Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ While the Kids are Away... ( Chapter 98 )

A Tale of Two Wallets

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Nigel had a theory concerning Blondes and their behavior. It was a theory borne from long and arduous study of the subject, or-to be more precise-a study of the seemingly endless stream of Blonde secretaries that often filled Temp (or permanent) positions for Professor Sidney Fox.

His theory was a variation on the theme of natural selection, owing primarily to his belief that blonde haired women had a competitive advantage when it came to attracting the favorable attention of the opposite sex. Men the world over were drawn to blondes the way any species is attracted to the colorful plumage or distinguishing characteristics that become associated with health, exoticness and successful reproductive ability. Blondes conjured to mind the Viking ideal of the Valkyrie, bathing beauties sunning themselves along the beach, or inhumanly lithe Snow Bunnies from Sweden. To have a blonde on your arm was a symbol of status, a mark of male virility and success, to be a pack leader and to command the admiration (and envy) of millions.

As such they did not have to work so aggressively at finding a mate as did brunettes, so qualities such as intelligence had lesser importance and could even count as a deficit, and as such the vast number of blonde jokes in the world had a kernel of truth behind them, as witnessed by the current occupant of the secretarial desk normally inhabited by another blonde by the name of Claudia, who typified the sub-species.

"Were there any calls?" Nigel asked, and braced himself for the inevitable reaction.

"Yeah, some," replied a lovely blonde named Tamara as she consulted a note-pad, "Got a call from some museum on the east coast, a couple of Professor guys, and three other calls from a guy named Julianni."

"And those numbers are?" Nigel asked, already knowing the answer.

"What, you wanted me to take them down?" the girl made a disgusting noise before she resumed chewing on her gum, "You should have said so in the first place."

Nigel rolled his eyes and counted to five in Latin, contenting himself with the knowledge that the "slightly less than totally incompetent" Claudia would be returning in another day, in which case it would be a matter of "Here today, gone Tamara." The Temp office was really scraping the bottom of the barrel with undergraduate students filling in for roles for which they had barely minimum training, which meant that the faculty could save a few precious dollars on the sly, and never mind the mess that Temps often created in their wake.

Not that all blondes were totally incompetent and lacking in smarts, he sternly reminded himself, having met more than a few who had wits as sharp as any razor.

He turned to his nominal employer and said, "Any chance we might install an answering machine in your office?"

"I'll talk to the board about securing the funds," Sidney replied, already heading for said office.

Nigel had some idea of where that suggestion would fit on the board's list of priorities. Another theory he had long entertained was that school faculty members had been found on a previous excavation looking back to a time when there were a lot fewer electronic Gizmos to clutter up office existence. Their idea of a filing system was just that, a metal box with folders in it. Try explaining to them the intricacies of a Browser program and you might as well be speaking ancient Coptic Greek. Nigel also suspected that such men were the reason why blonde secretaries would not soon go out of existence, although what the agency thought it was doing assigning a sexy member of that set to Sidney Fox was an issue upon which he did not even wish to speculate. After all, Nigel was reasonably certain that his employer did not go THAT WAY when came to pursuing such matters. (Or if she did she was pretty damned discrete about it, although it wold explain a few things that had been puzzling Nigel for some time now…)

The phone rang before the door fully closed, and Tamara fetched it on the second ring, saying, "Yeah? Who's this? Okay already, I'll tell her you're calling! Hey, Professor? Some lady named Laura Croft wants to talk to you on line one."

"I'll get it in my office," Sidney flashed a patently false smile before giving Nigel a hard look, "Call Professor Jones and tell him I'll be late for my staff meeting."

"I'll tell him a massive boulder is chasing you across the campus," Nigel replied, "He might even buy that."

As the Amerasian beauty vanished back into her office, and Nigel went about his own business, the secretary named Tamara returned to the busy work of filing and polishing her nails, unaware that a pair of less than friendly eyes were peering at her from the monitor screen sitting unused at her desk. All at once a light came on in the center, attracting Tamara's brief attention span, right before that light stretched out to engulf her, and then two images merged together, one superimposed on the other, only to resolve again into the outward form of Tamara, whose eyes grew light with intelligence and purpose as she casually set her nail polish bottle to one side and stretched out a hand to caress the phone intercom system.

"…You're kidding me, right?" the voice of Sydney Fox expressed in disbelief, "You took a Headhunter's dart where?"

"Look," another female voice responded, "You want me to have to spell it out? I had that obsidian dagger in my hands with the natives got a little restless, and thank Heavens I'd had my tetanus shots just the other day because those needles they used were a bit rusty…"

"I've had days like that," Sydney sympathized, "So how did you lose the dagger?"

"Oh, you know how it is," the other woman replied, "An associate just happened to be in the area and thought ripping me off was a good way to score points with his backers. I won't speak ill of the departed, but the sorry so-and-so shouldn't have made that crack about my boobs…"

"Well, can you blame him?" Sidney replied, "No offense, but they are among your more prominent features…"

"Etu, Sydney?" came the weary sigh from the other voice, "Look, I just thought you ought to know so you can be on the alert for that the dagger, which is somewhere loose in the wilds due to one of the henchmen who got away."

"I'll keep an eye out for it and let you know if word comes my way," Sidney replied, "From what I understand that dagger has quite a legend surrounding it, not that I believe in its supposed supernatural powers…"

The blonde secretary smiled, having fixed the intercom to hold in place after the call was concluded, and-sure enough-no sooner had Nigel returned then he and Sidney began conversing on a subject of far greater interest, their recent trip to a certain Tokyo district.

"Ah…Sidney," the English-born fop began, "Do you really think we did the right thing leaving that child with that Oni woman just on the strength of her say-so?"

"If you had objections to leaving her there you should have voiced them when we had the chance. All I know is that she seemed to have the right credentials, and her story was a bit too wild to be something you'd just make up to impress foreigners."

