Gatekeepers 21 Fan Fiction ❯ Tokyo Knight ❯ Legacy ( Chapter 5 )

It's been a while, no? Thank you for your patience…feel free to ignore the notes this time; they're just my incoherent babbling. Incidentally, if you want a timely response to questions, please either leave a signed review or an email address. *cough*Silent Knight *cough*

Anyway, here's a nice stereotypically bad Halloween story for you. Though I'd been planning it ever since I decided to have Galahad in this fic for reasons that should become obvious as you read.

Part V: Legacy

'No. I am not writing your Iliad paper for you.'

'C'mon, please? If I don't get a good grade on this, I'll fail the class and get held back a year.'

'Write it yourself. I have a paper on Beowulf coming up and I don't have time to write two papers.'

'How 'bout we settle this over a hand of five card draw?' Satoka smiled and pulled out her deck. She nearly always won at poker.

'Make it blackjack and you're on. If you agree to pay the rent next month if you lose.' We were about even at blackjack; and I needed to get something out of it if I won.

'Fine. But I'll need a little something extra if I win. I'll tell you what it is after the game.' She dealt two cards face-up: a three for me and a five for her. My hole card was a seven.

'Hit me.' A ten-that made twenty, enough to win most hands. She also took another card­-an ace. I turned my seven over with a small smile. She grinned maliciously as she revealed another five-twenty-one.

'The paper's due on the twenty-fifth, two weeks from Friday. Oh, and that other thing…' She whispered it in my ear. I didn't like it, but I had agreed to the bet. She'd helped me quash the rumours about me and Nodara after the J-VMAs, and I didn't want to start a second argument over the paper. She still hadn't moved back into her room, but she had been a bit less aggressive lately.

'Do I have to wear this?' I grunted as Satoka pulled at a stubborn strap while dressing me Friday morning.

'Of course you do. It's part of the outfit. You have any idea how hard it was to find one in this size? There.' The catch snapped. She buttoned a shirt and jacket on me. 'Now go shave and brush your hair.

The razor was getting dull, so I threw it way. I noticed a small pink wrapper in the trash can. So that's why she's been so touchy the last few days…and why she isn't trying to get me into her pants. I unwrapped a new razor and lathered up.

'And don't forget your legs!' Satoka called through the speaker. I ignored her. The socks were high enough that it didn't matter.

We ran into Kenichii and Masaharu at the school's gates. They burst out laughing as soon as they saw me. Once they began to breathe again, I said in a tight voice, 'All of my uniforms need to be washed, and we happen to be the same size.'

Satoka nudged me. I sighed and corrected myself. 'I lost a bet.'

The uniform was incredibly drafty in the air-conditioned building; the short skirt ruled out boxers. The red-headed math teacher spent the morning trying to hold back her laughs. My classmates didn't even try. The other teachers just tried to pretend I was dressed normally while occasionally glancing in my direction and smiling before regaining control of themselves. I suspected that the overstuffed D-cup bra straining at my shirt had something to do with it.

I changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants as soon as I got home. After I put the ribs in the oven, I started going over Satoka's old papers to get a feel for her style. She came in with a broad grin on her face that faded slightly when she saw that I'd changed.

'What are you doing for the winter break?' she asked me over dinner.

'Why're you asking that now? It's not even Halloween yet.' She just waited for an answer. 'Well, my relatives in Taiwan have been asking me to visit them for years. They've already started the paperwork, but they should be able to get another visa if you want to come.'

'You have relatives in Taiwan? I thought you came from the U.S.'

'I may not cook like it, but my family's originally from Szechuan. We were fairly well off before the civil wars and the war with Japan. But between bandits and battles, only my grandparents and one of my granddad's brothers survived to 1950. We had enough property-and Nationalist connexions-that we had to flee when the Communists took power. My grandparents went south to Hong Kong, then to England. The immigration officials there changed their name. My father went to college in the States and met my mother there, but they were married in Japan. My uncle moved here about the same time. Granddad wasn't happy about him marrying my aunt, but he got over it after a while-hard not to, with a daughter-in-law as nice as she is.

