Gatekeepers 21 Fan Fiction ❯ Tokyo Knight ❯ In-laws ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer and a few notes: I don't own the "House of the Dead" games, but I have played II and III. Same with "Soul Caliber"

This chapter has a light lemon-lime flavour to it…just enough to offend the non-perverted, but light enough to leave the perverts unsatisfied. In other words, please don't report this as 'abuse.'

The songs that Alex randomly sings are mostly by Rod Stewart; he's an oldies fan. Bonus points to those who can name the songs.

Again, please read my notes. They answer all the questions I anticipated, and those are usually the obvious ones. I won't answer questions in reviews that are answered by my notes. And they usually contain answers to questions about previous chapters.

Part IV: In-laws

Breakfast on Monday consisted of cereal and milk. Satoka left for school about half an hour before I did. Masaharu and Kenichii were waiting for me at the school's gate. 'I can't believe you two aren't doing it!' exclaimed Kenichii. 'Are you gay or something? You're living together! Any straight man would be taking advantage of that.'

My right hand groped for a holster under my jacket before I remembered that I'd left my guns at home. I answered in a tight voice, 'That's between the two of us. You live a floor down from her. Why don't you take advantage of that? Try cornering her in an elevator sometime.'

'Because she'd kill me if I tried!'

'And I'll kill you if you keep bugging me about her.' I broke away from them and went to class.

After school, I returned home to pick up my guns and headed out to a shooting range a few blocks away. After about an hour of punching holes in paper targets, I felt less homicidal. I'd also created a series of rather cute giant snowflakes. Satoka ran up to me as I was leaving. 'I thought you might be here. I need your help with something.'

That something turned out to be the latest "House of the Dead" game. The series revolved around shooting zombies. The guns were ridiculously light and had no recoil. I kept shooting to one side of my target through the first act. By the end, I'd gotten used to the guns and finished the final act on one credit. Then we moved on to "Soul Caliber II." She kicked my ass around for twenty minutes before I gave up and left to try my luck at a "Gauntlet" game.

I started dinner when we got home-Satoka cooked Sunday night and we agreed that I would take care of meals from then on-roast chicken and baked potatoes. As we ate, she asked me, 'I've heard you talking with your friends about me, and I've been wondering why you haven't tried to make a move on me. Am I that ugly? Or are you gay?'

'You're beautiful, and I'm not gay. But I have seen what you can do with those swords of yours. I'd like to keep my limbs attached until I graduate.'

'Oh, come on. I wouldn't hurt you for trying to feel on me or something like that.' I gave her a flat stare until she added, 'Well, not much, anyway. You have any idea how hard it is to have everyone so afraid of you that no one ever asks you out?'

'No, but with my parents' bouncing around the States, I was in a new school almost every year. I went out with girls, but they could all tell that I wasn't sticking around, so we never got anywhere. The closest things to friends that stayed with me were my books: Homer, Mallory, de Troyes, the Icelandic Sagas-all the old stories. That's how I learned Japanese, in fact-I was on a Far East streak a few years ago and I couldn't find any good English versions of the Tale of Genji, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or several other books. My parents helped me with the Japanese; the Chinese sorta came with learning the kanji. I have no idea when they learned it, though.'

'So why'd they send you to Japan? Are they still in the States?'

'No. They're dead.' The words came out flat and toneless.

'Oh. I'm sorry. How'd they-Never mind.' She broke off, finally connecting my name with the month-old news reports. 'I guess you're not in the mood for dating just now, are you?'

'Not really. Can we talk about something else?' The conversation moved on to the weekend's new movies, none of which sounded very good. There was yet another Godzilla movie, a handful of random martial arts films, a couple of animated things, and some chick flicks. My 'spiritual' advisors brought up the subject later that night.

[She's a beautiful girl, you know. And they do say there's only one way to comfort a widow. Some say it's true for all types of grief.]

<Art thou suggesting they engage in carnal relations? Such a thing is a great sin!> Not to my goddess. Don't you two have better things to do than butt into my business? That's between me and her. Not you.

[Not really. One of the great disadvantages of being dead is that you can't do anything.] I'm not discussing this anymore. I slammed the Gate shut and went to bed.

I was cooking dinner Thursday when the doorbell rang. Satoka answered it while I turned the salmon steaks over. 'Mom! Dad! What are you doing here?'

The shock almost caused me to flip a steak into the soup. A rich female voice answered, 'To check up on you, dear. Your landlord told us you'd moved out and gave us this address. It seems to be a cozy little place. How ever did you find it on such short notice?'

'Um…actually, it's his.' I turned around to see Satoka pointing at me. Her mother was a slender woman, slightly shorter than her daughter, with the same large eyes and long limbs. Her father was muscular and tall, rather grim of face with red-tipped black hair. I put two more steaks on the stove before greeting them.

'Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa?' They nodded. I introduced myself and bowed deeply, left fist to heart (???That's Alex's way of bowing). 'Please, come in. We're having salmon with steamed vegetables and clam chowder tonight.' Satoka pulled two small suitcases in after them as I returned to the kitchen.