"But an Oni?" Nigel's skepticism was plain in his voice, "Aren't they supposed to ruthless, savage and responsible for most of the mischief in Japanese legends?"

"Not exclusively," Sidney, replied, "And this one seemed…different than what you'd expect. She didn't feel evil at all, and the way she laid her cards out on the table…I was more than a little inclined to trust her."

"You think we might have been under a spell?" Nigel suggested, "If you ask me we were a little too trusting of her story…"

"I've considered that," Sidney replied, "But with all that we've seen…given that it could have been all smoke and mirrors, it still made a lot more sense than any alternative theory I could come up with. It was Ryomi's choice to stay, after all, and unless you were thinking of adopting her…"

"I should say not," Nigel reacted, "She was trouble enough to handle when she was just a stranger!"

"So there you have it," Sidney remarked, "Of course I had intended to check this Ganglot out to see if her story really did hold water, such as to investigate her background and look into the matter of how she obtained that property and all that…but…I can't seem to recall the address. You wouldn't happen to remember it yourself, would you?"

"Ah…you know…now that you mention it," Nigel sounded faintly bewildered, "I can't. I don't even remember what part of the prefecture we were in…now isn't that odd?"

"Very," Sidney replied, "It's like the details are so fuzzy…like remembering something out of a dream. I wonder if she did something to us to make us forget?"

"I was thinking the very same thing," Nigel related, "Now why should she do that, I wonder…?"

The woman form posing as Tamara made a face at this. Of course it would make sense that her mother-in-law would take steps to cover her tracks, and the memories of mortals were such malleable things, it would only be a little too obvious a step to blank them out so that any information that might be obtained from them would be effectively useless.

But then the woman (who was not Tamara) smiled as she contemplated the terminal at her desk. It might be horribly primitive…at least three seasons old by the look of it, and of limited capacity, but she knew could use it to link into more powerful websites using the College tracking systems to access sensitive satellite information from the JPL database. From there it ought to be simplicity itself to track down that pesky Oni!

It took a few minutes to set up the relays using a number of dummy accounts but she was finally able to download the information files that she needed. A good thing that she had some time ago engineered some periodic system crashes at a few popular websites to insinuate her remote Robot programs in these various systems, leaving those who noticed her attacks believing mistakenly that she was just some cleverly fiendish hacker maliciously disrupting Internet commerce. Her plan had allowed her to create dummy back-door files in all the major companies, spreading viruses under the disguise of repair kits, and as such she could survey the required photos at leisure without the Pentagon or the FBI being any the wiser.

And of course if anyone did manage to trace her handiwork down they would only discover Professor Fox and her primitive facilities, draw their own conclusions about an impoverished Relic Hunter and leave the blame on her instead of Tamara.

And of course the fact that "Tamara" linked these computers in with Yggdrasil itself gave them extra power and diagnostic ability so that the images scanned in raw electronic signals could be interpreted in such a way that the unique energy signature of an Oni of the First Rank would logically stand out like a beacon, leading Cybelle straight to her quarry and any annoying (and hence vulnerable) mortal alliances that Ganglot might have forged in the few days since obtaining her freedom. Once they were effectively dealt with it would only be a matter of sealing her mother-in-law away for another three hundred or so years to end any chance of her becoming a genuine nuisance.

Of course her clever scheme had one flaw to its perfection, that being when the photos themselves turned up no reliable evidence that would lead her to discover the location of the Oni's lair. Much to Cybelle's dismay (and Tamara's blank incomprehension) what she saw were a number of hot flashes and widely spaced intervals within the Tokyo system, confusing Cybelle as to which of these energy signatures could be trusted as the current whereabouts of the Oni whom she was after.

Which left the dumbstruck Demon sorceress with one question, of course…namely how in the name of the Ninety-Nine Hells had Ganglot managed to pull this off, and with so little time for planning and preparation…?

Nearly halfway around the world, Julian paused in the act of setting up yet another of those odd devices that he and his ladylove were attaching to satellite dishes throughout the Nerima province.

"Why do you suppose our lady wishes us to do this?" he wondered aloud for the tenth time in as many hours.

"Who knows?" Romeo shrugged, "It's not for the likes of us to fathom the motives of her kind. All I know is that she has promised to reward us for every one of these devices that we can attach to these curious bowls that these barbarian Japanese have uselessly hung out on their houses as decorations."

"Sometimes I wonder which is harder to fathom," Julian mused, "These Japanese or our lady?"

"It is a toss-up, I'll grant you," Romeo replied, and went back to repeating the motions drummed into her and Romeo by their Oni employer on the previous evening…

Yumi would smash the first person who suggested that she was worried into the ground with her baker's peel, even if the thought that her niece had been out of touch for the past couple of days was making her a bit edgy. Staying on to look after Ukyo's restaurant was a small price to pay in order to see that Ucchan's Okonomiyaki Café would be up and thriving by the time Ukyo got back from her heroic quest. After all, it wouldn't do for their company's image if their up-and-coming future owner and president went out of business before she had even had an official Grand Opening.

Still and all, Yumi did smile when she thought of what a charmer her niece had become with the ladies of late, and it would be a sad miracle if somehow Ukyo came through this ordeal without one or both of the girls making a play for her virtue. Good experience under the belt in Yumi's own rather biased opinion, virginity being such an overrated concept, a legacy imposed on Japanese society by uptight European sensibilities (and a brief occupation by America, though somehow Japan had survived being culturally indoctrinated on the subject of their puritanical sexual hang-ups).

