk.
"Oh, you think I'm easy? What the hell do you even know about me?" I said with quivering authority.
"I know more than you know about yourself," Ryoko responded.
"Okay that's a low blow, even if it is a lie." She knew that none of this was my fault.
"Is it?"
I couldn't help but flare my nostrils at this entire conversation, "You can stop anytime you want."
Ryoko began to grow a playful smile on her face; her eyes were still lightly glowing for reasons I'll never know why, "Okay, anytime I want."
I rubbed my eyes out of sheer frustration, "You and I both know that that phrase implies for you to STOP."
Ryoko simply giggled. She was still managing to get to me, no matter what I said in this mucked up conversation. Regardless of how I tried to reach her, she seemed to deploy any means necessary to avoid all of my questions entirely. It only told me that she was scared, or rather unwilling to reveal any kind of personal information. However, the way that she went about dodging the issue was so strange and so damned annoying. She was easily making me more stressed out than I needed to be.
Within seconds I realized that the best way to end this conversation was to just stop talking entirely. I walked back over to my chair and threw myself into it. Based on the map that was showing up on the screen in front of me, we were now flying over the great plains of the U.S., so we'd be arriving very shortly. It seemed as if Ryo-ohki had the ability to fly at incredible speeds. And let me guess, her source of fuel is – carrots. That'll be the day, when the United States starts making biofuel using carrots. Hmm, perhaps I should stay in this universe and invest in that market while it's still untapped. Out of my peripheral I could see Ryoko making crude faces at me. Nope, I'm not going to give in to her game. If I make any negative remark towards her actions then I'll be doing exactly what she wants me to.
Before I knew it she leaned in closer to me. Like a gullible son of a bitch I looked at her and awaited the inevitable.
"Yes ma'am?" I said with a sarcastic smirk.
Ryoko smiled and tilted her head, "I want you to lighten up."
You could have heard a pin drop – and then – I lost it.
I jumped out my chair and started pacing around the room again, "Oh isn't this just fucking fantastic? Here I am stuck inside of an animal with a sadistic lunatic who feels the need to push me over the psychological edge. Why me? What the hell is your problem lady? You are some kind of demon you know that?"
When I turned around Ryoko was standing directly behind me, her face was stern and emotionless. "First of all," she said, "don't ever call me a lunatic. And second? Don't ever call me a demon again. If you want to know anything about me, you're going to have to earn it, kid. Not by trying to take wild guesses about my 'complexion' or any of that other shit you're trying to pull. Now go sit down…and lighten up."
I couldn't help but stare at her, analyzing every motionless muscle in her face. I knew she was serious, more serious then she's been for this entire flight. It felt like my blood was freezing over.
"Fair enough," was all my dry throat could muster up to say to her.
The both of us walked together back to our appropriate chairs. We sat back down and remained completely silent. This was the awkward silence that I was trying so hard to avoid. I guess my ability to smooth talk people can only go so far. Either that or I had finally met my match with Ryoko. She was definitely a person who didn't put up with anyone's bullshit; that much I could already tell. Yet everything else about her remained a total mystery. I'm pretty sure at this point that I was doing the exact opposite of what Washu had requested of me. I couldn't help it though; this woman just wouldn't allow me to construct my thoughts logically. It's almost as if she really did know who I was better than myself.
I crossed my arms and looked at Ryoko who had her eyes closed again, "You really bring out the worst in me, you know that?"
"And how would you know that?" She replied without hesitation.
"Dammit Ryoko…" I said with a long sigh, "You know what? I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" she answered, almost sounding concerned.
"I don't know why, but it's just so easy for me to butt heads with you. Honestly it feels like I've been around you, or at least people like you, all my life. And this little episode between us just reminded me that I can't remember a damn thing about myself. It's annoying to look at you and feel like I know you, but I don't at the same time. It's maddening and I guess it has put me on edge."
"Sound like you need a stiff drink," Ryoko suggested.
"Yeah, you're probably right," I said smiling, "If only I could remember what my favorite liquor was. That is…assuming I even drink."
"That's enough," Ryoko said, finally opening her eyes again, "I can only tolerate so much sappiness from people before I have to draw the line."
I laughed at her remark. I guess she wasn't too keen on my personal problems. It was either that, she wasn't in the mood to hear it, or that she was saving me from my own depression. She was still impossible for me to read.
Ryoko looked my way and let out a gentle smile, "You know, I haven't had that much fun in quite some time. For a person who lost their memory you sure filled with some character."
