Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Shinobu: Futures Imperfect ( Chapter 47 )

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

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Shinobu: Futures Imperfect"
by Philip Gavigan
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Edited by Fred Herriot and E.B. Kushnir
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A side story based on the fan fiction stories in turn based on "Urusei
Yatsura," created by Rumiko Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:

1) This story is set in the period between "Mie's Story" and "Dakejinzou's
Story." The Niphentaxians first appeared in "What Price For Love?" Certain
elements of this story are transplanted from "Ramna 1/2." In this continuity,
the "Yatsura" and "Ranma" storylines are seen as coinciding.

2) The song Shinobu sings is "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" from the
musical play "Evita." Music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

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Ryuunosuke disliked parties, hated big parties, and truly loathed noisy
parties. Thus her presence at a truly large and noisy levee was unusual to
say the least. As she made her way through the boisterous throng, she
promised herself one long nose-to-nose, toe-to-toe confrontation with the
person who was supposed to be her best friend.

The celebration was in honor of three events: the graduation of the
1984 class of Tomobiki High, the handfasting of Mie and Makoto Seikou and the
successful repulsion of the threatened Niphentaxian invasion of Earth. Even
by Tomobiki standards this had been a busy day.

Ryuunosuke herself felt ambivalent about the day's events. Since she
was going to be spending the greater portion of her life at Tomobiki High as
an employee, graduating from the place seemed redundant. Mie's and Makoto's
wedding had been nice but also uninspiring. In the months since she had
joined Class 3-4, Mie and Ryuunosuke had become acquainted. However, their
relationship never really progressed from its early stages and Ryuunosuke had
only just met Makoto when she and the other Sagussans arrived on Earth.

The invasion crisis lasted just long enough to add fuel to the high
spirits that accompanied the enemy's retreat. However, the reason there was
room for celebration was Ryuunosuke's and her classmates' ability to "duck and
take cover," letting others do the actual fighting.

Well, at least most of them had.

It was not easy for the young tomboy to work her way through the crowd
packed into Tomobiki High's main gymnasium. Clusters of people kept breaking
up and regrouping as everyone tried to understand the full extent of the day's
activities. She did notice that her friends, townspeople, and a surprising
number of strangers hung on every word spoken by Ataru Moroboshi's latest
revealed allies. "No." "You don't say." "And what happened next?" were
about the only contributions made by the Terrans as the Sagussans were
steadily pumped for more information.

Ryuunosuke stumbled into a larger knot of spectators avidly listening to
one of the members of the ship's company of R.S.S. "Hasei'cha," Mie's
shipmates. There she began to get some answers to her own questions.
Lufy...remembered only by the curious red star tattoo the warrior wore on her
face...was going full steam with a half empty bottle of Sagussan brandy that
she held in her right hand.

Surprisingly, Lufy seemed to remember Ryuunosuke. Without warning, Lufy
reached across and greeted Ryuunosuke as a bosom buddy instead of the passing
acquaintance that she was. Before Ryuunosuke could stop it, she was gripped
in a vise-like headlock by Lufy's unincumbered arm. Sparing a fleeting moment
of sympathy for Chibi, Ryuunosuke divided her attention between listening to
Lufy's almost poetic recitation of the day's battle and keeping herself from
being brained by the brandy bottle the pilot waved in front of her like a
pendulum.

Within a few minutes Ryuunosuke discovered what she had been looking for
and when Lufy had thrown her arms wide to pantomime a particularly huge
explosion she effected her escape. The knowledge that she had acquired was no
comfort to her. It conformed her darkest fear, and Lufy's barely contained
admiration for one certain party's feats of strength at a crucial time were
the basis for yet another potential catastrophe.

Finally, in one of the quieter corners of the room Ryuunosuke spotted
one of her targets. Not the main one. She was not on the crowded dance floor
made more congested by the stage set up to accommodate the band that would
soon be providing the musical accompaniment to that curious Japanese ritual of
embarrassing one's self in public by demonstrating a complete inability to
carry a tune. However, this young girl, a recent and unwelcome addition to
the population of Tomobiki, had been with Ryuunosuke's friend early in the
day...and had disappeared with her. Pamanba Shapiro, or whatever her real
name was, had revealed herself to be a Vosian hunter at a very inconvenient
time. She had placed the muzzle of a very powerful raygun to the forehead of
someone who was very important to both of them. It was only the very quick
thinking of their mutual friend that had saved the alien girl when Nassur, the
true target of that day's terror, had arrived to prevent innocent blood from
being shed. To Ryuunosuke's particular interpretation, Shinobu Miyaki's
actions on that day was some of the stupidest things her best friend had ever
done.

At least until today.

Pamanba was deep into conversation with the person whom Ryuunosuke
recalled as being the leader of Pathfinder Troop Six. She could not remember
her name. She did spend a few minutes openly listening as the two commented
on the day's activities, only to catch the Sagussan asking a question in that
half-joking manner of someone seriously considering the issue. Now alarmed,
she broke into the conversation, muttered a short apology to Sylia, then
dragged the Vosian away from the startled commander before the girl could
protest.

"Where is she?" Ryuunosuke snapped at the smaller girl through tight
lips and clenched teeth.

Pamanba, although a brave individual, was also intelligent enough to
realize that the powerful figure before her was not in a playful mood. Having
survived one life threatening situation this day, and instinctively
recognizing that Ryuunosuke's anger was provoked by their concern for
Shinobu's well being, the ponytailed young girl concluded that honesty was the
best life-insurance policy. "She wanted to be alone for awhile so she said
that she was going to your old home room for a while..."

Pamanba stopped as Ryuunosuke spun around on her heels and pushed her
way to the nearest exit. If truth be told, Pamanba was a little jealous of
the retreating tomboy. Ryuunosuke had been a part of Shinobu's life long
before the Vosian had ever heard of this distant, pretty world, and she envied
their times together. Still she was here now and a part of Shinobu's life,
and if that young lady...here Pamela could not resist a snort of laughter at
the use of the term 'lady' in connection with Ryuunosuke...thought that she
could tell her Terran friend what to do there was going to be trouble.

Ryuunosuke plunged into the corridor. It was mercifully empty. At the
moment the only thing the young girl could think about was her friend and the
insane course of behavior that she seemed determined to pursue.

Ever since her meeting with Shinobu at the distant tea house where her
deranged father had insisted upon wasting their lives, she had instinctively
known that this person would always do her best to help her in any way that
she could. Shinobu had been there for her, sometimes to talk, others to
listen, and sometimes just to be there when her father had devised some new
means of making her life even more hellish than it had already been.

Best of all Shinobu never offered useless advice about behaving in a
more feminine fashion. She just did what she could to help Ryuunosuke deal
with the biological realities of being a woman. As Ryuunosuke climbed the
staircase leading to the room where so much had happened to the both of them
over the past few years, she steeled her resolve for the coming confrontation.
Her best friend had a death wish. She would not be allowed to indulge it.

Ryuunosuke stopped at the open doorway to her old classroom and looked
in. The lights were off but the room was lit by the courtyard lamps below,
creating strange patterns of shadows and light in the room making it look like
one of the abstract ink prints she had been forced to study in one of the
interminable art appreciation courses. Shinobu was there, still dressed in
her school uniform as she sat curled up on the window sill, gazing off into
space. For a moment Ryuunosuke fumbled for the light switch then stopped as
she realized that Shinobu needed this atmosphere of contrast. She entered the
room and moved noiselessly around the darkened desks till she came to stand
next to her friend.

The light from the powerful commercial lamps had a curious effect of
bleaching the colors from whatever it struck so that the object was given an
otherworldly appearance. Shinobu had a strange greenish glow to her and when
she turned to look at her school friend the resulting play of light and shadow
across her face resembled a skull of a person long dead. At that moment
Ryuunosuke was absolutely convinced that she was being haunted by the ghost of
her best friend who was yet among the living. Then the moment passed and the
anger that had grown from Ryuunosuke's love for this person before her and the
contempt that she seemed to hold for her own well-being blossomed and she
pulled her arm back and slapped Shinobu across both of her cheeks

"YOU IDIOT!!!!" the tomboy shouted as she grabbed Shinobu by the
shoulders and dragged the curiously unresisting girl down from her window
perch to shake her. "You frigging moron, they told us to stay out of it and
you just had to get involved, didn't you?!! They told us to find someplace
safe and to stay there 'till it was over and I did!! I got everybody over
here in the basement!! It was perfect; this outhouse is sacred to those
Church of Lum jerks. It's the last place they would've attacked!! We're all
downstairs, all together, all safe, then I look around for you...and you're
not there! And I start to look for you, then I start thinking 'she's with
that Shapiro bitch! They're together an' they're around here somewhere. It's
just that Shinobu doesn't want that girl around those morons. I mean, she
fried Lum the first time they met and Mendou and the others are dying for some
payback time.'

Shinobu made no resistance as Ryuunosuke continued her tirade. "And I
keep telling myself that...and I know it's a lie. I knew that you were out
there! I knew that you were involved! I knew that you could get yourself
killed just like you've been trying to do since you got Ataru put into that
box on Icarus!"

With that bitter accusation from Ryuunosuke, Shinobu let loose a low
groan of agony and pitched forward into her friend's arms. Ryuunosuke shook
her again, but much more gently this time and begged her to listen. "No, no I
didn't mean that, honey! But you gotta listen to me now Shinobu, you gotta
listen to me! We all put him into whatever it was that did it to him, all of
us. There are no innocents here! We all did it! And Lum and Ataru are at
the head of the list!! You're guilty, yes, but we all are! It's time to let
it go! You've done what you could to make it up with Ataru, and it hasn't
done either of you any good. He doesn't want anything to do with you, with
any of us anymore, and all your trying ain't gonna change that! Now it's time
to let him go! He's got his own life to make and there's no room for any of
us in it!!"

Ryuunosuke had slid her hands up the petite girl's frame and now cupped
her cheeks with her palms, her hands drenched by the steady flow of tears from
Shinobu's eyes. With a gentleness totally foreign to her, Ryuunosuke raised
Shinobu's head and looked into her dark eyes, marvelling at the storm of
emotions that swirled through those orbs. *How can anybody feel this much and
still live?* she wondered.

Ryuunosuke took a tiny, hesitant breath and then continued. "I know you
mean well, but what you did today ain't gonna do you any good and it's about
time that you started looking out for yourself because nobody else is going
to. You should hear that Lufy talking you up down there. You really
impressed her...and that ain't a good thing. She's like one of those
wandering minstrels, practically turned the battle into an epic poem already.
Made sure you got credit too with you ripping all those doors outta their way.

"Then she said something that really scared me and it should scare you,
too. She was talking about what kind of soldier you would make if you got the
proper training and the good that you could do. Later on I heard that
commander of theirs saying something similar to Shapiro, sorta half asking if
she thought you might be interested in taking some training with them while
they were here on Earth. Shinobu, I ain't saying nothing against Mie's
people. They're good folk...but they've got their own set of priorities! And
it's Ataru and Lum and *just* Ataru and Lum! They won't set out to hurt
you...but you will if you don't get outta their way."

Shinobu was quiet. She had said nothing since Ryuunosuke had entered
the room but the tomboy could tell that she had listened...truly listened...to
her. It had registered with her. Now was the time to finally effect the
break with Ataru, the time to set Shinobu free. Ryuunosuke and the rest of
Shinobu's friends had long known about her infatuation for Nassur. It had
been the contributing factor that provoked Shinobu's behavior which led to
that deadly farce on Icarus.

But none of them had been able to work up the courage to tell her of
Nassur's marriage to Benten. Now was the time. Shinobu's immediate response
would be anger directed against either Ataru or the bearer of the news. If it
was against her former boyfriend, it would not be much of a loss. Ryuunosuke
thought that any gentler emotions between the two had to have been burnt away
by the years of conflicting passions and pains. But if Shinobu's fury was
centered around a more immediate target, well, Ryuunosuke considered that to
be a price worth paying. "Shinobu, I've got to tell you..." Ryuunosuke slowly
said as she prepared to face the abyss.

"I know," Shinobu interrupted in a thin, strained voice.

"Pardon?" Ryuunosuke gasped in astonishment.

"I know."

Ryuunosuke chose that moment to engage in an endeavor not normally
associated with her: thinking before going any further. It was not that she
was afraid of bearing the brunt of Shinobu's explosive response, but intense
physical pain was something that she considered best avoided. Naturally, she
wanted to maximize her chances of escaping pain free. "Shinobu," she began
once again, "before this conversation goes any further, I really need to know
just what you are talking about?"

"Today, today when I was out there," the trembling girl began, "...I was
with them, dressed like one of them, acting like one of them. It was like I
wasn't me anymore...like I was being replaced by someone else. I looked at
them, and they were all so sure of themselves, of what they were doing. I
asked Mie if she was scared...and she said yes. For a moment I felt a bit,
just a little bit better. Then she said that she had died once already and
that death held no surprises for her."

Shinobu began to gasp for breath as her emotions pulled her chest
muscles tightly against themselves. "I had known this before...but I had
never realized it till that second. They had all died and had been brought
back. And the same thing could happen to me too!"

Now the words gush from her throat as if they were being forced past
some great obstacle. "I don't want that! I don't want that! I could die!
They could bring me back...but would it be me, the real me? Maybe I won't
really come back! How should I know; they don't tell us anything. Maybe
what's...really me would...be lost...gone! I'd be gone...and something
else...would be here...but not me! I don't want that...I don't want that...I
don't...I don't...I don't...!"

Slowly Shinobu began to crumple to the floor as her legs gave way
beneath her. Ryuunosuke followed her to the cold tile, cradling her sobbing
friend to her chest like a mother with her child.

* * *

Later, after the last lingering shudder had shook Shinobu's slight
frame, Ryuunosuke cautiously slipped her hands underneath Shinobu's arms and
pulled her slowly to her feet. Then, half leading and half carrying, she drew
her friend to the front of the school room, depositing her in the comfortable
chair behind the teacher's desk. Seeing that Shinobu was securely positioned,
Ryuunosuke pulled open the upper left hand drawer and took out the coffee mug
Koosei always kept there. A quick trip to the water fountain down the hall
and Ryuunosuke was back, using her moistened handkerchief to wipe the last
traces of tears from Shinobu's face.

The girl seemed so terrifyingly empty, so drained of energy. For a
moment Ryuunosuke toyed with the notion of fetching Sakura to help provide
some measure of comfort to her friend, but did not like the thought of leaving
Shinobu alone. This was still Tomobiki...and things had a terrible habit of
occurring at the worst possible time. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to
wait a few minutes, the tomboy reasoned. Shinobu seemed calmer now; perhaps
she had finally purged herself of some of the furies which had been tormenting
her over the past few months. "Thank you," Shinobu whispered slightly.

"For what?" Ryuunosuke muttered, feeling guilty for having slapped her
best friend. "I sure didn't make it too easy on you tonight...and you got the
evidence to prove it," she pointed toward the sitting girl's face.

Shinobu managed a weak little smile and raised her right hand to the
offended cheeks. "Well, they say the truth hurts."

Both girls weakly chuckled at that feeble joke, then Ryuunosuke fell
silent as her friend continued. "It may have hurt, a bit, but it was the
truth and I needed to hear it, to hear it from someone else besides myself and
from someone I trust as completely as I trust you, Ryuunosuke."

The tomboy looked at the schoolgirl, amazement plastered across her
face. "Yes, I trust you, Ryuunosuke. I think you're one of the finest people
I've ever met, and I consider it a honor to be your friend."

With this statement Ryuunosuke blushed so intensely that the whole room
seemed to glow a soft gentle red. "I've been telling myself something like
what you told me tonight for sometime, and I've been getting similar advice
from other...people that we both know."

Shinobu's gentle features suddenly hardened. Ryuunosuke had a very good
idea who her best friend was thinking of. "But sometimes you can argue with
yourself and convince yourself that things can still work out. And it's hard
to take advice, no matter how good it is if it's coming from someone that you
don't know well. Don't like at all. She seems to think it's her god-given
right to lecture."

"Sounds like you've been giving this some serious thought," ventured
Ryuunosuke who wanted to keep Shinobu thinking more about resolving her
problems than dwelling on some of the slights that she had received. Still
none of the recent visitors had gone out of his way to endear himself to any
of Ataru's old schoolmates. Ataru was their sole concern and his previous
associates were considered impediments to his true destiny.

"Ever since we returned from being kidnaped by the Church of Lum,"
Shinobu paused, allowing her mind wander back to that particular ordeal. "I
had no idea why they took me along with Lum and the rest. In the pantheon of
their religion, those dorks call me a heretic, a 'Sinful Doubter.' Well I got
hurt bad that time."

Ryuunosuke thought that Shinobu could pick the most interesting times to
understate things. 'Hurt bad' didn't begin to describe when a mind-controlled
Megane had fired a clip of ammunition towards the back of Atako Moroboshi,
Ataru's bioroid sister. Shinobu had pushed her new friend out of the line of
fire only to be hit herself.

There had been a collective gasp of horror when Shinobu's female
classmates had first viewed the healed wounds in the showers after gym class.
Her left shoulder, which had previously been flawless, was now a mass of
crisscrossing ridges that trailed like vines down her arm. It was only the
repeated assurances of both Shinobu and Lum that the guards' leader had been
under the control of a malevolent curse to prevent the Oni from finding
happiness with her beloved that had kept the outraged girls from rushing en
masse and lynching the hapless nerd on the spot. Ryuunosuke, however, had
found a later opportunity to "express her discontent" with her classmate's
actions. Unfortunately he healed.

Then Shinobu began her story again. "At any rate, I didn't think it was
that bad. The Avalonian doctor who treated me described it as a 'flesh
wound,' and when I heard that it made me think of those war movies when the
hero is up and fighting again after getting a Band-Aid and a cigarette. But
it wasn't like that at all. Those type of bullets shatter when they impact
flesh to maximize the damage. If that had happened to me anywhere else
besides Phentax Twelve, I would have lost my arm, possibly the shoulder as
well. But the doctor said that even that wouldn't have been a problem since
they could have grown a new arm for me or replaced it with a bionic one. They
were talking so casually about replacing a part of me that it scared me to
death! It's kept me from going up to that factory to ask them to take another
look at me."

"There's something wrong?" Ryuunosuke asked, the urgency in her voice
giving it an even huskier quality than usual.

"I...I think I've got some type of nerve damage. My left arm tingles
from the elbow to the wrist and two of my fingers and the palm of that hand
seems numb. I can use them fine...but sometimes they're just not there."

"So go up and see them! Get it fixed!" Ryuunosuke fairly shouted.

"I don't want to owe anybody anything!" her friend snaps. "You're
right. I have been trying to make up with Ataru and Lum, to be their friend.
But no matter what happens, no matter what I do, I'm always back to square one
when the smoke clears. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being sorry. I'm tired
of trying to make amends. I'm tired of being the punching bag whenever
someone comes out of a flying saucer and wants to prove how tough he is. I
want my life back and I want it back now!"

"Back?" Ryuunosuke was now a little confused. Where was Shinobu going
with this train of thought. "Back? Back as in *before* Icarus?"

"No!" was the immediate reply from Shinobu. "I mean before Lum! Before
the Tag Race! Before everything! I want a life, a normal life again without
aliens, flying saucers, time travel, curses, inter-species hybrids, ninja
fighting programs and watermelon gods. I want to be able to go into a coffee
house and not hear the conversation die down when I enter. I want one person,
just one person to describe me without once using the phrase 'Ataru
Moroboshi's ex-girlfriend.' I want to be able to go to bed each night with
the assurance that the next day will be the same as the one before it. I want
a chance to have a husband and a family. I just want to be normal again."

With that Shinobu took a long, shuddering breath and drank the water
Ryuunosuke fetched for her. Ryuunosuke herself was torn between conflicting
feelings. She was delighted that Shinobu's emotional eruption had resulted in
a desire to begin to build a life for herself that was not fused to Ataru's.
But the tomboy could not help but be astonished that Shinobu could ever use
the word "normal" in connection with herself. Understanding the word to mean
"unexceptional" or "average," Ryuunosuke was unable to use the word to
describe her friend. Anybody with the personal history of Shinobu Miyaki,
anybody with the ability to survive the adversities hurled against her with
increasing ferocity by a cruel fate, could never be described as "normal!"
She must have misunderstood the meaning behind her friend's words.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"I'm really not certain," Shinobu replied sheepishly. "I guess I've
determined the problem but not the solution. Well, with Mie, Makoto and all
of the rest leaving tomorrow, I think I'll have some free time to work on it."

Ryuunosuke was puzzled. She had not heard anything about the Sagussans
preparing to leave Earth so soon after Ataru and Lum's graduation and asked
Shinobu what was going on. "Oh, it's not for good," Shinobu replied with a
little hand gesture that indicated quite clearly that it would not bother her
if she never saw any of them ever again. "I guess they're getting away for a
few days on a honeymoon trip and the rest of them are tagging along. Just
taking the opportunity to get in some vacation time. It should be really
peaceful around here, for a few days at least. Although, now that I think
about it, I think Pathfinder Troop Six might be staying to keep an eye out for
any Niphentaxian agents tempted to try something."

Ryuunosuke nodded, thinking it would be a good thing to make sure
Shinobu did not have the opportunity to spend too much time with Sylia's team.
Too much potential for backsliding there. "So, what's gonna be your first
move?" she asked.

Shinobu stood up, laughed, stretched her arms high over her head and
declared, "To get out of this room and go home," she giggled. "A lot has
happened in this room. A lot has happened to me in this room but that doesn't
mean I have to spend anymore time here than I really want to. Besides I guess
I'll be back here for cram school before we take those placement tests. Might
be a good time for me to start exploring my options. It's been a while since
I've done that."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ryuunosuke protested in a laughing voice. "You
ain't getting out of it that easy. Everyone, and I do mean everyone in the
class, promised to do a song tonight. I was warned that you might try to duck
out on it and none of the girls will ever let me forget it if you do!"

"Oh, no," squealed Shinobu as her friend grabbed her arm and ,with a
look of one who will not be denied ,began to pull her from the room. "No,
please! I don't want to!"

"No way! Nothin' doin'!! Mendou spent a ton of yen and got a real good
band for us tonight! Besides, what are you so worked up about anyway? You
got a great voice and everybody knows it."

"But I never sing in public. Please! I can't do this."

Ryuunosuke stopped at the doorway into their old class room, staring
Shinobu straight into the eye. "Yes, you can!" Ryuunosuke said in a suddenly
serious tone. "Tomorrow and every day after that is gonna be yours and yours
alone. Tonight's gonna be the last for us...for all of us as a group. When
this party is over, our separate stories begin. Don't get yours off on a
start that you're gonna regret. If you don't do this tonight, you'll spend
the rest of your life asking what on earth you were running away from."

Shinobu looked back at her best friend, then at the same instant they
pulled each other into a warm hug of appreciation. "I really do love you,
Ryuunosuke," she whispered.

"Me too, Shinobu, me too." the tomboy muttered into her friend's ear.

Together the pair turned arm in arm and walked out of the dark school
room into the illuminated hallway. Ryuunosuke hooked her foot around the door
and slammed it shut behind them.

Then some idiot turned out the lights! "***I DON'T BELIEVE THAT FATHER
OF MINE!!!!***" Ryuunosuke roared to the heavens as Shinobu began to
helplessly giggle. "***EVEN ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL, HE KEEPS THE SAME
FRIGGIN' SCHEDULE!!!!!!***"

Ryuunosuke realized that Shinobu had taken her by the hand and was
leading her down the corridor and back to the party that they had both left
not so long before. Ryuunosuke's night vision was not the best and she was
nervous about making her way through the pitch-black building. "Can you
really find our way outta the dark, Shinobu?" she asked.

"Yes," came the answer back to her. "For the first time in a long time,
I really think I can."

* * *

The flight from Tomobiki to Oshika was a long one. Ataru was grateful
he did not have to do that again. With today's...actually yesterday's
...graduation ceremony, he had formally ended his association with that
district and brought a much needed sense of closure to a particularly painful
episode of his life.

The powerful engines that propelled his private helicopter through the
night skies were barely audible to the people in the heavily insulated cabin
permitting those returning with him to that seaside community to get a little
sleep. Even those who shared the comfortable bench with him were dozing; Lum
with her legs tugged up underneath herself and with her head resting on his
shoulder, Reiko lying with her head pillowed in his lap.

His adopted daughter had begged for the chance to attend her father's
graduation ceremony and Ataru had given in. It was not all going as the alien
girl would have liked; she had to agree to get up the next day at her regular
time to help get ready for Mie and Makoto's honeymoon and not sleep in. Ataru
considered it very important that his daughter learn early on in life that
almost everything comes with a price tag. Still, she needed sleep as did
almost everyone else on the helicopter, excepting Ataru and, hopefully, the
pilot. The reason for the pilot being awake were obvious, but for the young
man who had lead such a traumatic life of adversity which he had won, his
thoughts were centered upon one last source of concern.

It was not until the party at the end of the day at the Tomobiki High
School gym that Ataru had learned the news that had so disturbed him. He had
been briefed upon the day's confrontation with the Niphentaxian invasion fleet
threatening Earth. They had arrived at his home world solely to take revenge
for his regrettable but ultimately necessary actions on Phentax Twelve. The
conference had been thorough. It had dealt only with the broad aspects of the
battle: companies, squads, ships and flights had been covered, not
individuals.

It was not until his talk with Mie that he had learned something that
had banished any sense of satisfaction with the day's accomplishments. There
had been two stowaways on the "Kiboo'cha" and they had joined in on the
battle, one providing needed information and the other the power to remove a
series of obstacles that had threatened the success of Pathfinder Troop Six's
mission.

The first of these girls, a one-time Vosian hunter now generally known
as Pamanba Shapiro, was of no interest to Ataru. This was understandable as
the girl had once threatened the life of his much-loved girlfriend. It was
the other, Shinobu Miyaki, the last person on the face of the Earth who could
aggravate Ataru that he now found his thoughts swirling around her and her
actions.

Ataru knew that it was fundamentally wrong to categorize people, to give
them labels and define a relationship by what a person's primary function to
another person was. At this stage in his life such behavior was absolutely
necessary. His days were full with new demands for his attention, new
problems to be solved and these, coupled with a cursed renegade ninja program
that was still curled around his subconscious like a viper, were a constant
threat to both his maturity and his sense of self. It was easy to treat
everyone as functions: friends, allies, adversaries and lovers. But until
his fundamental sanity was restored to the state it was prior to the insertion
of the *saikoo jinseijitsu* into his mind, it was important that he continue
to do so. Later there would be time to make amends.

But Shinobu refused to be categorized. Her actions ranged from those of
the most implacable foe to a stalwart ally. Ataru's emotional response to the
girl also flew across the emotional spectrum. Sometimes livid anger bordering
on the most fundamental levels of hatred, sometimes concern and compassion,
and sometimes something sweet and tender. All of these could be how Ataru
felt towards his childhood friend and companion. Sometimes he felt these in
the course of a single day!

She was the last source of confusion to him. Now was the time that he
desperately needed a sense of assurance about who he was and where he was
headed. For this reason, he felt a growing sense of guilt for some of his
more vengeful acts against her. He had resolved to avoid Shinobu as much as
possible, to be cool and distant from her when circumstances forced them into
each other's company. No cruelty formed the basis for these actions. Ataru
realized that he still cared deeply for the girl, possibly more than he was
willing to admit. But if he was to protect her from the danger, he had to
keep her at a distance. Later, when everything was finally settled, would
come the time of reconciliation.

Shinobu, however, refused to stay put. Once again she had involved
erself in his affairs. Once again she had deliberately placed herself in
harm's way. Once again she could have gotten herself killed. As Ataru
listened to Mie's account of the battle once Pathfinder Troop Six and the
"Hasei'cha's" crew had boarded the Niphentaxian System Destroyer and learned
how Shinobu had been of vital importance to the final success of the
engagement, conflicting emotions rose higher and higher in his breast until
they threatened to choke him.

In his mind he could hear the shrieking laughter of the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* as it tried to capitalize upon the chaos in yet another attempt
to seize Ataru's physical form for its own. This latest attempt was easily
repelled, but it did underline the threat that Shinobu posed not just to Ataru
but to herself and all of those Ataru cared for.

Because if that demon ever did take control of Ataru again, its first
action would be to murder all those who were important to the young man to
ensure that it would retain control of its stolen body. Ataru had seen first
hand the results of this when he had visited that other temporal reality where
the *saikoo jinseijitsu* had wrecked havoc upon Tomobiki and those he loved.
That must not occur here. If necessary, Ataru was prepared to take the final
step to insure that it would not.

Ataru began to search the crowded room looking for the missing girl, his
hunt being interrupted by friends, well wishers, and those who simply wanted
to meet the young man whose adventures had so affected their lives. With the
skill of an experience diplomat he moved steadily through the crowd, never
being rude but making sure that no one had the chance to keep him from his
task. He simply had to find Shinobu. They had to reach some form of
understanding now, tonight...or the results could be catastrophic.

Then, after two complete circuits around the room he finally spotted her
standing next to the stage talking to the middle-aged man who was coordinating
the night's entertainments. Mendou had brought together a band of some of the
most prominent musicians in Japan to provide entertainment. Ataru had heard a
rumor that it had only been because of the recent tragic death of John Lennon
that Mendou had not made a more determined effort to secure a reunion of the
Beatles for his high school graduation party. Such an act of unrepentant ego
was well within the scope of Shutaro's actions.

As it was the entire class had agreed to participate in a karaoke night
and Shinobu was apparently first up. This was surprising because Shinobu had
always had a dread of public embarrassment. Perhaps she was just trying to
get it over with quickly. Still she did not have much to worry about. She
possessed a lovely voice and was probably one of the best singers in the room,
even taking into account the Sagussans, who loved music. Ataru paused and
remembered the last time he had heard Shinobu sing...

She had invited him to her music class. There was a recital going on
and she desperately needed his support to get through it. He had made a show
of protesting, maintaining a facade of disinterest...but was actually very
eager to attend. Shinobu had been lovely that night and had sung like an
angel. Later they had walked home hand in hand and Ataru had felt a sense of
ease that he hadn't known sense childhood.

The next day, Lum arrived on Earth.

In order to ensure fairness, no one would be allowed to bring his own
music. The songs had been numbered and lots had been drawn to determine who
would sing what. There would not be anything too complicated; show tunes and
pop standards were the order of the day. Now that Ataru was getting closer to
the stage he began to pick up bits and pieces of the conversation that Shinobu
was having with the director, Ryuunosuke and Pamanba, who had apparently both
volunteered to act as their friend's backup.

"...come on man...let her have somethin' else," the tomboy snarled at
the sweating older man.

"Don't worry about it," he heard Shinobu reply. "This won't kill me.
Besides I always liked this song and the play that it's from. I was really
sorry when I heard that the duo who had written it had broken up." She folded
the score that she had been given and handed it back to the suddenly puzzled
man. "I won't need this, I know this one by heart."

She turned to start up the stairs leading to the elevated stage, and
stepped directly into Ataru. She jumped backwards and seemed to raise her
left arm into a defensive posture; then she realized who was standing before
her and seemed to relax, if just a little.

"Oh, Ataru! I'm sorry!" she whispered.

Then a strange, absent expression fit itself across her finely drawn
features and she began to study the face of the young man who looked down at
her. Then with a smile like the Mona Lisa's she stood on her toes and leaned
toward the startled Ataru and brushed their cheeks together, gave him a soft
kiss and said in a very gentle, regretful voice, "I'm sorry, Ataru."

Then she turned and slowly walked up the staircase and joined Ryuunosuke
and Pamanba who had preceeded her there.

The dimming lights had informed the assembled partiers that the
entertainment was about to begin. Conversations quickly died. After a few
last seconds' instructions to the band, Shinobu picked up her microphone and
aited for the band to begin. The music had a slight flavor of Latin America
to it, as if it had been written by someone who had known about it but not
grown up with it. Then Shinobu's cue was reached and she began to sing:

I don't expect my love affairs to last for long.
Never fool myself that my dreams will come true.
Being used to trouble, I anticipate it,
But all the same, I hate it.
Wouldn't you?

So what happens now?
Another suitcase in another hall.
So what happens now?
Take your picture off another wall.
Where am I going to?
You'll get by, you always have before.
Where am I going to?

The crowd stood absolutely quiet with the first cord and as Shinobu
sang, Ataru noticed how the couples present had begun to hold each other,
almost in defense against the loneliness they all heard underneath the melody.
Then he felt someone wrapping her arms around him and he bent his head to her
green hair and breathed deeply of her aroma.

Time and time again, I've said that I don't care.
That I'm immune to gloom, that I'm hard through and through.
But every time it matters, all my words desert me.
So anyone can hurt me, and they do.

So what happens now?
Another suitcase in another hall.
So what happens now?
Take your picture off another wall.
Where am I going to?
You'll get by, you always have before.

Where am I going to?

Incredibly, all of Shinobu's female classmates had joined in with
Ryuunosuke and Pamanba as they sang the dispassionate response to the poignant
question raised in the refrain. Somehow, it was very right that they did so.

Call in three months time and I'll be fine, I know.
Well, maybe not that fine, but I'll survive anyhow.
I won't recall the names and places of each sad occasion.
But that's no consolation here and now.

So what happens now?
Another suitcase in another hall.
So what happens now?
Take your picture off another wall.
Where am I going to?
You'll get by, you always have before.

Where am I going to?

With that last chorus everyone joined in, Terran and Sagussan alike. It
was important that everyone be a part of it. Unfortunately they did not know
the final response. But Ataru knew. He raised his head from its comfortable
spot nestled atop of Lum's and, in his clear strong voice, sang, "Don't ask,
anymore."

With that Shinobu looked around the room, then with a brief brilliant
smile turned and left the stage.

And then she was gone.

* * *

It had been a very long day, Ataru thought as his helicopter sliced
through the night skies. A lot had happened and preparations still needed to
be finalized before the scheduled departure time arrived. But none of his
thoughts centered on these or any of the things that he now considered to be
so vital to his existence. All he could think about was of the slight but
valiant figure that had stood before him and that strange, one way
conversation that they had.

"Ataru," she had called him. Without the term of affection that had
always been a second nature to her, even in the darkest times of their
relationship. Just "Ataru." The behavior of someone who had decided
something very profound and had found the courage to act upon her convictions.
He thought that he would have been happy when this event had finally occurred.
That there would have been a feeling of getting on with his life, not a
strange feeling of emptiness, of something being not quite right with the
universe. He should be happy for himself and especially for her.

So why wasn't he?

The long ride back to Oshika seemed much longer that night...

* * *

The leader surveyed his domain and found it good.

As his ancestors had ruled for generations, he too controlled the lives
and destinies of all those within his immediate realm, despite the democratic
illusions of the peasants who had abandoned the sacred traditions which had
preserved their beloved country for centuries. Even now, the unwashed masses
fooled themselves into believing that a thousand idiots could lead the country
better than the enlightened wisdom of a single man. When he had attempted to
alert his fellow countrymen to the fast approaching crisis, they rejected him
and his devoted followers and called them reactionaries, ultraconservatives
and worse.

