Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Ancient Ties ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Thirty-five years ago...Reiner's Five.

The fifth world of the Reiner star system is a tropical place, the
same distance from its home star as Earth is from the Sun. The surface is a
50/50 mix between vast seas and small continents. With little axial tilt,
the seasons are the same: warm, humid and beautiful. Once an outpost of the
Ipraedies Empire, Reiner's Five became the site of the only battle in the
Vos- Ipraedos War. Seized by the Vosians at the end of the war, the planet
was made an independent dominion. Reiner's Five eventually evolved into a
sanctuary where disputes were settled without bloodshed...not to mention one
of the galaxy's hottest vacation spots.

This day, it is sanctuary to a couple.

In the capital city, the crowds quietly observe public holovision
screens. They show the bloody scenes of war from a Vosian colony a
half-dozen light years away. The crowds are anxious since civil war hasn't
occurred on Vos for 3000 years! An Intergalactic News Network reporter
relays the information he received from soldiers. "...scenes of unbelievable
chaos as the Governor of Colony 100 declared his world independent of the
Mikado. That makes 15 the number of colonies which have broken away from
Lecashuto in the wake of the massacre of 300,000 innocent civilians on Colony
Seventy-one. So far, the Mikado's public relations people have stated this
is a 'minor uprising by a small group of socialist agitators!'" He waves to
the fighting. "This reporter does *not* believe this to be 'minor!' Many
speculate that in a year, *every* colony'll rise against the Mikado! If so,
many guess that within the decade, the century-old reign of the warrior who
won the Battle of Reiner's Five would end..."

Gasps of shock echo his words. At a distance stand a couple. The
male, about seventeen, is in a blue, silver and black- trimmed full-sleeved
form-fitting jumpsuit, with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. His
kill- belt has only been knotted several times. The female is also
seventeen, dressed in a red-and-black form-fitting jumpsuit, with long blonde
hair in a ponytail and blue eyes. She has no kill-belt. Both appear in
shock, as if they survived something neither desired to be part of.
"Nassur..." the girl sniffs, "...we started that..." she nods to the screen.

"I know, Cinba..." he hoarsely nods.

They walk away, both looking as if they have the whole galaxy on
their shoulders. "It's been three weeks," Cinba looks up. "Three weeks since
we buried my parents and everyone else on Colony 71...three weeks since Ninsur
said he'd launch a rebellion against the Mikado...three weeks since the
slaughter began..."

"Ci-chan! Please! Don't you think I know that?! I started this
when I led that breakout from Osur's school!! Lecasur's Eternal Soul, it was
18 years ago! I thought I escaped it...and they just showed up that day..."

Cinba embraces her husband. "Hush, Natsu-chan! The Mikado's too
busy fighting the governors to worry about you. Besides, Osur's dead! Ninsur
killed the bastard himself! We're free! We're finally free!!"

"Are you?!" a man challenges.

The couple's eyes glow as they see another Vosian approach. He is a
short, stocky man with slate-black hair and eyes, dressed in a white shirt,
form-fitting trousers and a trenchcoat. Accompanying him are a half-dozen
Vosians, males and females, likewise dressed. "Cinba of Colony 71 and the
worldless Nassur," the leader hums. "We've been looking for you."

"Who are you?!" Nassur moves Cinba behind him. "Are you the Mikado's
people...?!"

"No, Captain Ninsur sent me," the short man shakes his head. "My
name is Gomasur."

"What does he want?!" Cinba blinks. "He gave us a ship and allowed
us to leave..."

"The situation's changed," Gomasur sighs. "We've been taking heavy
casualties because of hunters like you, Nassur. We need a hunter on our side
to help us understand what we're up against, what Osur created." He places a
hand on Nassur's shoulder. "You're needed back home, Nassur...that is, if
we're going to succeed."

"Haven't the Silent Ones risen?" Nassur hums, feeling his whole body
quake.

"We're not sure," Gomasur sighs. "We know they don't like the Mikado
since he and Osur were both Dali'lama Silent Ones...but they might be a chance
that the Silent Ones will side against us. We *need* you, Nassur!"

The young hunter contemplates. Unseen nor sensed, someone dressed in
a kimono with an umbrella over his head has moved into a position where he
could eavesdrop. "Eighteen years, I've lived a life of peace," Nassur
finally speaks. "It was so different from Osur's school. I don't want it to
go away. What you're asking me to do is throw away everything I've made for
myself until we're either dead or the Mikado is!" He looks at Gomasur.
"Besides, there're things Osur did to me that I still don't understand...that
I don't want to understand! I could be a danger to people around me! I've
not seen a day of action since the massacre at the mall in Lecashuto! I'm no
use to you or Captain Ninsur, Gomasur...nor anyone!"

"You have to return!" Gomasur flushes. "We need you, damn it!
Ninsur won't take 'no' for an answer! You're coming with us right now!"

He seizes Cinba, the others shifting to seize Nassur. Just as
Gomasur is about to drag Cinba off, a hand seizes his! "What the...?!"

Gasps are heard as they see the man in the kimono standing there,
having moved with the stealth a ninja would admire. The stranger is about
Nassur's height but older, very muscular. The clothing is a combination of
very rough fabric mixed with strips of high-density metal. The umbrella is
constructed in the same manner, chainmail taking the place of fabric. The
kimono is a shade of magenta trimmed in gold, the obi a belt of
interconnecting metal links with a lion-like insignia for the buckle. The
man's skin is tanned. A giant sword is sheathed in leather over the man's
back. "You ask this warrior to return to running the blade without being cut
and falling into the embrace of the Three-Faced One?! He said no for good
reasons. Leave him be and go fight your war on your own!"

"Leave us, Yehisrite!" a woman snaps. "This is none of your affair!"

The stranger smiles, revealing a thirty-year old with a thick red
handlebar moustache. "I just made it my affair," he chuckles, lifting the
umbrella to reveal centre-parted short-cut wavy red hair and steel-green eyes,
possessing a demeanor no one, not even Nassur, would cross!

"V-v-varanko...?!!" a man stammers.

"That's *Lord* Varanko to you, boy!!!"

He lets go of Gomasur. "What is your business?!!" Gomasur demands.
"We're trying to get this man to fight for his people!"

"As I said before..." Varanko looks annoyed, "...this one has not
seen a day of combat since the day he fled from Lecashuto," he indicates
Nassur. "Besides, have you not considered that once he returns, the hunters
he betrayed would swarm over him like a pack of hounds to remove his stain
from their honour?! Your actions would slay him and his wife!"

"We need him!" a woman snaps.

"You will tell Captain Ninsur this," the Yehisrite's eyes narrow.
"As of this moment, these two are under *my* charge!"

The newlyweds are as surprised as the other Vosians. "I assume there
are no questions," Varanko looks around.

"I don't care what you think, but these two are coming with us!!"
Gomasur growls.

They move to attack. "Oh, as you wish, then..." Varanko looks bored.

He folds his umbrella...then with multiple thrusts, he sends the
Vosians flying into walls, falling flat on their faces or crashing into each
other!! Nassur watches in awed shock as Varanko disarms his attackers,
rendering each of them unconscious with well-aimed blows. Six seconds after
the attack began, the Vosians are unconscious save for Gomasur, now trying to
recover. "Damn you..."

...then freezes when the point of a blade is pressed against his
throat! The blade is a part of a weapon possessing a metre-long blade and a
half-metre hilt. Only half a sword (one side is bladed), its spine is as
thick as a man's wrist. At the tip, the blade is a meat-cleaver, the edge
forming a vicious hook-arch flowing into a reverse-S shape. The blade is
wickedly sharp, composed of a metal so dense it could cleave diamond...and
especially decapitate targets of the two-legged variety! Gomasur trembles as
Varanko leans up. "I said these two are under my charge," he smiles, the
gleam in his eyes betraying his mood. "Understand?"

The Vosian is too scared to respond save a shaky nod. "Good,"
Varanko growls. "Inform Captain Ninsur of that! Now, leave us!!" he curtly
nods down the street.

Gomasur and the others quickly retreat. Nassur and Cinba are frozen
as the Yehisrite sheathes his weapon, then takes his umbrella in hand. His
eyes focus on the newlyweds. "I expect to see you on Cademus within the
week."

They numbly nod as the Yehisrite departs. "Can you...believe
that...?" Cinba gasps, awe and fear fighting for control. "Th-that was Lord
Varanko...Alko's Bloody Hand himself!"

"Y-yeah...!" Nassur stammers, awed and scared. "Wh-what made him h-
help us f-for?!"

"I...I don't know..." Cinba shrugs. "B-but...but I think...that
right now...we have a home again, Natsu-chan!"

"Cademus?!!" he looks angry. "With the Executioners?!! That's no
home, Ci-chan!!"

She holds up a hand. "Natsu-chan, think! You saw how easily it was
for our people to trace us...and it's said Reiner's Five is *supposed* to be a
neutral place! On Cademus, we'll never be harassed by the Mikado's goons! We
can start over again, Natsu-chan!!"

"I...I don't know, Ci-chan...!"

"Nassur, Lord Varanko just saved us from being taken back to Vos!"
Cinba smiles. "Don't you think we owe him for what he did?"

"I...I guess so...but, still...Cademus?!"

"Yeah," Cinba nods. "And another thing... on Cademus, we can train
to defend ourselves from the Mikado's goons! The next time we run into a
hunter or Marine, it'll be *they* who'll get the surprise, not us!!"

Silence falls. "I don't want to fight this war, Ci-chan," Nassur
sighs. "I don't know what I want to do...but...well, maybe!"

"We don't have to fight the Civil War," Cinba shakes her head. "But
we won't have to be afraid of it anymore!"

He finally nods. "Okay...let's go!"

They kiss, then head to the spacedock...

* * *

And so it began...

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year
"Ancient Ties"
by Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Twelfth of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura," created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) Welcome to the first of the Before the Phoenix, After the Phoenix
Saga. This and the stories after form a bridge between the Tiger Saga and the
latter half of the series.

2) For those wishing to use the Yehisrites in your own stories, here are
some rules in creating words in Varanko's tongue:

a. First, take a word in Japanese which best fits the idea you wish to
convey. Let's take the word "idiot" for example. In Japanese, the word most
commonly used is "baka."

b. Switch all the letters in the following style: A=Z, B=Y, C=X, D=W,
E=V, F=U, G=T, H=S, I=R, J=Q, K=P, L=O, M=N (or vice-versa). Using this
system, "baka" becomes "yzpz."

c. Now, we can't pronounce "yzpz" without vowels. In this case, use "i"
because that is the closest sound to the slurred consonants. "Yzpz" becomes
*yizpiz.*

d. If the word can break into syllables at two consonants or a vowel and
consonant which don't seem compatible, insert a glottal stop, i.e. *laqu'r*
(crown prince), *hisri'hilm* (die with honour) or *wilvirhis'r* (willing
slave).

e. If the word becomes a cumbersome phrase over 20 letters long, don't
be afraid to cut the length down by chopping off the end.

f. There are no changes in use of verbs. All Yehisrite verbs,
adjectives and adverbs are taken from dictionary forms. Further, like the
Sagussans, Yehisrite numbers are the same in both cardinal and ordinal format.

g. Phrases in Yehisrite should be in SVO (subject-verb-object) order,
the same sentence order as English. Adjectives come before nouns. Adverbs
follow verbs and adjectives. There is no gender bias in Yehisrite.

3) Yehisrite terms and concepts:

azhis'f - A Vosian-Yehisrite hybrid.
x'sirpiz'r-x'sirminf'pif - An oath of silence.
givhifghil-qu'rmihvir - The Test of Life.
lim'l - An Executioner's blade.
niz'nif'hifpil - Stepson.
Silna-sama - The goddess of justice.
pirpirsiw'r - Most Dangerous Soldiers, female warriors
who controlled Falcros for half a millennium. Considered the finest warriors
known. The last lived five centuries ago. Each bore an individual cheek
tattoo as their symbol.
Hifmalna-sama - The goddess of war.
Sivradzko-sama - The god of peace.

**** **** ****

Today...Home Base.

Located in the unclaimed territories of the Dead Zone between Urusian
and Fukunokami space, Home Base is an inverted pear-shaped rock 15 kilometres
long and 8 wide. The man-made base is located on the underside of the
asteroid. Inside the master bedroom in the innermost levels of the base,
Nassur and Benten relax from a tiring day training their hybrid charges. "Do
you think we're doing much for them, Nassur?" the Fukunokami sighs. "I mean
the hybrids."

"It's becoming routine," the Vosian wipes his hair. "We'll have to
get them to a new place where they can obtain new experiences. I agree; they
have been sheltered."

Nassur quickly disrobes. Benten's heart accelerates as she sees her
partner walking around nude. She quickly turns away to ensure he doesn't see
her flushing. "So how are we going to get them to see the galaxy, Nassur?
We can't send them to Uru even if old man Invader would take them in. Most
people elsewhere would ride them because they're half-Ipraedies."

"True," Nassur slides into bed. "I was thinking of sending them to
Earth."

Benten sighs. "Earth?!" she pulls her chains off. "Why? They'd get
into a fight between those jerks and Moroboshi over Lum."

"I wasn't thinking of Tomobiki," Nassur sighs. "I was thinking of
asking Komeru Moroboshi to supervise them."

"Moroboshi's uncle?! Why him, Nassur?!"

"Well, none of the hybrids save Yukio would be anywhere near Oshika,"
Nassur nods as Benten slides off her top. "They'd be staying in Sendai,
which is outside the 20 kilometre limit the courts imposed. I'm sure
Komeru-san will stop them from pestering Ataru."

"I hope so," Benten slips out of her briefs. "It'll be a pain to get
them out of jail if Moroboshi got pissed..."

She stops on hearing him gasp. Flushing, she bashfully looks at
him. "What is it?"

"I...I'm sorry, Benten..." he looks taken aback. "I just never
noticed..."

"Noticed what?!!" she angrily faces him.

"Um...how beautiful you are..."

Benten realizes she is standing stark naked in front of him! "I am?"
she quickly recovers, giving him a coy smile. "Really?"

"R-really..." he numbly nods.

"Well," she hums, fighting herself from leaping for joy, "...care for
a closer look?"

"S-sure..."

She sits by him, granting him an intimate look of everything. He is
enthralled, unusual since he would normally not react to the sight of a nude
woman. "Is this close enough?" she huskily whispers, breathing on his
forehead.

"C-closer..."

They kiss. Nassur embraces her, jolting as she presses into his
chest. "Nassur?"

"Y-yes...?"

"Do you like the feel of my tits on your chest?" she kisses his nose.

"Y-yes..."

"Good."

They kiss again as Benten slides herself atop him. She jolts in
ecstasy as a wonderful feeling explodes from her groin. "Nassur, is it
normally *that* big?" she coos.

"Oh, Benten..." he leans back.

She kisses him on the nose. "Nassur...I want you inside me..."

He suddenly jerks, resisting her advance. Benten mentally kicks
herself for being so direct, coming at him so fast. "Benten..." he shamefully
looks away, "...I...I can't..."

Silence falls. "I'm sorry," she looks down. "I shouldn't...not
now...not before the *nicha*..." she smiles. "I forgot myself."

Seeing her cry, he brushes the tears away. "Hush, Benten...don't
apologize," he kisses her. "You've waited so long. I'm the one who should
apologize. I'm making you..."

"No!" she sighs. "I don't know how much pain you're going through,
Nassur. I can't begin to guess what you've lived through. I can wait,
Nassur...for eternity if necessary."

They kiss. "I feel for you," he smiles. "It hasn't gone all the
way...but I feel for you. Another two weeks...I promise you."

"I know," she nods. "But remember this, buster..." she playfully
growls, "...if you betray me, I'll break you!"

They laugh and kiss again, rolling until Benten is on bottom. "Do
you want me to make love to you?" he smiles.

"Are you sure?" she looks concerned.

"I don't mind," he rubs his nose against her neck, causing her to
croon. "Besides, I think you're a little jealous of Lum because Ataru did it
with her after Icarus."

"I am," she purrs. "I want you...now."

"As you wish," he kisses her...

* * *

Later, Nassur and Benten lay in each other's arms. The Vosian is
asleep while the Fukunokami remains awake, snuggled against him. Looking at
his features, Benten smiles. She had got this far. It was now a matter of
time before recognition would play into it and they would marry. Benten's
most cherished dream would come true. The Fukunokami was quite surprised
that she had Ataru to thank for this.

Lum had informed Benten about what Ataru did in the final stage of
the Spirit War. He, as Cyborg, tapped into the *te'a* to aid Benten in
reviving Nassur. She surrendered part of her life-force to reunite Nassur's
body and spirit. Of course, now with Benten's life-force mingling with
Nassur's, her very presence in his life would be a magnet for that special
occurance which'd make her dreams come true. And there was nothing Shinobu
could do to stop it!

Benten growls as Shinobu's image appears in her mind. Who gave that
woman the right to horn in on the man she loved?! Shinobu had acted like a
love-struck moron since Nassur first went to Earth. It was poetic justice
that Ataru was the one who guaranteed Benten's marriage. When she learned
the truth, there would be nothing Shinobu could do to alter facts. Beating
Ataru was a hazardous affair even if he did return to Tomobiki...and Benten
knew well that Ataru had no intention of doing that. At present, all Benten
had to do was await the *nicha.*

*Nicha.* The time Vosians expunged their grief at the sudden loss of
a loved one. Nassur would proceed to Sabaku, located at the opposite end of
the Dead Zone from Home Base, for weeks of harsh private meditation. Benten
wished that Cinba had died gradually, of natural causes. Nassur would have
probably recognized Benten as soon as they had met when Elle kidnapped Ataru
for the second time. Benten wished the *nicha* had happened, that Nassur had
recognized and they were married. The Fukunokami vowed that when she saw
Shinobu after their marriage, she would stuff it into the bitch's face and
watch as she would fly into another temper-tantrum. If Koosei Ryooki or Mie
Seikou were near, that would end with **Shinobu** being hurt! Benten would
get a laugh from that.

Benten snuggles cheek-to-cheek with Nassur. What tragedies had he
seen in 67 years? Benten knew some things, but she didn't pry. Nassur would
inform her if necessary. If he cried over lost friends, she'd be there for
him. If he took out the Mikado, she would take the bastard with him. It
would not be that difficult at present; Vos itself had been invaded by the
Rebel Alliance Army and the Defence Force. The colonies were under rebel
control. It was a matter of time before the Mikado would be overthrown.
There could possibly be no worries about the senile old dictator huddled and
afraid in his palace in Lecashuto.

"I love you, Nassur..." she whispers, kissing his cheek. "With my
heart and soul."

"Nassur!!" a growling voice declares.

Benten shrieks as she spins around to see what appears to be a giant
standing beside the bed. Nassur's eyes open. "Varanko?"

Bile rises in the Fukunokami's throat on hearing that name. She knew
that Nassur and Varanko were friends, had been for over three decades. The
last time Benten had seen the Yehisrite was Cinba's funeral, although she
hadn't spoken with him. He'd been intimidating then. Now, he was downright
terrifying, dressed in his non-reflective chainmail bodysuit with gold-trimmed
magenta armour plate and cape, his sword strapped to his left waist and a
Zephyrite Lawgiver particle pistol opposite. To Benten, he is the most
intimidating being in the galaxy. Nassur is as calm as a cucumber. "What is
it?"

"Your office," Varanko's eyes narrow like a hawk's diving for a
kill. "Ten minutes."

He departs. "D-doesn't h-he believe in kn-knocking...?!" Benten
fearfully stammers.

"He's upset about something," Nassur dresses. "I wonder what's up."

* * *

"What's up?!" Nassur enters his office.

Varanko sits in the chair beside Nassur's beautiful oak desk. His
hands are steepled in front, appearing relaxed, without a care in the galaxy.
Nassur knows the Yehisrite is ready for action at a moment's notice, even in a
safe location as Home Base. The Vosian was grateful that Varanko had directed
him and Cinba into seizing Home Base 25 years before. Much of Nassur's
adulthood had been directed by this man. "You asked if any of your hybrids
were *azhis'f,*" Varanko sighs. "There are ten."

"Ten?!" Nassur sits. "How did you learn this?! I didn't know the
Executioners were on talking terms with the *Dowe'on* Tribunal."

"We are not," Varanko shakes his head. "An official in the Lord
Protector's Office has always maintained a low-level contact."

"The Lord Protector, eh?" Nassur smiles.

Varanko smiles, a gesture which'd chill anyone. "He was...impressed
by your seizing of the Superwarrior hybrids without much resistance from
Schwartz. He was more than willing to assist in whatever way he could."