Ukyo needed someone in her life who was reasonably stable and had both feet planted solidly on the ground, which was why that Makoto girl was looking like such a favorable prospect. Not that the other main contender was all that bad a sort, just a bit flighty and high strung, as had been her mother before her. Ah…Kimiko…now there was a mass of self-contradictions! How strange to lose out to such a girl in the battle that had been waged for Soun's heart…

Yumi shook her head for the fifth time in as many hours. Damn, she was falling back into that pattern once again, and after vowing never to go back to being the lovesick fool of her youth! Silk had her claws in him now, and good riddance. She was better off without a man in her life…they were never anything but trouble anyway. Good only for one thing, and usually lacking in the stamina to even be very good at that! In fact it was a wonder that women still clung in hope to the silly pests in the first place, as if men could alter their very nature, to grow up and act responsibly like adult human beings! If it wasn't for a trick of biology that made women dependent on men for the conceiving of children…

The doors to the okonomiyaki shop chimed open, and Yumi looked up from the grill to see a figure striding into the place with nonchalant ease that belied the fact that she was very tall and extraordinarily pretty. Her long pale hair and dark sunglasses gave her the appearance of an American Movie star, yet she was dressed in simple street attire, not too fancy or garish, but obviously able to afford a good round of okonomiyaki.

At her side was a young girl…roughly middle school aged, possibly thirteen or fourteen, whose long black hair had been neatly combed into a long ponytail tied fast with a ribbon. The dress this child was wearing flattered her figure and gave her a look of athletic grace worthy of a track star or Olympic gymnast. It made her think a little of one of her favorite anime series about teenaged girls in the far future competing for the title of Cosmo Beauty, especially in the general cheerfulness the girl manifested, even as she looked somewhat uncomfortable in her clothing, as if accustomed to less feminine wear.

"Good Chef," the woman hailed Yumi, "Five of your best for my companion here. It's her first time eating at your establishment, and I dare say she has the appetite to eat your plates if she's not reminded against it."

"I'll have them ready in a Jif," Yumi replied, already setting the batter in motion.

"I'll have five more for me when the first batch is ready," the woman said as she and the girl sat down on a pair of stools by the grill, "I've heard much good praise about the cooking skills of this establishment and have high hopes for a meal most pleasing."

"Coming up faster than you can say okonomiyaki," Yumi winked at the child, who got the gist of her jest and promptly responded, "Okonomi-!"

The fifth one hit the girl's plate before she was even finished, leaving her to gape in frank disbelief as though she had not suspected that Yumi was serious in her promise. She picked up the first one and blew on it, then took a sample bite before declaring in wonder, "It's good!"

"Second best in all Japan, eh?" the woman with sunglasses smiled, giving Yumi a knowing smile, "And you trained the best, didn't you? Or so goes the rumors in Kyoto."

"You know about us?" Yumi was faintly surprised, but only that. There was something about the woman…and that girl…the girl's face was somehow oddly familiar…

Almost mechanically she whipped up and served five more okonomiyaki to the woman herself, then saw her daintily pick up her first cooked disk in both hands with almost reverent savor before biting in, then adding in a side comment, "Chew slowly, dear…I want you to work a bit harder on perfecting your manners."

"Aw, Grandma," the child complained, "Isn't it bad enough you got me wearing this stupid dress? You worked all morning on my hair so I don't even recognize myself any more…"

"That was the idea, dear," the woman smiled before favoring Yumi with a wry look, "Children…they can be such a trial, but try living without them. But I rather imagine you already know what that's like though…"

"I'm afraid not," Yumi shook her head sadly, "I've never been married."

"Never?" the woman evidenced surprise, then shook her head, "Such a lovely thing as you? I find that difficult-no, make that impossible to believe! Surely the boys must have been falling all over you in your youth…"

"Who, me?" Yumi scoffed, "Hardly! I never had time for the boys when I was this girl's age, only after…" she paused, catching herself in the act of reminiscing, "Anyway, it was a long time ago, and I don't worry about such things…"

"What a shame, but I suppose it is your life," the woman sighed, "Still I rather imagine that there had to be at least one boy who caught your eye long ago…you see? I'm right, aren't I!"

"W-What are you talking about?" Yumi realized that she was stammering and tried to pretend that she was not.

"You're blushing," the woman paused, "And it's a nice blush, too. Whoever he was must have been quite a fool to let you get away…but that's life, I suppose," she sighed, "Still, I wouldn't trade the world for a single day spent with my own late husband. So much you have to look forward to in the years to come, Ryo-chan…how I almost envy you your choices."

"Ah, Grandma," the dark haired girl blushed crimson.

"Grandma?" Yumi arched an eyebrow, studying the handsome profile of the other woman.

"You'd never know to look at me, would you?" the woman smiled, "But then you're rather well preserved yourself for a woman in her late twenties…"

"I'm afraid I'm a bit more seasoned than that," Yumi responded, "But thanks for the compliment."

"Truly?" the woman replied, "I never would have guessed."

Ryomi was just finishing off her fourth okonomiyaki when she paused to give her Great Grandmother a puzzled look. Was the Oni actually flirting with this horse-faced old woman? (Not that Ryomi would say such things aloud, of course, but the chef was hardly what Ryomi would call a raving beauty!).

Yumi was about to say something more to the other woman when she heard the bell chime at her door once again. Turning a pleasant smile towards her new customer she stared to say, "What will you have…Sugar…?

Sonoda Taichi stood in the doorway smiling hesitantly at her with a package in his hands, bowing politely as he said aloud, "Konnichi wa, Yumi-chan…you're looking very well this afternoon."

"What do you want?" Yumi's nostrils flared as she stared at the man with far less warmth in her tone, voice and posture.

"I…wanted to apologize if we got off on the wrong foot the other day," Taichi responded, "It was rather rude of me to leave without giving you a gift. You do like chocolates, as I seem to remember…"

"I've been trying to cut back," Yumi responded, not favoring the gift yet not refusing it either, "As I said the first time, what do you want, Tai-san?"

Taichi winced a little, but he steadied his nerves as best he could, even if the initial greeting had gone off a bit less smooth than he might have wanted.

"Ah…" he searched for a new opening line and tried again, "You're looking…ah, rather healthy these days. The restaurant business obviously suits you."