'I see you have a fine collection of spirits here. But you are underage, aren't you?' I looked up to find Mr. Tachikawa examining my liquor cabinet. It stood between my shrine to Athena and the TV.

'Please, help yourself. I inherited most of it from my parents. Some people collect stamps, other people collect baseball cards. My parents collected liquor. I keep it around for medicinal and religious purposes.' He poured himself a little whiskey as I turned my attention to the steaks.

After dinner, Mrs. Tachikawa said, 'I can see why Satoka's staying here if you do all the cooking.'

'Thank you. Can get you something to drink?' I looked around the table, but everyone shook his head.

'I understand why Satoka had to move our of her old apartment, but why did she move in with you?' Mr. Tachikawa cracked his knuckles as he asked this. Before I could start explaining, Satoka burst out.

'We're getting married! We were going to surprise you with it later, but you asked, so….' A discreet but very sharp elbow to my ribs dissuaded me from setting them straight.

'Congratulations, dear! I can see by your uniform that you're a junior. That makes you, what? Sixteen? Isn't that a bit young to be getting married?' She seemed to be taking it well.

'I'll be 18 in March. There were a few problems with my transfer to Tategami High-a few required courses that weren't taught in the States, a few credits they wouldn't accept; happens all the time to students who transfer overseas. I had Euclidean Geometry my ninth grade year with a senior from Korea. High school has four grades in that part of the country,' I added when they exchanged puzzled glances.

'I see. So how do your parents feel about this?' Her father seemed a bit more skeptical, though.

'They died about a month ago in an accident in Osaka. I stayed with my uncle here for a while, but I've been living on my own for a few weeks now.' A heavy silence fell across the table.

'Oh, I'm sorry. So, Satoka, tell us about the proposal and the ring. This is so sudden, though.' Mrs. Tachikawa tried to steer the conversation back to a lighter topic.

Before I could say we weren't engaged yet, just thinking about marriage, Satoka said, 'I guess it was love at first sight. We met in Osaka about a month ago when I was visiting you, and it turns out we're at the same high school here in Tokyo. He told me once that he had his own apartment, so I asked him if he could put me up for a while when I lost mine. That night, he just pulled a ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him. I'll show it to you later.' She kept a smooth face and a level voice throughout this blatant lie. Meanwhile, I had a growing urge to rip her tongue out by the roots. At least I had a few of my mother's rings and some other jewelry lying around.

To cover my rage, I asked the Tachikawas how long they were planning to stay in Tokyo. They replied, 'Well, since we thought Satoka would be living alone, we had planned to spend the weekend with her. But with you here….' I opened my mouth to offer them my room-the couch folded out into a bed-but Satoka beat me again.

'Oh, don't worry about that. You can stay in my room. I'll just stay with him for a few nights.' I had a Queen-sized bed-more because I rolled around in my sleep than because I expected to share it-so space wasn't a problem. The awkwardness of it was, though.

I said with false enthusiasm, 'So! Now that that's settled, let's get you moved in.' I towed the suitcases in while Satoka gathered some clothes, books, and personal items to move into my room. While she set up, I rifled through my mother's jewelry for a suitable ring. I settled on a small diamond solitaire-I was a bachelor in high school, after all-that she seemed to approve. Once she settled in, I told her, 'Grab a towel. We need to talk.' The bathroom was the only relatively soundproof room in the apartment-and I wasn't in a quiet mood.

While I waited for her to join me, I drew a hot bath. Galahad immediately launched into a sermon. <Surely thou wouldst not condone such deceit? Marriage is a holy thing, not to be used in such a shameful manner.> It wasn't my idea. Go lecture her about it.

[Get off it, Galahad. The world isn't what you remember. Divorce is common now; so are second, third, even fifth marriages. Besides, if I read her parents right, this is the only way to get them to accept their living arrangements.]

<Nonetheless, this is a most dishonourable means of gaining such acceptance.>

[I was only joking, my dear/looking for a way to hide my fear. What kind of fool was I? I could never win…] Alex, please don't sing. And what does that song have to do with anything?

[Everything, in this case.]

The door opened and Satoka came in wearing a blue robe. As soon as the door closed behind her, I exploded. ' "We're getting married?!" What the hell were you thinking?!! That has to be the worst story I ever heard! Do you really expect them to believe it? Why can't you just tell them the truth? I swear, if they hadn't been sitting two feet from me, I would have throttled you on the spot! Can't you think of a better lie to tell them?

'You could have told them I was gay. You half-believe that anyhow. And my parents just died! You're making me look like some grieving loser seeking comfort in the first piece of tail he found. Gods below, I feel like I'm trapped in a bad movie or an old cartoon. At least I have a few months to get out of this.' I sank into the tub as I said the last sentence. The hot water helped calm my mind.

'Don't you have anything to say? Or are you just going to stand there staring all night? It's not like you haven't seen me like this before.'

'I'm sorry. I just panicked, I guess. My parents are very conservative; they aren't likely to approve of something like this. You saw how my father was even after I told him we were engaged. If they think we've had sex-and I don't think there's any way around that now-they'd force us to get married. Can't have you get away with taking advantage of their poor innocent daughter, after all.'