"That's good," Nassur nods. Getting Alko's support was necessary to
give the hybrids a chance in a galaxy which viewed anything with Ipraedies
blood with suspicion, if not outright hate. Given the distance between
Yehisril and the worlds of the Federation (it was a week's travel between
Yehisril and Uru), a stranger would assume that Alko's influence was minimal
...unless they knew what Yehisrites were about. Nassur did. So did the
leaders of the Galactic Federation. Alko's support was enough.

"Here's the list," Varanko hands a sheet.

The list surprises Nassur. While many were barely known, four caught
his attention: Sixteen...Daros, the largest of the hybrids; Thirty-
five...Althea, Daros' girlfriend...and Twenty-eight and Fifty-one. Hazel and
Yukio.

"That is it," Varanko sighs. "I want them on Cademus in five days."

"Done," the Vosian nods. Departure from Home Base had to be in two
days. "There is a problem, however; Yukio is on Earth."

"Why is she there?"

"She was there to babysit the daughter of a friend. She's remained
since."

"No problem," the Yehisrite thinks for a moment, then nods. "I shall
retrieve her."

"Um...there's no need," the Vosian is surprised. "I can get Lum to
pick Yukio up and have her brought here."

"There is no need," Varanko curtly nods as he rises. "I've my own
reasons."

Silence falls over the room. Nassur knew Varanko couldn't explain
his reasons now, either because of *x'sirpiz'r-x'sirminf'pif* or because he
was unsure. The Vosian knew his teacher better; it was an oath. Nassur
wondered what could have made the Yehisrite stay silent. He knew better than
to ask. Varanko would tell Nassur when he could. "Okay, then," the Vosian
nods. "Would you like to meet the others now?"

"No," Varanko turns to leave. "See to it they get enough sleep.
They'll need it."

"Got it."

Varanko steps out to see Benten standing there. "Do you always tromp
in whenever you want to?" the Fukunokami growls.

"Walk with me, Benten," Varanko smiles.

Benten visibly gags. When this man makes a demand, even people such
as Elle, General Lana of Uru or her people's Commandant Shogai listen. The
Fukunokami falls into step behind the Yehisrite as they enter the hangar bay.
"Your people's engineers did a splendid job on that ship," Varanko nods
towards "Renegade." "They have been compensated?"

"Oh, yeah! You want to look inside?"

"I already have."

Benten sighs. She understood Varanko's need for stealth. The man
was one of the four senior officials in the Royal Kingdoms, Alko's advisor on
justice. That made him a target for those willing to get at the Lord
Protector. Fortunately, Varanko was such a versed warrior that all attempts
had failed. It was said that even the Mikado had nightmares every time
Varanko was mentioned. Granted, the Mikado was a Silent One and Varanko was
an Executioner. But Executioners were trained in tactics and patterns of
combat which would make experienced Silent Ones take considerable notice.

Fortunately, the Mikado was over three hundred old, well past middle
age for a Vosian. Varanko, at 145, was on the young side for a Yehisrite.
Added to the experience gained by almost constant warfare...a basic fact of
life on Yehisril...Varanko would have a decided advantage over the Mikado in a
one-on-one confrontation. Benten knew Varanko had passed that to Nassur.
Still, his stealth was annoying. "How much else did you spy on?"

"I learned what I needed to know," he gives her a metered stare.

Benten sweats. Still, he was Nassur's friend, almost a father
figure. "You've long desired to take Cinba's place as Nassur's wife," the
Yehisrite continues.

Reluctantly, she nods. "Yes, I do."

"After the *nicha,* you will succeed. Do you see any potential
competition?"

Did he know of Shinobu? "There's one..."

"So I've heard. She will not succeed."

Benten smiles. Varanko knew Nassur better than anyone, even
Dakejinzou. If he said she was going to be his wife, there was no hope for
that bitch Shinobu now...

* * *

A quiet day at Tomobiki High School.

"Quiet" would actually not be an accurate description of the mood.
Some'd say "morbid." "In mourning" would be another term. Class 3-4 is the
worst hit. Most of the students hold gloomy stares on their faces. One desk
is empty. With Ataru gone, most would suspect the remainder of Class 3-4
would celebrate. However, Ataru didn't leave Tomobiki without delivering a
brutal blow to class morale.

Actually, it was Nagaiwakai who delivered that blow in the form of a
public letter to the Tomobiki District School Board. It denounced many of the
staff and students at Tomobiki High for their constant abuse of Ataru, mostly
because of Lum. Thanks to the class' homeroom teacher, copies of that letter
now were a part of many students' permanent records. Koosei ensured that
everyone knew that.

It's study hall. Students shuffle around lethargically, recovering
from the brutal blows delivered unto them over the last two months. No one
knew what hurt worse. Was it Nagaiwakai's letter? Was it Ataru living in
Oshika with Reiko? Was it that now with Ataru in Oshika, Lum would join him?
Was it that Ataru no longer desired anything to do with Tomobiki? Was it a
fear that Ataru might avenge himself on Tomobiki for their many injuries on
him? No one knew the answer.

However, there are two not plagued by the malaise. One is, of
course, Lum. The other is Mie. Both stand alone in the back of the room.
"...can't believe that! Can you, Mie?"

"I can! Nicole had no reason to lie. She just met Dakejinzou. I
wonder how long she would've lived without knowing the truth."

"I dunno," Lum sighs. "I wonder what she's going through. Darling's
concerned."

"So am I. Finding out something like that would hurt anyone, even
Dake-chan."

"I wonder what's going to happen. I hope she'll not let it get her
down," Lum crosses her arms. "She's such a nice person!"

"Yeah...and we have to keep thinking of her as a person," Mie nods.
"It's the only way she can adjust. Does Nassur know?"

"He probably does. I wonder how he'll take it. He and Dakejinzou
were lovers."

"He'll be fine," Mie pats Lum on the shoulder. "Besides, he's got
Benten keeping him company, not to mention the hybrids."

"True...oh, darn!" Lum snaps her fingers. "I forgot! I wanted to
ask Komeru-oji-chan if the hybrids can stay with him while Nassur and Benten
go on his *nicha!*"

"You haven't *asked* yet?!" Mie sighs. "You're sure pushing things
to the limit, Lum-chan! Komeru-san might think you purposefully forgot to
ensure he'd be forced to agree!"

"I hope not," Lum looks defensive.

Mendou then appears beside them. "Lum-san, what are you talking
about? Why are you with this naive country girl...eh?!"

Lum and Mie walk away. "Besides, if you put the hybrids in Sendai,
you'll keep them away from Miyaki," the Kyushu native hums.

"True," the Oni nods.

"Lum-san...?!" Mendou moves to follow...

...and gets a 1000 tonne hammer!! "What are you doing?!!" Koosei
growls.

Everyone stares at the homeroom teacher. "Park it, Mendou!!" he
tosses the scion of Japan's richest family into his chair. "You just got
*another* week's detention!!!"

Mie then looks at Lum. "Oh, by the way, Lum-chan...you hear what
Ataru-chan's grandmother demanded of Mendou's parents?!"

"I did," Lum nods. "Grandma told them Shutaro has to be married
within the year. No excuses or exceptions."

"WHAT?!?!?!" the other girls scream.

"***QUIET!!!!!!***" Koosei roars.

The girls clam up. "Poor snob," Mie smiles. "He got it this time!"

"It's what he deserves!" Lum growls.

Mendou looks shocked by the Oni's words. "Ah, Koosei-kun," the
school principal steps in at that time. "There you are."

"A problem, sir?" Koosei walks over.

"Yes," the elderly school administrator pulls out a sheet of paper
emblazoned with Nagaiwakai's personal sigil. "I've been looking over this
letter Ataru's grandmother sent to the school board. I dare confess that
I've never seen such vulgar language and anatomical impossibilities as what
she used to describe the members of your class. This is worse than what I
experienced in the Army."

"Um, yes, sir," Koosei looks sick; he had seen a copy. "It was
quite...direct."

"For instance..." the Principal points. "What exactly does this
mean, here...'the people in the school are worse than asses...'"

"Sir," Koosei interrupts. "We're trying to keep this a pleasant
story for our fans."

"Um...of course."

The guards quake. "That witch!" Megane snarls. "How dare she make
hash of our sacred oaths against Ataru and his perversions?!"

"We'll not stand for this!" Chibi growls.

"We'll go to Oshika and...!" Kakugari snarls, pumping his fist into
the air.

"...do nothing," Paama moans, looking down in defeat. "Court
injunction."

They faint! "Thanks a lot!" Megane snarls.

Lum and Mie fall over laughing. "Those poor jerks!" the Kyushu
native snickers. "They're stumped and there's no way out except admit defeat!
What a sight!"

"Yeah!" the Oni smiles.

The Principal departs, still muttering about the "anatomical
impossibilities" in the letter. The sound of a scooter is heard. Everyone
sees Lum's cousin drive in. "Lum-chan, Lum-chan!! Where are you?!"

"Ten-chan, I told you never to come to class when we're here," Koosei
snaps.

"Oh, Koosei-onii-chan, there you are!" the small Oni hops off.
"Here, come look!" he points. "You gotta see this! Come look!!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Koosei walks to the window. "What is it?!"

"Look up."

Koosei looks up. "***OH, SHIT!!!!!!***"

The class bolts to the window, shocked that Koosei would use such
language around Ten-chan. "What is it, Ryooki-sensei?!" Shinobu looks around.
"What's wrong?! What did you see?!!"

"What's that?!!" Megane points up.

"It's a **huge** ship!!!" Chibi screams.

Lum's face is ashen. "*Tcha,* no!!!" she gasps. "That's a Yehisrite
battleship!! What are *they* doing over Earth?!!"

"'Yehisrite?!!'" Mendou gasps. "You mean those animals who work for
Elle?!!"

Pandemonium then breaks out, halted by Koosei's yell. "***QUIET!!!!!!
***"

Everyone is blasted down. "The Yehisrites who work for Elle are
expatriate Yehisrites, traitors to their own countrymen!!" the teacher points
up. "That ship is manned with Yehisrites who *don't* work for Elle!!
Relax!!!"

The class relaxes. Painted jet black, the craft is over a kilometre
long. Shaped like a cigar with a small superstructure aft, it is fitted with
massive weapons blisters on all sides, transforming it into a flying gun
platform. Painted around the hull is a gold-trimmed magenta strip.
"Shimanko V-class battle galleon," Koosei adjusts his glasses. "Kyotos
markings with the Lord Protector's colours. There's only one person who
makes use of that type of ship working for Alko."

"Who?!" Lan looks anxious.

A teleport beam is heard, revealing someone quite recognizable to
Koosei, Lum, Ten-chan and Lan. "Oh, gods!!!" Lan shrieks. "It's **him!!!**"

"Yeah," Koosei nods. "It's him."

Lan hides under a table! "What's wrong?" Megane blinks. "Why are
you so scared?!"

"Believe me, Aisuru, if you knew who that was, you'd be frightened,
too!" the Oni gulps.

Varanko looks around, taking in all the details. "So, this is
Tomobiki High School, eh?! A rustic place, indeed. Strange this has been the
site of so much history."

He proceeds toward the front door...just as Cherry appears in his
path! "Stop, death-bringer!!!" the monk yells...

...then gets stomped on by Varanko as if the Yehisrite didn't notice
him!! "Did someone say something?" he looks around.

"It's...fate...!" Cherry passes out.

Everyone in room 337 laughs. "I like that guy already!!!" Megane
howls.

Varanko steps inside, spotting Hanawa. "You, there!!!" the Yehisrite
barks. "Where is the apprentice chamber of the Oni Lum?!!"

"Lum-kun's homeroom class?" the teacher hums, not perplexed by the
alien's presence. "Room 337," he points up. "Two floors up, south-west
wing." He turns to leave. "By the way, you should see a nurse about that
nasty bout of laryngitis you have, sir."

The Yehisrite looks surprised. "Is he a priest of Pizalna-sama?!"

"Just a minute!!" Sakura storms up to him. "You don't have the right
to barge in here and make demands of people!!"

"Who are you?" Varanko glares at her.

"S-sakura..." she fearfully stammers.

"Oh, yes," Varanko chuckles. "Nassur spoke of you. The incompetent
pagan priestess who believes she can ward spirits away from the denizens of
this fool's paradise!"

Sakura faints! Varanko strides upstairs. In room 337, Koosei makes
himself neat. Lum looks nervous. Lan still hides under the desk. Ten-chan
and Mie are curious. Everyone else is confused. "Um...Ryooki-sensei, who is
that coming here?!" Ryuunosuke hums.

"You'll find out," Koosei sighs.

The door slides open and Varanko steps in, gazing at everyone.
"Where is Lum?!!"

Mendou rises to challenge. "Why do you desire Lum-san?! Who are
you...?!"

Varanko casually tosses him into the ceiling! "Silence, boy!!
You're not the one asking questions!! Where is Lum?!!"

"I'm Lum, Lord Varanko," she steps up.

"Yes," he smiles. "It's been a while since I last saw you. You're
just as uncontrollable now as when Nassur was your tutor."

"Um...y-yes, sir..." the Oni gulps.

"Bastard!!!" Megane leaps at Varanko. "How dare you speak ill of Lum-
san?!! Apologize or be punished for your sin!!"

"Good-bye, Aisuru..." Koosei sighs.

Megane's glasses are crushed, then he is punched into the teacher's
desk!! "Be silent, boy!!" the Yehisrite growls. "You remind me of a
Niphentaxian I met!!! Stay in your place or else I'll do to you what I did to
him!!!"

"What did you d-do...?!" Shinobu gulps.

"I killed him," he evenly replies.

"You **killed** him?!!" Kakugari gasps.

"You have a *problem?!*" Varanko growls.

The guards look mortally afraid. "No, sir!!!" they shake their heads.

"I did not think so," the Yehisrite smiles. "If I did, you'd find
yourselves in the lowermost realm of the Afterworld!"

"Um...Lord Varanko," Lum hums. "What are you doing here? Why is it
that you need me?"

"You know of the part-Ipraedies hybrid calling herself Yukio?"

"Yukio?! Yes! Why?!"

"Because she is *azhis'f!*" he replies. "She is required for the
*givhifghil-qu'rmihvir* on Cademus!! Where is she?!"

"Um...she's in Oshika," the Oni looks scared. "I can get her for
you."

"You will do that," Varanko nods, then barks, "***NOW!!!!!!***"

Lum nearly kills herself flying out the window! "That's the first
time I ever saw Lum shit herself!" Momoe snickers. "Who is this?"

"I like him!!" Kumiko beams.

Natsuko grins. "He's *our* type of guy!"

Mendou then frees himself and draws his katana. "Disrespectful
bastard!!! Ordering Lum-san like that!!! You shall be *two*...!!!"

All the girls surround Varanko! "No, you don't!" Momoe snaps.
"Leave him alone!!"

"M-momoe...?!" Mendou stammers. "Why?!"

"Because he's the only one outside of Ryooki-sensei who puts that Oni
bitch in her place!!!" Kumiko growls.

"You touch him, you answer to *us!!!*" Natsuko threateningly adds.

Mendou looks stymied. "Um...what is that thing in his hand?" Varanko
turns to Momoe.

"His sword, sir," the Terran replies.

He blinks, then laughs. "'Sword?!!' **Sword?!!** That's no
sword!!!"

"It's not?!" Natsuko gasps.

Varanko nearly collapses. "That...th-that th-thing...to us...that's
a mere *butterknife!!!*"

Mendou is decked by an H-bomb blast!!!! The other boys howl. "Now,"
Varanko draws his own blade, "...*that's* a sword!!!"

The girls are awed by the difference. Mendou quickly finds himself
wanting...then, gets his blade shattered by one stroke of Varanko's *lim'l.*
"Put the butterknife away and mind your place!!" the Yehisrite snaps.

"Um...Ryooki-sensei, who is this guy, anyway?" Ryuunosuke points.

"He's Varanko of Kyotos," he explains. "Kyotos is one of sixteen
principalities of Yehisril. He's the Lord High Executioner of the Royal
Kingdoms of Yehisril."

The class looks horrified, repeating that fearful title. "You
mean...you *kill* people for a living?!!" Ryuunosuke stammers.

"Aye," he nods. "When the magistrates can't enforce the laws in any
part of the Royal Kingdoms, they call on us to hunt down the miscreants,
capture them...and if necessary, judge, convict and deliver the punishment
when circumstances dictate it is impossible for them to be presented in front
of a magistrate."

"He's like Judge Dredd!" Chibi stammers.

"That'd be about right," Koosei nods.

"Wait a moment!" Shinobu looks confused. "How is it that you know
Lum?" she walks up to Varanko. "Not to mention the rest of us?!"

Varanko looks nonchalantly at her. "Lum was Nassur's student.
Nassur was mine."

"***YOU TAUGHT NASSUR?!?!?!***"

"Aye," Varanko nods with pride. "I've long considered Nassur
*niz'nifhifpil.*"

Shinobu looks surprised, sensing the term's meaning, then smiles.
"You say that you adopted Nassur-kun as your son?" she coyly hums. "Why,
isn't that wonderful!"

He looks suspicious. "Who are you?!"

"Shinobu Miyaki," she beams.

"Oh, yes," his voice drips scorn, "...the disloyal, disgusting, ill-
tempered beast who can only *dream* of being Nassur's wife!"

Shinobu is decked by an H-bomb blast!!!! "By the sounds of it, he's
heard of her...and *hates* her!" Ryuunosuke groans.

Ataru's ex-girlfriend bolts up, violently incensed. "Disloyal?!!
Disgusting?!! Ill-tempered?!! Beast?!!" she snarls. "I'll make you *eat*
those words!!!"

Desks start flying at Varanko! Everyone watches in awe as the
Yehisrite dodges the furniture, closing the range between he and Shinobu.
Before she could react, his fist belts her in the nose!! "Behave yourself!!!"

Shinobu drops to the floor! "The matter has been pre-ordained!!" he
adds. "Nassur has been ensnared by Zirko-sama's weaves to become the
betrothed of a more *worthy* woman!!!"

"Smart man," Mie hums. "I'm glad Ataru-chan made sure that Nassur'd
get married to someone other than that bitch!!"

Everyone else laughs. Shinobu moans. Varanko then gazes at her.
*Though I confess with her fighting spirit, she'd go very far...*

* * *

An hour later, Lum's ship comes to a hover beside room 337. The
boarding hatch opens and the Oni disembarks with Yukio. An emotionless
Varanko stands by the teacher's desk. On seeing the young hybrid, there is a
touch...of sadness, perhaps? Regret? Anger...but not at Yukio. Someone
else? No one can say for none notice.

Yukio is awed. This is Varanko of Kyotos, Lord High Executioner of
the Royal Kingdoms of Yehisril. The greatest warrior in recent history.
Alko's Bloody Hand, on whose *lim'l* hundreds, thousands of criminals,
terrorists and warriors had perished. The Butcher of Colony Four, the man who
organized the destruction of the Mikado's "perfect colony" and the deaths of
10,000 hard-core Mikado supporters, blunting Vosian expansionism from
threatening other races. Anyone raised in the Ipraedies Empire quakes at that
name, for Varanko has destroyed the best the *Asan'on* targeted on him.

This day, Yukio does not look on Varanko with fear. Why should she?
She is *azhis'f,* the blood of Vos and Yehisril burning in her heart. It's no
wonder her soul burned. The blood of thousands of Yehisrite warriors who died
on the field of honour and reside in the Afterworld at the Three-Faced One's
table is hers for the claiming. Varanko's arrival was the opening of the gate
of Fate to the rest of Yukio's life. Now in her path is the Test of Life.

The Test is the first great step by which Yehisrites venture into the
wide world beyond hearth and family. A five-day wilderness survival
exercise, now usually carried out on Cademus, the Test of Life is designed to
demonstrate that life is never easy. All Yehisrites and Yehisrite-descent
peoples have the unquestionable right to participate in the Test. To refuse
that honour is seen as an act of supreme dishonour, warranting the death of
the dishonourable soul in question.

Yukio drops to one knee, taking Varanko's hand and courtly kissing
the ruby on his finger. "My lord, I await your command."

Staring at the hybrid, pride touches Varanko's eyes. "Remain. You
know what is being demanded of you."

"I do, my lord," Yukio nods. "It is my divine right and my sacred
privilege."

"So it is," he nods. "Rise. You will accompany me to exercise your
privilege."

Yukio stands. Varanko notices the other students staring at him,
then back. "By the way...why did you remain at the domicile of the Slayer of
the Masters of Noukiios instead of here with Nassur's student?"

"I saw no reason to permit myself to be seduced by the denizens of
this fool's paradise," Yukio scornfully answers. "The Slayer of the Masters
of Noukiios no longer desires to be the fool of fools in this fool's
paradise, so he removed himself and his child to a keep where the denizens of
this fool's paradise could not pursue them. I will not dishonour my
friendship with him by making demands of him to return to this fool's
paradise...unlike *one* who claims she loves him!" her eyes rake over to
glaze on Lum.