'My great-uncle followed the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan. Most of his family lives in Taipei, but I have a few cousins in Tainan, too. A few of them came to my parents' funeral, but I don't really know any of them and they want to fix that. So what are your plans for Christmas?'

'I don't really have any. I just wanted to know what yours were.'

'Well, if you want to come along, we'll need to send the visa application in within a week or so. I think I have an extra copy somewhere.'

'It'd be better than visiting my parents or hanging around here by myself.' The application was in the mail the next day.

'A romantic little get-away in Taiwan. Just how I always wanted to spend Christmas,' I muttered to myself as I soaked in the tub. [Who knows? It may be more fun than you think. The two of you alone in a strange city…you might get 'closer than close,' if you know what I mean.] <Perchance, it may be a time to make her thine betrothed in truth.>

That again? There's nothing between us. Nothing that could lead to a wedding, anyway. <There may be more than thou thinkest. It is not uncommon for husband and wife to learn they love one another only after they're wed.>

Maybe in your time, but arranged marriages have fallen out of style lately. We prefer to find out if we love each other first. <And how dost thou know thou dost not love her? Wouldst thou have permitted her to reside here an thou hated her?>

That's different. She'd just lost her home. Should I have just left her to live in the street? She's just staying here until she can find her own place. [Have you seen her even pick up the classifieds?] <It was chivalrous of thee to take her in, but it is most dishonourable to deceive her parents in this way.>

Yeah? Well, ending the deception would just create more trouble for the two of us. <Yet making it truth will not. The choice is thine, and hers, though methinks her choice hath already been made. I shall leave this to thee and speak no more.> [If I stand all alone, will the shadows hide the colour of my heart: blue, for the tears; black, for the night's fears. The stars in the sky don't mean nothing to you, they're a mirror.]

What does that moldy old song have to do with this? [Nothing…and everything.] With that, I closed the Gate and went to bed.

I spent most of the next week trying to write a cogent paper that sounded like Satoka-a Satoka who'd spent several thousand yen on a writing coach. My own paper had been completed almost as soon as we'd started Beowulf. Her paper was done by the 18th. I received an email that night informing me of an assignment on Saturday the 26th-an American singer (Martin Tyler) on tour in Tokyo needed a discreet escort for clubbing that night.

The week after that passed slowly, with a string of tests in each class. The stores had begun setting out Halloween displays: costumes and random new junk foods made for the season, mostly, though the theaters did start showing more slasher flicks. Late Wednesday night, Satoka dragged home a gigantic bag of crystals and collapsed on the couch.

'Rough night?' I brought her some tea and sat down beside her.

'Yeah. I was coming home from the arcade-there's a shortcut through that parking deck a few blocks over, you know? Anyway, about thirty Invaders appeared while I was on the stairs. I shredded them and went on. Then some sort of slimy, tentacled bug things attacked me on the ground floor…dozens of them. It wasn't easy, but I got at least too hundred thousand yen out of them.' She hefted the bag. 'So how was your day?'

'History test, and I almost got run over by a bus. Then some bastard tried to push me onto the tracks at the station. All the networks are running soap opera reruns or kids' shows marathons, so nothing's on. And I have a physics test tomorrow.'

'I can help you forget all about that.' She moved closer to me, almost onto my lap. I took her face in my hands.

'Why are you trying so hard to get me into your pants? Most of the guys at school would kill for a chance like this, but you'd kill them for trying. Why me, the one guy who turns you down?' She rolled back with a disappointed look on her face.

'You just had to put it that way, didn't you? I guess some of it comes from the fact that the girls at school laugh at me for not having a boyfriend­-they say I can't catch a man or that I'm in love with Ayane since we're together so often and she hates boys. Most of the guys I know just want one thing. You're different; you want something more, or something else. It makes playing with you more interesting.'

'Have you ever heard what the other girls say about the ones who do "catch" a lot of men?' She nodded slowly. 'It wouldn't change anything with them; they'd just attack you for something else. You may be right about me, but I don't know what I want-it might be something you can't give. Let's talk about this later. You're tired, I'm half-asleep, and we both need to think.'

She went into the bathroom, and I went to bed. I woke up with her arms around me. I pulled free gently and started breakfast in the kitchen.