"It pays the bills," Yumi turned away, "Not as much call for my old line of work. By the way, how is your wife doing?"

"Okay-I mean, she's doing quite well," Taichi slumped his shoulders a little, knowing this was definitely not going to go the way that he would have liked, "I must say…it was a bit of a surprise seeing you again after all of these years. I…didn't know that your nephew was setting up shop in this area…"

"Kuonji Enterprises is always looking to expand its interests in new market areas with a lot of capital growth potential," Yumi replied, "My nephew is very adept and promises to be a fine credit to the family owned business. It would be most unsettling if someone were to attempt to buy out this franchise before he has had a chance to demonstrate just how well he has learned under my tutorage in the running of a privately held business."

"Ah…well…yes," Taichi steeled himself, "About that. My clients are also interested in exploring their options for the Furinkan Financial district, and we most certainly do not anticipate any sort of conflict between your interests and our own. However…it we do acquire property holdings in the neighborhood, and it should happen that this block itself should need to be added to that tally…"

"You'll what?" Yumi glared at him, "Send your goons out here to try and force the owners to accept whatever offers you make them?"

"Certainly not!" Taichi protested, "I would never dream of doing anything like that with you. Why get perfectly good men killed? AH-I mean…surely there would be more civilized ways of settling such matters?"

"There would be," Yumi said, "And if it was just me I'd merely tell you to take a hike, but if I even so much as hear one word that you and your 'clients' are attempting to exert pressure on my nephew to sell his business…I would not look kindly on such a thing. Do you understand my meaning?"

Taichi swallowed a thick lump in his throat and replied, "As clear as crystal…but there is no need for you to harbor such suspicions and hostility towards me or my clients. We're not unreasonable people, we most certainly do not seek an adversarial relationship with either you, your nephew, or Kuonji industries itself. Surely there must be a less confrontational way for us to discuss these matters, Yumi-chan."

"Don't call me that," Yumi growled, "You lost the right a long time ago!"

"Um..." Taichi steeled himself and finally asked the question that had been bothering him since their previous meeting, "Is it about what happened in the park? I know I was…ah…less than fully honest with you at the time, and that I…inadvertently created certain…false expectations that I failed to realize. You're…not still upset with me about that, are you?"

"Upset with you?" Yumi's eyes glittered with emotion, and suddenly she was across the dividing line of the grill with trademark baker's peel in hand, and with a flourishing motion she brought the iron weapon around and swatted Taichi like a fly, picking him up and hurtling him out the doors as though she were scooping up something she found on the sidewalk.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT I'M UPSET WITH YOU!?!" she cried at the top of her lungs before hyperventilating for a few moments, only managing to calm down with the greatest of efforts.

"Wow," Ryomi exclaimed, having watched all of this with a round-eyed expression.

"Now that's what I love to see," Ganglot mused as she peered beyond her dark sunglasses, "Live entertainment with our food. This really is a full service establishment."

Out in the street Taichi groaned, his graceless landing having been broken by a handy mailbox that had just happened to be positioned outside of the restaurant, "She took that…better than I thought she would…"

"You think?" said Mailbox groaned with equal fatalism, thinking that there was much of a resemblance in technique between his Ucchan and her aunt, as if spatula wielding were a trait that could somehow be genetically transmitted.

Yumi finally calmed down enough to remember that she had an audience, and turned a sheepish expression their way, bowing before she said, "I'm sorry you both had to see that…"

"Not at all," Ganglot replied, "I'm sure the poor fellow did something to deserve it."

"That technique of yours," Ryomi sat upright, "You clobbered him so smoothly! I've never seen anything like it."

"Ah…Kuonji style Cooking Martial Arts," Yumi explained a bit sheepishly, "It's a family specialty..."

"Ah yes, and you do it with such style and panache," Ganglot complimented, "I'm something of a connoisseur of the arts myself and I appreciate a true master of their chosen profession."

"Oh, I'm nothing special," Yumi replied as she slung her trademark weapon across her back, "My family has been making okonomiyaki for countless generations, and we've perfected our technique over the years…it just comes in handy sometimes that our technique has many other applications."

"Ah, but you see, that's the part I don't get," Ganglot remarked, "You take such pride in your family business, and yet you have no direct heir, other than your nephew, to carry on the name and your profession."

"Well…perhaps…but Ukyo is a very special nephew," Yumi replied, "And I'm proud of the way that sh-HE has been coming up in the world. HE will be a real credit to the Kuonji name, and I'm satisfied just to help secure our legacy by supervising HIS more recent training."

"I can see that you are proud," Ganglot nodded, "And I'm sure your nephew will perform beyond your expectations for…him. It just seems such a shame that you never truly enjoyed the benefits of being a real mother…"

"Eh?" Yumi asked with a non-plussed expression.

"I'm sure you would have been a wonderful mother," Ganglot sighed, "It changes your outlook on life in so many ways that you would never expect. Of course, as you say, you seem happy enough with your life as it is, and a man would probably only complicate things. Besides, as you say, you lost out on the love of your life to some other woman, which no doubt was for the best."

"Ah…well…" Yumi hesitated.

"And as they say, all is fair in love and war and all that," Ganglot sighed, "Winners and losers in the game of life, I know well how that story goes…."

"Winners and losers?" Yumi blinked, "Now wait a minute…!"

"Oh, I'd never imply that you were a loser at anything," Ganglot reassured, "Even if someone else did win, a woman who obviously appealed to his tastes far better than you could."

"What?" Yumi reacted, "Me lose…to that…that…!"

"Was she a better cook or a more talented domestic?" Ganglot asked.

"Cook?" Yumi cried indignantly, "That neo-fascist…she couldn't cook to save her life!"

"Then was she prettier than you?" Ganglot wondered, "More feminine, more attractive to the opposite sex?"