Lum looks embarrassed. "I see," Varanko hums. "Very well. We shall
follow the wise footsteps of Ataru Moroboshi and leave."

The Yehisrite and the hybrid disappear. "Lum, why does that guy want
Yukio-chan for?" Shinobu walks up. "What's going on here?!"

"It's a long story," Lum sighs.

* * *

"You seem bothered, Lum," Koosei hums.

After school, tn the nursing station, Lum and Shinobu relax with
Sakura and Koosei. "I don't know, Koosei," she sighs. "I'm just worried
about Yukio-chan, I guess."

"Understandable," the teacher serves tea. "But I wouldn't worry.
The Test of Life may be rough, but if the Executioners are running it, there
should be no problems."

"Not that," Lum shakes her head. "You know the bad blood between
Ipraedies and Yehisrites, Koosei. The hybrids are half-Ipraedies, remember?
They'll be hunted and killed!"

"Not after the Test of Life," Koosei sits. "I can see Nassur's
reasons for getting Varanko's help. If the Kingdoms acknowledge the hybrids
have the right to exist, everyone else will have to do the same."

"Isn't Yehisril far away?" Shinobu hums.

"That's not the point, Shinobu," Koosei shakes his head. "You saw
that battleship, didn't you? How do you think it got here?"

Shinobu shrugs. "Between Yehisril and Earth, there is the United
Republic of Zeiwan, the Kingdom of Tofunokoibito, the Union of Phentax Five,
the Union of Phentax Two, the Kingdom of Koumoros, the Republic of Gomiana
and, of course, the Kingdom of Neptune-Triton. All of them, plus Uru,
Fukunokami, Elle and Karasutengu are dependant on the Royal Kingdoms to
maintain some sense of galactic peace."

"All of them?!" Sakura looks surprised.

"All of them," he nods. "On Vos, we have a 35 year civil war just
now ending. Ipraedos has Schwartz and the *Asan'on.* There're small penny-
ante operators like Elle and Oogi. The Zephyrite Holy Mother is not expected
to last a year, and with a Scripturalist or Orthodox due to take her place,
fundamentalism will return to the Holy Republic. The Seifukusu Dominion is
still a threat. Like it or not, Yehisril is the peacemaker for the whole
local cluster."

"I don't understand why people would turn to the Yehisrites," Shinobu
shudders. "If Varanko is an example, I wouldn't trust them if I was Lupica or
any other leader."

"They're the best in a lousy situation," he sighs. "Yehisrite custom
states they cannot impose their ways on others. They won't conquer worlds
unless they've been attacked first. The Ipraedies learned that 50 years ago."

"That's good," Shinobu sighs.

"Odd, isn't it?" Sakura sips her tea.

"What is?" Lum looks over.

"That a planet would turn to headsmen to carry out their judicial and
police policies," the nurse hums. "We'd never give executioners such wide-
ranging powers anywhere on Earth."

"Ah...in that, Sakura-chan, there's a story," Koosei smiles.

They fall silent as he explains...

Fifteen centuries ago, Yehisril did not possess its empire of a
hundred worlds. The planet was split between three independent
kingdoms...Varakos, Kyotos and Falcros. The last was the most culturally
advanced. As with the medieval period in Europe, religion and culture went
hand-in-hand. At this time, a new phenomenon arose in Falcros, centred
around the belief of the Three-Faced One. This phenomenon also promoted the
basic beliefs of modern Yehisrite society: unswerving fidelity to one's
lord; personal honour and courage; loyalty to family, comrades and friends.
Preachers from Falcros spread the word to Varakos and Kyotos. While the
common people took well to these teachings, their leaders sensed impending
revolution. The Falcros preachers were assassinated in an attempt to prevent
the further dissemination of this information.

During this time, there lived Nifhizko, a weapons-smith who was also
an adherent of Yehisril's version of Zen: the cult of Lady Silna, the
goddess of justice. To worship Silna was to deprive oneself of mortal
possessions. The Law was the only wealth for which a Silna cultist lusted.
To this day, all magistrates and Executioners take oaths to Lady Silna before
their feudal oaths to local lords.

Nifhizko was an adept Silna cultist. Some claimed he personally
involved the Lady's Favour to drain all emotion from his soul so he could
serve the Law. Nifhizko used this to slay a brother who illegally extorted
land from a benevolent and merciful countess. He was 60 when word of the
assassinations became common knowledge. On his own, without warrant,
Nifhizko located the assassins, killing forty over a twenty year period.
When the hunt was complete, King Shimanko V was so impressed that Nifhizko
was granted a warrant to form a special corps of hunters trained to bring
justice beyond a magistrate's reach. The formation was named "The Imperial
Corps of Executioners," a name still in use today. When Shimanko finally
unified the three kingdoms into the Royal Kingdoms, the Imperial Corps of
Executioners became the planet's chief law enforcement agency. Save for the
Freemasons and the *pirpirsiw'r,* the Executioners have had no equal in
training and devotion in Yehisrite history.

"Incredible!" Sakura gasps. "Such devotion! No wonder that Varanko-
sama's so feared! How long's he been an executioner?!"

"Over a century," Koosei hums. "He was gazetted when he helped hunt
down an Ipraedies guild assassin when relations between Yehisril and Ipraedos
broke down. Varanko killed him bare-handed, even surviving the self-destruct
bomb guild assassins carry with them."

"Wow!!" an awed Lum sighs. "It's no wonder Nassur-chan respects
him. I doubt Dakejinzou Shogai could've survived that!"

"He probably was lucky!" Shinobu snorts.

Koosei looks amused. "You don't seem to like him. Is it because
Varanko didn't like you wanting to marry Nassur? I warned you you'd never get
close to Nassur. Listen for once!"

Shinobu flushes in embarrassment. Lum laughs. The Terran looks
incensed. "That's not funny, Lum!!!" she drops a table on the Oni!

She then gets belted with a 100 tonne hammer! "No hitting your
classmates in school!!" Koosei snaps.

"S-sorry..." Shinobu moans.

* * *

Three days later, space explodes as Varanko's flagship de-warps. On
the bridge, battle stations are manned. Despite the fact that Cademus is deep
in Yehisrite space, the chances of battle are present...if not from the
Ipraedies, then from opponents to Alko's reign. The crew are dressed in
traditional non- reflective sleeved chainmail bodysuits covered by magenta-
pigmented thick leather pants and vests. All bear swords, the ones for the
shortest crew double in thickness in comparison to Mendou's katana. The
officers wear thick baggy wool sweaters. The commander, a one-eyed, raven-
haired woman, has a magenta cape. "M'lord. We've arrived in the Cademus
system."

"Thank you, Captain," Varanko sits in a throne-like command chair
strategically placed in the rear of the bridge. "Scan for the 'Renegade.'
Inform me if Nassur has arrived."

"Your stepson's ship is in high orbit, m'lord," the combat sensory
officer reports.

"Signal the 'Renegade,'" Varanko orders.

Nassur's face appears on the viewscreen. "You made good time," the
Vosian hums.

"I always do," the Yehisrite replies. "Do you have the other
hybrids?"

"They're here," Nassur nods.

The other Yehisrites look at their liege lord, wondering what
influence the Vosian hunter possesses to allow the hybrids, blood relatives
of the swine who butchered 500,000 innocent people, to come to the site of
their crime. "Good," Varanko ignores them. "I'll inform Hilmara and Chanko
of their arrival and we'll proceed down to commence the Test of Life."

"We'll see you there," Nassur nods.

The screen goes blank. "M'lord, if I may...why are we allowing
*Ipraedies* to proceed on the Test?!" the captain hums.

"The mothers of these ten are *azhis'f,*" Varanko explains. "All
were slaughtered alongside the pure-Vosian mothers, in much the same manner as
the honoured dead of Cademus met their fate. What is worse, the children were
lied to about their mothers' fate. It was only with the discovery of the one
numbered 28 that the fate of those mothers became known."

"Ironic, isn't it?" the executive officer hums. "We've been forced
to accept so much over the last millennium. And now people with enemy blood
in their veins? May Lady Hifmalna curse us all to the Afterworld's pits!!"

There is no annoyance on Varanko's face; he typically allows his
personal crew the chance to speak their minds without fear of reprisal.
"Perhaps. Were it not for Nassur, I myself would not accept this action even
if the ten soon to be tested are descended from *azhis'f.*"

The bridge crew sense the uneasiness in their liege lord. There was
something hanging over the Lord High Executioner's head. "I shall inform the
candidate of her time," Varanko turns to leave. "Captain, attend me."

"Sir," the captain falls in behind him.

The two later step into Varanko's own quarters. "Why are we here?"
she looks around. "M'lord, what is wrong?"

"Nifuna..." he smiles, "...there is something else I learned when
Alko relayed the information from the *Dowe'on* Tribunal."

"That is?"

"One of the children about to undergo the Test...is my missing
granddaughter's child!"

Nifuna gasps. "Your granddaughter was one of the Project mothers?!!"

"Aye," Varanko shifts from delight to frustration. "I learned
something else."

"And that is?" she looks concerned.

"I ask your silence."

"You have it."

"Another of the children...is the child of the one we can no longer
speak openly of."

"No...!" her eyes widen. "Not her...!"

"Yes. She had a child."

"Who?! Which child is it?!"

"Surely, you noticed her."

Silence falls over the room. "I see..." she looks down. "She will
have no home! Even if she succeeds in the Test, she will have no family to
claim her!! No home to call hers!!"

"I know," he nods.

"Not even you..."

"I am aware of that!!" he snaps.

* * *

Cademus.

A barren world, third from its sun, this M-class planet was once the
largest crop-producing world in the Royal Kingdoms. Over three centuries,
the world was the coveted prize in contests between six of Yehisril's sixteen
principalities. Eventually, the world was partitioned peacefully between the
*laqu'silpif* in a model agreement later used in future expansion. Cademus
was a symbol of Yehisrite valor and Yehisrite honour.

It was for those reasons the Ipraedies targeted the world 50 years
ago. Relations between the Empire and the Royal Kingdoms were plummeting into
a cold war-like detente. Border raids were almost a daily occurrence. When
the attack came, it was primarily focused on the large baronial farms which
produced the most prize crops. At first taken aback by the suddenness of the
assault (it was the first time the Ipraedies used their cloaking devices en
masse), the lords quickly formed a powerful resistance force which drove the
invaders back to the Empire, inflicting awful casualties.

In the mop-up, the lords discovered the extent of Ipraedies ferocity.
Five hundred thousand civilians...tenant farmers, mostly women and
children...were butchered with a level of savagery which made the Cademus
massacre the worst slaughter of innocents in galactic history. Most of the
victims were back-shot and dumped over the edge of an escarpment. That
became the *Miznirwiz-tizp'v,* the Cliff of Tears. The valley below became
known as the *Piztiv- pizm'r,* the Valley of Shadows. Above the Cliff sat a
reservoir once used for irrigation. After the Ipraedies were done, all that
remained was dry sand. That became the *Hizp'bif-piltif'm,* the Plateau of
Dunes. Some distance away, in a giant swamp equal to Earth's Lake Superior,
lurked survivors awaiting rescue. That is the
*Bizhiv'rmilzhis'r-mifnizx'sir,* the Wildreed Swamp. Finally, a whole county
had been disintegrated. Its site became the *Hisr'mir-wizrihltiv'm,* the
Plain of Truth.

The Corps of Executioners located their training camp's headquarters
on the Plain of Truth. In essence, it is a single-room but the size of the
Moroboshi home in Tomobiki. The Executioners relocated to Cademus in the wake
of the massacre, where the destroyed land was ceded to them as a gift from the
planet's earls. Varanko was made Cademus' duke in the aftermath of the Colony
Four massacre, which occurred a year after Cademus' tragedy.

When the Executioners were dispatched to investigate the planners of
the Cademus attack, the Ipraedies Assassins Guild decided to play a game.
They let it be known the attack had been instigated by the Mikado, then
contemplating expanding his rule to the weaker states of the nascent Galactic
Federation. The Ipraedies were said to have been guided to Cademus by
*azhis'f* sympathetic to the Mikado's cause.

In hopes of launching the first Vos-Yehisril war in a millennium, the
Assassins Guild let it be known that the Vosian dictator wanted to divert
Yehisrite attention against Ipraedos so he could expand his power at the
expense of the Federation. Since the Mikado's expansionist policies were
common knowledge, that truth made the Ipraedies-manufactured scuttlebutt all
the more plausible.

When the evidence was presented to Alko, the Yehisrite head-of-state
had already received numerous requests from various heads-of-state to blunt
the Mikado. Now armed with the information the Ipraedies manufactured, Alko
decided that a shock had to be delivered to the Vosian people to make them
think twice about expansionism. By that time, Vos' Colony Four had been
transformed into the Mikado's "pet" colony, a symbol of efficiency and order
populated by those prospering in the lifestyle ordained by their dictator.
With Yehisrite zeal, Alko unleashed the Executioners, slaying ten thousand
people (the whole population) before the Mikado's police could respond!

Inside the cabin, Varanko sits at his plain oak desk. Standing in
front of him are his two chief subordinates. Chanko of Kyotos is a handsome
25 year old man with strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes, closely resembling
his superior. Hilmara of Dysos is a stunning 23 year old woman with
green-dyed brown hair and brown eyes. Due to her birth principality, she
wears strawberry- shaded armour. Both younger executioners are shocked at
their lord's pronouncement. "Grandfather, you're bringing *Ipraedies* to
Cademus?!!" Chanko gasps.

"How could you, m'lord?!!" Hilmara demands. "The Ipraedies are the
most dishonourable louts in the galaxy!!!"

"Be silent, both of you!" Varanko barks.

The younger executioners clam up. "It is true these children have
Ipraedies blood!" Varanko stands, hands behind his back. "It is also true
these children have both Yehisrite and Vosian blood in them! By our most
sacred laws, those born Yehisrite must undergo the Test! You know that as
well as I!!"

"We understand that, Grandfather," Chanko sighs. "Consider
this...there are those here who have relatives slain 50 years ago! They want
to taste Ipraedies blood...and you're bringing these hybrids here?! You can't
ask us to swallow gall!!"

"No, I cannot, Chanko," Varanko shakes his head. "That is the reason
I asked you to come here; to keep an eye on the farmers."

"Why me, then?!" Hilmara points to her tinted hair. "I've as much
right to kill those hybrids as anyone living here!"

"I am aware of that," the Lord High Executioner's voice lowers.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd allow you to fill your blood- lust. Consider
this, however...I count a great-granddaughter among those ten children Nassur
has brought here."

Hilmara is stunned into silence. Killing Ipraedies for the deaths of
one's family was one thing. Slaying a member of a lord's family, even if the
target was half-Ipraedies, would result in Hilmara's death. Varanko had made
his point clear; his great-grandchild was part of his family. Recovering
herself, Hilmara smiles. "I'm pleased for you, m'lord. I really am."

"Thank you," Varanko sighs. "I do not ask you to raise blades
against those who remain outside the memorial ground. I only ask that you
ensure they do not learn about the hybrids' presence and that you...persuade
the farmers to leave well enough alone."

"It shall be done," she nods.

The door opens and Nassur steps inside. "Are the candidates for the
Test of Life ready to commence their exercise?" Varanko asks.

"They're ready," Nassur nods...

...before a scuffle is heard. "Hey!!!" Benten snaps. "Cut that out,
you scamps!!! Get off her, Yukio!!! Get off her!!!"

The four step outside to see a bruised Hazel kneeling, Althea at her
side. Benten keeps Hazel apart from Yukio, now held down by all seven
remaining hybrids! A group of bemused executioners watch from nearby. "What
in Lecasur's name is going on here?!!" Nassur demands. "Yukio, did you hit
Hazel?!!"

"She asked for it!" Yukio growls. "That *bizil* has not listened
once to your demands to cease insulting Koichi!!"

The Yehisrites look impressed by Yukio's profanity. "She has to have
Yehisrite blood in her!" Hilmara snickers.

Nassur faces Hazel. "What is the matter with you, Hazel?!! What did
you say?!!"

"I asked her why she was wasting her time with that idiot!" Hazel
snaps. "You asked me to help you and Benten-sensei keep an eye on the other
hybrids, Sensei!! I'm trying to do that, but that deaf fool..." she nods at
Yukio, "...doesn't listen to a thing I say!!"

"That's enough!!" Nassur looks to the hybrids holding Yukio down.
"Let her go!"

Yukio is released. Hazel is helped to her feet. *They're just like
their mothers!!* Varanko's eyes roll.

"Listen up, you idiots!!" Benten snaps. "This isn't a game!! Start
behaving yourselves 'cause you're going to need your wits about you if you
intend to survive! Understand?!"

"Yes, ma'am..." the hybrids nod.

Varanko turns to Chanko. "Prepare them. We'll commence as soon as
they are ready."

"M'lord," the younger executioner bows, then summons several friends
to the hut.

Hilmara moves beside Yukio. "Nicely struck," the Yehisrite nods,
looking at Hazel. "What is that one's problem?"

"After Hazel was found on Barsoom, she was sent to Earth to train
under the Devil's Daughter Lum," Yukio looks disgusted. "She and
Koichi...Ataru Moroboshi...didn't get along. After Koichi was tortured in the
Box on Icarus, he had...I suppose the Zephyrites would call it a revelation.
That's when he and I met. I took a liking to him, as did he to me. Since,
I've been staying with Koichi on Earth...and Hazel, who fears that her gutless
heroine will lose her 'Darling'...when it is questionable if she even
*deserves* him...does not like that."

"Lum...? Ah! The Oni *hilalyifgih'f* who hides behind her
lightning!"

Yukio grins. "I think Hazel is more upset at me because I've vowed
to take Koichi away from Lum if she betrays his trust in her again." She then
looks grim. "And I will."

"If you survive this," Hilmara smiles.

"I will," Yukio growls, then storms away.

Hilmara blinks. "A confident one."

"She's always been like that," Althea sighs, walking up to her.

"Oh?!"

"When we were on Icarus, Yukio-chan was always the loner," Althea
explains. "When the officers trained us, she did her own thing. They threw
her into the Box; six times as I recall. She didn't mind it a bit, shrugged
it off as if it was nothing. Incredible!"

"Typical Ipraedies," Hilmara snorts. "Torture is so low, it isn't
amusing!"

"You got that right," Althea shudders. "Yukio-chan may be the
youngest of us, but she was the first to hit Stop Time, weird as that sounds.
Not only that, but a year before Stop Time, she went berserk for a whole
month. Yelling one moment, crying the next. No one understood what was going
on. We certainly didn't. Twenty soldiers wound up in the infirmary thanks to
her. The officers got it worse, even the commandant!"

"She experienced the Wild Time."

"'Wild Time?!'"

"A time when Yehisrites, before entering puberty, loose control of
their senses," the executioner explains. "They're forced to give in to every
whim and emotion they experience. I hoped that one slew some Ipraedies while
she was going through her Time."

"'Fraid no..." the hybrid shrugs, then blinks. "Wait! If I'm part-
Yehisrite and Daros and everyone here is part-Yehisrite, why didn't we go
through this Wild Time?!"

"When dealing with *azhis'f,* it occurs in rare cases," Hilmara
explains.

"Strange," Althea hums. "Yukio-chan was always off on her own. No
one could control her. She'd disappear for a week, then return with enough
wild boar to feet the whole camp. The officers freaked out, tried to punish
her. She took it without complaint. The soldiers took to her side; after
all, Yukio-chan ensured they got the best boars. Several officers wound up
crippled thanks to 'accidents' the soldiers arranged. Rumors told us that
some of the Assassins Guild were called in to teach Yukio-chan obedience.
**They** wound up dead! Yukio-chan was even sent to the Ipraedies Circus to
try to control her. She wound up slaughtering the ringmaster and the
audience!! Finally, the commandant gave in and let Yukio-chan do whatever
she wanted. None of us had much to do with her. Daros-kun tried to stop
her, but she decked him better than Hazel-chan did!"

Hilmara looks at the size difference between Daros and Yukio. "I'm
impressed."

"So were the soldiers," Althea smiles. "They named her 'Yukio.' In
Ipraediespeak, it means 'the uncontrollable storm.'"

"Well..." the executioner hums, "...we shall see if the storm can
weather Cademus."

* * *

An hour later, the hybrids stand in a row in front of the hut.
Stripped of weapons and kill-belts, they bear a simple hunting knife and a
leg- brace with a built-in tracking system. "Are they ready?" Varanko looks
at his grandson.

"They are, Grandfather."