So she WAS playing with me this entire time. I should have known. Honestly though, I couldn't find myself to be mad at her, "Yeah well, you're an interesting character yourself."
Ryoko crossed her arms and leaned her head back a bit, "So, what do you think of everyone else?"
"You mean what's my take on them?" I asked.
"Of course," Ryoko answered, "I want to see if you are even close to knowing who they are since you claim to be able to read people."
"Well for starters I never claimed to be able to read people, it's just something I'm able to pick up on." I responded.
Ryoko instantly laughed, "And what the hell is the difference?"
She was right, there really wasn't a difference. I reclined into my chair, "Alright, where to begin? Sasami is pretty much the bread and butter of the household, she basically takes care of all the tasks that no one else seems capable of handling. She seems to have an uncanny ability at not only feeding all of you day in and day out, but at the same time she never complains about it once. Which actually bothers me, because for all we know she could just be bottling up that frustration inside; and that isn't healthy for someone her age. Speaking of which, how old is Sasami?"
Ryoko shrugged, "Hell if I know, I never bothered to ask."
"Hmm, the only reason I'm so curious is because Washu told me earlier that all of you are aliens."
"Aliens?" Ryoko laughed, "Sure I guess you could say that."
I looked at Ryoko perplexed, "So are you insinuating you aren't an alien? I mean you said nothing earlier when I mentioned it."
Ryoko crossed her arms, "Just go on with your 'analysis.'"
Dodging the issue was a sign; Ryoko clearly has something she wants to hide deep down. "Alright fine, maybe another time. Anyway, Washu is an interesting case in of itself," I paused to observe Ryoko's reaction to her mother's name, however she didn't even seem to flinch, "Her laboratory is something so far beyond that of my own understanding that I can't help but to marvel at it every time I step in it. To be honest I've got a ton of respect for her, maybe because of how much she's managed to help me already. Personality wise? She likes to be alone with her research, avoiding social interaction until it's necessary…much like you it would seem."
"There you go again, assuming you know stuff about me," Ryoko replied.
"I'll figure you out eventually," I said with a smirk, "Then there's the two partners Kiyone and Mihoshi. Holy hell what a polar opposite team they seem like. Mihoshi is a ditz with a bottomless pit for a stomach. Regardless of her room temperature intelligence, she still finds happiness through the simplicity of her life. But just like normal people she also experiences frustration and apprehension. Kiyone on the other hand is a very intelligent woman, who feels like Mihoshi is anchoring her down to the bottom of an ocean somewhere. That's not to say that Kiyone dislikes Mihoshi, but she feels like she'd be far better off without her. I imagine it's because Kiyone feels like she'd finally advance in the Galaxy Police without Mihoshi."
"I swear those two are hopeless," Ryoko added.
I simply shrugged my shoulders. "And then….there's Ayeka."
Ryoko's eyes quickly looked at me; I could tell they were craving me to continue, "From the moment I met her there was something about her that I just didn't trust. Don't get me wrong, she can be a nice girl, but it seems to me she's that way only when she sees it as mutually beneficial between both parties. When she doesn't get her way, I can only speculate that she will take things out of hand until she reaches some sort of satisfaction from her previous dismay."
Ryoko cracked a smile. It was subtle, but still noticeable. "Oh yeah? And how do you figure that?"
"This morning when we were eating breakfast together, she made a distasteful remark towards you. Even though I hadn't met you yet, the comment didn't settle well with me regardless. I'm trying to figure out why exactly."
Ryoko slapped her hand over her face and let out a huge laugh, "Oh man, it must be real bad if you don't even know the Princess and she still had that effect on you."
"Ayeka's a princess?" I said surprised.
"Kid, you don't even know the half of it. That bitch throws a tantrum anytime she doesn't get what she wants. And I always get the worst end of it too, "Ryoko replied, her face now lit up with enthusiasm.
"So is that why you weren't at breakfast this morning? So you wouldn't have to be around her?" I asked.
"No, the reason is because I don't eat breakfast. I usually prefer to sleep straight through it," she replied.
"Okay then, I suppose that makes enough sense."
Of course it seemed to me that there was more to her story. At the same time, however, I couldn't be totally sure. After all, this bitch is crazy, and crazy bitches are often unpredictable. In all honesty, I think she's a good person down to the core; she's just a little misguided. Ryo-ohki started meowing again, a series of crystals floating down from above and making their way towards Ryoko.
Ryoko looked at the monitors and then back at me, "Looks like we're here."
"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief. Time flies I suppose.
