Read Or Die Fan Fiction / X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Read or Die: Shadowcat! ❯ Chapter 2

Shadowcat: Read or Die!

Part Two

Yomiko watched silently as Kitty Pryde weighed her words. She didn't want to say anything more to the younger woman, she already felt that she was imposing on her greatly. When she had first contacted her, began to send Kitty the initial emails, it had all seemed so simple, but now that she was here it became much more complicated.

And it really didn't help how much Kitty reminded Yomiko of her lost Nancy-san. Yes, the girl's hair was a dark brown, not black, and she wore a more casual set of clothes than the leathers that Nancy once wore, but the similarities were almost astounding. The shape of her face, her stance, the overall condition of her body, all of them reminded Yomiko of Nancy, bringing on a deep heartache that almost hurt her physically.

Kitty's soft sigh brought Yomiko's attention right back to her as Kitty said, "I'll do it."

"Thank you," Yomiko almost felt like laughing aloud as she clasped Kitty's hands in her own. "I've already booked a flight for Japan, we'll take off tonight," she said excitedly.

"Tonight?" Kitty went pale as she tried to say, "Wait a minute here! I..."

"We'll buy you some extra sets of clothes when we get there," Yomiko said with a smile as she tugged on Kitty's hands to pull her gently forward.

"But I..." Kitty tried again, then she sighed. "Never mind," she softly muttered as the two of them walked down the street together.

After a few moments of walking Yomiko looked up at Kitty curiously, "I was a bit surprised at how well you speak Japanese. Have you visited the country often?"

Kitty smiled slightly, and Yomiko got the feeling she was greatly understating the case as she softly murmured, "I've had some experiences there." They reached the bar and Kitty sighed, "I need to go inside and take care of some things."

Yomiko took a seat at a table, watching Kitty make her way through the crowd and talk to the young man at the bar. From talking to Kitty on-line Yomiko had developed a certain mental image of her as an intense, studious woman. But seeing her tending bar had revealed a wild side to the woman, another reminder of her lost Nancy.

The young man handed Kitty the phone, and she dialed up someone with a grim expression on her face. Yomiko couldn't have heard the conversation from there if she wanted to, but from the look Kitty had it wasn't going very well. She sat the phone down, giving the man an apologetic look. Before she could leave he murmured something to Kitty, and she blushed.

There was the soft sound of laughter, and a still fiercely blushing Kitty made her way to Yomiko's side. "What did he say, Kitty-san?" Yomiko asked.

Kitty pushed her hair back with a impish smile as she quietly said, "My boss Dylan asked if we were eloping."

Yomiko blushed as she looked up at Kitty and blurted out in Japanese, "What?"

"He didn't really mean it," Kitty gently reassured her, "he likes to tease me about my general lack of dates."

"Oh," Yomiko murmured, still feeling the blush to her cheeks.

"He promised to look after my place while I'm gone," Kitty added.

There was something new in Kitty's eyes, a kind of regret. "Is there something wrong, Kitty-san?" Yomiko asked her softly.

Kitty hesitated, "I had to notify my professor that I'd be gone for awhile." She tried to smile, "He's not sure if he can save my place in his course."

Yomiko's eyes widened, "Because you're going with me?" She felt a sudden pang of guilt, "Kitty-san, I can't.."

"No," Kitty shook her head slightly, "I don't want to talk about it." With a surprising show of strength and gentleness Kitty pulled Yomiko up out of her seat, "Earlier, you said that you had plane tickets for tonight?"

Yomiko saw the determination in those eyes and murmured her agreement, "Hai."

"Then let's go," Kitty said seriously.

Yomiko flagged down a taxi to the airport, and both young women settled into the back. Yomiko watched Kitty gazing out the window and realized the research she had dome was pitifully incomplete. 'What are you thinking?' Yomiko wondered.

With a soft sigh Yomiko abandoned that train of thought, pulled a book out of her bag, opened it to her page and began to read.

Kitty watch the buildings go by them, thinking that it was almost the reverse of how she had come here. Excited about her courses, anxious, even a bit scared she had ridden a taxi from the airport to school and registered. Now she was leaving, and to her surprise she felt excited and eager for what was to come once again.

A little over a month ago she had said some very harsh things to Ororo, making it clear that she wasn't an X-Man any longer. She still meant those words, her father's death having made it clear that being in this life was deadly dangerous. But as much as she had tried to make herself fit in at school, she missed that purpose, that dream.

'It needs doing,' was a little phrase that kept going through Kitty's head. Her ex-boyfriend Pete Wisdom had used that to explain his heroic actions pretty often, but it also described how she had felt when Yomiko had appealed for her help. It was something that needed doing, and it seemed that she was the only one who could do it.

'And there's the question if this Nancy Mukahari really is my clone," Kitty mused.

With a little jerk the taxi came to a stop in front of the main terminal and the driver drawled, "We're here, ladies."

Yomiko kept on reading intently, and with a slight smile Kitty grasped the book by the top , drawing it away from her. Yomiko instinctively tried to follow it for a moment, then she blinked owlishly at Kitty to ask, "Yes?"

"We're at the airport," Kitty smiled.

"Oh, right," Yomiko quickly produced some American dollars from her wallet to pay the driver, tipping him quite generously.

Kitty stepped out first, then helped Yomiko out. "Thanks," she nodded to the driver, then turned to Yomiko, "Where to?"

"We've got a private plane waiting," Yomiko lead her into the terminal.

The two made their way through the crowd to another part of the airport, where a tall, blonde haired man leaned up against a wall. Oddly, he rather reminded Kitty of Logan. Not in his appearance, of course, but in his attitude. It was like he was saying nonverbally, 'I've seen just about everything, and I've made it through all of it.'

"Drake-san," Yomiko waved to him cheerfully.

"Yomiko," he nodded to her crisply. Then Drake looked Kitty up and down before asking Yomiko, "Is this her?"

Not liking being ignored Kitty said waspishly, "Her has a name." She offered the tall man her hand, "Katherine Pryde."

The tall blonde smiled slightly, "Drake Anderson."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Anderson," they shook firmly. Kitty looked up at him curiously, "Are you and Yomiko co-workers?"

"Something like that," Drake agreed as he lead them over to the hangar, "we'll be able to tell you a bit more once we clear it with our superiors."

Kitty felt a stab of irritation at that, but quickly surpressed it. She probably would consult with the school if someone asked about the X-Men, it might be the same sort of thing to them. 'I never did ask Yomiko what Nancy did for a living,' Kitty remembered.

Kitty began to fumble for her passport when Drake remarked, "You won't need that, we've already made the arrangements."

'Interesting,' Kitty mused, 'these people are pretty powerfully connected.' As they climbed aboard the private plane Kitty smiled wryly, 'This is going to be some trip.'

To be continued..