"Then, to all of you...begone!" Varanko waves them off with a
flourish. "Return as true warriors...or do not return at all!"

The hybrids head off. Watching them go, Benten seems worried.
"How's this test supposed to work?" she sighs.

"There're twenty planned encounters," Nassur explains. "Each is
designed to give each candidate exposure to whatever possible threat they
could face. It could be quicksand, poisonous plants, dangerous animals..."
he shrugs. "Almost anything!"

"And they're not to talk to each other, right?" the Fukunokami is not
calmed.

"No," the Vosian shakes his head. "Don't worry. Varanko'll keep an
eye on things."

"What about them being part-Ipraedies?"

"Ah, that!" Nassur nods. "You know all the executioners are loyal to
Varanko."

"They're not the only ones on this dirtball, remember?!"

"Yes. The course doesn't stray too close to the boundaries. The
chance is still there that the locals might learn of the hybrids."

Benten gives him an icy stare. "A...a sm-small ch-chance...!" Nassur
stammers.

"Right," she growls.

"Pardon me, Grandfather," Chanko walks up to Varanko. "Sansura is
calling."

"Sansura?!" he hums. "What does your sister require of me, Chanko?"

"She did not specify."

"Very well," Varanko steps into the hut.

"Who's Sansura?!" Benten looks confused.

"A courtesan in Alko's court," Nassur blinks. "She trained as an
executioner when Cinba and I were here, then later apprenticed as a courtesan
in Alko's keep. After all, courtesans make the best spies in court."

Benten nods in understanding. Varanko soon emerges from the hut.
"What's with Sansura?" Nassur walks up. "She okay?"

"She has a problem," the Yehisrite sighs. "It appears that she has
become...impotent."

Everyone looks surprised. "She is unable to seduce her targets,"
Varanko adds. "She's only 40 years old, a member of the court for 15 years.
She believes she's lost her touch."

"Sad," Nassur nods.

"What's the problem?" Benten looks curious. "What does she have to
re-learn before she could go back to work? Everyone knows Yehisrite sex isn't
that complicated!"

"Quite a bit," Varanko hums, then thinks. "Yes!" he slams his fist
into the palm of the other hand. "He'll do perfectly! Chanko!!"

"What is it, Grandfather?!" the younger executioner looks confused.

"Tell Sansura to go to Earth. The only one who can help her is Ataru
Moroboshi!"

Nassur and Benten faint! "At once, Grandfather," Chanko bows.

* * *

Two days later...

Peace reigns when Ataru sneezes! "Gods!" he rubs his nose.
"Someone's talking about me."

He enters the Tiger Cub Cafe. The cafe is clean, neat yet simple in
design, the model of coffee shops throughout Japan. Manning the counter is
his sister Nokoko and sister-in-law Mal. "'Morning!" Ataru calls out.

"'Morning, Ataru-chan," Nokoko slips off her apron and hands it
over. "Ready to go?"

"Willing and waiting," Ataru slips the apron on. "How long you'll
be?"

"We'll be all day, little brother," Nokoko kisses him as Mal slips
off her apron. "You sure you can handle this place?"

"Heh!" Ataru snorts. "Piece of cake!"

"I'm here!" Lum and Ten-chan fly in. "Hi, Nokoko-chan! Mal-chan!"

"Sister!" Mal levitates, floating over to her sister's and cousin's
side. "Here you go, Lum-chan," she hands the apron over, then settles to the
ground as Lum slips on the apron. "I hope all will be well, sister."

"We'll run it like it was ours!"

"Here you go, Ten-chan," Nokoko slips a miniature apron on the
smaller Oni.

"Thanks," Ten-chan beams.

Nokoko and Mal step out. "Okay, Master!" the former waves. "We'll
be back tonight. Try not to wreck the place, okay?"

"Okay!" Ataru waves.

They leave. "Darling," Lum hugs his arm, gazing wantingly at him.
"Peace and quiet and we're alone with Yukio off on Cademus!"

"I hope she's okay," Ataru sighs. "I don't want to see her hurt."

"Someone like her?!" Ten-chan sits on the counter. "Not a chance!"

"Don't sit on the counter!" Lum snaps.

"Sorry!" Ten-chan floats away, flushing.

The door opens. "Hello!" a college student enters, the morning light
glittering off round-frame glasses.

"Good morning," Lum walks up. "Will it be a booth or the counter?"

"Counter, please, Mal-san."

Lum guides him to a chair. "Here you go. I'm Lum, Mal's sister.
She's off today."

"Oh," the student sits.

"Coffee?" Ataru looks over.

The student looks really confused, but nods. "Are you related to
Nokoko-san?"

"I'm her brother Ataru," he slides a cup in front of the student.

"Thank you," the student nods, pouring milk and sugar into the cup.
"Where're Nokoko-san and the others?"

"They're in Sendai," Ataru smiles. "Lum and I're subbing in. It
shouldn't be busy."

"We hope!" Lum adds.

The student looks disappointed. "Pity."

Lum blinks. <<Darling, psi-link!>>

<<What is it, koishii?>>

<<Why's he so sad about Mal-chan?>>

<<Think, Lum!>> Ataru winks. <<Why do you think Nagisa's dad dressed
him up as such a beautiful woman? Nokoko-chan has **eight** girls working for
her here. Who *wouldn't* come to a shop like this when you can see such nice
girls at close range?! If this was before the Spirit War, I'd be here all the
time! This'd make Hooter's look tame!>>

<<If people in Japan understood what Hooter's is about!>> the Oni
sighs.

* * *

Viewing the cafe from the other side of the street are five men and
two women, now in trenchcoats and glasses. "Why are we dressed like this,
Mendou-san?!" Shinobu hisses.

"We've got to make sure the local police don't stop us from
fulfilling out mission!" Mendou responds. "Even if we got that court
injunction overturned, there may be officers on the take with Moroboshi's
family!"

"This is stupid!" Ryuunosuke growls. "Why the hell are we here,
anyway?! Ataru doesn't want us to bother him!"

"He and Lum-san are *alone!!*" Megane snarls. "We're not going to
allow that!"

The other guards nod. "I don't care about you or Lum!" Shinobu
snaps. "Ataru-kun's done something to ruin my chances with Nassur-kun! I'm
not going to stop until I find out what he did and make him reverse it!"

"Who cares about a *traitor* like **you?!!**" Megane roars. "Lum-san
is the *only* one whose dreams count in Tomobiki!!"

"Care to repeat that?!" Shinobu grabs Megane and proceeds to strangle
him.

The other boys move to stop the fight. Ryuunosuke shakes her head.
A voice is heard. "Hey! What're you dummies doing here?!"

Everyone stops, seeing Ten-chan floating there. "Jariten, you
idiot!" Mendou hisses. "Don't tell Moroboshi we're here!"

"I'll tell him right now," the young Oni drifts towards the cafe.

"No!!" the boys move to stop him.

Ten-chan then pulls out a tiger-stripped lollipop. "Guess what!" he
licks it, then devilishly smiles. "Nokoko-onee-chan gave me a whole box of
these if I'd do her a favour!"

"Wh-what?!" Shinobu stammers.

"This!" Ten-chan breathes in, then lets go with his flame-breath!

The Tomobiki students howl as they run away. They unknowingly pass a
beautiful woman watching the Tiger Cub from across the street. Two icy blue
eyes concentrate on Ataru as he busies himself cleaning the cafe.
"So...you're the one who slew the Masters of Noukiios, eh?" a sultry,
seductive, accented voice hums. "Defender of Earth. My, you should be quite
an interesting conquest, Ataru Moroboshi."

Ataru sneezes!

* * *

*This isn't fun!* the college student sighs. *When this place
opened, everyone went crazy because those nice girls worked here! It was nice
to get a cup of coffee!* He looks over to Lum, cleaning some dishes. *Still,
I suppose it isn't so bad with Lum-san here...*

The door opens. Lum looks over, smiling. "Welcome to the Tiger Cub
Cafe...!"

"What are you doing here?!!" Ataru pulls Cherry up, having stopped
him at the door.

"Cherry?!!" Lum gasps.

"How did you see through my disguise?!" he slips off his sunglasses.

Cherry then flies into orbit! "No unpaying customers allowed!!!"
Ataru snaps.

"It's fate...!!!" the monk wails.

"Sooner or later, someone'd show up!!" Ataru growls as he returns to
the counter.

"Um...who or what was that?" the student looks at Ten-chan.

"Cherry," he sighs. "From Tomobiki."

"Oh!" he nods, then points, looking to his right. "Who the heck are
they?!"

Ataru, Lum and Ten-chan look...to see Mendou, the guards, Shinobu and
Ryuunosuke sharing a booth! "***HEY!!!!!!***" Ataru storms over. "What're
**you** doing here?!!"

"Let me handle this!!" Ten-chan growls. "I'll fry them to a crisp!!"

"You fool!!!" Mendou draws his katana. "Did you actually think we'd
allow you to get away with what you did, Moroboshi?!! You and Lum-san *alone*
without us to protect her innocence?!! Don't be ridiculous!!"

Ataru grabs Ten-chan, aims at Mendou, then bops him. A blast of
flame incinerates Mendou! "No weapons inside the cafe except *mine!!*" Ataru
seizes his rival's blade, then throws it out the front door. It impales the
side of a passing truck, then disappears.

"Hey!!!" Mendou snaps.

Lum falls over laughing. The college student watches the
confrontation, his glasses askew. "I seem to recall a court injunction meant
to keep you jerks away!" Ataru growls.

"Hah!!" Megane cackles. "We got you!! The district court in
Tomobiki overrode your pitiful attempt to keep Lum-san to yourself!! Did you
know the chief justice is the father of the victim of one of your
girl-hunts?! When we told him that you gave us the slip, he was more than
willing to pass an override!!"

"Oh?!" Ataru hums. "I wonder what the chief justice of the Miyagi
Prefecture Supreme Court would say to something like that! I'll call the
chief of police right now!!"

"Hold it!!" Shinobu leaps into his path. "You're not going anywhere
until you tell me what you did to keep Nassur-kun...!"

To everyone's shock, she gets roasted by Ten-chan! "That was a
freebie," he smiles.

"Thank you," Ataru shoves the burnt Shinobu aside as he steps into
the office.

"He's not gonna cut us any slack!" Chibi hisses. "What now?!"

"We'll out-wait him!" Megane vows.

"Ouch!!" Shinobu moans as she painfully rises. "That bastard! How
dare he...?!"

"Trying to hurt *my* Darling, Miyaki?!" Lum snarls, lightning
flashing over her.

Shinobu then gets a dose of the Oni's electricity!! As soon as the
Terran passes out, Lum picks her up and dumps her outside. "Don't come back
unless you're a customer!!"

Mendou and the guards tremble. "Well?!!" Lum growls. "Are you going
to order something or do I evict you for taking up space?!!"

"How do you expect us to place an order when Moroboshi is running
this place?!" the scion of Japan's richest family cries. "He could poison us
so he'd take you for himself!"

"I'll have herbal tea," Ryuunosuke hums.

"Coming up," Lum turns to the counter.

The boys relax. "Thanks, Ryuunosuke," Kakugari sighs. "You just
saved our bacon!"

"Hey, Lum!!" the tomboy then calls out. "These jerks still don't
want anything!!"

Mendou and the guards join Shinobu in a burnt heap outside! Watching
this from her hiding place, the mysterious woman chuckles...

* * *

In an hour, things are quiet. Shinobu and Ryuunosuke have
breakfasted. Mendou and the guards, frustrated, drink pop in another booth.
The college student watches this in confusion. "What's with those dorks?" he
thumbs Mendou.

"They're idiots without a life!" Ataru declares. "This is what
happens when one's idols are taken away...or in my case, properly reclaimed so
I can have a life of my own. I take it you've never heard about Tomobiki."

"All we heard up here is that all the weird stuff happens there," the
student sighs.

"Oh, too true," Ataru sighs. "Why do you think I left the place?"
He then speaks up. "And I now intend to take Lum with me!"

"Moroboshi, you swine!!!" Mendou bolts up. "How dare you try to hurt
Lum-san by taking her away from her *real* friends...?!"

"Sit down or *I'll* call the police!!!" Lum zaps him hard!

Mendou drops into his chair. Everyone laughs. The front door then
opens. "Welcome to the Tiger Cub Cafe," Ataru smiles.

Everyone sees three schoolgirls about Yukio's age. They advance in
review order to the counter. Confusion reigns as they sit in unison.
Suddenly, one girl breathes in, staring at Ataru. The second girl repeats the
manoeuver. The third repeats the manoeuver. Everyone then quizzically looks
at Ataru...

...who hides his face behind a plate, wondering what terrible
enormity he may have committed to deserve this sort of attention. "Wh-what is
it...?!" he stammers.

"Where's a camera when I need one?!!" Megane gasps. "Ataru Moroboshi
actually *scared* of the advances of women?!!"

The three girls look at Ataru, then at each other. "Tomoko-chan, you
ask!" a brown-eyed girl with tomboyish black hair whispers.

"You do it, Yasuko-chan!" a bespeckled hazel-eyed girl with brown
hair hisses.

"You ask him, Mariko-chan!" a blue-eyed girl with wavy black hair
hisses to the first. "He likes you better than us!"

"No way!" Mariko blushes.

"We'll do it together!" Tomoko whispers.

The three face Ataru. "Um...Moroboshi- san...we, um...we want to..."
Yasuko hums.

"One...two...three..." Mariko counts.

"***THANK YOU, MOROBOSHI-SAN!!!!!!***" the three yell loud enough to
knock him over!

Ataru looks over the counter-edge, still intimidated. "Um...you're
welcome...um...for what...eh?!" his eyes widen in recognition.

"Darling, you know them?" Lum hums.

"Hey, lady, who're you to call Moroboshi-san that?!" Yasuko growls.

"I'm Darling's wife!" Lum beams.

"What did you say?!!" Ataru bops her over the head. "Gods, haven't
you got that through your head by now?!"

"Ataru, how *dare* you hit Lum-san like that?!!" Megane rams his
hands into the table.

The guards and Mendou find themselves facing the business end of
Ataru's *qu'f-piaqu'r.* "What was that?" Ataru hums.

The five boys quickly retreat. "Nice gun!" the college student gasps.

"Oh, it's you three!" Ataru quickly stows the weapon, smiling.

"You remember us?!" Mariko gasps.

"When you beat those boys?!" Yasuko adds.

"Yesterday in the alley?!" Tomoko hums.

"Um...yeah!" Ataru rubs the back of his skull. "So...it's you
three...!" he chuckles.

"Hai!!!" the three snap their reply.

"So..." Ataru coughs to regain his composure, "...what brings you
three here today? There's no need to thank me."

"How did Moroboshi save those three?" Mendou wonders, blinking.

"Probably by just looking!" Paama snorts.

"That's a horrible thing to say, Shitto!!!" Lum zaps him!

The three newcomers look at each other. "Um...well, actually...!"
Tomoko hums.

"Tell him, Yasuko-chan!" Mariko hisses.

"We'll do it together!" Yasuko commands.

The count-off is heard, then they face Ataru. "***MOROBOSHI-SAN,
WE'D LIKE TO FORM YOUR FAN CLUB!!!!!!***" they scream.

The three produce a super-deformed doll of the Cyborg, complete with
a sash proclaiming TO MOROBOSHI-SAN FROM YOUR FANS!!!! Ataru is decked by an
explosion!! The house is brought down as everyone howls on seeing him so
taken aback. Ataru rises past the counter ledge, his whole head as red as a
poppy and steam billowing from his neck. "My...my...my fan club...?!"

"Sure!!" Tomoko nods. "Everyone in Oshika's heard about what you
did...um, at least at our school, that is!"

"Yeah!!" Mariko adds. "We also know that you were willing to drive
those stupid Onis off during the Tag Race!"

"Everyone wants to join!!" Yasuko pleads.

Ataru stands, then takes the Cyborg doll in hand. "Well...I don't
see why not...!"

"Really?!!" Yasuko gasps.

"Honestly?!!" Tomoko yips.

"You don't mind?!!" Mariko beams.

Congratulations balloons burst! "***HE SAID YES!!!!!!***" all scream.

The others in the Tiger Cub are unsure if Ataru is pleased or
mortified because of the attention he's receiving. The girls then chatter
among themselves about getting the club's administration underway.
"Honestly!" Mendou has slid to the seat next to Mariko. "How could you waste
all that time and effort on a sex-crazed idiot like Moroboshi?"

They stop, lethally staring at Mendou. "Who're you to say that?!"
Yasuko growls.

"I'm a classmate of this fool..." Mendou stands, pointing at Ataru.

He gets beaned by a napkin dispenser! "Former classmate, you mean!!"
Ataru amends.

Mendou recovers, then points out details. "Look at those dopey eyes!
That wet nose! That slack mouth! The look of a total incompetent! How
could you devote yourself to something like him?! He's a waste of time!!"

"I WON'T FORGIVE THAT!!!!" Lum zaps him!

Mendou drops to the floor. "Oh, yeah?!" Tomoko looks unimpressed.
"All I see is a greasy-haired snob who's full of himself!"

"What?!" Mendou cries. "Are you blind?!"

"Shutaro, stop harassing those girls!!!" Lum threateningly warns.

"'Shutaro?!'" Yasuko looks surprised. "As in Shutaro Mendou?!!"

"The same...unfortunately," Ataru sighs.

Tomoko, Yasuko and Mariko burst out laughing. "It's Shutaro Mendou!"
the last points. "The super-snob of Tomobiki!!"

The SIQ...snob in question...is decked by an explosion!! "WHAT?!?!?!"

"What do you think?" Tomoko snorts. "Get a life! Everyone **knows**
about Tomobiki!!"

The girls proceed to describe what they see as life in Japan's most
infamous district: how everything weird happens there, how the citizens
blame things on defenseless people, that they're all infatuated with Lum, how
they blew up their town to get their dreams back, how they nearly destroyed
Earth's biosphere thanks to the Second Tag Race, how the people of Tomobiki
would sell Earth out to keep Lum. "Well, I hear there are smart ones in
Tomobiki!" Mariko then objects.

"You did?!" Yasuko looks over.

"Yeah!" Mariko laughs. "They **leave** it as soon as they can...like
Moroboshi-san!"

Everyone from Tomobiki is decked by an explosion!! "***WHAT?!?!?!
***" Megane bolts to his feet. "You disrespectful brats!!! How dare you make
light of Tomobiki's holy mission to protect Lum-san's dreams?!! You'll be the
ones who'll be sorry by allowing that pest..." he points at Ataru, "...to
remain here!!!"

The boys are then beset by Mariko, Tomoko and Yasuko! "***YOU TAKE
THAT BACK!!!!!!***"

As a free-for-all begins, the college student looks concernedly at
Ataru. "Aren't you going to stop that?!" he points.

"No need," Ataru hums.

* * *

Two minutes later, the girls depart. "I'm glad we met him!" Tomoko
smiles.

"He's such a nice man!" Mariko sighs.

"We should visit again!" Yasuko beams.

The other girls nod. Inside the Tiger Cub, the five beaten boys try
to recover. The college student laughs, having never had this much fun in
previous visits to a coffee shop. "This is nice!" Ataru places the SD Cyborg
doll on the shelf above the cashier. "I'll put it here to scare the bad
spirits away!"

"Ataru!!!" Cherry appears behind him!

The monk then gets a *very* close-up look of the Cyborg doll. "THE
PHOENIX!!!!!!" he shrieks, then vanishes like the Roadrunner through the front
door with a burst of smoke!

"Son-of-a-gun!" Ataru whistles, then laughs. "It actually works!!"

* * *

An hour later, the college student reviews notes for an exam. Ataru
mops the floor. Lum catches up on gossip from Mendou and the guards.
Ryuunosuke relaxes. Shinobu moves over to Ataru. "Um...Ataru-kun?" she taps
his shoulder.

"Something you want?" he looks at her.

"I need to talk to you."

Ataru looks away. "Bug me later, Shinobu! I'm not here because of
you!"

Shocked by his dismissal, she returns to her seat. This behaviour
had been happening since their return from Icarus. While Shinobu didn't mind
Ataru no longer chasing her, the crude attitude he possessed was something to
get used to. Shinobu, along with Lan and to a lesser extent Sakura and
Ryuunosuke had been at the receiving end of the worst of it.

Before Icarus, Shinobu always intimidated Ataru with her feats of
strength. These days, Ataru didn't scare. He could now retaliate with equal
if not greater ferocity. He treated her like dirt, which for Shinobu, cut
deep. Ataru had been her boyfriend. Now, he accused her having never loved
him in the first place! That hurt. What hurt more was that Ataru had
declared his intention to prevent Shinobu from becoming intimate with Nassur.
Doing that was bad, but not understanding how that happened made Shinobu
feel vulnerable. Vulnerable? Was that not the same way Ataru felt? Could
that be the reason he left Tomobiki to relocate in Oshika? Could that be the
reason he turned away from two years of a carnival in Tomobiki? He had
enjoyed it as much as anyone else!