I looked at the forward monitors; both the X and Y coordinates were reaching the zero-point origin at rapid speed. The computer predicted that we had less than thirty seconds before making it to our destination.
Ryoko walked onto the center platform in the room, "Come stand next to me."
I did as she asked and walked over to the platform as well, "What should we expect to find?"
"I'm not sure, so just be on your guard just in case," she answered.
Well, it's not like I'm a mixed martial arts expert or anything, hell I don't even have a gun, "Well it's not like there should be a warzone down there or anything."
Ryoko ignored my comment, "Ryo-ohki, stay up here and keep a lookout around us. Stay invisible."
Ryo-ohki meowed once again, and an instant later the same bright light consumed Ryoko and I; except this time I could feel my body descending. When the light faded we were down on the ground once again. I could instantly feel a difference in the climate. South Carolina weather has a ridiculous amount of humidity year round, and you could almost feel the heaviness in the air as you waded through it. The weather was incredibly different than that of Japan. It was odd experiencing it once again. At least I could remember that much. The sun was bearing down on us relentlessly, the temperature was probably somewhere in the mid-nineties. It seemed that Ryo-ohki had beamed us down into the middle of a neighborhood cul-de-sac.
Something was wrong, the realization made my stomach churn, "Ryoko are you sure we're in the right place?"
"Washu was the one who gave me the coordinates; they have to be right," Ryoko said as she began walking around, "Damn, how do you live in this sort of weather?"
"Well, what do you make of this?" I asked while pointing to my right.
Ryoko turned around and walked up beside me, we both had the same confused looks on our faces. In front of us rested a mailbox and a driveway that led up to absolutely nothing. Yet, all around us existed five houses that had years of aging to them. Even the driveway to this empty lot had aged considerably; the grass was groomed like it was just recently cut a few days ago. I started walking towards the driveway with my eyes squinted in intense perplexity. Washu had already warned me of being disappointed, but I wasn't exactly expecting this of all things. When I reached the end of the driveway, an even stranger realization came to light. There was evidence of a house that existed here, it was so stupidly obvious. In the middle of the lot there was fresh mud in the shape of a rectangle, the exact dimensions of a house. Surrounding the rectangle was a small trench, most likely where the houses brick foundation would be. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like someone had picked up the entire house, plumbing and all, and just erased it from existence.
Ryoko's footsteps were approaching close behind me, I turned around to face her, "I don't even know…" I said blatantly while shrugging my shoulders.
She looked at me with intense study, and then back at the remnants of my home. In fact, she didn't say a word for the entire minute that we stood there in silence. Is it possible that she was sympathizing for me? Here I stood once more, on the very edge of discovering the origins of my amnesia, yet the wall separating me from the solution always seemed to stand so high. Let down after let down, and my mind was starting to suffer from the emotional distress; There is nothing more agonizing than being so close yet so far. If I was any weaker in my mind, there was probably a good chance that I'd go crazy. But instead, I couldn't help but feel doom and gloom. I wonder if Ryoko could detect that in me, perhaps that's why she was sympathizing? Technically speaking, she is an alien and I'm not even aware of the full extent of her abilities. But right now, I honestly didn't care.
"Washu's going to want to know about this," I said colorlessly.
"She already does," Ryoko answered, "She said to get back to Japan as quickly as possible. We'll still stop by Tokyo though, unless of course you'd like to stop somewhere else on our trip back."
I stared at the sky, pondering if there was any other place that I'd be able to go to. It's possible that we could buy clothes from here, I know for a fact that there are clothing stores around here that could potentially suit my tastes. That is: an undershirt, a collared shirt and a pair of khaki pants. I couldn't even remember what fashion was like during the 90's in America.
"Well," I said while pulling out my wallet, "We could always stop by a store here."
"How much money do you have?" Ryoko asked.
I started counting up the bills in my wallet, "Looks like I've got around three hundred bucks, wait…" I stopped to look closer at the bills, "Ah dammit."
"What?"
"Every single damn one of these bills was made after 1998. Look, I've got three twenty dollar bills made in 2005. My luck would be this bad…" I said, now getting irritated again.
"So, what's the difference? It's still technically money, right?" Ryoko responded.
"Well usually it would be. But the US Treasury changed the printing design on the newer generation bills, so there's a high chance a cashier would take notice." I answered.
"You think that would stop me from trying? If it doesn't work we'll just take it." Ryoko said. She sounded awfully serious.
"You're saying that we'll just steal it instead?" I replied.
"Why not? There's no one here to stop us." She sounded even more serious this time. In fact, a smile was appearing on her face again.