However, there were many paths to his ultimate victory and he would
exploit them all until he obtained his goal. Even now, as he stood alone in
the cold, night air and studied the skies above, his thoughts revolved around
his plans and the newfound allies who promised aid in return for minor favors.
The fools didn't realize that their real ambitions toward his world were as
transparent as the morning dew upon the rose. Still, with their technical
resources, they would be a useful, if temporary, convenience. One that could
be discarded easily at an opportune time. His servants busy now unlocking the
secrets of the sciences that they had produced as a measure of good faith.

The man of power allowed himself a tight smile as he contemplated the
near future and repeated the promise that he had made to himself everyday of
his life since early childhood. But this time there was something new added.

"America shall be our breadbasket, Europe our boutique.....and the stars
our destiny."

* * *

"Dear Diary;

"This was supposed to be so easy. All I had to do was
say, 'stop.' Just don't get involved. For the first few days after
graduation, everything was easy. With Lum and the rest gone on their
vacation, it was so quiet around here that I really began to feel good
about everything, even myself.

"About the only crisis was the problem that Pamanba was having
with that Henta jerk, but Koosei and Mr. Shapiro came up with a
good way to pay him back for telling stories about her. She was a
little depressed about everything but was coming around.

"Then we got another visitor from *out there*. That's when
everything changed. The next time I saw Pamanba, she had cut her
ponytail off. I knew what that meant to a Vosian woman so I was
getting ready to draw and quarter Henta until Pamanba told me what
had happened. Not only had she *recognized* another woman, but
one that was a Nendo-kata that had merged with a dying human
woman, I guess like one had with Nokoko Moroboshi. Well, when I
found out that it was Clarisse Ike that Pamanba had recognized I
nearly lost it. But I kept my reaction from showing. I hope I
did anyway. I mean, with Atako and Naromo in my past I have no
right to judge. I was just hoping things would be easier for
Pamanba.

"But things kept getting more complicated. Somebody, called the
*Mikado*, sent some people after Pamanba, nasty types called
*hunters.* I went down to the Toranoseishin Finances Center to
see if Pathfinder Troop Six could do anything to help. Lately
I've been trying to keep some distance between myself and the
Sagussans, but this was an emergency. I guess they don't care
much for that *Mikado* character either because they agreed and
took off. I went home, but I was worried for Pamanba. When I
tried to call her no one answered. It got later and later and I
got more and more worried.

"I decided to go to see Sylia to ask what was going on. I kind of
like her; she hasn't tried to punch out or shoot me...at least,
not yet. She and Priss were interrogating a prisoner that they
had taken, a hunter named Hinanba. Apparently she has been
addicted to some kind of drug and they had given her something to
help her come off it. I asked if I could see her. I'm not sure
why I did that. I've done a lot of research on drug addictions
for my medical hygiene studies in school, but that was all
literary work.

"We talked for a bit then I left the holding cell. I looked for
Sylia to tell her that I was leaving. But I couldn't find her, I
couldn't find any of them. They had all gone leaving me alone with
a drug addict about to go through withdrawal. I went back to the
holding cell and watched Hinanba in the viewscreen. She was
already into the first stages. They had left her shackled with
her hands above her head. She was convulsing and really doing
herself some damage.

"I didn't know her, I didn't owe her anything, I didn't have to do
anything.

"But I got involved.

"Again."

* * *

"So do you think we're doing the right thing leaving them with the
Nendo-kata?" asked Priss as she and her commanding officer restored their
weapons to their proper places in the makeshift armoury the Troop had
established.

"Absolutely," Sylia replied. "We simply don't have the room or the
facilities to properly treat them down here...or on Sagussa for that matter.
They'll be much better off in Oshika. They still have to go through the
mental stage of withdrawal. The Nendo-kata's abilities to help them through
that are better than ours. Besides, I'd much rather get that squad of Mikado
hunters as far away from Tomobiki as we can. Too easy for civilian casualties
if something should go wrong."

The two soldiers left the room and began to make their way back to the
holding area. "Now all we've got to do is collect Hinanba and get her with
the rest of them and our part in this is..." Sylia stopped, standing still as
a disturbing thought crossed her mind. "Priss..." she began.

"Yeah?"

"Who did we leave with Hinanba when we took off this afternoon?" her
commander asked.

Priss thought back. "I'm not certain," she began "But I know we did
leave someone with her."

"Who?" Sylia replied. "We were all on that mission, we didn't leave
anyone here."

"Come on. I know someone was with her when we left. We wouldn't take
off and just leave her here alone and about to go through..."

Priss stopped as she remembered who was left in the cell with the Vosian
hunter. "Shinobu. Shinobu was here and wanted to speak with her. I let her
in then went to finish my check list. Everything was rushed and we..."

Sylia raced down the corridor to the cell where Hinanba had been left.
Priss caught up with her as she slapped her palm against the access panel
causing the door to slide noiselessly open.

"Did we forget to do something today?" Shinobu asked.

The Japanese girl was sitting behind Hinanba on the narrow bench with
one arm wrapped around the Vosian to keep her from falling forward while
Shinobu massaged her back with her free hand. The Sagussans entered the room
blushing with embarrassment. As they approached the seated pair they noticed
that Shinobu was almost as exhausted as the addict. Both were drenched in
sweat and splattered with blood from the Vosian's chaffed wrists, damaged when
she tried to pull her hands free of her manacles. Shinobu's lower lip was
split. There were some bruises on her chin apparently caused when Hinanba's
head snapped back in convulsions.

"Ah...tough afternoon?" Priss asked as she released Hinanba from her
restraints.

The look that Shinobu gave her was deadly. Sylia saw it and knew what
was coming. "Bad afternoon? Of course not," Shinobu began in a sickeningly
sweet voice. "I mean, if you don't think about the hot and cold flashes, it
was fine. The convulsions were a bit rough but we came through with flying
colors. The paranoid illusions and the verbal and physical assaults just
added spice to the day. I will admit that the vomiting and the loss of bodily
control were a teeny bit upsetting but there was only so much waste she had
that it was almost unnoticeable. So if I don't think about it, this afternoon
was a walk in the park."

She stopped and looked at the blank expression on Priss's face. "Gods!"
she said, "Sarcasm is utterly wasted on you, isn't it?"

Priss knew exactly what Shinobu meant. She also had to admit that it
had been a stupid question to ask and that she had deserved the Shinobu's
response. If anything she found herself grudgingly respecting Shinobu for
having said what she did.

Sylia thought that this might be a good time to get things back under
control. "Don't worry, Shinobu. We've got the best help for Hinanba
available," Sylia began. "The rest of her Hunter squad were also addicted.
Their late commander found it a very effective means of insuring discipline.
The Nendo-kata's taken charge of them. They're going to help them get over
it. We can get Hinanba up there in just a few minutes and they'll take care
of her too."

"No, we don't!" Shinobu said. "We do not take her up there right away.
First we're going to get her cleaned up, have those wrists looked after and
put decent and clean clothes on her. When we do take her up there she's going
to have some dignity intact."

"Shinobu," Priss softly said. "The Nendo-kata want to help her. They
won't care about how she looks."

"But she will," Shinobu stood up holding the limp Vosian girl in her
arms, reminding Sylia of a sandpanther preparing to defend her cub. "If she
goes to Oshika looking like this it will be the image that she will always
carry of herself in relation to them. Even if they don't think badly of her,
she will. It will stick with her and make it harder for her to accept their
aid and delaying, possibly halting, her recovery."

"Priss," Sylia said. "Please take Shinobu and Hinanba to the life
station and prepare Hinanba for the trip. I'll go to our QM shack and see
about getting something for her to wear."

Sylia watched as her coxswain lead the pair from the holding cell. Then
she took a good look around the room, especially the slick bench where Shinobu
and Hinanba had spent their day. This was going to require a lot of cleaning
up.

Later, in the Troop's temporary quartermaster stores, Sylia found a
garment for Hinanba. It was a loose fitting one piece made from a soft,
orange colored material with automatically self fitting boots attached. She
was about to leave when she remembered Shinobu's own ragged appearance and
realized that the young girl was also going to need a change of clothing. She
reached to pick up another jumpsuit when something occurred to her. She went
over to a different shelf and found what she had in mind.

*Nothing ventured, nothing gained,* Sylia thought as she left the room.

In the Troop's field life station Sylia discovered that Shinobu had
cleaned up the Vosian and was putting the finishing touches to the first aid
to the girl's wrists. She took the one-piece from Sylia and began to slide
Hinanba into it. A quick tug of the zipper on the front of the suit and the
girl was ready. Shinobu slowly lowered Hinanba until the girl was lying
comfortably upon the stretcher. Shinobu gently brushed the hair back from the
girl's eyes, then turned to face Sylia and Priss. "I want to go home now."
Shinobu said in a small, tired voice.

"We'll get you there," Sylia replied gently. "But I don't think you're
going to want your parents to see you looking like that."

Shinobu looked down at herself and grimaced. Sylia continued. "Before
you go, take a shower and get some treatment for those cuts. We've got
medicines that will have you back to normal by morning. Those clothes of
yours have had it. I picked up something for you to wear, and we'll get your
things back to you after we've cleaned them up."

Shinobu nodded her agreement and walked to the apartment's bathroom.
Priss went to Sylia and took a good look at the bundle the woman was carrying.
"Just what are you up to?" the coxswain demanded.

Sylia did not respond but Priss knew the look in her eyes and accurately
guessed her intentions. "You're crazy." she snapped.

"Maybe, but you can't deny that Shinobu would make an excellent addition
to our society."

"With time and training, she'd be great. Right now she can barely stand
us," Priss countered. "Mie and Noa had to protect Ataru and Lum from everyone
here...and as far as they were concerned, that included Shinobu. And that
poses another problem. Even if she was interested in joining us, Ataru would
hit the roof."

"Ataru is going to be the leader of Sagussa," Sylia replied, "...not
absolute dictator. All of us have the right to invite those whom we feel
worthy to join us. I'm merely exercising that right. Besides," she continued
with a sigh, "I don't really think she'll go for it either."

"Then why are you trying?"

"Because it would be dishonourable not to."

Priss looked solemnly toward her friend, then sighed and left the life
station to prepare the hovercycles for the trip to Oshika. Sylia waited for
Shinobu to finish. The shower had stopped a few minutes before and the
Sagussan thought the girl would soon be ready to get dressed. The door to the
showers opened and Shinobu leaned out wrapped in a long, white towel.

"Ah...did you get something for me to wear?" Shinobu asked.

"Got it right here." Sylia tossed her the bundle which she easily
caught. The girl allowed the towel that she had been wearing to drop to the
floor. Apparently she was too tired to be concerned with modesty. She
unfolded the clothing, also a one-piece affair and began to pull it on. Once
it was zippered shut she tugged her hair out from the collar and turned to
examine herself in a full length mirror.

Then, she realized what she was wearing.

It was a Sagussan off-duty jumpsuit, coloured in the dark blue, red and
green of a Pathfinder. The cloth was softer and less form fitting than the
standard duty issue and had loose short sleeves. But the Sagussan phoenix was
impressed above the left breast, proudly proclaiming the ultimate loyalties of
the wearer of such a uniform. Shinobu looked at herself reflected in the
mirror and knew a moment of horror.

Sylia watched as the blood drained from Shinobu's face and kicked
herself mentally. *I rushed it!* she thought. *I got anxious and I rushed
it. I really blew this one big time!* She studied the girl in the looking
glass. Shinobu did not look like she was about to faint, but the expression
on her face was undeniable. Having gone this far, however, Sylia thought she
had no choice but to continue.

"It looks like it suits you," Sylia said, the true meaning of her
statement obvious to both of them.

Without turning to look at her Shinobu replied. "You must mean that it
seems to *fit* me."

*Well, that too!* Sylia thought. She gave herself a mental shake and
then asked, "Alright, how does it fit?"

"It's a little tight around the waist but I guess that's to be expected,
isn't it?" Shinobu replied, a mixture of hurt and hostility in her eyes.

"You seem to be sensitive about your hips," Sylia probed gently. "Why
is that?"

"It's been the insult of choice from most Sagussans that I've met. Even
the one who resembles me has a better figure than I do."

"Give us a few years and a couple of children. By then most of us would
be grateful to look like you."

Shinobu felt confused. She could sense the sincerity of what Sylia was
saying, However, having been on the receiving end of so many pointed barbs
about her physical shortcomings, she could not quite grasp the young woman's
meaning. "What do you mean?" she softly asked.

"When we were chosen by the Gatherer, we were selected by a series of
instructions. A set of requirements of mental, spiritual, and physical
standards had to be met. Unfortunately that also included a certain ascetic
style."

Shinobu thought about the Sagussans that she had met. High breasted and
slim hipped was the norm with all of them. She allowed herself a tiny
chuckle, then asked, "Who programmed that style?! Calvin Klein?!"

Sylia chuckled, then sobered. This was not amusing. "Too true. It
really is more suited for the cat walk than for giving birth. Unfortunately,
the standard has been set and I'm afraid that it's going to cause problems for
our society for many generations to come."

The Sagussan commander walked over to one of the portable cabinets
Reinoevan used in her secondary duty as Troop medic, then pulled open a drawer
and took out a small container. Sylia then handed it to the girl who
unscrewed the lid and took a cautious sniff of its contents. Satisfied,
Shinobu began to apply the salve to her cuts and bruises.

"I'm not your enemy, Shinobu."

"You're not my friend either, Sylia."

"I would like to be."

"I would like that too, but I really don't see how it can happen.
You're a good person, Sylia...but you're dangerous for somebody like me to
know. I...care too much for people that I like. I get involved in their
lives. In the past it wasn't too bad, but then the stakes got higher and
higher. I found myself doing things that I can't explain. I've hurt people
that I loved pursuing a man who's light years away from me. I can't go on
like this. Either I'm going to hurt someone really bad or I'm going to be.
There's too much potential for destruction around you for my peace of mind."

"So what are you going to do, Shinobu?"

"Run. I need to put distance between myself and you. I thought I could
stay in Tomobiki while you were here, but after today I know that's
impossible. Sooner or later, in one way or the other I'll get involved again.
Maybe later, when you've all left, I'll be able to return home."

"Do you want us to leave that bad?"

Shinobu was quiet for a few moments, torn between a comforting lie and a
painful truth. She had a resigned look as she bent to pick up Hinanba to
carry her to the helipad for the trip to Oshika. She studied the tired face
of the girl in her arms and considered the similarities between them. Both
were caught up in events beyond their control. Both had been used to benefit
others. Both were driven by compulsions beyond their understanding. Hinanba
had nearly been destroyed by hers today. Shinobu could be killed by hers
tomorrow.

Now was the time for the cycle to end, the addiction to be broken. If
Hinanba could overcome her need for drugs, then Shinobu could end her
involvement with Ataru, Lum and all of those who surrounded them.

Carrying the unconscious Vosian she walked to the elevator. The
automatic door slid open and she began to pass through. She paused and looked
back into the room, at Sylia who stood alone there. "Sylia," Shinobu began
in a voice far too weary for someone so young, "I bear no ill will towards any
of you. Not you, Ataru, Lum, not any of you. Go in peace, go in health, go
in comfort, safety and joy. But please...just go."

The commander of Pathfinder Troop Six watched as the door closed. For a
moment she stood frozen, then relaxed and began to walk from the room. She
stooped down to pick up the towel that Shinobu had dropped earlier. Sylia
carefully folded it then laid it on a bed. "My, but I handled that well," she
said then left the life station for the helipad...

* * *

"...it's just as I said, sir. The Prime Minister refuses to open talks
with *any* of the alien races. He maintains that the United Nations is the
only governmental body with the authority to negotiate treaties with races
from other worlds and the United Nations..."

"Refuses at this time," the man of commerce finished for his
governmental *protege*. "Continue to advocate my position, Mr. Takai. I must
remind you that while I've taken great pains to cultivate your career and
observe your progress with some pride, the other members of my consortium are
less patient and demand greater tangible evidence of the wisdom of our
investments. If you could arrange for the Minister of Trade to make some
leading comment, something suitably vague enough for the press to conveniently
misinterpret as a call for a more direct involvement with our guests. That
might prove enough for my partners. And please remember Mr. Takai, there are
many ways of turning a 'no' into a 'yes'."

The man of commerce cut off communication and turned to the other man
sitting around him. For such a powerful man the office was surprisingly
modest. Smallish, its furnishings consisted of a desk with a computer, a
comfortable chair for visitors, a window over a nice view and a painting. If
the occasional visitor realized that the painting was by the most revered of
the Impressionist painters and had recently set a record for the most
expensive single piece of artwork sold by Sotherby's in auction, the office
could easily be mistaken for that of a middle level manager. "Now, what is
your opinion of Mr. Takai?" he politely asked his guest.

"A useful tool," the other man said. He was a colorless man. It wasn't
that he was faded, just unnoticeable. Impeccably dressed in Savoy Row
clothes, taller than the average Japanese male and handsome even by the most
demanding standards, there was something about him that caused the casual
observer to simply not register his presence. It was a talent that he
exploited to its fullest potential.

"Indeed. Someday he will make an excellent Prime Minister. Is he in
the same category as the Baron?"

"No. The Baron is a man of high intelligence and ambition. For the
moment I would suggest that you regard him as an ally. Later, after your
position has become more secure, there will be time to redefine your
association."

"Thank you, Mr. Lee," the owner of the office, the building that it was
in, and the block of downtown Tokyo that it was on said. "That was my
interpretation of our relationship as well. I am most pleased you confirmed
it. In many ways the Baron and I are very alike. We both wish our nation to
take its place as the leader of our sad world, to bring true civilization to
the inferiors that now rule in our place. But the Baron seeks to resurrect
the Fifteenth century by using the means of the Twentieth. In business, the
first lesson learned is that you cannot reinvent the past, you must create the
future."

"And to this end the Baron and his *associates* are very useful," Mr.
Lee proposed.

"Indeed," the man of commerce smiled. "Already my scientists have
unlocked many of the secrets of the technological marvels that the Baron was
able to obtain for us." The man turned to his screen typed a few instructions
into the computer. For a moment he studied the image that was pulled up on
the monitor. Then he returned his attention to his guest.

"When you first brought these devices to me for analysis, you suggested
that we tell the Baron we needed a year's research before we would be able to
exploit their potential. We have reached that point in less than two months.
Shall we maintain that fiction with him?"

"No," the faded man instantly said. "Please allow me to tell the Baron
that you have had a major breakthrough and now expect to offer him tangible
uses for the technologies in four months. This would increase your value to
the Baron, encouraging him to be cooperative with you while giving him nothing
in return."

"Thank you again, Mr. Lee. An excellent suggestion. I gained much
wisdom when you offered me your services as counsellor. I shall never forget
your loyalties." The man of commerce bowed slightly to his visitor then
turned the computer monitor so that it faced him.

On the screen the faded man saw what appeared to be the service end of a
metal pike. It took him only a moment to realize that it was the sharpened
end of a needle. The man at the desk punched in another set of instructions
into his computer and the magnification level suddenly increased. Mr. Lee now
realized there was something very, very tiny on the tip of the pin. Something
so small that even at this level of magnification it could barely be seen.
Then he realized that what he was looking at was not a single piece but a
collection of smaller unit interlocking with each other.

It was mechanical. It was moving.

"There are many ways Mr. Lee," the man of commerce proudly said, "of
turning a 'no' into a 'yes'..."

* * *

Kimiki Miyaki found comfort in the routine of her housework. Every
morning she would awake two hours before her husband and child and begin her
preparations for the day ahead. When her husband, Toshoba, and their
daughter, Shinobu, finally came downstairs, their breakfast waited on the
table in the family room.

After the pair would depart for work or school Kimiki would begin to
straighten up after them. Her husband was very considerate towards her but
had a tendency to throw his ties about while searching for the most perfect
one to wear for his clients. The discards would have to be collected and
ironed before being returned to the drawer that they would be taken from and
thrown about when the next morning dawned.

Shinobu's room was immaculate due to the young girl's obsession for
order and dignity. Still there was more, much more to be done here if Kimiki
was to help her daughter in that struggle. The school uniform that she had
worn the previous day would require careful examination and repairs to correct
whatever damage may have been done to it. Sometimes there were blood stains
that needed to be treated before they could set. The bed linens were a
constant challenge due to the salt stains left behind from her daughter's
weeping bouts. These were occurring more frequently and even though Shinobu
tried to muffle her cries by burying her face into her pillows, Kimiki always
knew and would spend those evenings outside her daughter's door listening
until the sobs faded.

Kimiki yearned to comfort her daughter, but realized that Shinobu needed
to find her own way through these crises. But things never got any better.
Everyday some new complication, some new source of pain popped up.

A year ago went by as she listened to her child's cries. Then, Kimiki
heard something new through the thin door. Shinobu began talking to herself,
repeating something over and over. Her mother strained to make out what was
being said. Then Kimiki was so shaken, she spent the rest of the night in the
kitchen drinking chamomile tea.

Shortly after, everything seemed to change for the better. It had been
the night of Shinobu's graduation. Her parents had attended the ceremony and
had proudly watched their daughter as she walked down the aisle to accept her
diploma and take her place with the rest of her classmates. They had not
stayed for the celebration afterwards. One of Shinobu's classmates was
getting married and they had no taste for the gossip that flew whenever people
from Tomobiki gathered in one place. Too often it concerned their daughter.
They went home and waited for her so that they could tell her how proud they
were of her, and how she must now begin to seriously plan for her future.

When their daughter did get home that night, both of them instantly
realized that something important had happened. She was happy. Even though
her eyes were red from crying earlier their daughter was happy now. For a few
minutes they talked, then Shinobu excused herself and ran up the stairs to her
room. It was a quiet night, one that Kimiki spent in Toshoba's arms as they
held each other in relief. Maybe, maybe everything would turn out alright
after all.

For the next few days everything was different. Shinobu behaved like an
average teenage girl, laughing, spending time with her friends, helping her
parents around the house and making plans for the future. She talked about
applying to one of the local nursing colleges, about pursuing a career in that
or a related medical field. Her parents allowed themselves to indulge in the
dream of a bright future for their child.

Last night that dream had collapsed around them.

Shinobu had been late for dinner, only a telephone call from her at the
last moment had stopped her parents from going out to search for her. They
could tell from the sound of her voice that something was seriously wrong.
She apologized for not having called earlier, that she had been very busy this
afternoon but that she was alright and would be home as soon as she had taken
care of one last detail. Her parents waited, holding each others hands, lost
in their sad thoughts. Finally they heard the sound of powerful engines
approaching, of something landing on the street in front of the house. There
was a brief lull then the engines revved up again and whatever was out there
left to vanish into the night. The front door opened and closed and their
daughter entered the room.

She looked dreadful. Shinobu was exhausted, her skin paler than usual
and her hair hanging limp. There was bruising along the line of her chin and
one of her lips seemed to be slightly swollen. But worst of all was how she
was dressed. Gone was the cute outfit that she had been dressed in. Now she
was attired in what appeared to be the uniform worn by the latest group of
aliens.

Shinobu and her parents stared at each other. She tried to speak but
was unable to think of anything to say. Finally she bowed deeply to them,
then turned and walked slowly up the stairs.

That same night the sobs, the cries, and the words returned.

The following morning Kimiki studied her daughter as they all sat down
to breakfast. Shinobu was physically unmarked but looked defeated. She was
very quiet, speaking only when being spoken to. When her father asked what
plans she had for the day she replied that she was spending the morning at the
library going looking through the most recent editions of foreign newspapers.
Later in the afternoon she planned to meet with Shinoko and Atako Moroboshi at
Shapiro's. Kimiki was very relieved to hear that Shinobu would be spending
some time with her bioroid "sister." She considered the Avalonian to be as
much her child as Shinobu and believed the girl to be a calming influence upon
her sister.

Kimiki finished her morning duties and her husband's ties were back in
their drawer and her daughter's pillow cases were drying on the clothes line
behind the modest house. Normally she would go to the local markets to shop
for the evening meal. However, today, she deviated from her regular schedule.
It was time to take control of her daughter's life. If Shinobu could not keep
herself away from those influences that so threatened her future, then she had
to be kept away from them.

A phone call to their cousins in Nerima was the first step in this
campaign...

* * *

The door chimes of Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlor jingled musically as the
door closed. To Shinobu, the sound was incredibly harsh and grated upon her
nerves. She had done something today that she had thought herself incapable
of doing and the overly sensitive girl was now mentally flogging herself over
it.

She had lied to her parents.

She took pride in the honesty that existed between her parents and
herself, no matter how embarrassing the circumstances. But today when her
father had asked how she intended to occupy her day she had deliberately
misled him. It might have only been a lie of omission but it was still a lie
and a fundamental betrayal of her relationship with her parents.

When asked, she had answered that she intended to spend the morning at
the library and the afternoon at Shapiro's meeting with her sister and Atako.
This much was true. She had spent some of the morning at the local branch of
the public library doing research through the Japanese editions of the major
foreign press newspapers. She was not interested in the major new stories
that occupied the headlines. If the Vice-President of the United States would
be leaving on a tour of the Pacific Rim nations that was fine with her. She
was more interested in the possibilities presented in a certain section of
each paper.

It was after she left the library that the deception began. Instead of
going straight to Shapiro's, she headed for a certain agency that offered
unique employment opportunities for young Japanese girls. She then spent the
rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon meeting with the
agency's representatives and providing them with the necessary background
information on herself. They were very enthusiastic about her chances and
promised to let her know as soon as they had developed some possible contacts.

It was this that bothered Shinobu. Not only was she doing something
without the knowledge or approval of her parents, she was behaving in a
deceptive fashion. Unfortunately she could think of no other course to
pursue.

It did not occur to Shinobu that her fatigue prevented her from
following an easier and less drastic solution. She looked around the ice
cream shop and saw the proprietor at work on one of the power outlets. He was
putting the finishing touches on some electronic device he was installing. A
last turn of his screwdriver and he gave the tiny box a self-satisfied nod and
picked up his tool box and began to walk towards the young girl. Shinobu
managed a weak smile and began to say hello when she was interrupted.

"Shinobu," Abraham Shapiro, the large Vosian observer began, "I like you
and your people. In fact, some of my best friends are Terrans. But if I have
anything to do with it, and I will, the next edition of the Intergalactic
Dictionary will have a picture of one of you next to the word *devious.*"

With that statement he continued walking till he was behind the serving
counter and into the kitchen. "Good morning to you too, Mr. Shapiro," Shinobu
said, a bitter smile twisting her lips. "Gee, that's just what I needed to
hear right now."

"Don't let him bother you," Pamanba Shapiro said as she walked up to her
best friend. "The great spy master is having a hard time accepting the fact
that he was being spied upon."

"Spied upon?!" Shinobu repeated. "You mean he actually found a
listening device in here?"

"Shinobu, there are more bugs in this room than there are in a termite
mound. The paint has a type of silicon fiber in it so when it dries, it makes
an excellent listening and transmitting set. I think he's actually impressed
by it." Pamanba pointed to the cube that her 'uncle' had put upon the wall.
"He put that scrambling unit in this morning to make sure that this would be
the one building in Tomobiki where somebody could hold a private conversation
without the entire intelligence community of your world listening in."

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night when we found this out," the Vosian girl made a circular
motion with her right hand above her head indicating the walls around them.
"After we got done checking out this building we took a couple of tracking
devices and took a little walk around Tomobiki. There are audio and video
links everywhere in this town. Every major intelligence agency on this world
was represented. CIA, KGB, MI6, even Mossad, have agents in the neighborhood.
Not only are they all collecting information here, they're sharing it.
Everything is being transmitted to one central collection point...and where
that is we can't tell. But what we do know is this: from the estimated date
of installation of the oldest devices we think that the spooks set up shop
here immediately after the First Tag Race three years ago."

*Three years ago,* Shinobu thought. *When Lum moved in and sanity moved
out.* The events of the past three years replayed themselves in her mind's
eye with painful clarity. Every embarrassment she had endured, every
humiliation she had suffered, every stupid thing that she had done were
recorded for posterity.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

It was turning into one of those days.

Shinobu waited for the next shoe to drop. It did not take long.

"Shinobu, Thank you for what you did yesterday." Pamanba was in a good
mood. Since coming to Earth in the capacity of a disposable spy and assassin
in the service of a collapsing dictatorship, the Vosian girl's life had
completely turned around. She now had a future with a partner and it was all
due to the faith that her best friend had held of her. Unfortunately, it did
not register that Shinobu was as depressed as a person could be without
putting a gun into her mouth. "I heard what you did for Hinanba and it was
very..."

"Don't mention it, please."

"No. I really have to say this..."

"No!!! YOU don't understand!!! I'm ASKING you NOT to mention it!!!
PLEASE!!!!"

Pamanba jumped. The laughter was gone, the anger was gone, the hope was
gone. Except for the emphasis placed on certain words it was the voice of a
scarecrow. Of someone who had been reduced to something less than human.

Pamanba watched as Shinobu looked around the shop. It had been a slow
afternoon and no one had come in after the lunch rush. She knew that Shinobu
was going to be meeting someone here but whoever it was, he had not arrived.
It seemed her friend could not comprehend that fact, like she desperately
needed him here and NOW.

Pamanba slowly slid her arm around Shinobu's shoulders and gently tugged
the girl over to her side. For a moment Shinobu resisted, then relaxed into
the embrace. The two girls stood there, one desperate for comfort and the
other desperate to give it, oblivious to the world. Neither noticed the
tinkling music of the door opening and closing or the pair of footsteps
approaching them. Pamanba only realized that there was someone standing next
to her when a slim hand reached over and began to caress Shinobu's locks.
Outraged that someone who interrupt such a moment Pamanba raised her eyes from
Shinobu's face to glare at the newcomer...

...only to find herself looking into Shinobu's eyes!

Stunned, it took the Vosian a few moments to realize that this person
must be one of the two identical sisters that Shinobu had gained in the past
five months. She could make out subtle differences between the two.
Shinobu's sister's hair had a slight curl to it, her features were less
distinct, and her eyes more hopeful. At first Pamanba thought that the tall
girl with her was Nokoko Moroboshi, then realized that this one was somewhat
younger than Ataru's sister.

The two girls studied Pamanba for a moment, then they moved so that the
three of them formed a triangle around Shinobu.

As if they were trying to keep the hurt of the world from her.

As if that was possible.

* * *

A small cluster of meteors hurling through space were about two hundred
thousand miles away from the Earth when they entered the sensor range of the
Sagussan Rover unit orbiting the planet. The Rover, a highly sophisticated
form of artificial intelligence, suspended its normal mission of scanning for
hostile space ships to survey this natural event. A quick probe revealed that
the meteors were a common combination of iron and nickel ores and probably
from the great asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The Rover calculated the speed of the meteor pod, their relative size,
and their flight path. The speed was a bit fast for space debris but if the
group had been temporarily caught in the gravity of Mars then sling-shotted
away from that planet that would account for it.

The meteors varied greatly in size from that of dust and pebbles to
large rocks and boulders to one in the center that was about the size of a
large truck. The Rover theorized that the group had originally been a single
piece but had been torn apart by the rigors of space travel.

As the trajectory of the pod of meteors was calculated, the Sagussan
device powered up its on-board offensive systems and targeted its powerful
disrupters on the center of the group. The meteors were on a collision course
with Earth and the Rover's instructions in these matters were quite explicit:
* Any space borne material, either natural or artificial in character, that
when impact upon the Earth and threaten any population centers, vital
institutions, or major means of transportation were to be destroyed. Anything
else would be considered one of the natural hazards of living in a vital
universe and would be allowed to continue unabated.* While the computer
calculated that the smaller pieces of material would be consumed within the
Earth's atmosphere enough of the center piece would survive to poise a
possible threat. Further calculations would be necessary.

It took the Rover unit less than a nanosecond to determine the point of
impact for the meteor and it began to power down its weapons. The main strike
point would be in Antarctica and far away from the few scientific outposts
located upon that frozen continent. Satisfied that this constituted a natural
event of the second category, the Rover resumed its original mission of
scanning for prohibited spaceships approaching the Earth. It noted that this
was the fourth such occurrence since it had been placed in orbit and that this
was an indication of some new gravimetric disturbance in the solar system and
that should be investigated.

As the storm entered the outermost layers of the atmosphere the smallest
pieces were immediately converted to gas by the friction-caused heat. The
larger pieces took longer but burst apart as their exterior heated and
expanded around their frozen cores. Only the massive center piece was left
when a series of explosive charges shattered the carefully constructed facade
and allowed the Urusian ship hidden in the shell to fly free. The flight
computer immediately initiated its programmed commands and took the ship down
to the planet's surface. Once there it followed the instructions that had
been coded into it and began to fly to its predetermined landing point,
keeping low to avoid detection by the primitive systems of the world's
inhabitants or their guests' far more sophisticated devices.

Hours later the ship reached its destination, a vast estate in the
southern part of Japan. Many eyes watched as it came in to land, but it would
remain unreported to the proper authorities. They were all bound to the owner
of this land, the latest in a series that stretched back over a hundred
generations, and whether those bonds were of choice, duty, or dull acceptance
none would challenge them.

The ship came to rest in a small garden surrounded by high walls, a
place of great secrecy that did not exist on any plan of the grounds. A lone
man walked towards it. He was clad in traditional Japanese clothing of light
greys and tans. If anybody else had been there he would have found it
difficult to keep his attention upon him. He had that effect on people.

He watched as the ship lowered its gantry and its passengers
disembarked. He could tell that they were disoriented due to the extreme
conditions of their flight and were now suffering a slight case of gravity
sickness. He politely gave them a few moments to collect themselves.

The six tiger-stripped dressed men soon had themselves in hand and
turned to face the faded man before them. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he
said while giving them a deep bow. "I am Mr. Lee, Baron Suzuki's
representative. Would you come with me, please?"

* * *

It was worse than Atako had thought. Shinobu had spent over an hour
telling Shinoko, Pamanba and herself the events of the past week. She omitted
no details nor excused her behavior. If anything she had been unduly harsh on
herself, blaming herself and not others for their behavior. Pamanba
interrupted her repeatedly, protesting Shinobu's account of the events, trying
to balance her version with her own. Shinobu would remain still as the girl
spoke and, as soon as the Vosian finished, would pick up her story without
deviation.

Pamanba was desperate. She had seen behavior like this before, among
the troops of the Mikado's armies. War sickness, the Vosian equivalent of
battle fatigue. Shinobu's personality was being assaulted by the repeated
shocks that had rocked Tomobiki for the past three years. Now the girl was
demonstrating mood swings of alarming proportions. If these continued, her
personality would get lost. Pamanba rested her hands on Shinobu's shoulders,
to hold as hard as she could, a subconscious gesture to steady her and prevent
her best friend from disappearing into the dark. Atako watched the Vosian and
understood. Her own brother had waged psycological war against his enemies in
Tomobiki and his former girlfriend had been a principle target. punished her
constantly, keeping her in a constant state of emotional upheaval.

Unfortunately, Ataru had been blinded by his own sense of abandonment
and betrayal when Shinobu had left him to Lum to pursue Shutaro Mendou. His
rage coupled with the anger caused by Shinobu's part in the affairs that
climaxed with Ataru's torture on Icarus transformed his perception of the
girl. Gone was his childhood friend and confident. In her place, a grasping,
destructive demoness loomed. It was against this monster that Ataru planned
his campaign, not the girl who actually existed.