"What?" Yumi rounded on the other woman, "Are you calling me unfeminine?"

"I would never think of doing any such thing," Ganglot assured her, though Ryomi did think it significant that her great grandmother kept one hand behind her back, "I'm just trying to understand how someone such as you could lose to another woman who obviously did not adhere to your high standards. I suppose it must all come down to a matter of chemistry. It's always the good ones that get away from us, we just have to go on and pick up the pieces…"

"Why should I?" Yumi muttered to herself, "I'm tired of playing second fiddle to some ghost of an army brat…never mind. If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to running a restaurant."

"By all means," Ganglot said, getting up from her chair, "Your food was excellent and the service was first rate. I believe that Ryo-chan and I will be visiting here for lunch more often, and do give my regards to your Nephew when you see him."

"Sure thing," Ryomi said as she followed the example of her elder, "Neat trick with the spatula. I wouldn't mind learning how you spin-reverse pivot like that."

"Oh, no problem, kid," Yumi replied with a deeply troubled expression as she returned to cleaning off her grill, intending to be ready when the school lunch crowd came by for their okonomiyaki.

Out on the street Ryomi took notice of the oddity of a mail box with legs sticking out from the bottom but preferred not to comment on this on the off-chance there might have been something in that okonomiyaki. Instead she turned to her great-grandmother and said, "What the heck was that all about? Were you trying to make her jealous about that guy and his picking somebody else?"

"Nothing so mundane, dear," the Oni chuckled softly, "Some people just need a good push in the right direction to get them to behave the way you want them to. You'll find out more about it once the fun really gets started in this drab old town…"

Naomi was utterly stunned upon debarking from the limousine, having expected to come upon a ruined dojo, only to find the rent in the wall had been repaired and that the dojo itself was presently under an advanced stage of reconstruction.

As she paused at the gates to the property itself she tried to sort out what she was seeing with her memories of the place when she had last left it, a battle ground where an elephant (and she still had problems reconciling herself with that point) had come crashing through the compound some refugee out of a Tarzan movie, trampling all that lay in its path (which very nearly had included Naomi and her daughter!). At the very least she had expected to see a yellow tape marker strung across the huge gap that had been in the brickwork with "Do Not Cross" signs indicating the zone of devastation. In America such things were meant more than for some flimsy security measure, but rather to mark off the extent of damages so that insurance companies could send representatives to inspect and make their estimations. She understood that matters were handled somewhat differently in Japan, but at the least she would have expected a week to have elapsed before a construction crew could be assigned to make repairs, after zoning permits and official police permission had been obtained once criminal matters had been properly determined.

There was not even a faint scar to mark where the wall had been demolished, and the dojo itself was near to fully reconstructed with fresh beams hoist into place by a curious work crew consisting of Atsuko, Silk, the Purple-haired Comb and some other individual whom Naomi did not recognize, fellow wearing some odd manner of ball cap.

To Naomi's further astonishment, the one named Atsuko was easily hefting a two hundred pound beam over her head while the man called out instructions and guided one end into place across the main beam. Comb helped guide the other end into a pre-cut groove so that the beam fit snugly without requiring either a hammer or nails. The blond haired man then pressed some wooden pegs into place using nothing more than the tip of his index finger while Atsuko went to fetch another beam, and all the while the one named Silk consulted some blue prints laid out on a table, conversing over details with the blonde haired girl named Kennou, while the one Naomi remembered as Nodoka appeared to serve ice-cool drinks to this odd team of workers.

No one paid immediate attention to her as Naomi scanned the yard in search of the two men she had witnessed the other day, and to her amazement she found them sitting on the porch of the main house calmly playing a board game together or rather she saw one of the two men-the owner of the estate himself-while the other looked to all the world like a giant panda! Naomi had to blink her eyes several times before taking all of this in with dull amazement. It was not at all how she had imagined a typical Japanese family might spend their mornings

"…I still say they need to reinforce the walls a little better," she heard Kennou arguing, "If you guys have things like elephants come crashing through here ever other day…"

"Unfortunately we could hardly afford the amount of steel and reinforced concrete needed to cope with such occurrences, Dear," Silk was replying before a growl from that odd half-and-half hound resting near to their side drew both women's attention to Naomi, "Oh my…company calling this early?"

"How the heck did you get in here, lady?" Kennou roundly challenged Naomi, as if marking out her turf against an unwanted intruder.

"Ah…I was coming to see you," Naomi began, not adding that she HAD been looking for the front door but somehow mysteriously wound up in the back, an occurrence that she could hardly blame them for being skeptical about should they doubt her, "I thought maybe…ah…"

"You wanted to check on us to see how we were doing?" Silk said pleasantly, "Isn't that very nice of you…and is that a present you bring us?"

"Ah…" Naomi glanced down at the package she was carrying in her hands and said, "Er…yes. I was told that it is the custom here to give presents when you visit someone's house…"

"What is it?" Atsuko asked as she suddenly popped up alongside them, "I hope it's chocolates! I just love it when people bring me candy! I've got a real sweet-tooth you know…"

"More like sweet-fangs," Comb noted as she, too, came up to join them, "Come to check on us, eh? Expecting to find the rotting bones that you could pick over?"

"Comb," Silk chided, "Be nice. Please forgive my companion, she hasn't had her distemper shots in quite some time, though I can vouch for the fact that she does not actually carry rabies, appearances notwithstanding."

"Bite me," the purple haired woman snorted.

"Don't give her any ideas," Atsuko stage-whispered, "I already made that mistake once already…"

"How nice to see you again, Nakamura-san," Nodoka said with even more pleasantness than Silk herself, "And how are you and your lovely daughter enjoying your stay in Japan?"

"So far it has been…most illuminating," Naomi replied, glancing to one side before adding, "Don't those two do any work around here?"

"Nope," Atsuko leered, "It's not exactly for their brains or their labor skills that we keep them around."