Shinobu sighs, looking outside as she considers that. Yes, Ataru was
vulnerable in Tomobiki. With Lum's attraction, every boy wanted to hurt him.
The teachers treated him like dirt, Hanawa and Koosei excepted. His parents
were the worst. Cherry and Sakura always pestered him, their "advice" never
useful. Ten-chan harassed him. Ataru had been at the receiving end of every
weird event that occurred, regardless if he was the cause or not.

Shinobu's thoughts are interrupted as the front door opens. "Oh!"
Ataru hands the mop to Lum. "Take over. This one's mine."

Ataru obtains a napkin, then greets an elderly lady dressed in a
kimono. "A booth is open, ma'am," he respectfully bows, directing her to the
booth beside Shinobu. "This way."

"Thank you," the visitor nods, sitting.

Ataru remains as she looks outside. "I'm sure he'll come today."

"Perhaps," she nods. "I come here often. He's never come."

"You wanted...mint tea?"

"Yes."

Ataru moves to prepare the order. Everyone is surprised. "Do you
know about this, Lum-chan?" Paama looks at his idol.

"No," she shakes his head. "Who is she?"

"I don't know," Mendou sighs, "...but it's said mint tea helps in
restoring memory."

"What story is this?" Megane hisses.

Ataru places the cup in front of the customer. "He never forgot
you," he smiles.

She looks at him. "Why...you resemble someone. Have you worked here
often?"

"You're confusing me with my uncle Komeru," Ataru chuckles.

"Komeru...?" the woman hums. "Oh, yes, I remember. They say he
couldn't get it up."

Everyone present flushes red with shock. "Unfortunately," Ataru
sighs.

The woman looks outside. "Komeru's your uncle. You're Muchi's boy?"

"Sadly, yes," Ataru sighs.

"I remember him," she muses, sipping her tea. "He never did much.
Always read his paper. Never said a word. The only thing which interested
him was this utterly vulgar, boy-chasing bimbo from some place in Tokyo...oh,
I forgot the name..."

"Tomobiki," Ataru answers.

"Yes. What was her name, again...?"

"Kinshou Yamaguchi. My mother."

"You're their child?" she blinks.

"Unfortunately," Ataru moans, then perks up. "Ah! There!" he points.

The woman looks...to see an elderly gentleman walk up, dressed in a
formal 1920s-era three-piece suit. The woman's eyes widen in surprise, then
she gingerly stands, walking out to greet him. The two then walk away
together as romantic music is heard.

Everyone stares at Ataru as he cleans up. "Darling, you know her?"
Lum walks up.

"Nokoko-chan told me," he sighs. "Back in the Taisho era, they were
classmates. They vowed to elope, but he got drafted into the Army and was
sent off to fight in Manchuria. He came back before we went to war with the
States, but the two lost track. She always came back here, waiting for his
return. She waited day after day when my uncle ran the shop. Her problem was
passed on through the owners right to Nokoko."

"When did they reunite?" Shinobu hums.

"Several years ago," Ataru places the cutlery in the washer.

"Darling, you're a romantic!" Lum sighs.

"So I am," he nods.

Shinobu is surprised. Yes, Ataru was vulnerable in Tomobiki. Here,
that wasn't the case. Here, he was accepted. Here, he had family: Nokoko,
Mal and Reiko. Here, he had friends: Nintaiko and the other Nendo-kata from
the Outland; Nicole McTavish and her friends; Yukio, Dakejinzou Shogai...even
Mie Seikou, who could visit Oshika without fear.

Looking out the window, Shinobu isn't surprised Ataru is willing to
turf everything and everyone from his old life. There was nothing tying him
back to Tomobiki save Lum, but Shinobu knew that wouldn't stop Ataru for
long. Further, Mendou's attempt to circumvent the court injunction was
meaningless; Ataru would find a new way to ram them back. Finding new
avenues of escape was the way Ataru survived. And with he and Lum living in
Oshika, life in Tomobiki would return to dull normalcy. No one could move
close since Komeru had purchased all the land within 200 kilometres of here.
Once Lum was gone, all her friends would disappear.

Nassur would disappear!

Shinobu's surprise turns to vile rage. She was being pulled away
from the man she dearly loved...and it was her former boyfriend causing it!
That could not, would not, be forgiven!! Snarling, she grabs the table and
moves to rip it out of the floor...

...when she feels the cold kiss of a gun barrel against her throat!
She glances over to see Ataru aiming his musket of his at her. "You either
behave or else you'll get a taste of what the Masters of Noukiios went
through!"

Shinobu drops back in her seat, pale...

* * *

Another hour passes. The college student remains in place, not
wanting to miss more of the "relations" between Ataru and Tomobiki. Attempts
by Mendou and the guards to get Lum to return home have failed, making them
antsy. Shinobu sits cowered in her booth. Ryuunosuke sits at the counter.
"Nice place Nokoko has," she looks around. "How'd she afford it? This is way
more expensive than Hamajaya!"

"My uncle owned it," Ataru wipes dishes. "The first place he bought
with his own money. When Nokoko-chan and the others came from the Outland,
she asked him if there was something she could do to pass the time.
Komeru-oji- chan remembered this place, bought it back from another owner,
then gave it to her. It's been running smoothly ever since."

"Nice," Ryuunosuke sighs.

The door opens. "Welcome to the Tiger Cub Cafe," Ataru declares.

Everyone looks. "Holy!!!" Megane gasps.

"It's a chick!!!" Kakugari howls.

Standing at the door is a very beautiful Yehisrite woman. Short-cut
sunflower-shaded hair frames a classically sculptured face. Her gaze feels
like cutting lasers. Visibly muscular, the equal of Sakura, she dresses in
something akin to Yuukiki: a sleeveless cut-off canvas shirt, Bermuda-style
pants and boots. She is visibly armed; sheathed daggers on her arms and a
toothed leather cable about her waist. Her colours are magenta trimmed with
gold. "I seek the Slayer of the Masters of Noukiios," she declares, looking
around.

"I'm he," Ataru bows. "*Hisri'hilm.*"

The woman moves to the counter. She is stopped by Mendou. "Miss,
wait!! Don't go near that sex-crazed idiot! Stay with me!"

She gives him a look. "Who are you?"

Mendou shivers. "Sh-shutaro M-Mendou..."

The woman's fist impacts his groin!! Mendou doubles over, staggering
away. She slides into a chair. "So...you're the Slayer of the Masters of
Noukiios," her finger gently caresses his chin stubble. "Excellent."

"And you are?" Ataru's eyes narrow.

"Sansura of Kyotos," she smiles. "A courtesan of the court of the
Lord Protector."

"Oh?" he returns to his dishes. "And what would you desire of
someone like me?"

"You, of course."

"A date, you mean?"

"Aye."

Ataru thinks for a moment. "I'm running the cafe until my sister
returns later this evening. If you'd like to wait, I'll get you something to
eat. Do you have any money?"

"I've gold."

"That'll do," Ataru nods.

Lum and Ten-chan emerge from the back room. "Oh, that's finished!"
the elder Oni sighs, then stops on seeing the courtesan. "What the...?!!"

"Lum-san!" Megane hisses. "Over here!"

She move to the guards' side. "What's a courtesan doing here?!" Lum
thumbs Sansura.

"She's come to date Ataru!" Chibi gulps.

"WHAT?!?!?!" Lum screams, then bolts to Ataru's side. "Darling, what
are you doing?!! Do you have any idea of what this animal will do to you if
you go on a date with her?!!" she points to Sansura. "She'll beat you up!!!"

Mendou grabs Lum, yanking her back. "Allow Moroboshi to die, Lum-
san! I'll fill the gaping holes in your heart!!"

Megane bashes Mendou! "Hands off Lum-san!!! *I'll* be the one who
claims her!!"

The guards then jump in! "***FAT CHANCE ON THAT, PAL!!!!!!***"

Ataru grabs Ten-chan. Bopping him on the head, Ataru hoses the five
boys with a dose of the Oni's flame! "Do you mind?!!"

"Idiots, don't fight in my sister's cafe or I'll call the police!!!"
Lum adds insult to injury via her lightning!!

They scramble to their booth. "Darling, I will not allow you to date
this animal!!" Lum points at Sansura. "Not only because I'm your girlfriend,
but to ensure you...!"

"***WHEN DOES YOUR BEING MY GIRLFRIEND GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH
IT?!?!?!***" Ataru deforms into a giant monster which intimidates everyone!

Lum falls on her backside. "It's just a date!" Ataru growls.
"Nothing harmful about that! And if you think of butting your way into my
having a good time...don't!!!"

She makes herself scarce. "Is that Lum, the so-called Devil's
Daughter?" Sansura hums.

"The one and only," Ataru sighs.

"She's well-known," the Yehisrite is not impressed. "A bratty, over-
possessive, bullying coward who hides behind her lightning!"

Mendou and the guards look incensed. "WHAT?!?!?!" Megane bolts up.
"Who says things like that about Lum-san?!!"

He gets smashed by the buttstock of Ataru's musket! "Sit down and
shut up!!!"

The other boys fearfully back away...

* * *

A half-hour later, the Tiger Cub is quiet. Mendou, the guards and
Shinobu remain in their booths, humiliated by the incessant abuse from Ataru
and Lum. To better learn how to behave like a woman, Ryuunosuke has placed
herself in a location where she gained an unobstructed view of Sansura. The
college student watches everything. Lum warily eyes the Yehisrite as she
works. Sansura remains in place, awaiting Nokoko's return. Ten-chan hides
himself behind the counter, peeking intermittently at the courtesan. Sansura
scares him into hiding by either a stare or a growl. Ataru remains calm
despite the attention Sansura gives him. "Incredible!" Megane hisses. "If
some girl looked at me like that, I'd be shitting my pants! How can Ataru
keep his cool?!"

"He's basking in her attention," Mendou sighs. "This woman scares
Lum-san. Moroboshi will get her without Lum-san stopping him!"

Kakugari growls. "Ataru's gonna cheat on Lum-chan again! Not a damn
thing's changed!"

The guards launch into a discussion, one Sansura easily overhears.
"Ataru?"

"What is it, Sansura?" he looks at her.

"Those *yizpiz* conspire against you."

"They usually do," he shrugs.

"Will you not stop them?" she blinks.

"They'll stop themselves," he winks. "Don't worry. They're their
own worst enemies. Defeating them's a piece of cake."

"He winked!" Megane hisses, eyes ablaze. "That slime dares wink at
another girl?!"

"He'll pay for that!" Mendou growls.

The phone rings. Lum answers, then leans back into the cafe.
"Darling, phone call."

Ataru walks to the office. "Lum-san, come here!" Mendou calls her
over. "Quick!"

"What is it, Shutaro?" she walks up.

"Ataru just winked at that girl!" Megane points at Sansura.

Lum looks incensed...but before anyone could say anything else,
Megane feels the kiss of Sansura's dagger on his throat. "So..." she growls,
"...you seek to suffer from Lum's pathetic cowardice by your conspiring
against the Slayer of the Masters of Noukiios! I should send you to the
Afterworld so you can't carry through with your thoughts!"

"She d-doesn't appreciate help, doesn't she...?!" Chibi gulps.

"I've neither need for your help nor interference," Sansura purrs.
"My business here is between Ataru Moroboshi and myself. Besides, everyone
knows what a fool's paradise Tomobiki is! Your words shan't move me!"

Rubbing the blade against Megane's throat, Sansura returns to her
seat. Ataru emerges. "By the way, jerks, nice try, but no cigar!"

"What?!!" Megane snaps.

"That was the Miyagi Supreme Court," Ataru crosses his arms. "The
chief justice didn't enjoy the idea of a *district* court overriding his
decisions. The court injunction's still in place. Further, the chief justice
of Tomobiki's been put on vacation on suspicion of being on the take with the
Mendou Conglomerate!"

Mendou bolts up. "How dare you sully my family's honour by making
that accusation?!!" He points at Ataru. "You will be defeated, you slime!
One way or another, you'll be defeated!! Mark my words, Moroboshi!!!"

"You're an idiot, Mendou," Ataru is not intimidated. "I can't
believe you haven't realized you already lost!"

Mendou growls as Ataru returns to the counter. "What's wrong?" he
looks at Lum.

"What's this about you winking at her?!" she points at Sansura.

"Oh, give me a break!" Ataru sighs. "Why do you always listen to
what those jerks say?!" he thumbs Mendou and the guards.

Lum is not calmed. "I swear, there are days I like you so much,"
Ataru adds, "...and there are days I think you're so egocentric and naive, I
wish I never met you!!"

Lum pales as Ataru storms past. "Foolish Oni," Sansura shakes her
head.

The door bursts open, revealing a man in his twenties, dressed in
shaggy clothes, armed with a rifle and carrying a bag a money. The desperate
look on his face spells trouble. "A GUN!!!!!!" Shinobu screams.

"Shaddup!!!" the man snaps. "Listen up!!! I just robbed a bank and
killed a man!!! I've got the cops on my tail and I'm not going to jail!!!
Anyone pisses me off, they'll die!!! You're now my hostages!!!"

Ataru gasps. "You killed a man?!!"

"Yeah, I killed a man!!" he cackles.

Despite the danger, Ataru acts calmly, as does Sansura and Mendou.
Lum and Ten-chan fidget. Everyone else is terrified. "Mendou-san, do
something!!!" Shinobu wails.

He faints! Shinobu looks disappointed. "Coward!" Sansura snorts.

"What do we do?!" Lum looks at Sansura.

"Don't look at me!" she snorts. "Ataru?"

"I don't want to deal with this creep!"

"Somebody do something!!" Shinobu sighs.

"Hey!!!" the robber shouts. "Shaddup!!! I said you're my
hostages!!!"

He then finds himself facing Ataru, who moved at thought's speed to
confront him. "You either order something or get out!!"

"You thick-skulled jerk!!" the robber swings the gun toward Ataru.
"Haven't you been listening to me...?!!"

"It's a face-off!!" a Yamada hits a Yamada.

"I can't look!!" Lum spins away.

A shot is heard! Everyone sees the rifle pointing to the ceiling.
Ataru's eyes glow as his battle aura intimidates the robber. "THAT WAS NOT AN
OPTION!!!!!!" the teenager screams.

"Get him, Darling!!" Lum cheers.

Ten seconds later, the robber is beaten to a pulp! "Call the
police." Ataru sighs. "Tell them we have their robber here."

"Right, Darling!" Lum flies off.

"I wish I never got out of bed..." the college student moans.

* * *

The police arrive to take the robber into custody. "Thanks for your
help, Moroboshi-san," the sergeant tips his cap. "We had to chase the creep
all over the prefecture."

"My pleasure," Ataru nods, then smiles. "Oh, by the way..."

"What is it?" the sergeant asks.

He grabs Mendou and Megane. "These two, plus them..." he nods at the
guards and Shinobu, "...are breaking an injunction imposed by the prefecture
court preventing their coming here!"

"Hey!!!" the two boys wail.

"Oh, is that a fact?" the sergeant hums.

The students sweat. "Take them away!!!" the sergeant orders.

As they're cuffed and dragged off, Mendou howls, "Moroboshi!! You
slime!! You'll never get away with this!!! We'll go to the highest court in
the land!!! You'll never win...!!!"

"Shaddup!!!" a policeman bashes him with a club. "Save it for the
judge, creep!! 'Sides, the court on Fuji-san's closed today!"

Another policeman stares at Ryuunosuke. "What about her?"

She looks nervous. "Oh, she's not on the restricted list. Actually,
she has a sister living at my place," Ataru explains. "Ryuu-chan came up here
to visit her."

"I did?!" the tomboy wonders.

Lum pinches her backside. "Ouch!!" Ryuunosuke yelps. "I did, I
did!!"

"Fair enough," the cop heads off.

Ryuunosuke stares at her old classmate. The other students are
hauled off as a taxi arrives to deposit Nokoko and Mal. "What's going on
here, Ataru-chan?" the former hums.

"Oh, nothing much," Ataru sighs.

After the police depart, the college student, looking like a war
veteran, moves to leave. "If you don't mind, I'm going home. I've had enough
excitement to last a week..."

"Hold it," Ataru calls out.

He stops. Ataru puts change in his hand. "Your change."

"Um...thanks," the student leaves.

Ataru yawns, then pulls off the apron. "Wild day. It's all yours,
Nokoko-chan."

"No problem," she takes her apron back.

"Now," he turns to Sansura. "I believe you and I've a date."

The Yehisrite rises. "Darling, what are you doing?!!" Lum looks
horrified. "Get away from that animal...!!!"

"Sorry, Lum," Ataru smiles. "You should know by now I never refuse a
girl's request for a date." He offers his arm to Sansura. "Shall we, my
dear? You seem anxious."

"I am," she slips her arm around his.

The two head off. "What was that all about?!" Nokoko looks
confused. "Who's the gorgeous chick, Lum-chan?!"

"A courtesan," the Oni panics. "She'll beat Darling into a coma!!
She'll torture him and cut him and bite him and do all sorts of horrible
things!! What will I get back?!!"

"Sister, be calm!" Mal sighs. "There's no need to panic. He knows
what he's doing!"

"DARLING, PLEASE!!!!" Lum screams. "WRITE YOUR WILL, FIRST!!!!!!"

* * *

Ataru and Sansura enter the former's home after an evening composed
of a candlelight dinner, star-gazing, a movie and a walk on the beach. "Here
we go!" Ataru escorts her to the dining room. "Home, sweet home. Make
yourself comfortable. A drink?"

"Water, please," Sansura sits.

A moment later, the two relax. "A lovely keep you have," Sansura
hums. "Yours?"

"Naturally," Ataru nods. "I no longer desire to live with those who
don't love me."

"Understandable. You surprise me. Everyone says you'd recklessly
pursue a woman without hesitation. Now that I've met you and come to know
you, you strike me as honourable and decent. I'm please to be proven wrong."

"Well, let's say I've undergone some rough times," Ataru sighs. "It
was some wake-up call. Now, will you answer my question?"

"Ask."

"Why are you interested in meeting me?"

She sighs. "As you know, I'm a courtesan in the court of Lord
Protector Alko."

"A sex-spy, eh?" his eyebrow rises.

"Aye," she places her glass down. "I've worked there for fifteen
years. Seduce those the Lord Protector wants information from, then relay
that information. I was good."

Ataru looks concerned. "'Was?!'"

"Recently, I've...as you Terrans say... lose my touch. May I remove
my clothes?"

"Please."

She strips, revealing hidden throwing daggers and vials of
aphrodisiac. Ataru's eyes widen in awe on seeing the unblemished skin. "Boy,
you are good!" he whistles.

"I'd like to think so," she nods.

He walks around her, drinking in all the details. "Lovely," he
gently pulls her towards him. "Very lovely."

"Can you help me?" she looks at him. "Even if you have calmed down,
that reputation of yours must have some basis in fact."

"I'm pleased to come well-recommended," he kisses her cheek. "My
bedroom's the first on the left. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be with you
in a minute."

"As you wish," she picks up her clothes.

Ataru enters the bathroom, stripping and slipping on a bathrobe.
Sansura's problem was intriguing. A courtesan in the court of Yehisril's
head- of-state was a vital weapon in keeping the relations between the
principalities from flaring into war. If Sansura could no longer serve as
such, Ataru could only guess her fate. Failure in anything on Yehisril
usually either spelt execution or suicide. Sansura was forty years old,
still young. Obviously, she hadn't considered what life beyond the end of
her service with Alko would be.

Ataru instinctively knew...he didn't understand how...that Sansura
was a nice girl. To allow her to die went against his beliefs. His eyes scan
the washing and bathing items available...then focus on a razor.

* * *

Sansura lays on the bed, smiling. So that is Ataru Moroboshi, an
Emissary of Lord Zirko, the god of love. He had satisfied and surprised
Sansura, something rare in a courtesan's life. Most of her "dates" were
decrepid old married men looking for a quick fix. Sansura's price was
information, based on requests from Alko or his ministers. Her dates knew
that, but did not mind when they could spend time with someone as lovely, as
powerful as she. In that light, her loss of seductive skill was all the more
tragic. How could Alko survive if vital information could not be obtained?
He had five dozen courtesans under his employ. The loss of even *one* still
produced a hole in the information net. Sansura had to correct it as soon as
possible. While she was relatively safe from reprisals from the ministers,
it still took a year to properly train a new courtesan.