It was a classic case of overkill. Atako was convinced that, with time
and help, Ataru would again be able to regard Shinobu as his true friend. But
regarding the girl sitting so passively in front of her, Atako was uncertain
if Shinobu could wait that long. Her guilt over the harm that she had caused
Ataru was tearing Shinobu apart. Atako agreed that Sinobu had to get some
space between her and Ataru et al. However she suspected that it was going to
require a more drastic step then the girl was prepared to take.

Shinoko was very worried. As Shinobu's bioroid twin, she understood her
twin sister's desire to punish herself for her past behavior. Coupled with
her need to redeem herself in Ataru's eyes these was a lethal combination.

Shinobu had reached the end of her story and was staring at the table in
front of her. Both Shinoko and Pamanba began to speak at once, offering
encouragement, help and advice. "You've got the right idea, Shinobu," Pamanba
said patting her friend on the shoulder. "All you need is a little help and
I'll be able to do that. Let me. We'll spend more time together and when you
need me I'll be there for you."

"What about Clarisse?" Shinobu asked in a toneless voice. "How do you
think she'll react to your spending all of your time with me? And it would
have to be all of your time. You'll never know when something is going to
happen in Tomobiki. Even if she wouldn't mind, I would. You've been a good
friend to me, Pamanba...but even you can't protect me from myself."

"Let us help you then," Shinoko offered. "Come up to the factory with
us. There are things that we can do for you there..."

"NO!!!!" Shinobu shouted, rubbing her right hand up and down her left
arm. "I can't do that. I can't go up there. Don't ask that of me."

"Then there's only one thing left for you to do," Atako interjected.
She waited for the other three girls to look at her then added. "You're going
to have to leave Tomobiki and not return until Ataru and Lum have left for
Sagussa in the fall."

There was a moment of silence, then Pamanba and Shinoko both began to
loudly protest. That was too extreme. It was unnecessary. This continued
until Shinobu began to tap her knuckles on the table top. All the girls
looked at her, all of them knew what she was about to say. "I agree. I have
to leave."

She stopped as Pamanba and Shinoko renewed their objections, waited for
a moment and then went on. "Please listen to me. This isn't a spur of the
moment idea. I've thought of nothing but this for the past few weeks. Well,
I have to do something fast."

"What do you want to do?" Atako asked.

"What I want to do and what I can do are two different things. Economic
realities being what they are I have to find some way to pay for my living
expenses while I'm gone. But there is a way. After looking through the
'Situations Available' sections of foreign newspapers, I went to the Eiiko
Employment Agency. They're a reputable group that places Japanese girls as
nannies or au pair girls around the world. They'd pay my traveling expenses
and provide a way out for me."

"Those places usually require that you sign a contract with a definite
time limit," Shinoko said. "Just how long would you be gone?"

"The standard length of commitment is two years."

"Two years?!! That's much too long!!! Why don't you just spend the
summer at Sado with Atako and me?!!"

"Or you could stay at Oshika with Clarisse and me at our cottage there,"
Pamanba offered.

"If I kept out of Ataru and Lum's way, that would be like jumping from
the frying pan into the fire," Shinobu stood up and smiled at her sister and
friends. "Look, I have made no any commitments yet. My options, such as they
are, are still open. But I'm really too tired to continue this discussion
right now. Shinoko, I'll call you and Atako at your hotel tonight. Pamanba,
could you get me home? I'm not feeling too well right now and I've still got
to think of a way to bring this up with Mom and Dad."

* * *

The government-owned 707 lifted off from Andrews Air Force Base and
began the long trip west. Its first stop would be at San Francisco where its
occupant would be making a keynote address at a seminar on world relations.
This speech, which would form the basis for a free trade zone agreement
between the United States, Canada and Mexico, would be reduced to a two
paragraph summary that missed every relevant point before being buried on page
three of every domestic newspaper.

From California the plane would tour the Pacific Rim nations, all
emerging powerhouses on the world's commerce stage. The press had accepted
the cover story issued that the Vice-President would be on a "fact-finding
tour" without bothering to ask just *what* facts needed to be found.

In actuality, this entire trip was being taken for the benefit of one
individual.

After reviewing the history of this man for the past six hours, the Vice
President was very tired. He held three photographs that he shuffled and
studied all that time. The first photograph was of a young boy whose face was
twisted by a hideously lustful leer that he looked like a monkey. The second
photograph showed a teenager, radiating such anger, that the picture seemed
warm to the touch. The third photograph was of a young man the very
embodiment of poise and calm. All three photographs of Ataru Moroboshi had
been taken over the past six months and the Vice-President could not help but
wonder what he was in for. He had been warned. He had known for the past
three years that this radical of a change was inevitable.

He looked at the photographs again and sighed. "Maybe Barbra was
right," he said. "Maybe I should have stayed in the oil business."

* * *

"Shinobu," her mother called from the kitchen where she was putting the
finishing touches to dinner. "Isn't Pamanba going to be staying?"

"No, Mother. She and Clarisse have to go up to Oshika tonight."

"Oh. There's a message for you next to the telephone," Kimiki said in
an overly casual voice.

Shinobu thanked her then went to the cork push board next to the hall
telephone. The note pinned there read HITOME PHONED. PLEASE CALL BACK ASAP.

Shinobu's eyes looked at the note picturing her cousin's smiling face.
Dear Hitomi, first cousin, first playmate, first true friend. Before her
family had left Tomobiki when they were both six, they had been inseparable,
their friendship making every day an adventure. Even Ataru's arrival in
Shinobu's life had not diminished the bond between them. He was just another
child to them, someone new to play with.

It was not until the day that Hitomi's family had moved away that Ataru
became more important to Shinobu. Neither cousin had cried while the movers
loaded the last of the boxes into the huge truck. They were convinced that
their parents were playing some cruel joke on them. The children had laughed
and played until Yoko, Hitomi's mother, came to claim her daughter. Both she
and her husband had kissed Shinobu then gotten into their small car. Shinobu
stood there as the car, with Hitomi waving to her from the back window, pulled
away from the curve and was followed by the moving van. For hours Shinobu
stood in front of the empty house waiting for her cousins to return. As the
sun began to set she started to shake as small tears gathered in her eyes.
They were gone. They had left her. She was alone.

For the first time in her life Shinobu realized that it was a really big
world and she was a very little girl.

She was about to cry in earnest when she realized that a dirty hand was
holding a flower out to her. It was Ataru with such a serious look on his
face that her knees began to quiver. "Don't cry, Shinobu-chan," the little
man said. "You're not alone. You'll never be alone with me here."

That was the moment that Shinobu Miyaki fell in love with Ataru
Moroboshi.

Then Ataru took the little girl by the hand and took her back to her
home. By the time they had reached the house, Shinobu was feeling much
better. Ataru had reassured her that Hitomi had not gone away because she was
mad at her. Her parents had to move and she had to move with them.

Later Shinobu had visited Hitomi and her family at their new house. For
a few minutes the girls were nervous around each other, but they relaxed and
soon they were acting as if nothing had changed.

Looking back at those days, Shinobu smiled. Everything had been so much
fun then, so much simpler. Hitomi and she had maintained their friendship
through telephone calls and letters. Both girls had been a frequent guest at
each other houses, staying overnight or sometimes the weekends. During the
summer both girls would spend weeks together, alternating between Tomobiki and
Nerima.

Shinobu leaped out of her shoes as something suddenly occurred to her.
*In Nerima...in Nerima...HITOMI IS IN NERIMA!!!!*

Shinobu dialled the telephone number as if her life depended upon it.
The telephone was answered before it could finish a single ring and a easily
recognizable voice was at the other end. "Hello, this is the Miyaki
residence. May I help you?"

"Hitomi. Hello. This is Shinobu."

"Oh, Shinobu. It's so good to hear you. I hope you don't mind my
calling earlier. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be able to
join us in Oshio next weekend."

"Yes. Definitely yes," Shinobu happily said. "But Hitomi, I wanted to
ask a favor of you."

"Of course, what is it?" Hitomi replied.

"You're going to have to ask your mother about this, but do you think it
would be alright if I...?"

* * *

"Yoko, are you telling me that Hitomi didn't even have to ask her?"

"I was standing right next to her when she called, Kimiki. Shinobu
brought up the subject of her spending the summer with us. Hitomi didn't have
the chance to mention it. I thought that you might have discussed it with her
before she called."

"No. I wasn't certain how she would react if I did. he might have
resist leaving Tomobiki. Did she say anything about how long she wanted to
stay with you?"

"At least six weeks. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Six weeks...? Yes, her cram school would begin in about six weeks. If
she could stay away that long I'm certain it would help her."

"Or she could go to cram school with Hitomi at Furinkan High. Hitomi
has been talking about taking the entrance exams for nursing school and it
would help if there was some one here to help her study for them."

"Oh, Yoko, Shinobu's been talking that. This is perfect. Best of all,
she'll be away for the entire summer. She won't get back until they're about
to leave."

"Kimiki, aren't you worried about Shinobu being away from you for three
months?"

"Yes. But I'm more worried about what will happen if Shinobu doesn't
get out of here now."

* * *

In her hotel room, Shinoko laid awake next to Atako. The phone call
from her sister two hours before was the best news that she could have hoped
for. Shinobu would be spending the summer with their cousins in Nerima, close
enough to visit and far enough away to be safe. There would be time to spend
together, to shop, to be in each other's presence.

Shinoko was deeply attached to her sister. She knew that some bioroids
were treated as property by their templates...or worse, an extension of
themselves. Shinobu had never done that, never assumed any rights to Shinoko
beyond that of a friend as well as sibling. From the moment of her creation,
Shinoko had been treated with the dignity due any intelligent being.

But Shinoko worried about her sister for two very distinct reasons.

The first cause of concern was biological in nature. While Shinobu had
been the template that her mind and form had been based, Shinoko's biological
heritage was pure Avalonian. She could expect to live from eight hundred to a
thousand years. Shinobu would be likely dead within seventy. Her sister's
life span was, to her perception, that of the May Fly: here today, gone
tomorrow. It had been less than three months since Shinoko had been "born,"
yet the discerning eye could already perceive the changes wrecked by time upon
her sister.

The other reason was far more complex, much darker. It sprang from
memories that threatened the very core of Shinobu' sense of self, something
Shinoko well understood. The loneliness of those days. the rage and the
humiliations. She would come home trembling with emotions; anger towards
Ataru, unrequited love for Mendo, resentment of Lum. Sometimes the storm
within her was so powerful that she was unable to sleep. She would lay in her
small bed as the day repeated itself endlessly in her mind. For a time tears
helped. She would cry until exhausted enough to sleep. But the hurt grew.
And with it a fear that she somehow deserved what was happening to her, that
she belonged within the madness of Tomobiki, that she was a part of it.

Then she discovered a new tactic, a new strategy that helped her to cope
with everything. One night after a particularly bad day she began to repeat
something to herself. Alone in the dark she said the words that she longed
someone would say to her, to absolve herself from what was happening to her
life. "You're normal," she chanted. "You're normal. You're not like them.
You're not like him. You're not like her. You're not like any of them.
You're not responsible. One day you will leave this all behind. You'll have
a husband and children. They'll be normal. You'll be normal. You're normal.
You're normal..." Again and again, she would repeat this mantra.

Shinoko realized it was a deal with the devil. Even after a year, her
sister knew it was a lie. Shinobu could never be described as normal. Her
sister was an extraordinary person who had already seen and done things that
average people would never be able to conceive let alone do. The thought of
her trying to live such a life was ludicrous, but it gave her the strength to
survive. But, when the moment of realization came, when the truth could no
longer be denied, Shinoko intended to be there for her sister. Until then she
would try to make her sister's lonely path a bit smoother.

Shinoko sighed as Atako's arm slid around her and pulled her into her
warmth...

* * *

"Dear Diary,

"I've got a way out. I'm going to be spending the summer with
Hitomi in Nerima. We're going to be studying for cram school
together. This is wonderful. I thought I was going to have to
travel around the world to get away from all of them. Instead
I'll be just an hour's train travel away. It won't be like going
into exile. I'll be able to see everybody I want to see when I
want to see them.

"And I'll be too far away to get involved with anything.

"Everything is a bit rushed right now. Mom and I are getting
everything ready. I'm planning on taking the train to Nerima next
Monday very early in the morning.

"Ooops. Look at the time. I've got to start getting ready for
the graduation party (yes, another one) at Mendou's tonight. He
promised no singing and that I could bring guests. Pamanba and
Clarisse are going with me. I've already told Pamanba about
Nerima and she seems to think that it'a good idea.

"I'll be telling everyone else tonight.

"I wonder what they'll think?"

* * *

The Baron Suzuki was a man who prided himself on his exquisitely good
manners. No matter the circumstances or the provocation, he would always
maintain his best behavior. It was not only a demonstration of his good
breeding, it was an excellent disguise for his true feelings.

His recent house guests had been less refined then he might have wished.
True, they said the proper things and made the proper gestures at their first
meeting, but their behavior, when alone, was less than exemplary. In those
suites assigned to them as their temporary quarters they quite forgot
themselves and began to refer to their host as a "tailless monkey" or a
"willing slave." Undoubtedly they felt safe to do this as they had scanned
the rooms for any possible listening devices and had found none.
Unfortunately, as products of a more technically advanced system, they made
the erroneous assumption that any eavesdropping would be done with some
electronic toy. They failed to notice that the ventilation system to
theiruarters was designed that even the quietest conversation would be
magnified and carried to the sharp ears of a nja trained in shorthand.

Still, as he watched the ship depart for their permanent base, a
ridiculously small island with a tea shop on it, he could not help but feel
that he had profited from this recent affair. Not only had he learned some
more of their technology, he had also the opportunity of evaluating not only
the troops who had been sent on some vital mission, but also the character of
those who had sent them. "Cannon fodder," the Baron said in his rich, deep
voice. He turned to look at the faded man behind him. "Do you agree, Mr.
Lee?"

"Most assuredly, my lord," the man dressed in a gray and tan kimono
said. "Yet the fact they were chosen for such a vital mission speaks
volumes."

"Indeed. For such a task as this only the best must be utilized. Yet
our allies have elected to employee such ronin for it. Obviously they are
concerned for the success of this assassination, yet ensure its failure by
using these ruffians."

"Yes, my lord. Might I suggest that this indicates an exploitable
weakness on the part of our 'allies?'" Mr. Lee asked.

"It does. It demonstrates that they are, to use an old cliche, 'too
clever for their own good.' They will plot until their own schemes choke
them. The more elaborate the plan the greater the potential for failure."

Now the Baron concentrated upon his servant. Sometimes his eyes ached
slightly when they rested upon Mr. Lee for too long. Yet he would not allow
his gaze to wander, that would have been rude. "Speaking of allies, Mr. Lee,
what news from Mr. Takanaba?"

"He claims a major breakthrough in the examinations of those alien
devices that you allowed him and that you may expected tangible results within
six months."

"And what are your thoughts?"

"That he is farther along than that and you should anticipate the full
exploitation of the new sciences within three months. It might become
necessary for you to assert yourself and convince Mr. Takanaba to be more
forthcoming with you at that time."

The Baron was quiet for a moment. "I see. Mr. Takanaba wants to keep
me hungry and to use my hunger to master my will. I was wise not to turn over
all the technological devices that I have acquired. Your opinion of Mr.
Takanaba please, Mr. Lee?"

"The man is an abacus. Brilliant in his own manner but lacking the
vision to see past the mere accumulation of wealth," the faded man answered.

"Agreed. Wealth is not the ends of the means, but the means to the end.
I will use my abilities to create the future of Japan by the traditions of our
past. Our people will use both their heritage and the alien sciences to take
our rightful place at the helm of our world. Then together, mankind marches
to the stars."

The Baron paused for a moment and looked at the sun in the afternoon
skies. "Consider the sun, Mr. Lee. We only regard it as it affects us
directly. We do not consider that somewhere it rises above the horizon to
herald in a bright new day for someone. Soon Mr. Lee, it will shine upon
ours."

* * *

"So you two are going to make it official, huh?" Shinobu said as she
looked at the couple cuddling on their shared blanket.

"Yup," replied Clarisse Ike, one time drug addicted rock star and now a
Nendo-kata. "My parents want me to stop living in sin anymore." The black-
haired woman paused for a moment while her paramour and her friend laughed.
"I'm serious. They actually said that."

Pamanba only laughed harder and rubbed her shoulder against Clarisse's
arm. What a difference a day could make. Yesterday, she had been terrified
that she was going to lose Shinobu for two years, possibly longer. Now that
she knew her friend's plans for the summer, she felt completely at ease.
Nothing could go wrong now, nothing.

The next moment proved why people living in Tomobiki are wrong in
thinking like that.

A commotion was going on around Mendou and one of his guests. Shinobu
looked at the striking Oni woman and tried to name the face. Yedris, that was
it. The mother of Rei and Sugoi. She was talking to Sylia and the Pathfinder
Troop Six group who had just arrived for the party. It occurred to Shinobu
that she had not seen Priss with the others. She mentioned that to Pamanba.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her either," Pamanba turned and
continued the conversation with Clarisse. Shinobu found her attention
centered on the group around Mendou. It was like a magnet drawing her,
commanding her presence. All the sounds of the party faded beneath its
siren's call and she found herself getting to her feet.

Pamanba turned as Shinobu. It was like watching a moth being drawn to a
candle's flame. Shinobu seemed helpless to resist. Pamanba suddenly realized
what was happening as Shinobu began to walk over to the to the group.
Quickly, she reached out and grabbed the girl by her left wrist and yanked her
back down to the blanket. Shinobu let out a started yelp as she fell, but
once she regained her balance, tried to get up again.

"No," Pamanba said. "You told us that you weren't going to get involved
in these things anymore. That you didn't want to be involved anymore. Well
then, now's the time to start minding your own business."

Shinobu gasped and shuddered. "You right. I'm sorry. I really don't
know what I was doing. Thank you."

Clarisse reached over and tapped the girl on her shoulder. "Shinobu,
maybe you should tell people about your leaving. Everybody from your
class...well, almost everybody is here tonight and I don't think you would
want them to get the news second hand, would you?"

Shinobu looked at Clarisse and smiled. She knew precisely what she was
up to. But Shinobu did not mind. It would help keep her mind off whatever
was going on tonight. "Thank you." she said smiling. "I think that's an
excellent idea." She got up and walked over to where Megane and the rest of
the one time guards were standing, in the opposite direction from the
Sagussans.

"What do you think caused that?" Pamanba whispered into Clarisse's ear.

"I'm not sure," Clarisse whispered back. "I"ve never seen anything like
that before. I don't think she was even aware of what she was doing."

Both girls watched as their friend circulated through the party and
spread the news of her imminent departure. It became the hot gossip item with
her former classmates who began speculating on the reasons behind her leaving.
Some shot nervous glances towards Pamanba and Clarisse, apparently wanting to
ask them what was going on but lacking the nerve to do so.

It took Shinobu about an hour to work her way through the crowd and by
that time the party was beginning to wind down. She rejoined Pamanba and
Clarisse and the trio made their excuses to Shutaro and left the estate for
the ride home. Clarisse was driving a car that she had just finished
converting to electricity, so the trip would not take too long. Pamanba rode
with Clarisse in the front while a tired Shinobu stretched out across the back
seat. "So how did they take it?" Pamanba asked.

"Oh, everyone said the right and proper things. But I really didn't
expect much. It's kind of hard to impress people that you want to be their
friend when they're grabbing the floor to keep from being hit by a desk that
you've just thrown at someone." She paused while she turned to find a more
comfortable spot for her left arm. "But it would have been nice to have
someone say *I'll miss you.*"

* * *

"No. Who told you that?"

"She did herself. She told everyone last night."

* * *

"So why is she going?"

"The question should be why she stayed so long. Nobody here treated her
too nicely."

* * *

"....I can't really imagine Tomobiki without her."

"I guess we're not going to have much choice. She's leaving soon."

* * *

"Does anybody know when she's leaving?"

"I heard somebody say that she was planning on next Monday by train."

* * *

"What is your desire, Young Master?"

"I want you to find something out for me. I want to know precisely how
and when Miss Shinobu plans to leave Tomobiki for Nerima. Report back as soon
as you know. First Lum and now..."

"What was that, Young Master?"

"Nothing. You have your orders."

* * *

"... and that concludes my report." The small, pretty girl bowed to the
other members of the Furinkan High School Business Club and took her seat.
Before the next speaker on the agenda could begin her presentation, the
President of the Club cleared her throat and began to talk.

"I want to thank Miss Miyaki for her excellent services as Secretary to
this organization. As you all know this is the last time that both of us will
be present at one of these meetings. Our graduation from Furinkan means that
neither of us will be able to continue in our capacities within this Club.
While you have determined my successor you have yet to designate a secretary.
I can only hope that you will select someone with her abilities."

The petite girl blushed as there was a round of applause. Hitomi Miyaki
shared more than just a physical resemblance with her cousin, though on a
slighter scale. Both girls were painfully shy and preferred to stay out of
the spotlight whenever possible.

The meeting continued and Hitomi made notes of the pertinent issues.
Afterwards she would compare these with the cassette recording made of the
speakers and would write her report based on both sources. It would be the
last time that she would do this.

At the end of the meeting, she collected her things, Hitomi studied the
Club President from the corner of her eye. She was talking with two other
members of the group, known as the *Inner Circle,* an independent business
organization that controlled every money making scheme going on in Furinkan.
She had been offered a chance to join but had turned it down as gracefully as
possible.

Hitomi had joined the club at her father's prompting. He was hoping
that his only child would follow him into the world of finance and thought
that this would be an excellent means of encouraging her. He was right, but
not in the way that he hoped. After two years spent in close company with the
brown-haired girl who lead the club, Hitomi was determined to seek a career in
medicine. After watching Nabiki Tendou in action she wanted to stay as far
away from the girl as possible. To do otherwise would be like swimming with
an opened wound in a school of hungry sharks.

Hitomi finished packing her notes in her brief case and headed towards
the door. Before she got there she found herself being drawn to one side by
the smiling Club President This made Hitomi nervous. A smiling Nabiki meant
one of two things, she wanted something from you or she had something *on*
you.

"Hitomi, I was wondering if you could do me a favor," Nabiki asked
politely while still managing to make it sound like an order.

"What can I do for you?"

"There's going to be a meeting of banking officials at the Tokyo Finance
Center and it's open to the public. If you could go and take a few notes I'd
really appreciate it."

Hitomi thought about this. It didn't seem like too strenuous a task and
it would end their relationship on a more positive note. "I think I can do
that." she said. "When would this be?"

"This Monday at 9:00 in the morning."

"Oh. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to go then," Hitomi said
regretfully. "I'm going to be meeting my cousin Shinobu at 9:30 that day."

"Alright then," the tall brown haired girl said. "I'll get one of the
candidates for your position to go instead. It'll be a good way to test her
powers of observation."

The two girls left the meeting room together and headed down the
hallway. Nabiki found herself wondering about Hitomi's cousin. The girl had
often talked her in the past, about how they had grown up together and
remained good friends despite living in different districts. But Hitomi had
never mentioned her cousin's name before, as if she had been keeping it a
secret. Other people's secrets equated money in Nabiki's one-track mind and
any potential source of revenue automatically warranted exploration and
possible exploitation.

"So, where is your cousin from?" Nabiki asked in a disinterested
sounding voice.

Hitomi instantly recognized that voice and realized that she had made a
dreadful blunder. *What have I done?!!* the panicked girl thought. *If
Nabiki finds out that Shinobu is 'the Shinobu Miyaki of Tomobiki,' she'll make
her life miserable!!* "Kobe," Hitomi lied. "She lives in Kobe. I've got to
be going. Bye."

The petite girl took off almost running away, hoping that she had been
convincing. Nabiki watched as Hitomi vanished around a corner. *There's
definitely something going on there.* the girl thought. *And that little act
confirmed it. She said that her cousin lived in Kobe. But that's another
city. In the past Hitomi always said that her cousin lived in a different
district and that implies another part of Tokyo.*

Nabiki smiled and the other students in the hallway nervously backed
away from her. They all knew that smile. There was the taste of blood in the
water and nobody wanted to be caught in the feeding frenzy.

* * *

"Dear Diary,

"Tomorrow's the big day. Pamanba and Ryuunosuke are coming over
and they're walking me to the train station. By 8:30 I'll be on
my way and should be in Nerima in an hour. I spoke with Hitomi
earlier and she said that she'd be meeting me at the station down
there. She sounded a little upset but said it was nothing
important.

"Mom and I spent the day packing. Not just what I'll be taking
down, but also putting away things that I won't be needing
anymore. Or, if I'm was really being honest with myself, things
that are too painful for me to keep anymore; at least for now. We
got some storage boxes and put everything about Ataru, Lum,
Benten, Oyuki, all of them in it. I never knew how much I was
defined by my association with those people. It hurt to do this,
but it is necessary. If there is no room in their lives for me
then there is none in mine for them.

"There are just two last things to be put away then it will be
finished. One is the doll of Ataru as the Cyborg. I'm not
certain how I acquired this. Perhaps Lum no longer needed it when
she *got* the real Ataru and simply threw it away.

"The real Ataru. I wonder if Lum remembers the day that Ataru was
split into two different personalities both with their own bodies.
One was the lecher created by the *saikoo jinseijitsu* in its
futile attempt to take Ataru's physical form for itself. The
other was the honest, honorable and worthy man. What now appears
to have been the real Ataru all along.

"That day Lum chose the fool and I the man.

"I wonder if she ever thinks of that. Then again, why should she?
In the end, she got him.

"Now there's only one last thing to be put away and I'm done with
the past.

"It's you, Dear Diary, it's you.

"I wished there was some symbolic reason for this, but there
isn't. You've simply run out of paper. I'm writing this on the
inside back cover.

"Maybe that's symbolic enough.

"Good-bye.

"Love...Shinobu Miyaki."

* * *

"Come on, Shinobu," growled Ryuunosuke as she and Pamanba accompanied
their friend to the local train depot. "Let us carry those suitcases for
awhile. They're pretty heavy and you've had 'em ever since we left your
parents house."

The tomboy blushed as Shinobu looked at her mischievously. Implying
that the strongest girl in the world could use some help carrying a bag was a
bit silly. Ryuunosuke did not know what was in them but when she had tried to
pick up one of the suitcases earlier she had nearly thrown out her back. Yet
here was Shinobu skipping down the crowded sidewalk swinging one from each
hand. Ryuunosuke was hoping that the handles were secure, if one of those
came loose and struck someone it could kill them.

Pamanba was also concerned, but for different reasons. Shinobu seemed
so different today. Gone was the too serious girl she had met on her first
day on Earth. In her place was a laughing and playing sprite. It was not
that Pamanba objected to the change, but there was a great deal to be said for
that girl she had grown to love and she was worried that she might be changing
beyond recognition.

"Don't worry about it," Shinobu said with laughter rippling in her
voice. "This won't do me any harm. Besides, it's probably going to be one of
the last times that I can do something like this."

"Why?" Pamanba asked.

"This happened before you got here," Shinobu began, "...but sometime ago
Lum used a type of wishing well to turn herself into a human girl. A lot of
things changed then; the boys lost interest in her, everything got a lot
calmer, and I lost my strength. Since I'm going to be living away from
Tomobiki it stands to reason that it's going to fade away again."

"Yeah, I remember," Ryuunosuke added. "I always wondered why you lost
your strength."

"Sakura has a theory. She thinks that I might be allergic to Onis and
my strength is due to a chemical reaction to their presence."

Shinobu stopped walking as she realized that her friends were no longer
at her side. She turned around and saw the pair of them lying on the sidewalk
laughing helplessly. "Hey. It's Sakura's idea," she protested. "I never
said that I believed it."

This only made Pamanba and Ryuunosuke laugh harder and soon Shinobu
joined them. After a few minutes the trio sobered up enough to cover the
remaining distance to the train station, but they laughed all the way.

Once inside the older building the girls walked to the ticket counter
and discovered three lines leading up to the windows. Shinobu looked down at
her suitcases. It would be difficult to maneuver these and not hit someone.
Pamanba also saw this and began to speak. "Why don't you put those down while
you get your ticket?" the Vosian said. "Put them next to that empty bench
there and Ryuunosuke and I will keep an eye on them."

"And sit down at the same time."

"You've got it."

Shinobu smiled, carefully put her suitcases down, and took her place in
the fast moving line. Pamanba and Ryuunosuke sat at opposite ends of the
bench and eyed each other warily. Ryuunosuke found it hard to ignore the
circumstances of her first meeting with the young girl. Shinobu had bartered
her own life in exchange for Ryuunosuke's and the rest of their classmates to
save them from Pamanba when she had been under orders to kill one of them in
the Mikado's mad quest for vengeance against Nassur.

Pamanba was uneasy for precisely the same reason. At first she had been
disdainful of the masculine-dressed girl, but over the past few days had begun
to change her opinion. Ryuunosuke had initially been very shocked when
Shinobu had told her of her plans to leave Tomobiki, but since then had proven
to be a tower of strength. There seemed to be a thousand and one things that
needed to be done before their mutual best friend could depart for Nerima and
the tomboy had helped with each and every one of them. There was a lot to
respect with this person and Pamanba wished there was a way to get some sort
of relationship started with her.

*If only there was some way to say 'I'm sorry' and still have some pride
left,* Pamanba thought. She watched as Shinobu reached the head of the line.
*To Purgatory with pride!! If I don't do this now, I'll never get the chance
again.*

"Ryuunosuke," Pamanba began, "...I don't know if this means anything to
you, but I wanted to apologize to you for how we first met. I'm not that
person anymore and I wish that we could be friends. I hope that someday we
will be."

Ryuunosuke looked at the girl as she made her impassioned plea. "Okay,"
she said and held out her hand.

"Okay?!" Pamanba repeated as she took the offered hand in her own.
"That's it? Aren't you going to make me grovel first?"

"Nah, I've never been any good at that," the tomboy said as the two
girls began to shake hands. "I always figured that when somebody says *sorry*
and means it, case closed."

The two girls looked at each other and began to giggle. "Are you two
going to let me in on the joke?" Shinobu was standing next to the bench with
ticket in hand.

This just made them giggle harder. "So, what do we do now?" Pamanba
asked.

Shinobu took a quick look at the departure time printed on her ticket
and looked at the clock on one of the station's walls. "We've got a little
time, but not really enough to do anything," she said as she stooped to pick
up her suitcases. "I think I'd better go to the loading platform, just to be
on the safe side. Would you mind coming up and waiting with me. I don't
really want to be alone right now."

"We'd love to," Pamanba said and the three of them headed for the
stairs. Pamanba noticed that Shinobu had a pensive expression on her face and
asked her what was wrong.

"It's nothing really. It's just that we were so busy these last few
days that I never got the chance to say good-bye to any of my classmates. I
don't mean like at Mendou's party, then I was really just letting them know
that I was leaving. I would have liked to have a chance to see them one more
time. I hope that they won't think too badly of me for not saying bye."

Neither Pamanba or Shinobu noticed Ryuunosuke's small smile.

Shinobu blinked as she walked from the darkened stairway into the sunlit
loading platform. She looked around and blinked even harder as she dropped
her suitcases onto the hard concrete floor.

They were all there. All of Shinobu and Ryuunosuke's classmates, with
three notable exceptions, had put whatever plans they had made for this day
aside and come to the train station to say good-bye to one of their own. To a
person who had shared the best and worst of times with them. A bond like that
is hard to ignore. "Ryuunosuke arranged it," a serious Megane said. "She
called all of us on Saturday and explained how busy you were. That's when it
sank in, that you were really going. There wasn't time to arrange a party,
and that didn't seem appropriate anyway. We hope you don't mind that we
wanted to spend this time with you."

"Oh, no, Aisuru," Shinobu said as her eyes filled with tears. "I don't
think that anything could make me more happy."

Her former classmates surrounded her then as Pamanba and Ryuunosuke
dragged the suitcases over to the porter who would be taking charge of them.
Pamanba looked at the tomboy who was struggling as hard as herself to move one
of the heavy cases. There was quite a lot to respect in this person.

Everybody from the old class had a story, an antedote, a memory that he
wanted to share one last time with Shinobu. But that, in the end, there
simply was not time. All there was time for was laughter, best wishes,
promises to attend marriages; all good things. The girls had prepared little
presents of small useful items, the boys had brought flowers. Shinobu
cherished all of it.

Shutaro Mendou was the last to approach her. For a moment he looked at
the young girl and thought again about the past they had shared. If he had
not been so obsessed with capturing Lum for himself, he might have behaved
better towards Shinobu. Instead he had used her as a means of staying as
close to the alien girl as possible. With that thought he dropped to his
knees in front of his one-time girl friend and touched his forehead to the
cold cement before her.

"Shinobu Miyaki," he began as a gasp went through the crowd. "I have
acted in a manner unworthy of a samurai to you. Please accept my apology and
let there be peace between us."

Shinobu looked at the immaculate figure in white prostrating himself
before her. What Shutaro said was true. But that was in the past and
something that she was leaving behind. Now she had to get on with her life.
Maybe she could help Shutaro do the same. Shinobu drew herself up and in the
manner of a queen, replied, "Shutaro Mendou, I acknowledge your apology and
respect the samurai that makes it. Arise, and let there be peace between us."
With that she extended her hand to Shutaro who took it and allowed her to
raise him to his feet. She then stood on her toes and gave him a swift peck
on the check and whispered in his ear, "Besides Shutaro, you'll get your pants
dirty on that cement."

Shutaro colored slightly at that joke, then recovered and took a small,
tastefully wrapped package from his jacket pocket and handed it to Shinobu.
"This is a cellular phone," he explained. "My personal number is on the speed
dial mode. If you need anything, please call. I'll be..." here he paused and
looked at their classmates and continued "...*we'll* be there for you."

The teenagers surrounding them loudly voiced their approval. Pamanba
came up to Shinobu and touched her shoulder. "It's time." she said. "The
train's leaving in a few minutes."

Shinobu turned and looked at Pamanba and Ryuunosuke standing next to
each other. She owed these two so much, debts that could never be repaid.
She began to go to hug Pamanba then stopped. Shinobu wrapped an arm around
each and held them both.

Ryuunosuke was near tears. She could not let Shinobu see her like this.
She had to be strong and encouraging for her friend's sake...if just for a few
more minutes.

Pamanba was uncertain how much more she could take. Over the past few
days her emotions had been as much in turmoil as Shinobu's, perhaps more. She
did not want to think about a life without her best friend near her. Slowly
she had come to accept that she could not keep her friend by her side like a
pet. If both of them were to grow as individuals she had to respect Shinobu's
decision to explore the possibility of a life beyond the confines of Tomobiki.

Accepting that was one thing, liking it was another.

The conductor leaned out of the train and called for those leaving to
board the train. Shinobu turned and looked at him and reached into her purse
and took a small envelope from it and handed it to Ryuunosuke. The tomboy
looked at the name written on it then looked at her friend with a startled
expression on her face. "I want her to know how I feel, that I don't hate
her," Shinobu said. "Maybe some day we really can become friends. If she
wants to."

"What about him?" Ryuunosuke asked in a tense voice.

Shinobu looked at her with a tired smile on her face. "What about him?"
she said as she turned and went into the train.