"Most certainly," Silk nodded, "If Soun-chan and the useless panda want to help out, there is nothing to stop them, but we do this as a labor of love and in token repayment for the kindness and hospitality of the Tendos."

"Besides," Kennou snorted, "The sort of help those two might give would be worse than no help at all. The Three Stooges had more employment skills than those two."

"Excuse me," a soft-spoken, warmly polite and unmistakably MALE voice said from just behind Naomi, "But if everyone is taking a break for right now, then I hope you'll excuse me while I report back to the main office. I need to pick up a few more supplies if we're going to get this done before sunset…"

Naomi slowly turned around, a look of dazed wonder crossing her lovely face as she found herself looking up into the face of the most gorgeous man whom she had ever seen grace the entire planet. Up close his manly good looks and robust health affected her like a small conflagration that erupted, in her soul and spread out to engulf all other areas. In dazed wonder she marked that face by each distinguishing feature, classified him as an Adonis and promptly felt weak in the knees, and coming very close to fainting outright!

"By all means, Bogart-san," Silk replied as if she were the one entitled to give permission, "Take your time but do hurry back. You're making such splendid progress that I know very shortly you will have Soun-chan's dojo fully restored to its former glory. Everything should be in readiness for when Nabiki-san and the others get back from their mission."

"Thanks," the astonishingly handsome man smiled a friendly smile as he made semi-saluting motion with two fingers touching his cap before turning around and taking his leave of their presence.

Naomi thought she heard a faint sigh escape from Kennou's lips, or it could have been an echo of her own soft exhalation, which same implied that she had forgotten to breathe for several long seconds.

"Sooo," Comb drawled the question, "Why are you here, Nakamura-san? Is this just a social visit, and where is your bodyguard?"

"Ah…Kento-san is not my bodyguard," Naomi came back to herself with a snap that was almost elastic, "But he is looking after my Rachael. I'm here because we never did get to finish our little chat from the previous day concerning this dojo, which…I can see, is on a firmer foundation than I had previously imagined."

"Well then," Silk waved to the house, "Why don't you and I have a little chat about that while the rest of our merry crew relax and unwind in their own individual fashions."

"That would be most pleasurable for me," Naomi agreed, handing over the package she was carrying before adding, "And these are seaweed cakes, not chocolate."

"Awww," both Comb and Atsuko responded, while Kennou gave the pair her most patented, "I don't know these people" expression.

"I love seaweed cakes," Silk accepted the package, then motioned towards the house once again, only to pause as she gave the rest of her companions a meaningful glare, at which point Comb reacted, as did Atsuko with disappointed expressions.

"Come on, you two," Kennou said in disgust as she took them both by their arms and drew them out into the yard with a grumble, "Honestly, you guys are about as subtle as a lead pipe…"

Naomi blinked her eyes, wonder just what sort of weird family environment they were running at this Tendo place, and whether it was safe to bring children around. Nonetheless she was pleased to be sitting down at the table across from the smooth-talking Silk, feeling more at home in conversation with someone who had more than two neurons to rub together, as opposed to people who preferred to use their fists to illustrate their points in conversation.

"I'm sorry if my friends are a bit nosy and aggressive in wanting to know the reason for your visit," Silk began, "I admit to curiosity, but I am not about to assign sinister motivations simply because you are a foreigner representing American business interests."

"You will forgive me," Naomi smiled, "But you are not exactly native born yourself. I at least have Japanese ancestry, but you are a resident of the mainland, and I am given to understand that Japanese sensibilities do not run all that highly favorable in that direction."

"All too true," Silk replied as she poured more freshly brewed tea into both of their cups, "But less so now than during my previous visit some twenty years ago. Chinese have always been regarded with suspicion by the Japanese, owing to a few odd wars waged between our two countries and the usual ethnocentric barriers that you Americans yourselves must find very difficult to cope with."

"You've been to Japan before," Naomi said as she blew on her tea to help cool it, "I must confess that I find your relationship with the owner of this house a rather curious one…not that it's any of my business, of course…"

"Well, it's not exactly on the level of a National State Secret that I became intimate with Soun-chan during my previous stay in Japan," Silk mused, "And the fact that we have a daughter now old enough to call me up a while ago and tell me that she and her husband are expecting their first child might be considered scandalous in some quarters, but we Amazons tend not to be all that obsessed with our reputations."

"Your daughter is going to have a baby?" Naomi blinked, "A daughter born illegitimately…?"

"I take exception with your choice of wording," Silk said smoothly, "There is nothing illegitimate at all about my daughter, whatever the circumstances are surrounding her conception. I never informed Soun-chan that I was pregnant on my return to the mainland, and he only found out when she came to Japan searching for a nearly identical sister she never even knew that she had."

"I'd imagine he was rather upset with you for not telling him," Naomi remarked.

"Perhaps he was," Soun remarked, "But that's the remarkable thing about Soun-chan, he can be surprisingly resilient and forgiving, once he has time to adjust to something as unsettling as discovering a twenty year old Amazon Demon Hunter on his doorstep. It's one of the things that attracted me to him in the first place."

"So now you're trying to rekindle the old romance, eh?" Naomi found herself smirking, as if she were having a friendly chat with one of her old high school girlfriends.

"More than trying," Silk smiled with all the mysteriousness of a lady Buddha, "In truth the fact that I was the first of his suitors to make plain my desire for him gave me a foot in the door, even if I did make a choice that I later regretted of returning home rather than pursue a more permanent relationship. Instead I surrendered him to an engagement arranged by his parents between him and the chief of all my rivals, the late Tsukino Kimiko."

"The mother of those three girls I saw yesterday," Naomi remarked, "The legitimate-I mean-the daughters born to his late wife…"

"The very same," Silk replied, "Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane, each of them a very special girl and each gifted in their own individual ways. I have made quite a study of those three during my time here and have drawn many…interesting conclusions. I now feel that I know them almost as well as if they were my own daughter, not that I would presume on them to fulfill the role their true mother left vacant."