I grunted sourly. 'Me take advantage of you? It should be the other way around-you seducing some grieving boy to get your paws on his inheritance. Well, it's not like I have a few millions hidden away somewhere.'

'I might act like a moneygrubber sometimes, but I'm not that desperate. Now move over. I'm not going to stand here while you talk all night.'

It was a tight fit, but not too bad. I ignored my body's inevitable response to the situation. 'Engagements fall through all the time. I cheat on you, you cheat on me, I turn out to be a jobless bum…I'll think of some way to get out of this.'

'If I find out you've been sleeping around, I'll have to kill you-or Dad will. Nothing personal, it's just how he thinks.'

A bell rang from the speaker. 'Yes?' We called together.

We were answered by Mrs. Tachikawa's voice. 'So that's where you two are. I won't interrupt you, but please don't be too much longer. Other people need baths, too.' The speaker fell silent and we looked at each other for a long moment. Satoka's face was unreadable, but I groaned inwardly.

'So you don't want to marry me. Why? Am I ugly or something?'

'You're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met. It's just well…I'm not ready to get married just now. I don't know if I ever will. Besides, I don't think anyone would accept a proposal like yours, so sudden and unromantic. I suppose it could be worse, though-you could have Miu's voice.' We both laughed at that. 'Come on. I don't think your parents will wait much longer.'

The moans and screaming from the other room kept me awake well past midnight. After about half an hour of trying to sleep, I gave up and opened my bettered copy of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Satoka stirred beside me when I turned the light on. 'So you can't sleep, either? Think we can be louder than they are?' She half-rolled on top of me. 'C'mon, you know you wanna try.' I could feel how she knew.

I firmly moved her hand away and said, 'Not all of me. Not tonight, at least.' I kissed her gently and returned to my book. The sound of other people having sex was never one of my turn-ons.

She rolled off me and sat silently for a while. Finally, she said, 'You know, it's kinda nice, sharing a room like this. Maybe we can turn my room into a nursery or something. We'll need one eventually.'

'Can we talk about kids later? Say, after I decide to marry you?' Her mind, at least, seemed to be made up. Though she was probably just carrying a bad joke too far.

I woke up the next morning when something hard hit me in the side of my head. It turned out to be Satoka's elbow. The clock read 5:55 AM, so I didn't bother trying to sleep again. [All you did was wreck my bed. And in the morning kicked me in the head…] Alex, why are you singing that? And how did you get back into my head? I'd shut the Gate the night before and hadn't opened it again.

[It seemed appropriate. And that Gate isn't all that hard to open from the other side once you know how it's done. I wouldn't try it if I didn't know that I'd just pop into your head, though.]

Satoka got up a few minutes later and we left her parents a note telling them to check out Tokyo on their own while we were at school. We went out to dinner at a small but very good Chinese place I'd found earlier that week. We talked about my plans for the future and what to name our first-born and things like that. I was a bit vague since I couldn't tell them everything about my job. I checked my email when we got home; I'd received one ordering me to report to the Company's Tokyo office on Wednesday to be briefed about an assignment the following Saturday. Satoka, at least, was quieter that night.

I had an odd dream: I found myself in a bright, airy palace furnished with Greek vases and statues. The furniture was well-made and beautiful, but very spare. A high-crested helm, bronze breastplate, shield, and spear were arranged on a stand at the far end of the room. A dark-haired woman sat in a chair by a low table near the hearth. She wore a loose dress in the Greek style. She motioned for me to take the other chair. Meat, bread, and golden cups stood on the table, along with a tall pitcher of some dark red liquid. As I sat down, I noticed that my hostess had grey eyes. She spoke to me in a rich, low voice.

'Welcome. You've served me well, so I thought we should meet. I don't have many guests now, and I know you need someone to talk to.'

'You honour me, Athena. I don't suppose you have any suggestions about the situation with Satoka?' She laughed.

'You of all people should know that I'm the last deity to be asking for advice about love, though my half-sister Artemis would be an even worse choice. Aphrodite might be a better source of advice. Though you probably know what she'd say.' I did know, and it was the opposite of what I was looking for. 'However, I can enlighten you about the power you wield. The shade of Galahad called it the Gate of Spirits. The spirits it summons were not chosen randomly-they are linked to you in many ways. I cannot tell you how, though; even the gods are subject to the decrees of Fate, and they have ruled that you must learn this for yourself.

'The Gates join this world to others-the energies that flow through them have many effects: healing; the creation of fire, ice, lightning, or winds; flight; and teleportation, among others. Your Gate connects to the realm of spirits, which itself has many regions. The armour you summon is created from the spirits' memories. If you were not destined for a warrior's life, the Gate's effects would be vastly different, but I do not know how. Each gate also has a negative phase, an inverse. In the case of the Gate of Life, that is simply the Gate of Death. However, for other Gates, it is more complex. Your Gate's inverse would give you access to the spirit realms. However, very few have entered those while still living and emerged alive.