"I don't know about you," I said seriously, "But my body isn't immune to bullets. For all we know there could be trigger happy security guards with an itchy finger."
Ryoko let out a healthy laugh, "Oh you are too funny. Fine, if you're afraid of getting shot then you can stay with Ryo-ohki while I go shopping for you."
"Oh hell no," I quickly retorted, "There's no way I'm letting a woman pick out clothes for me."
"Well alright then, let's go find us a store," Ryoko said smiling. She seemed a bit too excited for my liking. It was almost as if she's done this before.
I didn't realize it, but Ryoko had just played me once more, "About twenty miles away from here there's a mall in a place called Harbison; if Ryo-ohki can pull up a map of South Carolina I can probably get a good plot point for us to travel to."
"How can you remember that?" Ryoko asked suspiciously.
"Well like Washu explained to me, I'm not a complete head case, I can still remember vast parts of the world where I came from, but if it has anything to directly do with me then I'll most likely draw a blank." I answered. Maybe this was why Ryoko had said she didn't trust me a while ago; I'm not very consistent with my own memories. Or maybe she was just playing then too.
"I'll have Ryo-ohki beam us back up. This is going to be fun," Ryoko stated with too much enthusiasm.
The both of us were once again consumed with an intense bright light; a second later we were back inside the cockpit. Or was it the bridge? Hell I don't know. When my eyes adjusted to the room there was already a map of South Carolina up on one of the screens. I walked up to it and started navigating my way around. Starting from our current location, I tracked a route that would take us slightly south east about twenty miles away. Right before I went to confirm the destination, it hit me: Wait a minute, am I seriously considering theft?
"Uh, Ryoko?" I asked with hesitation in my voice.
"Hmm?" she replied as she walked over next to me.
"Don't you think it would just be easier if we went to Tokyo instead?" I asked, "I mean I'm sure that there has to be an international market or something for an American kid like me."
Before I knew it Ryoko turned me around and place her hands on my shoulders. She looked at me with a taunting expression, "Don't tell me you're chickening out now?"
"Well," I said while looking away, "It's just that logically speaking we don't have to rob a store just for some damn clothes. It would be easier on the both of us if we just listened to Washu and -"
"But," Ryoko interrupted, "it wouldn't be as fun now would it?"
"How would I know?" I shrugged.
"Exactly! So just listen to Ryoko and do exactly what she says and I promise you won't regret it," she responded.
"Sounds to me like I don't have a choice in the matter," I mumbled.
"Right again."
I looked up at Ryoko, "Promise me one thing though."
"Hmm?"
I stared directly into her eyes, "When we get back you'll answer any question I have."
Ryoko seemed to hesitate a little bit, "Alright, you have yourself a deal."
She reached her arm out in front of mine; I sealed the deal and firmly shook her hand. Ryoko turned to the monitor and pressed a button that confirmed our new destination. There wasn't anything that I could do about it now. I had just agreed to go rob a mall in my own home state. Every bit of morality that was left in me was screaming for me not to go through with this. Yet at the same time the other half of me was just curious enough to not give a damn what my moral side thought. Something told me that I had never done this before, and I was dying to figure out how exhilarating it could be. I mean, Ryoko looks like the woman who can get the job done and that excited me. I'm standing in front of a chance to act out, forget everything, and proceed with this plan of ours with minimal consequence. I mean hell; this isn't even my universe, but a parallel one to mine. When I get back home, any potential criminal record I pick up here will be long gone there. That last thought seemed to open a whole new set of doors. This is a perfect opportunity to experience true freedom; to have "fun" has Ryoko put it.
"Hey Ryoko," I shouted from across the room.
Ryoko turned around in her chair, "Yes?" she said playfully.
I grin found its way on my face, "If we're going to do this, we're going to take more than just a couple pair of clothes. Hell if we were stealing just clothes it wouldn't even be worth it now would it?"
Ryoko jumped out of her chair, "Yes! Now you're talkin'."
"But," I added, "We're going to do it with style."
She put her hands to her hips, "What do you have in mind?"
"I already know that you can handle your own. But me? I don't know if I can outrun security forever. So basically I want you to distract them long enough for me to grab my shit and then get the hell out of dodge. Plus, I don't really feel like having a gun pointed in my face," I paused for a second to make sure Ryoko didn't object to any of this. On the contrary, her eyes approved of basically everything that I had said so far, "Now, luckily for us the mall we're headed to has ceiling windows every fifty feet or so to let in natural light throughout the corridors. If we can somehow put a large enough hole in those windows, Ryo-ohki can beam us up straight from the mall floor. The biggest problem is that those ceiling windows aren't in any of the actual stores. So we have to get past the cash registers first."