"But you'd like the chance to be their step-mother," Naomi deduced.

"Not if it alienates me against those three girls, but…if a suitable arrangement could be found by which I could appease their concerns and understand that I would never truly seek to usurp Kimiko in their father's heart, I would be happy to regain a place in their father's life that was of a more-or-less permanent arrangement," Silk replied, taking another sip from her teacup.

"I see," Naomi replied, her own expression relaxing somewhat, "This almost reminds me of the time I spent with my ex-husband. We married when we were both much too young, and we had no idea of all the…complications it would cause in both our lives. I managed to work my way through college and even graduated at the top of my class before having Rachael, and then there was all that bother and hassle about finding a competent day care service, and Rick never did enough to help carry his half of the weight…"

"Men can't always be relied upon to know what is best," Silk remarked, "Not their fault, really, more like a trick of biology that makes them eager to plant a seed but not so fond of the idea of harvesting the fruit of their labor."

"I won't pass of some of what he did as a mere result of biology," Naomi growled, "Poor breeding is no excuse for turning out the way he did when his career failed to take off like mine. In the end I had to make a decision for the sake of my Rachael."

"And I'm certain it was not an easy decision you made either," Silk heaved a sigh, "Men can be full of surprises, and not all of them pleasant, but without them we would have to find alternative ways of entertaining ourselves, a reason why we Amazons have never truly done entirely without them."

"You say…Amazon," Naomi frowned, "As in a society of women warriors?"

"The strongest women fighters in all of China," Silk replied, "Some think us merely a legend rather than one of the oldest continuous civilizations on the planet with our roots going back to Bronze-aged Asia Minor. We are a matriarchy, one of a very few remaining from ancient times, tolerated by the government of Beijing because we are too remote and troublesome to be worth the effort of them forcing us into submission."

"I can imagine that they're any too happy to have a group like you in their midst," Naomi remarked, "From what I've read the government of Communist China is as intolerant of dissent as they are of non-conformists."

"We have had our difficulties in the past," Silk replied, "But the power of the Amazons should never be underrated, and we have-on occasion-impressed upon the government officials the consequences that would be exacted upon them should they try and impose their rule on us directly."

"Well, not to presume to know anything about your business," Naomi remarked, "But I personally would never rest easy until there is a permanent and decisive change in the Beijing government. Their leaders strike me as the sort of ruthless bastards who would stop at nothing just to remain in power."

"I dare say you are right about that," Silk said with a distant tone in her voice, "But one can never say when it comes to the future…too many alternate pathways lay open at any turn in the road that destiny will follow. We have a say in the turns and twists of our own destinies, yet we can never ignore the path that is already there waiting for us to pursue it."

"What is this?" Naomi asked, "Ancient Chinese Fortune Cookie wisdom?"

"Something like that," Silk replied, "Or poetry, if you like, such as Robert Frost's famous dictum regarding the road not taken, which made all of the difference."

"Look," Naomi set down her cup of tea, "It's no concern of mine how you pursue affairs of stare or affairs of the heart, and I really didn't mean to wander off into matters of such a personal nature…"

"No, you did not," Silk replied, "You are here because you are interested in the property, but also because the traditions embodied by this dojo fascinate you on a certain level. You have never experienced anything quite like the Anything Goes dojo, and you strike me as the sort of person who likes to acquire the things that fascinate her."

"You think I'm here because I'm after the property?" Naomi replied with an arching of eyebrows.

"That is part of your reason," Silk replied, "The company you represent is considering real estate acquisitions as a part of a long-term project that you are a part of. You seek to curry favor with your employers by exploring the options on possible land acquisition, not just of this property but of the rest of the surrounding neighborhood. It will be on your recommendation that the company moves ahead with its plans, which is why you are still trying to make up your mind about us. Finding the dojo in ruins would have lowered the property rates and made such an acquisition that much more easy…"

"I see," Naomi replied, "Not much gets by you, does it?"

"I pride myself as an observer, as well as a judge of character," Silk replied, "You are not truly a bad person, nor even as ruthless as you style yourself, but it would be a mistake to underestimate you. Your skills at business are quite formidable, and having you for an enemy would be most undesirable. You have approached me because you believe I have some influence upon Soun, and if I were to agree with your plans then he most likely would follow my advice. Of course if you were to deal with Soun-chan directly you might discover that he can be quite adamant on certain issues, and that the dojo itself is the one thing he prizes more than life, family and honor."

"Why is this place so special to him?" Naomi asked in surprise.

"It would be difficult to describe to you," Silk replied, "Perhaps the best term to use would be the memories that this place holds for him…of his family, his roots to traditional society, the home where he loved his wife and cared for his children, where he played as a child himself and rode upon the knee of his late mother. So much about this place holds value to him beyond all wealth and title, and he would quite literally do anything to keep this property within the family, even promise his daughters to the first man who is strong enough to hold it against all opposition."

"I think…I understand a little of what that is like," Naomi replied, "I've never truly had a home to call my own. I traveled a lot in my youth and my parents…my adopted parents…tended to move around a lot…and besides…it is difficult to summarize…"

"But you have difficulty finding your way back to the place where you originally began," Silk concluded for her, "Direction is a problem for you, not just knowing where to turn and which path to follow. Retracing your steps to the beginning is simply beyond your ability, and you have never understood why this is so. If you had no one to guide you, no familiar landmarks, you might well wander at random and never find your way in this world or in life…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naomi was half on her feet, "What are you getting at? Why can't you just come right out and say it?"

"My apologies if I have given you offense," Silk replied, "But I am feeling my way here, and there is much about you that conforms in character to someone else of my acquaintance."

"What would you know about what I've had to go through, what I've had to endure?" Naomi demanded, "Who the hell are you to presume to lecture me about my life…?"

