Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Noa ( Chapter 39 )

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

Fourteen years ago. Sendai.

It is a blistery winter day in the port city. Steady snowfall has
blanketed northern Honshu with a coat of white. On the vast expanse of the
Moroboshi estate, crews busy themselves digging their vehicles and
pathways clear. However, such hasn't prevented Ataru and Nokoko
Moroboshi from going out to play.

"Gotcha!" the latter beans the former.

"Hey, no fair!!" the former yelps.

His snowball goes wide. Nokoko sticks out her tongue. "Got to
catch me first!"

She runs to some bushes, Ataru racing after her. "I'll get you,
Nokoko-chan!"

As the two approach the bush, Ataru slows down. Nokoko races
on ahead, then stops, looking back. "Ataru-chan, what's wrong?"

"Someone's crying," Ataru turns to the bush, parting the branches
to get a better look. "Hello? Is there someone here?"

A curiously accented girl's voice queries. "*Tcha*...who's
there...?"

Nokoko peeks in. "Who are you?!"

In the bush, huddled fearfully, is a child their age. She is dressed
in what Ataru and Nokoko assume is a ski suit composed of tiger skins, a
hood protecting her head. "How did you get here?" Ataru blinks. "If Uncle
catches you, you'll be in big trouble."

The girl looks up. Ataru and Nokoko are stunned to see that her
hair is a luminescent green, like freshly cut grass. Further, she has fanged
canine teeth...and two horn buds on her forehead barely hidden by her hood.
"An Oni!!" Nokoko yelps, taking a step back...then trips, falling over on her
backside.

Seeing this, Ataru giggles. Curious, the alien stands to stare at
Nokoko, then giggles herself. Nokoko glares at them. "Aw, that wasn't
funny!" she harrumpths.

Ataru then looks at the strange girl. *She's cute!* he sighs, then
remembering something his mother told him, reaches out to place his hands
on her horns. "Tag!"

"Aaah!!" the girl gasps, eyes wide...then she takes a close look at
the Terran. *Gee, he's cute! I guess he really means it!* She then kisses
him. "Okay! I'll marry you!"

"Eh?!!" both Terrans exclaim.

"Don't you know?" the alien blinks. "Tagging my horns means we
have to marry."

Ataru and Nokoko stare at each other. "But...we always believed
that tagging an Oni's horns means that the Oni has to do everything we tell
them," the latter hums.

"Not on my planet," she shrugs.

"You're from another planet?!!"

"*Tcha!*" the alien nods, then begins to cry. "But...I'm n-not s-
supposed to be here!"

Her voice fails as she embraces Ataru, crying. Both Terrans stare
at each other, then a mischevous glint appears in Nokoko's eyes. Grabbing
some snow, she dumps it on the alien's head. "You're it!!"

"Aaah!!" the girl yelps as she tries to brush the snow off before it
leaks down her hood and gets at her inner clothes.

"Nokoko-chan!" Ataru growls, tossing snow at her. "Stop trying to
hurt my fiancee!!"

"Gotta catch me first!" Nokoko runs off.

Ataru takes off after her. Watching this, the alien blinks, then
smiles. "I guess I will marry him," she hums, then leaps into the air. A
second later, she lands on Nokoko, knocking her down. "Gotcha!!"

"How'd you do that?!" Nokoko yelps.

"Did you really fly?" Ataru inquires.

"*Tcha!*" she nods. "I can do this!"

With that, she touches Ataru, sending a bolt of electricity into his
system! He howls as he cowers away from her. "Ouch!! That hurt!" he
yowls, then begins to cry.

Hearing Ataru's wails, Nokoko growls as she knocks the alien off
her, then buries her in snow. "What did you do to my cousin?!"

Ataru stops, then grabs a big snowball and beans Nokoko with it!
"Gotcha!!"

"Hey!!" Nokoko yelps.

Ataru and the alien then leap on her, unleashing a tickle torture. A
spasm of giggles shakes Nokoko. Soon, all three are laughing. Ataru looks
at the alien, reaching over to hold her hand. "What's your name?"

"Lum no Midorinokaminoke-oni," the alien smiles. "You can call
me Lum. And you?"

"I'm Ataru Moroboshi," he points to himself, then points to
Nokoko. "And that's my cousin, Nokoko Moroboshi."

Lum balks. "Is that really your name?!"

"Uh-huh!" Ataru nods. "What's wrong?"

"Ugh!" the Oni blanches. "You must have horrible parents! I can't
call you that!"

"Why not?"

"It's a bad word on my planet," Lum blushes. "But since you want
to marry me, I'll call you 'Darling' instead."

"Okay!" Ataru nods. "Are you really from another planet? How
did you get here?"

Lum looks sad. "Well...I was playing with my friends on Triton.
It's a sattelite of the eighth planet in this solar system."

"Eh?!" Nokoko blinks. "You mean to say there's really life on
Neptune?!"

"No more," Lum shakes her head. "That's 'cause the Seifukusu
Dominion...they're really mean and bad people...came a thousand years ago
and destroyed all life there. But the Eternal Voyager came and saved
Oyuki-chan's people by moving them to Triton. And I was there, but I
walked into the Warp Chamber and Prim-chan hit something and I came
here."

The many terms Lum spouts cause both Terrans to blink with
confusion. "Who's Oyuki-chan?" Ataru scratches his head, looking around.
"Is she here?"

"N-no...!" new tears brim in Lum's eyes. "And...it's not right f-for
me to c-come here...and y-you tagged my horns...and..."

With that, she cries, leaning into Ataru. He looks sad, then smiles.
"It's okay! You can stay with us!"

"I can?!!" Lum blinks surprisedly.

"Uh-huh!" Ataru nods. "After all, if you're gonna be my wife one
day, that means I gotta protect you!"

Hearing that, Lum smiles as she kisses him again. "I wish she had
a sister whose horns I could tag," Nokoko sighs...

* * *

*Daishi'cha* number 19282 sighs as she sweeps the Moroboshi
estate with a portable scanner. How illogical could this be? She was tasked
to the "Hasei'cha" to locate a *daimon'cha* (First Father) candidate so that
her fellow Sagussans could learn how to properly emote. However, on
entering the Earth-Triton system, the warpsloop's combat technician
reported that an Oni-Urusian had been teleported from Triton to the less
technologically advanced world. Such violated the terms of the Non-
Interference Treaty to which Triton and Uru were signatory powers.

Immediately, an independent frigate, the "Renegade," had launched
from Triton to locate the Oni. Observing this, the "Hasei'cha's" crew
noticed that the "Renegade's" two-person crew...a Vosian woman, Cinba,
and her child, Akisur...had teleported to the wrong place. The Oni was in
Sendai, but the Vosians were in Tokyo, many kilometres to the south. The
Sagussans realized that the more her being on Earth was prolonged, the
greater chances were that the child would be captured by xenophobic
Terrans, then subject to all possible realms of study. Aiuoeiioei (the
*daishi'cha*, for quick reference, referred to each other by stating their
numbers in order of appearance, as if they were separate numbers instead of
one value) had beamed down with her pet sandpanther to locate the missing
child.

Finally registering a reading, the woman frowns. "There," she
points to the mansion house. "The child is there. Retrieve her."

Growling, the sandpanther spreads his wings, then leaps into the
air...

* * *

"How in Buddha's name did you find her?!!" Komeru demands.

Presently, Komeru and Nagaiwakai were seated in the living room,
staring at Lum, who sits between Ataru and Nokoko. "She's an alien,
Daddy," Nokoko explains. "She said she's from someplace called Triton
and that she's not supposed to be here."

"Grandma, can she stay?" Ataru wonders.

"Doubtlessly, her parents must be worried sick about her,"
Nagaiwakai muses. "I'll have to ask Brother Sunfire to contact someone on
Triton to retrieve her."

"Triton really exists?!" Nokoko blinks.

"I told you it existed!" Lum sighs.

"Yes, it does, Nokoko-chan," Nagaiwakai kneels in front of her
grandchildren. "It's a very nice planet, if you can stand the cold, of course.
It's even colder than the Arctic."

"Oh!" Nokoko nods.

"How'd you know that?" Lum blinks. "No one from the Galactic
Federation's ever made contact with Terrans before."

"I am a Righteous Gentile," Nagaiwakai blushes, then pulls her hair
back. "And I myself have some alien ancestry."

Lum blinks. "You're part-Vosian?! And you're a Righteous
Gentile, too?!! Wow!!"

"You better call your friends right away, Mom," Komeru sighs as
he walks up to them. "Sooner we get her back, the better."

The children look sad. "Does she have to go?!" Ataru sniffs. "I
want her to stay!"

"Ataru-chan, she comes from a different planet with its own set of
rules," Nagaiwakai coos. "And one of them is that you don't kidnap other
families' children."

Ataru looks even sadder. "But I want her to stay!! I want her to be
my wife!!"

With that, he starts to cry. Lum and Nokoko wail, too.
Nagaiwakai sighs. "Kids these days!" she rolls her eyes...

...just as a window shatters! Everyone spins around to see a tiger-
sized winged felinoid land on the floor, then spotting Lum, snares the
surprised Oni by her hood. He ploughs through another window, then soars
off into the distance. "Darling, help me!!" Lum wails as she is dragged off.

"Lum-chan!!!" Ataru screams as he races off after her, Nokoko
right behind him.

Komeru and Nagaiwakai are stunned. "Red alert!!" the
archaeologist screams into a walkie-talkie. "There's a tiger-like creature on
the estate making off with the alien girl Ataru and Nokoko found! Find it
and subdue it...but watch it!! Don't hurt the girl!!"

"This gets weirder by the minute!" Nagaiwakai exclaims...

* * *

Lum remains fearfully silent as the sandpanther soars over the
estate. She was not afraid of falling; she could fly. But the creature had
also secured her with those curious neck-mounted grippers of his. She tried
to zap her way out, but something was wrong; her powers weren't working.
She had been told by Nassur that certain creatures emitted a field which
knocked out powers like hers. Right now, she had no idea what would
happen. For all she knew, she was going to be dragged off to the Noukiios
slave marts, then sold. Will she ever see Darling again?

The creature lands at the estate's south boundary. "Well done. We
have her."

The sandpanther arches on his hind legs, allowing Lum to be taken
by a woman dressed in a gold-trimmed black parka over a form-fitting
bodysuit, black overall with gold trim and boots. The Oni tries to zap the
woman, but her close proximinty to the sandpanther keeps her powers at
bay. "Let me go!" she cries, trying to bite the woman's hand. "Let me go!!
My daddy and Darling's grandma're gonna get you if you don't let me go!!!"

The woman winces in visible pain as Lum's fear, anger and general
confusion wash over her. She had not properly prepared herself to face the
rampant emotions of Onis, especially at such close range. "Cease your
struggles, sentient. I am not here to take you to any place which will do you
harm. I am here to return you to the place from where you came."

Lum stops, staring at the woman. She had never heard someone
speak so...rationally. Was this an android? "Who are you?"

In response, the woman reaches up to her hood, drawing it back to
reveal her face. The Oni blinks in awe on recognizing her people's most
famous freedom fighter. "Noa-sama...!"

"Why do you address me as that?" Noa blinks, her powers quickly
analyzing the cultural reference for Lum's words. "I am no longer that
person," she warns.

Lum did not care as she embraces the Sagussan. Noa was, after all,
one of the Maidens of Aruka, the warriors who freed her people from the
evil Seifukusu. It was believed that Noa and Honii had been taken to the
Great Palace as two of the Maidens of the Eternal Voyager, there to await
Uru's darkest time, when they would return to save her people and lead them
into paradise. "Are you really here to take me back to Triton?"

"Affirmative," Noa nods, Lum's calming emotions easing the pain
in her mind...not to mention stirring her own untested emotions. "You have
friends there who desire you return to their presence. I will return you."

Lum smiles, then looks sad. "B-but...wh-what about Darling?"

With that, she wails, nearly driving Noa to her knees as the psychic
pain rips through her system. Fortunately, 900 years of self-discipline in the
Dreamscape saved her from succumbing to Lum's unintentioned attack. At
that moment, Ataru's voice is heard. "Lum-chan?! Lum-chan?!! Where are
you?!"

Lum stops crying as Ataru runs up, then falters as the sandpanther
spins around to face him. "N-nice k-kitty..." the Terran gulps as he tries to
back away from those inch-long fangs. "N-nice k-kitty..."

"Noa-sama, please don't let him hurt Darling!" Lum pleads.

"He will not," Noa lowers the Oni to the ground, then walks over to
Ataru. "I...regret to inform you that Lum cannot remain on this world,
sentient. Her presense is a violation of several treaties her planet is a
signatory to. She must return before her presence culturally contaminates
this world."

Hearing that, Ataru starts to cry, bombarding Noa with his latent
empathic powers. "I want Lum-chan to stay!!!"

Noa blinks as a lesson in ancient Fourth Republic mythology
returns. "Lum...?" she quizzically stares at the Oni. "Ram?"

Was it possible...?

"Don't make Noa-sama take me away!!" Lum leaps into his arms.
"I wanna stay!!"

"Ataru-chan!!" Nagaiwakai's voice yells.

"Ataru?" Noa quizzically stares at the Terran. "Atar...?!"

Could it actuall be...them?!

Reincarnated, minds flushed clean of the memories, the *mei'na* of
their previous lives, as Noa and the other *daishi'cha* were thanks to the
renegeration matrix...?

Illogical, the rational Noa exclaims!

But there they were.

Noa seems lost in a daze as Nagaiwakai, Komeru and Nokoko race
up along with a platoon of Moroboshi clan troopers. The sandpanther
retreats as everyone confirms Lum is unharmed, then begin an argument as
to what to do with the the Oni. Ataru, Lum and Noa seem the calm eye of a
typhoon as the arguments fly back and forth. The Terran and the Oni stare
at each other, holding each other. Their emotions were an open book to the
Sagussan: sadness, friendship, agony over their impending parting, even the
first flashes of the most powerful emotion of all. Love.

It was them.

Kneeling, Noa smiles. "There is a way."

Ataru and Lum quizzically stare at her. Noa then holds out one
hand. "Place your hands in mine. From this day on, neither of you will
truly be parted from the other."

Hearing her calm voice, seeing her friendly smile, sensing that this
stranger from beyond the stars wanted them to be together in spirit even if
they were separated in body, Ataru and Lum look at each other... then their
hands, still grasping each other's, are placed in Noa's palm. She closes her
hands over them, then concentrates.

And so fourteen years pass...

* * *

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Noa"
by Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Thirty-second of a series based on "Urusei Yatsura," created by Rumiko
Takahashi
**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) This is the first story of our fanfic series to be conceived and
written in the wake of my first move to Korea. With such a shift came a
slowdown in writing the series; Mike and I are pursuing other projects as
well as our careers. Many warm thanks to the people at Headgear, creators
of "Mobile Police Patlabor" for bringing into the world of anime Noa Izumi,
for whom Noa-chan is meant as one fan writer's very respectful salute.

2) This story is partially inspired by scenes depicted in the
Kadokawashoten anime art book "Live, Noa Izumi Photographs." As I also
do art, it will serve as an inspiration for whenever I get the urge to draw
pictures of Noa. For those interested, it is 2200 yen and the ISBN number is
4-04-852386-4.

3) Some more Sagussan terms:

sen'a - "Republic," but it also means "race" or "people."
The title the Sagussans use to represent themselves is "Sagussa-uisen'a" (the
Fifth Republic of Sagussa). The word is also applicable to Sagussa's home
star.
shoi'cha - Sister *
moei'cha - Brother *
ashi'cha - Elder Mother. Since Sagussa is a matriarchy, this title is
bestowed on a wise woman not in the chain of command.
eishi'cha - Grandmother
monmoei'cha - Paternal uncle
ki - A vulgar but common Sagussan profanity,
equivalent to $&#*! It can be added to other words to add more power to
the insult. For instance, *ki'shi* could be seen as the equivalent of
'mother$&#*er!'
mei'ne - Souless, heartless, a cruel person.
Tere'na - Sagussa's first province, once a tropical forest continent
the size of North America. The cradle of the Fourth Republic, as well as the
Fifth; the Chamber of Eternity is located in northern Tere'na.
Kyre'sha - Sagussa's second province, once a northern mountainous
temperate continent about Africa's size located north of Tere'na.
Ly'sha - Sagussa's third province, once a southern prairie
continent Asia's size halfway around the world from Tere'na and Kyre'sha.
Tere'na-korgh - The Forge of Tere'na, on the southern tip 3000
kilometres from the Chamber of Eternity. Sagussa's holiest site.
Tarun-Chong - The Other Party. The name of Sagussa's clone
rights movement which provoked the War of Clone Rights.

* NOTE: for older siblings, add "a-." Younger siblings, add "o-." In the
case of more than one, number them, "ai'ashoi'cha," "ei'ashoi'cha," etc.

5) Sil Dedron was created by Lew Burton for his alternate UY fanfic
classic "Just a Dream." Thanks, Lew!

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

Sil Dedron sighs. Earth at last.

The raven-haired Oni relaxes in her command chair. Coming to
Earth would have been unheard of for her two years ago; she was incensed
at Lum's decision to marry a Terran. But in two years, anything is possible.
Sil could attest to that. What would her parents, now both dead...not to
mention her old friends among Imperialist-leaning Urusians...think of her
now, coming to Earth as an emissary of the Democratic Alliance to solicit
the support of Lum no Midorinokaminoke-oni (Sil still thought of her as
Lum Redet) as a candidate to be Uru's first Empress in two centuries?

Sil hoped Lum would be willing to listen. Their friendship
strained, finally shattering when Lum fell in love with her Darling. Sil never
felt so betrayed. She thought it was bad enough that Lum befriended
outworlders, but to actually MARRY one?! Disgusting!

But as time marched on, Sil's vision altered. Even though Ataru
certaily behaved as his first name suggested, he began to warm up, certainly
reciprocating Lum's interest even if he did not actually express the words "I
love you." After Ataru had undergone his metamorphosis, he really did
demonstrate how much he cared for Lum. Perhaps loving an alien wasn't
such a bad thing after all.

She met representatives of the Democratic Alliance, the third party
in Urusian politics. Neither supporting the Imperialists or the Unionists, the
Alliance advocated political reform which would unleash true democracy,
either an American congressional system or a British parliamentary system.
Sil went with a parliament: it meant an emperor or empress would once
again rule Uru. Such would placate the Imperialist moderates who wanted
to see the Houses restored...while at the same time, gave ALL Urusians a
say in their destiny. What further sold Sil was that many who liked this
system were thinking of only one person to become Uru's new Empress:
Lum.

Sil proceeded to support the Alliance's campaign. She had to keep
her involvement secret; her Imperial friends would mark her a traitor if they
learned the truth...and Yethis, who was now suspected by many to be
preparing to launch an Imperialist counter-revolution to overthrow the
Union government, did not treat traitors well. Lum's support was therefore
seen as necessary; who would question the wisdom of the greatest heroine to
appear on Uru since the Maidens of Aruka?

Her cruiser's sensory officer then reports that another alien ship
was in orbit over Earth. Sil barely hears his report. She had to plan for her
meeting with Lum...

* * *

Alphonse trots toward Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlour, a small bag of
coins slung around his neck. At least the weather was nicer than his last
visit to Earth, when Noa retrieved her future *marei'cha* from being
marooned here with the *daimon'cha.* Pleased that his pet (sandpanthers
own their humans on Sagussa...F.H.) had decided to physically reunite with
her bond-mate, Alphonse readily agreed to a side job. Some *mei'ne* had
to be punished.

Ignoring the shocked stares and screams from people around him,
he pushes his way into the ice cream parlour. It was half-full of students,
including Shinobu, who was now talking with her new friend Pamanba.
"They're all dead?!" the Terran exclaims.

"Every officer in the Hunters Corps," the Vosian nods. "They were
killed by someone firing a bauximite flash-bomb missile into the meeting
room when Furusur was trying to rally them to continue supporting the
Mikado. Two hundred and sixty dead, no survivors."

"Wow!! Did they say who did it?!"

"Well, a note was later fired into the wreckage from a group calling
themselves 'Tarun-Chong,' whoever they are," Pamanba looks confused over
who could have callously slaughtered nearly 300 people, and relieved that
the Special Hunters Corps was now totally leaderless. "The rebels don't
know of a group by that name. The words sound almost Zephyrite or
Kurakoan in origin."

Shinobu eats her Mount Fuji. "Well, at least Nassur-kun and the
hybrids are safe. Ataru-kun's grandmother got the Zephyrite government to
put a shielding edict over Hazel-chan and her friends. If the Mikado or his
friends try again to hurt them, it'll be a Holy Crusade, or so Lum tells me..."

"Sh-sh-shinobu...!" Pamanba stammers.

"Eh?!" Shinobu looks up, then seeing the Vosian point, looks...and
screams!

Alphonse is seated on a stool, his neck-grippers holding a menu in
hand as he scans through the delightful treats. Hearing the words "Tarun-
Chong" would bring a smile if, of course, sandpanthers could smile. Noa
and her love of history. Blaming the deaths of *mei'ne* on the
revolutionary forces who had torn the Fourth Republic apart in the Clone
Rights War. It was what Furusur deserved for Lum's injury in the fight in
Tomobiki High. Everyone knew never to injure one's *marei'cha*.

Finding something interesting to eat, he looks up to stare at
Shapiro, busy washing dishes, totally oblivious to the gasps and screams of
his customers. Alphonse roars, causing the Vosian to nearly leap out of his
clothes, spinning around to see a winged cougar sitting at his counter.
Alphonse spins the menu around, pointing at one order. "A Mount Fuji?"
Shapiro hesitantly inquires.

Alphonse touches the table. "Five?!"

Alphonse growls happily. "R-r-right a-away," Shapiro nods as he
races off.

Everyone is stunned as Alphonse calmly replaces the menu, then
patiently waits. "A tiger eating ice cream?!" a student exclaims.

"Isn't he going to catch a cold?!" another wonders.

*What's one of **them** doing here?!* Shinobu mentally muses.

Soon enough, five Mount Fujis are in front of Alphonse. Taking
spoon in one gripper and a plate of ice cream in the other, he eats. Everyone
remains silent...

* * *

"Good!" Noa smiles as she slips into the basement of the ice cream
shop, where Abraham Shapiro kept his communications equipment. Now in
Earth clothes, the *ashi'cha* locates the gear the observer used to report to
his superiors. "Not anymore," Noa smiles as she pulls out a circular device
and attaches it to the transmitter. She presses a control, then quickly circuits
the basement, locating the backup transmitters. Sensors from Warpshutte
101 had not revealed other Vosian transmission sites. Thanba had nothing
since she was retired and Pamanba...*May her soul rot in Eternity!* Noa
snarls...would have nothing since she's now a traitor. Was, Noa corrected
herself; the only one who could confess to her treason was, along with his
friends and possible successors, now ashes thanks to Lufy and one of
Aminobishoojo's flash-bombs.