"That shouldn't be a problem, how long do you need?" Ryoko asked.
"I'll enter through the food court and covertly make my way into the clothing department. I want you to follow behind me until I get there. When I give the signal, raise hell and do whatever is necessary while I grab as many clothes as I can manage. So I'd say about ten minutes altogether. Think you can keep them away from me for that long?"
Ryoko began rotating her fists, "Oh you have no idea."
"Fantastic," I responded, "When we get inside the mall, I'll tell you which window we should meet up at. After ten minutes have passed, go ahead and grab whatever you want and meet me at the rendezvous. Sound good?"
"Absolutely."
This little idea of mine had definitely put Ryoko in a good mood. If there was one thing I was doing right from all of this, it was figuring out what makes this girl tick. Washu probably won't approve of this in the least bit, but at least I'm getting Ryoko to open up some. Maybe she is having that same problem I am: both of us have been unable to open up and express ourselves. It was definitely an interesting thought.
Ryoko walked up and patted me on the shoulder, "You know, you've really come around in the past couple of hours."
I looked down at my reflection on the floor, "By 'coming around' I guess you mean conforming to your ideas?"
"Oh come now," Ryoko replied while rubbing my hair like a dog, "you know deep down you want to do this. Besides, everyone has to have their cherry popped sooner or later."
I looked at her slack jawed, "You really are just one hundred percent raw aren't you?"
Ryoko grinned, "So are you, you're just trying to be nice around me. I bet deep down you are just as vulgar and uncensored as I am. Especially after seeing you lose it earlier, I know you can do better."
"You think so?" I asked while laughing.
"Of course."
Well, if this is what it's going to take to get Ryoko to open up to me then so be it, "So, do we have any weapons or something, any means of protection?"
"Don't worry," Ryoko replied, "I'll protect you. Washu would kill me if we returned and something had happened to you. It looks like we're here, you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said while loosening up my muscles. I was going to need to find some pacified state of mind before I went ahead with this.
Ryoko walked back into the center of the room and onto the platform; I soon followed.
"Ryo-ohki, remain invisible just like before and make sure you stay above me at all times," Ryoko said.
Ryo-ohki meowed and a second later we were sent down into the mall parking lot. Luckily for us, it didn't look like anyone had noticed our descent.
I took a second glance at Ryoko, "Holy shit you're going to stick out like a sore thumb in that damn jumpsuit of yours."
"Would you prefer me go in there naked?" Ryoko teased.
I fantasized over the idea for a split second before laughing, "Nope, you'd be thrown out of there almost instantly."
Ryoko followed closely behind me as we made our way down the parking lot and towards the entrance to the food courts. My heart was already pounding, I couldn't believe we were about to go through with this. It was invigorating to say the least, and the adrenaline was almost therapeutic. There were people absolutely everywhere, all going about their daily lives. People of all ages were congregating at the doors, wading their way through each other, some holding far too many shopping bags. We slipped through the doors, where we were greeted by the fantastic smell of food and the sound of thousands of voices talking simultaneously.
"Wow," Ryoko stared at everybody in astonishment, "I have never seen such a curious sight before. Is every person from America like this?"
"It's definitely a common thing for Americans to do; you know: constant consumption." I answered. I was surprised that Ryoko didn't already know about this.
I looked around the food court and stared at the various business signs. Sbarro, Chik-Fil-A, Subway, The Great Steak and Potato, your typical mall food. You could probably find these at almost any mall across all of America and it probably won't ever change. Ryoko was still staring in amazement, like a child who was attending their first trip to the circus or a theme park. After we were through the food court, that's where the consignment shops started. Every person that I approached I could tell that they were looking directly behind me at Ryoko. As long as they weren't associating me with her then everything would be okay with me, no embarrassment would be had. I took another look at Ryoko, who seemed to be enjoying all the looks she was receiving. I'll admit that she did have a very captivating figure, especially in that damn skin tight suit of hers.
I shook my head and continued walking, "Yo Ryoko, we'll be there in less than a minute, you ready?"
Ryoko snapped out of her daze, "Of course, just tell me when."
"Alright, that window right there," I said while pointing towards the ceiling, "that will be our escape. Once we get up this elevator, have fun, just don't freakin' kill anybody," I asserted.
"Oh I'd never do something like that," Ryoko joked.