She giggles on remembering the courting Ataru put her through before
bringing her here. Terrans underwent a complex vetting-out process when
choosing a mate, even for one night. Yehisrites could learn from them.
After all, most of her people, when seized by their passions, grabbed the
nearest potential mate, usually without introducing oneself! While women
held the advantage when one entered one's bed-chambers, incidents of males
slaying their partners were still reported. Sansura had nothing to fear.
While he had slain the Masters of Noukiios to rescue his child, not to
mention fighting Tomobiki, he was no killer by nature. Now, she awaited what
he had planned next.

Ataru enters, carrying a small bucket of soapy water and a razor. He
moves a chair beside the bed, then pulls out a towel. "Lift your left leg,
please," he smiles.

She does so. He slides the towel under her. Sansura is
disappointed; he didn't touch her. "Relax, Sansura. I have to get you into
the mood. Bend the left leg, please."

She does so, resting her foot on the towel. After soaking her leg,
he covers it with a minty shaving cream. "What is this?"

"Consider this a modified form of seduction," he chuckles.

"You're seducing me?" she purrs.

"You might say that," he grabs the razor.

"What's that?" Sansura looks confused.

Applying just enough pressure, he pulls the razor up the leg, shaving
the hair off. "And there's one..." he sighs.

The Yehisrite gasps in ecstacy as the burning sensation shoots up her
leg! "Oh, gods!!!" she tearfully cries. "Oh, yes!!!"

He shaves the rest of the leg. Sansura cries every time the razor's
sting is felt. Yehisrites possessed a sensitive nervous system; any form of
pain was pleasure, hence the reason they were so aggressive in war or
anything else demanding physical power. Death to them was simply the
ultimate pleasure.

Finally, he stops. She is now drenched in sweat, all control gone.
"That...that was so good..." she lustfully moans.

"We're not done yet," Ataru smiles.

"We're **not?!!**" she gasps.

"No," he shifts to the other side. "I have to shave your other leg."

"M-my...my...my other leg...?!"

"Uh-huh," he applies the shaving lotion.

In minutes, he is done. "How was that?!"

Sansura is in the throes of bliss. "Oh, Ataru, you divine
creature...you're so good!"

"I'm still not done yet, Sansura..."

She stares at him. "Uh-huh," he points to her armpits. "That's
next!"

"I can't take this...!" she slumps.

"Do you want me to stop...?" he pauses.

"NO!!!!!!"

"Didn't think so," he smiles...

* * *

Back in Tomobiki, a panicked Lum paces. "How could Darling allow
himself to be touched by than animal?!!" she stammers. "She'll beat him into
a coma!!! Oh, Darling!!!"

"Lum-chan, it's what the creep deserves for dating other girls!" Ten-
chan sighs.

"SHADDUP!!!!!!" Lum barks.

The smaller Oni leaps to attention, eyes wide. "You don't begin to
understand, do you?!!" Lum snarls. "You use every chance to insult and hurt
Darling!! You're lucky that Darling never called his grandma to get your visa
revoked, Ten-chan!! If you don't stop now, *I'll* send you home!!!"

Crying, Ten-chan floats out the room. Lum sits. "Oh, this is
horrible!!" she moans, then moves to shut off the lights. "I'll never see
Darling alive and whole again!!"

Laying down, she covers herself. Soon, her eyes close.
"Darling...please be safe...!"

* * *

Lum's eyes open.

Finding herself in a beautiful bedroom, the Oni moans, stretching
herself. She lays nude in a king-sized bed capable of holding four with
comfort. Beautiful decor surrounds the Oni. One window presents a panorama
of the Esanta'cha and the courtyard of the villa she and Ataru lived with
their closest friends. In the sky above, a bright white sun burns, framed by
the flat disc of the Milky Way galaxy 5000 parsecs away. Mint is in the air
as she stretches herself. "Oh, what a beautiful smell..."

"Good morning, Lum-chan," a voice calls.

She gasps in surprise, then smiles. "Good morning, Noa-chan."

Her bond-mate walks up, tea tray in hand. "Here you go, love," she
hands Lum a cup.

The two watch another day pass. Lum looks down at herself, noticing
that nothing has changed. In her previous dream, she was ninety years old,
although for a person with a Sagussan lifespan, she was physically twenty-
three. Seeing Noa, Lum confirms that the Seishin-born bureaucrat is the
nineteen year-old woman she met in Tomobiki town park in the wake of the
Spirit War. "Is this a dream?"

Noa looks over. "It is...and it's not."

"Pardon?!" the Oni looks confused.

"Well..welcome to the Dreamscape."

She snaps her fingers. The image of the villa and the Esanta'cha
fades, revealing a field of clouds. In front of the two is a cut marble slab
declaring:

WELCOME TO DREAMSCAPE VERSION 1.0
DAIMON'CHA, DAISHI'CHA AND OUTWORLD MAREI'CHA WELCOME
**** **** ****
NO OTHER OUTWORLDERS ALLOWED!!
Intruders will be mind-wiped without trial!
**** **** ****
Nothing beyond XXX-rated dreams welcome
**** **** ****

PROHIBITED FROM DREAMSCAPE 1.0:

1) No dreams of child pornography
2) No bestiality (pay attention, people from Zoology!)
3) No Oedipal dreams
4) Nothing about lawyers, film-makers, writers or poets
5) AND ESPECIALLY no dreams about homophobes, rapists, racists, or other
bigots (Unless you're torturing, mind-raping, killing or mind-wiping them, of
course!).

"What's this place?!!" Lum looks around.

"Think of it as a psychic version of the World Wide Web," Noa
smiles. "All of us on Sagussa can access this place so we can explore our
fantasies during the Dream Time."

The Oni thinks for a moment. "Oh, that's right! You're in
cryofreeze awaiting the time when Darling and I come to Sagussa!"

"Bingo!" Noa smiles. "I wondered if you could get access into the
'Scape. It seems you're able to get in on your own."

"How?!!" Lum hums. "I'm not Sagussan."

Noa smiles. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. I am glad you're here,
Lum-chan. Spending the rest of the Dream Time without the person I love
scares me to death."

Lum blinks as that statement hits home. "I thought this was some
sort of joke," she gasps. "You're serious!!"

"Very," Noa purrs, snapping her fingers.

The image of the villa returns. "B-but...I love D-Darling...!" Lum
stammers.

"I love him, too," Noa nods. "So if we love him...let's love each
other!"

Lum is speechless. Noa had a way of solving a problem, that, if it
arose from Elle or Yukio, would have the Oni fighting tooth-and-nail. In the
Sagussan's eyes, Lum was no enemy. Lum was part of the prize Noa's people
sought. Still, the straight-forward way she came at Lum overwhelmed her.
"I...I...!"

Noa slides over until their bodies touch. Before Lum could
resist...did she want to resist?...Noa takes Lum into her arms. "Why waste
time fighting each other? I don't want to fight you, Lum-chan. I don't want
to hurt you. I love you. I love you more than the denizens of that place of
fools and madmen Ataru escaped from could ever love you." She rubs her nose
against Lum's. "What's wrong with that?"

Ready to protest, Lum falls silent. What *was* wrong? Noa, despite
looking like your typical Akaikaminoke-seishin, hailed from a race where
making note of sexual preference was not an issue. What did that make Ataru?

*Coward!!* Lum snarls at herself. *Ask the right question! What
does that make me?!*

"Hush, Lum-chan," Noa sighs, reading her mind. "Don't be angry. One
doesn't become bond-mates without reason. Just because we bonded doesn't mean
that the emotions which make our bonding a loving relationship automatically
come. This is a big step, even for me...and I live here, remember?"

They gaze at each other. "Why are you waiting?" Noa coos. "Put your
arms around me."

Lum shudders...then her arms slide up to return Noa's embrace. "Ah!"
the latter sighs. "That's better. Well..." her eyes close as she leans up,
"...let's have fun..."

Lum remains still as they kiss...

* * *

"Noa!!!" Lum bolts out of bed.

She looks around. She is in Tomobiki. The lights are extinguished.
Ten-chan's gentle snores echo from his futon nearby. A full moon hovers.
Standing, Lum walks over to the window to stare at the disk of Earth's
primary satellite. "Noa..." the Oni sighs as she looks to the stars. Where?
Where in that vast galaxy beyond Earth did Noa live? What star did she call
hers? Where was Sagussa anyway?

The Oni giggles. However, despite her visible humour, Lum's thoughts
were boiling. What would Noa's coming back bring to Lum? How would Lum's
friends look at her after Noa came? Would her life be the same ever again?
"Stop it!" Her life had been different ever since she returned from Icarus.
Learning that Ataru had a dimension to his life of which she knew nothing,
much less could not affect, had hurt.

She could leave. It would hurt her and Ataru, but Lum would feel
safe again. Then again...it would leave Ataru vulnerable to all sorts of
unknowns. Lum would betray her oath to herself...betray her oath to Noa...

"No!" she sighs. "That's the coward's way out!" The decision had
been made. She loved Ataru. No power in the galaxy would make her stop. He
loved her. Deep down, Lum knew her Darling would be hers in the end run. Noa
did not wish to disrupt that, like Elle and Yukio. Noa merely wanted to
augment it with her presence. She had searched all of Sagussa, but still
hadn't found a girl to be her bond-mate.

She chose Lum.

The Oni was touched, just like she was touched when Mal chose Lum to
be the Nendo-kata's template. Noa's love would make Lum's life more exciting,
certainly intriguing. The Oni couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's
faces when they learned a woman lusted after her. The reaction would be
priceless!

How would Ataru react?

Lum stops, realizing that Noa had made a slight miscalculation...or
had she? The *saikoo jinsejitsu* had erased Ataru's memory of his encounter
with the Sagussans twelve years ago. That set into motion patterns of
behaviour whose aftereffects Ataru was still trying to overcome. When the
Sagussans returned, that memory would be restored. It could make a difference
between Lum marrying Ataru and losing him.

Returning to bed, Lum lays down. The choice was made. She would go
ahead. "Noa," Lum sighs as her eyes close...

* * *

Next morning, Lum steps into Tomobiki High School. Refreshed from
the previous night's visitation, the Oni almost forgot her worries about Ataru
and Sansura. A call from Oshika calmed her; Ataru told her Sansura had a
wonderful time and he weathered it without injury. Lum was relieved, but
curiosity consumed her. What happened?

"'Morning, Lum-chan!" Lan runs up.

"'Morning, Lan," Lum sighs. "Guess it'll be a quiet day with
everyone else in jail."

"Yeah!" Lan laughs. "It's what they get for making Darling mad.
What's this about a Yehisrite courtesan wanting to date him?!"

Lum looks surprised, then sighs. Ten-chan must have told Lan. "Oh,
nothing much. Darling called this morning. She enjoyed herself."

"Are you okay?" Lan looks concerned. "You don't seem like yourself.
Don't tell me you worried yourself sick about Darling."

"I...um, yeah, I did!" the Oni embarrassingly laughs. If she told
Lan about Noa, what would be the reaction? The Seishin could make fun of
Lum's "bisexual" relationship. Perhaps find some way to convince Ataru Lum
no longer loved him. Lum dismisses that. Noa was more powerful than Lan.
Further, there was a saying..."Never get between a Sagussan and her bond-mate
if you value your existence."

The two step into the classroom. "Good morning, Lum," Koosei walks
up to her. "I heard you had some fun in Oshika yesterday."

"How did you know that, Ryooki-sensei?!"

"Ataru told me," Koosei smiles.

Before anyone could say anything more, a hoverbike is heard. Everyone
sees Sansura drive a machine similar to Benten's up to the window. One of the
boys opens the window to allow the Yehisrite in. On seeing her, the boys get
hearts in their eyes while the girls look insanely jealous. "Who is that
hussy?!" Momoe's eyes blaze. "She's beautiful!"

"She makes Sakura-sensei look tame!" Kumiko resentfully sighs.

"Sansura!!" Lum gasps, walking up. "What are you doing here?!"

She dismounts, then walks over. The Yehisrite sighs...then slaps Lum
across the face! "***YOU FOOL!!!!!!***"

Lum slams into the blackboard. Everyone gasps as the Oni picks
herself up. "You blind stupid ignorant fool!!" Sansura growls. "Have the
trickster-spirits so blinded you to the one you desire that you'd ignore all
his attempts to show how much he desires you and leave him abandoned and alone
up there?!!"

Lum looks surprised. "Wh-what are y-you talking about...?!" she
stammers.

"I speak of you living in here in lieu of Oshika!" Sansura snaps.
"Playing to the delights of these fools while your precious Darling decides
you're not worthy of him and seeks someone else!!"

"Wh-what should I d-do then...?!"

"Idiot, are you deaf as well as blind?!!" Sansura howls. Grabbing
Lan, the Yehisrite puts her into a backbreaker, compromising the Seishin's
backbone. "LEAVE THIS PLACE AND LIVE IN OSHIKA WITH ATARU, FOOL!!!!!!"

Lum is blasted down. The boys are too intimidated to protest.
Sansura tosses Lan out the window, then moves to leave. "This I warn you!"
the Yehisrite threatens. "If you do not acknowledge Ataru's love for you and
live with him, someone will come to take him away from you...and the fault
will be **yours,** Lum!! I pray Pizalna-sama will enlighten you to your
mistakes!! Farewell!!!"

She hops on her bike, then moves to drive off. "Wait a moment!" Lum
gasps. "What happened, anyway?! What did Darling do?!"

The Yehisrite smiles. "He shaved me!"

Everyone else is decked by an explosion!! "***HE SHAVED HER?!?!?!***"

Sansura drives off, waving...

* * *

Cademus. The fourth day of the Test.

On the Plateau of Dunes, Hazel makes her way from one outcropping of
hard limestone to another, wondering which sandy spot is shallow and which is
a sandtrap. With one day and four more encounters to go before finishing,
the hybrid strides with confidence...so much so that her mind has drifted to
other things. "Once we get back to Home Base, I'm gonna go to Earth and drag
Yukio away from that idiot Ataru!" she mutters to herself. "I can't see what
she sees in him anyway! I can't see what Lum-sensei sees in him! I can't
see what **anyone** sees in him!!"

Hazel took the responsibility Nassur bestowed on her of leading the
other hybrids through the transition from being nameless slaves to
independent bounty hunters seriously. The revelation that some were
part-Yehisrite had surprised them. She didn't know a thing about the
Yehisrites until Nassur rescued her. That wasn't true of the others.
Officers controlling the Project filled them with horror stories of Yehisrite
savagery and brutality, their racism and xenophobia. The plan to place the
*azhis'f* descendant-hybrids through the Test of Life had taken them all by
surprise. It took Nassur almost the whole trip from Home Base to persuade
them there was nothing to fear.

Fortunately, Nassur had the truth. The Yehisrites were savage, that
was true, but that savagery and brutality occurred when they faced opponents
they considered dishonourable. Hazel knew by personal experience how evil
the Ipraedies were. The planet she now walked on was another example of the
evil of those like the ones who butchered her mother and the other Project
mothers. As for racism and xenophobia, meeting Varanko and the other
executioners confirmed how much a lie that was. True, they hated Ipraedies;
what happened on Cademus would make anyone vicious towards her father's
people. That was true with any race that treated the Yehisrites so roughly.
As for xenophobia, well, Yehisrite society had tests like this one which
allowed outsiders to prove how good they were. Nassur and his first wife
also did the Test of Life. Perhaps if no hybrid had an *azhis'f* mother,
they would still go on the Test. What better way to prove themselves?

The Lord High Executioner had really surprised the hybrids.
Ipraedies propaganda painted him as a fiend. To Hazel, he was a kindly
gentleman who had seen horrors Hazel could never imagine; an older, wiser
Nassur who had adopted the renegade as his own son. Further, there was
something familiar about Varanko. Hazel couldn't understand why the
executioner felt closer to her than the man who rescued her from lonely exile
on Barsoom.

Stepping into a sand dune, Hazel almost falls in to her neck.
Scrambling to the nearest ledge, the hybrid breathes out in relief, then looks
at the hole her body left in the dune, rapidly filling with loose sand. "I
best get back to business!" Hazel pants.

Hazel looks around, then makes a leap to another ledge. Taking in
the barren landscape of Cademus, the hybrid sighs, wondering what lay in the
beautiful prairie beyond the limits of the reservation. The reservation is
400 kilometres long by 200 wide in a parallelogram shape. The routes of
everyone's Test did not come within 20 kilometres of the boundaries. Hazel
herself was nearly in the middle, far from any farmer wishing to avenge the
loss of loved ones. Part of her understood the anger and grief people like
Hilmara felt. The other part reminded her that she herself, until this Test
was over, was still considered Ipraedies, would be by some for the rest of
her life.

Taking another step, she lands at the edge of another ledge. A hand
explodes from the sand to grab her! "Wha...?!!" she screams as she drops
unceremoniously to the limestone.

Looking back, she sees a middle-aged Yehisrite man rise from the
sand, a three-pronged pitchfork in hand. He is dressed in thick leather
clothing tinted green...Varakos colours...with grappling equipment allowing
him to seize solid ground, not to mention a breathing apparatus to allow him
to survive under the sand. "Wh...what's the meaning of this?!" Hazel kicks
herself away.

"Foolish Ipraedies bitch!!" the man snarls. "What do you think it
is?!"

She looks incensed. "I'm not Ipraedies, idiot!" she rolls to her
feet, the knife out and ready. "I'm Vosian!!"

The pitchfork rises. "Anyone with Ipraedies blood in them is
Ipraedies...and every last Ipraedies must die!!"

The points jab out, parried by the knife. Hazel and the farmer
dance, their weapons clashing time and time again. The hybrid's youth and
survival instincts are balanced by the Yehisrite's experience and rage. Both
are quick to draw blood, but the cuts are minor. "You lost people, didn't
you?!" Hazel pants.

"I lost four uncles and aunts," the farmer snarls. "Three cousins
died, too!"

Their arms clash again, then Hazel punches him. The Yehisrite
staggers. She backs off. "I understand your anger!" she pants. "They killed
my mother and the other Project mothers when we were kids! I watched it
happen!"

"Your mother should've killed herself then to allow a *hisl'hvirq'l*
like you to see the light of day!!" the farmer snarls.

Her eyes flash. "It's not my fault that you're *wilvirhis'r* to your
own blood instead to the man you owe allegiance to!!"

He looks as if she stabbed him, then spat on him. "What...did you
say...?!"

With a mindless roar, he lunges forward, the pitchfork aimed at
Hazel's heart. The hybrid leaps clear, then brings both her fists on the
back of his neck. The Yehisrite drops, slamming head-first into the
limestone. He is knocked out. Hazel moves forward, the knife poised to
taste blood. Raising the blade for the kill, she stops as she remembers
Nassur's voice. "Remember, people," the Vosian told them on "Renegade,"
"...this is a test of *Life.* That means, as the Yehisrites would say it, the
Three-Faced One does **not** have to take a surcharge! No killings if you
can avoid it! They'll understand if you defend yourself, but killing them
when they're down is very low! I won't be able to protect you if you pull
that! You're fighting not just for yourselves, but for the others! I expect
the best from you...!!"

Hazel seizes the pitchfork just as the farmer recovers. He sees the
points of his weapon centimetres from his nose. "Well?!" the Yehisrite
snarls. "Finish it!"

Fury gleams in her eyes, but she controls herself. To the farmer's
surprise, she hands the pitchfork back to him. "Here," Hazel sighs. "My
fight's not with you."

The elder man looks surprised, but does nothing against her. "An
unwise manoeuver, child. One day, you'll pay for it."

"At least I'll die without betraying my honour," she notes.

The farmer smiles. "Have you a name, child? A principality you call
home?"

She stops. "Just a nickname and a number the Ipraedies gave me.
I'll learn where I come from when I finish this. Good-day."

The hybrid bounds over several ledges. The farmer remains in place
as she departs. "Spirited girl," he sighs.

Suddenly, a sandy hand grabs his tunic. The farmer spins around to
see Chanko rising from the sand. "My grandfather has words with you, Nojoko
of Varakos!!"

* * *

Near the Plain of Truth, Benten tries to keep the sandsloth from
sending her face-first into the dirt. A mix of horse, sloth and long-furred
cat the size of a small car, the *hifmizgiv'r* was a steady and strong
creature usually employed as mounts for knights. "Damn oversized lapdog!!"
the Fukunokami growls, then as if the sandsloth heard her, gets flung off the
creature's back!

Laughter taunts her as Varanko and Nassur watch, mounted on their own
sloths with several executioners. "Aw, it's not funny!!" Benten snaps as she
dusts herself off.

The Lord High Executioner smiles, looking as if he tested Benten by
forcing her on the sloth. "I believed it'd be fun for someone who rides a
hoverbike," Varanko chuckles.

"At least my bike doesn't throw me off!!" Benten thumbs the
sandsloth. "Next time it does that, I'll turn it into dinner!"