With the transmitters now targetted for destruction, Noa slips out
of the basement, looking back to see the atomizers swiftly go to work. After
all, it just would not do to permit the Mikado to learn who was interested in
Ataru Moroboshi and his Other...

* * *

Alphonse places the last plate down as his own powers sense that
Noa is clear of the ice cream store, now moving to the rendezvous point.
Reaching into his bag, he pulls out five 50-gram coins and hands them to
Shapiro, who just stood there watching the sandpanther enjoy the snack.
Taking the menu up again, he points at a triple-scoop cone, making the
notion for "two." "R-right away..."

Shinobu has remained silent. Speaking out about this creature may
unleash loads of trouble for both Ataru and Lum. He was not Luna, the
sandpanther she had seen on Nagussa sometime before. And if he was
here...then who had come with him from Sagussa?

Two triple-scoop cones...chocolate, neopolitan and vanilla; Noa's
favourte flavours...are handed to him. Two 20-gram coins are set aside for
payment. Taking the cones in his feelers, Alphonse growls a thank you,
then walks out of the parlour.

Leaving behind a chorus of stunned looks. "Wh-what was that...?!"
Pamanba stammers...

* * *

"Hello, everyone!" Koosei calls out as he walks into Shapiro's
sometime later. He then stops to see everyone still frozen in place. "What's
going on?!" he looks confused.

"N-nothing, Ryooki-sensei," Shinobu hums.

Koosei takes a whiff of the air. "Then how come I smell burnt
circuits?"

"Burnt...circuits?!" Shapiro blinks, then screams as he scrambles
downstairs, Pamanba, Shinobu and Koosei right behind him.

Once in the basement, the three quickly see what Noa had done.
"My transmitters!!!" Shapiro screams. "Who did this?!"

"Wow!" Koosei gasps, seeing how thorough the vandal was in
cutting Shapiro off from the rest of the galaxy. "Someone's angry at you,
that's for damn sure!"

"Koosei-kun, could you help me?!" Shapiro pleads. "I could use a
new transmitter."

Koosei smiles. "Of course I'll be able to help you get a new
transmitter, Shapiro-san," he pats the Vosian's shoulder. "AFTER the
Mikado is ashes in his family grave."

Shapiro faints!

* * *

"*Tcha*, the last week!!" Lum sighs to herself as she heads home.
"Mie-chan's going back to Kyushu, everyone's still acting like jerks,
Shinobu's getting over what Pamanba pulled and it's almost time for Oyuki
and Benten to pull their 'treat Lum to dinner' routine with the Prince, Prim,
Chara and Lan!"

"Hey, Lum-chan, what's wrong?!" Ten-chan's voice echoes from
behind her as he drives up on his hover scooter.

"Nothing much, Ten-chan," she smiles. "How was school?"

"Ah, everyone's getting ready for the winter break," Ten-chan
yawns. "Minami-chan's going off with her family down to Kyoto. Not to
mention your going to Oshika."

In other words, Ten-chan will be bored. "Well, if you want, come
up with me to Oshika so you can see Reiko-chan," she proposes.

"Ya know Reiko-chan doesn't like me."

"Yes, I know, but you have to understand when Darling and I
marry, Reiko-chan becomes my daughter as well as his, which will make her
your cousin. Besides, I think if she's given the chance, she'll warm up. And
if she doesn't, there's always Nokoko-chan, Mal-chan and their friends to
play around with."

"True," Ten-chan muses. "Now, is Ataru gonna let me come up?"

"As long as you don't burn the place down along the way."

"I won't, I won't!" her cousin moans, exasperated by Lum's
demands to behave himself when around her boyfriend.

Lum ignores his snide tone. Despite the maturing of her
relationship with Ataru, Ten-chan still found him annoying. Then again, so
did almost everyone in Tomobiki. They were used to blaming their
problems on him. Lum felt relieved that she would put finally this place
behind her, as Ataru did at the end of the Spirit War. Now, if they would
only STAY in Tomobiki! Then it would be perfect.

"Hey, Lum-chan, I heard something from my mom," Ten-chan
hums.

"What is it, Ten-chan?" she hums.

"Mom told me Sil wants to see you again."

Lum nearly doubles over. "What?!! Sil wants to see *me?!!*"

Ten-chan nods. A stunned look crosses his cousin's face. "Why
would she want to do that?! She never wanted to speak to me again,
especially after I came to live with Darling!"

"What are ya going to do?!"

"I don't know," Lum sighs, bewildered by his bombshell. She and
Sil were childhood playmates, friends until Lum began to interact with
aliens, especially Benten and Oyuki. Sil, as proud of her race as any
Imperial traditionalist, thought it far below her to interact with them, even if
one was a clan chief's daughter, the other a princess. Their friendship
strained, finally snapping when Lum came to Earth. "Just say 'hi,' I guess."

"What if she tries to come here to drag you away from Ataru?"

"If she even thinks about it, I'll let her have a taste of the Cyborg,"
Lum growls. "That'll teach her."

The Onis pass a optical shop. Suddenly, a woman's voice calls out,
performing a decent Bogart immitation, "Hey, shweetheart, where's a cute
dame like you heading?"

Lum looks incensed, believing it to be some heckler. "Look, you,"
she turns to face her, "...why don't you...NOA?!?!?!"

Noa snickers as she lowers a pair of sunglasses from her deep
indigo eyes, a sly smile crossing her face. "Do yourself a favour, love.
Ditch the kid and let's go someplace for some serious necking!"

At first, Lum believes the Sagussan to be just an astral image; their
bond had developed to the point where it was now possible for Noa to
project her image on Earth. However, the glasses had the sales tag on it and
there was a very real shadow at her feet. Further, the Sagussan is dressed in
a long-sleeve jean shirt, blue jeans, boondockers and a greycoat, much
different from her usual jumpsuit. Happy tears springing in her eyes, Lum
leaps over to fiercely embrace Noa, then boosts her into the air. "Oh, you're
here!!!" the Oni beams as she plants a loving kiss on Noa's lips.

"Hey, slow down here!" Noa gasps. "I don't mind taking a taste of
your divine lips, but let me pay for the glasses first!!"

Lum catches herself, then both laugh...

* * *

"Lyna's Soul, what was the cashier's problem?" Noa hums as she
and Lum proceed home, Ten-chan floating beside them. "I was prepared to
pay gold for the glasses."

"Noa, they're not used to you handing gold straight out," Lum looks
at the hundred-gram coin in her hand. A portrait of Ataru and Lum is etched
in the gold, the words SAGUSSA-UISEN'A in native characters along the
rim. The opposite side bore the Republic's phoenix and three stars national
insignia. "At least Resource Management is making the coinage, thank the
gods."

"Yeah, gold's no problem on Sagussa."

Neither, Lum knew, is silver, platinum and other metals considered
precious on Earth. Sagussa is a world rich with precious stones, especially
diamonds. Most of this was a result of the War of Clone Rights. "Even
after being bonded to you for three months, I can't imagine the mess back
home."

"It is a mess," Noa nods. "Five-century war, then fourteen
millennia of desolation. Sometimes, I wonder if a hundred thousand
*daishi'cha* may be enough to clean it up."

"Well, with you as *ashi'cha*, I've got hopes," Lum purrs as she
leans over to rub her cheek against her bond-mate's.

"Thanks," Noa meows as they kiss.

Ten-chan watches this from behind. So this is Noa, Lum's dream
girl. Sometimes, he heard his cousin call Noa's name when they were in
bed. He had never asked Lum about Noa, but by the look of things, they
seemed to be good friends. How they ever met, how they ever became
friends, remained a mystery.

Finally, the three arrive at the front door of the Moroboshi home.
Lum stops. "Do you want to visit Darling's parents? If they found out who
you are, they'll have a fit."

"I can defend myself," Noa snorts. "Besides, I want to see for
myself the genetic rejects Ataru had to call his parents."

"Fine, suit yourself," Lum rolls her eyes, then opens the door...to
see Ataru's parents cowering in the kitchen, looking fearfully into the living
room. "Mr. Moroboshi, Mrs. Moroboshi, what's wrong?!" the Oni hums on
stepping in.

"L-l-l-lum, th-th-there's a m-m-monster in th-th-the l-living r-
room!" Ataru's mother stammers, pointing into the room in question.

"'Monster?!'" Lum looks confused.

"Oh, she means Alphonse," Noa sighs.

"Alphonse?!! Noa, what possessed you to bring him here?!!"

"Do you think I'm going to leave him alone while I'm staying
here?!" Noa slips off her shoes, then walks into the living room.

Ten-chan floats in, wondering what all the commotion is about,
then turning into the living room, screams in shock on seeing a winged
cougar laying down atop the living room table! "WHAT'S THAT?!?!?!"

"That's Alphonse, Noa's sandpanther," Lum shrugs, reaching over
to pet him.

Alphonse purrs. Ten-chan blinks. "Gee, with a name like
'Alphonse,' I'd figure Noa-onee-chan would bring a labor."

"This isn't 'Patlabor,'" Noa sighs, then pats Alphonse's sleek head.
"What's the matter?" she snidely glares at Ataru's parents. "Too dumb for
your tastes?"

The sandpanther responds with a series of purrs, growls and
gutteral breaths, then on staring at Ataru's parents, pulls his lips back to
display the inch-long fangs which served him well hunting sandsloths on the
dunes of Tere'na. "Too...dumb?!" Kinshou stammers, staring fearfully at
Lum.

"Yeah," the Oni smiles. "Sometimes, sandpanthers eat people...the
more *dumb* the person, the better they like it!"

Ataru's parents tremble, still unused to the cold shoulders and
contemptful comments their houseguest heaped on them. Lum walks back
to Noa. "So, where's your stuff?"

"I left it upstairs when I first came down," Noa sighs.

"How long are you intending to stay?"

"As long as it takes," Noa winks.

Lum smiles, understanding the message unspoken between them.
*Until Darling and I are ready to go back with you.*

The two women proceed upstairs. Ten-chan sighs, then deciding
that he was not needed here, heads out to find Minami. Kinshou walks into
the living room, warily eyeing Alphonse. The sandpanther gazes at her for a
moment, then snorts and lays his head down, folding his furry wings against
his side.

Meanwhile, Lum and Noa relax in the former's room. The
Sagussan has brought a sleeping bag, change of clothes, plus a portable
communicator and some weapons; after all, this is a place which actually
calls itself a "tomobiki." Lum relaxes in her chair as Noa slips off the
greycoat, then hangs it up. A wry smile crosses the Oni's face. "How about
a little strip-show?" she muses.

Noa falls over. "Are we randy today!" she looks over her shoulder.
"Are you like this every time Ataru comes down from Oshika? Maybe I
should've come by earlier."

Both laugh. "Oh, Noa," Lum looks out the window to see night fall
over Tomobiki. "I don't think I could ever get sexual with you, even if we
all end up living together."

"May I remind you we've been *marei'cha* for just three months,"
Noa sits at Lum's feet, leaning her head against the Oni's knee. "After a few
decades, we'll see."

Lum strokes Noa's chestnut hair. "Can you wait that long?"

"For you, my dearest, I'll wait 'till Eternity if I have to," Noa sighs,
reaching up to grasp her bond-mate's hand.

Lum sighs as Noa drifts off, the travel-lag catching up to her.
Sagussans, with their eight-century lifespans, could outlive every known
local humanoid race save the Tritonians. Noa could literally wait for the
Oni to adopt the social norms the planners of the Grand Design wanted the
*daishi'cha* to promulgate. To Noa, who hailed from a society which did
not divide people by gender, her love for Lum was as legitimate, as equal, as
her love for Ataru. Further, marriage as it was practiced inside the Galactic
Barrier did not exist on Sagussa, freedom to choose (and reject if such
became necessary) one's *marei'cha* and *surei'cha* being steadfastly
guaranteed. To Lum, it was the concept of *pe'cha* taken to the fullest
possible extreme.

Lum wondered why the *daishi'cha* still accepted her gracefully,
willingly, as the Other, Ataru's permanent *surei'cha*. Perhaps because
even though both would be living on Sagussa, it would take a long time for
Ataru and Lum to adjust to Sagussan social norms. If that was so, Lum was
more than grateful. Without Noa's subtle influence, the Oni would have
probably lost Ataru once and for all in the wake of the Spirit War. For that,
for so many things, Lum happily accepted that she loved Noa as much as she
did Ataru.

Lum shifts her bond-mate to lay on the sleeping bag, then covers
her with a sheet. "Sleep well, my love," she kisses Noa's cheek. "I'll be
with you sometime soon."

"I can wait," Noa dreamily sighs...

* * *

A telephone wakes Noa sometime later.

Groaning, she stands up, then walks downstairs. Ataru's parents
are nowhere in sight, nor are Lum or Ten-chan. Alphonse sleeps in the
living room. Picking up the receiver, she hails, "Moroboshi residence."

"Who's this?" Mendou's voice echoes.

Noa sighs. "Lum's not here right now, *de'ne*, and she wouldn't
talk to you anyway even if she was. Stop calling here!" She slams the
telephone back into its cradle, then walks into the living room. "Where's
Lum?"

Alphonse looks up, then shrugs his furry shoulders, a snort
exploding from his nose...

* * *

Mendou stares at his telephone receiver. Who was that strange
woman at the other end of the line? The voice was unfamiliar, the accent
more so. And how did she know Lum? He immediately connects himself to
the chief of the Kuromegane. "Have observers placed around the
Moroboshi home," he orders after the other end acknowledges. "There is a
strange woman there and I want to find out who she is!"

* * *

"Here ya go!" Benten smiles as she passes Lum a plate of baked
Fukunokami waterfowl.

"Oh, Benten, no more!!" the Oni pats her stomach. "I can't take
another bite!"

The others around the cafeteria table aboard "Renegade" laugh.
Along with Benten and Nassur are Oyuki, Koosei, Chara, her boyfriend
Densha, Lan, the Prince of the Underworld and Prim. "Well, this might be
the final time we get the chance to treat Lum like this," the Zeiwanite
businesswoman chuckles.

"Just because Lum is finally marrying her boyfriend doesn't mean
we get to stop being friends, Chara," Densha objects.

"True, but given Ataru's concern about aliens interacting with his
world, you might be right," the Prince chuckles. "It is a wonder to me that
Ataru was able to accept you as a friend, much less a potential wife, Lum."

"Don't forget that Ataru has adopted a Noukiite child," Oyuki holds
up a finger.

"Even more so," Prim shakes her head. "Everyone knows about
the bad blood between Urusians and Noukiites."

"Well, Reiko-chan is willing to tolerate me," Lum sighs. "It's a
good sign. It's like my developing a relationship with Darling. I had to give
him the chance to tolerate me before we could call ourselves friends. That
really didn't happen until the Spirit War. I have to do the same thing with
Reiko-chan."

Those who were not involved with the events of the Spirit War
tremble, trying to conceive of the horrors Lum, Nassur, Benten, Oyuki,
Koosei and Lan faced that day. "Well, at least you'll be out of Tomobiki,"
Nassur muses. "I've never said it out front before, Lum-chan, but those
people were definitely not the type you should have befriended. They use
you so they can't face reality."

"I wish you did speak up much sooner," Lum sighs. "It might have
averted much of the heartache Darling and I went through."

"So, are we going to hear 'Here Comes The Bride' soon?" Benten
muses. "I don't want to be the only one to be married, you know."

The others chuckle. "Probably sometime after I move to Oshika,
we'll set a date," Lum smiles. "Don't worry, Benten. Darling and I'll make
sure your child won't be alone."

"The way you two go at it sometimes, if you DON'T have a child
before year's end, I'll eat my socks," Koosei snickers.

The door to the cafeteria opens and Hazel leans in. "Sensei, some
of Mendou's stupid bodyguards wants to see Lum-sensei!"

"Oh, what does Shutaro want?!" Lum snarls as she marches to the
boarding ramp. A trio of Kuromegane await her. "What do you want?!"

The guards respectfully bow. "Forgive us, Lum-san, for
interrupting, but the Young Master wished to report that a strange woman is
currently at your home," one announces.

Lum's eyes roll. Noa's presence would have become public
knowledge soon enough. "She's a guest, currently sleeping off some travel
lag; she's come a very far distance to see me. You tell that idiot that I will
take PERSONAL offense if she is molested or harmed in any way by him or
any of you! Got me?!"

"Perfectly, Lum-san," the guards bow.

As they leave, Nassur comes down to stand beside his former
apprentice. "You have a guest? Wouldn't it have been easier to ask her to
go to Oshika to stay with Ataru?"

"Well, Noa did come straight here to see me," Lum heads back into
the ship. "I'll take her up later to see Darling."

Nassur blinks as the Oni returns to the party. Noa. So, the mystery
girl of Lum's dreams was real. The Vosian could not deny his curiosity as to
who Noa was, where she came and how she could exert such influence over
Lum's life. Nassur bites his lip as he remembers an old Earth saying:
curiosity killed the cat. Better to let Lum introduce Noa to them. Lightly
smiling, he heads back into the "Renegade" to join the party...

* * *

The next morning, Noa and Lum awaken. To neither's surprise,
both are in the former's double-sized sleeping bag, in each other's embrace.
"Mmm...you're spoiling me, you know that," Noa places a kiss on Lum's
forehead.

"I must've had too much in the way of pickled plums and red beet
wine last night," the Oni pulls herself away from the Sagussan to allow Noa
to slip herself out of the bag.

"Where were you last night?" Noa inquires as she yanks out a
sleeveless short housecoat.

"With the others on 'Renegade' doing our usual thing," Lum smiles,
stretching. "Every year, Oyuki and Benten throw a party for me because
fourteen years ago, I was accidentally sucked through the Central Warp
Chamber to Earth. It's their way of apologizing to me for causing so much
trouble."

Noa laughs, then looks over her shoulder. "Do you remember
much about that incident?"

"I was only four, you know," Lum pulls herself out of the bag, then
slips a housecoat on. "It's a miracle Cinba found me. Knowing how
xenophobic Terrans can be, I could've been hurt. C'mon, let's hit the
showers."

"Right behind you," Noa nods as the two grab their toiletries and
head towards the bathroom. *I guess the saikoo jinseijitsu affected her
memories of that time as much as it affected Ataru's.*

Ataru's mother comes upstairs, a wary look on her face. Noa is
already in the bathroom when Kinshou tugs on Lum's housecoat. "What is
it?" the Oni looks curiously at her.

"Lum, just what sort of person is that?!" Kinshou hisses, pointing at
the bathroom door.

"She's a friend. Why?"

"What type of friend is she, anyway?" Ataru's mother leans up to
the Oni. "I saw you two in each other's arms last night...and you two
certainly seemed quite comfortable, almost as if you were lovers!"

Lum smiles. "But, Mrs. Moroboshi, we ARE lovers," she walks
into the bathroom.

Kinshou is so stunned by Lum's statement, a 100 tonne weight
crashes on her head, driving her through the floorboards to the main floor!
"Something wrong, honey?" her husband calls from the living room, reading
his newspaper and totally ignoring Alphonse, who is curiously watching the
procession of students proceeding to school.

Ataru's mother is not amused. "If that cow has something to do
with this, I'll kill her!" she snarls to herself.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Lum and Noa are trying not to fall
over laughing. "You told her we were lovers?!" the Sagussan blinks as the
Oni washes herself down. "Lyna's Soul, I might've had to call Catty down
here because she had a heart-attack!"

"Let her chew on that for a bit," Lum conspiratoraly winks at her
bond-mate...

* * *

Sometime later, Lum and Noa depart the house. The Sagussan is
now dressed in a wool knit sweater and jeans. Alphonse trails the two,
acting as if being with his pet and her friend is the most natural thing in the
world. Sure enough, the sight of the alien feline causes a near-panic in the
streets as people give the two women a respectfully wide berth. Lum
wonders if she should complain, but keeps her lips closed. The bond
between Noa and the sandpanther was nearly as precious to the Sagussan as
the bond between them. "Hope you don't mind Alphonse tagging along for
the ride," Noa stares at her bond-mate. "They can be babies on occasion if
they're left alone."

"Just keep him tied down," Lum chuckles. "Much that I wouldn't
mind him clawing aside a few people here, there are rules governing this
place, just like Sagussa and Uru."

"True, true," Noa nods.

Both blink as Alphonse's neck-mounted grippers reach over to take
their hands and bring them together. "Alphonse!" Lum gasps, but cannot
overwhelm his strength...nor her own desire to hold Noa's hand.

Alphonse gives her a look which states, "If you two are supposed
to be bond-mates, at least act like it!"

"Don't mind him," Noa grins. "It's just another game we can play
with these *mei'ne.*"

"True, true," Lum snickers.

The Sagussan then tenses as she senses someone approach. In the
wink of an eye, she turns and delivers a punch into Cherry! "WHY ARE
YOU FOLLOWING US, YOU NOSY BUSY-BODY?!?!"

The Buddhist monk faints! "How did...she sense...me there?"

"Cherry, what do you want?!" Lum growls.

"Lum, you cannot permit this woman to remain here!!" Cherry
points at Noa. "Do you realize what she is?! Do you realize what her
presence here will do to Tomobiki if she is allowed to work her evil ways on
Ataru?!!"

"Is this *de'ne* for real?" Noa hums.

"Unfortunately," Lum's eyes roll, then she slips her arm around the
Sagussan's. "For your information, Cherry, I fully intend to see to it that
Darling DOES embrace the phoenix, as you once put it. After all, it's his
DESTINY to destroy Tomobiki."

"Or, you might say..." Noa claps her hands, "...it's fate."

Both women laugh as they proceed to school. Alphonse comes up
to sniff at Cherry, then snorts, obviously not pleased. Turning around, the
sandpanther runs off. Cherry watches them depart, then sighs. "Yes, it is
fate," he claps his hands in prayer.

* * *

"My, for a backward world, this is such a pretty place," Sil muses
after she beamed down from her ship. She hid herself on the other side of
the planet when "Renegade" arrived. She knew what that was about;
yesterday was the anniversary of Lum's accidental first trip to Earth,
something her non-Urusian friends had always regretted. If that had
happened to her, she would have killed the perpetrator. Of course, she
would never think of setting foot on Triton in the first place. If they did not
accept the ways the Seifukusu Dominion had taught the Urusian people
during their occupation, then something was seriously wrong with their
world-view.

Looking around Tomobiki town park, she proceeds to a street to
make her way to the school Lum attended. She would be graduating soon,
then, according to rumour...Ten-chan's mother, via Ten-chan
himself...would move to the town of Oshika, where Ataru had built a new
home where they would live, not to mention raise a Noukiite slave girl
Lum's Darling took pity on. Sil still found the very concept of dealing with
the Noukiites stomach-turning. Did they not understand the great good the
Urusians did for them during their century-long occupation prior to the
Revolution?

Walking onto the street, the raven-haired Oni follows several
students dressed in the dark navy blue uniforms high school students were
forced to wear when attending their educational institutions. She draws
wolf-calls and whistles from some boys across the way. Sil blushes, then
stares at her clothes. She wore her usual sleeveless tiger-striped bodysuit,
closely resembling an exercise leotard without a T-shirt or leggings. Was it
too revealing, she wondered.