Once we were up the elevator, I could see the clothing department in plain sight. I closed my eyes and considered the worst possible scenario, every single thing that could go wrong with this little outburst of ours; of mine. Before I could turn around Ryoko leaped into the air and began flying through the corridor, her body whipping past me in a blur of red, black and cyan. She reached her arms out and starting spinning in circles mid-air, laughing hysterically at the same time. Her personality just doesn't make sense for me. I looked down at my watch and made a mental note for when ten minutes would finally be up.
Within minutes alarms were already going off all around me, I couldn't even keep up with Ryoko's location at this point. The parading of boots of security guards could be heard marching against the tile flooring off in the distance. It seemed like Ryoko had done a perfect job at attracting the attention of every guard in the entire mall at this point. Within minutes every person who was situated in the clothing department had left to go investigate what all the commotion was. For these people, I bet this is the most exciting thing that's ever happened in their life.
Now let's see, it would probably be best to get at least a week's worth of clothing. I tried searching for clothes that mostly matched my own. If all else failed I could simply ditch the collared shirt look and just pick up a few rock n' roll t-shirts and some khaki shorts. Oh, and socks, I'll definitely be needing some socks. Socks and underwear; forgetting said underwear would be a disaster. I looked at my watch once again, five minutes have already passed me by, so I need to go ahead and hurry my ass up. After picking out some suiting clothing I made my way up to the cash register where they kept all the bags. To my delight, there was no one there working, as the person probably ran at the sight of Ryoko flying through the air. I went behind the counter, grabbed a few bags and started placing my neatly folded clothes up into them.
Suddenly I heard a gunshot ring out from the distance, followed by several more. Oh fuck. I hope they didn't just shoot her. Without care for eloquence I shoved the rest of my clothes into the paper bags and took off straight for the sound of the shots. When I ran past the store exit alarms started going off around me, but I hadn't the slightest interest in that. I just needed to know whether or not my only chance out of here was dead or not. Several more shots rang out, the popping noise resonating through my head. At this point I was at a full sprint and still managing to look like an idiot while carrying four bags in both my hands.
When I reached the top of the elevator there was several police officers knocked out on the floor at its base.
"Ryoko!" I screamed, trying to get her attention.
I raced down the elevator and towards the rendezvous point. The mall seemed completely deserted as compared to just a few minutes ago. Amazing at what a little chaos can do to large groups. When I rounded the corner there were several more security guards, all of them pointing their guns up at the air. They looked scared to death; their movements were erratic and undisciplined. One of them quickly turned around and pointed his gun at me.
"Don't move!" He shouted.
"Shit…" I muttered to myself.
Ryoko then appeared in front of me out of thin air, "Time to go sweetheart."
"Open fire!" one of the guards shouted.
Ryoko turned around and extended her right arm all the way out in front of her. All of the security guards started shooting, but amazingly each round fell short within inches away from our bodies. Was Ryoko deflecting the bullet's flight path? Amazing. She then reached her left arm straight up into the air. Without warning two intense beams of red energy shot from Ryoko's left hand, making quick work of the window above us. Glass rained down upon the guards and they temporarily retreated so they could reload their weapons.
Ryoko, still holding her previous chance, turned around, "Justin, now!"
"Right!" I responded. Without hesitation I walked underneath the window's location. Within a second I was beamed up into Ryo-ohki once more.
Ryo-ohki greeted me with a friendly meow. I dropped the bags onto the floor and fell straight on my ass. I felt like I was experiencing an overdose of adrenaline. I couldn't even imagine how Ryoko lived for things like this. You have to be a special kind of crazy for a life like this. I laid down on the cold onyx floor and slowly began catching my breath. I concentrated on Ryo-ohki's crystals that gently orbited several feet above my head. It had been at least a few minutes since I was transported back up here and Ryoko still hadn't returned. Her last performance sort of proved to me that she could survive direct fire from gunshots, but I was worried nonetheless.
"Damn Ryo-ohki," I said while still breathing heavily, "I should have snagged you some carrots while I was at it."
I finally decided to roll over onto my stomach so I could push myself back up to my feet. A few seconds later Ryoko began to materialize in the center of the room, which was a huge relief for me. She had to have been holding at least twelve bags under her arms.
Ryoko had the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her face, "I've had better gigs but nothing this fun in quite some time."
"Holy hell how much did you take?" I asked, stunned by the amount of bags she had.
She dropped the bags next to mine; I could hear the distinct sound of glass rattling against each other. "I grabbed whatever I found interesting," she replied nonchalantly.