'Using the Gates has a price, however. Some absorb the Gatekeeper's body, eventually killing them. Others reduce the Keeper to a bodiless shade by draining their "time." And all Gatekeepers have lives touched by dark Fate. To wield a Gate is to lose the hope of happiness. Not completely, but your life will never be as happy as other mortals'. I'm sorry if this upsets you.'

'No; I don't mind. It's almost a relief to learn even this much about it.' We moved on to other topics. Finally, the food and drink ran low and I felt it was time to leave.

As we parted, she said, 'Call on me if ever you need help outside love.'

I woke to Satoka's gentle breathing and an alarm clock reading 6:30. I got up and made a cold breakfast for everyone before going out for a short walk. They were still asleep when I got back. We spent most of the day shopping and sightseeing­-well, the Tachikawas shopped; I was almost broke. Satoka and I saw her parents off at the station after dinner. When we got home, I collapsed on the couch and burned my face in my hands. After a few minutes, I noticed my hands were wet.

'Are you crying? Don't try to hold it in. That just makes it worse.' She sat down beside me and pried my hands off my face. Everything broke loose then. She held me like a child while I cried. It stopped after a while-a minute, an hour, and Age-and I noticed her shirt was soaked.

'Thanks….Seeing your parents together like that…it reminded me of how happy my parents were, and that I'll never see them again.'

I got up to get some brandy to steady my nerves. Satoka asked for a glass, and I brought the bottle back to the couch. We drank in silence for a while. She spoke up halfway through her second glass.

'Mom and Dad aren't exactly the happy couple you think they are. They fight all the time­-at least, they did while I was living with them. I moved out when I started high school; I discovered I was a Gatekeeper about the same time. They paid my rent, but not much else. I've been living off Invader-hunting the last few years. Slim pickings in Osaka, but it got better after I came to Tokyo last year.' She downed the rest of her brandy at a gulp and held her glass out for more.

I woke up with the sun in my eyes and her on top of me. We were still dressed, so I assumed nothing had happened. The bottle on the table was only a little lower than I last remembered. I couldn't get up without waking her, so I went back to sleep. I woke to the sight of Satoka cooking Ramen. 'It's time for you to go shopping again. We're out of just about everything.'

'I'll do it today if you'll loan me a few thousand yen. I'm a bit low just now.' Truth was, I only had about 1500 yen ($100 or so) available to me.

'I'll go, then. You buy too many fruits and vegetables.' I saw a week of living on junk food and soda stretching out before me. She surprised me by returning late in the afternoon with a duck, a dozen peaches, and a jug of milk…and more varieties of chips and snacks than I'd ever imagined. The duck didn't fit in the freezer, so I roasted it for dinner that night.

On Tuesday, Satoka told me after school that there was someone she thought I should meet. She led me to a penthouse apartment in one of the most expensive districts. The owner was a thin, pale man with red eyes and grey hair. He introduced himself as he led us into the living room. It was a large and sparsely furnished room, containing a couch, low table, and a gigantic plasma-screen TV. 'I am Reiji Kageyama, Keeper of the Gate of Foresight and the Gate of Shadows. I also revived and financed this branch of A.E.G.I.S. The Alien Exterminating Global Interception System is an organization funded by a number of individuals like myself to defend against the Invaders. It was originally founded in the Sixties and supported by governments, but our need for secrecy made that a liability. Ms. Tachikawa, Ms. Isuzu, and Ms. Minadzuru have told me much about you.' I raised an eyebrow and Satoka flushed. Kageyama continued, 'Nothing private, just accounts of your encounters with Invaders. By the way, have you attempted the voyage to Colchis?'

I froze-that was one of the Company's sign-countersigns. I responded, 'No. The way is long, and I am a poor sailor. How did you know to ask that?'

'I own 25% of that Company, and I serve on the Board. That gives me access to most of their files and data. Your parents, and their colleagues, were one of the main reasons A.E.G.I.S. has survived.'

'You mean my bounty comes from car rentals?!'

Kageyama laughed. 'Rental cars? Is that what you told her the Company does? It's true in a way, I suppose. Actually, it provides security for the wealthy-bodyguards, storage vaults, surveillance, and, yes, transportation. I'm currently negotiating a licensing agreement with them for imitation Gate technology. I suppose I should tell you more about that.

'In the decades since the Gates were discovered, we have learned how to mimic and enhance their effects with technology. They've served as power sources for cars, weapons, and instruments of healing. The Gates of Fire, Lightning, Perception, Explosion, and Life are among those that have been imitated so far. A.E.G.I.S. scientists are currently making progress on the Gate of Shadows, the Gate of Teleportation, and the Gate of Flight. However, some Gates appear inimitable, such as my Gate of Foresight, and possibly your Gate of Spirits. Here. You'll find this very useful. The imitation Gate can only be used once at combat levels. The intense energies tend to fuse the phone's circuits. Even at lower levels, the battery only lasts a few seconds.' He handed me what seemed to be an ordinary cellphone and a plastic ID card reading 'A.E.G.I.S. Invader Hunting License.'

'That license is good in every country. You'll need it to claim the bounty on crystals. The website on the back contains contact information for branches in every major city. And here are our files on the last known Gatekeeper of Spirits.' He gave me a minidisk.