Shinobu was lucky enough to find a seat next to the window. As she sat
she studied the faces of her classmates and friends intently, committing this
moment to memory. A remarkably good one. The train began to move slowly then
picked up speed as it pulled out of the station. She looked back until the
train went around a bend and the station disappeared from sight.

"She's really gone," Megane whispered. "I didn't really believe this
would happen. Somehow I thought that..."

He broke off what he was saying as a strange, choking sound filled the
air. He and the rest of his classmates looked around trying to identify the
source of the noises.

Ryuunosuke was crying. Her palms were pressed tightly against her eyes
and she was fighting against every sob. A large hand settled on her shoulder
and she looked up into the face of her father. A groan went through the
crowd. This was not good. There was a unfamiliar look on the old school
janitor's face. He looked almost thoughtful, even intelligent. "Why don't
you let the tears flow?" he asked his "son."

"Why?!!" the tomboy snapped at her parent, her anger beginning to rise.
"Because *guys* aren't supposed to cry, remember."

She began to pull back her right arm to let loose with a blow that would
have sent the idiot to Beijing...when he said something that stopped her in
her tracks. "I cried when your mother was taken from us." the old man said.
"There's no shame in a man crying."

The tomboy had a stunned expression on her face and then buried her face
into her father's chest and said through her sobs, "I'm a girl, you idiot."

The old man chose to ignore that statement...

* * *

As the train left Tomobiki something occurred. Something not
immediately noticeable to any of its inhabitants. Something not on their
world or even in their universe but intimately connected with them and their
future.

In the Bureau of Destiny Management, that strange dimension where
possibilities are made tangible and accessible something was happening. Two
of the doors that represented different futures began to move from their
aimless orbits. Slowly they aligned themselves until they were precisely a
foot apart and level with each other in all aspects. Another joined them.
Then a fourth and a fifth. Soon more and more futures would enter into this
configuration.

It would be sometime before this was noticed by those who fancied
themselves the managers of destinies.

It was already unstoppable.

* * *

The Yakusta Shipping company was an excellent secret front for the
Japanese gangsters who owned it. Its legitimate activities effectively
concealed its less wholesome trafficking of cargoes of liquor, electronic and
human merchandise. The hired muscle who had been placed on guard in front of
the warehouse that the trucking firm occupied bitterly cursed his superiors
for summoning him from the warmth of his favorite brothel to stand guard on
such a cold night. The local constabulary were paid off, the feds had no clue
to what was going on, and the watchmen who patrolled the Nerima Industrial
Park knew better than to include this building in their rounds. So what was
the point of him freezing?

A shiver rocked his stocky frame and he reached for a fresh cigarette to
ward off the cold. He had found some shelter from the wind behind a stack of
discarded pallets. It had been awhile since he had seen any of the other
guards and he assumed that they had found similar accommodations for the
evening.

*What a weird set up.* he thought as he looked longingly at the heated
building. *Columbian gaijins and 'Shining Path' communists meeting with a
Yakuza head. Wonder what they're cooking up?*

As he fumbled with the lighter, he failed to notice the slight figure
approaching behind him or the hiss of her sword being drawn from its scabbard.
He was dead before either half of him hit the ground.

*Only four guards and none of them better than this fool!* the woman
within the electronically enhanced armor thought as she wiped her blade and
slid it back into place. She scanned the surrounding area and detected only
the rapidly cooling forms of the other three who had lamentably failed in
their duties. *So much the better. Not only do I prevent the further
poisoning of Japan by foreign filth, I eliminate a host of traitors at the
same time.*

* * *

"...so the main points are covered. Now all we gotta do is iron out
some of the particulars," said Tokai Mendashi, the head of the Nerima Yakuza.
The youngest man to be entrusted with such a position, he had wasted no time
in exploiting the possibilities of his appointment. Brash, greedy and without
honor he had every intention of moving into fields that his older counterparts
had found contemptible.

He looked at the two men sitting at the table with him. Se¤or Bandarras
with his connections in South America would provide the product. The
revolutionary cells Hiradoshi Makato controlled in every major educational
institution would be the perfect sales force. The college students with their
slavish adoration of everything Western had proven an avid market and would
quickly succumb to the allure of cocaine.

In the center would be Tokai; controlling the flow, setting the price
and making the profit. Within six months he would be offered a seat on the
"Committee," an innocuous sounding term for the most powerful gang bosses in
Japan. After that he intended to establish an international presence as the
Japanese Mafia would begin to exploit the riches of their Pacific neighbors.

*Yeah, the future's so bright, I'm gonna need shades!* he thought as he
poured his partners fresh drinks. Bandarras had proved to be remarkably
intelligent, speaking Japanese fluently and well versed in proper behavior.
He had provided the twenty-five year old scotch that they were presently
enjoying and had been very respectful to his host's rank.

By contrast Makato was a disappointment. Radical beyond rational
thought, he viewed the distribution of drugs as a political act, a dagger
directed at the heart of a corrupt society. That the consumers of the cocaine
would be the young students most sympathetic to his cause had apparently gone
unnoticed. Still, he would be useful in establishing the means of
distribution. He could be disposed of later.

Tokai looked around the well lit storage room and wondered about a
replacement for Makato. Twenty of his most trusted were present; some gaming,
others checking their weapons and a few keeping watch. He had recruited them
from the toughest youth gangs across Japan and made them all rich with
promises of additional wealth to come.

With a loud *clack!* the lights went out and the windowless room turned
black. Tokai and the other two sprung to their feet as did their guards.
Tokai couldn't see a thing but heard something happening in the dark.
"Yosha?!" he cried out the name of his right hand man. "Yosha, what's goin'
on here?!" An eerie silence was all that answered him. "Yosha!!" he shouted
into the dark. "Talk to me, man!! Get those lights back on!"

A hollow voice that came from everywhere and nowhere laughed and said,
"Yosha's unavailable but I'll see what I can do."

A single overhead light flashed on, terrfying the three. Momentarily
blinded by its brilliance, they were unaware of the carnage around them. Then
they saw the corpses littering the floor of the warehouse. Every man that
Tokai had with him, twenty of some of the most dangerous men in Japan, had
been cut down in the time that it took to turn a light off and on.

Bandarras was turning to Tokai to demand an explanation as a plasma bolt
struck him solidly in the chest! Tokai and Makato were stupefied as the
intense heat consumed the Columbian, converting him into gas before their
eyes.

Both men had pulled out their pistols when the lights had failed and
began firing wildly at shadows as they raced for the door. As they reached it
a figure dropped from the rafters above them. Neither had the time to react
before she had cut through both of them with a single stroke of her katana.
Their revolvers fell from their nerveless hands as both clutched their
stomachs in instinctive denial of their approaching demise. They dropped to
their knees and the armored figure walked to Tokai and snatched his silk
handkerchief from his suit pocket to wipe his and Makato's blood from her
undecorated and unsigned blade.

Tokai looked at the gory mess oozing between his fingers and knew his
life was over. He had seen Yakuza who had betrayed their blood oaths commit
seppuku to atone for their deeds. He tried to study the person who had
murdered him. The figure was short for a man and wore armor similar to a
samurai's, but made from modern materials. The helmet had a face plate that
revealed a smallish pointed chin and two cold eyes that regarded the dying men
with grim satisfaction.

"Finish it!" the gang lord gasped. "Have that much mercy."

Their killer shrugged and lifted off the helmet. Both men were
astonished to see the butcher was a woman. "No," she said, her attractive
features terrible in their ferocity. "My ancestors may have granted you the
mercy of a swift death, but this is my punishment for your betrayal of Japan."
She pointed towards Tokai. "For the Western poison you would have introduced
to our youth." She turned to Makato and continued. "And yours for the lies
that you have fed them. For teaching them to be discontent with their lot.
For urging them to ignore the traditions of our people and turn to the
materialistic ways of the West." She nodded at the cloud of fumes that had
been Bandarras. "I granted the him mercy because he was a gaijin and could
not be expected to behave in a civilized manner but both of you knew better."

She silently watched the two as they cried, begged, and finally,
horibly, agonizingly, died. Shinobu restored her helmet before she left the
room. There was much to be done and little time to waste...

* * *

"...so when Reigi brought Ataru down for that meeting I came with him to
check with you and pick up our little friend," Noa stopped and looked at the
computer expert of Pathfinder Troop Six, perched in front of the terminal in
Ataru's suite of rooms in the Toranoseishin Finance Center. Nene was out of
it again. Put the girl in front of a computer and the two would merge into a
single entity.

Lum's bond-mate sighed and poked the seated girl with her forefinger.
Nene yelped and blushed as she acknowledged Noa's presence. "It's right over
there. First cabinet, second drawer."

Noa smiled. She pulled open the drawer and lifted out the familiar box
within. She checked its contents and was satisfied with their condition.
Nene had helped her develop this device over the past fourteen years and it
was now one of her most useful possessions. Very useful for keeping tabs on
certain unfriendly elements.

"Thanks for helping me out while I was off-planet," Noa said, as she
prepared to leave the room.

Nene was concentrating on the computer looking very anxious and
muttering under her breath. "Darn," Noa heard the girl grumble. "I wish that
Demelza was here."

*Demelza?" Noa thought of the Tritonian-born-Sagussan. *Why would she
need the help of a temporal physicist?*

Noa went to Nene and asked for an explanation. Nene typed a few
commands into the computer and a three dimensional map of Tokyo appeared on
the monitor. The chart had a series of cones on it, as if someone had pushed
a pointed object through it from the other side. "These are time spikes,"
Nene began. "They're the harmonic residue left when someone move from one
plane of temporal reality to another. This began a few weeks ago but I only
learned about it on Monday. This isn't my field but it looks like four
separate attempts are being made to insert someone into this time line."

"You mean someone is attempting to time travel to our present?"

"No, I mean that four different individuals are breaking through the
dimensional barriers as well as the temporal one. These spikes are similar to
the ones caused when a Urusian temporal spacializer is used."

Noa frowned, this could be very serious. "Where are they centered?" she
asked.

"That's what's so strange. At first the epicenter was in Tomobiki...but
if I've triangulated this correctly it's now in Nerima." The girl broke off
her explanation as another spike appeared on the screen.

"Did that one get through?" Noa asked.

"No," Nene replied. "Only two have. The first arrived ten days ago and
the second six days later and I can't trace them. These records indicate that
both were standard Terran genotypes and the computer wasn't programmed then to
track anything other than alien life forms."

Leaning against the wall, Noa whistled tunelessly. "I wonder what's in
Nerima that could be so important?" she deliberated.

* * *

Ataru Moroboshi closed the leather bound menu and handed it to the
hovering waiter. Much had changed about the teenager over the past six months
but he still appreciated a good meal and this restaurant was known as the
finest in Tokyo, the place for the most successful businessmen in Japan to
meet, eat and deal.

Normally the restaurant would have been crowded over the lunch hour but
the tables immediately surrounding him and his two dining companions were
empty with tiny reserved signs placed on the fine linen covering them. Ataru
glanced at the ring of grim looking men and women encircling him...a mixture
of elite Japanese Special Forces and the United States Secret Service.
Unusual, but considering that he was sitting with the Prime Minister of Japan
and the Vice President of the United States, not unexpected. "When Reigi
Yumoa told me that we were going to have this meeting, gentlemen," Ataru
began. "I had imagined it would take place somewhere more private."

"We want this meeting to be widely reported in certain circles, Mr.
Moroboshi," the Prime Minister responded. "There are individuals and groups
who are less than favorably inclined towards you and we're signaling that you
are under our joint protection."

Ataru thought that he hid his smile behind his water glass. "I'm very
grateful for your concern, but I believe that I have certain resources at my
disposal."

"If you're referring to the Sagussans," the Vice President uttered,
"...I agree that they're very capable of dealing with the Urusians, the
Niphentaxians, the Mikado and his hunters, the Ipraedies and the Seifukusu
Dominion. But they lack the subtlety to deal with the home-grown threats."

The American watched as the young man slowly lowered his glass. He now
had his full attention and was ready to employ the most dangerous weapon in
the arsenal of diplomacy; the truth. "Mr. Moroboshi, I really wish that we
could do this differently, that we wouldn't have to be as hard on you as we're
about to be. But things are rapidly getting out of hand and we just don't
have the time to be gentle with you. May I proceed?"

Ataru nodded his silent consent and the Vice President continued. "How
familiar are you with Special Resolution 444 of the United Nations?"

"It's the legal device that the United Nations established to regulate
the presence of extra-terrestrials on the Earth," Ataru replied.

"Not quite," the American returned. "The order was written in the style
of American law. It articulates the broad principles to be regulated while
leaving it to the courts to define the specifics. The phrase used to denote
the individuals covered by it is 'alien' but the definition of what actually
constitutes an 'alien' is never made. This could be determined any number of
ways by the courts. May I use you as an example of how the order could be
interpreted?"

"Of course." Ataru politely answered. He knew now where this was
headed.

"Disregarding the nature of your unique genetic heritage," the Vice
President said while watching the young man sitting across from him stiffen,
"...there's the matter of your legal citizenship. During the time of your
troubles with your parents, your grandmother obtained legal status for you as
a citizen of Zephyrus so you could sever the legal bonds between you and them.
It can be argued that at that point you renounced your Japanese citizenship."

"But Japan recognizes dual citizenship," Ataru retorted.

"Correction, Mr. Moroboshi," the Prime Minister interjected. "The
government recognizes it on a case-by-case justification. It is never
automatically granted. Beyond that, it is only ceded on the basis of nation
to nation. There is no historical precedent for establishing dual citizenship
between a sovereign nation and a sovereign planet. You should also understand
that your grandmother has established Zephyrite citizenship for herself and
all her direct decedents, none of whom have registered their presence on Earth
with the United Nations as called for under Resolution 444. Only your father
currently lives in Tomobiki. You, your grandmother, uncle, sisters, daughter
and the rest are in violation of the Resolution's residency clauses, which
demand that all aliens live in Tomobiki-cho of the city of Tokyo."

Ataru looked at the grim men staring at him. "What you're saying is
that the Resolution could be used as the means to expel the Moroboshi Clan
from Earth."

"Such an argument has been written by the Attorney General of the United
States and needs only an Executive Order before being presented to the World
Court at the Hague," the Vice President said.

"And will this order be executed?" Ataru asked.

"Gods, no!!!" the Prime Minister snapped. "We had it prepared to
placate some of our wavering allies. Those who are not convinced of the
Sagussans' good will towards Earth. You have more friends among the leaders
of the world than you appreciate, Mr. Moroboshi. We recognize that you are
the world's best hope of maintaining our independence from a multitude of
space-borne threats. But powerful people are feeling threatened by Sagussan
actions on Earth. Admittedly, in retrospect, they can always be perceived to
be in the best interest of humanity. But they have a regrettable tendency to
act without informing us. They must realize that they are no longer operating
in the vacuum of space but in one of the most densely populated areas of
Earth. What they do will be noticed and commented upon...and considering
their reluctance to explain their actions, they are beginning to be perceived
as simply another group of aliens treating humanity as an exploitable
resource."

"Please try to understand our position, Mr. Moroboshi," the American
said. "We're dealing with scores of factions that are interpreting events to
suit their own agendas. There are members of my government who are arguing
for total isolation from inter-world affairs. Others see this as a golden
opportunity to capitalized on alien sciences. And...the fact that your
girlfriend has a set of horns has not gone unnoticed by religious
fundamentalists around the world."

"Indeed, there are those within the Japanese government urging that, as
the host nation to the extraterrestrials, we should have special privileges to
compensate for our hospitality," the Prime Minister bitterly added.
"Representatives of certain industrial factions are pressuring me to open
direct talks on trade...while right wing paramilitary groups advocate Japan
leaving the United Nations and forming a military alliance with an
accommodating alien power."

"That's ridiculous!" Ataru declared. "The Sagussans would never violate
the Non-Interference Directive to such a degree."

"He didn't say that the Sagussans would," the American inserted. "But
there are others. We've evidence that the Urusian Imperialistic faction have
formed a working relationship with the most powerful fascist group in Japan
and are supplying them with materials. Today I received a report that they've
been assisting an Urusian insertion team operating in the Tokyo region."

"Why haven't you arrested the leader of this group?" Ataru asked.

"Because under the law he's done nothing illegal. There's nothing in
Resolution 444 that compels a Terran to report any contact with aliens. An
oversight on my part," the Vice President ruefully admitted.

Ataru looked at the men sharing his table and the last of his anger with
them vanished. Men like these were waging an undeclared war to prepare their
world for the universe that stretched beyond Earth's confines. It was time
that he joined the fray. "So what do we do today?" he asked and watched the
tension drain from their faces.

"First we eat," the Prime Minister said as he signaled the guards to
admit the waiter carrying the salads. "We're going to need the energy."

* * *

"Dr. Tofu would like to schedule a follow up appointment with you, Mrs.
Mori. When would be a good time for you to visit us again?" Shinobu asked the
elderly lady. She was enjoying her temporary position as an assistant to the
chiropractor and felt very good to be doing something so useful.

Two men in business suits watched Shinobu from across the waiting room.
One was thin and quiet while the other was larger and sullen. The smaller
leaned to his companion and said, "She doesn't look like a bad girl does she,
Taga-sama?"

The angry looking man snorted. "They're all bad in Tomobiki and that
whore is the worst of the lot. You've heard the stories about them. You know
what she's capable of. And the government won't let the newspapers print the
truth. They know if the people of Japan learned what was really going on up
there, they'd be swept from office and replaced with real men who know how to
deal with trash like her."

Mochizuki shrank away from his partner and settled back into his chair.
He did not want to be here but he was weak and easily dominated by the man
next to him. He looked back at the young girl checking the appointment
calendar at the receptionist desk. "How did Tofu hire her anyway?" he asked.

"Her cousin found the position for her. He must have hired her without
knowing who the slut really is," Taga growled. "She was the one who hurt my
son. He met her soon after she came here. Not only did she have the audacity
to proposition him *and* his friends but assaulted them when they refused to
behave in such a perverted manner."

"She did that to his hand?" the small man said. "How could a girl be
strong enough to...?"

"Pardon me please, gentlemen," Shinobu said, walking towards the pair.
"Dr. Tofu is ready to see you now. Would you come with me..."

"We know the way," Taga rudely interrupted as he shoved past her with
his companion trailing after.

Ono Tofu looked up from the case files on his desk as the two men
noisily entered his office. "Usually my patients make separate appointments,"
he coolly said. "So when two prominent member's of the Businessman's Council
ask to see me at the same time I assume that it is not for my professional
services."

Mochizuki glanced nervously at Taga as they sat. Everyone in Nerima was
so used to the quiet manner Tofu normally behaved in that they had forgotten
how formidable the pleasant young doctor could be. Taga coughed and began.
"You're right, Dr. Tofu. We're here as Representatives of your fellow
businessmen and professionals." Taga paused, waiting for Tofu to ask what
they wanted. Instead he waited silently behind the desk, forcing him to come
to the point. Taga's face colored as his quick temper soared. "We want you
to dismiss that whore working for you and send her packing back to Tomobiki!"

"I don't employ 'whores.' As a doctor I know the medical risks involved
in such behavior. The only young ladies working for me are Hitomi Miyaki and
her cousin Shinobu. Currently they're sharing the duties of my receptionist
and assistant and will do so for the rest of the summer. They've been doing
an exemplary job and I have no intention of dismissing either."

"Don't give me that crap!" Taga boomed. "We've all heard the stories
about what that girl does. When she's not helping those aliens tear Tomobiki
apart, she's screwing with anything that moves. We don't need that sort here.
Nerima's got enough problems with all of those martial artists running
around..."

"The same martial artist you businessmen regularly turn to when street
gangs try to extort protection money from you, when anything happens that the
local police can't cope with. I know, I'm one of them. And yes, I have heard
those stories about Shinobu. But the first thing every doctor learns in
medical school is to rely on the evidence of his own senses and not on gossip,
innuendoes or lies."

Taga quivered in indignation. "We've already started a campaign to get
rid of her. In a few days nobody decent will be seen walking on the same side
of the street. Be careful, you might find yourself with an empty waiting
room."

"I do have a very full case load, more than I can really handle. This
will be a good excuse to start trimming it back. Starting with the two of
you." Tofu handed each man one of the files he had been studying when they
entered. Both saw their names on the labels. Stunned they looked back at the
inexorable man facing them. "I'm certain that two busy gentlemen like you
must have pressing engagements so I won't keep you. I'd show you to the
door...but in my present mood I'm more likely to put you through it."

Shinobu watched the two men run from Dr. Tofu's office, across the lobby
and out into the street. She had not been surprised by their hostility. Many
of the people of Nerima who had initially been friendly to her were now very
distant. It did not matter. She had made some new friends and was too busy
to dwell on the slights she had received.

"Are you going to the Tendou dojo, Shinobu?" asked Dr. Tofu as he walked
into the waiting room.

"Yes sir. I'll be leaving as soon as Hitomi arrives for the afternoon
shift." The girl studied the slim man from the corner of her eye. Dr. Tofu
was precisely the sort of man she had imagined marrying when she was younger,
but now that she had met him she felt nothing more for him than friendship and
respect. His reaction when Kasumi Tendou had stopped by to return a book
probably had something to do with that. He definitely had it bad for the
young woman, reminding Shinobu of Koosei's reaction to Oyuki. "Thank you for
telling me about Akane. She's an excellent instructor and says I'm making
real progress."

"Your natural strength probably has something to do with that," Tofu
paused. "Which reminds me. I was curious as to why you wanted to study
martial arts when you seem strong enough to deal with most problems."

"I want to learn how to defend myself without relying on my strength.
After I arrived in Nerima, I was accosted by a group of perverts who thought
they knew me." Shinobu blushed painfully. She was uncomfortable talking
about this. "They wanted me to do...things for them and I refused. As one of
them groped me, I broke his hand."

* * *

On the busy street in front of the Ono Clinic a tall, thin boy loitered
in the bus kiosk. Dressed in the school uniform of Tomobiki High he sat
listening to his Walkman and nervously adjusting his ski cap pulled low over
his tapered ears. When Shinobu left the single story building and headed down
the sidewalk he pulled his radio from his pocket and whispered into the hidden
microphone. "The Sinful Doubter is moving. Am in pursuit."

Finding the heretic in Nerima was the break that he and the rest of the
Church of Lum's surveillance team had been hoping for. Ever since the arrival
of the harpies known as the Sagussans, no Niphentaxian had been able to enter
the Holy City or approach the seaside lair of the beast, the Great Evil.
Perhaps they would have something positive to report back to the Church's
elders, growing increasingly frantic over ancient prophecies regarding their
people. Perhaps they would even be able to shed some light on one of the
Great Mysteries of the Church. The relationship between the Sinful Doubter,
the Great Evil and the Goddess was unclear and fuelled a great debate among
the faithful. Some, such as his team's leader, speculated that the true
importance of the Heretic may have been underestimated by the hierarchy.
Still, she was known to be a member of the "Cult of the Sinful Doubter
Shinobu" and would probably do what ever she could to enhance her idol's
importance.

Suddenly a sharp noise pierced the agent's concentration. A quick look
at his communication device confirmed that an emergency signal had just been
sent out and all operatives were required to report immediately. A dash down
an alley way and he was ready to make contact.

The message from central command was direct. All operatives were to
return immediately to base. The computer adept had found a cache of
information related to the Most Holy One and her entourage. The great secret
of Tomobiki was discovered and the true face of the monster revealed!

* * *

The practice of kenjutsu, the art of military style swordplay, always
brought a sense of focus and discipline to Baron Suzuki, something that he
desperately needed now. He performed the intricate maneuvers in his private
training hall and tried not to think about the day's events.

The latest warriors sent by his erstwhile allies, the Urusian Imperial
Restoration Movement, had proven as incompetent as their predecessors. The
latter had been sent to Earth to insure the demise of the Democratic Alliance
of Uru via the assassination of its leader and her daughter. Privately the
Baron was convinced that the meager abilities demonstrated by the hired
ruffians guaranteed its failure and he had been proven correct. Within hours
of their leaving the safety of his estate, the Baron's chief assistant, Mr.
Lee, had reported their failure and demise. Suzuki had since learned the
ramifications of this act had reached Uru itself. The Renning family, a minor
house of Urusian nobility and the instigators of the scheme, had been wiped
out.

Today, another catastrophe. Overly confident in their own abilities,
the three latest Urusian agents from the Imperialists had entered Tokyo three
days ago and had established a base in an abandoned garage. For two days they
had regularly checked in with the Baron's organization, but last night had
fallen silent. The Baron's men had just reported that they had found no trace
of them at the garage other than blood stains and blaster marks.

The Baron stopped his sword excises and leaned wearily against the wall.
Everything was going so wrong. The allies he had found, from the Urusians to
Takanaba were either inadequate or treacherous. The great cause, to which he
had dedicated his life to since boyhood, was slipping away. He was
forty-seven with another birthday fast approaching. He had sacrificed so
much, had delayed having a family to concentrate on his mission and leave a
better world that he had inherited. It was beginning to appear that he would
have neither family or accomplishment when he left this world for the next.
What would his father have done under these circumstances?

He remembered the last time he had been permitted to see his father.
The man had aged dreadfully in his confinement but his spirit had not been
broken by his American captors. Inside he was still the strong man that he
had been before his capture and trial at the end of the Greater East Asian
War. Even his unjust fate had not broken his will. His son drew strength
from his father's example. He would continue his task for both of them.

Suzuki turned and nearly jumped through the roof as he realized that he
was not alone. In the center of the training room stood a smallish figure
wearing futuristic armor influenced by samurai tradition. He began to speak
but stopped as the warrior raised its hand in a hushing motion and said,
"America shall be our bread basket, Europe our boutique and the stars our
destiny."

Astonished the Baron studied the person before him. He had never shared
the promise he had first made the night of his father's execution with anyone.
It had been his private source of inspiration and comfort in the long years of
tribulation. He gathered his considerable courage and demanded, "Who are
you?"

"I am a contingency," the warrior spoke, her voice ringing cavernously
in the hall. "I am a representation of a potential future, a possible destiny
for Japan and all mankind." The samurai raised a gauntlet and swept away her
helmet as she knelt before the startled man. "I am here to insure that
destiny comes to pass," she said as she drew her katana and presented it to
him hilt first. "I am here to serve you."

The Baron examined the face of the young woman. He thought that he
recognized her from photographs he had seen at meetings about the aliens
currently residing in Japan. But that was impossible. That had been a girl
in her mid-teens while this was a mature woman of about thirty. "Do you have
a younger sister living in Tomobiki?" he asked.

Shinobu rose to her feet and answered, "No. I have a younger *self*
living in that district." She smiled ruthlessly and continued. "I was her
and she must become me."

* * *

It had been so easy for her to slip away from the meeting. Suzanna
Lords, a recent appointee to the American Consulate had asked one of her
coworkers to keep an eye upon the three men working at the restaurant table.
She told her fellow State Department employees that she wanted to review the
latest intelligence reports back in the suite of offices retained for the Vice
President's temporary staff. The security guards had not challenged her when
she left the restaurant and no one had offered to accompany her. No one
noticed that as she entered the empty elevator she pressed the button for the
basement and not the floor where the offices were located.

The basement hallway was empty as her contact had assured her it would
be. All of the staff were currently at their duties. She walked down the
corridor until she found the predesignated door with its lock taped open. She
pushed at it and entered, carefully removing the evidence at the same time. A
flick of the lights and she found herself in a storage area for dry kitchen
supplies. She looked around but could find no sign of the person she was to
meet. "Where are you?" she whispered.

No answer. She was about to try again when there came a noise that
might have been someone uttering "Over here." Lords walked between two
shelving units and found an overcoated figure sitting with her back to a
corner, a loose felt hat hanging over her face and a wicked looking pistol in
her hand. The Japanese woman raised her head and her stock of heavy white
hair parted to reveal a still youthful face. She did not say anything as she
waited for the young American to make her report.

"Everything is going as it should," Suzanna said. "Their writing
proposed changes to Resolution 444 to accommodate a treaty between Earth and
Sagussa. Moroboshi seems sincere about protecting Terran rights against any
aggressors. He's even made some suggestions about..."

"Ataru-kun has always been sincere," the huddled figure answered in
slightly accented English, "...but even he can't predict the future. Remember
that saying about the path lined with good intentions? I live where it ends.
What they're doing up there today, despite the noble objectives, is the
beginning of the end. It's my curse that I'll live to see its culmination and
beyond."

Lords shivered. When this mysterious figure had first appeared at her
modest studio apartment nine days before she had brought with her a detained
record of what she claimed would happen over the next week. Deaths,
accidents, breaking new stories, all things that no one could have anticipated
and they had all occurred. The last time they had met she had told Lords to
take her fingerprints and run them through the data base that the United
Nations had established concerning Tomobiki. The name that had come up had
shook the embassy aide to the core. It was the final proof that she had
needed and she would now help this person in any way that she could.

Suzanna looked at the person sitting on the floor. Her own destiny was
as dreadful as the one that she had painted for mankind. She bent over slowly
and began to reach towards her while saying, "Shinobu, I want to thank you for
what..."

The woman flinched as if she had been struck and pulled away from Lords.
"Please don't call me by that name," she gasped. "That person isn't here
anymore."

Suzanna stood back up. "I have to get back now. I want to review the
reports. Maybe I can get a lead on those Urusians." She walked slowly from
the room, stopping only to turn off the lights.

Alone in the dark the woman drew her knees to her thin chest and began
to rock back and forth. *This is harder than I thought it would be. Being
here brings back memories, too many memories.* Then she began to recall her
last coherent memory of Earth and she began to grit her teeth and knock her
head against the wall. It was no good, it could not be denied.

The long hallways in her palace at Kyotos. The carved doors of the
receiving room. The soldier who had carried the pallets and their cargo from
the spaceport and now formed the honor guard around their fallen comrades.
The bodies of her precious, precious children lying in state with the flags of
Earth and Yehisril draped across their torn bodies. And behind them, the
demon of her life, the one who had taken everything of meaning away from her,
wept crocodile tears over those whom she had lead to their death.

At that moment the rage that she had buried for so long erupted and
overwhelmed her. In an instant Shinobu Miyaki drowned in its ebony depths and
Scalphunter was born.

She undid the top button on her overcoat and, like a Muslim with his
prayer beads, began to clasp the necklace made of Oni horns that she wore.
There were three fresh ones upon it...

* * *

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

Nabiki Tendou turned away from her bedroom window from which she had
watched her younger sister with a student train in the garden below. She
walked to her computer table and sat down in the chair next to it. Normally
she would be on-line examining commodity prices and checking her investments.
Today she stared listlessly at the monitor and studied her reflection on the
dark screen.

"I didn't mean anything by it," she whispered to the image. "I...I just
provided the pictures. They never did anything like that before. I didn't
think that they were...that they were capable of doing that. It's not my
fault. It's not! It's not!" She shuddered and looked back at the open
window, hearing the sounds rising from underneath. "I can't even convince
myself," she moaned. "They wouldn't have been able to do it without me. I am
responsible." She thought about the young woman tutoring with her sister and
trembled with guilt and shame.

* * *

It had taken Nabiki only minutes to learn everything about Hitomi
Miyaki's cousin Shinobu. She used her contacts in the local governmental
bureaucracy to collect information re family lines, property transactions, tax
records. There was only one constant to all of them, the name of the most
infamous district of Tokyo: Tomobiki. A quick trip to the local library and
the stored newspapers on microfilms confirmed the girl's identity. Shinobu
Miyaki. According to the newspapers an unwilling participant in the affairs
of that troubled area. But if half of the stories that people whispered about
her were true...

Nabiki was too intelligent to give credence to these tales. But that
did not mean she was not above making money on those who were not. The
opportunity came quickly. She was shadowing Shinobu when she saw the girl
stopped by a group of Furinkan High Chemical Club schoolers. Distance
prevented her from hearing what was said, but when Masaki Taga attempted to
fondle the girl's breast the sound of breaking bones carried sharply through
the morning air.

Nabiki had sold photos of Akane and Ranma in his female form to this
group. Perhaps when they were released from the hospital the Chem Club might
be interested in purchasing some of Shinobu. The problem was how to acquire
photos of the young woman. Benevolent fate stepped in when Shinobu appeared
at the Tendou dojo the next day to arrange for basic self defense lessons.
Nabiki could not understand why anybody who could rip a lamppost from its base
and use it to flatten a group of perverts needed to learn how to punch
someone, but she did not question her good fortune. A fresh roll of film in
her camera, followed by a quick trip to her favorite photo developing store
and she checked the results. Since Shinobu did not own a traditional gi used
by most students of the martial arts she had worn a gym outfit borrowed from
her smaller cousin. The photos were very sensual as Shinobu's considerable
charms were flattered by the tight fitting shirt and trunks. Nabiki was very
pleased with the effect, as was the least injured member of the Chem Club who
met with her that evening. All of the photos were purchased without any
attempt at negotiation.

For Nabiki that should have been the end of it. Then a few days later
an idea occurred to her. The trade in photos of Akane and Ranma-chan, while
profitable, was extremely local. But Miyaki was known across Japan and there
might be an exploitable market out there for that series of photos. She would
use her computer to explore the possibilities.

On line Nabiki found what appeared to be a gold mine. Within moments
she stumbled across a site dedicated to the inhabitants of Tomobiki. Calling
itself "Urusei Yatsura," it had a collection of links to sites around the
world. Barely believing her luck, Nabiki scrolled down the list looking for
sites that centered around Shinobu. Unfortunately she soon found one. It was
called "The Shrine of Kali-Shinobu," which puzzled her since she knew that
Kali was the Hindu goddess of seduction and death. Why would anyone associate
that name with Shinobu? After logging on with that site she knew.

It was a locus of the rankest perversions. Every deviant thought, every
aberrant deed was celebrated on it, all identified with Shinobu. Here she was
homaged as the Goddess of Sex and Destruction, the living personification of
both. There were crudely written fictions about her corrupting and dominating
the inhabitants of Tomobiki through the gratification of the lewdest of
appetites. Drawings of her engaged in the most intimate acts with humans and
otherwise.

Then there were the photos. Gods, there were the photos.

In them Shinobu, dressed in a black leather outfit that was too short,
too tight, and too low, used a whip to "discipline" a young girl with green
hair cringing at her feet. But this was not what so appalled Nabiki. It was
that she recognized the photos. She had taken them. Using a computer graphic
art program someone had altered the photos of Shinobu exercising into their
present condition. They had done a superb job and only an expert...or the
person who had taken the original shots...would be able to tell that they were
fakes.

Infuriated that someone had used something that she had provided to her
clients for such a debauched purpose, Nabiki immediately tracked down the
physical location of the site. It was Furinkan High School, specifically the
small building on the grounds set aside for the exclusive use of the Chemical
Club.

It did not take a genius to see what had happened. The club was a
collection of brainy deviates who needed an object to project their twisted
fantasies upon. They could not use either Akane or Ranma-chan as both were
known and no one would believe either would behave in such a manner. But
Shinobu Miyaki, a girl whose tattered reputation gave credence to this, would
be perfect. Her violent reaction to their initial advances confirmed their
beliefs.

Then Nabiki made the photos available...

Nabiki loved her family but found it difficult to express this affection
in words. Her emotions were shown by her keeping the dojo in the black. She
supplied the money that put the food on the table, paid the taxes and hired
the home repair companies. She was willing to sacrifice for her kin and
considered no price too high to insure their happiness.