Ten-chan's voice calls out. "Sil-chan!!"

"Hi, Ten-chan!" Sil turns to see the young Oni drive up.

Lowering his hoverscooter to the ground, Ten-chan floats up to
Sil's eye level. "What are you doing here?! I thought you'd never come to
Earth, even to visit Lum-chan!!"

"Well, I came here on personal business," Sil explains. She liked
Ten-chan, although he could never keep secrets. Her mother had been an
friend of Sil's parents, despite Ten-chan's family being Unionists. "Where's
Lum-chan? Am I heading the right way to her school?!"

"Yeah, it's down that way three blocks," Ten-chan points. "But
Lum-chan's doing exams and Koosei-onii-chan won't like it if you come by
to visit her at that time. I'll tell her you're here, but another friend's visiting."

"Oh?! Who?!"

"It's just Noa-chan!" Ten-chan smiles, then hops back on his
scooter. "Anyhow, I've got to get to school! See ya!!"

"'Bye!" Sil waves as Ten-chan drives off. Curiosity crosses her
face. "Who's Noa?!"

A car's engine then thunders behind her, echoed by a blaring horn.
Sil spins around to see Mendou's command car bearing down, the driver
desperately trying to regain control. "*Tcha!!!*" Sil yelps in shock as she
leaps into the air, avoiding being run over!

The car finally screeches to a halt as it slams into a telephone pole.
Sil flies over to see the driver shaking his head, then looks back. "Young
Master, are you hurt?!"

"I'm...fine!" Mendou groans as he shakes the cobwebs out. "Did
we hit that girl...?!"

"I'm alright," Sil lands. "You should be more careful!!" she growls
at the driver, fangs splayed. "You're lucky I could fly or else you would've
been in real trouble!!"

"I'm sorry, miss," the driver bows.

Mendou blinks. The voice had Lum's accent, but it was a underlied
by an imposing tenor. Looking up, he blinks on seeing Sil, awed by beauty
which to him, even surpasses Lum's! In an instant, he has stepped out,
grasping her hand. "I truly apologize for this disgraceful incident," he
respectfully bows to her. "I trust this does not in any way degrade your
opinion of my people. I assume you are a friend of Lum-san's."

Sil blinks. *What a gentleman!* she gasps to herself, equally
enthralled by his looks. Of course, this fellow did resemble that boor
Oogi...which meant that he's Shutaro Mendou, the "fifth holy apostle" to
Lum as Oogi saw the people who lived here. "Please, do not apologize,"
she curtseys. "I should have not stood in the middle of the street."

"It is alright," Mendou nods, drinking in the blue eyes reflecting a
mix of innocence, knowledge and passion. Who was Lum?! "The incident
is forgotten as far as I'm concerned. Forgive me; I did not introduce myself.
I am Shutaro Mendou, heir to the Mendou Clan and Conglomerate, a
classmate of Lum's."

"As you wish," Sil nods, finding her pulse increasing as she drinks
in his charm. "I am Sil, liege-lady of the Imperial House of Dedron, such as
it now stands two centuries after the Unionists finished gutting it. May I
learn at which time Lum-chan shall be free from her studies so I may meet
her?"

"At the end of the day, the fifth hour after noon," Mendou explains.
"Do you have a ship by which you can stay until then?"

"Yes. I shall come at the fifth hour."

"I shall tell Lum you are here, Sil-san," Mendou returns to his
vehicle. "To school!"

"Hai!!" the driver nods.

Sil watches him go. Shutaro Mendou. She would have to learn
more. Despite his charm, which would not be out of place in the Empire, he
seemed to be hiding something. With that, she ascends to the sky and her
waiting ship.

As he heads to school, Mendou's thoughts storm. Sil Dedron. He
would have to ask Lum and Lan about her after exams. She could have
come straight from the Tokugawa period, the way she acted. Still,
something was odd about her. She was hiding something.

And with that, he heads to school...

* * *

Class convenes at Tomobiki High School. With exams all but
over, everyone is looking forward to graduation. For some, it will be the
final day they have to set foot in this building outside class reunions. For
others, cram school looms. Mie's desk is empty; with her exams done, the
Kyushu native had returned to Yame to visit friends. Lan had just told
everyone else about the party and its purpose. "You mean Lum actually
came to Earth when she was just four?!" Shinobu blinks.

"Uh-huh," the Seishin girl nods. "It was all such a fuss. If it wasn't
for Cinba, who knows what would've happened."

"Where did she come to?" Mendou muses.

"Somewhere in Japan, but I don't know where," Lan shakes her
head. "You'll have to ask Oyuki. But, I do remember Lum-chan once
telling me that she met this nice boy and girl who played with her and
became her friends. I wonder what ever became of them."

Elsewhere, Ataru and Nokoko sneeze! "There's Lum right now,"
Kakugari comments, then his jaw hits the floor. "Gods!!!"

Everyone sees what got his attention. "Who's the babe with her?!!"
Megane stammers.

"What a babe!!" Chibi whistles.

"Hey, what's that thing beside her?!" Paama fearfully points. "You
ever see a big cat like that before?!!"

"Not on Uru, even though she's Seishin," Lan muses. "I've never
seen her before."

Shinobu blinks. "What's SHE doing here?"

"You know her, Shinobu?!" Mendou blinks.

"I've seen her," Shinobu trembles, not sure as to what to reveal.
"She's a recent acquaintance of Lum's and Ataru-kun's. And the big cat's
called a sandpanther."

Ryuunosuke, Momoe, Kumiko and Natsuko, who also witnessed
Lum's meeting Noa after the Spirit War, remain silent, understanding what
their classmate is feeling. Everyone looks at Noa. The Sagussan's eyes fall
on them. Hormones go into overdrive as everyone, guys and girls alike, let
out awed gasps. Noa lightly smiles at them. "Now, I HAVE seen
Heaven!!!" Megane exclaims for them all.

The others readily nod as they watch Lum and Noa step into the
school. Alphonse, on the other hand, takes the more direct route; spreading
his eight-metre wings, he soars to the windows of room 337, retracting them
before they smash through the walls. The students back away as the
sandpanther leaps over to relax on the teacher's desk. Everyone gathers
around Alphonse, staring trepidly at him. "Have you ever seen anything like
that before?!" Momoe whispers to Lan.

The Seishin girl rapidly shakes her head. "I have," Shinobu
whispers, remembering Luna.

The door slides open and Koosei walks in, a stack of papers in
hand. "Ah, we're almost all here...oh, hello," he gently waves to Alphonse,
acting as if a sandpanther sitting on his desk was the most normal thing of
all.

Alphonse growls in return. Koosei walks ahead, then stops,
blinking as realization dawns on him. Spinning around, he faces the
sandpanther. "What are you doing here?!!"

Alphonse begins a series of purrs, growls and snorts as he explains
what brought him to Earth. "Wait, wait, slow down, you're losing me here,"
Koosei waves him down.

"Sensei, you can understand that?!!" Shinobu points to Alphonse.

"Somewhat," he sighs. "Sandpanther-talk is almost as complicated
as Sagussan itself."

"How did you know where he comes from?!!"

Koosei catches himself, then realizes something else. "I'd ask you
the same thing!! And what IS he doing here?!!"

The door slides open. "I can explain," Lum hails. "Alphonse, get
off the table!"

Emitting a sulky growl, Alphonse lays down. Pets could be so
demanding. Everyone turns to see Lum step in, followed by Noa. Koosei
blinks; he knew of THIS woman. Now seeing the Sagussan close-up, every
guy and some of the girls unashamedly gaze lustfully at her. Shinobu,
Ryuunosuke, Momoe, Kumiko and Natsuko have worried looks. Lan seems
confused; if this is Lum's friend, why did she not know her? "L-lum-san,
wh-who is y-your f-friend?!" Mendou hesitantly ventures.

Lum waves to Noa. "This is Noa. She's an old friend of Darling's
and mine. This is actually her third visit to Earth. Noa, I assume you know
everyone here."

"To my disgust," Noa sighs, then smiles at Koosei. "Save him, of
course."

The teacher walks up, grasping Noa's hand to place a kiss on her
knuckles. "Honoured Lady, a dark room would be as bright as a sun were
you to enter it," he quietly intones.

"That goes double for us!" Megane nods.

"Oh, Lyna, you act as if I'm a god!!" Noa sighs. "Thrust a blade
through my heart and I can die just as easily!"

"True, true," Koosei squeezes her hand. "So, if you're here, then
may I assume the Grand Design is going to Stage Two?"

"Not yet," Noa smiles. "But very soon."

"Koosei, how did you...oh, of course!" Lum catches herself.
"Henry saved you from the Mikado! I forgot all about that!"

"May I ask how you found out about Noa?" Koosei hums. "Their
existence is a closely guarded secret. The only ones who know the whole
story are Dakejinzou and Koruneko-san."

"We decided that before we'd ask Ataru to go to our world, we'd
have to get Lum used to who and what we are," Noa supplies. "Hence, one
of us had to become her *marei'cha.* I volunteered myself for the task...and
I haven't regretted it since."

"Flatterer," Lum blushes.

"*Marei'cha,* eh?!" Koosei chuckles. "Well, that begins to explain
quite a bit. A wise decision on your part."

"Thank you," Noa nods.

Koosei turns to the others. "Shinobu, why don't you go to the
'Renegade' and ask Nassur and Benten to come here. I think Oyuki-chan's
there. Ryuunosuke, run down to my office. In my desk is my address book.
Ataru's number is there. Ask him to come here. Tell him that he won't
regret it."

"No problem," the tomboy chuckles as she and Shinobu run out.

Lum blinks. "Koosei, why would Nassur-chan be interested in
meeting Noa-chan? I know I've mentioned her to him, but I was prepared to
introduce her to him later."

"You'll see in a moment, Lum."

Shinobu soon returns with Nassur, Benten and Oyuki. "Now, what
the heck is Koosei so hyped about now?!" the Fukunokami growls.

Shinobu shrugs. "She's here."

Nassur, Benten and Oyuki then stare at Noa. The Sagussan wryly
smiles at the Vosian. "Hello, Nassur. It's been quite a while. Like the
beard. It's a nice touch."

"I..." Nassur gasps, his voice faltering. He shudders as the memory
of her visiting him before Cinba's funeral echoes in his mind. "It...has,
indeed. I assume you're Noa."

Benten stares at him. "You KNOW her?!!"

Nassur quickly explains the events of his meeting the Sagussan.
Everyone blinks as they stare at the Vosian, then look at Noa. "Wait a
sec...if you met Nassur seven years ago, how come you don't look older than
twenty now?!" Megane demands. "We can tell you're Urusian; it's as
obvious as your ears and teeth."

"I've been in...cryofreeze most of this time," Noa shrugs. "While I
was born Seishin-Urusian, I was...adopted by the planet I live on. There, I
underwent considerable genetic modifications, one process extending my
lifespan to twelve times that of Terrans."

The students nod, quietly accepting that. Nassur's brow lightly
furrows as he realizes that Noa spoke with hesitation. There was still things
she wasn't revealing; the biggest point being that Noa did not state her
planet. However, if this is the same woman who had worked to keep Lum
together with Ataru, that entitled her, in the Vosian's opinion, to hold her
tongue. "Well, you are here now so I must say welcome to Earth," Koosei
smiles.

"Thank you," Noa lightly nods, relieved Koosei is still willing to
run interception for them despite her presence now threatening to reveal
everything about what she wanted to do with Ataru. She still wondered how
would everyone take Ataru's role as *daimon'cha* and *daite'cha,* even
now that the major potential troublemakers were effectively restrained.

Ryuunosuke steps in. "I called him," she announces. "He's visiting
Reigi-san. He should be here in a few minutes."

"There he is," Momoe points outside.

Everyone sees Ataru approach. A touch of wonderment is on his
face; obviously curious as to why Koosei asked him to come here. Seeing
him, Noa feels her pulse accellerate. She had seen his image time and time
again when she and Lum were in the Dreamscape...yet, there he was, in
person, fourteen years after they first met. Would he remember...or had the
*saikoo jinseijitsu* denied him that, too? She feels Lum gently grasp her
hand. Noa nods, grateful for the Oni's support.

The door slides open, allowing Ataru to step inside. "Yo, Koosei,
what's going on here...eh?!" he blinks on seeing Alphonse on the teacher's
desk. Walking up to the great alien cat, he reaches over to scratch the top of
his head, eliciting a delighted purr. "Hey, fella, what're you doing here?"

"Darling," Lum gently intones.

Ataru turns to stare at the Oni, who steps aside to give him a clear
view of the woman who had changed their lives so long ago. His jaw drops
in shock, instantly realizing who this woman is. At the same time, memories
buried deep in his subconscious, both by the *saikoo jinseijitsu* and time,
resurface as he realizes when he met her before.

They stare at each other, the memories of a meeting in Sendai and
another in Tomobiki, which led to Ataru's two-month trip to Sagussa and the
altering of his life, washing over them. Noa's are complete, fresh as
morning snow; thanks to cryofreeze, they seem to have only happened
several months ago. Ataru's are fragmented as the ninjitsu database within,
realizing the storm about to follow in the Sagussan's wake, tries to wrest
some control back from the other parts of its host's brain. Ataru's former
classmates and Lum's friends watch, confused and curious as to what bond
exists between this woman and Ataru. Koosei smiles, relieved that the end
of a lonely road he walked alone for so long was in sight. Lum sighs, glad
the wounds which had cut through her Darling's soul would soon be healed,
Ataru made whole for the first time in so long.

Ataru moves up to lightly brush Noa's face. "We met...long ago,
didn't we?"

"Yes," Noa nods.

"You took me somewhere," he continues. "You took me to a place
where there were others like you, people wanting to understand what it
meant...to be human."

"That's right," she tearfully nods.

The Terran looks down. "I'm glad for that. For it seems that
shortly after I left you, I lost a lot of my humanity."

"We know," Noa hoarsely nods.

Ataru looks at her again, then glances at Lum. "But...it also
seems...that you helped me regain my humanity."

"After what you did for us, how could we do nothing less?" Noa
smiles.

Ataru sighs. Usagi and Ami were immature in his mind...but if Noa
was an indication as to how Sagussans could develop, there was a hope for
these people. His people, now. A weight lifts off his shoulder. "Then,
whatever you want me for...you have me."

Noa cries out in relief as she slumps into Ataru's arms, tightly
embracing him. Lum beams, clasping her hands with delight. Even
Shinobu feels delighted, as if after so long, all was right with the world. The
other students blink, still unsure as to what transpired. Lum's friends smile,
realizing the secret of Noa's existence was no threat, just the completion of a
long and torturous journey for both the Oni and her Darling.

Ataru laughs as he picks up Noa, then swamps her with a kiss.
"MOROBOSHI, YOU BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU...?!?!?!" the guys in
the class scream with rage...

...then find themselves outshouted by Alphonse's roar! The guys
retreat to the back of the room, putting as much distance between
themselves and the sandpanther as possible. "N-nice k-kitty, n-nice k-
kitty!!" Megane stammers, waving Alphonse back.

Alphonse snorts, then rests his head on his forepaws. If this was
the way natives behaved around his pets, then he would have to get them
back to Tere'na as soon as possible!

* * *

"Lum-san, aren't you the least bit upset?!!" Megane demands.

The Oni emits an exhasperated sigh. It is lunchtime. She is being
followed by her usual "entourage." "What is your problem, Aisuru?!" Lum
snaps. "Can't you just simply appreciate that Darling and Noa-chan are
seeing each other for the first time in twelve years?! Where's your sense of
compassion?!"

"My sense of compassion is quite intact," Megane retorts.
"However, my indignation is more than affected! How could you permit
Ataru to be so passionate with your friend?!"

"That's none of your business!" the Oni snarls, her fangs out as
lightning dances over her body. "And if you idiots keep bothering me, I'll
sic Tanoshii and the others on you!!"

The guards falter, realizing that now with girlfriends, they can't
continue to watch over their classmate. The students enter the cafeteria.
Ataru and Noa are surrounded by a group of students. "Darling, Noa-
chan!!" Lum waves as she flies over to join them.

"Oh, hi, Lum!" Ataru waves back.

Lum gives Ataru a kiss, then looks at Noa. "So, what do you
think?"

"Most of them seem okay," the Sagussan muses, quite surprised
that she would discover decent people living in a place calling itself a
"tomobiki." "Perhaps we were a little too cautious when we learned where
Ataru was living, much less yourself."

"What's wrong with Tomobiki?" Momoe hums.

"In the present dialect of my language, Tomobiki means 'place of
fools and madmen,'" Noa explains. "In the creation myth of the Fourth
Republic, the place of supreme evil, the castle of the *keiseiri'cha*, the
Master of Entropy, is called 'Tomobiki.'"

Everyone blinks. "I guess we'll always have that hanging over us
when we deal with your people," Ryuunosuke chuckles.

"Don't be surprised about what names could mean, Ryuunosuke,"
Lum sighs. "On Uru, 'ataru' means 'sex-crazed idiot.' 'Tomobiki' in my
language means 'paradise.'"

"Well, we hope that we won't have to deal with you more than
necessary," Noa smiles, sipping her juice. "Our business is with Ataru and
Lum, not the rest of you."

"What business IS that?" Natsuko asks.

"That must remain confidential," the Sagussan looks indifferent.
"Not because we don't want you to know about it, but because many of you
cannot, for whatever reasons, bring yourselves to understand it."

The others look at each other, realizing Noa is not going to
compromise. Suddenly, Cherry appears in front of them! "Ataru!!! You
must not embrace the power of the phoenix lest Doom comes to
Tomobiki!!!"

An explosion occurs, followed by everyone slugging the Buddhist
monk into orbit!! "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PEST!!!!!!"

"Damn you...!!!" Cherry wails.

"Oh, shit, now with Noa here, he's going to start on that old record
again!!" Shinobu shakes her head. "Why couldn't we try to get rid of him
for a change?!!"

"Good luck on that!!" Ryuunosuke snorts.

* * *

Lum is given a couple of days off so she can visit Noa. They and
Ataru proceed off school property, Alphonse following them. "What say we
get Noa's stuff and move it up to Oshika?" Ataru proposes. "No use having
her and Alphonse stay any longer with the two twits you're still forced to
live with."

"True," Lum sighs, then remembers something. "Oh, by the way,
did you make some arrangements about changing my visa?"

"I did," Ataru's eyes roll. "The Interior Ministry was willing to
change your place of residency since you're going to be out of school in a
week. They're a little tired of trying to explain to the Diet about all the
times this place gets wrecked whenever something weird happens. Komeru-
oji-chan was able to persuade them that if you were moved to a new
location, the problems would end. Lan's unable to move anywhere else and
I think Jariten wants to stay here. Besides, when we marry, you're
technically an Earth citizen."

"Grandma'll fight you," Lum warns. "She would rather see me
dead than your wife."

"If I could disown my parents, I could do the same to her," he
snorts. "'Sides, when I turn eighteen in April, her guardianship ends and I'm
on my own. And now with Noa here, there's another option we could
explore."

"Moving to Sagussa," Lum muses. "Maybe sometime in the future.
Given how immature the *daishi'cha* are, I think other than your visit, you'd
better hold off for a while."

"True, true," Ataru looks at Noa. "What do you think, Noa-chan?"

The Sagussan shakes her head. "It's sad you have to play your
*eishi'cha* off against your *monmoei'cha* just so you can be with Lum.
I'm glad marriage doesn't exist on Sagussa. The heartaches you've had to go
through to get to this point were a waste."

"Try persuading these dummies of that," Ataru nods to Tomobiki
High. "I got the nerd squad nice girls to marry, and they still keep chasing
after Lum, not to mention get on my case whenever I do something 'wrong.'"

Noa breathes out. "Makes me wish we came by much sooner. If
we could've curtailed them long ago, the troubles you two experienced
might not have had to happen."

"There was good that came out of it," Ataru notes. "Both Lum and
I realized what it takes to form a successful relationship, one that can work
given our differences. I just hope you and Lum can do the same thing."

"We'll give it a try," Lum smiles. "Then again, are they really
compatible?"

"I think so," Noa hums. "*Surei'cha* are considered honourary
*marei'cha.*"

Lum hums, then nods. The three arrive at the Moroboshi home,
then walk in. Looking into the living room, they see Ataru's mother staring
in disbelief at a photo album. "Hey!!!" Noa's eyes angrily flash. "Who gave
you the right to go through my things?!!"

Kinshou looks up, anger flashing in her eyes. "Kindly explain
this!!" she points to the album. "What are you doing with pictures of Ataru
when he was just a boy?!!"

"That was when we brought him to Sagussa twelve years ago!"

Kinshou blinks. "You did WHAT?!?! You mean, that was YOU
who took him away for two months?!! Who gave you the right to...?!!"

Ataru bashes his mother aside as he anxiously looks at the photo
album! "You mean these are pictures from when I went to Sagussa?!" he
gasps. "Let me see!!!"

"Just a minute...!" his mother moans.

Lum sits beside Ataru to scan the pictures. They depict scenes of
the five-year old Ataru standing alongside Noa and many other *daishi'cha*.
Lum recognizes several from her many Dreamscape trips. "Most of these
are in the Chamber of Eternity?" she points to a picture of Ataru, Noa and
her sister Honey in a large bedroom.

"Yes," the Sagussan nods. "That's the bedroom the engineers built
for Ataru. It's still there. Some of the Duty *Daishi'cha* have refurbished it
so that it could house both of you and Reiko."

Ataru picks through the album. At each photo, he gazes at the
women who emotionally bound themselves to him for reasons he still didn't
fully comprehend. Save for Noa, Mie, Usagi and Ami, none are really
recognizable. "Looking at this makes me think that this is the story of
someone else, not me."

"This IS you, Ataru," Noa places a hand on his. "This is the REAL
you. Not the sex-crazed lunatic created when the *saikoo jinseijitsu* was
fired into your mind."

Ataru looks at the pictures. "I suppose you're right," he shudders.
"But, still, even after the Spirit War, it's still hard to believe I was ever truly
any different."

"Oh, you were," Noa nods. "I mean, the basic you has remained
the same: the person who loved life, loved being with people, females,
especially...the person who could never conceive of hurting a soul. The
*saikoo jinseijitsu* and the idiots who live in this place tried to mould you
into something you weren't, especially after Lum came to Earth. Why do
you rebel every time they ganged up on you? Why did you never find it
comfortable to form a relationship with Lum in this town? Why do you
think, when your trip to Icarus gave you the emotional impetus, you lashed
out so viciously at everyone, then decided that you no longer wanted to live
here? Simply put, Ataru, being in Tomobiki is as alien to you as...as
breathing air is alien to a fish!"

"Now, just a moment here!!!" Kinshou rams her fist into the table.
"Who gives you people the right to judge us like that?!!"