"I am a Lore Master," Silk replied, "It is in my nature to divine truth and to speak it. It is the truth, is it not? You have no sense of direction, and you have no idea why this is so. You are stronger than any other girl of your age, and your daughter has inherited this strength, but raw strength alone cannot earn your way in this world, so you have learned to adapt to a world where people make certain assumptions about you. Being more intelligent than most you have done an admirable job of mastering your chosen profession, but now you are beginning to sense that there is more to your world than you have previously imagined."

"And just what the hell does all of that mean?" Naomi demanded.

"That your roots, and the answer to the mysteries surrounding your existence, are to be found here in Japan," Silk replied, "And it centers around this dojo."

"You're insane!" Naomi got up and backed away from the table, "You think I'm buying any of this fortune cookie mumbo jumbo? You think I'll buy into it just because you found out a few things about me?"

"I think you are intelligent enough to form your own answers," Silk replied, "Deny it to yourself if you must, but we both know better. The truth is here, and it is waiting for you to see it."

"What truth?" Naomi turned and walked out onto the porch, "I don't even know why I came out here! Forget it, goodbye! Thanks for the tea, and don't bother seeing me out the door!"

"But…" Silk paused then smiled softly, "Oh well…good luck finding your own way out of the yard, Nakamura-san."

Comb, Atsuko and Kennou came out from hiding, the latter one saying, "What the heck was that all about? You rattled her cage pretty hard there…"

"Probably wanted to see what fell out," Comb remarked, "After all, she is a Hibiki."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Atsuko growled, "And what were you trying to do making her angry like that? Didn't you just say she could be a pretty mean customer to go up against?"

"It was a risk, I will admit that," Silk conceded, "But it was necessary to first throw her off her guard by opening up about myself and giving her a sense that she could safely do likewise. Once matters turned to more serious issues of business she was more on her guard, and then I closed the argument by tossing her a piece of meat to attract her interest. She has a real hunger to know about her roots, and that will bring her back to us time and again until she is ready to accept the answers we provide her. You will have to take charge of matters at that point, Atsuko-san…after all, she is a kinswoman."

"I hope you're right," Comb sighed, "It a dangerous game that you're playing with Soun's dojo, and that has an effect on Shampoo and her airen, so what goes around comes around…"

"Which is the way things usually work with a Hibiki," Silk softly noted.

"Hey, watch the personal remarks," Kennou frowned, "But you know…I actually feel sorry for that lady somehow. She's got no idea who he is or about any of that stuff you've been telling me about the family."

"Rather a lot like you before we found you, eh sis?" Atsuko remarked with a sly expression.

The blonde did not answer that one directly, but the frown she adopted was more contemplative than resentful…

Cologne sighed as she eased back into the steaming warm bath that was installed outside to the Masaki household. A product of Juraian technology that seemingly defied numerous architectural standards, it was surprisingly relaxing as well as pleasing to the eye and mind, and it afforded her some measure of seclusion so that she could at long last unwind and take stock of her surroundings.

These young people (well, technically young anyway) were so full of energy and life that at times it was a trial just keeping up with their numerous exchanges. The week or so since she had accepted her father's generous offer to pay an extended visit had been both exciting and fruitful, and none so more than the past few days when the normal (for lack of a better term) routine of daily life had been disrupted with the arrival of the curious girl-child who called herself Miyuki.

How curious that the young girl should just drop in on her nephew and announce herself in such an auspicious manner. Unraveling the truth surrounding that girl had proven a bit of a challenge even for likes of Washu, but when at last they had confronted the Demoness Yazuha and learned the truth of the child's conception it had been a bit of a revelation on all counts. So many dramatic moments to experience before the final confrontation in which her nephew had prevailed by use of the Lighthawk sword. In the end they had managed to save enough of Miyuki to clone the child via Washu's laboratories, and now there was a baby forming from a zygote into a child that would soon need the love and caring of a family unit. Even Ryoko was pitching in on this, and she being the one who had most resented Miyuki and all she represented.

Washu…Cologne shuddered slightly at the thought of paying another visit to her laboratory. The self-described "Greatest Mad Scientist of the Universe" and her appetite for studying members of the Juraian royal house had just given Cologne a new definition of the words "A Probing Inquiry." Letting down her guard around that one had definitely NOT been one of the wisest moves of Cologne's existence, a mistake she had no intention of repeating any time soon.

Of course Cologne was not to be underestimated either, which was why the act of physically relaxing was so rare for her, almost sinfully self-indulgent. With nothing to do, no place to have to be in any great hurry, no important decisions to make, nothing to be consulted about, even training momentarily suspended and her time set aside for the pure joy of relaxing, it was a moment where Cologne could all but redefine the nature of her life through simple reflection. Enjoying a refreshing period of utter and complete contentment, it was for the first time in almost three hundred years that she could really and truly let her guard down, shed all her disguises, pretenses and inhibitions and just be a normal young-seeming girl, much like what she in fact resembled due to her Juraian longevity. Time to enjoy her retirement, allow the world go about its ways and let responsibility melt away from her shoulders, permitting her to bathe and relax in the glorious contentment of a life well lived, surrendering herself to the arms of fate itself…whose arms felt oddly real, solid and inviting now that she took a moment to pay attention…

Arms? Cologne's eyes flew back open as hands caressed her from behind and cupped her breasts as long and sensuous fingers teased her skin and gently yanked upon her nipples, even as another pair of warm pillows pressed up against the exposed area of Cologne's back as her long hair was currently done up in a tight bun. Even as she made these discoveries she smelled the familiar perfume of almonds and honeysuckle that recalled to mind a certain someone who always loved to shampoo her hair in a blend of such scented allow mixture, and then the familiar voice murmuring in her ear, "<Nihao, Kho-Lon, darling…I've been waiting for you to get here…>"

Cologne's yelp of dismay could be heard all the way to the Masaki manner…

Continued

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