That more or less ended the meeting. On our way home, Satoka asked me, 'Why didn't you tell me about your real job? I suppose the guns, body armour, and suit should've given it away, though.'

'Our clients value confidentiality, so the Company is rather secretive. Don't be surprised if I'm out all night a lot.'

I read the data Kageyama had given me that night. Marcus Sheridan was the previous Gatekeeper of Spirits. He had been part of the British Isles branch of A.E.G.I.S. during the mid-Seventies. The first spirit he'd summoned was Galahad; the armour was the same. No one knew what the other spirit was…Leo had been the only suit anyone ever saw him in. He'd died during a battle in 1977. His remains were recovered from a giant crater formed by the gigantic explosion that ended his battle. The only other Gatekeeper present, Jack Watson, Gatekeeper of Teleport, reported that Marcus had ordered him to leave as the battle began.

On Wednesday, I headed downtown for my briefing. A Mr. Konno was waiting for me in a small meeting room. He was a short, heavyset man with graying hair who spoke rapidly in clipped tones. 'The client is one Mariko Nodara, a singer, age 17. She requires an escort/bodyguard to the Japanese Video Music Awards this Saturday night. Formal dress, full body armour, concealed weapon. Your cover story and other pertinent details are on this disk. Any questions?'

'No, sir.' I'd never heard of Mariko Nodara, but I didn't want to sound stupid.

'Good. This is a list of equipment you'll need. Q-Division should have it ready for you. Here's the advance on your pay, 1/6 of our standard fee; the other half will be paid Saturday.' He handed me a check with a fairly large number on it.

'Thank you, sir. I would have thought you'd give her a discount for my inexperience, though.'

'We did. But there were surcharges for her...exacting demands and for late booking.'

I picked up a flesh-coloured throat mike, radio, earpiece (it looked like a hearing aid), and a few extra boxes of ammo. Aunt Yoko asked me to stay for tea, since she had no other appointments and I was free. After our first cup, she asked, 'Have you ever heard how I met you parents?'

I shook my head, and she continued, 'It was just over 19 years ago. Your mother had just graduated from high school, and you father was a freshman in college. They'd decided to travel together over the summer and rented rooms in my home while they were in Japan. That was an exciting summer. Before they left, they were engaged and Company employees. Your father dropped out of college to become a full-time agent by the end of the year. They got married in March the next year, and you were born a year after that.'

The conversation drifted on to other topics: her health, her grandchildren, school, and Satoka. 'She sounds like a nice girl, and you're both at a good age to thing about marriage. I hope you two have a happy life together.'

'We're not really engaged, Aunt Yoko. It was just her way to get her parents to accept the fact that we're living together.'

'Well, if you change you're mind, I'll give you a deal on your honeymoon at my house in Kyoto.'

'Thank you, Aunt Yoko. I have to get going now; I'm sorry, but if I don't get home soon, Satoka will start cooking.'

Saturday afternoon, a black limousine picked me up outside my apartment and took me to one of the most expensive hotels in Tokyo. Ms. Nodara was in room 40-A, one of two penthouse suites that took up the top floor. She was a waifish girl with long black hair and relatively large eyes, maybe an inch or two shorter than me. I introduced myself as her bodyguard for the evening. The first words out of her mouth were, 'You're too tall. I told them not to send me anyone taller than me.'

I replied evenly, 'The only available agents of your height are a fifty year-old man and a thirty-five year-old woman. If you would prefer one of them, I'll call headquarters and inform them of your decision.'

'I can't go to the show with an old man! I guess you'll do, then. But not your suit. Who wears black to an award show?'

'It's by Giordano Verce.' He was an Italian armorer/tailor who specialized in integrated defense. The suit was designed for body armour, comm. Gear, and weapons to be carried undetected under it. Strategically placed padding and pockets made this possible. 'That reminds me: I have a corsage for you.'

I pulled a blue and red orchid from an inside pocket. It matched the green dress she'd told the Company she'd be wearing.

'If that suit isn't from a warehouse store, I'll eat my shoes. Can't help it now, though. We might as well try to make you presentable. Make-up!'

A swarm of men and women in garishly bright clothing instantly appeared from a side door, some pushing carts laden with cosmetics, others wielding brushes and pencils. As they approached, I opened my jacket to reveal my guns. 'I don't wear make-up. Allergies. And I think you'll develop a lead allergy if you try putting any one me.'

They got the point and immediately withdrew to attend their mistress. I left the room to find something to eat. The kitchen was a large, airy chamber with a fridge larger than some cars. A very well-stocked fridge larger than some cars. Around six, a call came over the radio for me to report to the garage: Ms. Nodara was preparing to leave. I joined her in the limo and we arrived at the site of the J-VMAs fifteen minutes later. Her green dress was very low-cut, but otherwise quite unremarkable. Before the door opened, she reminded me, 'Remember, walk slowly. We need to let the photographers get plenty of pictures of me.'

As I helped her from the limo, a dozen microphones were thrust in my face. 'Who are you? What's your relationship with Mariko? How long have you been together? How'd you meet?...'