Today she discovered that there was one.

Unfortunately an innocent girl was going to pay it...

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

* * *

The closed restaurant was no different than any of the other buildings
on the block. A simple, three story brick edifice, its large glass windows on
the ground floor were covered with newspapers to keep the sunlight from fading
the interior surfaces. A sign proclaiming that the business was under new
management had been plastered on the door about a month earlier and
pedestrians noticed lights on at the oddest of times with people entering and
exiting in great hurry.

Most of the residents of Nerima hoped that the restaurant would open
soon. There were only two really good places to eat in that part of town and
they were tired of Chinese food and okonomiyaki, although none of them would
dare tell that to the proprietors of either establishment. Being slapped on
the head with a cane or a spatula hurt.

There was a great deal of activity in the building this day, but none of
it had to do with food. The Niphentaxian spy unit which had rented the
building had been ordered back to base to confirm with their team leader.
Their computer expert had found something of great importance on one of the
local internet sites, something that would change the Church of Lum forever.

"Kali?" a puzzled Fungi said. "I've never heard the Sinful Doubter
referred to that way before."

The tall Niphentaxian boy fell silent under the collected glare of the
rest of his surveillance unit. In addition to being devout followers of the
Church, they were members of the "Cult of the Sinful Doubter Shinobu." To
have their idol living in Nerima where she could be observed was sheer bliss
to them. Fungi, who joined due to peer pressure and not religious fervor,
found his fellow Niphentaxians and their attitude to be a little...silly. His
maternal great-grandmother had been a Vosian. Her race's good sense ran true
in all of her descendants. Fungi wanted to break with the Church and live for
himself, but he was too afraid to do so. If the Church had a harsh attitude
towards infidels, what it did to those it excommunicated was worse.

The team leader snarled at the cringing boy before turning back to the
computer adept. "I want these records transferred here for safe keeping.
This Lost Bible cannot be allowed to slip away from us."

"Yes, Commander Shaskaar," Makasai typed a few instructions into her
counsel before looking back to her military and religious leader. "Shall we
send a copy of these back to the Hierarchy?"

"No," the powerfully built woman answered. "The Elders are too Orthodox
and Oogi would suppress this revelation as a threat to his power. Besides,
they're too concerned with moldy prophecies of destruction to comprehend the
importance of these Sacred writings and images. This is the truth of
Tomobiki. The forces of Light and Darkness are more evenly matched than we
were previously taught. Now is the time of the Ascendancy of the Night and we
are the servants of Kali." Shaskaar's eyes glowed with a religious zeal that
was reflected in all of those around her, with the exception of the frightened
young man who shrank away from them. "Instead we will alert others of our
sect as to the True Faith. We'll send a coded message to my sister for her to
carry the Word to our brethren."

Shaskaar studied the photos that they had copied from the primitive
Earth computer. In them, Kali-Shinobu stood triumphant over the Goddess.
This excited the Niphentaxian in a way that she had never experienced before.
"The Night shall fall," she huskily whispered. "The Night shall fall..."

* * *

The pimply teenager snarled at the computer in front him. Someone was
taking all of his club's best work and he was unable to prevent it. His
working hand was still in a cast and he could not operate the keyboard fast
enough. Even hitting the power switch did not work, the computer remained on
and the files disappeared. All he could do was sit back and hope that he
could reconstruct "The Shrine of Kali-Shinobu" from their back-up disks.

Masaki Taga looked up at the large poster over the desk. It was an
enlargement of one of the Chem Club photos purchased from that mercenary
Tendou girl altered to reflect their...unique tastes. He and his confidants
had converted the storeroom of their club house into a shrine to the object of
their obsessions. True, she was proving to be annoyingly coy about her
genuine nature, but everyone in Japan knew what she was really like. His
father often told him the stories of Shinobu Miyaki. That the yarns were the
inventions of middle aged men desperate for stimulation never occurred to the
youth. Instead he had incorporated them into the tales that his group wrote
and posted on the internet.

Now somebody was taking their efforts for themselves. Masaki glared at
the flashing images on his computer monitor and cursed the unjustness of it
all. His anger prevented him from noticing the shadows in the small building
were growing darker and merging with each other, overwhelming the electric
lights that still burned. Soon, except for the storeroom where he sat, the
club house was in total darkness. Then the outside door glowed a lurid green.
It opened and someone...something that should not exist in a sane universe
came through.

* * *

"Come on, come on! Three more gold coins and I get five extra lives!!"
Nene shouted as she manipulated the joy stick. She had found a great new
computer game and had spent the last ten hours playing it. There were other
things that she could be doing...eating, sleeping or bathing...but this was
too important. She considered computer games to be the ultimate artistic
expression of her *daimon'cha's* home culture and it was vital that she and
the rest of the Sagussans have a true understanding of their rich and subtle
content. At least that is what she told herself.

As she was about to move on to the next level the game dissolved in a
flurry of dots. Nene picked herself up from the floor to see that the
computer was flashing an A-1 priority signal. Something of vital importance
was happening. She punched up the indicated program and saw that a new time
spike was beginning to take shape in Nerima. This one was incredibly powerful
and certain to smash the dimensional and temporal barriers. For a moment Nene
stared at the unnatural phenomenon in appalled fascination. She came to her
senses and hit the intercom button. "Noa!" she shouted. "It's Nene!! It's
happening again!"

"Noa here," came the immediate response. "Will it break through?"

"Yes. This is the most powerful one so far. Nothing can stop it."

"Figure out the precise entry point," Noa ordered. "I'm heading for the
roof to warm-up a hovercycle. Meet me there as soon as you have the
coordinates."

* * *

Masaki smacked his uninjured hand on the computer desk as the last bit
of his club's site was swept away. It had taken hours of work and someone had
stolen it in seconds. He was about to begin the laborious process of
rebuilding it when he noticed that the building seemed to be strangely hot and
humid. There was a scent in the air, a musky sweet odor of desire, of
wanting. He turned around and saw that the building was dark. Certain that
he had left the lights on he went to the main switch and flicked it back and
forth. Nothing happened. He turned to go to the fuse box when he heard the
rustle of stiff cloth in the shadows. He was not a brave man and he retreated
back into the lighted storeroom. There were more noises in the dark, the
sounds of clicking heels and soft breaths and they were coming closer to him.
"Who's there?" he whimpered.

From the darkness a low chuckle emerged. "What you wanted," a feminine
voice that he thought he recognized answered. "I'm mad, bad, and dangerous to
know!"

Then she stepped into the light. It was HER! She looked exactly as
they had made her appear in the altered photos. Except for the face, there
was something weird about her face. As she embraced him she looked straight
into his eyes and he suddenly knew what was wrong.

Her eyes!

They were hungry!

* * *

"I don't believe it!!" Noa yelled over the roar of the engines as they
raced through the skies of Tokyo. "We lost fifteen minutes because all of the
hovercycles were having scheduled maintenance done! There should have been
one left on stand by."

"There was!" Nene shouted back, studying the instrument she carried in
her right hand while gripping the hovercycle in the air with her left. "Priss
took it out on patrol three minutes before the alarm went off."

Noa's response was an irate grunt. Nene's tricorder indicated their
approach to ground zero. "Down there," she said. "It's somewhere down there
next to that school!"

Noa nodded and banked the vehicle around and landed on the school yard's
baseball diamond. Nene took the lead and ran towards a corrugated metal shack
a hundred yards from the main building. As they reached it Noa drew her
pistol and motioned for Nene to get behind her. As she approached the open
door, she reached out with her mind. There was something...awry about the
aura of the building, but it seemed to be empty. She holstered her pistol and
entered the structure with Nene close behind.

"What a smell!" Nene gasped as she sniffed the stifling aroma in the hot
shack.

"There's a lot of chemicals in here. That probably accounts for some of
it," Noa replied as she inspected the room.

"I don't think so," Nene was very edgy. She knew that she was reacting
to something that had recently been in the shack. She kept looking back and
forth, missing the body on the floor until she tripped over it. Before her
scream could fade Noa was beside her. She wrapped an arm around her trembling
friend as she examined the young man lying on his back. There had been no
trace of his *mei'na* when she had probed the building. He had been murdered
by whoever had just crossed over.

"It's alright, it's alright!" Noa murmured to her shuddering companion.
"We'll find what did this to him. It won't get the chance to kill anyone
else!"

"No," Nene moaned. "You don't understand! That's not why I screamed.
I can't sense him. His *mei'na* is gone...but he's not dead! His body is
still alive!!"

Stunned, Noa looked back at the form in front of them. That was
impossible! Once the energies of the *te'a* and the physical form were joined
nothing save death could severe that bond. But if this body still lived...?

Slowly she bent over to look into the open eyes. They were blank,
glassy, staring. The 'who' of this person was gone and only the 'what'
remained. She touched the shape with her hand and jumped as if she had
plunged it into the heart of a sun. It was worse than coming into contact
with a clone! A clone provoked a sense of moral revulsion. This...thing was
a violation of the natural order of Existence!

Nene tugged at her companion's arm. "Please...please, let's get out of
here!" she whispered. "Let's get out of here now!!"

Noa allowed herself to be pulled. When she reached the open door she
stopped. "Get to the cycle and tap into the telephone lines using the
comlink," she ordered. "We must report this to the local authorities. That
boy must have had family. They'll have to be told. I'll take a look around.
Maybe I'll find what happened."

Nene began to protest but Noa silenced her with an expression and went
back into the shack. A quick look around the main room revealed nothing out
of the ordinary, except for the carcass upon the floor. Chemicals, burners,
calculators and other scientific utensils were all that Noa could find. The
only other door lead into a storeroom. It housed a bunch of girly posters
tacked on the walls. Noa closed the door and began to walk away when it hit
her. There was something familiar about the dominatrix in the large poster
above the computer. She returned and looked closer.

* * *

Hitomi gingerly placed the damp cloth across Shinobu's flushed brow
before she sat back on her heels. Soun Tendou had carried her groaning cousin
home from his training hall an hour before and had helped get her to her futon
in her cousin's room. When asked what had happened, the tall man's reply was
that she had made a slight mistake in judgment and should be feeling better
soon. Shinobu was getting some of her natural color back and Hitomi and her
parents, Yoko and Ryoe, began to question her as to what had happened.
"Shinobu-chan," Hitomi began, "...did you get hit during practice?"

Her cousin shook her head. "Perhaps you overexerted yourself. Did you
strain a muscle?" her mother asked.

Shinobu repeated her earlier response. Ryoe, being a practical man, and
not wanting to go on forever, decided that the direct approach would be best
with his niece. "Shinobu, what happened?"

The stricken girl sighed and explained. "Akane and I finished training
and she invited me in for some milk and cookies...and SHE baked the cookies."

Her cousins looked at each other and nodded. This made sense. Just
then the doorbell rang and Hitomi got to her feet to answer it. Walking down
the stairs she could hear her cousin talking. "...and I thought that fiance
of hers was joking. But those cookies...not even Lum could make anything like
them!"

Hitomi opened the door and found a tall, earnest looking young man
standing there. He showed her a chrysanthemum shaped badge and introduced
himself as Inspector Kobo. He said that he understood that a Shinobu Miyaki
was living here temporarily. Was she home? He had a few questions that he
wanted to ask her...

* * *

The members of the Furinkan High Chemical Club were feeling very sorry
for themselves. It looked like they were going to be in big trouble with
their parents when the police got done with them. They were just having fun
with a couple of dirty pictures and some stories. Now the cops had come into
their cram classes and dragged them out in front of everybody to answer a
bunch of stupid questions just because Taga got himself hurt.

Life was so unfair.

"Thanks very much for your cooperation and for calling us in so
quickly." the beefy Chief Inspector for the Nerima region said to the Sagussan
pair. Noa and Nene liked the big man. He was very professional and knew his
job. He acknowledged that this case was outside his experience and promised
to inform them immediately about any developments in the investigation. He
was about to tell them that they could go when one of his subordinates, a
young, austere man came in to make his report. He excused himself and allowed
the detective to lead him to one side of the room.

"How's the father taking it?" Noa asked Nene as they stared at the large
man sitting quietly on one of the lab's stool. He had been brought in to
identify the living corpse that had been his son. Having done so, he sat down
on a stool, staring vacantly into space for the past two hours.

"Not well. I tried to talk to him a couple of times but I don't think
he heard me," Nene looked back into the storeroom. The police were removing
its contents for evidence, but at the moment everything was still there.
"They did a pretty good job with those photos, didn't they? They even had me
fooled for a moment."

"Yes they did, didn't they!" Noa snarled, cracking her knuckles. She
had been outraged that the perverts had used Lum and Shinobu for their
fantasies. It surprised Noa that a large part of her anger at the boys was
for what they had done to the Terran girl. "It's a good thing that Shinobu's
in Tomobiki," she said to Nene, not noticing the sudden look of consternation
on the Pathfinder's face. "I wouldn't want her to see this stuff!"

"What do you mean your brought her down here?!" a voice interrupted.

Both Sagussans jumped as they heard the Chief Inspector roar at his
junior associate. "According to your report not only could she account for
her whereabouts for the entire afternoon she also had people who collaborated
her story!" The suddenly pale young man was trying to justify his overzealous
behavior and failing. The older man shouted at him. "You don't treat someone
like a suspect unless she is one and, from your own account, she isn't!!" The
young officer bobbed into frantic bowing to his superior who had turned away
from him. "Bring her in here and I'll apologize for your behavior!" The
younger officer ran from the building as the Chief Inspector fumed. He began
to take a cigarette from one of the pockets of his green trench coat when
something struck his mind. He walked over to the two Sagussans and reached
between them to pull the storeroom door firmly shut. "No reason for her to
see this," he said as he walked back to the door.

Noa had a very bad feeling about this. Something was going on. She
looked at Nene and noticed that the computer expert was sweating.

* * *

On the roof of Furinkan High, a gaunt figure adjusted the long range
scope on her *qu'f-piaqu'r* musket as she zeroed in on an officer leading a
young girl towards a small building set apart from the main structure.
Scalphunter had spent the past nine days familiarizing herself with the Tokyo
of her youth. To hunt properly it was necessary to know the terrain and the
habits of the prey and she now knew their behavior better than they did. She
had even had the opportunity to prepare a special surprise for one particular
individual.

She carefully kept her finger away from the trigger as she watched her
younger self being led across the school grounds. "Not this time!" she
whispered, her voice seething with emotion. "This time I'm going to do it to
them first! I'll hit first, I'll hit harder, I won't stop hitting till
they're dead!! I won't stop till they're all dead!!! Dead, dead, dead, dead,
DEAD!!!!"

A lone bead of sweat escaped the brim of her hat and fell into her eye.
She did not blink.

* * *

Shinobu and Noa were surprised to see each other in Nerima. Noa because
she thought that the troublesome Terran girl would never leave Tomobiki and
Shinobu because she thought that she had left the Sagussan girl and the rest
of her troubles back in Tomobiki. The Chief Inspector walked up to the school
girl and bowed. "Miss Miyaki, it is very good to see you again. My apologies
for the inconvenience that you have suffered."

Shinobu smiled brightly back at the older man. "Inspector Tori, it's my
pleasure. It's been awhile since I saw you last."

"Ah, it's Chief Inspector for Nerima now, Miss Miyaki. And it's all due
to your kind assistance during the affair of the Kobayakata heirs," the heavy
set man beamed.

Noa gaped at the friendly pair. They knew each other? They had worked
together in the past? It struck her how little she really knew about Shinobu.
When she researched the histories of the residents of Tomobiki she had been
concerned with how they interacted with Ataru and that had been the extent of
her interest in them. She had not bothered to learn anything about them as
individuals. Now she realized her error. Noa had the uneasy feeling that she
had made a mistake of gigantic proportions.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!!" Everybody in the small building flinched as
Mr. Taga came out of his stupor and shouted at the Chief Inspector. He got up
and stomped over to where the officer and Shinobu stood talking. "Why are you
being so nice to this slut?!" he pointed a trembling finger towards the
stunned girl. "Don't you know who she is?! What she is?!! She must have
been the one who hurt my son!! I want her arrested!! I want her put in jail
before she can do anything like this to anybody else!!"

"Mr. Taga, I'm very sorry for what happened to your son, but Miss Miyaki
couldn't have done it. We've already established that she was somewhere else
when the attack occurred," the Chief Inspector answered.

"Then lock her up for what she did to him before!! She attacked him and
his friends! She broke his hand when they refused to satisfy her warped
desires!!" Taga was frantic. Were these idiots ignorant of the monster in
their midst?

"We've already investigated that earlier incident, Mr. Taga!" Tori could
feel his own anger growing. He felt pity for this man, to lose a son in such
a manner was unbearable. Unfortunately he was directing his frustration
towards an innocent girl. "Miss Miyaki was not at fault for what happened to
those young men," he jerked his thumb towards the group cowering in the far
corner of the shack. "We questioned them about it earlier and they admitted
that they had attempted to coerce Miss Miyaki and that your son had touched
her against her will. Considering what she is capable of doing, I think she
showed a great restraint!"

Taga was so angry that he radiated heat. He looked at the slim girl
before him. So innocently appealing...so corrupt. She may have fooled the
rest with her wiles, but not him. "I knew it would be like this when you came
here," he snarled. "I knew what would happen. That's why you did it to
Masaki, huh? To take revenge on my trying to keep you away from decent
people!! This won't stop me!! I won't let you do to Nerima what you did to
Tomobiki." He looked at Noa and Nene and spat on the floor. "Already you're
bringing your alien friends among us!! I've heard about these dykes! They
think they're too good for men, don't they?!"

Shinobu began to shake. When she met this man earlier today at Dr.
Tofu's clinic, she knew that he disliked her. But now she saw how deep his
hatred of her ran. Why? She did not want anything more to do with Ataru, Lum
and the rest. All she wished to do was get on with her life, to live like a
normal person again.

Inspector Tori reached out and took Taga by his arm as another officer
approached him from behind and did the same. "Don't think that you can fool
the rest of us as easily as these idiots!" Taga shouted as he shook off the
men. "We all know the truth about you, everybody in Japan knows what you're
really like!! My son discovered it so you did worse than kill him!! There!"
he screamed hysterically as he pointed to the storeroom behind Noa and Nene.
"The truth is in there!! I've seen it! We've all seen it and you can't hide
anymore!!!" Taga looked at the confused expression on the demon's face and
his anger soared higher. Did she really think that she could fool him with
this lily-white act of hers? "Look in there!!!" he shrieked. "LOOK, DAMN
YOU, LOOK...!!!!"

Taga's ravings stopped as Inspector Tori threw a bucket of ice water
into the man's face. Taga looked bewildered then fell to his knees and sobbed
uncontrollably, moaning his son's name over and over. Tori sighed and turned
to Shinobu to apologize...and found that the girl was no longer there. She
was slowly walking to the closed storeroom door. He wanted to call out for
her to stop, not to go any further, that she did not have to see what was
there. But the words would not come. All anyone in the room could do was
watch as Shinobu slipped between the Sagussans standing in front of the
closet. For a moment she stood there with the demeanor of a prisoner at the
first step to the gallows. Then she opened the door and went in.

For a few minutes the only sounds from the storeroom was the noise of
Shinobu's footsteps as she went around examining the pictures, the drawings,
the stories. Then...

"AaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!" the girl screamed as she
bolted from the storeroom and ran from the building. Her hands were jammed to
her eyes like she was trying to claw them from their sockets.

The strange sense of paralysis that held the room captive broke and Noa
raced after the fleeing girl. *Why didn't I stop her?!* she chastised
herself. *Why didn't I try?!* It had been as if something had wanted Shinobu
to see what that horrible room contained. The lies about her that some people
wanted so desperately to be true. Outside the shack she saw that Shinobu had
collapsed mere yards from the structure and was tearing huge clods of the sod
away from the ground. As Noa approached the wailing girl she blinked
furiously. There was something happening to Shinobu. It was her *mei'na.*
Impossibly, that was changing...

* * *

Scalphunter shuddered as waves of powerful feelings swelled over her
psyche. Something was happening to Shinobu down in that metal shack,
something causing such pain that her future self empathically shared her
agony. *They're doing it to me again!!!* the thought was accompanied by a
fresh blow of shame and chagrin. *No matter what I do they find someway to
involve me...someway to hurt me!!!* She watched as the young girl ran from
the shack and hurled herself to the ground.

"Now's the time!!" the white haired woman hissed. She gathered her will
and projected her ethos along the emotional bond between her and her young
counterpart. "Now I give you the strength that you need, the knowledge that
you must have!! Take! Take from me!! Take from me...and become me!!!"

* * *

Shinobu sobbed as she tumbled to the earth. Was this how everyone
thought of her? A monster of depravity who thought of nothing but the
immediate gratification of her perverted desires? A thing that would corrupt
and destroy the lives of everyone around her? Did this explain the looks
thrown at her as she walked down the streets of Nerima? Did everyone believe
those lies?!

She felt delirious. Images flashed before her eyes. Her tormentors...
her enemies falling before her righteous anger. Of the comfort found in the
hunt, the satisfaction of the kill, and the pride in the taking of trophies.
Shinobu gasped as she felt herself falling away from herself.

There was somebody behind her gently repeating her name. Dazed, Shinobu
turned to see who was standing there...

* * *

This was impossible, but Shinobu's *mei'na* was mutating before Noa's
startled gaze. The bright colors of the girl's aura darkened, stained by
horrible extremes of hatred and rage. Noa approached the girl. "Shinobu,"
she said. "Shinobu, can you hear me?!"

Shinobu looked up at her with a confused expression on her face. Her
vacant eyes stared at the Sagussan for a second...then they filled in a flash
with insane loathing. Suddenly Noa found herself facing a snarling beast.
"You!!!" Shinobu roared as she leapt at Noa, her hands curling into dagger-
like talons...

* * *

"You!!!" Scalphunter roared, eyes wide on seeing who else was there.
Breaking the link between herself and Shinobu she swung the *qu'f-piaqu'r* to
her shoulder and, unmindful of the consequences of her act, fired!

* * *

Shinobu plowed into the startled Noa and the force of her charge hurled
both girls up and away from the explosion that ripped the ground apart at the
precise spot that they had stood. The Sagussan twisted and rolled in mid-air
so that she could use Shinobu's body to absorb the impact with the ground.
She did not want to hurt the girl but she had to stop this before it went any
farther. As the dust cleared Noa looked at the young woman underneath her and
realized that her action had been unnecessary. Shinobu had been knocked
unconscious by the concussion of the blast. Also, her *mei'na* was returning
to normal, whatever it was that affected her had lost its hold over the girl.

Tori and his men rushed from the building, their weapons drawn and
ready. The Chief Inspector grabbed the girls and dragged them behind the
shelter while barking orders to his men. He was shouting about the school
being the only place where the shot could have come from and wanting backup.
He quickly checked out both girls and, after satisfying himself as to their
condition, turned and ran towards the school house to supervise its
evacuation.

Nene came out of the shack and stood over the pair. Noa was sitting on
the ground with the unconscious Shinobu limp in her lap. She knelt down next
to them and tapped Noa on the shoulder. She looked at Nene and summoning a
feeble smile said, "I guess we know what's so important in Nerima now!"

* * *

At the Toranoseishin Finance Center in the offices set aside for the
exclusive use of Ataru Moroboshi, Lum sat in a plush black leather chair
waiting for the return of her lovers. According to Reigi Yumoa, Ataru was at
a meeting with two very important government officials and Noa had gone off on
a mission with Nene. The Oni twirled a small envelope in her hands and wished
she was with them. Another part of her life was slipping away from her and
this loss was proving more painful than she could have imagined it would...

* * *

She had spent the day in Tomobiki. She had been absent from that
district for nearly two weeks and wanted to visit with her friends. She knew
now that her future lay in a different direction than theirs but she could not
abandon them like discarded toys. They were important to her and she wanted
to keep them in her life one way or another. With that thought she arrived at
the Miyaki residence.

Kimiki Miyaki was smiling as she answered the door, but ceased when she
saw who was standing there. Her answers to Lum's questions regarding her
child were curt. No, her daughter was not home. No, she did not think she
would be back soon. No, she did not think she would return before Lum left
Tomobiki. Shivering under her icy gaze, Lum murmured an apology for taking up
her time and began to fly away when a sudden cry from the Terran woman stopped
her. "Lum!" she said, the expression in her eyes pleading. "You've won! Be
generous in victory and let my Shinobu go!!"

Alarmed, Lum flew next to Tomobiki High where she found Mark Onsen
preparing his notes for the summer cram school. He was pleasant but distant
when she inquired about Shinobu. He said that he did not consider it his
place to inform her about the young girl's actions, but that the other girls
from Lum's old class were going to be at Shapiro's Ice Cream Parlor that
afternoon. She should see them if she truly wanted to learn what Shinobu was
doing.

The conversations hushed as the Oni girl entered the ice cream parlor.
The tables and the counter were full of Lum's ex-schoolmates, all of the girls
that she had known over the past three years were here...save one. There was
a murmur of hellos, but none of the enthusiasm that there once was whenever
she appeared in the past. Nervous, Lum moved from table to table looking for
one particular face. Finally she came to a small table where Pamanba and
Ryuunosuke sat over coffee. This surprised Lum because she had never thought
the two were friendly. She made the mistake of saying so.

Ryuunosuke leaned back in her chair and smiled unpleasantly. "Lum,
despite what you may think, not everything in this town waits for you to give
permission for it to happen." The tomboy ignored the shocked look on Lum's
face. She had promised herself this on the day Shinobu left for Nerima. She
stood up and slid her chair over to the pale girl. "Siddown. I've got
somethin' to say and I want you to listen." Ryuunosuke took a second to
collect her thoughts. A little over three weeks ago she had told her best
friend the hard truth, now it was time to see if Lum could handle it. "I'm
gonna assume that you've been walkin' around here trying to find Shinobu.
Well, she not here. She's not living in Tomobiki anymore."

"What?!!" Lum jumped to her feet, then quickly sat back down as
Ryuunosuke scowled at her. "Where is she?! When will she be back?!"

"Where she is...that I'll tell you later," the tomboy said. "As for
when she's comin' back, maybe a month, maybe ten weeks, maybe never! But why
do you want to know?!"

"Why do I...I want to know because she is my friend," Lum shouted till
the glass in the windows rattled. How dare she treat her like this.

"'Friend?!'" Ryuunosuke smirked. "You've got an interesting definition
of friendship, Lum."

"What do you mean?!" the Urusian spat as bio-electric sparks danced
across her body.

"Wasn't the first thing that you did was to take her boyfriend away?!"
Ryuunosuke snarled. Lum paled and tried to answer back but the tea house girl
cut her off. "Didn't you use magic against her?! Didn't you lie to her
constantly?! Didn't you try to kill her once by crashing your flying saucer
on her and Ataru?!"

"I...I...that was before I knew her better!" Lum weakly protested.

"You mean that was before she gave up on Ataru! If she hadn't, would
you have treated her any different?! And have you treated her any different?!
Haven't you dragged her halfway across the galaxy more than once?! How many
times have you gotten her into situations where she coulda gotten killed?!"

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the rest of the girls
watched the drama play itself out before them. Ryuunosuke had never behaved
like this before. None of them had. "I didn't mean to..." Lum was confused.
She had not felt this bad since the day Nagaiwakai had dissected her
relationship with her Darling.

"You didn't mean to?! Is that supposed to make things better?! I think
it just makes it worse! In the three years that you've known her, have you
ever considered her feelings on anything?!"

"I've never meant to be cruel to her!"

"What about Nassur?! It wasn't cruel keeping the truth about Nassur and
Benten from her?! And how do you think we felt about that?! How do you think
we felt whenever we heard her sigh and look off into space?! We wanted to
tell her, but we were afraid!! You should've told her immediately, but you
didn't! You didn't care enough! How can you say that you're her friend?!

"You...you're not being fair!! It's not that simple!"

"You're right! I'm not being fair and it's not simple! But right now I
don't feel like being fair!! Shinobu has moved away from Tomobiki because
she's trying to get on with her life! She calls every night to talk to me!
She's very lonely! For some reason people...aren't being kind to her! But's
she not coming back because she's afraid of what might happen if she does!!
She's afraid, Lum! She's afraid."

"Of what?!"

"Of you, of Ataru, of everyone around you!! More than anything else,
she's afraid of herself! She wants to be an average person and she's anything
but. Now she has to find out who she is and what direction her life is going!
Can you understand that Lum?! Can you respect that?!"

"I...I...yes!"

"Yes, what?!"

"I respect her decision to live her life as she chooses! I...I won't
force my presence upon her!"

The tears that ran down her face were for Shinobu as well as herself.
She reached for the napkin dispenser on the table, but it was empty. Pamanba,
who had remained silent through the proceedings, handed her handkerchief to
the crying Oni. It was soon drenched. Ryuunosuke handed her something white.
Believing it to be another cloth Lum took it and began to dab at her eyes with
it, she jumped as its stiff corner poked her. "What's this?!" Lum looked at
the small envelop in her hand. It was addressed to her in Shinobu's
handwriting.

"Do you really think Shinobu would leave Tomobiki without saying good-
bye to all of her friends?! You weren't here so she left you this. And I'm
willing to bet anything that her address and telephone number are in there,
too. Lum, I'm sorry for what I did. I hurt you. But right now I'm hurting
too, all of us are. We're all growin' up and it really stinks!"

Ryuunosuke sighed. All she wanted right now was a long soak in a hot
tub. This had been as hard on her as it had been on Lum, harder because she
was an essentially honest person and had portrayed Lum as the bad guy when
both she and Shinobu were equally responsible for the mess their lives had
become. But it was impossible to reduce a three year span to a few sentences
and be fair. Besides, as Ataru could easily attest, Lum had a disturbing
tendency to hear ONLY what she wanted to hear. "I only got one last thing to
say to you and then I'm done! When people grow up they can grow away!
Friendships are mutual things! You both gotta want it!"

* * *

Lum leaned back into the plush leather and looked at the sealed envelope
in her hands. She had not been able to work up the nerve to open it. She
slipped the card back into her carry-all and walked to the plate glass windows
and watched the sun begin to set. She had got a message that Ataru would be
back soon and they would be setting out for Oshika soon after. But for now
her thoughts centered around a slim girl with reddish-brown hair.

"There's time," she whispered, her breath condensing on the cool glass
in front of her. "We can be friends. I can make this work. I've got the
time..."

* * *

The Hustari ship entered the outer reaches of the obscure solar system.
Its crew was exhausted at their stations, their captain had kept the ship and
them at a breakneck pace for the duration of the voyage. None had protested.
They were on a mission to save their people from extinction. The commander of
the ship, Suki, studied the sealed orders that had been issued prior to
launch. There was something wrong here, something was just escaping z'her.
But they did not have time to stop and think. Time was running out for
everyone.

Desperate times breed desperate actions.

They would soon reach the means to save their people and nothing would
be allowed to stand in their way...

* * *

The tired old man in the rabbit suit painfully moaned as the shattered
debris of their latest failed attempt floated aimlessly in space. Nothing had
worked in preventing the destinies in the Bureau of Destiny Management from
continuing their bizarre behavior. All associates from every branch office
had been summoned to deal with this emergency. Useless. The latest effort,
wrapping a rogue door with chains and dragging it from its course merely
slowed it down until the escalating stress tore the chains apart, injuring
hundreds as shrapnel flashed about. The door took its place in line with the
millions of others, level with the one before and precisely one foot away.

He groaned again, lifting the cowl of his uniform to dab at the blood
trickling down his forehead. "Useless...useless..." he muttered as he watched
the sequence of doors disappearing. It was not that the line stretched for
such a great distance, it was that they were literally dematerializing to
reappear...who knew where.

The Chief Executive's bitterness over this catastrophe grew. How could
this happen? They were masters of destinies. They shaped the future. They
determined the fate of those fleshy things across the dimensions. Now this
disaster threatened their very concept of reality and, at a personal level, it
threatened his position as director. He had to do something immediately to
prevent a challenge to his rule. He needed someone to blame; he needed a
victim. Casting his eyes over the assembly, he found him. An idiot boy
staring off into the opposite direction from which the chain had gone.
"Inaba!" he snarled. "You worthless dullard. What are you looking at? Why
aren't you doing something useful?"

"I haven't seen anybody doing anything of value. Even you weren't doing
anything," Inaba shot back. The apprentice had changed during the crisis. He
had matured, becoming more forceful. "As for what I'm looking at," he raised
a paw and pointed in the direction he had been gazing. "It's that."

The destiny caretakers saw a series of doors appearing from nowhere,
heading directly to the first chain of aligned destinies. It occurred then
that it was not a different column but the same revolving through the varied
dimensions to return to its starting point. The Chief Executive collapsed
under this final blow leaving his subordinates to bicker about lines of
command and succession.

* * *

Inaba contemptuously turned from the squabbling bureaucrats to examine
the circle of destiny forming before him. "So powerful...so beautiful. So
much like you, Miss Shinobu." He discovered the reason behind his transfer to
the Sagussan Division while its associates battled this phenomenon. No member
of the Bureau of Destiny Management was permitted a relationship with any
being possessing the potential futures as Shinobu. They had used his ambition
for advancement to effect the separation that ended his love affair with the
girl. Was this the result? Shinobu was the common link between these
possible futures and so many others. Her actions somehow caused this and no
one knew how she accomplished it or how it would end. All he could do was
pray for her and the inhabitants of that beautiful blue world.

* * *

In the dark hotel room she shared with her cousins, Shinobu sat awake,
curled up childlike in a ball. She had waited until the quiet breathing from
the other bed indicated her uncle and aunt were asleep. Carefully she slid
from her bed to draw open the drapes of the large picture window. She pulled
a chair over to watch the lights of the shadowed city. They had come to the
seaside resort city of Oshio for two days of fun and sun. Appropriately, the
skies had been gloomy when they arrived and showed no let up. The weather
matched her mood. Since the discovery of the living cadaver in Furinkan High
School, her life had gone from bad to worse. She was seriously considering
returning to Tomobiki.

Chief Inspector Tori had announced that Shinobu was not responsible for
the incident with the President of the Furinkan High Chemical Club. That did
not stop the rumor mill, however. Mr. Taga had made sure that everyone knew
of the episode...from his point of view. The fact that the Chem Club's
building was the base locale of the "Shrine of Kali-Shinobu" lent a certain
credence to his charges.

If the people of Nerima had been cool towards her before, their behavior
now was glacial. When they saw her coming, they dodged into stores or crossed
to the other side. Playing children were dragged into their houses if their
mothers saw the young woman in the vicinity. Objects were deliberately
dropped at her from high windows, until in frustration, she struck a building
after a bucket of foul-smelling sink water fell upon her, shaking it to its
foundation. In retrospect, Shinobu knew that had been a mistake. The crowds
saw what she did, what she was capable of. Now instead of merely having their
contempt, the residents of Nerima feared her.

Shinobu sniffed, looking at the slumbering forms of her relatives. They
had supported her...and were beginning to pay for their loyalty. The Miyaki
house, once the most popular in Nerima, had been quiet for the last few
nights. Few of their friends would risk being seen with a family that would
harbor such a monster.