I looked at Ryoko, but couldn't hold back my smile, "Never again."
"You say that now," Ryoko said while rummaging through her bags, "but when you get the itch you'll do it again. Here, I gotcha something."
"Oh really now?" I asked in disbelief.
Ryoko pulled a bottle out of one of her bags and tossed it in my direction.
"A liter of Jack Daniels, for real?" I stated.
"Yep, I hear advertisements all the time saying how wonderful it is. I've never tried it myself, so I figured you and I could change that tonight when we get back," Ryoko responded.
I set the bottle on the floor next to my chair and sat down. Ryoko was a few seconds behind me, "Unbelievable," I said to myself.
"What is?" Ryoko asked as she sat down and popped the tab off a cold beer.
"Today. It happened so fast and I fell behind."
"Yep," she replied while taking a gulp of her beverage, "I'd say we made some real progress. Ryo-ohki, plot a course for home."
I leaned back into my chair and rubbed my eyes. Now that the adrenaline was gone, I realized just how exhausted I was. My eyes began to grow heavy, and before I knew it I was drifting….
"Hey! Wake up!" a voice shouted.
"Huh?" I mumbled.
"Justin, get your ass out of my chair, we're back."
I opened my eyes to see Ryoko in my face, her breath filled with alcohol, "Jesus, how much did you drink?
"Snap out of it. We need to get these bags to my room before Washu discovers what we did," she said whispering.
"Okay fine whatever," I replied, my mind still groggy from the nap.
The second my feet hit the floor a sense of vertigo rushed through my brain. I grabbed my head out of reaction to try and get rid of the swimming feeling; a few blinks later and I was good to go again.
"Grab these bags and stand on the platform with me," Ryoko said.
While heavily yawning I walked over and picked up my bags and a few of Ryoko's bags. The two of us walked over to that platform and were immediately transported back down in the backyard of the Masaki House. A second later Ryo-ohki landed on Ryoko's shoulder.
"So, where is your room exactly?" I asked.
"Upstairs and down the hall; wait here." She replied.
I watched Ryoko as she phased herself through the backdoor, leaving me alone outside with a handful of stolen bags. At this point I didn't even have a reaction when I discovered that she's basically a super human vigilante. I wonder if Washu had similar traits?
Ryoko materialized through the door once again, "Here, give me the rest of my stuff. You keep your own. Go ahead and walk in, I'll take just a second."
"Gotcha," I responded.
As soon as Ryoko disappeared through the door I opened it and stepped through. The house was quiet, even though technically it was almost dinner time. I wonder where everyone could be? I knew that Washu would most likely be in her lab. I walked over to the red door underneath the staircase and gave it a knock. A few seconds later it unlocked.
"Oh good, you two are back!" Washu exclaimed, "I see you got some clothes, American clothes."
"Yeah," I laughed while rubbing the back of my head, "I had some cash in my wallet and convinced Ryoko to stop by a mall that I know of since it would be easier. You know, so it would save us some time."
"Of course," Washu replied, crossing her arms.
"Alright well…what's next?" I asked.
"Oh right," Washu replied like she was forgetting something, "I've already got your room ready. It's nothing fancy, just a bed and a dresser for your clothes."
"That's really all I need anyway," I said.
"And there's this," Washu handed me a small device, "this is the key to your room. Anytime you want to access it, walk up to my lab door, press the button and wait for the door to unlatch."
"Two rooms inside one door? Washu you never cease to impress." I laughed.
Washu giggled at my undying praise towards her, "Alright well, time for you to tidy yourself up. You look like you could use a hot bath."
"Oh I don't doubt it at all," I said while looking myself over, Where's the shower?"
"Actually, have you ever heard of a hot spring before?" Washu asked.
"Of course, I've just never seen one before." I answered.
"Well…usually the hot springs that I made are for girls only, for obvious reasons. But there's currently no one up there, and there won't be anyone up there for the rest of the day. So I'll make this one exception and allow you access up there. But," Washu pointed her finger in the air, "this is the only chance you'll get so enjoy it while you can."
I looked at Washu slightly confused, "Hey that's fine with me."
"Good, now grab a change of clothes, the towels should already be up there waiting for you," Washu opened her lab door, "And step on through."
I picked up one of my bags which already contained a pair of clothes to change into, "What about the rest of my bags?"
"Don't worry; I'll put them in your room." Washu answered.
I gave Washu a nod and stepped through the lab door. Within an instant I was located in what looked like a tropical biome. To my right was a bathhouse that looked like a changing room. I began making my way over to it; perhaps some peace and quiet is exactly what my troubled mind needs.