'What do I want?' I asked the stove flames. The answer came back from the dark spaces in the back of my head: I wanted a home, a family-not children, necessarily, but some sort of permanence in my life. I knew that my career would probably take me around the world, and I needed something to anchor my life to. <And it took thee this long to admit it?> I never said that she would be part of it. Questioning silence answered me.

Despite myself, I sighed. Galahad was right-Satoka and I were almost a family. She just saw it a little differently. This knowledge settled something in the depths of my mind, but it did little to comfort me. Satoka came out just as the sausages were done. She shambled to the kotatsu and asked me, 'So, have you decided what you want?'

'Yes. I want what we have now, maybe a little more…maybe even kids someday.' I bent down to kiss her as I set the table. She returned it with more vigour than I would have credited her with at that hour. When she broke away to breathe, I said, 'We should eat before the eggs get cold. I'll make it up to you later. Besides, our train leaves in twenty minutes.'

Satoka jerked fully awake and practically inhaled her breakfast. Once it was down, she dashed into her room to get dressed, emerging a few minutes later pulling her jacket on at a dead run. Her toothbrush hung from the corner of her mouth, spilling foam on the floor. I laughed and pointed at the clock-it read 6:30. We had another half-hour or so. She growled in a decidedly non-sexual manner and tackled me to the ground.

'You bastard!' she shrieked as she pounded my laughing head into the carpet. She calmed down and let me up after a few minutes of this. As I ate, she asked, 'So when do you want the wedding? You weren't planning to just ditch me with kids to raise on my own, were your?' she added in response to the slackjawed gape I gave her.

'Of…of course not. I just haven't thought that far yet. Let's save this for after school. This isn't something we can settle in ten minutes.'

As we walked through Tategami High's gates, I noticed two almost-identical girls chatting under a tree in the courtyard. Satoka groaned when they spotted us and came over. 'Ugh. That's Fujiko Aoyama and Ochiba Konno, the two biggest gossips in the school.'

She didn't have time to say more, as Fujiko sneered, 'So, you finally found a man, Satoka? Doesn't look like much of a catch, though.'

Her friend-Ochiba had green eyes; Fujiko's were black-joined in, 'Say, weren't you with Mariko Nodara at the J-VMAs a few weeks ago? What'd you two do after the bomb went off?'

'We're just friends. I kept her from getting blown to bits, that's all.'

Ochiba didn't buy it. 'So who's better in the sack-Satoka or Mariko?'

Satoka flushed and I grabbed her arm to keep her from doing something rash (and probably bloody) as I replied, 'I wouldn't know. I never slept with Mariko.'

'So how's Satoka, then?' Fujiko pressed the issue and I briefly considered unleashing Satoka. Instead, I answered, 'If you want to know so badly, find out for yourself. Just try to keep it quiet; I need my sleep at night.' I dragged Satoka behind me as I left; foam was showing on her lips again.

The physics test that afternoon was long, but it was pretty easy with Alex coaching me. I still had a chemistry test on Friday and the Beowulf paper was also due that day. Satoka was waiting for me when I got home. 'Well? Do you have an answer for me yet? It's already been three weeks.'

It took me a moment to figure out what she meant. 'You actually consider that a proposal? I was just kidding when I called it that. Anyway, I guess the answer's "yes" for now. The wedding will have to wait 'till summer at the earliest. I don't think we'll have time for rehearsals and stuff while school's in session.'

'There's no rush. By the way, are you one of those stiff-necked types who believe that sex before marriage is wrong?'

'Not really…I haven't thought about it, honestly. Why do you ask?'

She just smiled-not quite maliciously, but it still made me uncomfortable.

That night, I found myself back in Athena's palace. My grey-eyed hostess was again garbed in a plain dress instead of Her usual armour. A bowl of dark wine and plates of food stood on the table. She held out a handful of olives as I sat down. 'Thank you, Athena.' I took one out of politeness; She knew I hated the things.

'I'm glad to know that you and Satoka have worked things out between you. She's a good match for you-fire against your ice. I wish you every joy in your life together.'

'I'm still not sure she's the one for me, but it's worth a try. You didn't bring me here just to talk about her, though. What's on Your mind?'

