Fan Fiction ❯ MGS: DOA ❯ Chapter 3

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CHAPTER 3

 

The river was beautiful today. The leaves had turned to golden brown, a perfect match for her hair and eyes. As she watched her reflection ripple in the water, her thoughts drifted, again, to the home she'd lost. She shook her head, as if she could clear her mind and start over. Then there was a sudden rustling in the bushes and in a blur of blue and hazel, she leapt into the nearest tree, her blade drawn. For a moment, there was no sound, no movement. As she peered through the leaves, her breathing became nearly silent, until she got her first look at her “assailant.” A small pigeon came hopping from the brush. Relieved, the girl dropped again to the ground. She smiled and held out her hand, coaxing the tiny bird. As it flew to her hand, however, her eyes narrowed. There was a small piece of parchment tied to its leg. “It can't be for me.” she thought, “No one knows I'm here. But still…” As she gently untied the note, she petted the bird, then sat it on a branch, where it waited patiently. The note was short;

 

“Kasumi-chan,

Tread with caution, an ill wind blows, do not reply, I will seek you out.”

 

The Kanji symbol with which it was signed told her who it was from and that she must heed the message. “He worries too much,” she said half to the bird and half to herself. “There has not been a day in my life without an ill wind for a long time now. Besides, he is foolish to even contact me, let alone seek me out.” She once again held the bird for a moment, then raised her hand to set it in flight. It circled twice, then sped off to the North, toward Hokkaido, toward home. Her mind turned toward food, so she picked up a fishing rod and headed upriver.

Not too far to the North was another fisher, quietly enjoying the sun and the peace. His ears picked up the shrill call of a hawk and he glanced skyward. He sat, amused, as a small falcon circled above. But his amusement faded quickly when he saw it dive… and followed its path to a small pigeon. Acting quickly, he grabbed a small stone and leapt from rock to rock, crossing the river. For a moment he feared he would be too late, but the falcon missed on its first pass. As it climbed and circled back, he whistled and the pigeon veered towards him. As soon as the falcon came into its second dive, he flung the rock into the air, striking the raptor in mid-flight. As the larger bird abandoned the hunt, the pigeon landed square in his outstretched hand. When it landed he held out his other hand, which contained two different seeds. When the pigeon chose one he smiled. “Good,” he said, pocketing the remaining seed, “she received it then…”

 

“Come on you two, the chopper is ready to go.” Helena glared at Bayman again and strutted off toward the craft. “I don't understand, Snake,” grumbled Bayman, “Why are we bringing her? I told you I can spot them on sight just as well as she could.” “I know that.” Snaked replied, clearly annoyed, “but it seems like everyone who knows you hates you. You're not exactly the most charismatic person on earth.” “Piff,” he grunted back, “look who's talking.” “Listen Bayman, I don't like it any better than you do, I much prefer to work alone. But the fact is, she can help and at the moment she's got nowhere else to go.” Otacon came running toward them, “Wait a minute Snake! She's here!” Snake climbed up to the deck and saw a small boat approaching the sub. “Good, I was wondering if she was gonna make it before we left.” Helena, who had already boarded the chopper, saw him and yelled up, “What is it Snake?” “Tech Support.” He yelled back without turning around, “And a friend.” he added softly. A young, oriental woman docked the boat with the ship and began climbing the ladder. “Snake,” she called, “It's good to see you again!” Snake let himself smile a bit, “Mei Ling, I was afraid you were out of touch.” She suddenly became very serious, “Well, when I got your message I was in Hong Kong, so you'd better appreciate me coming all the way here to Japan.” She broke into a smile, “Besides, a wise man once said, `a friend in need is a friend indeed.” “Now that's the Mei Ling I remember. I hate to rush, but did you manage to get the stuff?” he asked. “Of course, Snake. I designed them. If I needed to I could have built you new ones.” After getting help for her equipment, Snake introduced her to everyone. “She designed the codec and my Soliton Radar. The radar is a bit hard to come by, but she's provided us with some extra nanos and codecs. If we're separated, which will probably happen, we can stay in contact with these. She also came up with these.” He held out some small earpieces. Mei Ling seemed particularly proud of them. “They are direct translators.” She explained. “They can translate Japanese into English and vice-versa.” “That's very clever,” Helena said, examining the earpiece, “but I won't be needing one.” “Neither will I.” Bayman curtly added, “Can we just get the stuff and get on with it?” Helena glared at him, again, but Snake broke in, “No, he's right. We need to get moving. As soon as everyone has their codec, we'll take off.” Helena and Bayman went down to the med-lab to receive theirs while Snake prepped the chopper. “Otacon, come here for a moment.” “Yeah, Snake?” “Did you get a chance to have Helena's clothes scanned for bugs?” “Yeah. I, I mean we, well, when she had her shower we left her a robe and took her clothes to be scanned.” “What's the matter then? You didn't find anything did you?” “Oh, no, nothing like that, Snake, it's just, well, she came down herself to get them back… in the bathrobe.” Snake grinned at him, “Don't do that, Otacon. I thought it was something serious. I have to admit though, I can see why you were so worked up.” Otacon went from red to scarlet.

 

Christie shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she stood in the dark. That was as close as she ever came to being nervous. “Let me get this straight.” The voice came from behind a shadowed desk. “You've had a tracking bug on her for several days now.” “That's correct,” Christie sighed. “But,” the voice continued, “it's not transmitting and you think they'll scan her anyway? Is that also correct?” “Yes, it is.” There was a momentary silence, and Christie could hear the chair squeak. “Care to explain that?” Christie was about to say no, but bit her tongue, almost literally. “OK. One, the device is not transmitting because it hasn't been activated yet. Two, because it is inactive, she can be scanned again and again but it won't show up. And three, she must have been checked by now and I doubt they'll scan her again.” There was a low chuckle from the dark. “My dear Christie, once again you've outdone yourself. Are you sure the beacon will remain with her?” “Are you kidding?” she smirked. “Have you ever seen her anywhere without that stupid ribbon?”

 

“OK you two, listen up.” The chopper was headed inland as Snake got their attention. “Helena, are you sure you don't remember anything else?” Helena smiled, “Have you ever tried to spy on a Shinobi? Personally, I'm amazed that DOATEC was able to capture two of them in the first place. All I know is that the Mugen-Tenshin Clan operates out of this region of Hokkaido.” She pointed to the map on the floor. “Our best bet is to simply start looking and let them find us.” “Ha!” Bayman more grunted than laughed. “Are you insane woman? We'd be dead before anyone said `hello'. One-on-one they're not so tough, but if you think the whole clan is just going to let you waltz in for tea, you're crazy.” “I suppose you have a better idea?” Helena was getting used to Bayman's gruffness, but still didn't trust him. He fell silent and pretended to study the map. “OK, fine, we let them find us.” Snake was satisfied with that, “But that only takes care of this Hayate. What about the other three?” Bayman looked up, “That, I can answer. DOATEC may have tried twice with the Epsilon project, but the two attempts were not all that different. If I remember correctly, Kasumi is Hayate's sister so he must know where to find her. As for this Hayabusa, I believe he is part of the same clan. All I know about Ayane is that she has a mean roundhouse kick.” Helena giggled, “You didn't do so well in the last tournament, did you?” “If I remember, Miss Helena, you did not win either.” She stood up. “Unlike you I could care less about the stupid tournament. I was only there because I was… looking for someone.” “Alright that's enough.” Now Snake was standing as well. “We're almost to the landing site, I'm gonna report in.” As Snake activated his codec, Helena and Bayman continued to glare at each other.