Outlaw Star Fan Fiction ❯ Unlikely Circumstances ❯ Dreams & Suspects ( Chapter 2 )

Unexpected Circumstances- A Outlaw Star fic

Author: masamune

Warnings: Hints and flickers of yaoi in this part, more to come, angst, and language

Disclaimer: I don't own Outlaw Star, don't sue me!

Archive: As with all of my fics, feel free to grab it and archive if you want. I haven't submitted any of my OLS stuff to any website yet so it'd be an honor.

Note: I NEED A FAVOR!!! PLEASE READ THE MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM FOR MORE DETAILS!!! Also, I don't know anything that happened pre-OLS but I'm just speculating and adding my own little twist in some parts.

Part 2- Dreams and Suspects

Jim was dreaming. He knew it had to be a dream because it was the old days again. No Melfina, no Suzuka, no Aisha, no Hilda, no XGP, it was the old days again. That's how Jim knew he was dreaming, because he was sitting on a couch in the flat that he and Gene used to live in, just the two of them.

It seemed so very long ago. The memory was faded yellow, like an ancient photograph or a drawing that's been out in the light too much… faded but cherished. The sound was fuzzy and distant. The voice on the TV sounded as if it were projecting from a gramophone some distance away. Jim slouched in the couch, bored, but not wanting to wake up.

/These dreams are nice/ He thought, the announcer's voice on the TV droned out. /It's always just Gene and me, like it used to be… No, it's not that I dislike Melfina, or even Suzuka… and I can actually tolerate Aisha on some occasions… no I don't hate them at all. It's different now though…/

The old flat smelled funny, mostly having to do with the old man that cleaned it from time to time. Jim had long forgotten the name, but not the smell.

/There's no way to get back here except in my dreams/ Jim wistfully thought, standing up and surveying the room. /It's all in the past and there's nothing to do but go on/

The door opened, Gene came in, carrying a bag of groceries. His red hair fell over his eyes and he stumbled a bit in the door. A little younger, a few less scars, but it was the way Jim liked his memories best of the outlaw.

"Aniki! You're home!" Jim cried out, the room seemed less faded.

"Hey Jim!" Gene said, smiling and peering over the tall bag. "Let me just put this thing down will ya?"

Gene got over to the old white table that they used to eat dinner with. Less than a month from now it would be blasted into bits by an angry thug, seeking revenge on Gene with a rocket launcher. The red haired outlaw turned and Jim ran towards him and hugged him, wrapping his much smaller arms around Gene's waist.

"Hey what's wrong buddy?" Gene said, patting Jim's hair. "I haven't been gone that long. What? Miss me already?" Gene smiled and said with a chuckle.

/I do miss you Aniki/ Jim thought. /You have no time for me now, you're always too busy. I'm just an annoying little kid that gets in the way… Have I changed that much? Or has everything else changed?/

"Yeah, I did miss you," Jim answered, looking up into Gene's blue eyes.

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Gene stared dully at the TV screen. He usually didn't watch the late shows, but he also didn't feel up to doing the usual Saturday night on the town. His legs were propped on the living room table and he was actually quite comfortable. Gene may have looked as lazy and relaxed as he normally did, but he was nervous and feeling down.

/Jim still hasn't come back/ He thought to himself, his train of thought again resting on his long time partner and friend. /He hasn't even contacted us yet. He must be really mad this time… I wonder what I did to cause it now? I haven't been spending as much time with him lately though, and when we do talk it's just squabbling over money matters. I swear, if Jim weren't so uptight all the time we'd work things out/

With one last glance at the TV, Gene turned it off and started for his room. But as he shut the lights off he suddenly didn't want to sleep. If Jim did come home, Gene didn't want it to be to a dark house. So instead he sprawled out on one of his cots.

"If I were more serious and responsible he wouldn't have to be," He said aloud to himself. "He's just a kid."

/…It's true. I haven't given him nearly as much attention and care since we found the Outlaw Star. So many things have happened since then, so many people have gotten involved and it's all so complicated now. But that's no excuse…/

/Jim's like family to me/ Gene rolled over on his side. /He's more then a friend. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I ever lost him/

That's when the videophone rang. The loud disruption shook Gene a little. He couldn't help but hope that maybe it was Jim, calling to tell him he was all right, and that he wanted to come home. The phone rang again, Gene picked it up.

"Ohayo Jim!" He said cheerfully into the phone. Who else wold call at 2 in the morning?

"Ohayo Mr. Starwind. I see that even in the wee hours of the morning you retain a cheery attitude," A raspy, drawl came back over the phone.

"Who the hell is this?!?!" Gene cried into his end, infuriated that anyone would call him at this time of night. He was also extremely disappointed that it wasn't Jim.