'Can you not believe that I just want to talk to you? I don't have many worshippers in this age, or many duties.'

'I see. So how's Your love life been lately?' The question took Her by surprise-She froze with the cup halfway to Her lips-but She recovered quickly.

'Same as always. The armour seems to intimidate men for some reason. Still, I have to throw Ares through a wall every month or so. I don't know what Aphrodite seems in that idiot.'

'Probably the same thing I see in Satoka.'

She laughed. 'No, there's more to Satoka than bloodthirst and violence. You wouldn't love her otherwise.'

'I don-' I began defensively.

Athena cut me off with a gentle gesture. 'Your mouth may deny it, but your heart knows how you feel.'

'I thought you knew nothing of love.'

'I've learned a little from watching the other gods and mortals below. I don't know enough to give advice on it, but I can recognize it.' The conversation drifted on to sports, politics, and why Hollywood blockbusters tend to suck after the first viewing. As Dawn appeared in the east, we drank a final cup and parted. I woke to Satoka shaking me violently, shouting that we'd be late for class if I didn't get up. The day didn't get much better-rain, another test, and almost getting run over by yet another car. At least I don't have homework over the weekend.

Martin Tyler played a noon concert on Saturday. His style reminded me of some stuff I'd heard from the 60s and 70s, kinda plain but very nice. I watched from backstage, ready to follow him after the show. At dinner, he introduced me as a friend who'd volunteered to translate for him. He was a pretty funny guy, actually. We went to almost every club in Tokyo and got hideously plastered…at least he did. I was still able to walk when we got back to his hotel. The microwave clock read just after 3 AM when I staggered home and flopped on the couch.

When I woke up, the sun was in my eyes and Satoka was in the kitchen mixing herbs in a cup. My head felt like a smith's anvil. She poured steaming water in the cup and held it out to me. 'Drink this. It's an old hangover remedy Mom used to make for Dad.' It tasted like it was also a punishment for getting drunk, but it did make my headache go away.

Monday dawned dreary and overcast and we were out of eggs. Class was as boring as ever, especially English. We started organics in chemistry with its arcane names and foul-smelling solvents. Fujiko and Ochiba were ahead of me as I walked through the gates after class. 'So what've you got on that guy we saw with Satoka the other day?'

'Not much new. His parents died in that accident in Osaka back in August-you remember, the gas main in the park. They're living together-but everyone knows that. And he was seen with Martin Tyler at the Blue Flamingo Saturday.'

'First Mariko Nodara, now Martin Tyler? How does such a dorky-looking guy like him get to be with all the stars?'

'Who knows? Maybe his parents used to be their housekeepers or something.'

<Venomous creatures. The language hath changed much, but not their speech. The ladies at court ofttimes spoke thus of one who was absent.> They can say what they want; no one believes them anyway.

[People believe what they want to believe.] <Truly. Even the basest of innuendoes may find sympathetic ears.>

I sank into a steaming bath when I got home to get the smell of acetone off my skin. The teacher had been a little clumsy with a couple of demonstrations and some of the liquid had splashed on me. After about half an hour, the smell was gone, my hide was red, and I was half-asleep. A sudden draft brought me closer to wakefulness. I turned my head to see Satoka moving through the mist towards me. 'Mind if I join you?'

I moved mover and she climbed in. 'Remember the last time we were in here?'

'How can I forget?' I smiled wryly. I could see where she was going with it.

'We didn't have time to do anything then, but we have all the time in the world now.' She rolled on top of me and leaned in for a kiss. I reached out to pull her closer and gave her what she wanted.

Later-much later-I got out in a dreamy half-daze. Satoka had already left to hunt Invaders. The floor was covered in about half an inch of water; I slipped and almost hit my head on the sink. [Makin' love in the afternoon/ To Cecilia, up in my bedroom/ I got up to wash my face/ When I got back to bed, someone'd taken my place.] You just had to sing that one, don't you? Can't you ever sing something that's not depressing?