Noa icily glares at Ataru's mother. "I don't have to judge you.
*You* judged yourself when you decided that because Ataru wasn't Kaeru,
you didn't have to shoulder the responsibility of raising him. If any of the
*daishi'cha* behaved like you did towards their children, they'd be mind-
wiped on the spot! I'm surprised Ataru never arranged with the
Kuromoroboshi or the Zephyrite Inquisition to have you executed for your
crimes!"

"What crimes?!" Kinshou snaps. "It's not my fault that he turned
out to be such an idiot! That was his problem, not mine!"

"The Defense rests," Noa shrugs.

"I condemned her when I learned how much she abused Darling
and Nokoko-chan because of Kaeru-chan," Lum stands. "C'mon, Darling.
I've no interest of allowing either you or Noa-chan to listen to this *mei'ne's*
tirades anymore! I'll take you both to Oshika."

"Thank you," Ataru walks upstairs to help Noa move her gear onto
Lum's scout.

Kinshou trembles, then emits a snort. "If he wants to stay near that
cow, that's no problem with me!" she hisses...

* * *

About an hour later, Lum's scout lands beside Ataru's home. They
disembark to see "Renegade" has proceeded them. "What're Nassur and
Benten doing here?" Ataru wonders.

"Guess we'll find out," Lum walks into the living room. "Oh, there
you are!"

"Yo, Lum," Benten waves.

"What brings you here?!" Ataru notices that not only has Nassur
and Benten come, but so has Oyuki.

"You can't deny our curiousity of who and what Noa is, Ataru," the
Tritonian princess sighs. "After all, Koosei-kun still insists on maintaining
his secrecy over the matter."

"You're not the only one," Ataru wryly smiles. "I'm just as
curious...and I'M the one who has to go to this place!"

"True," Nassur chuckles.

Nokoko enters, followed by Mal. "Hey, wage-slaves, what brings
you around here?" Ataru's sister inquires, then stops on seeing the Sagussan.
"What the...?!"

"Hello, Nokoko," Noa smiles.

Nokoko blinks, then hearts appear in her eyes. "KAWAII!!!!" she
leaps at Noa. "Oh, baby, where've you been all my life...?!!"

Sledgehammers from Mal and Lum stop her! "Beloved, why do
you always chase these silly air-breathers?!!" the former snaps. "Why do
you always find me so inadequate?!!"

"Jeez, it's a joke, for heaven's sake..." Nokoko moans.

Noa lightly touches Mal's abdomen. "My, it's already happened,
hasn't it?" the Sagussan muses. "Won't need to guess which sex this one's
going to be, eh?"

"Naturally," the Nendo-kata blushes.

Nassur blinks surprisedly. "You can tell she's pregnant?"

"Easily," Noa draws her hand away from Mal. "My people are
touch-telepaths, not to mention empathic. It doesn't even take my touching
Mal to realize that she's expecting. Her emotions are quite an open book to
me."

"I've never heard of any race capable of doing a tithe of the things
Lum's ascribed to you. Surely, you can at least tell us what name you people
use for yourselves."

"Fair enough," Noa hums. "My homeworld is called Sagussa. It
used to be the third of a seven-planet binary system located in what you call
the Fourth Stellar Cluster."

Nassur, Benten and Oyuki blink. "But that's OUTSIDE the
Galactic Barrier!!!" the Fukunokami cries.

"Five thousand parsecs," Lum augments.

"Still, how is it possible for you to live there?!" Oyuki inquires.
"No race inside the galaxy has yet mustered the speed necessary to penetrate
into the Barrier."

Noa nods. "The technology Sagussa possesses is even light years
ahead of the Zephyrites. Our ships find the Galactic Barrier no problem
whatsoever."

"I see," Oyuki thoughtfully nods.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, we want to get Noa settled in before we
allow you to pester her with more questions," Ataru cuts in, realizing that
Nassur, Benten and Oyuki were trying to garnish more answers from the
Sagussan. Understandable; they were acting out of concern for Lum, still
not accepting as sacrosanct fact that Noa didn't mean the Oni any harm.
"I'm sure you can all come later," he adds, implying "much later" in his
stare.

"No problem," Nassur stands. "We might as well head back. Nice
seeing you, Noa."

"You, too, Nassur," Noa waves as the two hunters and the princess
depart. As soon as they are gone, she gazes at Ataru. "Don't you think you
were being a bit harsh on them?"

"Hey, let me find out about you first!" he snorts. "Much that I'm
willing to give them more leeway than those jerks in Tomobiki, I won't
permit them to start dictating matters to me out of a sense of obligation to
Lum."

"Believe me, Darling, I wouldn't allow that," Lum adds. "Let's get
Noa settled in."

* * *

"Where is Lum?!!" Sil demands as she stands in the living room of
the Moroboshi home. "I have to see her!! It's urgent!"

Unfortunately, Ataru's mother is busy growling about wishing that
Ataru had never been born, heaping lethal curses on Noa, Nagaiwakai and
anyone else who presently displeases her. Ataru's father is reading his
paper, totally ignorant of the raven-haired Oni's presence. At that moment,
Ten-chan floats in. "Oh, hi, Sil-chan!!" the young Oni beams. "Lum-chan's
not here!"

"I can see that, Ten! Where is she?!"

"She's up in Oshika with Ataru and Noa-chan," Ten-chan shrugs.
"Koosei-onii-chan let her go early so she can stay in Oshika."

"Oh, damn him!!" Sil growls. That Lupica assigned someone like
Koosei, a person whose hatred of the Imperialists on Uru was as vile as his
hatred of the Mikado and Schwartz, to watch over Earth was such a pain! "I
better go there to see her, then!"

"I'd really advise you not to," Ten-chan warns. "Lum-chan and
Noa-chan are really close. She won't like it if you just blow your way into
up there, not to mention what Ataru might do to you."

"So I hear," Sil muses.

A cough is heard. Sil turns to see a Kuromegane there, a roll of
parchment in hand. "What do you want?!" Ten-chan wonders.

"Sil-sama, a message from the Young Master," the bodyguard
hands Sil the parchment, then departs.

"'Young Master?!'" Sil looks confused.

"Oh, that's Lum-chan's classmate Mendou," Ten-chan explains.
"That was one of his bodyguards, a Kuromegane. They always show up
whenever he needs something to get done."

Sil finds herself flushing as she snaps the seal and opens the
parchment, then reads:

"Sil-san,
"My deepest apologies to you for not being able to inform Lum-san
of your arrival. Ryooki-sensei dismissed her at noon so she could escort her
friend Noa-san to Oshika to visit Moroboshi. I hope this did not cause any
inconvenience with you.
"I remain
"Shutaro Mendou"

Sil blushes. How thoughtful of him to remember. "Oh, how
sweet!" she rolls up the parchment, then turns to Ten-chan. "Well, I could
wait a day before Lum-chan's free."

"Uh-oh!" concern crosses Ten-chan's face. "I know that look. If
you're interested in Mendou, you better back away right now."

"What do you mean?"

"He's an even worse girl-chaser than Ataru was!" the young Oni
warns. "He's jumped from girlfriend to girlfriend like a rabbit...and that's
not to mention how much he's wanted to take Lum-chan from Ataru. His
own fiancee dumped him for one of Nokoko-chan's friends. If you try to go
after him, you're gonna get burned. Trust me on that one!"

Sil considers that. "Strange. He never acted like that when I met
him this morning."

"That's how he nails girls," Ten-chan emphasizes. "He always does
it nice and smooth! Believe me, every girl in town's got a big crush on him.
If you try to go after him, you'll get lynched!"

"I can defend myself, Ten-chan," Sil smiles, kissing him. "But
thanks for caring. Oh, by the way...where's Lan live?"

He blinks. Sil WANTING to meet Lan? This was getting crazier
by the minute...

* * *

Unbeknownst to either Sil or Ten-chan, Mendou is far closer than
either could suspect; he is presently in the living room of the Ryooki home
talking to Koosei. "You met Sil Dedron?" the teacher stares disbelievingly
at Mendou. "Here?! On Earth?!"

"Yes, sir," the scion of Japan's richest family nods. "A remarkable
woman, I must say. She came here on urgent business with Lum-san. What
do you suppose that was about?"

"Wants to see Lum, eh? That's trouble."

"I don't understand."

Koosei sighs, standing to walk to the window. "Sil is an Urusian
Imperialist. Do you remember Paishu Redet?"

"The blue-skinned girl who visited sometime ago, thinking
Moroboshi was the father of her child," Mendou nods.

"Well, you remember what she was like. A thousand years ago, the
Dominion conquered Uru. Within five generations, the society which
existed on Uru before was destroyed, replaced by a pretty decent replica of
the Dominion's system of Houses. When the Dominion retreated, the
Urusian Empire was formed in its place. That state of affairs lasted until the
Union Revolution two centuries ago. But there are people who would
gladly see the Union brought down and the Empire restored. Sil is one of
them."

"I see," Mendou leans back. "I remember how haughty and
demeaning that Paishu woman was, even to Lum-san. Yet...Sil-san didn't
act that way when I met her this morning."

"Oh? How did she act?"

"Well, very formal, well-mannered, the picture of proper
ettiquitte," Mendou nods. "In fact, I would gladly had seen her as an
equal...and I got the distinct impression that she would see me in the same
manner, even though she seemed to be hiding something."

"Hiding something?" Koosei blinks, then hums. "If she is, then
maybe she's not as fanatic about the Imperialist cause as I would have
assumed of her two years ago. She wouldn't ever think of coming to Earth.
We were way too low for her taste."

"I see," Mendou muses.

"Koosei-onii-chan!!" Ten-chan hails.

The two see the young Oni float in. Ten-chan is surprised to see
Mendou. "Oh, there you are! Sil-chan got your message!!"

"She was at the Moroboshi home?!" Mendou leaps up, shocked.

"Uh-huh!! But she's going over to see Lan-chan now!" Ten-chan
nods.

"What?!!" Koosei bolts up. "Sil actually WANTING to see Lan?!!
You're not pulling a joke on us, are you, Ten-chan?!"

"No joke, Koosei-onii-chan!" Ten-chan shakes his head. "I was
just as shocked!! She just left five minutes ago!!"

"What's this about?!" Mendou asks.

"Lan's a supporter of the Democratic Alliance," Koosei sits down
as everyone relaxes. "They're the third party in Urusian society. Sort of the
middle ground between the left-wingers in the Union camp and the right-
wingers in the Imperialist camp. Further, they espouse total social and
political reform. Rei's aunt Yedris is one of the primary movers in that
organization."

"So Sil-san would not desire to cavourt with Lan because Lan
would be seen as someone who was blocking the Imperialists' hopes of
restoring the Urusian Empire," Mendou hums.

"That, plus Sil really rubs Lan the wrong way," Koosei nods. "Her
level of snobbery would even make your mother look quite tame, Shutaro.
Lan, despite all the problems she unleashes on everyone around her, has
never taken garbage like that from anyone!"

"Don't you know?!" Ten-chan hums.

"Know what?!" Koosei blinks.

"My mom told me," he smiles. "Sil's part of the Alliance, too. She
joined full-time about a year ago."

"What?!!" Koosei and Mendou exclaim.

"But that's a secret," Ten-chan warns.

"You better remember that," Koosei wags his finger. "If even a
SUGGESTION of that reached Yethis', Vel Pochik's or Des Azu' ears,
you'd've signed Sil's death warrant!!"

"I ain't that crazy!" Ten-chan shudders.

"Yethis?!" Mendou looks confused.

"Rei's uncle," Koosei explains. "Hard-core Imperialist, not to
mention a racist who could teach the Seifukusu a few tricks about how to
look down on 'lessers'...like us!"

"I don't understand."

"Well, when Uncle proposed the First Tag Race, Yethis tried to get
some of the Tribal Council to forego the whole idea of a tag race and just
invade Earth," Ten-chan explains.

Mendou shudders as memories of events before the Spirit War
come back. "Yethis must have been the one who put that clause into the
First Tag Race agreement which angered Nagaiwakai-sama," he exclaims,
finally putting things together, "...the one she got the U.N. to launch the
Third Tag Race in response to."

"Right!" Koosei nods.

"What's worse, Yethis didn't take well to that," Ten-chan adds.
"According to Mom, he's been trying to get the Council to pass a law which
would make the Union no longer recognize the resolutions Grandma got
passed."

Which meant that the First Tag Race terms...and the threat to
Earth's sovereignty it could bring were something to befall Ataru...would
still be applicable. "But that's illegal!!" Mendou exclaims. "Everyone
knows the Urusians negotiated the First Tag Race rules in bad faith!!
Besides, Resolution 442 is backed by the Zephyrites, not to mention the
Federation!! Lupica-sama was there when the Secretary-General made
Captain Invader agree to that before the Third Tag Race!!!"

"In Yethis' eyes, *we're* the guilty party," Koosei warns. "We're
the ones who broke the agreement when we passed those resolutions. You
see, a term like 'bad faith' never existed in Imperial days. People like Yethis
are quite used to backstabbing others to press their own advantage."

Mendou blinks. Koosei and Ten-chan were hinting at something
which could turn into an apocalyptic nightmare for billions. Now he
understood where Ataru came from when he raised concerns about aliens'
freely interacting with Terrans. "It seems I don't know much about Urusian
politics or society. I should appraise myself of this further before I make
any assumptions. Good evening."

He walks out. Koosei and Ten-chan watch him go. "Is he okay?"
the latter wonders.

"I think he's falling in love."

* * *

Ataru flips his way through Noa's photo album, trying to forge
some link with that other Ataru, the innocent, carefree boy of twelve years
ago, unravaged by the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* who went to Sagussa and
changed his destiny. Fortunately, the album was arranged in chronological
order, which allowed him to at least put together the basic story.

Noa found him in Tomobiki, smelling the roses and saying hello to
whomever passed by. She attracted the attention of some high school kids
who found her quite interesting. He lept to her defense, which could have
earned him a beating had not Noa stepped in and saved his life. As a
reward, he gave her a rose. The stunned look on her face told Ataru that the
Sagussan then had no idea what receiving a flower actually meant.

Noa shadowed Ataru over the next several days. She saw him play
with Shinobu, go up to Sendai to visit Komeru, even up to Rishiri-tou to
visit Nagaiwakai. The Sagussan found herself drawn to the Terran; that he
expressed emotion so freely must have been a shock to the emotionally
retarded Noa. Noa also noticed that Ataru seemed to be more at home with
women than his own gender. Finally, Noa met Ataru again and offered to
take him to a place where there were many women who would desire to
meet him. Being an innocent boy who did not know any better, Ataru
readily agreed.

Then came the voyage to Sagussa, Ataru's first trip on the Gatherer.
To walk on a ship the size of a small city must have been mind-boggling.
Arriving on Sagussa, a planet ten thousand parsecs away from Earth, was
probably even more mind-boggling to the pre-teen. However, the
*daishi'cha* were also there. That certainly made Ataru more comfortable
walking on a planet which bore the scars of a civil war beyond his darkest
nightmare.

As the month wore on, Ataru encountered more women than in all
his girl-hunts before the Spirit War. And what an insane variety: Terrans,
Tritonians, both Urusian races, Ipraedies, Fukunokami, Ellsians, Tengu
humanoids, Vosians, Yehisrites, Gomianites, both Phentaxian races,
Zeiwanites, Yehisrites, Yaminokuni, Tofunokoibito and races Ataru had
never encountered. And the faces! Along with those he knew, he met
doubles of Lum, Shinobu, Sakura, Lan, Benten, Oyuki, Ryuunosuke...every
girl who'd come into his life since presently possessed a double among the
*daishi'cha!*

Shaking his head disbelievingly, Ataru concentrates on the
expressions. At first, the *daishi'cha* were insanely curious about the
young Terran. Understandable; while the Chamber of Eternity had
programmed the capacity for emotions into Noa and her friends, he could
not give them a proper understanding of which emotion to express at what
time. Ataru's presence changed that; being on a planet of very sensitive
empaths, his emotions must have been overwhelming. They started to
change. A smile, laughter, fits of anger, tears of sorrow. In one month,
Ataru did what in ten thousand years, the Chamber of Eternity could never
do.

He gave the *daishi'cha* their humanity.

Finally came the time for Ataru and Sagussa to part ways. A
vigorous debate resulted from that announcement. Many of the *daishi'cha*
wanted Ataru to stay, to live with them, to teach them more about
themselves as they taught him about the ways of their world. Others
realized that the sheer culture shock would do more damage than good. Noa
had been one of them. As the one who had brought Ataru to Sagussa, she
took it upon herself to get Henry to return him to Earth. And with that, the
*daishi'cha* returned to cryofreeze, to await the day of his return.

Ataru sighs, closing the album. What could've happened had he
remained on Sagussa? No *saikoo jinseijitsu* of course; without him, there
probably might not have been anyone for it to be transferred into. No living
in Tomobiki; people like Shinobu would've become a distant memory...and
in the end run, he never had a home there. He would've probably known
about Kaeru, not to mention Nokoko. And Lum? Perhaps in passing, he
would have sought her, sensing his need for a permanent mate.

But such was wishful contemplation. He had survived to this point;
no need to lament what could have been. His course was clear. Set Sagussa
on its proper path, then marry Lum, perhaps marry her while he was
working on Sagussa. As for everyone else, they were totally irrelevant to
the issue at hand.

The door opens to reveal Lum. "Hi, Darling, how are you?"

"I'm okay, I guess," Ataru shakes his head, stifling a yawn. "But
this was a revelation and a half," he nods to the album.

"Does it help your memory?"

"Not really, I'm afraid to say," he looks sad. "It helps a lot to make
me understand what I did when I was on Sagussa, but as for fixing the mess
my mind's presently in, I'm afraid there's no luck there. Does Noa know
something which could help me?"

"Not personally," she crosses her arms. "Noa's a bureaucrat,
although she immersed herself in other things. Unfortunately, repairing
one's memory isn't one of them. For that, you'll have to wait until you can
see Catty or any of the other doctors."

"You know them more than I," a wry smile crosses his face as he
opens the album. "Which one's Catty?"

Lum indicates the lavender-haired Tritonian-born doctor, depicted
with Lufy and Ataru in front of a gaping black hole. "That's her," she
smiles. "I think that's Tere'na-korgh you were standing in front of. They
must've taken you to Lyna's grave."

Ataru shudders. "I don't know where that is, but the idea of visiting
someone's grave doesn't do wonders for my stomach."

"It is quite an intimidating place," she shudders, remembering that
Tere'na-korgh is a deep valley almost totally covered by a 50 kilometre
wide, ten-kilometre high neutronium dome, which had been there since
before the Fourth Republic's time. Sagussa's Stonehenge, Noa called it.
"But, it's also seen strangely enough as a romantic hot spot. Couples always
come together in Lyna's presence, sort of like the way couples here do."

Ataru hums, then looks quizzically at her. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine," Lum blinks.

"You don't understand," he sighs. "I mean how do you feel about
Noa and the *daishi'cha?* Lum, this is my fondest dream coming true.
You've had problems about that. Yet you accept them without hesitation."

She nods, understanding the gist of his question. "Why do you
think Noa went to the trouble of becoming *marei'cha* with me? Darling,
before Noa came, yes, your dreams of a harem did bother me, a lot. I...felt
that as long as you dreamt of other girls, you'd never give me any
consideration; that you used your dreams to avoid the reality of trying to
form a relationship with me."

"That's true," he nods. "Every time you got intimate with me or
wanted to get intimate with me, I balked. You came, I ran away. I felt that I
wasn't ready to get close to you. I got close to Windy and she left me. I got
close to Shinobu and found out that she wanted something different. I knew
deep in my heart that you would never leave me, but I could not bring
myself at the time to accept that and go ahead. I hurt you a lot, Lum-chan."

"We hurt each other," she shushes him. "Maybe you had the right
to be defensive around me. I never realized until later that my presence in
your life could do so much damage. I never allowed myself to realize it, to
tell the truth; everyone convinced me it was okay to be dominant over you."
A wry chuckle escapes her lips. "We have to admit that we didn't start off
on the right foot."

"True," he cups her chin in his hand. "But I'm glad that we're on
the right foot."

"So am I," she huskily sighs.

They kiss, then look at the album. "You still didn't answer my
question about Noa and the others," he muses.

"I guess when I realized who and what the *daishi'cha* are, how
your presence changed them, I realized they're as bonded to you as I am.
To...deny you would be denying part of themselves. Right now, they're at
the point where they can be weaned from you. That's why you have to go
back, Darling. You have to complete what you started twelve years ago."

"Unfortunately, although with the way some of them are, I might be
driven crazy trying to make them grow up," he sighs, leaning back.
"However, if Noa's an indication, I think that planet is going to be in very
good shape when we're done with it."

"Will we ever be done with it?"

"Who knows," Ataru smiles. "I suppose the biggest fringe benefit
of this is that I'm being asked in my own way to help build something,
something no one...not Grandma, not the jerks in Tomobiki, not your
friends...can try to destroy or take away from me. It's quite a wonderful
feeling, to tell the truth."

"That's good," she beams. "That's what sold me, too. For so long,
people've wrecked things to try to better themselves. We'll be creating
something. It's quite a switch."

"Uh-huh. Can I ask a question?"

"Sure," she looks at him.

"You...mentioned that we're bonded. Is that like what you've got
with Noa?"

"It is, I think," she nods. "I mean, why do the *daishi'cha* call me
'the Other?' Ever since they first met you, they've known you've been
bonded to someone else. It was only when Noa and I became *marei'cha*
that they finally realized it was me."

"But they don't know how exactly we came together, right?"

"Not really, I guess," she shrugs...then jolts on hearing a scream.
"Who's that?!!"

"That's Grandma!!" Ataru bolts up. "What's she doing here?!!"

The two proceed to the living room, where Noa is on the sofa,
staring with amusement at Nagaiwakai, now is flat on her back, a curious
Alphonse sniffing her. "Oh, Alphonse, stop making such a pain of
yourself!" Lum sighs.

The sandpanther growls, then walks to the other sofa, leaping onto
it to sleep. "Wh-who is r-responsible for an i-infernal cr-creature like th-
that?!" the matriarch demands.

"He's my pet," Noa speaks up.

Nagaiwakai's head snaps around, her eyes blinking on seeing the
Sagussan. It's quickly replaced by shocked recognition. "YOU?!?!?! What
in Buddha's name are you doing here?!!" she falls back, pointing at Noa.

"Can't I come visit friends?!" Noa muses, then looks at Ataru. "I
see she hasn't changed much in fourteen years."

Ataru and Lum stare confusedly at her. "What do you mean
fourteen years?!" the latter hums. "Is that when you first met?!"

"Don't you mean when we ALL first met?!" Nagaiwakai snarls.

Ataru and Lum stare at Nagaiwakai. "What was that?!!" he
demands. "You mean to tell me that I met Lum FOURTEEN years
ago...and you never saw fit to tell me about this?!!"

"Why should I?!" his grandmother sneers. "Considering how she
turned out, learning about that might've convinced you to do something
really foolish!!"

"Oh, gods have mercy on me!!" Ataru throws up his hands in
surrender. "She's just as bad as my mother!!!"