There was a chuckle and a soft sigh followed by, "My name is Jijomi Zorlin. Perhaps, Mr. Starwind, you should turn on your videoscreen and then we could see each other."

"I'm not up for phone sex, if that's what you were thinking," Gene retorted sharply, but switched on the monitor anyway. The image blurred for a minute and slowly came into focus. "My you're ugly!"

"We cannot all be blessed with good lucks Mr. Starwind," Said the stranger. "If noone were ugly, noone would be beautiful either."

And the man on the screen was definitely one of the ugly ones. He had very dark, almost olive colored skin. White hair fell around his shoulders, accompanied by a crooked nose and a dark brown coat. Two, intensely brown eyes peered out from what seemed to be sunken craters in the man's head.

"Good thing there are uglies like you old boy!" Gene said, his smart aleck sense overcoming his better judgement. "And enough of this 'Mr. Starwind' crap. Your polite nature is as fake as they come."

A frown appeared on the mysterious caller's face and he shook his head.

"Mr. Starwind, you misunderstand my manners," Jijomi replied sullenly. "Perhaps it's best we get straight to business. Do you understand me?"

"Sure grandpa, I hear ya."

"I have accepted a contract with a certain faction that does not desire itself to be identified at this time," Jijomi rapidly said. "I am going to kill you and reclaim the XGP. That is all I can tell you about my orders for the time being. But I am no common mercenary; I will tell you my parameters. Number 1…"

"Excuse me, excuse me, wait just a second there Jijokyo," Gene said, waving his hand. "I didn't quite catch that. You're going to kill me? And take the XGP? Sorry, but that's been tried before and it doesn't ever work. I don't know who you think you are but you're just an ugly old coot to me."

"My name is Jijomi Zorlin," Came the calm response, "And that is exactly what my contract says I must do. Listen well! And do not interrupt, you may learn some grace yet… I will not attack you while you are in your home, nor on the street while you are unarmed. I will also not attack you without first giving some form of warning. I will not take hostages and I will only use the same form of weapon as you. Say you have a knife, I will not draw a gun on you. If you are in a passenger ship I will only fire machine gun armaments…"

"Goodnight Jidototi," Gene said firmly, thoroughly irritated. "You're pretty amusing and all, but it's real late and I got to get my beauty sleep. You should too, you look like hell. Sayonara!"

"My name is Jijomi Zor…" A slightly angered response came, only to be cut off as Gene turned off the videophone.

/Those damn pirates… won't they ever learn that they can't beat me? / Gene thought, going back to his cot. /What was that old guy's name anyway? Kijoli Zorro? Whatever…just another dried up old geezer… But maybe HE has something to do with Jim's disappearing…/

Gene sat down on his cot and looked out of the clear glass windows. He doubted he would sleep tonight. Gene couldn't get the thought out of his mind that Jim was out there somewhere, possibly in trouble, even worse, possibly dead… and he was sitting around like a lazy slob.

/That guy said he didn't take hostages though… was that a lie? / Gene shook his head, guys like that tended to stay true to their word. /But if that's the case, where's Jim? /

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"Hey, come on, your food is getting cold, wake up already."

Jim stirred, throwing the thin blanket on the floor and almost rolling off with it. It was a relief to have the musty rag off of him, but Jim felt cold as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. He had slept well, and waking up to this harsh, tight cell was something he didn't take much joy in. But the word 'food' did hold a certain hold on him.

"Have a good sleep?" Said the same voice, almost with a curious tone. Jim noticed that it wasn't Ron who was talking to him. "You better hurry up and eat before I take your food away though."

Jim looked at and began to identify this new person. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the sight in front of him. Harry MacDougall was sitting in the same chair Ron had, but filled it in with a completely different presence. Ron had made the room seem dark, mundane, but his brother seemed to naturally fill the place with a strong sense of life that Jim appreciated.

Harry's blue hair looked almost appeared green in the light, it fell in waves over Harry's shoulders and back. Harry's yellow, sleeveless was lazily thrown on, the fur trim adding an exotic touch to his outfit. Jim couldn't help but notice how good looking Harry was.

/I thought the MacDougalls were brothers/ Jim thought confused, /But this guy doesn't look a thing like the other guy. He's younger, and… he's just different from that lowlife, Ron, in some weird way/

Jim went over to the tray of food and wrinkled his nose. It looked like gray slop pretending to be oatmeal. It was in a dish along with a plastic cup filled with water. Something was lying on top of the pile of mush that caught Jim's eyes. He immediately picked it up.

"Pizza crust?" He turned and his eyes met with Harry MacDougall's for the first time.