Varanko sighs, then guides his mount away from the others. Nassur
moves alongside him. The others stay back to allow Varanko and his stepson
time alone. As soon as they are alone, Varanko looks over. "She's a very
fine woman despite her lack of refinement."

"I knew you'd like her," Nassur smiles. "I was always of the opinion
that Yehisrites and Fukunokami would like each other. Both your races always
spoil for a fight."

"Life's always been more than fighting," the elder warrior sighs.
"Some people believe that fighting is the only thing we love."

"Ignorant people can't see past their own noses sometime," the hunter
sighs. "You don't know how much I appreciate this. If anyone can give those
kids a chance, it's you."

"Life is never full of chances."

"Not one. We both know that too well."

Varanko looks at the Vosian, remembering the beardless youth he first
met on Reiner's Five. "I saw in the eyes of some of those children the same
fire that was in your eyes 35 years ago. Trapped by enemies seen and unseen
from all sides, no solution save death when you desired to live. It was both
a curse and a blessing to bring those children from Icarus into the wider
galaxy, Nassur. You may rejoice at what you did for them...but be warned,
sir, you will also regret your actions."

Nassur nods. Chanko rides up with the chained Nojoko on a sandsloth
beside him. "Grandfather! Here he is."

The Lord High Executioner faces the farmer, eyes even. "Would you
care to explain what you are doing on the reservation?"

"Exercising my right of vengeance, my lord," Nojoko sticks out his
jaw. "Something you, as Duke of Cademus, should grant us."

"I'd normally grand you such a boon, Nojoko," Varanko sighs.
"However, this time, I will stand against you."

"May I ask my lord why?"

Silence for a moment, then Varanko looks at the farmer. "I count
those of my own blood among those ten children."

Nojoko hums. "I see. I then suggest you explain that to your lords
and ladies so they may speak of this to their subjects. Even so, there are
agitators in the villages demanding that those children be put to the sword!"

Varanko looks angry. "How, may I ask, did you learn this?!"

Nojoko looks hesitant. "I learned from my countess, m'lord."

The Lord High Executioner blinks. "How did they learn of it?!!" he
snaps.

"I don't know, sir."

Varanko braces himself as a rider approaches. Like Nojoko, he wears
the green of Varakos, but is dressed in a flamboyant uniform reflective of a
medieval herald. "My Lord Varanko," the rider bows, revealing a young man
with black hair and moustache.

Varanko feels a chill. "Where is he?"

"My lord desires your presence at the gate to the Wildreed Swamp,
sir," the rider sighs. "As soon as you can, sir."

"Inform him I'll be there."

"As you wish, sir," the rider bows.

He rides off. Benten walks up beside Nassur. <<What's going on?!>>
the Fukunokami telepathically calls out.

<<Dameko's here>>, the Vosian sighs.

Benten blinks. "The *laqu'r* of Varakos?! What's he want?!!"

Looking at Nassur, Varanko sighs, then rides away. The two
independent hunters watch him go. "I've a funny feeling Dameko might be out
to either cause trouble for Hazel-chan or the others...or might be their
salvation."

The Fukunokami looks confused...

* * *

Varanko rides towards the stone pillars marking an entrance into the
Wildreed Swamp. Seated on his mount is a white-haired bearded man dressed in
a casual sleeved laced shirt and pants. Green are the relevant colours. He
resembles Robert E. Lee. Behind him are a series of courtiers and one
courtesan, all dressed in armour with weapons close at hand. Riding up,
Varanko curtly bows. "Prince Dameko. What brings you here this fine day?"

"Please ride with me, Lord Varanko. There is a matter I desire to
discuss with you alone."

"Certainly," Varanko nods.

The courtiers and the courtesan...the Lord High Executioner knew that
she had been privately trained under the Freemasons on Elle...fall back to
permit their liege lord privacy. As the two ride, Varanko and Dameko proceed
to size the other up, as if both were tigers eyeing the same prey. "You must
be curious as to how the farmers here learned of those hybrid children you now
have undergoing the Test of Life," the *laqu'r* begins. "Your desire for
secrecy is commendable but it may also prove fatal to those children,
especially the one you covet most of all."

"It was you?!" Varanko snarls. He did not need this pompous *zis'l*
to interfere in his business. "Why?!!"

"For a simple reason. You of course may speak freely of the other
one, the one you cannot presently claim as part of your family."

"What is her problem?!"

"Sheko is aware of her existence."

Varanko sighs. The Kyotos overlord's insane, confusing,
mechanizations had ripped Varanko's family apart once. Now, if Dameko was to
be believed, it would happen again...and now, the Lord High Executioner could
neither mourn, nor acknowledge her as nothing save a sentient being, a
Yehisrite without house, family or principality. "What does he plan?"

"If she lives, then Sheko's actions against your family will
eventually be known," Dameko sighs. "Many in Kyotos look upon you with great
favour, but the lords and ladies of Sheko's court will not accept any move on
your part to possibly influence succession."

In other words, the lords of Kyotos would not allow Varanko to slay
Sheko himself and become the next *laqu'r* of Kyotos. "You would prefer such
an act," Varanko sighs.

"As would Alko himself," Dameko adds.

"True," Varanko sighs. "I've never aspired to be anything more than
I am now."

"Perhaps that is so," the *laqu'r* muses. "I admire you for that
action, Varanko...I truly do. However, there is opportunity even if you
yourself do not seize it."

"How is that?"

"If the child of Nakanba is allowed to live, she will be a constant
reminder to Sheko of his actions against you," Dameko sighs. "He will fear
her existence, especially if she commences a search for her mother's family.
He will also fear your anger at his actions towards Nakanba, believing that
you will rise against him and strike him down."

"That will spell her death."

"That is true...unless you protect her."

"I cannot do that!"

Dameko smiles lightly. "If she's gazetted an Executioner, you can."

Varanko stops, staring at the *laqu'r* in disbelief. As a normal
Kyotos woman, Yukio would be at Sheko's mercy. However, as a servant of the
Royal Kingdoms, she was beyond the reach of Kyotos' *laqu'r* if he did not
wish to incur the wrath of all the other *laqu'rs,* not to mention Alko!
Further, as an Executioner, Yukio could earn land, become a titled noble...
and eventually gain enough prestige, honour and power that Sheko's actions
would be overthrown. Yukio of Kyotos would become Yukio of Kyotos, daughter
of Nakanba and great-granddaughter of Lord Varanko of Kyotos. There would
be, could be, nothing Sheko could do about it. "It is...a possibility," the
Lord High Executioner nods.

"However, our actions would be wasted if the one does not prove
herself," Dameko adds.

"Aye. Tomorrow, we'll see what happens."

The Varakos overlord nods as Varanko turns away. Dameko smiles.
Sheko had acted like a stone-headed *pibl'hisl* since he became *laqu'r* a
century ago, as if inspired by the example of his friend the Mikado. Whether
the Vosian dictator controlled Sheko or the Kyotos overlord controlled the
Mikado, no one could say. Perhaps the two really were merely inspired by the
other. Regardless of which, Sheko's actions since his gazetting as *laqu'r,*
through the odd skirmish but primarily through court intrigue, had certainly
worked to upset the delicate balance of power maintained by the various
principalities of the Royal Kingdoms. One could easily speculate that Sheko
was engineering the downfall of the other *laqu'rs,* then with their support
gone, remove Alko and proclaim himself Lord Protector, perhaps restore the
imperial family and proclaim himself the first Emperor in two centuries. Such
an action once intrigued Dameko himself; who would not desire to seize supreme
power on Yehisril, have the armies of all sixteen principalities behind him?

However, if Sheko miscalculated even one iota in his drive to seize
power, the principalities would rise in rebellion. Even some of Sheko's
lords would rise against him. Civil war of a scale which hadn't occurred
since before Unification would result. Such was undesirable given the
unprecedented level of influence the Royal Kingdoms presently possessed with
the remainder of the local cluster. With Vos still ruled by chaos as the
Mikado and the rebels contested for power and Zephyrus looking forward to a
shift to fundamentalism with the death of the Holy Mother, there was little
option for the worlds of the Federation then to seek protection under the
umbrella of the Royal Kingdoms of Yehisril from the advances of the Seifukusu
Dominion or the Ipraedies Empire.

Thanks to this cosmic state of affairs, the principalities had gained
an unbelievable level of wealth over the last century. Dameko was not
ignorant of this. War and honour on the battlefield fuelled a Yehisrite's
soul, but without wealth to keep for oneself or obtain for one's family,
there was little else to drive a warrior. Sheko, however, behaved like the
romantic old warrior, although, as everyone knew well, he did not mind the
sight of precious metals. He believed that honour alone...honour on his
terms, of course...could carry the day.

Sheko's backward thinking could plunge Yehisril back to the days
before Unification, days Dameko didn't desire and would strive to stop. The
*laqu'r* of Varakos chuckled at the notion that a half-Ipraedies daughter of a
disinherited privateer, the great-granddaughter of Yehisril's senior
executioner could help him...could help all of Yehisril...to that end.

Yes, tomorrow will see the day. However, Dameko certainly didn't
believe in acting without preparation. Some would consider him a ghoul, but
using the remnants of an apprentice executioner who fell when the Ipraedies
attacked Cademus was a poetic way, certainly something Sheko could not
conceive of, to prepare Yukio for her future mission in this life...

* * *

"There she is!!!" a farmer screams.

In the Valley of Shadows, Yukio leaps up and with a devastating
roundhouse kick, sends the hapless Yehisrite flying into a friend. "What is
the meaning of this, fools?!!" the hybrid draws her knife and assumes a ready
stance. "You've no business on this reservation!! Leave or be carried out!"

She unfortunately faces two dozen farmers, all better armed. "You
believe you've the right to order us off this place where your kind
slaughtered so many of our blood?!!" one snarls.

"Yes!" another snarls, speaking with a lisp. "Expunge this Ipwaedies
fwom Cademus befowe the dead cuwse us fow ten genewations!!"

Yukio looks surprised on seeing him, a swarthy fellow seemingly
darker than his fellow farmers. *That voice!!* she mentally gasps. *It can't
be!! Not him!!! How'd he get here?!*

"Attack!!!" a farmer yells.

They leap as one at Yukio, but fourteen years of carving her own
path in the midst of Ipraedies tyranny hadn't left the hybrid unprepared.
Leaping over them, she snares a pitchfork, then leaps at the lisping farmer.
"I thought I recognized your voice, Faja!!!"

He leaps out of the way as Yukio lunges at him. "You'w nevew get
away with suwwying this pwace, Ipwaedies!!!" he cackles.

"You should talk when I've removed that paint off you!!!" Yukio
lashes at him with the pitchfork. "We'll see how they'll react to an
**Ipraedies** who hides behind makeup!!!"

The chase continues through the twisting turns of the Valley until
they burst into a clearing. A bright spotlight blinds Yukio for a
second...but it is long enough for a net to be cast. "We have her!!!" a
voice yells.

Yukio blinks, then sees that Faja had lead her into a trap manned by
a dozen more farmers. *Why is it Yehisrites' brainwaves can't be detected by
Vosians?!!* the hybrid snarls, mentally kicking herself for following her
target without considering what he had arranged.

"Now, Ipraedies, we shall remove the stain of your presence from this
world!!" a farmer raises his pitchfork.

"If you're hunting Ipraedies, kill that one!" Yukio nods to Faja.
"He's a member of the Assassins Guild! Scrub that paint off his skin and see
for yourself!!"

Faja looks mortified, then moves to reassert himself. "Why, the onwy
Ipwaedies I see is wight thewe!!" he points at her.

"Liar!" Yukio snarls. "I know that lisp anywhere!! Your brother
Jaja had it, not to mention all three of his sons and the two of yours I
killed on Icarus!! Only your brother Haja escaped having that stutter!"

"Enough!!" another barks. "Kill her!!!"

Before the pitchforks could get close, Yukio's hand grabs the sand at
her feet and throwing off the net, flings it into the air. The farmers cry
out in surprise as the hybrid jumps over a line of them, then takes off into
the trench. "After her!!!" a farmer yells.

"Shit, I don't need this today!" Yukio snarls as she runs deeper into
the Valley, looking left and right for an escape. "Where could I go?! Where
could I go?!" Suddenly, she sees a cave with ESCAPE ROUTE written over it.
"There!" she laughs, then runs inside.

A second later, a large bolder slams into place, put there by three
farmers, all bearing Varakos green. They land on the ground, then
congratulate each other with laughter as the group comes up. "Whewe did she
go?!!" Faja demands. "Whewe did that Ipwaedies wun to?!!"

"In here!" one pats the rock. "Trapped!"

"Good!!" the disguised assassin smiles. "Wowl that wock off and
we'wl finish hew!!"

"Why should we?!" another Varakos farmer snarls. "There's no
escape! She's not strong enough to roll this rock off! Leave her until we've
slain the other hybrids!! Let's go!"

Faja looks ready to protest, but before he could say anything, is
dragged away by the other farmers. The three Varakos farmers who rolled the
rock over the cave hang back. "Inform Prince Dameko that his plan's being
executed as per his orders!" one hisses.

"Right!" another nods.

* * *

Sitting inside the dark cave, Yukio looks at the sealed door, still
shocked by the fact that she was trapped inside a cave instead of slain. But
there's a much greater concern. "Faja's on Cademus," she hisses. "How did
that slime get here?! Are those farmers so blind, they can't see that lisping
coward?!!"

Spitting, Yukio looks deeper into the cave. She is quick to notice
there is a touch of light metres away. "What the...?!" she hums, groping her
way toward the light. Minutes later, she emerges into a rocky grove lit by
phosphorus rock. Seeing a freshwater underground stream, she takes a deep
drink, then looks up...and stops. "Pizalna-sama's Fleece Laces...!"

On a marble slab nearby lays the petrified remains of what appears to
be a young woman. Although details have been lost due to decay, Yukio can
tell she was young. Wisps of red hair limply fall from the skull. She is
dressed in a simple white shirt and magenta pants. Around her neck is a
beautiful crystal pendant. Beside her is her ceremonial battle armour and an
executioner's *lim'l,* not once used. Looking at this, Yukio cries out in
horror, then drops to her knees and looks to the ground. "Oh, gods, forgive
my transgression!!!" she gasps.

The crystal pendant glows. <<Hello...?>> a girlish voice speaks, too
young even for fourteen years. <<Who's there...?>>

Yukio looks up, eyes wide. "What...?!"

Seeing the crystal, the hybrid hesitantly reaches forward to touch
the pendant. <<I can hear you...>> the voice continues, <<...but I can't see
you! Who are you?>>

"Y-y-yukio. Wh-wh-who are y-y-you...?!"

<<Yukara of Kyotos>>, the voice replies. <<Did you say your name
was...Yukira?>>

Yukio pauses, realizing that without the "-na" or "-ra" endings, she
wouldn't be recognized as Yehisrite. "Y-yes..." A lie couldn't hurt. "I'm
Yukira of Kyotos. I'm supposed to be undergoing the Test of Life now."

<<Oh, are you?!>> Yukara's voice giggles. <<You shouldn't be talking
to me, then! You know you're not supposed to have any contact with any person
during the Test.>>

"I...well, I'm having problems..."

<<How so?>>

"There's an Ipraedies assassin here."

Silence. <<I-...I-...Ipraedies...?!>> Yukara gasps. <<Oh, no!! The
Ipraedies are attacking!! I have to mobilize the local militia! Where's my
armour?! Where's my sword?! How could I go out without arms?!!>>

The hybrid listens as the executioner babbles on, reliving what
perhaps could have been the last day of her life. "Yukara?!" Yukio calls out.
"Yukara?!! YUKARA!!!!!!"

<<I...I...what is it?!>> the voice calms.

"The attack was fifty years ago!!"

<<Fifty years ago...?!>> Yukara gasps. <<Then, what's happened to
me...?!>>

Yukio shrugs. "Um...you're dead!"

Silence for a moment. <<Dead...?>>

"Yes, dead!"

The hybrid imagines the Yehisrite woman huffing in rage. <<How could
I be dead?!!>> Yukara screams. <<I don't feel dead!!!>>

"Do you feel anything?!" Yukio muses.

<<I...I...I...um...no.>>

"I didn't think so," the hybrid sighs. "I'm seeing in front of me a
petrified body, with arms and weapons nearby and a glowing pendant on the
body. I assume it's yours."

The glowing pendant fades. "Yukara...!"

<<I remember!!>> her voice returns. <<We were testing a memory
crystal so our missions could be recorded! But...how did my soul get into
here?! It's not supposed to do that!!>>

"It must've! How am I talking to you?"

<<True...>>

Yukio shifts around to relax. "You're supposed to be dead, but your
mind's been preserved in a memory crystal. I'm alive, doing the Test of Life
and there's an Ipraedies assassin on the loose here!"

<<Mmm...that's a problem>>, Yukara sighs. <<Have you decided what
you're going to do after the Test, Yukira?>>

"I...haven't thought about it!" the hybrid shrugs. "I've got bigger
worries. My friends are out there. If that animal gets his hands on them,
I've no idea what's going to happen!"

<<By the sounds of it, you've run into this fellow before.>>

Yukio sighs. The lie was becoming complicated. No escape. "Yes, I
have...or rather, I've run into his sons. I killed both of them, not to
mention his three nephews. We...don't get along."

Laughter is heard. <<Good for you!!>> Yukara cheers. <<The gods
have granted you a boon! Was it in the Neutral Zone?!>>

"No...in a camp on Icarus," Yukio sighs.

<<Um...were you a prisoner?>>

"I was born in a camp on Barsoom."

<<Both Ipraedies...worlds...>> Yukara hums. <<Are you...?>>

Yukio looks down. "A quarter-Vosian, a quarter-Yehisrite...and half-
Ipraedies."

The glowing crystal dims. The hybrid sighs, realizing that the only
friend she has close at hand might reject her and finally fly to the Three-
Faced One's table. "I should've told you earlier...sorry," Yukio looks down,
tears flowing down her cheek.

No response. Shifting away, Yukio pulls her legs in, the fear
spirits she had fought to keep under control finally crawling into her soul.
"I'm not worthy..." she sniffs. "I'm not worthy of life...of you, Yukara...of
my friends...of you, Koichi, my love...!"

Yukio slumps, crying. The image of Yukara then emerges from her
bones to kneel beside the hybrid. She looks like a pure-blooded Yukio.
Sympathy shines in her eyes. <<Yukira...?>>

"My name's 'Yukio,'" she sighs. "It's an Ipraedies name. It means
'the uncontrollable storm.'" She sniffs, then looks up. "Some storm I turned
out to be, eh...?"

Yukara gestures in a most un-Yehisrite way; she smiles. <<I think
you did okay if you were allowed to do the Test...Yukira.>>

They look at each other. "Thank you."

<<You're welcome>>, Yukara looks back to her body. <<Well...I don't
have a body...>> she then looks to Yukio, <<You've got to do this if your
friends are going to be saved.>>

"Me...?!!" Yukio points at herself.

<<I'm a ghost, remember.>>

Yukio stares at the armour. Pretending to be an executioner was
punishable by death on Yehisril, usually beheaded. It would certainly be
gauche when on a Test of Life administered by the Imperial Corps of
Executioners. Even if she donned armour, her dark skin would reveal to all
who she is. The farmers now roaming uncontrolled on the reservation wouldn't
be fooled. If she wasn't careful, she would be caught before she could get
close enough to Faja to expose him. "It's risky," she sighs.

<<Life's always risky>>, Yukara reminds her. <<It's what makes it
worth living.>>

"True," Yukio smiles icily.

Yukara is quick to notice. <<There...>> she pats the hybrid's nose.
<<You're Yehisrite no matter what other people say!>>

Both girls laugh. "We've got work to do," Yukio sighs, standing...

* * *

<<Thrust!! Parry! Cut!!>>

Yukio swings the *lim'l* around, jabs at her opponent, parries a
counter-attack, then twirls the blade and brings it around in a sharp circle
to slice her opponent's head off. The hybrid screams as she makes her
"kill," declaring to the Afterworld someone was about to pass through the
gates. She wears Yukara's memory crystal. There is no ghostly image of the
deceased executioner as she continues to command Yukio in sword drill.
<<Parry!! Again! Cut!! Again!! Multiple thrust!! Move, you slack creature
of three worlds!!>> her voice turns into a growl. <<This isn't an excursion
into a courier's den!! Think of that coward who hides behind paint! Imagine
how much pain you'll deliver before you end his worthless existence!! Move,
girl!!!>>

"Yes, ma'am...!" Yukio pants, undergoing exercises her former masters
could've never dreamt of. Sure enough, the image of Faja, his swarthy face
and lisping voice, appears in her mind's eyes. Time and time again, the
*lim'l* lances into him, delivering mortal wounds before the hook takes his
head. The drill quickens as Yukara barks. Yukio purrs as the adrenaline
rushes through her system like a torrent.