"You might have to disown her, too, Darling," Lum sighs.

"Don't you start giving him ideas!" Nagaiwakai growls. "Unlike
that idiot daughter-in-law of mine, I DO have my grandson's best interests in
mind."

"The whole family're a bunch of tyrants," Noa shakes her head.

"Reserve your comments to yourself!" the matriarch angrily turns
on the Sagussan. "You've caused more than enough trouble with what you
did to my grandson fourteen years ago, not to mention nearly two years
later."

"You don't frighten me, Nagaiwakai," Noa mirthlessly smiles.
"You may be a hotshot inside the Barrier, but in comparison to what we can
bring to bear, you're a mere babe!"

Nagaiwakai shudders, unused to the idea of someone standing toe-
to-toe with her. "Wait a minute..." realization dawns on Lum's face.
"Fourteen years ago...that was when I first came to Earth!"

Ataru stares disbelievingly at her. "You did?! Why've you never
told me about this?!"

"Well, it really wasn't much of a deal," the Oni shrugs. "I mean,
Cinba was the one who came to rescue me...no!"

Lum's eyes fall on Noa. The Sagussan walks to the picture window
to stare at the ocean. Lum blinks, then places a hand on her bond-mate's
shoulder. "It was you..."

Noa nods. "Yes."

Ataru and Nagaiwakai stare as Noa wipes a tear. "Why have you
never told me?" Lum gently inquires, sensing from Noa's reaction that this
admission would be quite painful.

Noa looks at her. "Who do you think bonded you to Ataru in the
first place?"

Lum blinks, then stares at Nagaiwakai. "You mean...the boy and
girl I met long ago...they were...?!"

"Nokoko-chan...and me," Ataru completes.

Silence falls as Ataru and Lum stare at each other. Finally, the last
mystery in their relationship was solved. Yet, this opened a basket of
questions. "But, doing what you did was against the Non-Interference
Directive!" the Oni shudders. "And fourteen years ago...Noa, what was your
logic?!"

Noa chuckles as she guides Lum to the sofa. "My logic, simply
put, escaped me. Please, Lum-chan, bear with me a moment. Other than
Honey, no one knows of this."

"I'm listening," Lum nods.

"As you know, the search for our *daimon'cha* began right after
*daishi'cha* 100,000 was taken off Vos," she begins. "I was assigned to
one search team with the 'Hasei'cha.' Fourteen years ago saw us come to
Earth. We thought it was a good place; it hadn't been touched by
extraterrestrial space travel save for Nagaiwakai's involvement with the
Zephyrites. We were about to send probes down when we discovered that
an Oni had been teleported from Triton to Earth."

"That was me," Lum nods. "And that was when I met Darling and
Nokoko-chan."

"Yes," Noa nods. "We realized this could cause a row, so I
volunteered to retrieve you. And there you were, wondering what to do with
yourselves after you met."

"I wish I could remember," Lum looks sad.

"You were as cute as a sandpanther cub back then," Noa smiles.
"So were Ataru and Nokoko. But, you at least understood what your
presence could spell for Ataru's people. So, when I came up and said that I
was there to take you home, you were ready to go back...but, I must confess,
not so willing."

"What do you mean?" Ataru sits by her.

"I've no idea how long Lum was there," the Sagussan sighs. "All I
do know is that none of you wanted your time together to end. You became
instant friends, not to mince words. And there I was, emotionally retarded
as I was, and there you were, crying and wishing that you never had to be
parted..."

"And being an empath, you acted to end the pain," Lum nods.

"Yes," Noa sighs. "Pity we weren't precognative as well as
empathic and telepathic. And you were so sad. You already started to call
him 'Darling.' So...I chose the most simple solution possible: I forged a
*surei'cha-marei'cha* bond between you."

Silence falls. "And for fourteen years, you've kept that to
yourself," Lum whistles. "Gods, if the others found out about this, they'd
kill you!"

"I know," Noa nods. "Then again, they'd probably see where I was
coming from. What would've happened if it was Catty or Lufy? They
would've done the same thing, you know."

Lum chuckles. "Well, all of that is fine enough, I admit,"
Nagaiwakai sighs. "Since you've admitted your error, be so kind as to undo
whatever you did to these two."

Noa blinks, staring disbelievingly at her. "What?!! What type of
*kimei'ne* are you, anyway?!! You don't just tear someone's mind apart on
a whim, you know!!"

"You're the one who locked my grandson with this idiot, so you can
be the one who can undo it!!!" Nagaiwakai counters. "I've said it more
times than I care to count; the less influence she has, the better for all of us!!
And I don't think Lum's parents'll appreciate what you did to their child,
either!"

"Nagaiwakai, you're so hypocritical!!!" Noa spits. "What about the
damage you've unleashed, not to mention the damage those swine in
Tomobiki heaped on him while you were in Rishiri-tou sitting nice and
pretty?!! The *saikoo jinseijitsu*, which **we** will have to go in to clean
up, is YOUR creation, not ours!!! And besides, even if I DID want to sever
their bond, which I don't and which they certainly don't want ended between
them, I can't!! The damage that stupid ninja database did to him is too
great!!! You actually should be THANKING me for doing what I did; if it
wasn't for me, your grandson would've been lost to the ages years ago!!!"

"And who says we want it ended?!" Ataru sighs. "Right, Lum?!"

"Right!" the Oni nods.

Noa smiles triumphantly. "You lose."

"We'll see about that!" the matriarch bolts to her feet, then storms
out the door.

Noa leans back in relief at Nagaiwakai's departure. "Lyna's Soul,
what arrogance!!"

"She is, isn't she?" Ataru sighs. "Then again, she is the best of a
lousy situation."

"She'll never accept me now," Lum moans.

"She won't have much of a choice," Ataru smiles. "I don't think
even the U.N. will tolerate her trying to twist them around just to get you out
of my life...and if she does succeed, I'll leave Earth, go to Uru, find you,
then...hell, we'll move to Sagussa to live the rest of our lives. Besides," he
yawns, "...she's not as bull-headed as you think. Give her a little time and
she'll understand the amount of good Noa did us."

"I hope so," Lum sighs. "You had to disown your parents. I don't
want you to disown your whole family just to marry me."

* * *

"I don't believe it!! Lum?! Empress?!!"

"You heard me," Sil nods, sitting across the table from Lan. It had
been rough when she came. Lan made no secret of her dislike for anyone
who had even a hint of Imperialist sympathies. She gladly wished for the
day Yethis Seq would die so that nothing would stand in the way of her
marrying Rei and living on Earth. Sil once found the idea of any Imperial-
descent Urusian...Lan was a descendent of the Aruka House, the same house
which claimed lineage right from Noa and Honey...living on Earth to be a
revolting concept. That was two years ago. "Surely you can see the benefits
of Lum, a woman whose fame matches that of the Maidens of Aruka, taking
the helm from those incompetents in the Tribal Council. Almost everyone
in the Union likes her, considers her a great hero for keeping this sector of
our frontier safe from Dominion or Ipraedies encroachment. What better
candidate would you propose than her?!"

"I propose no candidate. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who
thinks the Houses should return could go to Hell!" Lan snarls, turning her
back. "Yes, it's time for Uru to change, but not turn back the clock."

"That's what my friends believe, too," Sil smiles. "Lan, you may
not know this, but I'm part of the Alliance now."

Lan stops, spinning around in shocked disbelief. "YOU?!?!
You're a part of the Democratic Alliance?!! You're lying!!"

"My word of honour," Sil holds up a hand.

The Seishin glares at the Oni through slitted eyes. "Yeah, sure!
You're honour is something that really is trustworthy!"

"Call Lady Yedris. In fact, she was the one who sent me here to
talk to Lum."

Silence falls as Lan considers the point. Her hatred of Yethis was
no secret; being the daughter of the only member of the Tribal Council to
ever openly criticize Yethis, directly challenging the chief of staff's
competency to serve the Union because of his pro-Imperialist feelings, gave
Lan a jaundiced view of Rei's uncle despite having never met the man.
Yethis' attempts at pulling Rei away from Earth just added fuel to the fire.
She threw her support behind the Alliance a long time ago, although she,
like many of the Alliance's leaders, advocated peaceful political change, not
revolution. That Sil, who two years ago was as fanatic about the Empire's
return as Yethis, could have such a change of heart was unbelievable.
"Why?"

"Why what?" Sil inquires.

"Why the Alliance?!"

"Quite simple" Sil relaxes. "I was very angry that Lum-chan and
you came to this world to be with the ones you loved. But I began to
wonder about why you came here. Lum and her Darling love each other; it's
obvious to see now. You and Rei certainly don't mind living here. It made
me question a lot of things my parents taught me. And that was the time the
Alliance invited me to attend their meetings. When many proposed the idea
of the monarchy's restoration...especially when they said Lum was the best
choice for Empress...I agreed."

Lan warily eyes her. "And where do the Houses fit into this?"

"They'll still be there...in name only," Sil smiles, realizing that Lan
was probing her for weaknesses in her argument. "The reason I support a
parliament is that the ruling body will be split into an upper and lower
chamber. The upper house...the House of Lords, so to speak...would be
composed of the descendants of the the Imperial Houses. But the real
power...would lie in the House of Commons, the lower house. They will
initiate policy and prepare it. The Lords coule initiate and prepare policy on
their own, but the final decision would always lie with the Commons."

"Just like they have it in Britain and other places...Japan, even,"
Lan nods, finding herself beginning to support Sil's idea. "But what makes
you think people like Des, Vel or even Yethis will go along with the idea?"

"Simple," Sil stares at her. "Lum."

"Lum?! What's she got to do with it?!"

"Think, Lan!" Sil sighs. "The Imperials also see Lum as their goal.
They want her to become Empress...but in their eyes, they would be in
control for the Houses would be brought back with the same power and
influence they had before the Revolution. We'd go back to the same type of
despots that bled the ordinary people dry for seven centuries. Things
haven't changed that much since the Revolution if you think about it. You
know that most ordinary Urusians have little or no say in how their nation is
run...unless they join the military and rise up the ranks. That's another thing
that has to change. The bonds between the government and the military
have to be broken...gods, if you think about it, the government IS the
military!"

"True," Lan nods. "But you still haven't answered me about how
Lum would make the Alliance's dreams come true."

"You're right," Sil concedes. "If Lum shows she supports us, most
Urusians, especially a lot of moderates in the Imperial and Union camps,
would defect to the Alliance. As I told you earlier, Lum's the most popular
hero on Uru since the Maidens of Aruka. People would support something
Lum supports. They would be rewarded for their support.
Everyone...Imperialist, Unionist and non-aligned...will be involved in
running our government. Everyone has a say in the destiny of Uru. And no
one would feel left out."

Lan stares at the Oni. A master liar and deceiver in her own right,
she could tell whenever someone else was pulling a con job. The sincerity
in Sil's eyes, the firm set of her jaw, told her that Sil...and by extension the
Democratic Alliance...was on the level. Just in case, she would send a
private query to Yedris later to confirm the story. "Okay, if that's the way
you people want to go, and if you're convinced that Lum-chan is the one
who can help you, I'm not going to stand in your way. There is a problem,
though."

"Oh, what's that?"

"Darling."

Sil blinks. "What about him?! Granted that he and Lum-chan are
very close, but what does their relationship have to do with what's about to
explode over Uru?"

"You just hit it on the head, Sil: their relationship," Lan warns.
"Ever since she came here, all Lum-chan's ever cared about was Darling.
You can't believe how much it made her happy that Darling openly declared
he loved her and wanted to marry her. That's the reason he moved to
Oshika; he wanted a place where he and Lum-chan could live in peace. If
Lum-chan is going to go along with what you propose, she'd kiss Darling
good-bye. I doubt a lot of people...especially most of the Imperialists, even
the moderates...are going to accept a non-Urusian crown prince consort,
especially one who has a Noukiite ex-slave child as a daughter."

"What's wrong with that?!" Sil demands. "What would be more
important to you if you found yourself in that position?! If your actions
could save your people from civil war, one that could spill into an
intergalactic war?! Your heart or your people?!"

"I'm not the one you have to ask, Sil," Lan looks sympathetic.
"Lum-chan is. And I'll tell you the answer right now: no."

Silence falls over them as Sil takes that in. "Then I'll just have to
see Lum and convince her," she growls.

"Good luck," Lan smiles...

* * *

"Excuse me, Shutaro, but I didn't want to mis-interpret you,"
Nagaiwakai sighs, now relaxing in the sitting room of her mansion in
Rishiri-tou. "What exactly are you after?"

Mendou is in his study in Tomobiki. "I need to know everything
there is to know about the current socio-political situation on Uru.
Specifically the Democratic Alliance and what their goals are. I doubt Lum-
san or Lan-san will be forthcoming with the information. Your assistance in
this matter would be more than appreciated, Nagaiwakai-sama."

The matriarch of the Moroboshi Clan lets out a curious hum.
"Now why on Earth would you desire to know that, young man? Given your
petty little feud with Ataru-chan, you didn't strike me as one who would
come banging on my family's door to get information."

"No I wouldn't," Mendou sighs. There was no use lying to Ataru's
grandmother; given her levels of influence and a vast intelligence network at
her very fingertips, she could detect all sorts of deception without trying.
"But an agent of this Democratic Alliance has come to Earth to solicit Lum-
san's support for their eventual drive for political reform on Uru. If they
succeed, than all possible threats from Lum-san's people would dry up. I'm
sure the High Church Council on Zephyrus would welcome the enhanced
security that would bring to this solar system."

Nagaiwakai barely controls her chuckle. *Manipulative little fox,
isn't he?!* she smiles. *So much like Komeru when he was that age!* Then
an idea appears in her mind. "Wait. You're saying that this person..."

"Sil Dedron," Mendou romantically sighs.

*A woman, then,* the matriarch notes. *She must be a pretty one
to affect him like that, especially after his finally being freed from Asuka.
He normally wouldn't care about what goes on!* "Thank you," Nagaiwakai
nods, "...this person is interested in drawing Lum's support for her political
movement back home. Would this be of such vital import that Lum would
be forced to go back to Uru?"

"Probably," Mendou nods. *Gods, she really DOES want Lum-san
out of Moroboshi's life!!* he mentally gasps.

"How would this be in Earth's best interests?" Nagaiwakai
wonders.

"Ma'am, the people Sil-san are trying to defeat are the same ones
who placed that clause in the First Tag Race rules, the one which alarmed
the United Nations so much." *And you, too; your grandson could have
easily been put to death if Ryooki-sensei's feelings about Rei's uncle are
even remotely true.*

"Ah, yes, I remember that."

"Well, according to Ryooki-sensei and Jariten, the man who is
most likely suspect in arranging that clause's presence in the First Tag Race
rules...Rei's uncle General Yethis, to be exact...is trying to get the Tribal
Council to not recognize Resolution 442, which overrode the First Tag
Race. If he succeeds, the threat to your grandson is...well..."

"You needn't remind me," Nagaiwakai's voice turns brittle. "It
seems this is something I should investigate. I'll have copies sent to you as
soon as the Inquisitor-Bishop on Jiyuu sends me a report. Thank you for
appraising me of this, Shutaro." She rams the phone into the receiver.
"Darklight!!!"

"Yes, Mistress?!" Brother Sunfire immediately looks in.

"Call Jiyuu!" Nagaiwakai growls. "I want a fully detailed report on
the activities of all the various political blocks on Uru. And I want a
personal sketch on someone named Yethis; he's high up on that planet's
council! Tell Inquisitor-Bishop Owleye that I want to know
EVERYTHING about this creature!!"

"At once, Mistress!" the monk nods.

With a angry snarl, Nagaiwakai sinks back into her chair, her
thoughts storming. She partially blamed herself for not being thorough the
last time she confronted the Tribal Council. No mistakes this time. If what
Mendou was hinting at had an iota of truth, Yethis was a dead man. One
word to the Inquisitors on Jiyuu would ensure that. They knew how to make
excommunications look like accidents in case the targetted heretic was
politically sensitive. And if Yethis' removal was actually desired by many
other parts of Urusian society, so much the better. Mendou had the jist of it
earlier; the High Church Council would be quite pleased if Earth-Triton
would finally become a quiet sector of space.

The matriarch sighs. She knew this was going to happen sooner or
later. She had known it since the day Lum walked into Ataru's life. Lum
was governed by a different set of social and cultural morals. What was
seen as normal to Lum could be potentially traumatic to Ataru. Look what
happened at the Second Tag Race? Lum had no compunction about using
an ecological disaster to force her own ends. And that didn't begin to excuse
her for what her presence did to Ataru's whole life. Nagaiwakai would
never forgive nor forget that. Ataru was too precious in her eyes to permit
any sort of leniency to the Oni.

Nagaiwakai seriously suspected that Lum knew a lot more than she
let on about events on Uru. If that was so...and if Lum didn't bother to tell
Ataru about it...then how could Nagaiwakai ever accept Lum really loved
Ataru? The matriarch realized what was going on; a blind man could see it.
Lum was trying to dangle him, put Ataru in a vulnerable position so that she
would then be able to save him, earn his gratitude, then finally get what she
wanted...all on *her* terms! Not a chance.

Unless...?

The matriarch's thoughts shift to Noa. A mystery, that one. From a
planet no one supposedly ever heard of. Thinking about it, Nagaiwakai
realized that Noa's actions of fourteen years past were innocent, especially if
Noa was as emotionally retarded as she hinted earlier that evening in
Oshika. And if Ataru's presence on Noa's homeworld...Sagussa, was
it?...had so affected her people to the point where they were emotionally
bonded to him, then they were a force which could be used...if given the
right directions.

Nagaiwakai realizes she would have to talk to Noa, get a better
understanding of what the Sagussans wanted. It was apparent he was willing
to go, finish his business with Noa's people. Nagaiwakai would certainly
not interfere in that regard. Further, she would be more than happy to
intercept other people's attempts at trying to stop Ataru from going.

All she had to do was figure out how to wean Lum out of the
situation...

* * *

"A strange day, isn't it?" Mendou muses.

The large school of octopi stare at him. The scion of Japan's
richest family relaxes in his private aquarium, gazing at the one group whom
he really could call his friends. They fully understood him, as he did them.
With them around, he was never alone. But now, would they understand his
interest in Sil?

Her face appears in his mind's eye. Well behaved, articulate,
stunning...and living a double-life. On the outside, a proud and defiant
member of a society whose death-knell came two centuries ago. Pretending
the Union Revolution never happened, that she was a lady of the court and
that those not equal to her station were beneath her notice. Inside, a
determined reformer trying to avert a calamity which could cost thousands
of lives if left unchecked. One misstep could mean death. Mendou
wondered how she could live that sort of life. Did she have private friends
of her own like he, or was she truly lonely?

It amazed Mendou that he was able to admit to himself what he
avoided for so long. How much he had lied to himself, deceived himself
into believing that he was above the normal people who surrounded him.
He was no different from the rest, especially Ataru. Mendou did not know
whether such a revelation galled him...or was the first step to his own private
emotional liberation.

Mendou suspected that the others who had run afoul of Ataru had
faced this moment when they realized their fantasies could never come true.
They couldn't keep Lum in Tomobiki as long as Ataru and Reiko were in
Oshika, especially when he had friends and family beside him. Lum would
go; there was no sense denying that. Lum would marry Ataru; there was no
sense trying to stop that. Even Nagaiwakai would realize that eventually.

For so long, Mendou had believed that Ataru was deceiving
everyone into believing he was changing, he was growing up. After all, how
could the "cancer of the class" change his spots? He did. When he did,
Lum grew up so she could stay with him...as did Ryuunosuke, Momoe,
Kumiko, Natsuko, the guards, even Ryooko and Tobimaro. Especially
Asuka! He had the chance to keep her interest, and thanks to the *saikoo
jinseijitsu*...*No, thanks to my belief in my own superiority!* he
admonishes...he had lost her to Osooko, who approached Asuka with
honourable intentions.

And now, he was wasting away while everyone else was plunging
into the vast world beyond Tomobiki's gates. What could he do? An
apology to everyone was useless. Actions spoke better. It was how Ataru
had maintained Lum's interest in him. But, where to begin?

Or should he say "who?"

Mendou sighs. "Should I risk it?"

The octopi give him their answer...

* * *

"Did I do right, Alphonse?" Noa looks at the starry night
descending on Oshika.

The sandpanther looks up, emitting a questioning purr. The
Sagussan sighs as she looks once more into the night. Back home, her
friends...her family...were totally unaware of what she had to do to find
Ataru. Was it really worth it? The debate over the Non-Interference
Directive, where it was applicable and where it was not, had always raged
among the *daishi'cha.* It had been crafted by the planners of the Grand
Design to ensure that the Fifth Republic didn't indulge in the excesses of the
Fourth. However, knowing those who were meant to use it, not to mention
those who would be protected by it, were mortal and that each situation may
not be black-and-white, the Directive had a loophole built into it. It applied
only when people could not understand, or could misinterpret, the awesome
power being brought to bear on their behalf by Sagussa. In a sense, Earth
no longer was under its protection thanks to the Urusians and the Ipraedies.
Hence, her presence here was certainly permissible.

Yet, did that justify her actions fourteen years ago? Back then, she
had no clear understanding of what she was doing. All she did understand
was that the negative emotions Ataru and Lum projected at their pending
parting was painful, and that the pain had to stop. She stopped it...and by
doing so, locked their destinies onto the same path. Was that so bad?
Subsequent events supported Noa; without the bond to Lum, Ataru would
have succumbed to the *saikoo jinseijitsu,* perhaps at a tense moment such
as the First Tag Race, where Earth's fate hanged in the balance. And that
bond ensured Ataru having a friend with him all the time; even when he was
at his worst, Lum stood at his side. Noa couldn't imagine what could have
happened if Ataru had perished, say at the hands of the people of Tomobiki,
Elle or the Ipraedies. As the War of Clone Rights proved beyond any doubt,
when a Sagussan let go of all her powers of logic and internal harmony, all
sorts of enormities were possible, including genocide.

She did no wrong. The basic premise of Sagussan society was
peace, logic and harmony. Ataru and Lum were a logical pairing, a bridge
between two cultures now driven by Fate to forge close ties. There was
certainly a lot of harmony in their relationship, despite all the adversity lined
against them. And they were at peace. They accepted what happened to
them with grace, believing it to be the right thing. Perhaps one day in the
future, Noa could fully accept that.

She heads upstairs towards Ataru's and Lum's bedroom. At the
door, she notices Lum waiting for her, dressed in a button shirt. "What is
it?" the Sagussan inquires.

"Well, it's about time you came to bed," the Oni notions her into
the room. "We've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?! What for...?!" Noa's voice drops to a terrified
squeak as she sees Ataru relaxed on the bed...nude.

"Simple," Lum's voice drops to a purr as she pulls Noa's sweater
off. "We have to pay you back for bringing us together fourteen years ago,
not to mention keeping us together when things got tight. So, we're going to
be your love-slaves tonight."