…
Ryoko's footsteps echoed across the endless sea of white. Holographic displays were moving in lateral motions above her, streaming vast quantities of data. In front of her sat the red-head scientist, Washu, who was already deeply invested into her work.
"How did it go?" Washu asked while typing away furiously on her keyboard.
"Not good," Ryoko shrugged, "But not bad. I did exactly as you asked, but the boy didn't show any signs of recollection towards his past. Not even once."
"A pity," Washu sighed, "If we don't act soon his mind might be lost for good."
"I won't let that happen," Ryoko added.
"I know, and that's why I want you to continue trying to get Justin to open up. The more we expose him to any potential connection to his memory, the better chance we'll have at saving him in the long run," Washu said.
Ryoko crossed her arms and swayed her hips to the right, "Have you figured out what's wrong with him yet?"
Washu brought up a three dimensional representation of Justin's brain. She tapped another button on her keyboard and the brain expanded into a detailed isometric view for an easier visual representation. Several other diagrams and key legends also popped up next to the brain, allowing for a better flow of information.
"Right now," Washu said as she hopped out of her chair, "Justin's brain is acting absolutely normal. Every neuron, every piece of stem cell that has anything to do with his memory is currently intact and is in working order. However, something is suppressing those memories from within. It's almost like someone has activated a firewall inside of his mind and isn't allowing any forms of memory to be accessed."
Ryoko squinted her eyes as she looked at the model, "And do you have any clue why?"
Washu sighed, "Not yet. When Justin falls asleep tonight I'm going to try and implant a Nano-interceptor in him that monitors all brainwave activity and irregularities."
"Ugh, you would," Ryoko mumbled.
"I know I know," Washu said as she got back into her chair, "But for once this is for Justin's benefit and not for…science. The less he knows about what we're doing the better it will be for him in the long run. That last thing we need is for him not to trust us."
"What do you make of what we found at Justin's house?" Ryoko asked.
Washu leaned back into her chair, "It just seems to me like another piece of the puzzle, except the pieces don't seem to fit at all. Technically speaking, there was a house that rested on that land, but not anymore. It's like it disappeared. And I'm betting it did so the second Justin landed here in this universe. That has to be the connection."
"It was strange," Ryoko whispered, "Justin's reaction was strange. I was honestly expecting a more dramatic response from him. But it was like he just buried it down and forgot about it."
"It could very well be another sign," Washu said.
"And what about his phone?" Ryoko asked curiously.
"Right," Washu replied, pulling Justin's phone out of her pocket, "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Why, will I be shocked or something?" Ryoko responded sarcastically.
Washu brought up a series of pictures on the screen in front of them in slideshow format, "Browse through these pictures and tell me when you find something out of place."
"Alright, no need to be so cryptic," Ryoko said as she approached the screen.
Ryoko started surfing through the pictures, all of them retrieved from the corrupted data on Justin's phone. Many of them were irrecoverable, at least for the most part. So a good bit of the images had artifacts and color discrepancies in them. Washu simply went back to work on her keyboard while waiting on Ryoko to find the picture Washu had discovered only hours earlier.
Not even a minute later Ryoko stopped on a certain peculiar picture, "Uh, what the hell is this?" Ryoko gasped.
"It's exactly what you think it is." Washu added.
"I don't understand Washu…"
"Think about it Ryoko, Justin is from a parallel universe, so what you see makes perfect sense…even though it shouldn't" Washu replied with slight remorse.
Ryoko stepped away from the screen to give the picture another look. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was the first thing to truly surprise her in quite some time, and she didn't know how to properly react to it.
"Regardless," Washu said, "I want you to continue on with the plan. Justin's phone won't work in this Universe to begin with, so it's not like he'll be able to find the same picture. We should be safe in the meantime."
"If you say so," Ryoko mumbled.
Washu walked up to Ryoko and stared her right in the eyes, "Listen to me dear, I promised Justin that I'd find out what's wrong with him; and to do so, I'm going to need your full cooperation or we might lose him for good."
"I understand," Ryoko said calmly.
"He's currently taking a bath in the private springs, it would be wise to wait until he gets out before talking with him any further," Washu added.
Ryoko chuckled, "If you say so."
"Remember," Washu asserted, "Make sure that he falls asleep good tonight. Tire him out. I don't know if he's a heavy or light sleeper, so I'd rather not get caught tampering with his skull in the middle of the night."
"Don't worry, I've got just the thing," Ryoko replied.
…