And it was not limited to her relatives. There were fewer patients in
the waiting room of Dr. Tofu. Many canceled or rescheduled appointments for
later. Some even requested that their case histories be sent to different
physicians. But Dr. Tofu refused to be intimidated. When she stood in his
office and tearfully offered her apology and resignation, he had refused to
accept either. "Sometimes," he said, "the truth requires sacrifice. I am
prepared to do so." He was not the only one. Akane Tendou and her fiance
kept her company around town. Lately they had been joined by both of Akane's
sisters. Not even the constant snubs could disturb Kasumi's calm demeanor and
Nabiki's only response was to jot names down in a little red book she carried.

*What good are their sacrifices?* Shinobu wondered. *They're only
harming themselves being seen with me. By the end of the summer I'll be back
in Tomobiki while they'll continue facing angry neighbors and townspeople. Am
I worth it? Maybe I'm no better than everyone else thinks I am. Don't Noa
and Mie treat me like trash? Ataru...even Ataru thinks so too.*

Shinobu prowled around the small room. Oshio was one of the more
popular resorts constructed during the building boom of the sixties. Her
family had been lucky to reserve something this size. Since it was the first
weekend of spring, the city was packed with vacationers, many students on
school oriented tours. She shivered, feeling the night's chill and decided to
put something warm on. She found her suitcase and carry-all at the foot of
her bed, went into the bathroom, closed the door and snapped on the light. To
her surprise she discovered that she packed her old school uniform in the bag.
She put it to one side, then on impulse pulled it on as well as a pair of
athletic shoes.

The mirror above the sink showed a girl unfamiliar to her. She had lost
weight and her face had a sunken, haunted look. She had been so hopeful, so
happy when she left Tomobiki eighteen days before. Nothing had gone right.
She could not even escape her troubles during her sleep. Her nights were
filled with weird, fantastic visions: leading faceless numbers of troops into
great battles, stalking humanoid prey around burning cities or lonely outposts
on the farthest rim of the galaxy. Worse, she would dream that she was the
monster depicted in the Chem Club's altered photos. In these nightmares she
indulged in every perversion in the known universe, and when she had exhausted
those, she would invent new ones.

The roll of the traffic in front of the hotel grew louder as Shinobu
studied her reflection. Slowly she reached out and touched her finger tips to
the cool polished glass and stood still. "Who are you?" she whispered, hoping
for an answer. The image before her twisted in response, pulling in on itself
before filling the width of the mirror. Shinobu instinctively swung her carry
all up and between herself and the mirror as it exploded!! Luckily, most of
the glass shards were deflected by the canvas bag. The stunned girl watched
as the pieces of the mirror danced across the porcelain of the wash basin.

As the roaring noise grew stronger, Shinobu knew she was experiencing
the great fear all Japanese shared. She rushed from the bathroom swinging the
strap of her carryall over her shoulder. Pulling her startled cousins from
their beds she dragged them to the doorway of the closet where they found
shelter as the earthquake tossed the contents of the room. A heavy dresser
was torn from the wall to which it was fastened to and flew towards the group.
A blow from Shinobu's fist sent it spinning through the window.

Ryoe coughed the dust from his lungs and spat to clear his throat.
"Maybe...maybe it's over," he gasped as the shaking seemed to subside. But
Shinobu knew otherwise, despite the screams and cries that were filling Oshio
she heard the thunder of the earth, felt its growing rage.

"I don't think so!" she shouted as she yanked her slender cousin on to
her back. "Wrap your arms around my neck...and don't let go!" she told Hitomi
as she scooped up her aunt and uncle under each arm. With them secured, she
raced through the jumble of the suite and, as the tremors returned with
greater ferocity, reached the shattered window and leaped out of the fourth
floor hotel room.

*WhathaveIdonewhathaveIdonewhathaveIdone...!!!* Shinobu thought as they
plummeted to the buckling pavement below. *I've killed us, just as surely as
the earthquake would, I've killed us!!!* But when they reached the hungry
earth Shinobu's knees barely buckled as she managed to land on her feet.
Power...sweet, seductive power...flooded her and she groaned in something
verging on rapture. "I saw a park nearby!!" she shouted to her panicked
relatives. "We'll be safe there!" With that she plunged into the escalating
chaos around her.

* * *

In a trash filled alley a white form raised herself from her latest
conquest, sniffing the night air of Tokyo. A self-indulgent leer twisted her
ceramic-smooth face as she took a last look at the Buddhist nun beneath her.
Previously a woman of unquestioned virtue, her valiant, if ultimately futile,
resistance to Kali's psychic assault had been stimulating and gave her final
victory a deeper satisfaction. She left the nude, *mei'na*-drained woman to
her fate and drew her black leather garb on. She could sense that her younger
self had touched her true potential, and it would soon be time to ensure that
her development took its proper course.

"Wait for me, my precious," she whispered, her eyes glowing bright as
the full moon above the city. "I'll be with you soon."

* * *

Staring at her cousin, Hitomi tried to figure out what was wrong with
her. Shinobu had accomplished the impossible, saving them all. The force of
the earthquake sent parked cars sliding across the roads. Several had skidded
towards them. Shinobu kicked them out of her way. She had leaped over
bursting water mains, dodged fallen electric cables and avoided collapsing
buildings. In the park, which had proven to be no sanctuary, ravines had
constantly opened and closed around them. Shinobu had been hard pressed to
keep from falling into their depths. But the tremors died away. Their safety
assured, Shinobu collapsed on the grass and begun to shake, refusing their
attempts to comfort her.

"This isn't right, this isn't fair!" she moaned. All she desired was a
little normalcy, a sense of order in her life. She wanted to get angry, to
yell, to throw something, like she used to do at Tomobiki High when the
confusion threatened her sanity. Now she could not. All of her troubles were
insignificant compared to the devastation around her. Oshio was pulverized.
The buildings that remained standing were wrecked. The rest were mounds of
rubble. Shinobu recognized that she had no right for hysterics. Too many
people were going to die if she did not work to save them. Her childish
temper tantrums would not help her. Tonight, she would simply have to cope.

The painful process of maturing that began when a Kyushu girl named Mie
Seikou entered class 3-4 to challenge Shinobu Miyaki's perception of herself
took another step forward as the slim girl rose to her feet. *What am I going
to do?* she thought. *Why did this happen? Weren't these building supposed
to be earthquake-proof? Weren't they up to code? The local authorities won't
be able to deal with this. They'll need outside help and that will take
hours, maybe days to get here. People will die if they're not rescued soon.
I've got to do something, but I need help, I need...*

Shinobu dropped her carryall to the ground and yanked the zipper open.
Puzzled, Hitomi watched as her cousin pawed desperately through the contents
of the heavy canvas bag, muttering, "It's in here, it's in here, please gods,
I know I put it in here." Hitomi inquired what was in the bag and was told it
held "emergency supplies." She had taken that to mean the little crises all
teenage girls around the world daily encountered. Looking over her cousin's
shoulder, she realized Shinobu had a different idea of the word 'emergency'
than most people. The satchel was packed with flashlights, batteries, rope,
tools, duck tape, a medical kit and other items useful in a disaster. Living
the past three years in Tomobiki had taught her the value of being prepared.

Shinobu pulled a small, tastefully wrapped package from the bag and tore
it open. Inside was the cellular telephone Shutaro Mendou gave her the day
she left Tomobiki for Nerima. *He told me his private number was on the speed
dial,* Shinobu thought as she opened the lid and the panel lit up. *If this
is hooked directly up the Mendou Clan Personal Communication Satellite, we
might have a chance. If not...*

Shinobu hit the proper button and waited for what seemed an eternity.
The call went through and was answered before it could ring twice. "Shutaro
here," a drowsy voice answered. "Ryooko? If this is another one of your..."

"It's me, Shinobu. I need your help, Shutaro-san. I'm with my cousins
in Oshio and there's been a terrible earthquake."

"Just a moment," Shutaro interrupted, his voice now alert. She could
hear buttons on a keyboard being pressed. "According to my computer you're at
the Oshio Recreational Park. Are the fields intact? Can we land a helicopter
there to evacuate you and your family?"

"I don't know. We have to check," Shinobu gulped before she continued.
She had to convince Shutaro to do what she had in mind. "Shutaro, we can't
turn our backs on this. It's really bad. The city's been leveled and all of
the hotels were full of people. We've got to help them, Shutaro. We must."

There was the briefest of pauses. Then Shutaro Mendou, scion of the
richest, most materialistic and most self-obsessed family in Japan, answered.
"I agree. I'm now putting the full resources of the Mendou family to disaster
relief. We'll be there within three hours."

"Thank you, oh thank you, Shutaro!" Something occurred to the young
girl and she continued with, "Shutaro, call Ryuunosuke and Aisuru. Have them
get the class together and pick them up on the way down. They should be
pretty good in an emergency. After all, we caused enough of them."

Shutaro laughed at the weak joke, then broke the connection to begin the
relief effort. Shinobu dialed another number, easily reaching Atako and
Shinoko at their home in Sado. Her sister and sister-in-law promised to get
everyone to Oshio as soon as possible. Shinoko also said she would contact
Nintaiko and the rest of her school in Oshika. Shinobu was unenthusiastic
about seeing her Nendo-kata twin, but was not about to turn down help.

Shinobu slowly tapped in another number, one that she had never used
before. *He'll come!* she thought as she nervously chewed on her lower lip.
*He may not have much use for me...but he won't turn his back on all of these
people.* Shinobu felt the pit of her stomach fall away as the call went
unanswered. *Please, Ataru! You have to come here. I need you to be here.
Don't let me face this...alone.*

There was no response. She decided Ataru and his family must out. She
considered calling Nagaiwakai Moroboshi, but abandoned that as a very bad
idea. She believed Ataru's grandmother considered his former classmates to be
as desirable as the Eta, Japan's 'untouchable' underclass. Instead she chose
to call Sylia and Pathfinder Troop Six in Tomobiki. The Sagussan commander
seemed strangely hesitant when Shinobu asked her to get in contact with Lum
and Ataru, but said she would call everyone available to help.

Shinobu closed the cellular phone and handed it to her waiting cousin.
Taking a large flashlight and a pair of heavy, leather work gloves from her
carryall, she handed the torch to her uncle after she pulled on the gloves.
"You have to check out the baseball fields and see if they're safe for a
helicopter to land on." She stopped her relatives before they could protest.
"It's important. If a helicopter hits something, it'll crash. That'll kill
the crew and scatter enough wreckage to render the field useless and that will
slow everything down. After you're done, call Shutaro Mendou with this phone.
You may not reach him directly, but make certain that you tell them where they
can land. Use the flash light to signal them."

"What are you going to do, Shinobu?" Yoko asked as her niece began to
walk away from them.

"What I can," the young woman answered, resolve building in her voice.
"People are going to die if I...."

Hitomi wanted to come help her, but Shinobu refused to consider it.
"You can't come with me," she said as her throat tightened with pain and tears
pressed against her eyelids. Another of her cherished illusions was about to
die this evening and she had no time to mourn its passing. "You wouldn't be
able to survive where I'm going. No...no normal person could." Before Hitomi
could protest further Shinobu spun on her heels and left the park.

The skies around her were growing lighter, a false dawn caused by the
numerous fires ignited by torn natural gas pipelines crisscrossing the city.
She jumped over tumbled cars, occasionally stopping to free a trapped motorist
...or to shed tears for those beyond her help. She reached the outskirts of
the hotel district and paused for a moment. Already the heat of the fires was
pulling the breath from her lungs and leaving her drenched in sweat. But she
had to get closer, the reasons why ringing in her ears. In the roar of the
flames, through the clatter of falling stones she could hear the moans, cries
and screams of those entombed in the fallen buildings. It was a symphony of
human suffering composed by the devil playing in the hades of Oshio.

Shinobu braced herself and entered the inferno...

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M NOT GOING WITH YOU?!?! I WANT TO HELP TOO!!!!"

"How will your going insane help?!" Catty crossed her arms and stared
directly into Lum's wide, protesting eyes. She did not believe in candy-
coating the truth and was going to make the Other understand just what would
happen if she persisted on this unreasoning course. "Right now you're at the
most dangerous stage of your rebirth. Your biology is now Sagussan, your mind
possesses its full abilities, but not the control needed to use them properly.
We're heading for a major disaster zone with thousands of casualties, many of
them terminal. They'll be fighting for their lives. The psychic bombardment
of that emotional energy will be devastating even for those of us who have
mastered the five disciplines. A fledgling like yourself wouldn't last the
hour. Ataru would return to Earth to find a vacant shell in the place of the
woman he loves."

"But...but it's Shinobu. I want to help her!" Lum's head was bowed and
Catty could not see her face but heard her tears pattering to the metal floor.

"And you will, but you will have to do it from here. We're going to
need someone to coordinate our efforts from here and you've got the job."

* * *

Mr. Takanaba put down the report from his chief scientist and groaned in
disappointment. Of all of the schemes that were based on the alien technology
he had beguiled from Baron Suzuki, he had held the most hope for Project:
Deep Cast. It now appeared to have been a waste of time and resources. The
businessman removed his thick glasses and rubbed his eyes. He had spent the
night reviewing the report, looking for something that his employees might
have missed, desperate to find someway of turning this "no" into a "yes," but
to no avail. It was hopeless.

His primary goal had been achieved. His scientists had developed a type
of nanite that, once introduced into a person, would be able to download and
store information from any computer their host came into contact with. This
data would be retrieved at their convenience. The host would be the perfect
industrial spy, one who had no idea what he was doing. However, there was a
problem. No human was strong enough to survive the process of introducing the
minuscule machines into their bodies. They knew this from repeated failures.

Mr. Takanaba sank back into his swivel chair and watched the sun slip
slowly above Tokyo and contemplated a second problem. In his excitement, he
had neglected to consider just who would have entry to the information that he
desired. Not merely the data banks of his chief rivals, the Moroboshi and
Mendou clans, but the alien technologies that he craved. The twin problems of
fatality and access left Project: Deep Cast adrift without recourse.

The businessman wearily struggled to his feet. He decided to watch the
early morning news before leaving a message with his secretary to cancel his
appointments for the day. He was tired and did not want to negotiate anything
when he felt less than his best. He brewed a pot of coffee, turned on the
television, and stepped into his private bathroom. When he emerged after a
quick shower he was greeted with live pictures from Oshio. Aghast, he dropped
heavily against his desk. The entire city had been demolished. The reporter
at the scene seemed desperate to get a view of something happening in the
distance. The camera swung around and Takanaba watched as a plume of dust
rose from a pile of crushed stones that had been the finest hotel in the
doomed city. It did not look like an explosion, more like someone was using
heavy excavating machinery. The camera crew neared the site of the upheaval
with the reporter leading them babbling something about "miracles." Now
Takanaba could clearly see twisted steel beams and shattered pieces of
concrete being tossed through the air. Whatever was being used to dig was
incredibly powerful and the businessman desperately hoped that he owned the
company that made it. The news crew circled around the last mound of bricks
and Mr. Takanaba and the rest of Japan saw what was happening.

When his private secretary arrived promptly at eight she discovered an
empty office and two messages. One stated he was canceling his appointments
for the day, the second that he wanted a complete briefing on events in Oshio.

* * *

"Are you going to take me to Heaven?"

Priss eyed the young child who had asked her that question. Pathfinder
Troop Six had flown directly to Oshio to join the rescue operations. During
the flight, they had checked in with Mendou, then flown their hovercycles to a
large park near the center of the city where a middle-aged man with a large
flashlight signaled them in. He turned out to be Shinobu's uncle. When Sylia
had asked after the girl, her cousin Hitomi told them that she had already
gone back into the ruined city. She had been gone for nearly two hours and
they had no idea in which direction she went after she left the park.

Priss wanted to go after the girl immediately, but conceded that they
had to prepare the landing field first. This was the only part of Oshio left
where they could set up a operations base so any attempts to search for
Shinobu would be futile if they did not have the resources available. Two
hours later, they had prepared a number of helicopter landing sites as the
primary wave of the gigantic Mendou helicopters began to touch down. The
first man off was Shutaro Mendou, joined by the team he had assembled. They
met with the Sagussans and devised a plan of action. Mendou and his friends
from Tomobiki would handle the initial unloading of medical and other supplies
while the Sagussans would survey Oshio. Before they went in they had to know
where the worst damage was centered and where any survivors might be found.

The Sagussans completed their expedition within a half-hour and reported
back with very bad news. All of Oshio was destroyed. The hotel district,
crammed with springtime merry makers, was especially hit hard. Sylia and
Shutaro were forced to make a difficult decision. Considering the high number
of people concentrated in that area, they decided to focus the primary rescue
effort there and branch out through the rest of the city later.

Pathfinder Troop Six arrived in the hotel center as dawn began to break.
They flew in on silenced engines to keep the powerful vibrations of the cycles
from causing further damage. They found a small helicopter lowering a news
crew to the scene, but made no comment. If they wanted to be here they would
have to take their chances like everyone else. Priss had been checking their
coordinates with the map of Oshio on her tricorder and was concentrating so
hard that she had not heard the little girl walking up behind her.

The child's beauty was hidden by cuts and scrapes that gouged her body
and darkened with a combination of cement dust, dirt and blood. She was a
frightful sight. Priss gently lifted her and held her in the crook of her
arm, just as she would with Shunran, and warmly smiled into the child's dazed
eyes. "You're going to be alright," she said as calmly as she could. "Why
did you think I was going to take you to Heaven?"

"Cause that's what the Angel said when she dug me out. She said that
somebody would be here to help me...and since she was an Angel, that means
that somebody was gonna take me to Heaven," she said with all the confidence
of childhood.

"How do you know it was an Angel who saved you, dear?" Sylia asked as
she walked up to the pair. The girl was obviously in shock and needed to be
treated as gently as possible.

"Because when she dug us out she had to pick the hotel up off of us and
only an Angel could do that," the girl answered seriously. She twisted in
Priss's arms, pointing to where a group of forty ragged and scared schoolgirls
huddled. "She told us to stay together so that we could be found easier, but
when I saw you flying up there I knew that you had come to take me to Heaven."
The girl looked tearfully back at Sylia. "You're not gonna make the Angel go
back too, are you? She still looking for the rest of my friends."

Sylia was about to ask where this Angel was now when she saw the news
crew running towards a rising cloud of dust. She and Priss took off after
them, the tot still cradled in the coxswain's arms. Behind a mountain of
cinder blocks and bricks they found Shinobu using a ten foot I-beam as a lever
to push massive slabs of reinforced concrete aside. Sylia reached out with
her inner senses and heard the cries of trapped children underneath the area
where the Terran labored. Incredibly, it seemed that Shinobu could hear them.

The girl held by Priss smiled as she pointed to Shinobu and said,
"That's her. That's my Angel!"

The startled reporter gaped at the child then grinned as he turned back
to the camera. He had been wondering about the right spin to put on this and
it had just been handed to him.

* * *

The anchorman quickly readjusted his clip on microphone as he prepared
for his live broadcast. His producer had everything ready to go and was
counting out the final seconds of the commercial break on her hand. A quick
signal and the reporter turned to the main camera and began to speak. "Good
evening and welcome to SNN News. I'm Brad Douser. Tonight what is being
hailed around the world as the 'Miracle of Oshio' continues and with a live
report from that stricken city is SNN's own Christine Yama."

"This is Christine Yama in Oshio," the young Japanese-American began,
the early morning breeze twisting her short hair. "For years the people of
Japan have wondered why they had to extend their hospitality to the vast
majority of the visitors from beyond the stars. They've asked themselves and
their leaders what was the reason for this and how could it benefit them.
Over the past three days those questions and others have been answered as
groups of aliens working in close conjunction with Terran volunteers and
official agencies have rescued thousands of trapped earthquake survivors from
the devastation that was once a popular seaside resort. Although casualties
are high, Japanese authorities are adamant that the death toll would have
reached much greater proportions, possibly into the tens of thousands,
without the prompt action of the alien visitors and their Terran friends.
With more on this story we switch to SNN's main studio in Charleston."

"Perfect," the news producer said as she took off her headset and ran
her fingers through her short, curly black hair. "Alright, listen up people.
This tape will run for six minutes, then we go back to Chrissy for some color.
Brad," she looked to the anchor checking his notes, "...pump her a bit for
local reaction. Man on what's left of the streets thing. After that the
talking heads will have what's left of this half hour."

"So what will they be talking about?" the newscaster asked, referring to
the collection of experts know as the 'talking heads' SNN had on retainer.

"The improved outlook for Terran-extraterrestrial relations. This is
the best press the aliens could have, right on the heels of the 'Tripwire
Incident.' But this is something entirely different. They're showing that
they can contribute meaningfully in the alleviation of human suffering and
that's going to play well, especially in the third world." A murmur of
approval went around the studio. "So does anybody have any questions?"

"Yeah," a beer-bellied cameraman just back from vacation asked. "Why's
that alien gettin' so much airtime?" He pointed to a monitor showing a slim
girl in a tattered school uniform. "Sure, she's hot an' everything, but some
of the others are a lot better..." here he stopped talking and made a cupping
motion with his hands at chest level.

The news producer grimaced then leveled a fierce look at the smirking
male. Pure pork product, but good at his job and had seniority. As long as
he kept his comments suitably vague he was immune to official repercussions.
"Because she is not an alien," she snarled. "Her name is Shinobu Miyaki and
the Japanese government has made her family history for the past five hundred
years available. She's Terran from the get go."

The cameraman looked back at the monitor with an appraising look in his
bloodshot eyes. "So that's the one they're calling the 'Angel of Oshio,' huh?
I don't know about that name for somethin' like her. I've seen pictures of
her doin' stuff that..."

"If you would read the notes from the production meetings...or bother to
attend one," the sound man interrupted, "...you would know that those photos
are fakes. The Japanese government found the ones responsible for them and
someone produced the negatives that they were taken from. Any news agency
that publishes them will be considered to be engaged in libel. She's still a
minor and has some protection under the law."

"Yeah?" the burly man in the bowling shirt muttered. "Well look at her.
So far on this tape she's done everything except leap over a tall building in
a single bound. Look at what she can do with a steel beam. Don't tell me
that's human."

The producer scanned the studio. The cameraman was only raising a point
that had crossed all of their minds. She began to speak, her voice firm with
command. "Until we have evidence to the contrary, we do not speculate about
that young girl. We're a news organization. We'll leave that stuff to the
tabloids." She checked her wrist watch and began to count down to the next
live segment of the broadcast.

* * *

"You want to do a psi-probe of Shinobu?" Shinoko turned from Catty to
look into the tent she shared with her sister and Atako. Shinobu was moving
restlessly in her sleep, like she was having another one of her nightmares.
Atako and Nintaiko were sitting on the cot parallel to Shinobu's, watching
her. Shinoko's heart ached as she saw the sadness on Nintaiko's face. She
wanted to form a closer bond with Shinobu...but the Terran girl considered her
a threat. An ill-considered mind-meld with Soban, the gang leader who had
long pursued Shinobu, left their sister with the opinion that Nintaiko was no
better than any of the other aliens who had attempted to control her in the
past. "You already examined her today after she collapsed and said that she
was simply exhausted."

"That's why I want to perform the probe. Her fainting like that simply
didn't make sense considering her condition." Catty watched as the expression
on Shinoko's face flashed from curiosity to worry. "I don't mean anything
life threatening. She's in perfect health. There's absolutely nothing out of
the ordinary about her. That's what's bothering me. Her cellular structure
should be much denser for her to be as strong as she normally is, but her mass
ratio is within Terran standards. Remember, she collapsed after we rescued
the last survivor. Until then, she showed no sign of fatigue."

"You sound like a person with a theory," Shinoko said accusingly.

Catty flushed at Shinoko's charge. "I am. I think Shinobu is somehow
drawing on a power source that effects her *mei'na.* This in turn effects the
bio-electric field around her and makes that more powerful."

"So that when she lifts something, it is actually her bio field doing
the work," Nintaiko said calmly as she exited the tent. "I concur, you should
perform the psi-probe...but be certain to get her permission. My sister's
aversion to those who take undue liberties with her person is...considerable."
She nodded to the pair then walked across the athletic fields to the temporary
quarters that she shared with her fellow Nendo-kata.

For a moment Shinoko watched her sister's lonely figure disappearing
into the night, then sighed and turned to Catty. "I'll wake her up, but it's
going to be up to you to convince her to do this." With Catty's accepting nod
the Avalonian entered the small tent and gently pulled at her sister's right
arm. Shinobu's eyes slowly opened and she saw Shinoko's face, so much like
her own, hovering above her. She pulled back in momentary alarm, then blushed
and apologized. "Shinobu, Catty's here and she wants to talk with you."

Catty neared Shinoko and took her by the hand before going on to Atako.
"If I'm able to talk her into this it's going to be a 'deep' probe. One where
I have to drop almost all of my personal shields. It does require privacy."

Shinoko felt irritated at the doctor's presumptuous manner. Shinobu was
right when it came to the Sagussan's social skills; they really needed to work
on them. Still, it was a reasonable request so the duo left the tent. They
walked through the small tent city established by the rescue teams. There was
a great deal of activity with equipment being packed for the trip home. With
the arrival of the civil authorities en masse and the threat to human life now
resolved, it was decided that the volunteers would vacate the field and allow
the national and local officials supervise the clean up and recovery effort.

The couple soon found themselves at one of the camps built by Shinobu's
former classmates. A grinning Ryuunosuke waved them over and made room for
them to sit down. Shinoko and Atako gratefully took the hot tea she offered.
Atako saw an intense discussion going on between Mendou and Megane. She was
impressed by the skills and dedication shown by the Tomobiki residents over
the past days. She had not thought them capable of such selfless behavior.

Ryuunosuke noticed Atako watching Mendou and Megane and smiled ruefully.
"I better warn you," the tomboy said to Ataru's bioroid twin. "They're going
to send a delegation to see you two about asking Shinobu into returning with
us tomorrow."

Atako and Shinoko exchanged a startled look. "I guess you know what's
been happenin' to Shinobu in Nerima lately. Well, Hitomi told us before she
and her parents went back home yesterday." Ryuunosuke frowned at the fire,
the urge to crack a few skulls making her hands itch. "Can't believe that
anybody would be so stupid to treat Shinobu like that, let alone an entire
district. We want Shinobu home with the people who love her. Will you please
help us?"

Atako sipped her tea and considered the request. She had been Shinobu's
advocate when she first decided to put some space between herself and Atako's
brother. Then it had seemed the most logical solution to an increasingly
dangerous situation. But now...Atako turned to her bond-mate who nodded
almost imperceptibly.

As the young woman began to speak...she found herself being caught up by
a whining noise that grew louder and louder. Everyone in the camp stopped
what they were doing and looked at the source of the disturbance, Shinobu's
tent. Worried, Shinoko got to her feet and was about to head for the tent...
when with a crack of thunder and a blinding flash of light, Catty shot from it
like a cork from a champaign bottle! Luckily for the doctor her trajectory
sent her flying into a number of tents that broke her fall. As Shinoko
reached her, Noa and others from the Sagussan camp came running up.

"Did anybody get the number of the comet that hit me?" Catty moaned.

Shinoko stared while the Sagussan tittered and tried to stand up. She
did not seem to be in pain, just so dazed that she was behaving in an drunken
manner. She reached up and grabbed Catty's arm and began to lift herself. "I
was right," she slurred. "Shinobu's full of energy...both *mei'te* and
*mei'de.*"

The other Sagussans looked at each other nervously. For an individual
to possess...or be possessed by...both the positive and negative forces of the
universe was unprecedented. "They're feeding on each other! It was like
coming in contact with a living fusion reactor." Catty would not stop
talking. She was too excited to pay attention to Noa's increasingly desperate
attempts to hush her. "I've got to check with Lum about her history. I'll
talk with her tomorrow after we get back to Oshika..."

"Lum's in Oshika?!" The surprise in Shinobu's voice cut the fog
surrounding the doctor's mind, but the damage was already done. Catty looked
at the girl at the tent flap, guilt shining on her face. "You told us that
Lum and Ataru were off-planet on some mission!"

Noa felt the blood rushing to her face. To keep everyone from Tomobiki
from rushing to Oshika if they heard of Lum near-fatal shooting and rebirth as
a Sagussan, they spread a cover story that both were on the trip to Nekotengu
Four, the story having the advantage of being half-true. Unfortunately it was
falling apart quickly. Noa was not a good enough liar to save it. "Well...
well..." she stammered. "They just got back today...yes...we just heard that
they got back today. Just now."

Shinobu looked into the sky above them and pointed to the "Kiboo'cha"
floating there. "You've been using that to ferry supplies back and forth from
Oshika for the past few days. What ship did Ataru and Lum leave on? The
'Hasei'cha' only just returned to commissioned duty a week ago!"

Noa was stuck for an answer. They had assumed no one would question
them and had failed to prepare for this possibility. "It's like this...you
see, don't you Shinobu? You see..."

"Oh yes, I see very well!" Shinobu's features were much paler than
usual, realizing the implication of what had been said. It was not just that
neither Lum or Ataru cared for her. They LOATHED her, despising her so much,
they could not bring themselves to come here, even to help others.

At that moment Shinobu became again the six year old child who had spent
hours waiting for her beloved cousins to return to their empty house. But
this time, there was no grubby hand with a flower and a promise to be with her
forever to save her from despair. Ataru wanted NOTHING to do with her. She
was alone. She turned and entered her tent closing the flap behind her.

Noa began to go after her, determined to tell her the truth. But a
strange cry that filled the air stopped her in her tracks. It was coming from
Lum's former classmates. It was a weird sound, a cross between a groan of
pain and a wail of wretchedness. The Sagussan realized what was happening:
they were wailing. Their faith in Lum, their belief in her goodness and
generosity, had been struck a lethal blow and they were lamenting its death.
As a group they got up and left the area to the Sagussans, disappearing into
the dark to deal with their sorrow.

Noa wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that they were wrong, that
it was all a misunderstanding, but she could not. Ataru had worked for months
to wean these people from their unhealthy dependency on Lum. For the longest
time, she could not understand why he was so concerned for them, people who
had abused and used him to their ends for years. But the past three days had
demonstrated how extraordinary they were and what they could accomplish with
their lives...if only they would let go of Lum and get a life.

A slim white hand began to tap on Noa's shoulder and she found Atako
standing there, a grim, censorious look hardening her features. "I don't know
what's going on...but you're going to tell me." Noa felt uncomfortable under
the iciness of that unrelenting gaze. "I've got a piece of advice for you
first, Noa. Don't go into politics if or when you people organize yourselves
that way. You don't have the raw talent."

* * *

Mr. Takanaba's office in the Tokyo Financial Center was empty for once.
The corporate leader had made a hard copy of the final report from his minions
regarding the Tomobiki schoolgirl whose heroism had inflamed the admiration of
his nation. He too, was intensely interested in the girl, but more as a means
to unlimited profit than anything else.

Mr. Takanaba always left his computer on when he went home. It was a
matter of economics after he learned it cost less to leave it running through
the night. The screen saving program, a card game, ran to insure no damage
was done to the monitor. Then something began to happen. The cards began to
spin on the screen, merging into each other, melting and reforming into
something different, into a door.

On the monitor's screen the door slowly opened inward...then from it
poured a shimmering metal like fluid that flowed across the desk and puddled
on the floor. The golden material changed and became more solid. Soon it was
an abstract sculpture of a human, possibly female. Then, with the precise
movements of the machine that it was, it got to its feet and left the room.

The monitor returned to normal, but it no longer showed the card game on
it. Now it repeated a phrase again and again, filling the screen with it:

MECHA HAS ARRIVED...MECHA HAS ARRIVED...MECHA HAS ARRIVED...

* * *

"...and we've got everything packed up. The heavy stuff we'll send up
to Oshika on the 'Kiboo'cha' and shuttle it back to Tokyo later."

Priss finished her report, waiting for Sylia to respond. Her attention
seemed to be elsewhere. Her coxswain followed her gaze to the slim figure
approaching them. "Ah...good. Make certain that we police our area before we
go," Sylia absently responded.

None of them had seen Shinobu after she disappeared into her tent after
Catty's unfortunate revelation of the night before...but they had all heard
her soft sobs on the evening breeze. Now she was seeking Sylia out and the
Seishin-turned-Sagussan was uncertain how she should react. She had no idea
if Atako Moroboshi had told her the truth. She was still under orders to keep
it from the Terrans. Priss gave her a sympathetic smile before leaving to
follow out on her orders. "Good morning," Shinobu greeted. "I guess you'll
be leaving in a little while."

"Just as soon as we get take off permission." The skies of Oshio were
packed with aircraft bring supplies into the wounded city and the Sagussans
were making every effort to cooperate with local officials. Sylia watched
Shinobu watching her. The girl seemed less depressed than Sylia would have
thought considering her reaction the night before. Bile rose in Sylia's
throat about the cover story which had caused her such anguish. She had been
against it from the beginning and she had enough of it. "Shinobu, I'm going
to tell you the truth..." she began.

"Something really serious has happened to Ataru and Lum...and you guys
came up with that story to keep us from rushing up to Oshika and making a bad
situation worse."

Shinobu giggled as Sylia fainted! It was the first time she had ever
seen a Sagussan do that. "Er...yeah!" Sylia muttered as she got to her feet,
amazed at the laughter in the Terran's eyes. "How did you figure that out?"

"I'm not stupid. After Shinoko calmed me down I thought it out. Ataru
would never let...personal feelings come between him and his better instincts.
If he and Lum could have been here they would have been," Shinobu explained.
"I'm going to have to go soon, Mendou's giving me a lift back."

"So you're going home with them."

"Only as far as Nerima," Shinobu said, a mature expression on her face.
"I ran away from my problems in Tomobiki...and got a whole new set in Nerima.
I'm not running any more. There are good people there who have sacrificed a
lot for me. I'm not going to let them down." Shinobu looked at her former
classmates taking down the last of their temporary shelters. "It's not easy.
I've got some new friends, good friends, but I miss the ones in Tomobiki. The
gang, Ryuunosuke, Pamanba...you."

Sylia looked at the hand that Shinobu held to her...then took it firmly
into her own. Priss came up and informed Sylia that they had just received
permission to leave and that they should do so within the next ten minutes.
Sylia nodded and gave the order to take to the hovercycles. Shinobu walked
them to their vehicles and, after a final hand shake, moved to one side away
from the jet blasts of the engines.

Sylia flew low once around the field to raise her hand to Shinobu who
returned the salute. *I'm not going to rush it this time,* she thought as she
looked at the figure receding. *Take your time Shinobu. Explore your world
and what it has to offer. It's a nice place...but sooner or later you're
going to find that it's too small of a place for someone like you. And on
that day...Sagussa will be waiting.*

Sylia breathed deeply of the crisp morning air, then set her hovercycle
for Tokyo and home...

* * *

Shinobu loved to window shop, to look at the beautiful displays in the
big department store windows along the busiest streets of Tomobiki and dream
of owning the breathtaking dresses she saw there. She never tried on the
clothes; her father made a good living but not that good. She had learned the
trick of standing in just the right position that her reflection on the glass
was directly above the mannequin's perfect features.

She was gazing at a scene in the window of the newest store in town.
Surrounding a large table loaded with the finest of foods and wines, were a
number of mannequins. All female but not all Terran...but a cross section of
many of the races spread across the galaxy. They were lovely considering they
were dressed in the same form-fitting jumpsuit. Shinobu was attracted and
repelled by it at the same time.