"'L-love-slaves'...?!" Noa stammers as she half-heartedly tries to
resist Lum's advances. "Oh, no, don't do this to me...!"

A bemused Nokoko looks in before joining Mal. "Hey, you three,
if you're going to do the wild thing, keep it down! The rest of us've got to
work tomorrow."

"Nokoko, help!!!" Noa cries.

Ataru's sister ignores the Sagussan's plea. "'Night."

The lights go out at the Moroboshi residence. A moment later,
Noa's lustful gasp is heard. "Oh, you two are too much!!!"

Alphonse's ear twitches...

* * *

"Noa's the one who bonded you to Ataru?!"

It is the morning after Noa's revelation. Lum is calling Nassur to
appraise him of the situation. "That's right," she nods. "Given her
emotional immaturity, she really couldn't envision another solution. That's
how empathically sensitive she is."

"I see," he whistles. "I always sensed this bond between you and
Ataru, even before I met him in person. But I always suspected it was Cinba
who bonded you, not someone else."

"Vosians aren't that powerful."

"True," he nods. "Well, that does much in explaining why Noa
said Cinba helped her people. Given who and what I suspect Noa is, it
begins to explain a whole host of things."

Lum smiles. He hadn't survived without being able to quickly
analyze and comprehend his environment. "Yes," she nods. "Darling
is...the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager."

Nassur chuckles. "So I realized sometime ago. So has Oyuki.
After all, she's the boyfriend of one of three people still living who actually
walked the Voyager's decks."

"Which is the reason I'm scrambling this message," she muses. "If
Lan got wind of this, she'd spread it from one corner of the cluster to the
other. Darling doesn't need the hecklers and everything else coming down
on his head at this time."

"Not to mention the others who have a grudge against the Voyager
or the Sagussans," he nods agreeingly. "I think the Mikado's on that list.
So're the Seifukusu Dominion."

"True," she groans. "If the Ipraedies got wind of this, they'd invade
Earth, all just to get their hands on Darling."

"And there still are the Niphentaxians," he adds. "If Oogi learned
of the sheer power Ataru is about to get, he'd freak, believing that Ataru
would turn around and wreck the Church of Lum once and for all...not that
I'd care if Ataru did just that. He might have to. And then, there's Elle..."

"Don't remind me," she moans.

He chuckles. "Varanko once told me that there are certain
mysteries best left unsolved. The Eternal Voyager has always been seen as
one of them. I now understand why Koosei and Dake-chan have kept their
mouths closed over the matter. The Voyager is a can of worms which is
best left shut."

"Agreed," she nods. "Believe me, you've no concept of how
powerful Noa's people really are...or how passionate they could be if driven
over the edge. If you think the civil war on Vos is bad, the Sagussan War of
Clone Rights lasted five CENTURIES and wound up destroying two
planets, one of Sagussa's two suns and butchered ten BILLION people."

Nassur blinks. "Five...centuries?" his voice lowers. "Ten...billion
casualties?"

"That's right," Lum nods. "That's why the *daishi'cha* have so
much work to do. Sagussa is nothing but a desert wasteland, but it's still
capable of holding life."

The Vosian whistles in awe. "If Varanko ever heard of a war like
that, even he'd tremble. However, I assume...I PRAY...that the people who
instigated that are long gone."

"They are," the Oni nods. "However, their basic beliefs, their
culture...all of that is now in Noa and her friends. The potential for the Fifth
Republic to repeat what the Fourth Republic did to itself is there. And if
something ever happened to Darling, I'm afraid they'd destroy whole planets
to avenge his death. Darling certainly doesn't want that. I sure don't."

"All the more fuel to the idea of keeping this a secret," Nassur
gives her a sympathetic look. "I know revealing what you did must've hurt.
Sorry if I caused you any grief."

"I'm relieved," Lum smiles. "I've kept this to myself for too long.
Darling's guessed a lot. Believe me, getting this off my shoulder makes me
feel a lot easier."

"True," he nods. "Don't worry. It won't go beyond this base. I
know the Home Base computer has had a thing for the Voyager, which
means that she may know the whole story of Sagussa. I'll tell Benten at
least."

"I don't mind that," she nods. "Benten's always been a good friend,
not to mention yourself. I don't want either of you to feel left out because
I'm bonded with Noa."

"By the way, what type of bond do you have? I've known you've
been bonded to someone; I felt it through our *pe'cha* bond."

"They call it *marei'cha,*" Lum blushes. "'The one with whom you
raise a child.' Sagussans have no marriage; the people of the Fourth
Republic were as telepathic as Noa, which meant that prejudices and
traditional roles for gender never had cause to exist. People are people on
Sagussa."

"So, you could literally say you love Noa...and it would have as
much weight as you saying you love Ataru, right?"

"Right."

The hunter whistles. "That has to be kept under the hood. I can't
begin to imagine the reaction that could follow."

"Shinobu knows," the Oni muses. "I think Sakura, Ryuunosuke
and some of the others know something, but they've kept their mouths shut.
Mendou and the guards don't know, but thanks to Darling, even if they did
know, they'd have no chance to do something about it. Tanoshii and the
others would never allow it."

"Good," he nods. "Well, I'll let you go for now, Lum-chan.
Thanks for calling. Believe me, knowing more about Noa is a relief. While
Ataru may see it as our butting our way into business which is none of our
concern, we still worry about you."

"Believe me, if I sensed you were butting into my personal
business, I'd tell you," she wryly smiles. "See you later."

"And you," he nods, cutting the connection. As the Oni's image
fades from his viewscreen, the hunter sits back in his chair. "Well, doesn't
that beat all?" he muses.

The Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager.

Simple words, but the concept was frightening. For as long as
space-faring races have plied the cosmic roads, the Voyager had been there.
The name for the great ship varied from planet to planet, "Eternal Voyager"
being the title his people gave it. The galaxy at large had no idea where the
Voyager was based or why it spent centuries, millennia, looking for recently
slain young women...the Maidens of the Voyager...to take back to its
homeworld.

Suspicion and deduction eventually forged a few facts which Lum's
information confirmed. The Voyager served a planet possessing enormous
levels of technology, which surpassed the most advanced races in the local
cluster. Further, the lifeless shells the Voyager obtained would have to be
revived by equally advanced medical technology to be of any use to
whoever was in control of their new planet. Which also meant that the
Maidens would be indoctrinated with the social customs of that world.
Hence, a new race, a new society, would arise to take control of that planet
and lead it to its own destiny.

Over time, the suspicions and deductions eventually forged
themselves into a quasi-cult on Vos. To become a Maiden of the Voyager
was seen by many Unification-era women as a blessed fate. Lecasur himself
recognized the importance of the great ship when he placed a small clause in
the Confederation's founding constitution forbidding all Vosians from
interfering in the Voyager's affairs, a clause which was in effect. Whether
the Mikado would recognize that fact still remained to be seen.

For its part, the Voyager normally left other races' affairs alone. It
was above the petty wars and squabbles which flared from time to time,
waiting like a galactic undertaker to reap the harvest of slain young women
to become Maidens. No race dared assault the great ship head on, or at least
never did it a second time; it was just too powerful. However, there were
times when the Voyager broke its neutrality to help people. Look what
happened when Oyuki's people had to migrate from Neptune to Triton?

And there were times when the Voyager did unleash the power it
had at its command. Nine centuries ago, it wiped out a Dominion fleet when
they tried to reclaim Uru, which had just liberated itself from the control of
the Seifukusu. A more recent occurance was less than a century ago, when
the Voyager destroyed the Kamahanite's prototype Ultimate Weapon, which
might have been employed against the Mikado. Nassur also suspected that
there were times the Voyager had turned its power against the Mikado, but
he had no proof of that.

None the less, Lum had struck on a very important point. If Ataru
was the Chosen One, he would be the target of opportunity for anyone
looking at Earth for something else other than friendly relations. Nassur
knew that there were people even on Uru's Tribal Council...Yethis came to
mind...who would not object to invading Earth. The Voyager could stop
that in its tracks. Emperor Schwartz would attack even if the Voyager itself
stood in the way; to the Ipraedies, Earth was too vital a military objective to
let go. The Dominion would salivate for a chance to avenge their
humiliating losses over Uru. The Niphentaxians would also come after
Ataru; with the Voyager's power behind him, Ataru could bring down the
Church of Lum. Even the Mikado would take interest. If Ataru fell under
his power, thus forcing the Voyager to become an ally, he could recoup the
losses his forces had suffered at the hands of the rebels now seeking to
overthrow his dictatorship. A can of worms, indeed. Pandora's box
unleashed on the galaxy was more like it!

However, enormous good could arise from this. Nassur knew that
Ataru was a peaceful man at heart. He could never conceive of making war
unless someone else was the agreessor. And with his empathic bond to the
Maidens, even the most warlike of them would calm down and seek other
means to resolve problems. If Noa was an indication, there was nothing to
fear. Despite their technological advantage, Sagussa could potentially
become an important contributor to galactic society. It might need it
anyway, if Sagussa was in the bad shape Lum hinted at. Trading with other
worlds may spell the difference between Sagussa's success and failure.

After all, was not the last thing in Pandora's box Hope?

* * *

Lum steps off her scout. It was nice to be able to talk to someone
outside immediate family about Sagussa. Nassur was trustworthy; he would
keep the information quiet. The Oni wonders what must be going through
Lan's mind. Her Seishin "friend's" habit of eavesdropping on people's
conversations could only cause a host of problems if Ataru's secret became
public knowledge. It was nice that Oyuki loaned her the electronic
scrambling equipment to shield against Lan's curiosity. It was worth it.
Suddenly, she tenses as the sound of a hover scooter is heard. "Ten-chan,
what are you doing?" she turns to see her cousin drive up. "Shouldn't you
be at school?"

"I can get back in time," the young Oni floats off his machine.
"But there's something I've gotta tell ya."

"What?"

"Sil-chan's here."

"She's here?! When did she come?!"

"Just yesterday morning," the young Oni explains. "She wants to
see you right away. It's very important."

Lum is lost in thought after hearing his words. "I don't believe it.
Sil actually came to Earth? She would never stoop so low as to come here,
even if it was to see me."

"You don't know," Ten-chan sighs. "Sil-chan's a part of the
Democratic Alliance."

Lum faints! "She is?!!"

"Uh-huh!" Ten-chan nods. "I just forgot! Mendou's got something
for Sil-chan now."

The older Oni stares at her cousin. "Sil...and Shutaro?! Are you
sure?!"

"Yeah, they're really interested in each other. Weird, huh?!"

"I'll say," Lum stands, then considers the point. "Then again, this
just might be the thing Shutaro needs..."

In Tomobiki and in orbit over Earth, Mendou and Sil sneeze...

* * *

"There you go," a vendor hands Noa a triple-scoop neopolitan.
"Have a nice day."

"Thanks," the Sagussan smiles as she walks out of the parlour.
Two things she discovered about Earth were the delightful treats called
chocolate and vanilla. She got a few others hooked on it back on Sagussa,
especially Alphonse. Noa sighs as she licks the ball of frozen cream.
Despite her thorough indoctrination in Sagussan society and mores, there
were a lot of things from the *daishi'chas* ancestral homeworlds which were
just as delightful. Did the Non-Interference Directive work both ways,
perhaps?

Walking down the Sendai street, she watches the sea of humanity
pass by her. It would be years, centuries, before Sagussa would possess this
type of population base. Then again, did it matter? Traditional Sagussa was
a society of small towns and villages; in truth, large families brought
together through the bonds of *surei'cha* and *marei'cha.* That had been
abandoned in the millennium before the War of Clone Rights as Sagussans
crowded into large urban centres, psionic black holes which ripped away a
person's defenses, leaving her vulnerable to all sorts of insane suggestions.
Once that occurred, the horrors which followed became inevitable.
Fortunately, since she was presently on a planet of non-psis, being in this
sort of crowd was not troublesome to Noa.

Ataru, Nokoko and Lum were a different matter. The Terrans were
descent from Vosian empaths, still possessing some ability to project their
emotions even after their DNA had been diluted with Terran genes. The
Oni, of course, was gifted with her own abilities. Further, Noa had not been
expecting the wash of positive and negative emotions: happiness,
friendship, the first hints of love, then sadness, regret, even anger at being
taken away from such a nice situation. It nearly overwhelmed her. Well,
once bitten, twice shy, the old Earth saying went.

She then tenses as her powers detect someone. No, not Ataru or
Lum. Nor Nokoko or her friends. Stopping, she blinks. What was she
doing here?! "Honey?!" Noa spins around.

A finger taps her. Noa spins back to stare at her sister. "Hi!"
Honey waves.

Noa laughs, then hugs her. "What are you doing here?! I thought
you were still in cryofreeze back in the Chamber!"

"Makoto let me out," Honey notions down the street to a cafe.
Noa's sister is also in Terran clothing. "She told me you came to see Ataru
and Lum, so, being the responsible sister I am, I came out here to make sure
you didn't make a total jerk of yourself."

Noa sighs. Honey had advised her not to continue to dig herself
deeper when it came to Ataru and Lum by becoming *marei'cha* with the
latter. "Let someone else do it," she said. However, Noa had followed
through with her desires. Sometimes, Noa wondered if her sister was
jealous. They were quite close despite the fact that they were sisters in
name than in genetics: Noa and Honey were not genetically related save the
simple fact that both were Akaikaminoke-seishin by birth. They considered
themselves a family since their previous selves had been slain, their bodies
given to the Gatherer, at the same time. Noa sighs as she falls into the
*daishi'cha's* dillemna of wondering what she was like in her previous
existence, then wraps an arm around Honey's. "Oh, stop mothering me,
Honey! I can take care of myself, you know!"

"Really?" a disbelieving tone enters her sister's voice. "Lyna,
you're a sandpanther in heat when it comes to Lum! One day, she is going
to make you regret meeting her!!"

Noa groans, then bops her sister on the forehead. "Idiot, I've said it
more times than I care to count! I will NOT tolerate anyone criticizing my
choice of bond-mate!"

"Oh, you think I'm bad?" Honey muses. "Wait until Catty gets out
of cryofreeze! You know she's got the hots for you!"

"And Lufy's got the hots for her," Noa licks her ice cream, then
offers Honey a lick. "And Rabby's got a crush on Lufy and Shildy wants
Rabby. I'm at the end of a parade. If you like Catty so much, go after her."

"And face Lufy?!" Honey shudders. "No thanks! I'd prefer to stay
single then risk my life against that woman!"

Noa laughs as she licks the cone. "Wait until you get your own
bond-mate, whoever the lucky girl might be, Honey. You'll be singing quite
a different tune then."

"Doubtful," Honey snorts.

Noa stares at her, wondering why Honey didn't became a part of
Internal Security. She had the mentality for it. "Wait until I introduce you
to Lum," she holds up a finger. "Then you'll understand."

"I won't hold my breath," Honey snorts.

* * *

Later, Ataru meets Honey for the first time in twelve years. Like
Noa, Honey does not allow her glands to dictate her emotions, which causes
him no limit of relief. "There are some of us who can keep control of
ourselves," Noa's sister chuckles as she relaxes in the living room with Noa
and Ataru. "The crew of the 'Hasei'cha' and Pathfinder Troop Six, plus
many of the *daishi'cha* you never had close contact with."

"That must be more than half the planet," Ataru scratches the back
of his head. "'Hasei'cha'...that's a warpscout, isn't it?"

"A Gladiator-equipped warpscout," Noa nods. "It's supposed to
have three Gladiators, but one's missing."

"Mie," Ataru hums. "Are you going down to see her when you get
the chance?"

"We've been bound by the Non-Interference Directive when it
comes to Mie," Noa sighs. "Until her memory comes back on line...Lyna
only knows what she went through...we'll keep our distance. She has a
family and friends here. We just can't destroy it by reminding her that she's
Sagussan."

"I know," he sighs. "That's part of the reason I've kept quiet about
Mie's connection. Even Lum doesn't know. I hesitate on telling her because
I don't know what that'll do to her friendship with Mie. As long as Lum's
down in Tomobiki around those jerks, she needs all the real friends she can
get."

"Well, some of the people in Tomobiki, surprising it is for me to
say, aren't really that bad," Noa muses.

"Anyone from there is *automatically* bad," Honey interjects.

"Don't be too sure about that, sis."

"I agree," Ataru sighs. "I mean...I can't really describe this, but
until I came to Oshika, I never realized that I always felt...wrong living in
Tomobiki."

"Of course not," Noa stares at him. "As long as you were in
Tomobiki, you have to fight everyone for Lum."

"Yeah," he stands up to stare out the picture window. "But it's such
a shame, really. Those people, when they're given the chance, really can do
a lot of good."

"I'll take that with a grain of salt," Honey smirks.

"I mean it," he waves her down. "I mean, look at people like
Ryuunosuke, Momoe and the others. They're settling down, getting ready to
get married and all that. So's Sakura."

"True, with thanks to you," Noa winks at him, then thinks for a
moment. "You're disappointed, aren't you?"

"I guess I am," he shrugs. "I mean, look at Aisuru and his buds.
When I sent Tanoshii and the others after them, they took to them like a fish
going after a worm. Yet, they're still on my case when it comes to Lum."

"They're having problems growing up," Noa smiles. "I think part
of it originates from wounded pride. After all, it was *you* who sicced
Tanoshii and her friends on them."

"But they saw them first," he objects.

"True, but still, it was you who forced them on the guards. I think
the other part originates from the fact that they're unused to such drastic
changes coming so suddenly."

"You could say that for all of Tomobiki," Honey notes.

"True," her sister nods. "I mean, ever since the Spirit War, they've
had to endure to some serious shocks to their sense of self. Naturally,
they're going to want to keep things as 'normal' as possible. Growing up's a
very hard thing to do. The *daishi'cha* themselves are a prime example of
that."

"I never saw it as growing up," Ataru muses. "I just saw it as
getting a life."

"That's what growing up is," Noa winks. "You had no choice in
the matter. It was straighten up or succumb to either the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
or those people's fantasies."

"Yeah, that can really wreck a person, can't it?" he chuckles. He
then falls silent as another idea comes to him. "And now I'm wrecking
everyone else's life, aren't I?"

"That could be," Noa nods.

"No wonder they hate me," Ataru smirks.

"You're just adhering to the basic premise of Sagussan theology,"
Honey cuts in. "After all, your Other's caught in a place where you and she
can't form a bonding. Your instinctive reaction is to get her out, or if you
can't, make it so rough for your rivals that they'd just give up. You tried the
latter, but they stuck together, so you're now hitting them both ways."

"In a sense, you've done that since Lum came back to Earth before
the First Tag Race," Noa adds. "Why do you think you ran ripshod over all
of them? It was your subconscious recognizing what they were doing to
Lum, so you acted in such a way that they would give you the emotional
impetus to finally break free of the constraints the *saikoo jinseijitsu* put
around you. In a sense of the term, Ataru, you and Tomobiki used each
other for your own ends. Your intentions, at least, were the more
honourable."

"I guess so," he shrugs. "I know I'll never be real friends with
those people down there. Not even people like Shinobu or Ryuunosuke.
What I've done to them can't be easily forgiven...and I really have no right to
ask them to forget it, either."

"Forgiveness takes time," Noa smiles. "Lyna knows, people on
Sagussa may never forgive me for sending you back twelve years ago,
especially if they learn of the *saikoo jinseijitsu* being forced into your
mind."

"They'd better," his eyes narrow. "I certainly won't tolerate that,
that's for damn sure. Neither will Lum."

At that moment, the rumble of starship engines is heard. Ataru
blinks as he looks up, then confusion crosses his face. "Now, what are
Lum's parents doing here?!"

The Sagussans look outside to see Captain Invader's cruiser
hovering over Nicole's palace. The doorbell rings. Ataru opens it, his eyes
blinking in surprise. "Captain, ma'am! What are you two doing here?!"

"Hope you don't mind our coming in on you like this, Mr. Groom,"
Invader chuckles as he slaps Ataru on the back, nearly causing his future
son-in-law to double over in pain.

"Remember your strength," his wife warns. "You know Terrans
can't take that."

"If I turned into the Cyborg, he'd break his hand on my back,"
Ataru moans, stretching himself to knock the kink out. "Come on in! What
brings you people out this way?!"

"Well, graduation is coming, so we'll stick around until then,"
Invader chuckles, then stops on seeing Noa and Honey. "Oh, I didn't realize
you were entertaining guests."

Mrs. Invader gasps. "You!!!" she points.

"A pleasure to meet you," Noa smiles.

"You know her?!!" the men exclaim.

"Of course I do," Mrs. Invader blushes. "After all, it was this
woman who rescued my poor daughter from Earth fourteen years ago. I
assume Lum-chan told you about that."

"I heard everyone was told it was Cinba who rescued Lum, not
Noa," Ataru shrugs.

"Cinba confessed afterward," Mrs. Invader hums, then stares at
Noa. "That's your name?"

"Now it is," Noa smiles.

"What does that mean?" Ataru wonders.

"Well, when Cinba told me about her, she said her name as being
'Aiuoeiioei' or something like that," Mrs. Invader muses.

Ataru chuckles, realizing that 'ai-uo-ei-io-ei' was the reading of
Noa's *daishi'cha* sequential number 'one-nine-two-eight-two.' "Well, I
didn't really have a name at that time," Noa smiles. "It's a very long story."

"One I'd like to hear," Invader scratches his head. "I've heard my
daughter mention you on several occasions, always crediting you with
keeping her loyal to Mr. Groom here."

"You might say it was Noa who brought Lum-chan and I together,"
Ataru smiles.

"Do go on," the large captain urges...

* * *

"Daddy's here?!" Lum stares at Ten-chan.

"He just came to Oshika this afternoon," the young Oni nods as
they enjoy a relaxing break in a park. "I think they're meeting Noa-onee-
chan and Honey-onee-chan right now."

"Well, that's good and bad," Lum muses. Both travelled back to
Tomobiki so they could return to school. "If the secret of Darling's destiny
gets out to a lot of people, then we're in for more trouble than we might be
capable of handling...and Darling still has to finish business with the people
here."

"Won't it be finished when you move to Oshika?" Ten-chan stares
quizzically at her.

"It won't be really finished until they're all married and starting
their own lives," the older Oni looks depressed. "You're lucky you still got
some ways to go before you face this time in your life, Ten-chan. Growing
up can really be a pain."

"But everyone does it," Ten-chan shrugs.

"Yes," Lum nods. "You know, it mystifies me at times. You
consider all the garbage that's happened to us over the last two years. We're
used to it because things like that are normal on Uru. But on Earth, they
never happened here until I came. These people should've got up in arms
over what happened."

"They did," Ten-chan reminds her. "But they had a handy excuse
to blame everything on...until he moved to Oshika."