[Probably not. I wasn't watching, in case you were wondering. Be careful, though. Her type can be a bit difficult to shake off after something like this.] I don't plan to 'shake her off.' <'Twould be most unchivalrous of thee to do so at this point. Moreover, her father would be compelled to take stern measures, and rightfully so.>

[How's this song? Tonight, you're mine completely/You gave your love so sweetly/Tonight the light of love is in your eyes/ but, will you still love me tomorrow?] Alex! Knock it off with the damn songs already! He left a rather (affectedly) hurt silence behind.

'Let's go out tonight,' Satoka suggested over breakfast Thursday.

'Why tonight?'

'Why not?' She was right-I had nothing better to do. I gave her a small smile.

'Why not?' It was Halloween and the city dressed like it-quite a few people wore costumes of some sort, though I recognized a few as otaku who dressed that way everyday. Despite the fact that we were on a date, I carried my mother's gun under my jacket. We had dinner at a small restaurant one of Satoka's friends had recommended. The portions were a bit small, but the food was wonderful. I ordered duck and mushrooms while she had a squid and vegetable stew. Afterwards, we watched one of the innumerable slasher movies released for the season. I wanted a refund after it ended.

'Wanna go home?' I asked, ready to wash the movie out of my mind with liquor.

'The night's still young. Let's go there.' She pulled me towards a park down the street. Strangely, it was deserted despite the early hour. 'Ugh. What's that smell?'

I noticed it a moment later-a foetid odor, like roadkill left too long on the curb. A number of peculiar depressions and dark stains dotted the ground around us. As we approached one curiously, a dozen zombies burst from the earth and shambled towards us. I drew my silver pistol and blew the head off the closest one, but it kept coming. The arms came off next and twitched before becoming still. Satoka drew her giant sword from the air and shredded the zombies around her.

A second wave of zombies appeared on the hill in front of us before the first had finished falling to earth. I grabbed Satoka by the shoulder to keep her from charging into the rotting phalanx. 'We stand a better chance if we fight together. Leo, come forth!'

The presence of that Grail-blessed armour caused the zombies to falter for a moment, but it seemed some external will drove them on again. The sword gave off a faint light and seemed to burn the undead when it struck. The hiss of burning flesh and black smoke issued from the wounds. Satoka's massive blade slashed through torsos and limbs alike, leaving a trail of decaying giblets behind her.

'Help me!!!!' Miu ran up, pursued by a zombie a few yards behind her. Athena, guide my hand. I drew my dagger and threw side-armed. It sank into the creature's skull and it fell with a soundless scream. Behind it, Ayane faced a rank of putrid warriors in half-rusted armour. She swept her arms across them twice and fire engulfed them. She turned and strode calmly towards me, retrieving my dagger on the way. A pair of cellphone screens flickered and died behind her.

'What are you doing here?' demanded Satoka.

'I detected an odd energy signature in this area-not quite an IPW reading, but not natural, either. We came to investigate.' Ayane was as deadpan as ever. 'It seems to be centered fifty yards from us in that direction.'

When we reached the spot Ayane had pointed out, we found stone steps leading down into a dark pit. They appeared fresh-hewn and the earth newly-turned. 'Ayane, Miu, I think you two should stay above or go back. Those imitation Gates can be dangerous in close quarters, and it looks pretty tight down there. The Gate of Flight will be useless underground, and Wind can have odd effects in tight spaces.'

'Why don't you just give me your gun, then?' asked Miu.

'Have you ever fired a gun?' She shook her head. 'They don't hurt those things and a gun is worse than useless if you don't know how to use it.'

'Are you just trying to get Satoka alone in the dark?' The helm hid my flush-that was the last thing I expected Ayane to ever say.

'No, I'm trying to keep you from getting yourselves killed. Satoka and I are the only ones who stand much of a chance of getting to the bottom of this with our powers.'

'You think of me as dead weight, don't you?' Miu began crying.

'No, that's not how I feel.' It was. 'Fine. You two can come along. Here, Miu, take this. It's pretty light and those monsters don't seem to like it much. Just make sure you're stabbing in the right direction.' I handed her my dagger and descended the stairs with sword in hand. Ayane followed, then Miu clutching the dagger. Satoka brought up the rear with her sword slung over her shoulder. The stairs were dry, but narrow and dark. Ayane switched on a cellphone; the backlit buttons were as bright as any flashlight. The stairs gave out on a long, dim tunnel filled with the foetid odor of death. As we advanced, I noticed a red flicker ahead of us. Further on, it resolved into an arch with a flame-lit chamber beyond. A squad of relatively fresh zombies burst from the walls around us a few yards from the arch.