As she watched, one of the statues lowered the cup she had been holding
to the table, then picked up a bottle to fill it. Suddenly all of the
mannequins had come to life. They were having a party. One turned to look
out the window at Shinobu, who immediately recognized Sylia. Priss, Nene and
the rest of Pathfinder Troop Six were there. Sylia beckoned, pointed to the
empty chair next to her, the one with Shinobu's name on it. All were calling
out to her to come in, to join the party. To join them.

Shinobu looked up and down the length of the store, but there was no
door to be seen. Just a great sign above the window which read SAGUSSA:
PRECISELY ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SERVED. She sighed, shrugged her shoulders and
moved on. She really had to get some new clothes. She did not have a thing
to wear. She left the house in such a hurry that she forgotten to get
dressed.

Shinobu hoped she was dreaming. If this turned out to be real, she was
going to die of embarrassment.

* * *

She walked along the bustling sidewalk. She knew people were all around
her, but could see them only as flickers out of the corner of her eye. The
skies were darkening, becoming more threatening. The colors of the buildings
were being leached away. Soon the stores were also disappearing, drawn away
from her as were the trees, automobiles and the earth itself. Soon all of
Tomobiki had vanished...except for the road she was on. She began to run, she
could feel that she was being stalked by something behind her, something
threatening, yet familiar. But there was no safety to be found ahead, she
sensed that there was something else waiting for her up there, something
waiting to claim her life for its own.

She stumbled and fell to the ground. Panting for breath she lay there,
then noticed she was at a crossroads, each path leading into great black
voids. She jumped to her feet and chose the right hand-street...then saw
there was something emerging from the darkness in her way. A quick glance
over her shoulders and she saw something standing on each of the roads leading
away from the crossroads.

They all revolted her.

"Our presence here counteracts each other's attempts to graft our mind
onto our younger self," a hollow voice emanating from the futuristic armor
said.

The figure draped in an overcoat carrying a long rifle with her face
covered by her white hair and hat replied. "We'll have to let our minions
make the first move. To do otherwise risks destruction...as I've learned."

"Darlings...I AM destruction." Shinobu tore her gaze from the leather-
clad figure to the statue behind her. It was cast in a golden metal that
seemed to shimmer, almost rippling underneath its surface. An abstract work
of art, it resembled a woman...except it lacked any female characteristics
except a slim waist and other minor proportional details. It was listening to
the conversations surrounding them...but that was impossible.

"Hey!" Shinobu snarled at the three arguing figures. "What's going on
here?! Who are you people?! I've never seen you before in my life."

"Oh, yes, you have...every time you've looked into a mirror," laughed
the slut in the short dress. Shinobu started when she saw the speaker's face,
then she noticed that the samurai had removed her helmet and the gaunt woman
her hat. They were all her, twisted, vicious versions to be sure, but
recognizably, undeniably herself. She wanted to run from this dreadful
revelation, but there was nowhere to go.

"You're no philosopher's stone. Something to measure the purity of the
rest of Creation against. We're what you are capable of being...of doing.
All you need is a little push in the right direction and you'll take care of
the rest," the thin white-haired woman proclaimed, fingering the buttstock of
her strange musket.

"No!" Shinobu protested, her voice rising in horror. "This can't be
right! That can't be true!!"

"It can't be anything else," the trio said as one.

* * *

Shinobu's eyes slowly opened. She rose from the futon in Hitomi's room.
She felt sluggish, but she had only returned from Oshio the day before; she
had no chance to regain her strength from her efforts during the rescue
mission. She had gone straight to bed, partially to get some rest and
partially to avoid the reporters who lurked like wolves at her cousin's door.

She blinked a couple of times, looking at the lit clock on her cousin's
vanity. It was way too early to get up...but she was thirsty. She was about
to go to the bathroom when she noticed a tall glass of water near her pillow.
Hitomi must have put it there for her in case she woke up. The water had a
slight metallic taste but it was cold and soothed her dry throat. She put the
glass down then settled back on the futon and within a few moments was
breathing with a soft, gentle rhythm.

The empty glass shown bright in the thin light streaming in from the
window, then it shivered and began to melt into a gleaming golden puddle. It
slid across the bedroom floor to the window and pushed itself through the
crack between the pane of glass and the sill. It dripped down the side of the
house until it met and merged with the statue-like figure standing in the
small, walled garden.

The machine began to shimmer, strange movement changing and reshaping it
from within. In moments it resembled something from Earth's distant past and
took unaided to the night skies. It had other stops to make if it were to
ensure its ultimate victory. It had already taken the first and most
important step.

* * *

"They proposed the strategy last night, just as you said they would,"
Baron Suzuki lowered his morning cup of tea to the table by where he and his
companion knelt. "Shinobu's..." the Baron felt uncomfortable referring to his
ally's younger self in the third person, but there was no way around it,
"...actions at Oshio struck a cord across Japan. For the first time our
people have seen that one of our own can act as an equal with our guests from
across space, even command their aid. This, coupled with the guilt many of
them felt for believing those lies spread about her have given her a great
importance in our nation. At the moment, she is the symbol of our future."

"And our colleagues among Japan's far sighted traditionalists perceived
she might be the means of securing the mass's support for our cause," the
samurai refilled the Baron's cup, her every movement perfect in the rites of
the tea ceremony they shared. "They proposed seizing my young self and, using
the services of that Chinese crone in Nerima, subtly altering Shinobu's self-
perception, Japan and the future. They're quite right, but must act quickly
to enact their plan."

"Our men move tonight. There's a powerful storm that should be over the
city soon. That will help mask our actions. The team is well trained and
should have no problem...although the man I would have chosen to lead them is
unavailable."

The Baron mentally sighed when he thought of the missing Mr. Lee. His
best operative had been called away on some mysterious emergency the week
before and had been unreachable since. They would simply have to do without
him. The Baron looked at the lovely woman beside him. "Please, tell me the
reason behind your urgency."

Lady Katana glanced over the rim of her cup at her breakfast companion.
He was as perceptive as she remembered. She looked at the hot liquid in the
cup and controlled the urge to frown. Despite all her preparations, the tea
tasted slightly off to her, one of the ingredients must have held impurities.
She was grateful the Baron was too much the gentleman to call attention to the
fact. She put her cup down to answer him. "Actually I have two. We must
take her now, while she is in Nerima and beyond the protection of Tomobiki.
That district protects those it considers its own and any attempt to seize her
within its confines would end in failure."

"You sound as if Tomobiki is alive."

"Not in the way that you mean, but in a very real sense, it does live.
Something happened there a very long time ago that continues to shape its
inhabitants to this very day. When Shinobu moved to its confines, that
essence that is Tomobiki immediately recognized her latent potential and began
to recast her in its image. But when Lum entered the district, the energies
she brought with her also effected the girl. Now Shinobu's actions transforms
the line of destiny and makes me possible."

"What do you mean?" the baron asked, enthralled by the story.

"In no future previously shown before did she ever leave Tomobiki as she
did this summer. Somehow the fires that burn within her made this action
possible and destiny is realigning to accommodate her movements." Katana
paused for a moment to let the full meaning of what she said sink in. "Your
fellows in the militarist bloc would have made the same suggestion to you in
the previous destiny, but the attempt would have ended in a catastrophe that
would have brought ridicule and derision upon you all. But now, NOW we have
the chance to secure Japan's destiny as the leader of this sad world."

The Baron slowly nodded his agreement. Now was the time and they had to
risk everything on a single toss of the dice. "Thank you for your honesty. I
will take every measure to ensure our success this evening. What is the
second reason that you mention?"

The woman looked out of the open window to the morning sun there and
considered her words carefully. "I was not the only possibility with the
ability to transverse the time and dimensional barriers. Three others have
made the journey here. One is violently insane and very dangerous. Another
is an abomination in the eyes of the Gods and man. The third is something
that I have no words to describe. All I know is that it exists...and must not
be allowed to be."

The Baron stood up and offered his arm to the Lady who graciously took
it. "There is much to be done before our plan can be put into action. Will
you accompany me to the barracks to inform our ninjas of their duties?"

As the door closed behind the couple another at the far end of the
morning room opened and a young servant quickly entered and headed for the
table. She removed the breakfast items, but spent a few minutes looking for
Lady Katana's cup before deciding that the woman must have taken it with her.

Neither she nor any of the inhabitants of the large estate noticed the
fantastic figure flying away in the direction of Tokyo...

* * *

Shinobu walked down the sidewalk to the Ono Clinic, her lingering anger
making her steps brisk. She had agreed to answer a few questions that
morning, more to get rid of them than for anything else. It had gone
surprising well at first, the queries asked were politely phrased and not too
intrusive. Then the American with the big nose and mustache had made a
particularly stupid query. Her response brought down the house. She had left
with the man being pummeled by the notebooks of his companions.

She was hoping the day would begin improve soon. She felt nervous, that
there was someplace where she should be if she wanted to be safe. She shook
her head to clear these thoughts and went on her way. She did not notice the
large man walking parallel to her on the other side of the street.

Mr. Taga kept his eyes fixed on the slight figure as she entered the
clinic of that fool doctor. Let him enjoy her corrupt favors one last time;
it would be the last. Taga shifted the heavy briefcase that he carried, the
massive gaijin weapon he obtained from the underworld rattling within. Sooner
or later he would get the chance to use it. Sooner or later, his boy would be
avenged.

* * *

"...I've tried his number again sir, but there's simply no answer."

Mr. Takanaba grunted as he cut the line between him and his secretary,
his most trusted operative's presence on this mission would have been
comforting, but hardly necessary. The men that he had trained were more than
capable. By mid-evening the girl would be in their possession and at the
secret laboratories housed in the Tokyo Financial Center. His scientists had
repeatedly assured him that the operation would take minutes, the nanites
would be introduced to her system orally and would spread out into her blood
stream following the same route as the energy from food.

The investor nervously drummed his fingers on the desk. So much was
riding on this. Soon, the Baron would demand that he turn over the secrets
his men unlocked from the alien devices they had obtained, the secrets that
had lead to the development of the nanites that would save him and his failing
companies. He simply could not keep up with the innovations shown by the
Moroboshis and the Mendous. He needed an edge to take them over. Unknown to
everyone, even herself, Shinobu Miyaki was going to provide that advantage.

* * *

"...so once we get the subject here," the Israeli agent said. "Yuri and
the specialist will implant a mental command in her."

The Russian got to his feet, looking around the room and its present
inhabitants. It was a remarkable collection of men and women whom just five
years ago would have been doing their best to kill each other. But in the
aftermath of the First Tag Race they, the cream of the international
intelligence community had been assigned to Tomobiki to investigate the
abilities and attitudes of the aliens determined to make that unhappy district
their playland. As the collected information was shared, they began working
with each other, keeping up with alien movements across this island nation. By
now, most had become good friends because they shared a common goal. That aim
was to ensure that humanity remained as distant from the entanglements of the
galaxy as possible. They had all been first-hand observers of the antics in
Tomobiki...and were aghast at the possibility that their superiors would even
consider making a treaty with any such potentially dangerous beasts.

They had to create humankind's last line of defense against the
intrusive behavior of the galaxy's other races. But to do that was hard.
Yuri had grown fond of the young Japanese girl over the past three years and
the thought of turning her into a hardened killer twisted at his conscience.
*What will be...will be.* he thought as he began to speak. "Once we get her
here..." he said in excellent English, that being the preferred language in
the intelligence community, much to the annoyance of the French, "...it won't
take more than an hour to do the initial conditioning. We'll get her back
home. Tomorrow she'll wake up remembering nothing. But when we need to train
her in her duties, all we'll have to do is tell her the command phrase and
she'll find her way to us."

As the group prepared to head for Nerima and their target, Suzanna
Lords, a recent addition to the group from the American embassy, excused
herself and ducked around to the back side of the small garage they had been
using as their meeting place. It had been recommended by her contact, who had
told her it had been briefly used by a group of Urusian agents until their
neutralization by the Sagussans. Lords preferred not to think about that.

Instead, she waited for Scalphunter to appear. She knew she would never
be able to locate the Japanese woman unless she wanted to be found. There was
a rustle of movement behind her and she turned to find the hunter walking to
her, lowering a canteen disgustedly. "Water in Tokyo's even worse then I
remember it being. Tastes like rusty coins," her cold brown eyes looked
directly into Lords' as she said. "I take it everything is go."

"We'll be on our way to Nerima within the hour," the American confirmed.

"Good...but tell everyone to keep their eyes open. There are other
players on the field now." Scalphunter raised a hand to stop the questions
she saw in Suzanne's eyes. "I don't know much about them, but they're well-
trained, motivated and on the prowl. If you don't get to Shinobu first...
you'll have to do everything you can to get her away from them. And remember
...they'll do it to you if you don't do it to them first."

* * *

"What do you mean he asked what sort of '-ese' you are?" Akane asked as
the waiter put their ice creams down. She had been working with Shinobu on
her breathing techniques during today's session, but soon realized she was not
up to training. The youngest Tendou daughter suggested she and her sisters
take Shinobu out to celebrate her safe return from Oshio with a visit to the
local ice cream parlour. Nabiki had quickly agreed and Kasumi promised to
join them after she returned a book to Dr. Tofu. Sensing that something was
bothering her first student, she asked her what was wrong and Shinobu informed
her about the abruptly aborted press conference.

"I asked him what he meant by that and he said he wanted to know if I
was Japanese, Chinese or Vietnamese. I told him that I'm Japanese then asked
him what sort of '-key' he was: monkey, donkey, or Yankee."

Her companions giggled as she looked down at the freshly made
confection. It was good...but she would have preferred a Mount Fuji. She
snuck a glance around the crowded shop. The chatting had quieted down when
she and the Tendous had entered, but there was something different going on
today. Instead of being taken to an out-of-the-way table, usually next to the
washrooms, they were sitting in the window booth. There were also none of the
sneers or under-the-breath comments that she had come to expect from the
residents of Nerima. Their absence made her nervous.

Nabiki saw the puzzled expression in Shinobu's warm eyes and correctly
guessed the source of her confusion. "It's because of what happened in Oshio.
Nobody in this town is dumb enough to want the district to get the reputation
of being the only place in Japan where the 'Angel of Oshio' is unwelcome."

Akane carefully hid her smile as the blush caused by her sister's word
turned their friend's face a bright pink. Shinobu was easier to embarrass
than she. "Besides, it was primarily the Businessmen's Council that was
behind the smear campaign. When a certain someone..." she paused, looking at
her sister, who suddenly was giving her sundae a lot more attention than it
deserved, "...went to them with a list of health, safety and worker rights
code violations, along with stamped envelopes with the corresponding
regulatory agencies addresses on, they had an emergency meeting and elected a
new president on the spot."

Shinobu decided to change the subject. "Well, I'm sorry your fiance and
his father decided to take that training trip right before his mother arrived.
They must have just missed each other." Shinobu paused as the two girls began
to study the ceiling above them and wondered at what she could have said to
cause that. "Mrs. Saotome seems like a really nice person, but very
traditional. What was in that package that she was carrying on her back?"

"That's...the Saotome family's katana," Akane nervously explained. This
was a subject that she really did not want to go into detail with.

Shinobu blinked twice. Tradition was a good thing...but carrying a
sword with you was not all that common in Japan these days. Then an
explanation occurred to her. "Is it for Ranma?" she asked.

"It could be for both Ranma and his father," Nabiki answered before
groaning as her sister's elbow connected with her ribs.

Shinobu was about to ask what was going on when a flash of red on the
other side of the street caught her attention. It was Mrs. Saotome leading
Akane's country cousin by the hand. The older woman was leading the tomboy
into a woman's clothing outlet. The little redhead was vehemently protesting
...but eventually allowed herself to be taken inside. If anybody needed a new
wardrobe it was that girl. Every time Shinobu saw her she seemed to be
wearing masculine clothes. "Akane," she asked, "...did Mrs. Saotome tell you
what she was going to do this afternoon?"

"Yes, she was talking about getting Ran-...ko into something a bit more
feminine," Akane replied, giving her softly snickering sister a burning look.

"Well, she's certainly going to do that. I just saw the two of them
going into Victoria's Secret across the street," Shinobu sat stunned at the
look of amusement that burst across Akane's face.

"Ran-...ko in a lingerie store? This I've got to see!" With that Akane
rubbed her hands in a villainous fashion and rushed out of the parlour.

Shinobu turned to Nabiki, who had her eyes tightly shut and was shaking
her head back and forth. "Nabiki, I really like your sister, but there are
times when I just don't understand her."

The middle Tendou daughter smiled crookedly as she opened her eyes.
"There are times when you should be grateful that you can't. By the way, are
you still on for the movie tonight?"

"I should be feeling better by then, but I'll call and let you know."

The two girls started their sundaes, studiously ignoring the riot
breaking out across the street...

* * *

The girl watched the waves run up and down the lonely private beach.
For her the most difficult part of living on this blue planet had been the
abundance of water, something in very short supply on her own seemingly barren
world. It was there of course, the underground oceans that flowed through the
highly permeable rock, forced to the surface by great geological pressures to
form the vast lakes which supplied the needs of her people. But there was
nothing there to equal this.

Strangely enough, due to her old manner of dress, her friends assumed
she had a natural affinity for the water. In actuality, she was a little
afraid of it. She could handle this phobia well enough when she was in a pool
or other small fresh water body, but facing the vastness of the ocean, she
needed the reassuring presence of her Darling to help her. It had been one of
the myriad reasons she had once feared living in Oshika. But now, with her
expanded sense of the universe, she appreciated the primordal power the ocean
represented. The ability to give, sustain and take life. Sometime she would
have to talk with Nokoko and Mal about the concept of the "Mother Ocean" the
Nendo-kata had at their philosophical base.

At the moment she was content to let the roll of the surf and the salt
tang carried on the afternoon breeze ease her troubled brow. Darling was a
galaxy away on a mission to save the people who had nearly murdered her in
their desperation to live. She was still unable to leave the shelter of
Oshika due to her developing Sagussan abilities. Her friends in Tomobiki...

It was better not to think about that. The few calls she attempted had
not gone well. She was unable to reach the one she most wanted to talk with.
She had been carrying the note from Shinobu in a shirt pocket when the Hustari
extraction team had seized Darling. The rounds that ended her life as an
Urusian had destroyed the message. It would have been nice to have read it.
To learn how Shinobu really felt toward her.

Lum was so lost in her contemplation of the ocean that it was not until
a strong arm slid across her shoulders that she realized Noa had sat down next
to her. She leaned back against her bond-mate, letting her head rest in the
crook of her neck. "What are you thinking about?" Noa whispered.

The Oni-turned-Sagussan sighed. "What Catty told us this afternoon."

Noa grimaced, making a mental note to tell the doctor to work on her
social skills. Catty might be a medical professional but her dictatorial
manner bordered on the abrasive. Her matter-of-fact way of telling Lum that
Shinobu's strength was due to the subconscious fear the girl held of the Oni
had not gone down well. "Now, we don't really know if that's the case or not.
Catty herself admits that she never had the chance to complete her psi-probe
before the conflicting energies blew up in her face."

Lum readjusted her position so she could look directly into her lover's
eyes. "No. I'm afraid it does make sense. When I first arrived, Shinobu was
no stronger that any other girl. During our competition for Darling, whenever
I would do something to frighten her, to drive her away...she would always
respond in kind. I just assumed all Terran females got stronger when they
were battling for mates."

The Oni turned to look back at the water swelling as the tide began to
turn. "Catty's explanation makes perfect sense. Shinobu is incredibly strong
because she, in her perception of herself as 'normal,' can accept her strength
as something all humans can do...with the proper motivation. And I'm afraid
I'm her motivation."

Noa could not argue with that. Everything Catty said was reasonable
considering their limited understanding on how the positive and negative
forces within Shinobu effected the girl's *mei'na.* It even explained why
Shinobu's strength had vanished after Lum had used the wishing well of Yumisei
to turn into Ramuko. With the Oni gone, the threat she represented to Shinobu
also disappeared...and with it her strength. "I wonder..." Noa paused as she
considered something, "...if Shinobu ever changed her self-perception, would
that change the way she's able to access those energies. Make it possible for
her to do other things...possibly travel across the time-space-dimensional
barriers?"

Lum felt growing panic. "You're thinking about those time spikes and
that corpse that you found in Nerima, aren't you?!" Lum did not wait for the
*ashi'cha* to reply. "Shinobu would never do anything like that to anybody!"

"Lum, Shinobu is the only thing all of these events have in common. And
remember, whatever is coming to this present is coming back through time.
People change. When he was a teenager, the Mikado considered entering the
priesthood. Now look at him: a dictator willing to kill millions to preserve
control over a shrinking empire." Noa stroked Lum's face with a gentle
finger, wiping away angry tears. "Lum, the Shinobu we know would never hurt a
fly. Can you honestly say that the Shinobu of the future would be the same?"

Both girls watched the rising tide surge up the beach. But the peace of
the afternoon was gone and they stood up to make their way home...

* * *

Yoko Miyaki stopped buttoning up her light summer jacket as she watched
her niece hang up the phone, rubbing at her forehead. Shinobu had been
restless that afternoon, wanting to get some sleep so that she could go out
with the Tendou girls while her cousins visited their in-laws. She was unable
to get herself settled for a nap. She had complained of a nagging feeling
that she had to go somewhere. There was someplace that she had to get to, but
had been unable to elaborate. Now she had called to tell her friends to go to
the movies without her because she simply did not feel up to it.

"Shinobu-chan, would you like us to stay here tonight? It would only
take a moment to call my parents. I'm sure they would understand," Yoko
offered, her concern for her favorite niece clear in her voice.

Shinobu smiled at her cousins, shaking her head. She knew how much they
had been looking forward to this reunion with the maternal side of their
family. During the 'recent unpleasantness,' they had spent all their time
shielding her from the scorn of their neighbors. The trip to Oshio had done
nothing to help relax them. "No, you go ahead and have a good time tonight,"
she said, making her voice as cheerful as possible, fooling nobody except
herself. "I'm just going to soak in the bath all night and read. That should
help me get some sleep tonight."

* * *

As the telephone connection was broken, the ninja at the listening
equipment put down the headset and turned to the team's leader. "She's not
going out tonight," he reported in an unnecessary whisper. "She's ill and
will be staying home."

"What about her cousins? Will they still be going to that reunion?" the
head of the group wondered. She had spent the afternoon in contemplation of
the mission that loomed before them. They had anticipated snatching the girl
up as she made her way home from her date with her local friends. A quick
trip to a certain local restaurant and a mind altering shampoo and set and the
future of Japan and the world would be assured with no one the wiser.

But this changed the scenario. Now there was the possibility of
witnesses, of innocent casualties. Of official attention. All things that
every ninja preferred to avoid. Despite their deserved reputation as
fighters, the greatest weapons in the ninja's arsenal were stealth, secrecy
and surprise. They chose the time, place and circumstances to ensure the
maximum potential for success. For the target to suddenly change its behavior
was cause for concern.

Before the ninja who had been listening in on the telephone conversation
with Akane Tendou could answer, another one, who had been spying on the Miyaki
house through one of the peep holes cut in the side of the moving van the
ninjas had parked in front on the vacant house on the other side of the
street, called her leader over. She looked through the spy hole and saw three
people get into a small car and drive away. She thought about this latest
development before turning to face her team. "We'll wait 'till later this
evening. With the storm moving in, it should soon be dark enough for us to
act without being noticed."

She resumed her lotus position on the floor of the van and began again
the most difficult part of any mission. The waiting.

* * *

Fungi looked at the device in front of him. It had been difficult to
do, but by scavenging the necessary components from their communication set
and back-up computer, he had been able to recreate the device shown in the
blueprints of the Hagane Sect. Once the rest of the Niphentaxian team
returned with the Terran female, it would be relatively easy. Just put her
underneath the helmet and flip the switch and the process of changing the
girl's personality would be irreversible.

Fungi sniffed the air in the restaurant and noticed the musky smell he
hated. He turned and stared at the figure sitting at the counter, that
accursed smile upon her unnaturally smooth face. He was the only member of
the Church of Lum's surveillance team in Nerima that she had not...had...and
he was grateful for that. He thought about the things he had been forced to
watch and shivered as the nausea in his gut grew.

Fungi froze in terror as a slim white hand began to snake across his
crest. Was it his turn now? He did not dare look at the fiend breathing
hotly against his neck, not even when her small tongue worked its way into his
ear...or when her sharp teeth closed down hard upon its lobe. "Will it be
ready on time?" Kali breathed.

She enjoyed Fungi's reaction to her advances and took fiendish pleasure
in torturing him this way. He was considerably more intelligent than the rest
of the Niphentaxians who used this empty restaurant for their observation
post. They had immediately accepted her as their 'goddess,' while he was more
perceptive as to her true nature. "Yes," the tall boy said, fighting
valiantly to prevent from retching at being held by this loathsome thing. "It
will perform precisely as designed. Once the girl gets here, that thing will
insert the mind seed into her subconscious and begin to change her personality
into...into yours." The machine had originally been intended to make the
Great Evil submissive to the Goddess's desires. Now it would be used to
create something that considered the universe her playground.

Kali stopped lapping up the blood dripping from her toy's wounded ear,
took his pointed chin in her hand and made him turn and look directly at her.
"Fungi..." she said in a little girl's voice with a tremulous pout on her
lips, "...I don't think you like me."

"I loathe you!" he hisses. If his time was now, he was going to die as
an intelligent being should, on his feet and defiant. "You are a lie, a
deception. You used those poor fools for your perverted amusements and aims
and promised them paradise in return."

With an insane laugh she released the trembling boy from her steel-like
grip and stepped away from him. She raised her arms above her head and began
to vanish before his amazed gaze. As she disappeared from view he could hear
her clearly say, "But darling...that's the very definition of a goddess."

* * *

Shinobu fell to her knees, clutching her head between her hands. A
driving pain behind her eyes pounded upon her nerves like a drummer. "Make it
stop...make it stop..." she moaned over and over. The bath had done nothing
for her and as she dried herself, she felt worse than before. She was dressed
without consciously deciding to do so. She felt compelled to go somewhere,
but she had no idea where. There was something pulling at her, something that
wanted to protect her...or more accurately, to ensure that she remained as she
was. Something wanted her to go through the years unchanged, forever as she
was and it wanted her now.

She leaned back as the pain reached a new plateau, then subsided
momentarily before it grew to an even greater level. Before it could do so
Shinobu screamed, "ALL RIGHT, I'LL GO BACK!!!!" Immediately the pain began to
die away, not disappearing, but at a more tolerable level. Shinobu put her
shoes on as she checked the railroad timetable that she had kept from her trip
to Nerima. There was a train leaving for her destination in about ninety
minutes. If she hurried she could be at the station before the threatening
storm broke.

The slim girl grabbed an umbrella and her carryall and ran from the
house, the door locking behind her. If everything went well she would be back
in Tomobiki before this evening was over.

Back in Tomobiki...Tomobiki that wanted her there.

* * *

The Israeli studied the house across the street with his night scope.
For a moment he had thought its sole occupant had fallen and hurt herself, but
she was up and moving and seemed to be alright. He lowered his scope and
looked around the quaintly decorated room that he stood in. The elderly
couple who owned this house were in their bedroom sleeping under the gentle
influence of the gas that they had pumped into the building.

The Russian entered the room to take over the watch. He was beginning
to feel much better about this operation. With the girl home alone there
would be fewer complications and the rising storm was keeping the neighbors
indoors. The only traffic on the residential road were a couple of parked
vans and a large moving truck.

A flash of light across the darkening street caught his attention and he
put the night vision scope to his eyes. There he saw their target running
from the house with a bag over her shoulder. "She's moving!" he yelled to the
rest of the team who came in response.

Suzanna Lords turned to the rest of the intelligence agents. "We take
her now! Remember there are others after her too. They can't be allowed to
get her!"

Just then the doors on the vans and the truck began to slide open...

* * *

Shinobu shivered as she stood in the open doorway of her cousin's home
staring out into the darkened street. The day had been the first hot and
humid one of the year. The rapidly approaching thunderstorm was riding a cold
front making the air uncomfortably chilly. She felt a few small droplets of
water strike her face as she lifted her borrowed umbrella over her head and
started down the walkway through the walled enclosure around the house.

She was feeling very anxious...although her mysterious headache vanished
as soon as she decided to return to Tomobiki on the next train. It would be
leaving the Nerima depot in ninety minutes and it was a ten block walk to get
there. If the storm broke before she got there, she would be even more
uncomfortable.

There did not seem to be any people on the streets. In fact, the only
vehicles she saw were a couple of parked passenger vans and a large moving
truck. That was not too surprising; according to Hitomi this part of the
Nerima electrical system was Tokyo's oldest, wired like a string of cheap-
colored lights. The power frequently went out during thunderstorms and most
people preferred to be at home when that happened.

She shivered as she walked towards the intersection. The temperature
was dropping rapidly; the storm almost upon her. She was untroubled. She had
her trusty carryall with her and its stash of 'emergency supplies' which
helped her and her family through the first stage of the Oshio earthquake in
fine shape. If it started to pour rain, she would call a cab and if she could
not get one she would just take shelter in a restaurant or under a store
yawning.

Shinobu spotted ten high school students coming around a corner heading
in her direction. She smiled nostalgically at the sight. In spite of the
events of her senior year at Tomobiki she still longed for the better times
when every day passed like a carnival. Then a disturbing thought struck her
that stopped her in her tracks. *High school students?!* her survival
instincts kicked in. *School has been out for weeks, why would they still be
wearing their uniforms at this late date...and at night too.* She could see
them clearly as they walked under a street lamp, she noticed their features,
the slightly elevated eyebrows and the long, tapering ears.

"Niphentaxians," she groaned horrified. "Niphentaxians in Nerima."

* * *

Shinobu turned to flee back the way she had come, but only got a few
feet before she noticed other figures blocking her way. From the moving truck
a number of black silhouettes emerged. Shinobu had seen the Moroboshi Clan's
shadow warriors in action often enough to recognize ninjas. The men from the
vans looked something like Mendou's Special Assault Forces, but moved with an
assurance and precision that her classmate's incompetent minions could never
match. Out of the house that belonged to the elderly couple across the street
from her cousins, a large group of foreigners emerged. Some carried weapons
that reminded the young woman of the automatic pistol the Megane had used on
her on Phentax Twelve. The sight of that dreadful thing momentarily paralyzed
the girl. By the time she came to her senses she was surrounded!

Shinobu threw her umbrella to one side...and was surprised as it knocked
down the Niphentaxian creeping on her from that direction. She frantically
tried to recall the contents of her carryall. There were some tools in there,
but nothing she could use as a weapon without killing someone. In the years
since Lum's arrival on Earth, even the time following Ataru's torture, she had
avoided being directly responsible for the death of anyone. She wanted to
keep it that way. She drew herself into a defensive posture, the only one she
and Akane had worked on and waited for the first move.

She heard a number of whispered interchanges within the four groups
around her. She could not hear what was said clearly, the steadily increasing
rain and the occasional crack of thunder prevented that, but she heard enough
to tell her that all of them wanted her for some mysterious reason...and none
of them wanted to risk hurting her by shooting at the others. Shinobu
realized then that she stood directly in the line of fire of all four opposing
groups and if anyone's nerves broke under the increasing tension of this
precarious situation...she would be the first to suffer.

"How dare they?!" Shinobu snarled, fear breaking away and turning into
anger. Not the hysterical madness that had afflicted her in Tomobiki....but a
cold, deliberate indignation that sharpened her senses, turning her into a
dangerous weapon. These people wanted to use her...for their own benefit.
She had enough of that in Tomobiki. She would not tolerate it here.

Within seconds a plan of action sprang to mind. All she needed was a
momentary diversion and she would disappear down the street before any of them
could react. Through the storm, Shinobu saw the poles of the local utility
company supporting massive transformers. The old, worn out devices were
emitting the occasional spark and flash as they began to fail under nature's
relentless assault. It was just a matter of time before they would collapse
under the strain and plunge the street into darkness. But a movement in the
corner of her eye caught her attention. Shinobu swung around and found that
one of the gaijins, a young, blonde woman, fidgeting nervously with a pistol.
This one was going to lose it and lose it soon. Shinobu knew that she needed
more time...but time was running out fast.

The Japanese girl cast her eyes to the powerful bolts of lightning that
cut across the skies high above her. That was all she needed and it was just
out of reach. Her anger grew stronger, she wanted lightning to strike that
pole and she wanted lightning to strike that pole NOW!!!!

And it happened!

Her rage tapped into the power that generated by the internal struggle
between *mei'de* and *mei'te* absorbed during her life in Tomobiki, the
ultimate forces of creation and entropy that drove and shaped the universe.
It was the source of her incredible physical strength. For the first time she
used it for something else. Her *mei'na* reached out and redirected the
course of the lightning bolt, driving it to strike the power transformers
which exploded in a brilliant flash.

As the neighborhood went dark Shinobu dropped to the pavement and
rolled. With the lights gone, the nervousness between the opposing groups set
off their weapons. She could hear screams and cries of the wounded. There
was no time. They had caused this, not her. She reached the rain-filled
gutter on the side of the street and crawled away from the battle that raged
behind her. The run off flowing directly at her made it difficult to breathe
but she pushed on. Within minutes she reached the intersection and ducked
behind the street lamp that was there. She looked back towards the scene of
the combat and saw only an occasional flash of a pistol.

*Good!! I hope they've all killed each other!* she though with grim
satisfaction...then was immediately appalled for conceiving that callous
sentiment. *Gods, what's happening to me?! What am I becoming?!* That
thought tormented her as she pulled herself up. There was no time to think
about it. She had to get to the railway station, and to Tomobiki where she
would be safe.

In the confusion of her flight Shinobu lost her direction and was
uncertain which way the depot lay. There was a map and a flashlight in her
soaked carryall, but she could not risk using the torch at the moment.
Someone might see her. The best she could do was to pick a street, start
running and hope it was the right one.

She did and it was the right one, unfortunately she headed away from the
station...

* * *

Shaskaar, leader of the Niphentaxian espionage group, former devout
member of the Church of Lum, now the First Prophet of the Goddess Kali,
gritted her teeth as she pressed her fingers into the gaping wound on her side
to staunch the flow of blood from the severed veins. The Earth ninja that had
struck her from behind had delivered what would have been a killing blow to a
primitive from this world, but to her it was merely a painful inconvenience.
It had not even slowed her down as she snapped the shadow warrior's back.

The alien struggled to her feet, looking about, her school uniform
plastered against her statuesque frame. Her eyes, adjusted to the lack of
light, clearly ssw the bodies strewn around her, most of them stilled forever.
All of her team, except for that coward Fungi she had left back at their base,
had been killed. Martyrs for their Goddess of Pain and Pleasure.

Shaskaar started down the street, grimacing slightly at the pain in her
side. She had spotted the Maiden fleeing the scene of the battle. She had to
be recovered and taken to the mind control device that would set her on the
path to her Ascension and Transformation into Kali. Limping after Shinobu,
she rededicated herself to her great task. As the only survivor of this
battle she swore to fulfill her destiny and aid her Goddess in the great task
of creating herself.