"True." Ten-chan was right. Without Ataru, everyone had no one
on whom they could vent their problems. If they did try to blame it on
Ataru, it made no sense because he wasn't there and was, despite his
potential to do so, adverse to using his clan's power as Mendou was want to.
The period after the Spirit War had been confusing. Sticking to typical
norms of behaviour seemed natural, the only real defense they had against
the changes happening. Some had begun to adjust. Others, unfortunately,
still needed a swift kick in the backside to get them moving. Lum's
departure from Tomobiki would be that swift kick. "Strange as it sounds
now, I'll be glad to put this place behind me," she admits.

"You'll miss them," Ten-chan muses.

"I might...oh, I don't know!" Lum sighs. "I'll have to live in Oshika
for a while before I consider it. You sure you don't want to go back to Uru
or somewhere else?"

"Nah, I don't mind it here," Ten-chan shrugs. "Besides, Minami-
chan's here."

"Ooh, do I smell 'girlfriend,' perhaps?!"

The young Oni turns a brilliant shade of cherry as his cousin
laughs. "There you are!" a voice calls out from behind Lum.

"Mom!!" Lum embraces her mother, then her father. "Dad! What
are you doing here?!"

"Well, we're here for your graduation, you silly," Invader chuckles,
then pats Ten-chan's shoulder. "Behaving yourself, Ten?"

"Trying to," Ten-chan chuckles.

"Don't mind Ten-chan," Lum slyly smiles. "He's trying to keep
everyone from knowing about his girlfriend."

"Lum-chan!!!" the young Oni cries out.

The Invaders giggle. "My, starting at such a young age?!" Mrs.
Invader smiles.

"Not as young as Lum-chan," Invader hums.

Lum blinks. "Oh. You know."

"So Ms. Groom and her sister told us," Invader stares at his
daughter. "Lum-chan, why did you not think of telling us this?!"

Which meant that the Invaders understood the whole story. "Dad,
if you know what Darling's about to become, you'll know why people like
Koosei and Dakejinzou stay silent. Could you imagine what Schwartz, the
Dominion or Elle would do if they found out?"

"I suppose," the large captain sighs.

"Much less some members of our council," Mrs. Invader moans.
"Yethis, for example."

"Unfortunately," Invader nods agreeingly. "Well, I suppose it will
work out in the end."

"I hope so, too," Lum nods.

* * *

The Invaders' personal cruiser moves over Tomobiki. People at
ground level stare at the ship, then carry on their business. In the dining
hall, a banquet is arranged in honour of Lum's and Ataru's graduation.
People from Tomobiki are invited, as are Noa and Honey, not to mention
Nokoko and Mal. Despite all of Ataru's coaxing, Reiko refused to set foot
on a ship full of Onis. "Eventually, she'll have to get used to having you
around," Ataru muses to Lum as they relax at the table.

"We can't force her to like me all at once, Darling," Lum stares at
him. "It took you a while to get used to me."

"True," Ataru muses, then notices Mendou and Megane glaring
because Honey and Noa had sat beside the couple to ensure they couldn't sit
close to their favourite classmate. "Geez, maybe we should've invited Sil
and Tanoshii," he mutters.

"Relax," Honey snorts. "They're from a tomobiki. They can't help
being idiots."

"I'll try not to forget that," he smiles.

A servant walks into the dining hall. "Excuse me, Captain, but
Lady Sil is here."

"You invited her?!" Lum blinks.

"No sense not to," Invader shrugs, then nods at the servant.

"Lum-chan!!!" Sil beams as she walks in.

"Sil-chan!!!" Lum leaps up to embrace her old friend, then directs
her to Ataru. "Sil, this is my boyfriend! Darling, Sil Dedron. She's an old
friend of mine."

"Hi, Sil," Ataru gently grasps her hand. "Welcome to Earth."

"Thanks," Sil smiles, then notices who else is there. "Oh, Mendou-
san!" she grasps his hand as he rises. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Mendou smiles as he guides her to sit beside him.

Everyone notices the attraction between them. "I never thought I'd
ever see something like that as long as I live," Lum muses. "Sil actually
interested in an outworlder."

"Wait until the girls in Tomobiki find out," Ataru warns.

Shinobu looks at Honey, turning to the conversation they had prior
to Sil's arrival. "By the way you speak about it, you make it sound as if
Tomobiki is Dante's Inferno."

"I read his work," Honey muses. "It's close. The pit of Entropy, so
to speak."

"Entropy?!" Shinobu blinks.

Conversation tones down as everyone turns to Shinobu. "That's
right," Honey stretches herself. "The opposite of Creation. DisUnity as the
Nendo-kata would call it. In our belief, the energies of both Creation and
Entropy merge to form what we call the *te'a,* which symbolizes all of
Existence."

"God, you mean," Ryuunosuke cuts in.

"No, but that which is truly divine in Creation," Honey shakes her
head. "We don't believe in a god or gods like you people do. In our eyes,
Creation exists in all of us."

"As well as Entropy," Noa adds. "They're always in balance."

"Then why this prejudice towards Tomobiki?" Shinobu wonders.

Realizing that a war between her classmates and the Sagussans
could easily break out in the dining hall, Lum claps her hands. "I think it's
time for a story."

"A story?!" Paama looks confused.

"Of course, Shitto," the Oni smiles at her bond-mate. "On Noa's
planet, it's considered tradition that a storytelling session follows every
feast."

"Oh, okay," Noa smiles. "In fact, just to allow you a chance to
understand why we find it hard to trust you, much less like you," she stares
at the people of Tomobiki, "...I'll tell you Sagussa's creation myth."

People blink as they hear 'Sagussa,' but remain quiet. "A hundred
thousand years ago," Noa begins, "...when the Third Republic had become
dust and Sagussa was as pure as virgin snow, the *te'a* brought forth Ashi,
the first mortal of the Fourth Republic. On Sagussa, it was woman who
came first. Ashi came into being in the valley of Tere'na-korgh, below the
great dome which many later believed to be the Third Republic's final gift to
Sagussa.

"But she was alone. Around her, the animals in the forests and the
birds in the sky and the fish in the seas had companions to call their own.
So she called upon the *te'a* to bring forth a mate she could call her own.
The *te'a* obliged her not with one but three companions, another female
and two males.

"Now, the second female, Marei, was very friendly and formed the
Fourth Republic's first bond-mating with Ashi. In her desire to promulgate
offspring, Ashi chose one of the males, Daimon, as her child-mate. This left
the last male, Keiseiri, alone. Now, logic dictated that Keiseiri should have
chose Marei as her child-mate. However, Keiseiri desired Ashi for she was
very beautiful and full of the spirit of Creation. She didn't desire him
because he was very hollow, full of the spirit of Entropy. Eventually,
Keiseiri realized his attempting to win Ashi would always fail, so he
proceeded away from Tere'na-korgh to settle elsewhere. Once he had
selected a place he could call his own, he called upon the *te'a* to bestow
him a mate in Ashi's image. But Keiseiri was full of the poison of Entropy,
so his Ashi was plagued with Entropy. Thus, two villages were formed, one
of Creation and one of Entropy. The village of Creation became the Fourth
Republic of Sagussa. The second village, the village of Entropy was
called..." she pauses for effect, "...Tomobiki."

The people native to Tomobiki suppress a gulp as Noa finishes the
tale. "As the generations marched on, the villages of Sagussa expanded first
over Tere'na, then Kyre'sha and Ly'sha. However, the village of Entropy
remained isolated from their cousins on Sagussa, driven still by their hollow
hearts and hollow dreams. One thing did connect Sagussa and Tomobiki, I
must note: Keiseiri's lust for the true Ashi never once abated, not in himself
or his descendants. This would eventually come to haunt Sagussa when the
tenth generation came into being.

"Born in that tenth generation was a beautiful woman of Tere'na,
full of the spirit of Creation. She learned of the village of Entropy, and not
desiring to see any part of the Sagussan race separated for any reason,
migrated to Tomobiki to cleanse it of the poison of Entropy. However, the
denizens of Tomobiki tricked the young missionary, making her believe that
they were accepting her ways when in truth they sought to fulfill their
ancestor's lust for Ashi.

"The missionary would have been lost to the throes of Entropy
when a lad followed her to Tomobiki. He desired to present himself as her
child-mate, to live with her and aid her in the promulgation of Creation's
ways. However, when he came to Tomobiki, he saw what the denizens of
Entropy were doing to her. Realizing that he alone could not free her from
the grip of Tomobiki, the young lad submerged himself in the power of
Entropy.

"This would have made him a soul lost to Entropy, but because his
heart and soul were blessed of the strength of Creation, he was able to turn
Entropy against the denizens of Tomobiki. In a battle with the denizens of
Tomobiki, the young lad destroyed Tomobiki and freed the one he desired.
However, in doing so, he unleashed Entropy throughout all of Creation. But
the missionary forgave him his mistake, for they both had come to realize
that the power of Creation and Entropy exists in each living being. And
from that point on, Sagussa has forever been a place of contest between
Creation and Entropy, as has all of Existence around Sagussa."

Noa relaxes, sipping her juice. Everyone takes a moment to
consider what she said. "Wow!!" Shinobu whistles. "It's similar to many
creation myths here on Earth. I can't for the life of me believe how similar
people from different planets really can be."

"To us, it's not surprising," Noa muses.

"I've got a question," Megane interrupts. "You mentioned the
names of your first couples, but you never said the names of the missionary
or the person who rescued her."

"Of course not, for their names will surprise you," Noa smiles.
"The missionary's name was Ram, her child-mate Atar."

Everyone stops, staring at Lum and Ataru, who seem not the least
bit bothered by Noa's revelation. "Like all of my people, I am versed in the
history and theology of the Fourth Republic of Sagussa," Noa continues.
"When I first met Lum and Ataru fourteen years ago, I was taken by surprise
when they mentioned their names to me. They are quite similar to the
names of the missionary and her child-mate who destroyed Tomobiki. I
suppose it was partially because of that and partially because I sensed the
empathic bond forming between them, that I psi-bonded them, both to each
other and to a lesser extent, myself."

Disbelief turns to stunned shock as Noa smiles at Lum and Ataru.
"And with that bond, I saw to it that no matter what they face, neither will
truly be without the other."

* * *

"Unbond them!! Now!!!"

Everyone stares quizzically at Mendou, who has lept over the table
to grab Noa by her shirt collar. "Unbond who, *ki'shi?!*"

"Moroboshi and Lum-san, who else?!!" Mendou snaps. "How dare
you destroy Lum-san's innocence by linking her with this moron?! Do you
realize what that means?!! Lum-san will become as idiotic as Moroboshi
himself!!"

"Then I guess Lum's lucky," Noa muses.

"What?!!"

"Because if she does become as much a *de'ne* as you ascribe
Ataru, then she'll lose what sort of appeal she has and you'll go off chasing
someone else," Noa lightly smiles.

Mendou faints! "Enough!!!" Megane slams his fists into the table.
"What you did was heinous!!! Now correct it or else!!!"

"Or else what?!" Noa icily glares at him.

Everyone shivers, having never felt such a stare from anyone. "She
doesn't scare!" Shinobu gulps, shivering despite her not being the focus of
Noa's attention.

"Given her power, not even the Mikado'd scare her," Koosei looks
non-chalant.

Seeing the guards hesitate, Noa moves to salt their wounded pride.
"As I explained to Nagaiwakai when she made a similar demand sometime
ago, even if I could separate Ataru and Lum...which I can't given the amount
of mental trauma Ataru's suffered at the hands of the *saikoo jinseijitsu*...I
would not."

"Why not?!" Megane martials his courage.

"Two reasons," the Sagussan sighs. "First, because it annoys you.
Second, they don't wish their bond to be severed."

The guards quickly turn to Lum. "Lum-san, you must...!!!"
Megane begins...

...then the four find themselves facing the business end of Honey's
Urban Assault Cannon, a particle weapon similar to a SPAS-12 shotgun.
"She must what, *kimei'ne*?!" the physical education trainer wryly muses,
pure mayhem sparkling in her eyes.

The four back down. Invader storms to his feet. "I have HAD it
with you idiots!!!" he bellows, his eyes flashing. "How dare you fools think
you have the right to dictate who my daughter loves?!!" A hungry smile
tugs his lips. "Keep it up and you'll learn why the beasts in the Terrible
Swamps howl at night!!"

"But, Captain...!!" Sil barks, rising.

"That includes you!!!" Invader growls.

They stare at each other, then Sil sits, sullen resentment in her eyes.
"Yes, sir."

Everyone from Earth save Koosei and Ataru tremble at Invader's
gaze. "I'm appreciative of her for what she did! Besides, fourteen years
ago, she really didn't understand what she was doing, so that excuses her
from any guilt. And since Lum and Mr. Groom happily accept what
happened, then I won't complain. And none of YOU have any RIGHT to
complain!" he icily eyes each of them in turn. "Now, you're going to be
escorted off this ship!!" Invader snarls. "And if I'm particularly nice, I
might allow you to take a shuttle back to Earth! If not, then you're going to
have to learn how to fly!! Guards!!!"

A platoon of guards suddenly appear. "You bellowed, boss?!"
their chief inquires.

"Get this trash off my ship!!!"

"Yes, sir!!" the guards salute.

Everyone finds themselves kicked out the nearest airlock! In the
dining hall, Honey relaxes, setting the Cannon aside as she turns to finish
her meal. "Maybe you should have held off on coming to Earth until Ataru
and Lum-chan were safely in Oshika, dear," Mrs. Invader looks
sympathetically at Noa.

"They're no skin off our hides," Noa snorts. "We would have had
to deal with them eventually. Better to do it now than later."

"Amen to that," Ataru sighs...

* * *

Next morning, Tomobiki is quiet as people proceed to school.
Tomobiki High School is exceptionally quiet as students make their way to
classes. However, gloom seems to haunt many people's faces, including
Shinobu's. That attracts Ryuunosuke's attention as the tomboy dumps
garbage by the front curve. "Hey, you okay?!" she walks up to Shinobu.
"You look down for some reason."

"You'd be down too if you found out that everything you tried to do
to earn someone's love was a waste of time," Shinobu sighs.

"What does that mean?!"

Emitting a depressed sigh, Shinobu explains what Noa revealed to
them the previous night. Ryuunosuke blinks in disbelief as that information
sinks in. "You mean you went to all that trouble to try to win Ataru's
love...and it was wasted?!"

"Yeah, wasted!" Shinobu sniffs, walking up to a tree, her fist
clenching. She then growls as her fist flies. "Damn her!!"

The blow knocks the cherry tree down! *Boy, she's upset!*
Ryuunosuke shudders. *Wait until she finds out about Nassur!!*

Nearby, Momoe, Kumiko and Natsuko, who found out about Noa's
revelation thanks to Megane moaning about it when the guards came to
school, quietly observe events. "You know, things would go much easier if
someone just told Shinobu that Nassur's married to Benten," Momoe mutters
under her breath.

"Given the hell we've all gone through, no one's that brave," the
volleyball team captain shakes her head. "Save Mie."

* * *

Ryuunosuke remains with Shinobu all day, doing her best to keep
her friend's spirits up. As everyone understood, had the Spirit War not
occured, people's nerves would not be so raw. Before then, Shinobu had
always been the epitome of calm. While she did have a temper and it did
flare, such was provoked either by Ataru's girl-chasing on any threat to
whichever man she then held interest in. Now that Ataru had brutally
smashed everyone's attempts at restoring matters to pre-Spirit War norms,
no one had a convenient target to express their frustrations on.

Sometimes, Ryuunosuke felt sorry for Shinobu. She, along with
Lan, Mendou and the guards, had received the lion's share of Ataru's
uncorked fury. Then, events occurred at a break-neck pace, giving no one a
chance to catch their breath. Change, sometimes insanely drastic, had been
a daily occurrence. It was no wonder that people were still tense, even now
three months later. Then again, what could one really expect from Ataru?
Over two years of repressed anger and fury at everyone's abuse of him was
delivered back ten-fold in little over a month's time!

Later, as study hall wears on in the library, Ryuunosuke walks uo
to Shinobu, who is busy studying for her final exam. "Want some
company?" the tomboy gently inquires.

Shinobu blinks. "Sure."

Ryuunosuke sits down, then searches for a neutral topic to begin
the conversation. "Relieved that exams are almost done?"

"Pretty much," Shinobu stifles a yawn. "Then again, there's cram
school starting in March. You going to be there?"

"Not really," Ryuunosuke shakes her head. "I'll just be working in
the cafeteria. I've got nothing in the way of real job prospects ahead of me
outside of Hamajaya. You?"

"I'm going for it," Ataru's ex-girlfriend sighs. "Maybe go to
teacher's college afterward. You remember Jamie McTavish?"

"How could I forget him?!" Ryuunosuke embarrassingly smiles,
her face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and hope.

"He said I was a teacher here," Shinobu leans back, a touch of
annoyance on her face. "Jesu Cristo, what's wrong with me?!"

"You okay?" Ryuunosuke looks concerned.

"I...I don't know," Shinobu shakes her head. "I've been thinking
about the times I spent with Ataru-kun, the times we played together, tried to
form a relationship. Noa's revelation last night really cut deep."

"The fact that Ataru was always linked to Lum," Ryuunosuke
supplies. "Yeah, I guess that would really cut under your skin. Try as you
might, the cards were all against you."

"That they were."

"You angry at Noa about it?"

Shinobu blinks. "To be honest with you, I don't know if I'm really
angry at anyone. I mean, Noa was pretty naive back then. I guess to her
line of thinking, bringing together Ataru-kun and Lum fourteen years ago
must have seemed the right thing."

"The logical thing, you mean," Ryuunosuke smiles. "After all, the
central mantra of Sagussan society is 'peace, logic, harmony.'"

"Yeah. Ryuunosuke, tell me something. Have you really thought
about the Sagussans? You were there when Noa bonded with Lum."

The tomboy considers the question. "To be honest, I'm of the
opinion that it's none of my business. I mean, if Noa and her friends are that
powerful, anything we do to try to stop them is a waste of time, so what's the
use? Look at Cherry. He's still up in a lather over Ataru embracing the
phoenix..."

"Ugh!! Don't remind me!"

"...and it's done nothing," her classmate concludes. "Ataru doesn't
give a damn about us anymore...and by the looks of it, Lum doesn't care,
either. They've got their lives ahead of them. We've got to either get used
to that or else see our lives forced into a rut! I want to go ahead, so I put
stuff which I can't effect out of my mind."

"You're lucky, I guess."

"So I was wondering why you're still upset," Ryuunosuke stares at
her classmate. "Why are you still fretting over Ataru? Any romantic
relationship between you two came to an end before I came to this school
and any friendship got cancelled by the Spirit War."

"That's what I don't like!" Shinobu snaps, slamming her fist into the
table. "I mean, I can finally get used to the idea of not being intimate with
Ataru-kun. I don't mind that. But...he just turned around and slammed the
door on me like I was dirt! He never gave me...gave us...the chance to try to
reconcile with him."

"Maybe he's not ready to reconcile with you," Ryuunosuke sighs.
"Maybe he'll never be ready to reconcile. And besides, you have to admit
that you've been trying to use Ataru and Lum to get close to Nassur. Hate to
say it, but that's a lost cause."

Shinobu arches up. "So everyone's been hinting at over the last
while," she stares at her classmate. "What's going on, anyway?!"

"You'll just have to wait for that answer," Ryuunosuke sighs.

* * *

That night, Shinobu goes for a walk. She just got a call from
Shinoko. "Now everyone's married off or getting married but me," she lets
out a depressed sigh as she makes her way along the Tomobiki River.
Shinoko had told her that Atako had got Gloriana to impregnate her with
their child. With that added to Nintaiko's pregnancy with Donna, Shinobu
was under a year away from becoming an aunt twice over. It didn't do much
good for her confidence in finding an intimate partner, especially when it
was augmented with Jamie McTavish's dark revelations about her future.

"Damn, stop thinking about that!" she shakes her head. The future,
her trips to the Destiny Management Dimension revealed, was alterable.
Many chances lay ahead. Nassur seemed still available, but the chances for
her to land him were lessening. Ryuunosuke had the gist of it. Ataru's
departure and Lum's pending departure was going to affect a lot of people.
And she always considered herself above the antics which haunted her ex-
boyfriend and his girlfriend.

"Guess that's a silly lie," Shinobu stops, staring at the river.
Looking around, she blinks. This had been the place where she and Ataru
had their argument before the Urusians came. "The day my life turned
upside down," Shinobu sighs. "The day everyone's lives turned upside
down," she amends.

Noa's revelation comes back. Ataru and Lum had first met twelve
years before the First Tag Race. Thanks to the *saikoo jinseijitsu* plus the
normal forgetful actions of the human mind, Ataru had no clue as to who he
was bonded with. Which made his feelings for Shinobu all the more
legitimate...and the estrangement between them all the more painful. She
wanted him as a friend at least, she wanted him to be back in Tomobiki, not
up the coast in Oshika, shielded from her by a wide chasm of mistrust and
anger.

"He probably believes deep down that you want to use him," a
voice echoes from behind.

Shinobu bolts up, then spins around to see Noa standing behind
her. "Where'd you come from?!!" Ataru's ex-girlfriend gasps.

"You were concentrating on your own thoughts so much, you didn't
hear me walk up," Noa smiles. "You okay?"

"Not really," Shinobu shakes her head. "What you did fourteen
years ago didn't do a lot of people much good."

"Since when is it your business?"

"Since I once cared for Ataru-kun!"

"I'll take that with a grain of salt."

"I don't recall giving you permission to criticize how I feel for
Ataru-kun."

"So did Ataru give you permission to treat him like a slave before
and especially after Lum's arrival?" Noa counters.

Shinobu falters. "That's the problem with you people," the
Sagussan continues. "You believe it's your right to dominate and control
anyone you please. Since Ataru left Tomobiki, you've wound yourselves
into a snit because he isn't here for you to pick on."

"That's not true!" Shinobu cries.

"Then tell me the truth, if such is within your capabilities," Noa
evenly glares.

Shinobu moves to respond, then faltera. Unfortunately, Noa spoke
the truth. "All this has been an exercise in domination," Noa adds.
"Because you dominated Ataru's life for so long, you consider it your right.
However, now that Ataru has proven himself more powerful than you, you
degrade him in the eyes of everyone you can reach, including Lum. Why do
you think Ataru's pressing her to leave? As long as either of them are here,
they can't start their family. Both have to leave Tomobiki to get on with
their lives."

Noa turns to leave, but is stopped by Shinobu's angry cry. "Why
does Ataru-kun believe he can't live here anymore?!!"

The Sagussan stops, then looks back. "If you can't answer that
question, don't expect me to answer it for you. I've no time or patience for
*mei'ne* like you. Neither does Ataru or Lum. As far as everyone on
Sagussa is concerned, that is the best. And if you think you can stop us from
giving them the peaceful life they want, think again, Shinobu. Destoying
Tomobiki and killing all of you would hardly be any exercise for us."

Noa walks on into the night. Shinobu blinks as the Sagussan fades
from view. The idea of facing the might of a whole planet, especially a
whole planet empathically loyal to Ataru, sends chills down her spine. With
it comes a bitter realization.

There was no going back.

Turning around, Shinobu leans on the guard rail, staring once more
at the river...