'I was a dancer in her latest video. Unfortunately, all of my shots were edited out of the final version. We're just friends; she needed an escort and I've always wanted to walk the red carpet.' The questions and flashbulbs kept coming as we practically crawled down the endless carpet. Alex commented, [That's odd…There's a very faint energy field of some sort in the area, definitely not natural, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It seems familiar, though.]

When we were about halfway to the theater entrance, a crowd of celebrities and security personnel stampeded back down the carpet. People in the stands were screaming and joining the flood. I grabbed Nodara to keep her from being trampled-not that I cared personally, but losing client was a bad way to begin a career. As the rear of the crowd drew closer to us, I could see a mass of Invaders behind them. 'Damn! Get back to the car! Run!'

I pushed her away and pulled two grenades from inside my jacket. I threw them into the center of the Invader horde as I ran to help Nodara back to the limo. A moment later, the concussion almost knocked us off our feet and we were pelted by a shower of crystals. We stumbled a few more yards to the car. I shoved her in and turned to throw my remaining two grenades into the pursuing Invader pack. I slammed the door behind me and ordered, 'Driver, get us back to the hotel. And step on it!'

Nodara couched shivering and sobbing on the far side of the seat as the limo began to roll. The man at the wheel suddenly convulsed and twisted into the shape of an Invader. I shot him before he turned around. The car's interior began to take on a more organic look, almost like fresh tripe or liver. The engine's hum became a bestial growl. Alex, can you tell what's going on? [I think this car is changing into something along the lines of those things out there. I'd recommend shooting the engine out.]

I aimed in the general direction of the hood. Just before I pulled the trigger, a red blur sailed through the air between me and Nodara. The former limo fell into two halves that dissolved to form a larger than average crystal. We fell to the ground. Satoka stood a few yards in front of us, grinning as she caught a large and curiously shaped boomerang. 'Nice job you've got: you're on TV, you meet the stars, maybe get a little action.'

Nodara demanded, 'Who is this?'

'That's my roommate. Now get out of our way if you want to live.' A volley of pink rings smashed the pavement around us into rubble. Nodara fell, but Satoka and I kept our feet. Nodara crawled behind the burned out remains of another limo as Satoka threw her boomerang into the Invaders' lines.

'So, why aren't Ayane and Miu here?' As the weapon returned, I shot down three Invaders that had emerged from a storefront behind us.

'There was another IPW hotspot on the other side of town-another Invader attack,' she added in response to my blank look.

'Ah.' She charged into the pack, drawing her giant sword as she ran. I provided cover fire, taking out Invaders behind her and on her flanks. I was down to my last magazine by the time she decapitated the last one. The three of us gathered at Nodara's hiding place when it was all over.

'The car's gone. Now how am I supposed to get back to the hotel?' Nodara seemed upset.

'I can call headquarters and have them send one.' [Get down!] I tackled Nodara to the ground as a hail of cannon fire hit from above. Satoka's giant sword deflected the pink shots around her.

'What was that?' asked Satoka. I pointed upwards-what seemed to be an oversized B-2 was turning around for another pass. There was only one way either of us could take it down.

'Scorpio, come forth!' The disk of white light appeared at my feet and moved up. When it passed, I was surrounded by the armour's viewscreens. Alex began interpreting sensor readings. [Altitude 1.5 kilometers. Dimensions 100x50 meters, thickness variable. Major energy sources aft and on ventral surface. Composition: mostly organics with scattered areas of metallic alloys.]

'Cover her.' I extended the shield and removed it from my arm. I handed it to Satoka before taking off. A second salvo from above cut off her protests.

As I approached the flying wing, cannon on its belly and back opened fire. I found that Scorpio had a slight delay in obeying my orders-just enough to make it nearly impossible to dodge the shells. Fortunately, the wing was a hideously bad shot. As I got closer, the sensors began to get a clearer image of its innards. [Hmmm…this thing appears to have a decentralized control system. There's no single 'brain' to target. Wait a minute. I have an idea. It's kinda risky, though.] He explained it, and it was kinda crazy. But I didn't have a better plan.

I flew around to the aft end of the machine and landed above what appeared to be an engine. Fortunately, the cannon on its back couldn't aim at something walking on it. I pulled a cylinder from my waist and unfolded it into a falchion. I chopped a hole in the wing's hide to expose something that crackled with what seemed to be lightning. I pulled a second cylinder from my waist, twisted the knob on top, threw it in, and jumped.

A few seconds later, I was hit by a massive shockwave. I spun around to find the rear half of the flying wing in flames. Secondary explosions tore though the wing as I watched. A shower of crystals fell as I landed. 'Scorpio, return.'

'There has to be at least a million yen's worth here!' Satoka pulled a trash bag from her pocket and began gathering the crystals. The three of us were the only ones left in front of the theater. The street was almost completely destroyed, but the buildings still stood intact. I tapped my throat mike to activate it.

The operator asked me to identify myself. I did and requested, 'Put me through to the motor pool. Thanks….My client, Ms. Nodara, needs a ride home from the J-VMAs-her limo was destroyed in the incident. The street's been torn up pretty badly, so a Hummer would probably be best. Thank you.' I turned to Nodara and said, 'Your ride will be here in ten minutes to take you back to the hotel. Are you alright?'