Miu screamed and slashed the air in panic. Satoka parried her wilder swings as she cut down the decaying bodies around her. I charged free, almost to the arch, then turned and decapitated three zombies as they turned. Two more lay at Miu's feet. Assorted limbs and gobbets of flesh were strewn about Satoka. We paused to catch out breaths before passing through the arch.

Beyond lay a great square chamber with several tunnels leading from it. A fire burned on a hearth to our right. A figure in black armour stood before the flames. A hole gaped in the center of his chest, large enough to see the flames through it. <That incest-spawned bastard still walks this earth?! But his father laid him low on the field where he received his death-stroke!>

The armoured obscenity spoke in a hollow voice, pointing at the girls beside me. 'So, Sir Galahad, hast thou abandoned thine chaste ways at last? And so many at once!' Calm down, Galahad. I gave him control of my voice.

'Still a coward, I see, Sir Mordred. Thou knowst mine valour and mine devotion to protecting God's demesnes. Such as thou are an abomination in His eyes. Defend thyself!' I charged, but Mordred parried and forced me back. His black sword drew sparks from my blade as they clashed.

'Thine skill has left thee in thine debauches, Sir Galahad. But I learned much of my mother and aunt in life, and more from others since that life ended. Behold! Sotorrh ga Kresh!' A wave of utter darkness washed over us from his upraised hand. I instinctively raised my shield. When the darkness had passed, Miu, Ayane, and Satoka were unconscious on the floor, breathing shallowly. 'Fear not for thine harem. They shall presently arise to eternal life by my side. Yea, all the world shall soon bow to me, Mordred, King of the Dead!'

'Thine father's realm lies in far Britain. Why art thou here, skulking beneath the earth?'

'In recent years I have become aware of a great power that lies hidden in this land. Some artifice of Merlin's, perhaps, wrought in the wandering years of his youth. Many hidden paths run through the deep places of the world, and I am their master. My servants have come to me from all the nations of the world. Die Totten ritten Schnell, as they say.'

'Thou art an affront to God by birth, life, and Undeath. To the uttermost pit with thee!' I charged with my sword held high in both hands, shield before me. My first stroke was aimed at Mordred's right shoulder. He parried and retreated a step. I stabbed at his stomach, piercing his shield but no the armour. He countered with a blow to my head. I ducked and rolled away, ripping his shield in half as I did so. Mordred stabbed at me as I climbed to my feet; I rammed my knee into his black visor as he stooped. I cannot remember how long we traded strokes underground, but finally, I feinted a thrust at his heart. He parried by instinct though he could no longer be harmed by such an attack, and I brought my sword around to strike his neck. The dark helm clanked when it hit the ground; white pieces of bone bounced free as it rolled.

Satoka, Miu, and Ayane still lay unconscious on the stone floor. Great. How am I supposed to get them out of here…hmmmm. Maybe I can use an imitation Gate of Healing. <Hast thou forgotten the Sangreal's power that lies in thine hands?>

It is the power of your God, not mine. I gave him control again. He rested the sword on the palms and held it over the girls. 'Almighty Lord, Thine children lie stricken by foul magics. Shew forth Thine mercy and raise them up.' A brilliant light flared from the sword and the room was filled with an indescribably sweet scent-not quite floral or fruity, just beautiful. When the light passed, the girls picked themselves up groggily.

'What was that?' asked Satoka.

'Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur. He was admitted to the Round Table, but later led an insurrection against Arthur. The two met under a flag of truce on the Field of Camden. Each party of knights was under orders to attack if anyone in the other army drew his sword. One knight saw an adder about to strike him, and drew his sword to defend himself. Arthur slew Mordred in the ensuing battle-he thrust a spear through Mordred's chest-but was himself mortally wounded. The tales say that Arthur was taken to Avalon for healing and that he rests there until he is needed again. I am not sure how Mordred managed to rise again, nor how or why he came to Japan.'