* * *

The next morning, Lum returns to school for her final exam.
Seating themselves in the classroom, everyone remains in place as Koosei
hands out the exam sheets. Lum stares at the empty desk beside her. Ataru
was finishing his private tutorials, thus he would be able to graduate with the
others. Mie was finished her exams. Once this period was finished, she
need not concern herself until the graduation ceremony the following week.

And then...what? Her cousin's comments about her missing
everyone as soon as she left it comes back. She would miss this place
somewhat. She had enjoyed herself here, even though it had not been a
walk in the park for her relationship with Ataru. That everyone had torqued
themselves to conform to her desires and dreams once seemed nice.
Everyone was friendly to her, willing to help her get along here on Earth.
She once believed that they were just being friends with her.

Now, she was not so sure. The Spirit War had showed everyone
for what they were: emotionally deprived people who could not conceive of
anything other than living their lives alongside Lum. That she had once
willingly fed into that fantasy made her feel guilty. She used these people to
keep a grasp on Ataru. While it did keep her an important factor in his life,
her behaviour had been a determining factor in his leaving Tomobiki.

And now she was going, putting the people here behind her so she
and Ataru could get on with their lives. And there was Sagussa loomimg on
the horizon. In a strange sense of the term, the *daishi'cha* were just as
emotionally dependent on Ataru and Lum as the people of Tomobiki. A
smile crosses her face. It was no wonder the *daishi'cha* and the people of
Tomobiki loathed each other. They were after the same thing: Lum and
Ataru.

Oh, Tomobiki wanted Lum more than Ataru and Sagussa preferred
Ataru over Lum, but both sides realized they needed the less desirable part.
Without Ataru, Lum wouldn't stay on Earth. Without Lum, Ataru wouldn't
have something to work toward when he's on Sagussa. With Lum's
departure from Tomobiki, she was forcing them to confront the grave of
their dreams. And with that grave would come the realization there was
more to life than Lum. With the *daishi'cha's* emotional weaning from
Ataru, they would realize that if the Grand Design was to succeed, they
would have to overcome their attachment to the *daimon'cha* and surge
ahead on their own. Both sides would grow up. Was that really so bad?

Koosei finishes handing out the test papers, then moves to the head
of the class. A sheet of paper is placed on Lum's desk. The Oni blinks for a
moment, then opens it. "Lum-san...Will you meet with us in the clock tower
after the exam is done?...Megane."

Lum sighs, using her lightning to burn the paper into ashes.
Megane gulps, then trembles when she fires a steely stare his way. Koosei
bops him on the head with a sledgehammer to get him to focus his attention
on the exam, then gets everyone to work...

* * *

"Done!!" Shinobu exclaims as everyone emerges from the school
three hours later. "Now, we can go home and relax."

"Amen to that!" Lum yawns, then blinks. "*Tcha!* I forgot!! I've
got to get to the immigration office to get my visa changed!"

The Oni flies into the sky towards Shinjiku. Watching her from
ground level, everyone seems to be in a perpetual state of gloom. "So it
happens," Megane looks down.

"What do we do?!" Chibi wonders.

The bespeckled teen shakes his head. "What can we do? Even if
we tried to convince Lum-san of the justification of remaining in Tomobiki,
as long as Ataru chooses to live away from here, she will be pulled towards
him! Either way, we're defeated!"

"Couldn't we get Mendou to do something?!" Kakugari wonders.

"What could he do that Ataru couldn't counter?!" Paama sneers.

Shinobu tosses her head as she walks away. Those four were the
most! Beautiful girlfriends of their own patiently waiting for them and they
still chased after Lum. Well, next week would force them to see reality.

She slows down as she realizes something else. Without Lum,
Nassur wouldn't come here to visit. Shinobu feels tears in her eyes. Despite
her best efforts, she hadn't got close to the Vosian to make an impression.
With Lum gone, her chances would disintegrate. She doubted Oyuki would
be willing to transport her to Home Base. Inaba was being transferred to the
Sagussan branch of the Destiny Management Organization. And Lan
loathed Nassur with every fibre of her being.

"I guess I'm as guilty as everyone else," Shinobu lethargically picks
up her pace. That explained some of Ataru's desire to no longer have
anything to with her. She remembers there were times that she had imposed
herself on Ataru and Lum so she could get a chance to be with Nassur.
Look at how she volunteered to tutor Hazel? She got Lum to drag Ataru to
the pool one day, which led to their capture by the Ipraedies, their transport
to Icarus, where Ataru had faced the Box...

Shinobu stops. "It's no wonder he hates me!!!" she gasps, ignoring
the quizzical stares coming at her from passers-by.

Even if Ataru had calmed down, he still held her partially
responsible for the breakout of the *saikoo jinseijitsu* from his
subconscious. And since Ataru could love with all his heart and soul, he
could hate with equal amounts of passion. How could she fight that? Did
she have the right to fight it?

Tears flowing, she heads home. Stepping into the house and
greeting her parents, Shinobu proceeds upstairs. There, sitting on her
dresser drawer was the super-deformed Cyborg Ataru, which had wound its
way into her possession shortly after Windy came. Sitting on her bed,
Shinobu reaches over to take the doll in hand. Staring at that neutral face,
she lets out a sigh, then hugs the doll. "No going back," she gently intones...

* * *

The next day, Lum relaxes in the library, staring at her alien
registry card, now proclaiming that Lum no Midorinokaminoke-oni is a
resident of the town of Oshika in the prefecture of Miyagi. Her occupation
is listed as college student; since she was graduating, she needed a reason to
remain on Earth since she still remained legally separated from Ataru.
"That won't last long," the Oni softly chuckles to herself as she slips the card
back into her wallet.

"So it's finally happening."

Lum blinks, then watches Sakura sit beside her, a cup of tea in
hand. "Yeah, it's finally happening," the former nods. "Just stay for
graduation, then it's off to Oshika."

"We'll miss you," the priestess admits.

The Oni hesitates. "I guess I'll miss some of the things that've
happened here."

Sakura realizes that Lum did not say "some of the people." "You
can't let Ataru's hatred of us cloud your opinions, you know."

"Maybe. At the same time, I can't ignore Darling. Part of growing
up, I guess. Besides, once the people here are out of your way, you can
sneak off and marry Tsubame."

"True," Sakura drinks the rest of her tea. Staring at the leaves, the
priestess finds herself trembling. "Curious."

"What?" Lum stares at her.

"According to these leaves, we're about to get a visitor," the
priestess announces.

Echoing her statement is the rumble of starship engines. Lum runs
to the window, looking up to see an Urusian battlewagon swing into parking
orbit over Tomobiki. Her eyes narrowing as she sees identifying markings,
she sighs. "I'm afraid your right, Sakura. That's Sil's ship arriving."

"An...old friend?" the priestess muses.

"It could be said."

* * *

"Empress?!!" Lum exclaims. "Me?!!"

"That's right," Sil smiles. They now relax in the cafeteria,
surrouned by Lum's classmates and Sakura. "I am here on behalf of the
Democratic Alliance. I'm sure Ten-chan told you. We request you, as the
hereditary leader of the Redet House and by extension the rightful claimant
to the throne of Uru...as well as being the most popular hero in recent
memory...to claim your birthright and help us lead the Urusian people to a
new future."

Eyes turn at Lum. "Well?" Shinobu prods.

"Well what?!" Lum demands.

"You have to say yes to something like that, Lum-san!!" Megane
insists, then gracefully bows. "Pardon me...Your Majesty."

"Aisuru...!" Lum blushes, giggling.

"What would happen if Lum does accept the throne?" Sakura
inquires. "As we are her teachers, classmates and friends, we have more
than a right to be concerned."

"Especially if this shift of government would result in the
elimination of any threats from hard-core Imperialists such as General
Yethis and his allies," Mendou adds.

"You know about that?" Sil blinks.

"Moroboshi's grandmother had the Holy Inquisition research the
general's past," the scion of Japan's richest family looks at Lum. "Lum-san,
his xenophobia, his thirst for power is worse than even his fellow
councillors, much less President Lana, suspect. He's a psychopath waiting
to destroy as many people as possible so that he could restore something
that ceased to be two centuries ago. In fact, many believe if you assumed
the throne under their control, you'd be nothing more than a puppet ruler
with him calling the shots. You don't want that to happen, do you?!"

"Of course not," Lum readily nods.

"Lum, we have the hard-core support of nearly 70 percent of all
Urusians, across the spectrum from moderate Imperialists to a lot in the
Union camp," Sil adds. "With the Union support, the military is subdued;
Yethis won't be able to call upon them to try to suppress us. Even your
father would back you on that!"

"So what would happen if Lum agrees to this?" Shinobu asks.

"Quite simple," Sil gulps, remembering Lan's warning. "If Lum-
chan agrees, she will have to come back to Uru. She, Lady Yedris, myself
and the other leaders of the Alliance will then go public, declaring our
manifesto and requesting that the Tribal Council put it to a referendum.
This is quite legal, by the way; any group possessing such widespread grass-
roots support has the right to make this demand. Despite their grip on
power, the Tribal Council in the end run does have to answer to the
electorate. We expect that beyond the base support we already have..."

"Which would guarantee a clear-cut victory," Megane nods.

"We'd be looking at a landslide. Once Lum is enthroned, a
constitution will be drawn. The rights of the people would be paramount,
superceeding any attempts by the Houses to make a grab for power. Our
basic proposals to that end would be put out in our manifesto. After the
constitution is voted into place via another referendum, general elections
would be called to establish the House of Commons. The House of Lords,
which is where the House and Tribal leaders would have their say, would be
established at the same time. Yethis and those of his ilk would wind up
trapped in the system with next to no power, nor the means to launch a
revolution to restore the old Empire on their terms."

"And civil war, even intergalactic war, would be averted," Shinobu
hums. "Wow! Now I know how the leaders of Japan felt when the Second
World War ended and the Americans gave them the chance to establish a
new society."

"Exactly," Sil stares at Lum. "Well?"

Lum shrugs. "Sorry. Go look elsewhere."

Everyone blinks. "What?!!" Sil bolts to her feet. "What's wrong
with that?!! Don't you understand, Lum?!! Uru needs you!!!"

"Darling needs me, too!!" Lum retorts.

"When does he enter the equation?!!"

"He's been part of the equation for fourteen years!!" Lum snaps.
"Remember what Noa said two nights ago?!"

"So?!! What's she got to do with this?!"

"Everything!!" Lum growls. "You don't get it!! You want to know
what would happen if I went along with this?!! Yethis would launch his
revolution, just to take me out of your hands and put me under his control!!
You have to subdue Yethis and his friends first, THEN worry about reform!!
And I'm not really keen on the idea of being your queen!! All I care about
are two things: marrying Darling and helping him fulfill his destiny!! I've
said it since the day I decided to marry him!! If you can't accept that, don't
bother asking me for my support, Sil!! If you'll excuse me, I'm going up to
see the man I love!! Don't bother following me, Sil, or YOU'LL get a taste
of what the Masters of Noukiios got when they kidnapped Reiko-chan!!!"

Lum storms away. Everyone watches her...

* * *

"Don't feel so sad, Sil-san," Megane sighs as the others stream out
of Tomobiki High School. "We've been trying to get Lum-san to see some
reason when it comes to Ataru since the day she came here! You're not the
first who has failed in that regard."

Sil looks down, walking alongside Mendou. "She's provoking a
war. I can see it coming."

"Oh, will you stop?!!" Shinobu snarls.

Everyone jolts as Ataru's ex-girlfriend spins on them. "You're
blaming this mess on Ataru-kun and Noa-san!! What happened fourteen
years ago happened! It can't be changed no matter how much you try...and
Lum and Ataru-kun don't WANT to change it!! They love each other, and
to them, their love is more important than anything else!!!"

"And how many people are going to die because of that?!" Sil
demands. "Lum has a responsibility to her people!!"

"You're as bad as the Niphentaxians!" Shinobu growls. "Lum isn't
some icon to be worshipped! She's a human being with dreams and
desires!! None of you've ever TRULY cared for Lum because you've never
acknowledged that! And right now, there's nothing you can do to stop it!! If
a war happens, it happens not because Lum didn't do what you people
wanted her to do, but because you people don't have the guts to realize that
there's much more to life than Lum!! And if you don't realize that, to hell
with you!!"

With that, Shinobu storms away. The others remain silent for a
minute. "You know, she's right," Mendou sighs. "What Lum does in the
end is her business, not anyone else's."

"People will die for that," Sil sighs, she rises into the air toward her
battlewagon.

"Sil-san, wait!!" Mendou calls out.

She stops. "What is it, Mendou-san?"

"Would you come to my home for dinner?" Mendou offers,
smiling. "It may not be Urusian fare, but I promise you it will be the best
you can have here on Earth."

Sil blinks, then smiles. "I'd love to."

She flies off. Mendou proceeds to his waiting command car.
Everyone watches him go. "He's as smooth as ever," Megane whistles, not
knowing whether to be awed or sickened.

"What if he means it this time?" Paama stares at his friend...

* * *

"Delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it," Mendou sips his wine. He and Sil now relax
in one of the many dining halls scattered through the estate. He arranged for
a candlelit dinner, complete with a string quartet, not to mention the best
meal his chefs could whip up. Sil is stunning, dressed in a pale blue gown
with coronet, corsage and a sash bearing the sigils of the Dedron House.
"And may I say how radiant you look this evening, Sil-san," he toasts her.

"That's the fourth time you said that, Mendou-san," Sil smiles at his
verbal gaff.

Mendou flushes in embarrassment. Where was his mind going?
He had never been THIS nervous around a woman his age in his life, even
Asuka or Lum! "So it was. I apologize. I must...confess that I've never
been so blessed with a guest quite like yourself."

"Nor has a host been more gracious and flattering as you," Sil
sighs. "May I have a tour of this wonderful house of yours?"

"Certainly," Mendou rises.

They proceed out of the dining hall into a reception room,
surrounded with portraits of Mendou's ancestors and a priceless collection
of Tokugawa-era samurai armour and the relics of industrialization dating
from the early Meiji era, the years of the Mendou family's rise to national
power. "Tell me something, Sil-san," Mendou stares at his guest. "These
Houses of yours. What were they like back in the days before the
Revolution?"

"For that, you have to go back to the days after the Liberation. Our
culture before the Seifukusu invasion was gone, Mendou-san. Totally
stripped away. We were occupied for two centuries. Anyone who tried to
maintain a verbal accounting of our previous culture was ruthlessly hunted
down and exterminated. We had nothing to build a society on when the
Dominion was thrown back by the Eternal Voyager. So, we went back to
what we did know: how life existed in the Dominion...and from there, our
Empire, and the Houses which ruled it, was formed. Those who were native
administrators during the Conquest formed a government, one became
Emperor and the others the founders of their Houses. Everything was
copied right down to the way succession was passed from one generation to
the next.

"My house ruled a large tract of land in the southern hemisphere.
The first Lord Dedron, Naeyon, dedicated himself into making use of what
industrial progress we inherited from the Dominion for the betterment of
Urusians. Proper health care was instituted. Rampant diseases became non-
existent. Social and communication infrastructure projects initiated. Within
a few centuries, ours was one of the most prosperous Houses in the Empire.
We ranked with the Redets, Lum's house and the Seqs, Rei's house. But we
didn't make land grabs like some of the other Houses were want to do, nor
did we deal unfairly with our common folk."

"But there has to have been abuses somewhere along the line,"
Mendou notes. "Or else, why the Union Revolution?"

"There were," Sil nods. "My father never taught me those things.
Peasant uprisings and how they were smashed. The invasion and occupation
of Noukiios, how we treated them like second-class citizens on their
homeworld, when their culture, far older than ours, had never been touched
by the Dominion. The subordination of people who wanted to shift power
into the people's hands, who wanted to give the common folk a say in their
destiny. Several parts of my family were guilty of that; I won't deny that to
anyone who asks.

"But the Revolution didn't succeed in its set purpose. The Houses
simply merged into the Tribal system. Everyone was given a tribe they
called their own. My tribe is the Kurokaminoke-onis. Nominally, everyone
had the right to participate in tribal affairs. But the leaders, right from the
village to the Tribal Council itself, are descendants of either my House or
the three other Houses which were merged to form our tribe."

"The powers that be remain in place," Mendou notes.

"Exactly," Sil nods. "Now, I am proud of the many good things my
House did for the people it once controlled...and ashamed of what abuses it
unleashed on those same people. I call myself 'Sil Dedron' and I am not
ashamed to call myself that. But the Union hasn't lived up to the goals the
Revolution. The power remains in the hands of a few, while normal people
are not given any incentive to excel at whatever they are capable of doing."

"And perhaps that is why Lum is not interested in becoming Uru's
next Empress."

"I don't understand," Sil looks confused.

"Much that it disgusted me," he grimaces, "...Lum has always
remained steadfast on her goal of marrying Moroboshi. That is what she
wants, that is what she'll have. Moroboshi has been quite accomodating to
that point, very much so, although he would desire she not live here in
Tomobiki. If she does return to Uru, she'd have to give up Moroboshi. He
has stated he doesn't wish to marry someone who has been placed on a
pedestal so she can be venerated," he looks down, wryly smiling, "...hence
his opposition to our attempts at keeping Lum here, not to mention his
rejection of the Church of Lum on Phentax Two."

"And what of Uru?" Sil inquires.

"There is...another way," Mendou sighs. "I can only give you a
suggestion. Certainly solicit Lum's support if her popularity is what you
indicated earlier. If her word would sway people into supporting reforms,
then Yethis and those who support him would still be powerless. But allow
the people to decide what they want. Don't just give them one system of
government, but many, then let them make the choice. If it's a monarchy,
then let it be a monarchy. If a republic, then a republic. If they like things
the way they are, then let them stay as they are."

"I doubt many would support that idea."

"Perhaps not," he nods. "But as for Lum, if you force her to be
Empress, then you are destroying her freedom of choice, especially in her
personal affairs; I doubt she wishes to marry anyone other than Moroboshi.
And if her freedom of choice is destroyed, that would indicate that others'
freedom of choice could be destroyed. The tyranny you wish to avert will
return. In the end, Yethis will win."

Sil considers his proposal. "You've made very valid points,
Mendou-san," she smiles. "Since when did you become so keen on
protecting Lum's dreams, especially if what I gather about your interest in
her is true?"

He looks down, then sighs, staring into her eyes. No use denying
this. "Because I myself am guilty of those same concerns I raised with you,"
Mendou shrugs. "I tried to convice Lum that Moroboshi wasn't worthy of
her, that there had to be other people much better suited to be her husband.
And I failed, thanks to both Moroboshi and Lum...as has everyone else who
has tried to force them in directions they wish not to go. Even Moroboshi's
grandmother will fail in that regard. Of that, I have no doubt."

Sil stares admiringly at him. "That must have been the most
painful thing to admit, especially to a stranger like me."

"It...is," he nods, then looks again into her eyes. "And I don't want
to think of you as a stranger anymore, Sil Dedron."

She blinks, flushing at the intensity of his gaze. "I...um, would you
excuse me, Mendou-san?" she gulps. "I have to report to Lady Yedris on
wh-what has happened."

With that, she rushes into the open, then flies away. Mendou
watches her. "Sil-san..."

Had he come on too strong? Was he going to fail with Sil, like he
failed with Asuka? Setting his jaw, he barks orders to his Kuromegane to
prepare a helicopter. He had to go talk to someone about how to make one's
intentions known to an Oni.

Hoping that Ataru was in the mood to talk, of course...

* * *

Next day, Lum proceeds to school, a smile on her face. Exams
were done, Noa and Honey were staying in Oshika waiting for her to join
them and Ataru, her visa was changed to reflect her new place of residence,
and it appeared to be clear sailing ahead. "Lum-chan!!" a voice calls out
from behind her.

No such luck. "What is it, Sil?"

The raven-haired Oni lands, sensing her annoyance. "Hey, what's
with that look?!"

"If you're here to try to talk me into being your pet Empress, don't
bother wasting your breath," Lum warns.

"Oh, about that," Sil sighs. "Well, I just sent a message to Lady
Yedris."

"And what does she want?!"

"She...would hope you'd reconsider," Sil shrugs. "But if you don't,
she'll understand. But your support would always be appreciated."

"That I can give," Lum nods. "But only that! Anything that stands
in my way of my marrying Darling is gonna get booted out of the way, if not
by me, then by Darling!"

"I...suppose," Sil looks down. "Deep down, I admire you for your
determination to get what you want. I just hope it doesn't wind up costing
other people their lives."

"I hope so, too," Lum readily nods.

Two hands reach out to fall atop Sil's horns! "Tag!!" a voice calls
out.

Sil flushes as that spasm of ecstacy fires down from her buds. Lum
gasps in disbelief, then stares at the one responsible. "Shutaro, you really
mean it?!!"

Sil sees Mendou standing behind her, smiling. "M-mendou-san?!"
the Oni stammers, a storm of emotions crossing her face. "D-do you have a-
any idea what y-you just did?"

"Yes, I did," Mendou grasps her hands. "And I mean it, too."

Hearing this, Sil blinks, then leaps right into his arms. "Yes!!!"

They kiss. "Well, doesn't that beat all?" Lum smiles...

* * *

Later, Lum walks alone on the beach near Ataru's home. Staring at
the ever-shifting Pacific, she emits a sigh. Despite Mendou's proposal of
marriage...*I wonder how Shutaro's parents are going to take **that?!***
Lum muses...Sil had dropped a terrible bombshell on her. While things
were straightening themselves out here on Earth, back home, her own
people were about to face a crossroads, a crisis of conscience which could
spell either destruction or salvation for Uru.

Part of her was tempted to go back long enough to help people
come to their senses, maybe instigate some sort of reform. But how could
she reconcile her bond with Uru with her bond to Ataru? Lum looks back to
the house, then shakes her head. She had made that decision long ago. She
chose to live on Earth even after the First Tag Race. This, after all, is where
her Darling lived. How could she choose any other place when he was
here?

"I think I did you a grevious injury fourteen years ago," a voice
softly intones.

Lum smiles as she feels Noa's arm gently wrap around hers. "You
didn't," the Oni leans her head against the Sagussan's neck. "In your own
way, you showed me a bigger world than I could have imagined back then.
For that, I will always be grateful to you."

"What about what Sil told you?"

Lum stares at her. "War is coming."

"So many back home believe," Noa nods. "At least, those in
Defense and Intelligence. They're smelling the gunpower already.
Several...Leona, Ray, Miranda, Oryuu...are salivating at the chance to cut
loose and wreck something. What's worse, everyone on Sagussa would
gladly support them. As far as we're concerned, Uru can do whatever it
wants to itself...as long as you and Ataru are not involved. When you do get
involved..."

"Look out," Lum sighs.

"Right," Noa drawls. "Don't worry about it. We won't abandon
you because it may suit us to seek another *daimon'cha* candidate. We
don't back away from our promises."

"You better not," Lum embraces Noa, placing a warm kiss on the
other's lips...

*** The End ***