'You almost got me killed!'

'But you're still alive. That's more than some can say after tonight. Satoka , can you get home on your own? I need to make a report about what happened tonight.' She grunted and kept sweeping up crystals with her sword.

Half an hour later, Nodara was in her hotel room and I was in a debriefing room at headquarters. I told the debriefing officer what had happened, omitting only my Gate and the flying wing. When I was done, she said Mr. Yamamoto wanted to see me.

'I watched your debriefing, and I have a feeling that you're leaving something out. Can you tell me what it is, off the record?'

I explained about my Gate, Scorpio, and the flying Invader construct. 'I see. We've had reports of these "Invaders" dating back to the mid-Sixties. We are also aware that Mr. Kageyama, one of out major stockholders, is somehow involved with them. This disk contains everything we know about them and those who fight them. It also contains extracts from X-Division's files. Many of our agents in that Division have magical talents of one kind or another.'

X-Division…that branch dealt with supernatural threats-werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and sorcerers. They would definitely have had a use for my Gate. 'Thank you, sir.'

'By the way, have you ever heard how your parents came to join the Company? It was almost twenty years ago. I was just a field agent then, but I'd disrupted several assassination attempts on one of our clients. The Mob came after me as a result. They ambushed me one night in a park. The gunfire drew a young couple who drove off or killed my attackers. I introduced them to my supervisor, and they were hired within a week.' The receptionist gave me the other half of my pay as I left, and I obtained a few more boxes of ammo from Q-Division on my way out. Satoka was asleep when I got home.

I was cooking omelets Sunday morning when the doorbell rang. A very angry Mr. Tachikawa was standing outside my door. I opened it anyway. 'You two-timing bastard! If you think you can treat my daughter that way, I'll beat some sense into your head.'

'If you're talking about the J-VMAs last night, that was just business.'

'My daughter's marrying a gigolo?!'

Satoka shambled out of our room. 'Can you keep it down? It's 7:30 in the morning. Dad! What are you doing here?'

'Go back to bed, honey. I'm just here to deal with this cheating fiancé of yours.'

'If he's cheating one me, I'll deal with him. How did you find out about this, anyway?'

'I saw him on TV with that whore Mariko Nodara last night!'

'Dad, he was there as her bodyguard. There's nothing between them.' He flushed and dropped his eyes in embarrassment

'Oh, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll be going now.'

'Please, come in. Since you're here, you might as well stay for breakfast. It's a long trip from Osaka.' I cracked another egg for an extra omelet and Satoka returned to her room to change. It was a very quiet meal.

Please read these. They contain answers to the more obvious questions, like my random references to books, songs, TV shows, and movies. They're arranged in the order of events in the chapter. Questions left in reviews will be answered in emails unless I'm very close to updating. In that case, I'll answer them in notes.

To Reviewers:

Dark Bring: There are several stereotypical ways for characters to deal with grief. The first is an insane desire for revenge (e.g., Achilles after the death of Patroclus) . Another is insanity (Belgarath after Polgara's birth; his wife Poledra died in childbirth). Yet another is collapsing into a deep depression. There's also substance abuse, especially alcohol. There are others, but I've chosen to just have him withdraw into a sort of emotionally dead state…One example is from David Eddings' Belgariad/Mallorean series, Zakath after his fiancé was murdered. Alex just has another style of armour, more tech-based than magical…he's the main character from my 'Requiem Knight' fic (well, not this Alex, but one very similar to him; see my note to chapter 2…click my name, or check the Silent Mobius section). Alex is a mage, not a spectacularly powerful one, but very skilled. I explain his origins in the notes to the final chapter of that fic. Galahad is just a Medieval knight, very devout and pious (if you've read much stuff about King Arthur and his knights you'd understand). Tokyo Knight takes place one year after the events of the OVA (i.e., Yukino is dead); this, and some other chronology changes are detailed in my notes to chapter 2. And yes, the narrator's the only new Gatekeeper I'm introducing. I'm too lazy to create more than one or two detailed characters per fic, though that will probably change soon. This fic will be pretty serious, and even slightly depressing. For some reason this character just isn't as good for comic relief as Alex. Oh, and please define 'WAFFy.'

Notes: I suppose you think it's strange that a good marksman is so bad at "House of the Dead." Remember that he's used to the weight and kick of real guns. Flimsy plastic light guns would probably feel kinda odd at first.

Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey. Sir Thomas Mallory wrote Le Morte D'Arthur, a fairly comprehensive collection of tales about King Arthur. Chretian de Troyes wrote several 'Romances' about various Knights of the Round Table ('Romance' was just the term for tales about knights and chivalry), including 'Percival,' the oldest surviving Grail story.

The Tale of Genji is an old Japanese story…I don't know much about it except the title. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a fictional account of the end of the Han Dynasty. Very famous out East. The narrator has no clue how to pronounce Chinese, but he can understand the characters since the Japanese borrowed them a few centuries back and never returned them.