'Let's just get out of here. I can't believe I'm not going to get paid for dealing with those things.'

'We should seal the steps after we get back to the surface. An imitation Gate of Explosion should be enough. Hopefully, they won't dig too deep while restoring the landscaping.' Ayane suggested.

I spent more than a few hours in the tub that night…the zombies' stench and slime were very stubborn. Then I had to clean the tub after we'd both taken baths.

To Silent Knight: I agree with you, but I have no control whatsoever over what reviewers leave. I cannot remove signed reviews, nor do I wish to 'ignore' anyone since I think everyone's entitled to express an 'opinion' on my stories, however inane or nonexistent they may be. About your issues with the narrator (his name will be in the next chapter if you look for it), I'm simply not a people person so I can't judge emotions too well. As for Satoka, this is just another side of her that doesn't show up in the OVA.

Notes:

General-If I sound like an arrogant prick when I answer questions, it's probably because I am one. There are certain things I expect to be common knowledge…like the fact that Kyoto is a real city. On that note, highlighting a word and hitting 'd' will bring up a dictionary entry if you're reading this on fanfiction.net.

This story has the bit in its teeth now and I'm just hanging on for the ride. I never intended for quite a few of the incidents in this chapter to occur. But they did anyway.

Explanations and random stuff: 'Connexion'=Connection; it's an English spelling of the word that looks cooler

I'm not sure if Japanese troops ever got to Szechuan in the 30s and 40s, but all of China was pretty screwed up during those years. It's not an uncommon story from that time-people fleeing to Taiwan ahead of the Communists. Wasn't the best of places in those days, but it's better than execution, no? Taipei and Tainan are two cities on Taiwan (an island off the coast of Fujian): one on the northern end, one on the southern. Oh, and Szechaun is a province in southern China; very famous for hot and spicy food.

Yes, that singer is fictional. Any resemblance to a real person is purely coincidental. The idea is that he's a minor American rocker with a somewhat larger Japanese fanbase.

I have no idea what the Japanese do for Halloween…probably just market pumpkin soda or something like that.

Incidentally, the olive tree is sacred to Athena. She created the thing back in the days of Athens' founding…the people wanted a patron god and chose between Athena and Poseidon. Poseidon created either a horse or a spring of salt water. Athena created the olive…edible, source of oil, great thing. I personally don't like them much unless they're on a pizza. Ares is her half-brother (gods don't have to obey the normal laws about incest…Zeus and Hera are brother and sister, as were their parents); he's also a war god, representing the blood-thirsty and gory side of war. No one likes him much, though Aphrodite does sleep with him…her husband Hephaestus caught them in a net once, as related in the Odyssey (I forget which book…I'll look it up later). I know that Athena is probably a bit out of character in this fic, but she does have a gentler side as the patroness of crafts (especially weaving).

'Foetid'=fetid; old spelling, kinda like 'foetus' for fetus. Lovecraft favours this variant…and it does look cooler.

Alex's songs: 1)'I Don't Want to Talk About it' by Rod Stewart 2)'Cecilia' by Simon and Garfunkel 3)'Will you Still Love me Tomorrow?' by the Four Seasons (at least, I have their version of it; the Nylons, Dusty Springfield, Bryan Ferry, Cliff Richard, Code Red, Debbie Gibson, and Claudia Church have also done it; I'm not sure who did it first…artist list from lyrics.astraweb.com search)

That bit of German is a quote from Dracula (the novel, not the movie)…it's something that one of Harker's fellow passengers says in the coach as he's waiting for Dracula's carriage to pick him up in the Borgo Pass at the beginning of the book. It means 'The dead travel swiftly.'

For those of you who care, Mordred (according to Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur) was the son of Arthur and his half-sister Morgawse. Arthur didn't know she was related to him at the time. Mordred was born on May Eve or May Day (I forget which) and Arthur ordered the death of all babies born that day since Merlin foretold that one of them would kill him one day…Mordred survived.

Next chapter: I clear up everything I've been fuzzy on so far…and a Christmas trip to Taipei (I haven't been there in over fifteen years, so don't expect too much detail).