More targets appear: Faja's sons, Jaja's sons and the others of the
Assassins Guild she encountered...the officers who tried to bind her...the
commandant she thought the lowest form of slime...Daros when he tried to bow
her to his will, acting like the model bully when Darsei wouldn't take his
place as their leader...Hazel, the one hybrid who almost got away, when she
tried to drag her away from the man she loved...Lum, the woman taking away the
man she loved. Yukio growls as she cuts them down again and again, the blood
roaring in her head.

This was fun!

* * *

<<Here!>> Yukara nods. <<Sit down.>>

Yukio kneels beside her, looking at what came with her armour and
blade: a Lawgiver pistol. Exchanges between the Executioners and the Holy
Inquisition had been ongoing for three centuries, shortly after the two races
made first contact. While the two groups were different themes...the
Inquisition a religious body hunting heretics opposing the religious order in
the Republic, the Executioners a judicial body serving the wishes of their
masters throughout the Royal Kingdoms...their methodology mirrored the other.

The Lawgiver was the result of one such exchange. Recognizing the
need for projectile firearms when they proceed on out-of-Yehisril missions,
the Executioners first resorted to locally-made firearms such as a truncated
version of the *qu'f-piaqu'r.* But in the galaxy of today, a repeating
firearm became necessary. The Inquisition were quick to offer the Lawgiver.
Locally made, the weapon was a photon pistol holding thirty rounds.
Multi-mission capable, it was verbally commanded by an on-board central
computer.

"A Lawgiver..." Yukio whistles, taking the pistol in hand.
"Beautiful!!" She had heard of the weapon on Icarus, seeing films of
crippled Ipraedies soldiers and spies caught by the Inquisition encroaching
on the march worlds of the Republic. The weapon seemed to fit her hand,
perfectly balanced with just enough mass to absorb the recoil when a round is
fired. Running her hand on the casing, she smiles. "Did you ever use this?"

<<In target practice>>, Yukara sighs. <<You'll have to reprogram it,
though. It's coded to my DNA, not yours.>>

"On it..." Yukio opens the computer hatch on the grip. Inside is a
tiny chip. Pulling out a universal tool, she lifts the chip out of the
central processor, then closes the hatch and presses a red button marked
RESET. The pistol hums as its battery comes on line, clearing out all
previous information.

<<You know how to do this,>> Yukara nods.

"Comes with having a friend who's a computer wizard," Yukio re-places
the chip, then presses the RESET button.

The Lawgiver hums, then the computer speaks. "*New orders.*"

"Reprogram for new DNA entry."

"*Identification.*"

Yukio and Yukara exchange looks. "Yukira of Kyotos," the hybrid
replies. "Imperial Corps of Executioners, apprentice."

The computer hums for a second. "*New program acknowledged. Safety
on. Weapon ready, Apprentice Executioner Yukira.*"

The girls beam...

* * *

<<Flare!>> Yukara barks.

"Flare!!" Yukio aims at a stalagmite.

"*Flare,*" a fireball shoots from the Lawgiver, burning the rock
projection.

<<Re-aim!>> the Yehisrite commands. <<West wall. Tracer!>>

Yukio re-aims. "Tracer!!"

The weapon repeats as a beam of energy cuts into the wall! Yukara
keeps it up. <<Re-aim! South wall stalactites. Double blow!>>

"Double blow!!" Yukio aims.

Twin bolts shatter the rocks!! Yukio then spins to the cave
entrance. "Armour piercing incendiary!!"

The Lawgiver barks, sending a heavy projectile into the boulder
trapping the hybrid from her target. A second later, the rock shatters into
dust! Yukio smiles as she blows the cordite away from the Lawgiver's muzzle.
<<Nice shot>>, Yukara giggles.

* * *

Yukio kneels in front of Yukara's body. She is nude, the dead
executioner's armour, suit, blade and gun in front of her. Her hands are
raised in prayer, the finger splayed and the palms separated. The tracking
brace secured to her leg was destroyed to ensure the farmers or Faja couldn't
track her. The only time a Yehisrite would remove all her clothes was either
in bed...or praying to the Lady Silna. The Law is neither disguised nor
cloaked, the saying went...nor should the servants of the Law as they swear to
protect it. Yukio's eyes are narrow as she stares on her new friend's body.
When this was over, Yukara would receive a proper cremation as she deserved.

Silna-sama, accept this unworthy soul.
Silna-sama, accept this sinful soul.
Silna-sama, accept this repentant soul.
Silna-sama, accept this determined soul.
Silna-sama, accept this warrior soul.
Silna-sama, accept this filthy soul.
Silna-sama, accept this cleansing soul.
Silna-sama, accept this fiery soul.
Silna-sama, accept this cleansed soul
Into Your Embrace.

Yukio claps once. She repeats the petition, then claps. The process
repeats seven more times. Nine prayer verses, nine petitions. Each clap, it
was said, banished the trickster spirits from the petitioner. Each prayer was
a calling to the gods so they could visit the petitioner. Yehisrites did away
with official religious texts ages ago. Priests no longer existed, although
magistrates did perform special prayers to the Lady Pizalna at marriage
ceremonies. In a Yehisrite's eyes, gods and mortals met face-to-face, both
enemies and allies on the battlefield of faith.

Once the prayers are done, Yukio stands, then dresses. First came
the tank-top and shorts. She slips on the chainmail last worn 50 years ago.
The armour plates came next: chest and back, loinshields, left humerus,
right thigh, right humerus, left thigh, left forearm, right calf, right
forearm, left calf. She slips on the metal plate shoes. The gauntlets came
next. The *lim'l* is sheathed, then the sword belt is tied to her waist.
The Lawgiver is holstered, then strapped to the right leg. The cape is
secured with the buckle on the right shoulder. Yukio takes Yukara's pendant
and ties it around her neck. Crystal dagger earrings, a present to Yukara
from her mother, complete the ensemble. Yukio breathes in, then draws her
*lim'l* and salutes her long- fallen patron. The gods were appeased, her
friend would rest and there was a mission to be done. Without another word,
Yukio spins around and walks out of the cave. It is morning, the last day.
She smiles.

A lot could happen in a day.

* * *

"I'm back!!" Althea yips as she walks up to the hut. Dirty, cuts all
over her arms and legs, she lets out a sigh of relief.

"Go in and announce yourself," Nassur smiles. "Let them know who you
are."

Althea nods, then walks to the doorway. She claps nine times and
declares, "I am Katsunba of Kyotos! Are there any questions?!!"

"None, Katsunba, daughter of Kina of Kyotos!" Varanko walks over,
then firmly clasps her shoulders. "You are this day a warrior," the Lord High
Executioner proclaims. "The gods have witnessed it as have we. May your foes
fall in your path! *Hisri'hilm!*"

The assembled executioners clap nine times to ensure the gods
understood that. Once Varanko lets her go, Althea leaps into Daros' arms.
"Daros-kun, we did it!!"

Benten walks into the hut. "That's it but Hazel and Yukio! Where
are they?!"

Varanko recoils. "What?!! They should be back here by now!!
Chanko, find them!!"

The younger executioner walks up, scanner in hand. "I cannot find
the band for the wild one, Grandfather, but the feral child seems trapped in
the Wildreed Swamp."

"Just like her mother!" he growls. "What do you mean you can't find
the wild one?! Her marker should indicate her place!"

"I cannot find her," Chanko asserts

"What's that idiot doing?!" Althea hums.

"I'll find them!" Nassur turns to leave.

"Wait!!!" Varanko barks.

The Vosian freezes. "We'll wait until nightfall, then we'll go!"
Varanko growls.

Benten wonders if Nassur would defy Varanko. The former does seem
ready to leave, but the latter freezes him with a stare. Finally, Nassur
repents. "Nassur...?!"

"Be silent, Benten," Varanko walks to his chair. "If the feral child
could survive eight years alone on Barsoom, a pack of vengeance- crazed
farmers shall be nothing. As for the wild one, she shall survive."

"I hope so," Benten sighs.

Nassur looks surprised. Varanko had dropped a clue. Yukio shall
survive. Not "may" but "shall." Did this have something to do with Dameko's
visit? Something was up. It wasn't the Yehisrite way to participate in
skullduggery ...unless this had something to do with the oaths of silence
Varanko was haunted with. Nassur relaxes. Other players were involved in
this Test. Whatever happened would have to play itself out. Nassur hoped
Hazel wouldn't get caught in the middle.

* * *

"There!!!" a farmer howls. "After her!!"

Soaking wet, Hazel finds herself in the middle of the vast Wildreed
Swamp, floating in the bog via a fallen pineweed trunk. Behind her, floating
on makeshift fishing rafts, are a pack of farmers, weapons in hand. Hazel has
a pair of pitchforks with her, but seems not to have had luck in deterring her
pursuers. "They just don't get the hint!" she hisses.

Bumping into a small island, Hazel splashes ashore, taking the
pitchforks in hand and preparing herself. The farmers storm ashore, howling
like a pack of hungry wolves. "Now, my pwetty!!" Faja stands in the front of
the group, pointing a pitchfork at Hazel. "You'wl not wun fwom us this
time!!"

"Come and get me!" Hazel snarls.

The farmers cackle, readying themselves for the attack...just as her
eyes glow. "Stun grenade!" a familiar voice barks.

"*Stun grenade,*" a computer replies.

"Yukio...?!" Hazel gasps.

An energy bolt hits the ground, knocking the farmers back with a wall
of air! Hazel is knocked aside. "Who...?!!" Faja gasps.

The ring of metal impacting stone is heard. Everyone sees Yukio
standing there, having levitated to the island thanks to anti-gravity skis.
The *lim'l* is drawn, point to ground, blade facing the would-be executioner.
The Lawgiver is holstered. "Remember me?!"

"You...!" he falters, eyes wide.

The blade raises as Yukio advances, her eyes never swerving from
target. "I'm happy you're here, Faja. I wouldn't want to leave you living
while your sons and nephews feed the worms on Icarus. You should've heard
them squeal when they fell into my traps. Ipraedies do scream when their
lungs are punctured."

The assassin trembles as Yukio steps left. "You should've heard them
plead while I watched, Faja. Your sons promised me freedom, position, slaves.
They were no assassins! They were the craven sons of a coward...and I mean
your brother as well as you, Faja! The swine died as they deserved!! What do
you say about that?!"

Faja growls as Yukio places herself between him and the fallen
farmers. "You should've scouted the Valley better, Faja...if you didn't know
that cave I fled into was the burial chamber of an executioner your kind slew
fifty years ago. I was never trapped here just as I wasn't trapped on
Icarus!"

Heat emanates from the Ipraedies as Yukio spits at him. "That's the
mark of a failure! A failure just like your brother!!"

"Why, you...!!!" the Ipraedies roars as he draws a mini-pistol and
aims at the hybrid which has caused him so much pain.

Yukio dodges right, then forward, the *lim'l's* blade poised. Faja
gasps as the executioner's weapon rips into his heart! The hybrid lifts him
into the air, then tosses him away from the farmers he tricked. The
Ipraedies hits the ground hard, blood showering the stone as Yukio moves for
the kill. Without a word, the hybrid swings the blade around...and Faja's
head parts from his shoulder with one stroke!! As the head hits the ground
some distance away, Yukio kicks Faja's body into the water...just as the
self-destruct bombs all guild assassins carry with them detonate! The hybrid
is doused with water as she is knocked back by the blow, hitting the ground
near Hazel. "Yukio!!!"

A farmer walks over to examine Faja's head, the gasps. "Look, lads!"

The others run up to see...

* * *

Late evening falls over the camp. "Where are those two?!!" Benten
paces the hut. "Damn it all, if they're hurt, I'll...!"

Althea's eyes glow. "They're here!"

Everyone turns to the door as a pack of farmers stream in.
"M'lord!!" Nojoko laughs, lifting his pitchfork in salute. "This is a day to
sing about for ages to come!"

"What's going on here?!!" Varanko growls.

Hazel walks in. Everyone stops as she claps nine times. "I am
Kuriinba of Kyotos! Are there any questions?!"

Varanko smiles, then walks forward and claps her shoulders. "Nay,
Kuriinba, daughter of Shunba of Kyotos!" he smiles. "Daughter of my
granddaughter, this day you are a warrior!"

Hazel gasps. So that explained the closeness she felt to him.
"You're my...?!"

"Aye," he nods.

Everyone looks surprised, then cheers. The Yehisrites clap nine
times to confirm the greeting, then slap and clap each other in celebration.
Hazel cries, then embraces her great-grandfather. "I have a family again!!"

"Hazel, not in front of the others," he tries not to look embarrassed.

Metal footfalls strike the wood as everyone spins. Faja's head in
hand, Yukio lightly smiles. The Yehisrites gape in disbelief at the hybrid
scandalously dressed in another's armour, bearing her weapon. That of course
doesn't mention the Ipraedies' head she holds in her hand. Handing the head
to Benten, Yukio removes her gauntlets, then claps her hands nine times. "I
am Yukira of Kyotos, executioner apprentice to the Lady Yukara of Kyotos, now
residing at the table of the Three-Faced One!" she growls, eyeing the others.
"If any question it, I'll soon have his or her head to join the dishonourable
Ipraedies swine I slew this day!!"

"Ipraedies?!" Hilmara screams. "Here?!!"

Varanko walks up to her, then looks at Faja's head, then Yukio's
armour. Finally, he sees the memory crystal. "Yukara permitted you the use
of her armour in your mission?!"

"She did, m'lord," Yukio nods.

Varanko sighs, then nods, smiling. Seeing the shock on his fellow
warriors' faces, the Lord High Executioner growls, "The lady asked if any
question her?! Do you acknowledge her?!"

The executioners exchange looks. "None, m'lord!" Hilmara walks to
Yukio, clasping her shoulders. "You are Yukira of Kyotos, apprentice to
Yukara of Kyotos now residing at the table of the Three-Faced One, daughter
of Nakanba!" she smiles. "Today, the gods witness your enemies fall before
you! May they always fall before you!! *Hisri'hilm!*"

Everyone laughs, then the executioners clap their hands nine times to
ensure the gods understood that. The other hybrids swarm around Yukio,
relieved the ordeal was done. Varanko remains back, allowing his acknowledged
great- granddaughter to be close to the great- granddaughter he could never
acknowledge.

Nassur looks surprised. Yukio was given a birth principality, but
her mother had no principality acknowledged for her. What had happened to
Yukio's mother before her capture by the Ipraedies?

* * *

"We're almost ready," Nassur walks into Varanko's office the next
morning. "Naosu is looking over everyone now."

"Excellent," Varanko sighs, rubbing his eyes. "I've already passed
the message to Alko. My recommendation...will surprise even him," he smiles.
"Oh, I also learned Sansura learned a lot from the Slayer of the Masters of
Noukiios when she visited him."

"I hope Lum doesn't take that the wrong way," Nassur sighs, crossing
his arms.

Hazel and Yukio walk in. Both are in fresh jumpsuits, although Yukio
no longer wears a kill-belt. Instead, Yukara's *lim'l* is strapped at her
left hip, her Lawgiver holster wrapped around her right thigh. "M'lord, we
would speak with you alone," the latter bows.

Nassur nods, then departs. "You did well yesterday, Yukio," Varanko
smiles as he walks up to her. "Many people are quite impressed, including
Prince Dameko. He is the one who arranged your meeting with Yukara's spirit."

"I will thank the *laqu'r* when I have the opportunity," Yukio sighs,
then looks at him. "I know who you are."

Varanko sighs, his lips twitching in a smile. "I assume your doctor
told you."

"It was easy to discover," Yukio sighs.

Hazel looks at her great-grandfather, then at her cousin. Her
cousin! Shunba and Nakanba were sisters, born of Varanko's eldest daughter
Amenra. Unbelievable! "Great-grandpa, you can't do this!" she cries. "Just
because Yukio's mom did something wrong doesn't mean that she has to suffer
for it!!"

"Hazel," Varanko places a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't that
simple. Nakanba's actions were hideous, embarrassing not only to herself but
to our whole family."

"But, Great-grandpa..."

"I know," Varanko wipes the tears away. "The one responsible for
this still lives. As long as he lives, he could use Nakanba's actions against
me...and through me, the Lord Protector. If news of this became public,
thousands would scream out. You should know by now how our system works. A
revolution would start."

"And if we stay silent, Yukio suffers!"

"For now...yes," Varanko sighs. "But Sheko's time will come. Many
are wearying of him. One will undoubtedly arise and strike him down. When
that time comes, *then* we can do something about it. Not any time before."

"Sheko," Yukio purrs. "I remember that."

She walks out of the hut. Varanko and Hazel watch her go. "Was her
mom always like that?" she looks at him.

"No, not as bad," Varanko hums. "I will confess this, though:
she'll make one very fine executioner. Sheko best be on his guard...lest the
Uncontrollable Storm claims him!"

* * *

Later, Hazel walks out of the hut to see Yukio. She sighs, then
walks over. "Yukio?"

"Hazel, you must never speak of this to anyone," Yukio sighs. "Not
even Nassur or Benten. Naosu knows when to stay silent."

"But, Yukio...!" Hazel cries.

Yukio turns, stopping her with a finger. "Hush, cousin. It hurts me
too though I may not show it. My course is clear. I have to return and
finish what I started yesterday."

Hazel shudders. "You're leaving us?!"

"Yes," Yukio nods. "I said it back on Icarus. I'm my own person. I
live my life by my rules. I don't look at Nassur the same way you and the
others do. It's the reason I refused to allow him to adopt me. I don't want
to be tied down...and now that I know I have no one tying me down, I can
really be mistress of my own destiny. That's something I really think Mother
would have wanted to have happen to me...and it will happen, too."

"But we need you!" Hazel moans.

"No. My presence weighs you down. Everyone's become dependent on me
to solve their problems. Even if I go, you'll become dependent on Nassur and
Benten. You have to cut your own path if you're going to make it in this
galaxy, Hazel. Everyone has to."

Hazel frowns. "I'll come back to Earth with you for the next while,"
Yukio smiles. "But I'll be staying with Koichi instead of staying with you
at his uncle's place. Once Nassur's done his *nicha,* I'm coming back here
to start my training in earnest. After that...we'll just have to wait and
see..."

"I'll miss you," Hazel sniffs.

"I'll miss you, too," Yukio embraces her. "C'mon, let's go."

Both turn to the waiting "Renegade"...

* * *

In the aftermath of the Test of Life, the results were transmitted to
Alko in his keep on Yehisril. With Varanko's recommendation, Yukio was
officially gazetted as an apprentice executioner. Hilmara was given the
mission to train the hybrid in her future task, one which would begin after
the hybrids returned to Home Base to live with those who adopted them.
Naturally, Dameko and the other *laqu'rs* were quick to acknowledge the first
part- Ipraedies trainee ever to apprentice in the Imperial Corps of
Executioners without hesitation...for when he found out, Sheko was said to
have had a week- long temper-tantrum!

The hybrids returned to Earth to remain with Komeru. Once reunited
with their friends and told to behave, Nassur and Benten went at once to
Sabaku for the former's long-overdue *nicha.* Once she learned of this,
Shinobu was quick to volunteer her services as a babysitter. She was curtly
refused by the Moroboshi Clan patriarch. Komeru, of course, acted at Lum's
and Ataru's request. Before she could force her way, Shinobu wound up with
two weeks detention!

* * *

In Oshika, the doorbell rings. Ataru walks down. Opening the door,
he gasps on seeing Yukio there. "Yukio!"

"Koichi!!" the hybrid leaps into his arms. The two embrace and kiss,
then Yukio looks around. "Where is the Oni?"

"Tomobiki," he sighs.

Yukio snorts. "I've come back for you, Koichi," she rubs her nose on
his. "Let me sleep with you for the next while!"

"No problem," Ataru lifts her into his arms, ready to carry her into
his room...when the doorbell rings. "Who could that be?!"

Answering it, he gasps on seeing the person there. "What are you
doing here, Dake-chan?!!"

A weary Dakejinzou Shogai steps in, lightly smiling. "I hope you
don't mind my visiting, Ataru-chan...oh, hello, Yukio."

"Dakejinzou," the hybrid nods, exchanging questioning glances with
Ataru. "Forgive me, but you seem distressed by something."

"I...am," the alien nods.

"What's wrong?!" Ataru asks.

The hunter shrugs. "I can guess why Yukio-chan's here now that the
Test of Life is done...but I really could use some company, too. And I can't
think of any other person I'd want to be...than you, Ataru-chan."

Ataru and Yukio look at each other...

***The End***