The arrival of Satoka's parents was supposed to set up a gag chapter centered on one of the great anime clichés, the (not-so) fake marriage. At one point, I had Satoka move in because her parents were killed when an Invader destroyed her apartment trying to kill her…I scrapped that idea, obviously. The living parents were more interesting.

For those of you who don't know this, high school in Japan has three grades: 10-12. And I did have classmates in high school who transferred from other countries or states who had to take lower-level courses in their junior and senior years. Oh, and let's just say that students at T. High wear some sort of small insignia indicating their class.

'Gods below' is an oath from the Dune series by Frank Herbert. Great books, read at least the first one. Anyway, it's also Alex's favourite oath.

…Even guys have times when they don't feel like doing it. Especially when they're depressed or something. I'm not going to bother describing Satoka naked. I'm sure you guys (and gals) out there already have a fairly good idea.

For those who are illiterate, Athena was the Greek goddess who patronized craftsmen and warriors; don't piss her off (cf. Arachne, Medusa, and Troy). She's one of those virgin goddesses who pop up from time to time. Artemis was an archer goddess, a huntress; bit of a man-hater. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, especially sexual love. I personally think Paris should have taken Athena's bribe (wisdom and victory in battle) over Hera's (a really big kingdom) and Aphrodite's (Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world; married to Menelaus of Sparta…with legions of former suitors sworn to retrieve her if she were ever abducted). Winning lots of battles could give you a kingdom larger than the one Hera promised; and Helen would be part of the spoils once Sparta fell (yes, the Greeks did do that; read the Iliad). But that's just me…and there's no telling what Hera and Aphrodite would have done in retaliation. Lifelong impotence would probably be part of it.

Don't think too much about the inverse of the Gate of Spirits. It will NEVER appear in this fic. It's just spare data.

Brandy was the standard treatment for faintness and general nervousness some years ago. It's a common feature in Victorian novels (I've only read some Sherlock Holmes stories and Dracula…and maybe some other things from that period, but brandy is the spirit of choice for reviving someone). He's not using a particularly large glass…maybe three or four times the size of a shot-glass.

About Satoka's past…I had to come up with some reason for her to be living on her own. It's not exactly tragic, but it's not particularly happy, either. It also explains her greed for crystals.

Oh, Reiji's apartment isn't the one you see in the OVA; that one was practically destroyed by Ghost Girl, so he moved out.

I'm just making up the A.E.G.I.S. stuff…it's more or less consistent with what I know about the history of the Gatekeepers. As for Reiji's stake in the Company, hey, he has to have some source of income. His ability to see the future would make him a great investor, and the perks are good with that investment.

Marcus isn't important. He exists only to fill out Galahad's mention of a previous Gatekeeper of Spirit back in Chapter 1.

Yeah, I can't make up an award ceremony name…I'm not good with names in general. But the J-VMAs have nothing to do with MTV's award show. Incidentally, I don't know any Japanese pop stars, so I made one up. Think Britney Spears clothes with black hair and an anorexic build.

19 years before this story opens is 1983…I have no clue what was going on at that time in the Gatekeepers universe, but just assume it's the usual randomness. This makes the narrator's father about 37 or so when he died; his wife was 36…I know I said he was in his 'mid-30s', but that's how it works out. The narrator's birthday is March 21, 1985 if anyone cares.

Aunt Yoko is very old…still sharp, but her views on marriage are rather peculiar. She owns several houses around Japan that she runs as hotels. Not a bad sideline.

The reason the narrator refers to Reiji as Kageyama and Mariko as Nodara is because he's not that close, nor does he want to get that close, to either of them.

In case you're wondering, he has four grenades, about a hundred rounds of ammo, and a large knife. They're very powerful grenades. Incidentally, if Invaders can die in car wrecks (cf. Episode 1 of the OVA), they can die from gunshots.

The B-2 is the American 'Stealth Bomber.' Big black flying wing with an indented trailing edge. Very expensive.

Yes, I know Satoka can kill things at a distance…and things flying moderately high up (cf. Episode 6 of the OVA), but not something a mile high and not something that big.

The falchion is a form of sword. It typically has a heavy blade with a single curved cutting edge and a straight back. Very good for cutting off limbs and such. A weapon with great peacetime applications.

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been busy lately. Also, as you've probably noticed, this is one long chapter. It's a result of the fact that I write these by deciding what I want to happen and then kind of wandering through that. In this case, I wanted to have Satoka's parents show up and have the battle at the award show. You might have noticed that most of these chapters end with a battle. That's because I used the 'Voltron' principle for planning the chapters-I select an enemy for each chapter and write around that. The next chapter will probably extend after the battle quite a ways, though. One minor spoiler: it won't be related to the Invaders, but it will give 'screen-time' to one of the neglected characters.

I suppose I could have just gone all the way and made this a true lemon, but it just didn't feel right…and no one would bother looking at the R-rated section of GK21 fics (empty) and this is out there for you guys to read. So remember, if it's missing when you log in a few weeks from now, try looking at the R-rated fics (unlikely, but I have little control of future content).

Farewell for now.