"I can't stand the crust," Harry replied simply, shrugging.

Jim wolfed down the piece, then looked at the rest of his food. Even though he was starving, Jim was hesitant to eat the gray stuff. Jim wasn't exactly a gourmet, but the pile of mush wasn't exactly five star cooking either...

/Looks like the oil we use on the Outlaw Star's turbine stocks/ Jim noted.

"You'd better eat it," Harry said, noticing Jim's hesitation. "Ron will get pissed off if you try to go on a hunger strike or some crap like that. And besides, it won't help you get out."

/Maybe he is just like his brother/ Jim thought, Harry's voice was almost threatening. /But they still look so different from each other…/

"I wasn't planning n escaping," Jim said, matter of factly.

"Oh really?" Harry replied, straightening up in his seat and leaning forward. "You mean to say that you like that cell?"

Jim shook his head and replied, "Gene's going to come and get me out of here. He'll kick your asses and YOU'LL be the one in here."

Harry chuckled then said, "Well the only way this Gene guy is going to save you is by handing over the XGP and that bio android girl. And don't forget that you're really in no position to threaten me."

"Maybe that'll change soon," Jim countered sharply.

Harry's face contorted into a mask of anger. For a moment Jim regretted his words and feared that the young outlaw would make him regret it even more. But the moment passed and harry let out a good, hearty laugh. This completely threw Jim off guard. It was his turn to be angry as Harry looked up from his laughter and grinned.

"What's so funny?" Jim asked, but checking his tone so as to not upset his enemy.

"You really do trust this Gene a lot," Harry said. "The impression I got from him was that he was a lazy, careless bungler that managed to get the XGP on a fluke. But it's obvious that you sure have a lot of faith in him. We haven't made contact with him yet, Ron figured it'd be best to let him stew for a bit and then give him our demands."

/So they're holding me for ransom on the Outlaw Star and Melfina/ Jim thought to himself, finally piecing the puzzle together. Then a worried thought came to him. /Will Gene actually give them the Outlaw Star and Melfina?/ The question was heavier than it seemed at a distance. /The Outlaw Star is our only real source of income. And I don't think gene would ever give Melfina up for anything? …So where does that leave me? /

"Hey you look worried," Harry saw the frown on Jim's face and said.

"What do you care?" Jim brushed him off coldly, not wanting to talk with this guy who was probably only pretending to be friendly. "As long as I'm in good condition when the ransom is made, what do you care about me?"

Harry looked away, not really sure of what to say but feeling that it deserved some answer. A silence fell between the two and the only noise was the bare light bulb's buzzing. Finally Harry turned back to Jim, looking as if he wanted to say something.

"We're not as cruel or cold hearted as you think," He said, drawing Jim's attention. "Me and my brother do what we're good at, and while it may get messy and sticky, I don't think you can say your Gene's much more innocent than we are. We do what we need to get the job done, everytime, but that doesn't make me a bastard ne?"

Jim smiled a little. /He does seem to be a pretty nice guy/ He thought. /Maybe I shouldn't give him such a hard time, it'd make things a lot easier while I'm still here/

"Come on," Harry said with a soft, luring tone. "You look down, is there something you need?"

"Well for starters you could let me out of this cell."

"Nice try, but no."

"Well…" Jim started, then glanced around his cell. "A mattress or a cot would be nice. Have you ever slept on that slab of rock?" He pointed at the small metal bed. "And an extra blanket would be nice too…"

Harry grinned and got up, "All right," He muttered. "It is a little cool in here. I'll get you another blanket, but I don't know about a cot… I'll see what I can do."

He started to walk to the door but Jim stopped him by saying, "Oh and maybe something else to eat?"

The violet-eyed mercenary turned and eyed Jim, who gave his best puppy dogface. Harry waved a hand at him and said, "I think there's an extra piece in the fridge."

"Arigato," Jim said, smiling back, overwhelmed by how nice his captor was to him.

-end part 2

Note: I REALLY, REALLY need feedback on this part. Especially the whole thing with Jijomi. I started writing it figuring I'd give Gene something to distract him from going al out, searching for Jim… but I think it's a little cheesy and a bit too much like Leilong in the actual series…and I know some people don't like original characters popping up. So I'm going to see what you, the readers say. PLEASE tell me how you feel about him, in or out? If you all vote out, I'll come back and adjust this part and he'll never have existed. Just please, please tell me what you think. Send to MasamuneEHS@hotmail.com

Oh, and if you couldn't tell I'm going to pair Jim up with Harry. But only mild shounen-ai stuff… Jim's a bit too young for anything more, at least in my mind.

Arigato!

masamune