It was not until she felt the cold steel of one of the Terran's weapons
pressed to the back of her head that it occurred to her that she might not be
the only survivor...or survive at all.

* * *

Shinobu looked at the soaked map as it dissolved uselessly in her hands.
She studied the area around her again before admitting to herself that she was
completely lost. During her flight she had ducked down an empty alleyway
before stopping to use the contents of her carryall. She had felt too exposed
on the main streets and continued moving until she found shelter under a truck
loading platform. There she discovered that many of her 'emergency supplies'
were ruined. Even the cellular telephone was soaked and when she opened it
the lighted panel flickered repeatedly. It could short out at any moment...
or it may not work at all. At best she might have one chance to get help for
herself.

She though of all of the people she knew. The Tendous here in Nerima,
her friends back in Tomobiki, her sisters in Sado and Oshika and Pathfinder
Troop Six at the Toranoseishin Financial Center. She thought of everyone that
was important to her...and the one in whom she had the greatest faith. The
one person who she knew, even in the darkest moments of their relationship,
would never, ever abandon her; just as she would always come to his aid when
he truly needed her by his side.

With a saddened smile she dialed Ataru Moroboshi's number at Oshika.
Hopefully he would be home.

* * *

"How can anybody get into so much trouble without even trying?!!" Noa
gasped. She had just called the private number she had established years ago
during one of her early visits to this planet. The events of the two weeks...
the attack on Lum and her transformation into a Sagussan, Ataru's kidnapping
and the Oshio earthquake...had kept her too busy to check her answering
machine to see if any messages had been left for her.

Everyone else staying at Ataru's beach front estate was currently
running the "Hasei'cha" through a quick shakedown cruise to the moon and back
getting the bugs out of the navigation system, in preparation for their
upcoming journey into deep space. Catty had finally pronounced Lum fit to
encounter "mature non-Sagussan minds." Since the key word was "mature,"
Tomobiki was out. When everything was ready they were off to see Nassur,
Benten and some other of Lum's space-born friends. Noa considered it a
mini-vacation from all of the troubles she had to deal with. But before they
left, she wanted to check up on some Terran threats to Sagussan interests,
threats she had infiltrated long ago.

Now she had another problem...and its name was Shinobu Miyaki.

Two conspiracies had taken a similar interest in the girl. Shinobu
might not be a direct threat to Ataru or Lum anymore, but the girl was
definitely a trouble magnet. Baron Suzuki and Mr. Takanaba both wanted her
for some nefarious purpose. A sudden thought crossed her mind, chilling her.
Their designs on the girl might have something to do with the four individuals
who had crossed the time-space-dimensional barriers. There was a connection
with Shinobu and the recent events in Nerima. When she had spoken with Chief
Inspector Tori, she was informed that several more bodies had been discovered
in Nerima, all in the same condition as the one found at Furinkan High.

Noa paced about the room, trying to decide how to best handle this
situation. She would go to Nerima, get Shinobu, and take her with them on the
"Hasei'cha" on their journey outside the solar system. If they had to, they
would keep the girl off Earth and out of harm's way until everything had been
resolved. She had the address of Shinobu's Nerima relations; it would not
take long to get there.

The harsh ringing of the telephone snapped her out of her contemplations
and, irritated, she picked up the receiver, snarling a salutation into the
transmitter. All she heard over the line was static and she was about to
break the connection when she perceived a hesitant voice come faintly over the
crackling noise. "Hello. Hello...is anybody there? It's Shinobu."

"Shinobu? It's Noa. Why didn't you say anything when I answered...?"

But as Shinobu talked Noa realized that the Terran girl could not hear
her at the other end. "Ataru, is that you? Please help me. Somebody's after
me. There's been a big fight and a lot of people are dead. They want me for
something Ataru...and I think I know what. If they get me...they'll change
me. They'll do something to me to make me become someone...something else."

Noa's throat tightened. She could feel the terror in Shinobu's voice.
Despite their past antipathies, she felt a growing sympathy for the girl.
Nobody should be made to feel like this. "Ataru, if you can hear me... I ran
away from the fighting and got lost. I'm at some kind of industrial park.
Please...please help me Ataru. Don't let this happen to me."

Noa listened silently as Shinobu's voiced faded, slowly overwhelmed and
buried by the static. The line went dead. Noa slowly replaced the receiver.
It would only take her a few minutes to get to Nerima, but it was still a big
place. She needed help to find Shinobu. Normally she would simply ask the
others. Most liked the Terran girl. A few even thought her a prospective
addition to their society. But with them now on the "Hasei'cha," that option
was simply unavailable.

The perfect solution suddenly occurred to her and she ran out of the
house towards the hovercycle pad. She would use the vehicle's comlink and
call them at their home. Being farmers and expecting a child to join the one
they were currently in the process of adopting, they were certain to be home.

* * *

Holding the dead telephone, Shinobu felt a wave of depression roll over
her soul. She had taken a tremendous chance calling Ataru and she had no idea
if anyone had heard her desperate plea. Her only source of comfort was that
if Ataru had heard her, he would save her.

The water steadily rose in her sanctuary under the loading dock. The
nearby drain was choked with dirt and debris forcing her to leave. She gazed
into the dark. Whatever wanted her was out there waiting for her to emerge.
For some reason that thought no longer frightened her. Perhaps it was because
she was so cold, wet, and miserable, or maybe she was simply too angry to be
scared. Whatever the reason, she was ready to fight. She reached into her
carryall and pulled the large, police style flashlight from it. Fortunately
it was waterproof and still working, but more important it was made from
strong, heavy rubber and could be used as a baton if necessary.

Shinobu knew that it was going to be necessary.

* * *

Suzanna Lords adjusted the night goggles that she wore before stepping
over the corpse of the alien that she had just killed, or in the vernacular of
the intelligence community, "neutralized." For some reason, murder was easier
to deal with when the word used to describe it had a lot of syllables.

The American looked around her trying to decide what to do. The rest of
her ring were dead and she doubted her ability to subdue the target by
herself. She walked to the intersection where she had last seen her. Somehow
she had to find her, somehow she had to get in contact with Scalphunter.

She checked the rounds left in her revolver, snapped it shut, and set
out on her mission...

* * *

Shinoko looked at the small, personal comlink Noa had just handed her.
Even with the speed of the Sagussan's hovercycle it had taken them almost a
half hour to reach Nerima...and they still had no idea where her sister was.
There were three industrial parks in the district. Noa had landed at the one
most centrally located. They would start searching here and go on to the
others if Shinobu was not at this site.

"You two stay together and take the left side of the factory complex.
I'll take the right," Noa said as she checked her comlink. She already had
complete confidence in the deadliness of the pistol riding on her hip. "If
you find her, contact me right away and we'll meet back here. I'll call if I
do. I think I know what's going on...and if I'm right, Shinobu's future, her
very existence is at stake."

Atako nodded her agreement. "Good thing it stopped raining before we
got here. That'll make it easier to find her."

"Remember, if it's easier for us, it's easier for them. The electric
utility must have men trying to get the power back on. It would be best if we
found Shinobu and got her out of here before that happens," Noa warned.

Atako nodded again and took Shinoko towards a series of sheet metal
buildings. Noa watched them leave and thought again about what she was
preparing to do. It might make it harder to find Shinobu herself, but if she
encountered either the Suzuki or Takanaba teams, they would immediately accept
her as their leader and obey her orders. It was a reasonable trade off. Noa
touched the electronic encrusted bracelet on her right wrist. A faint glow
formed around her and began to build. Her features disappeared underneath an
illusion of weight and substance. A phantasm that allowed her to think and
behave like someone else. A trusted servant to both Baron Suzuki and Mr.
Takanaba, a confidant who had played upon their egos to insure that their
dreams of power and wealth would never threaten either Earth or Sagussa.

The faded man who took Noa's place carefully checked his clothing to
ensure nothing was out of place. Although the technologies that created him
generated a field that subconsciously discouraged people from noticing him,
its success depended on the believability of his appearance. With that, Mr.
Lee turned on his flashlight and started his search for Shinobu...

* * *

Lords looked at the overcoated figure that had appeared in front of her
with alarm. Scalphunter had taken the news of the failure of the mission and
the death of the team members with remarkable calm, almost apathy. The gaunt
Japanese woman from the future seemed almost happy, as if in expectation of an
upcoming event.

"Don't worry about it," she told the stammering American who had just
repeated her apologies for her inability to track down her younger self. "Now
that you and the others have made the first move it means that I can get
directly involved with the events of this evening."

"But can't your counterparts do the same?" Suzanna gulped, remembering
what she had been told about Shinobu's other potential future selves.

"Yes it does, but there's something more important that has to be done
first. There's an old...acquaintance of mine in Nerima tonight. Somebody
I've wanted to see again for a very long time," Scalphunter smiled at the
thought, sending a fresh wave of horror running down her companion's spine.
"I almost got her two weeks ago and I'm not about to let this chance go by.
I'll get to Shinobu later. Right now this is more important, more personal."

The young American was uncertain what she was talking about and did not
really care. All Lords was concerned with was accomplishing her mission and
if it meant humoring this killer for the time being she was more than willing
to cooperate. "Alright then," she said in what she thought was a strong,
reassuring voice. "What do we do and how do I help?"

"I was hoping you would say that."

* * *

Shinobu carefully rounded the corner of the warehouse she had been
hiding behind holding her flashlight like a weapon. With the rains stopped,
Nerima low-lives had come out in force. She had been prepositioned, fondled
and groped by a series of hentais who paid for their error. "And I thought
Ataru was bad!" she snarled as she walked along the slowly awakening streets.
It was not that she had forgotten about the people pursuing her. They were a
type of threat she felt justified in running away from. Dealing with a masher
required a hands-on response. After all, she had years of practice handling
that type of assault.

With the rain finally ending, she could make out a few details and
establish where she was. Once she got past that factory complex just ahead
she would be on the street that led to the Tendou dojo. She would head for
there and call a cab. Maybe Akane would have some dry clothes that she could
borrow. She took another embarrassed glance at the light shirt she was
wearing. She never realized how cotton could...cling so when wet. She
decided to unpeel the shirt from her body and had just about succeeded when a
car carrying a load of loud, obnoxious teenagers deliberately drove across the
large puddle that she was standing next to and drenched her. Again.

A car carrying a load of loud, obnoxious, teenage boys. Of course.

Just then the street lights came back on as the power was re-established
through out the district. Shinobu found herself facing a large, plate glass
window which reflected her image with remarkable clarity. For a moment she
watched herself dripping, then a peaceful expression blossomed on her face and
she said in a gentle voice, "The next man who annoys me in any way, shape, or
form tonight...dies."

* * *

Mr. Lee had finished searching his part of the first industrial park and
was headed for the second when the power came back on. He looked at the
flashlight he was carrying and smiled ruefully. If he had been an living
person, he would have simply put it in his coat pocket and gone on with the
search for Shinobu, but as the pockets on his jacket were a holographic
projection he would have to keep holding it.

He was about to head off in the direction of the next search area when
he heard a squishing noise coming at him from down the street, like somebody
walking in soaked shoes. Curious he took a quick look to see what was down
there. At first he took the individual to be one of the local working girls;
this part of Nerima was notorious as an area where they plied their trade.
But this one looked like a drowned rat and the area's "professionals" almost
certainly would have had places to go to remain safe and dry.

Another option occur to him and he decided to investigate it.

* * *

Shinobu watched the man running in her direction and readjusted her grip
on the police flashlight. This one looked like another mid-level management
type looking for a little adventure before heading back to the wife and the
kids. She had changed her mind about killing the next male who tried to hit
on her. Instead, she would give him something to think about for the rest of
his life. "I've been looking for you for hours..." he began as he came up to
her. Shinobu gave him her sweetest, friendliest and most insincere smile
while swinging her flashlight like a Louisville slugger and planted it firmly
across his stomach. She had merely meant to send him sprawling to the street.
She was astonished to see him fly off to hit the shop on the other side.
There was something odd about that and she decided to investigate.

Shinobu carefully edged closer to the moaning figure pulling himself up
from the sidewalk. He looked really angry and anybody who could get
themselves back together as quick as this one could be trouble. He shot an
indignant glare in her direction. "Shinobu, why did you hit me?"

Shinobu immediately swung her flashlight back into an attack position.
"Who are you?!" she demanded. She had never seen this man before in her life
and if he knew her that meant that he must be a member of one of the groups
that tried to kidnap her earlier. "I want to know who you are and what you
want with me!" she snarled into his stunned eyes.

"Who am I...?!" Mr. Lee began when he suddenly realized that Shinobu had
never seen him like this before. "Sorry..." he muttered sheepishly to the
angry girl. "Just give me a second to change." He touched the bracelet on
his wrist and disappeared in a cloud of electronic haze.

"Noa?!!" the Terran girl gasped as she dropped her flashlight and began
to sway back and forth.

The Sagussan grabbed the suddenly pale girl by her left arm to steady
her...and was surprised at her grimace of pain. Noa remembered some of the
stories about how Shinobu got hurt on one of her adventures with Ataru and
Lum. She had dismissed them as self-serving dramatics on the part of someone
who was a "professional victim." It now appeared that there was some
substance to them after all. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you like
that," Noa started as the girl got some color back. "I took your message at
Oshika and came to help."

Giving her head a sharp snap to clear away the last of the cobwebs,
Shinobu stared at the woman in front of her. *Noa came to help me?!* she
thought. *Noa?!!* A feeling of gratitude and guilt built in her. She had
always thought the Sagussan would be happy not just to see again. "Thanks,"
she stammered. "Thanks, Noa." Then she asked, "Noa, why did you look like
that?"

"Do you want the long story or the short story?" Noa replied.

Shinobu looked nervously around her. People were out and moving around
again in the wake of the storm. That meant that the groups who were looking
for her might be active again. Now that there was a chance that she might
actually make it through this evening she did not want to waste it. "Why
don't you tell me when we're out of Nerima," she said.

"Good choice," Noa replied as she took Shinobu's trembling hand in her's
and led her back to the hovercycle.

* * *

Neither Shinobu or Noa noticed the burly figure watching them run off
into the night, but he had seen them from the window of the tavern where he
had spent the evening drinking and mourning the loss of his only son. Masaki
Taga had finally died that day, his body simply stopped working since it no
longer possessed a soul to keep it going. When it was over, Taga retreated to
the bar to drown his sorrow. It had not worked. He kept seeing two faces
before him, the boy who was the joy of his life...and the demon who had
destroyed both of them.

At first he had thought that the girl who walked past the bar was a
product of his grief crazed mind and the sake that he had been steadily
consuming for the past five hours, but when he saw her savagely strike down an
innocent man he knew she was the monster. Dropping some bills on the counter,
he stumbled out the door. While her latest victim was no where to be found
the fiend had been joined by one of her alien friends who had been there to
mock him on the day of his son's attack.

Taga reached into his coat pocket and wrapped his hand around the heavy
American revolver. After his son's death he had decided to use it on himself,
but kind fate had given him another option, another chance. He was not about
to let it slip away.

* * *

Atako wiped the sweat off her brow while she peered into the shadows.
She was very tired. Her pregnancy and the rising humidity was sapping her
strength. Still, they had to find Shinobu and get her out of here before
anything could happen to her. She looked over at her bond-mate and saw that
Shinoko was still fussing with the comlink that Noa had given them earlier.
"Any luck with that yet?" she asked.

The young Avalonian shook her head. "And I don't think the problem is
at this end. This one seems to be working perfectly. Noa's just doesn't seem
to be responding."

"Didn't she check them both out before we separated earlier," Atako
asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, she did. That means that something must have happened," Shinoko
responded with a frightened look that was reflected in her lover's eyes.

The pair continued their search with an even greater sense of urgency.

* * *

Noa was worried about the slim girl running next to her. On the way
back to the hovercycle they talked about the evening's events and they
reached the same conclusion. Somehow, four different future selves of Shinobu
had travelled back through time and were actively working to get the girl to
develop into one of them. Shinobu had handled that revelation very well, much
better than the Sagussan had anticipated. It was what she had asked her
afterwards that had dumfounded Noa. It had been a simple request delivered
with a soul-numbing revolve. Shinobu wanted Noa's promise that if any of the
"others" reached her that evening, the Sagussan would prevent her from
becoming one of those things. She had made it clear that she did not want to
live like that. That it would only be her body that survived while there
would be someone else inhabiting it. She did not want that and she asked Noa
to take the ultimate step to insure that it would never happen.

The pistol Noa carried on her side seemed much heavier than before.

Still, the Sagussan was confident that it would not come to that. The
hovercycle was just around this last corner and the comlink would contact
Atako and Shinoko and arrange to pick them up. She had tried to call them
earlier with her personal communications device, then discovered that her
impromptu flight courtesy of "Air Shinobu" had resulted in her landing on and
smashing it beyond repair.

Shinobu ran on, a strange calm overpowering her. She recognized what
had been going on since she had left Tomobiki. It was the old never-ending
game of control and domination. This was simply a more personalized version,
one that she was determined to resist.

Still, she could feel that something was about to happen. She took a
deep breath and gagged, realizing that she could smell something was wrong.
The rain storm had washed away the many odors of city life and left a clean,
fresh scent in the air. But now she could smell something else, the strong
odor of fuel. She looked at Noa and saw that she could smell it too. The
Sagussan slowly pulled out her weapon and the Terran gripped her improvised
club tighter as they looked around the wall and at the hovercycle that was in
the small parking lot before them.

At first it seemed that there was nothing wrong. Noa took a cautious
step forward. Then she saw it. The fuel tanks had been deliberately ruptured
and their highly flammable contents were spilling across the open lot. There
was something else going on. From beneath the cycle the girls could see a
soft green light gently blinking. It was not until it changed to a continuous
blood red that Noa realized that it was a "smart" bomb, programmed to go off
when someone got within its killing range.

The Sagussan turned, grabbed Shinobu, and leaped for the shelter of a
garbage dumpster. They got behind it just as the bomb exploded. The
concussion wave slammed the box-like structure against them and smashed the
pair into the brick wall. It hurt, but they were alive.

Shinobu braced her hands against the wall and shoved with all of her
strength, sending the dumpster skidding across the pavement to collide with
the burning remnants of Noa's vehicle. They looked at the fire raging before
them. After a moment, Noa sighed, looking at her companion. "You wouldn't
happen to have any money? I think we're going to have to call a cab."

The Terran girl managed a feeble smile as she put her flashlight under
her left arm to search the pockets of her skirt with the other. As she began
to pull a couple of hundred yen coins out a small projectile struck the ground
between them and the resulting explosion blew them to opposite sides of the
alley. Noa got to her feet first, but discovered herself pinned down by
repeated fire aimed at her. She saw Shinobu on the other side, the girl was
about to rush across the danger zone to get to her.

"No!" the Sagussan shouted to be heard above the roar of another
detonation. She pointed to the open street beyond Shinobu. "Take off. Get
out of here." She watched as the slim girl shook her head. She was not going
to leave her companion behind. "I can take care of myself. Get out of here
and find Atako and Shinoko. They'll help you," she hollered, wondering if she
was telling the truth.

Shinobu struggled with those orders, reluctantly agreed and raced down
the alley to the street and disappeared from sight. As she vanished the
continuous rounds of explosions ceased and a sinister hush fell over the field
of battle. Noa had her pistol at the ready. She checked the surrounding area
when she saw a form standing at the absolute edge of the light of the slowly
receding fire.

The creature held a powerful looking rifle loosely in her hands. She
was dressed in a long, opened overcoat that reached her high booted feet. The
clothing underneath was plain and utilitarian, but its severity and leathery
nature gave the gaunt figure an almost mythical appearance. She was wearing a
soft felt hat over her white hair and had a necklace around her neck that
looked like it was made from some sort of bone, but Noa could not tell for
sure in the flickering light. What she could tell for certain, is that it was
Shinobu!

The motionless figure looked at Noa. The hatred in her eyes flew over
the distance that separated them and made the Sagussan's heart beat faster in
alarm. She smiled, but it was not the smile of a human; it was feline in
nature, the smile of the predator coming in contact with the prey.

Scalphunter whispered into the still air around her, knowing and
relishing the fact that it would carry her message to the person who she most
detested. The person who she held responsible for setting the chain of events
in motion that destroyed any chance for happiness in her life. The person who
had left her to live her life with only duties and responsibilities to
fulfill. The person who had led her children on the ideological crusade that
their mother had refused to participate in...and had the gall to weep over
their broken bodies.

Noa gasped at the venom contained in the words that reached her over the
roar of the fire. She had never known that it was possible to be hated to the
degree that this incarnation of Shinobu loathed her. "Have you ever danced
with the Devil under the pale moonlight?" she heard the diabolic apparition
ask, the implication clear. If she had not before, she was about to.

With blinding speed Scalphunter shouldered her weapon and fired a round
at the brick wall above Noa, covering the Sagussan with a shower of broken
stone and mortar. Noa gasped at the stinging, almost contemptuous attack on
her and leveled her weapon in the direction where her adversary stood...only
to discover that she was no longer there. She had vanished into the night
leaving only a taunting laugh...and a challenge behind her.

Noa got to her feet, her features hard and resolute. She knew that this
was a trap, that this person wanted her dead more than anything else in the
universe and was willing to risk her existence to accomplish that goal. She
also knew that her adversary would never stop trying to kill her and would not
hesitate to involve those dear to her in her vendetta. Tonight was the best
chance that Noa would ever have to end it without the risk of involving
someone else.

"Let's dance!" Noa said as she entered the night.

* * *

Shinobu raced out into street, lost her balance and fell into a pool of
rainwater. She struggled to her feet, trying to decide what to do next.
Atako and Shinoko were somewhere in the district...but she might never find
them and Noa needed help. She checked her pockets and found that she had lost
all of her remaining money during the confusion of the explosions. She had to
get into contact with Pathfinder Troop Six and get Sylia and Priss down here
to back up Noa.

She did not want them involved in this, but there was no other option
open to her other than going to the Tendous. She could use their phone and if
she hurried she could be there in less than five minutes. Shinobu rushed down
the avenue, her concern for Noa lending her a speed that she had never known
before. She reached the residential street that led to her friends home and
dojo, she saw something that left her stunned and immobile.

She was a smallish figure, no taller than Shinobu herself. But she
carried herself like royalty. She wore a highly stylized armor that appeared
to be a cross between a samurai's protective gear and something out of an
animated TV show. The intricate armor was made from a highly polished metal
that shone in the soft evening light. The person in the armor was holding her
helmet at her side. Shinobu was appalled, yet not surprised to see another
slightly older version of herself.

The samurai smiled arrogantly as she drew her blade and pointed it at
the young girl whose eyes widened in alarm. "Don't worry," she said
haughtily. "It would defeat my purpose if I were to harm you in any way. I
simply intend to...adjust your perception of the world around you." Lady
Katana closed her eyes in concentration and a bright red aura formed around
her sword. She put her helmet on and walked towards the girl while saying,
"I am the blade and the blade is me. What you see is the essence of my being;
my thoughts, dreams, and aspirations. Once it comes into contact with you,
they shall be yours as well."

* * *

Taga watched the young woman running towards him and snarled, lips
twisting. She thought she could escape him, escape justice. She was wrong.
He waited for her to emerge from the Ono Clinic. He had been called away from
his lonely vigil by a frantic message stating his son's condition had taken a
turn for the worse. He made it to the hospital in time to hold Masaki's hand
one last time. Whispering, he told him repeatedly how much he loved him...and
how he would take vengeance on the monster who stole his life and soul.

He then had drifted to a bar in the industrial district of Nerima.
There he had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening consuming sake at a
prodigious rate. Even the power failure had no effect on him. By then, his
thoughts had turned from vengeance to self-destruction. He would occasionally
brush his hand against the massive weapon hidden in his coat pocket.

Stumbling from his stool on his way to the rest room he saw the slim
figure of the demon who had destroyed his son pass the tavern's large window.
He tossed money on the bar and rushed to the door. The fox woman, as he had
come to believe of Miyaki, had already found another victim and struck an
innocent man so hard that his crumpled body flew across the street.

Taga drew his revolve, but before he could fire, a wave of nausea forced
him down. By the time it passed, he saw Miyaki and another woman running away
from the scene. He followed, but lost them in the maze of back streets.

He found himself on a residential street leading to the Tendou dojo.
Remembering the beast was training with Akane Tendou, he deduced she might
come there. Hiding next to a lamppost he waited for his target to appear. He
was not disappointed.

* * *

Lady Katana was confused. She had counted on her sudden appearance in
full armor to intimidate her younger self, convinced the sight of her deadly
sword glowing with her bio-energy would reduce Shinobu to hysterics. Instead,
she adjusted her grip on the heavy flashlight and began to swing her carryall
over her head, obviously intending to use it as a weapon.

Shinobu experienced a cold rush of revulsion. Noa had come to Nerima to
rescue her. She placed her life in jeopardy...and this monstrous version of
herself stood between Shinobu and her securing aid for the Sagussan. She
allowed the samurai to swing the flat of her blade at her, then used the
carryall to slap it to one side as she brought the heavy rubber light down on
her foe's helmet. More surprised than stunned, her opponent jumped away from
her, withdrawing to a safer distance to change strategy. Shinobu pressed,
determined not to give her adversary the chance to regain the initiative.
Swinging the carryall like a bola, Shinobu charged Katana, who retreated. She
had not anticipated this behavior from her younger self and to use her weapon
as a means of defense ran the risk of killing Shinobu...and herself.

As the combatants neared each other, a loud crack charged the night, a
bullet slicing the air just behind Shinobu's head, tearing through the fabric
of the spinning bag. The canvas, weakened by the abuse it received earlier in
the evening, straining under the weight of its load, split open and spewed its
contents across the wet road.

Katana turned to see a large middle age man using a lamp post to steady
himself as he drew his bead upon her younger self. She could not let this
peasant involve himself in the affairs of his betters; if he succeeded in
shooting Shinobu, the consequences for herself and Japan would be horrible!
She leaped between the teenager and the barking pistol, the steel-jacketed
pellet bouncing off her armor. She twisted the hilt of her sword, spinning
the sharp edge of the blade into the attack position and lunged forward.

Katana found herself admiring the resolve of the stranger. Even as her
blade sliced his throat, his eyes never wavered, never blinked as he tried one
last time to fire at Shinobu. She paused to salute the corpse as it slid
against the lamp post to the pavement. He would have made a fine addition to
the Japan of the future. Her future.

Turning to confront Shinobu, the samurai discovered she had vanished, a
sound defensive move considering she had lost a weapon. Lady Katana smiled
grimly as she mentally activated the tracking mode of her electronically
enhanced armor. Using the infrared mode she followed the lingering heat
traces left by the fleeing girl as she fled the street for the enclosed
grounds of a martial arts training dojo. Katana refocused her bio energies
around her sword. All she had to do was to tag her younger self with the flat
of her blade and her id would be copied upon the ethos of her younger self,
starting her on the irreversible metamorphosis into Lady Katana.

Moving like a steel shadow, the samurai crept through the darkened
garden. As the clouds parted she could see in the faint moonlight the outline
of a form hiding behind the trunk of a large tree, waiting. Pretending to be
fooled, Katana slowly walked past her lurking foe, then spun around and
whacked the body with the flat of her blade...which knocked the sparring dummy
to the ground. Stunned, she was unable to react fast enough to block Shinobu
who leaped from the bushes, sending her flying into the koi pond...

* * *

Noa gritted her teeth as she hung onto the lip of the pit. She looked
over her shoulder at the sharpened stakes lining the bottom of the man-trap
prepared for her by the killer who had once been Shinobu. She hauled herself
up, swung out of the hole and regained her feet. Scalphunter had lead her
through a series of pitfalls and snares since she had separated Noa from her
younger self. Strangely, the ambushes seemed more designed to infuriate than
kill. Every time she had stepped in one she had enough time to save herself.

A thin, insane laughter floated through the evening air like a malignant
fog. Scalphunter was ahead, leading her further along in this strange cat-
and-mouse game. Noa knew she would have to get close enough to her foe to use
her powers. As long as Scalphunter remained out of sight she would be out of
the range of Noa's abilities. A point her adversary seemed fully aware of.

There was a flicker of movement at the dimly lit end of the alley, a
shadow crawling along a wall. She was there, waiting for Noa. The Sagussan
looked up to the roof of the building beside her. There was an emergency fire
escape there, the ladder within reach.

Maybe it was time to take the initiative...

* * *

Shinobu blinked furiously to drive the spots from her eyes. The second
Katana's bio charged sword came into contact with the water, the koi pond
exploded in a shower of sparks, temporarily blinding her. Her vision cleared
as her foe staggered from the pond, regenerating the aura around her blade.
Shinobu did not know what to do. She seemed to be stronger, but the armor the
woman wore protected her. Her rubber flashlight provided insulation from the
bio-electricity Katana was using, but with only one weapon at Shinobu's
disposal, it was simply a matter of time before Katana landed a lucky blow.

The young girl backed away from her advancing foe, looking around for
something, anything, that she could utilize to even the odds. But the yard
was immaculate and there was nothing for her to use...

"Shinobu!!! Catch!!!" a familiar voice called from behind.

Shinobu spun about and caught the sheathed katana Akane had thrown her.
The scabbard was made of hardwood and leather, both organic materials, neither
a good conductor of electricity. She whirled back, blocking her adversary's
swinging blade with the sword while smashing at her side with the light.

Akane ran back into the dojo and grabbed one of her boken swords. While
dozing in her room, she heard the gunshot and had proceeded to investigate.
She then saw her new friend engaged in a ferocious struggle with a curiously
armored foe. Desperate for something to help Shinobu fight she stumbled
across the rice paper wrapped sword left by Mrs. Saotome. Akane prepared to
dart into the garden to join the fight when Souun's powerful arms wrapped
around her and pulled her back against him. "No, Akane!" the anxiety in his
voice tempered by his concern for his daughter. "You could get killed."

The girl struggled to break free, twisting violently back and forth.
The dojo master's grip was unbreakable. "Please, Dad!" she shrieked. "I've
got to help Shinobu. She's never used a sword in her life."

"Are you sure about that?"

Akane looked at Nabiki. "She seems to be pretty good with that thing."

Akane watched them feint and dodge, strike and retreat. Every time the
armored figure attacked, Shinobu countered with a manoeuver that prevented the
strike from hitting hoome. She reciprocated with a blow sending her opponent
staggering momentarily away. It was an incredibly brutal altercation, unlike
the carefully choreographed battles in the dojo. It was a battle for survival
between two irreconcilable foes. It was two people hammering away at each
other with deadly instruments and the first to make a mistake died.

* * *

Noa fired a volley of shots into the alley below and watched as her
enemy narrowly sidestepped this latest attack. Taking to the rooftops was a
good idea, avoiding the traps Scalphunter prepared for her. More important,
the tide of the battle had shifted in her favor. This incarnation of Shinobu
was unable to get a clear shot without presenting herself as a target. The
few times that she had attempted to do so had almost proven fatal.

Noa stopped to catch her breath. The battle was by no means won. While
she had extensive study in combat, the Sagussan recognized and appreciated her
adversary's experience. This thought chilled Noa. What could have happened
to turn a perpetually angry but kind and gentle girl into a murderer?

Noa had the feeling that she would not be pleased with the answer...

* * *

Shinobu yelped as she narrowly avoided another flurry of blows Lady
Katana levelled on the flashlight. Every time she was forced to use the light
as a shield, the wound she received on Phentax Twelve throbbed with tear-
wrenching agony. Soon the pain these barrages inflicted upon her would wear
her down and she would drop her guard. Then, she would be helpless.

Shinobu watched as Katana maneuvered into position to launch another
attack on her debilitated arm. *How does she know?* Shinobu thought, dancing
away from a probing thrust. Then it came to her as she noticed how the
samurai carried her weapon. *She knows how badly my arm was hurt...because
her arm is the same!* Katana carried her blade with a modified underhand
posture, one which allowed her right arm to absorb the impacts of combat.

Shinobu dodged a savage blow and countered it by sweeping the samurai
off of her feet with a spinning kick. Katana hit the ground hard but
immediately sprang up, her eyes shinning bright with anger born of frustration
and humiliation. Shinobu decided to focus on that, force Katana into one of
her berserk outbursts. She had to provoke that fury, fan it higher and higher
until her future self made the deadly mistake that would allow Shinobu to
strike without restraint. Shinobu knew just how she would do it. She lashed
out at her opponent's most vulnerable characteristic, her pride.

Katana snarled as she charged her younger self. The anger burning in
her breast drove sanity out as she slipped deeper in to a blood-lust of
dementia. Still, she restrained herself, maintaining a tremulous grasp on her
emotions. All she had to do to win the battle was touch the weakening girl
with the sword. She had to remember that, she had to control her fury.

Suddenly she was brought up short. Shinobu was standing before her, her
head held at an dismissive arch and a sneering expression narrowing her eyes.
Katana gasped as Shinobu spat, delivering the most savage insult possible to
one of Samurai descent. The school girl looked her directly in the eyes...and
hoarsely whispered, "Eta!"

Any vestige of sanity held precariously by Lady Katana was gone as a
hysterical tantrum Shinobu's old classmates would have immediately recognized
burst forth. Unmindful of the consequences, she pulled her sword over her
head to deliver the classic killing blow. At the apex of her swing, intense
pain from her damaged muscles caused her a second's worth of hesitation...

In that deadly moment Shinobu struck. Dropping her flashlight and
grasping her borrowed sword with both hands, she swung the sword like a tennis
player delivering a devastating back hand. The edge caught Katana on her
right side, just underneath her rib cage. It cleaved through steel, flesh,
and bone before emerging on the other side of the collapsing woman!

A strange sense of detachment filled Shinobu as she stood above the
cooling body of this relentless foe, this ruthless adversary, her...self. She
averted her eyes to look at the koi pond. She forced herself not to think
about what she had just done, or she would begin screaming and never stop.

A hesitant hand pressed her a white towel. It was a wide-eyed, shaking
Akane. Puzzled, Shinobu followed her friend's gaze, looked at herself...and
began to tremble uncontrollably. She had been caught by a gush of blood which
covered hands, arms and chest. She dropped the stained sword, took the towel
and rubbed desperately in a futile attempt to remove the ichor from them.

Shinobu pulled herself together, then turned to Akane and Nabiki, the
questions in their eyes and a new, slightly cautious attitude hurting her
profoundly. "I'll tell you everything that's going on...later. A person I
know came to Nerima to save me tonight. Now she's in danger and I've got to
help her. Do either of you have a pen and paper?"

Nabiki handed a small red notebook taken from her cutoff's pocket along
with a mechanical pencil to Shinobu, who scribbled two telephone numbers. The
middle Tendou daughter looked at the numbers and tried not to shudder at the
crimson smudges left by her friend's fingertips. "The first number is Ataru
Moroboshi's Oshika residence; the second is for Pathfinder Troop Six in
Tomobiki. They should be back by now. Call them and tell them that Noa is in
trouble, needs help and that I last saw her at the Fifth Avenue Industrial
Park." The sisters looked at each other before turning back to Shinobu and
nodding. The girl tried to smile at them, failed and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Akane cried out, her concern for her friend
overwhelming the horror she experienced watching her cut down her adversary.

"To find Noa," the pale teenager replied. "She came her to rescue me."

Nabiki tapped the hilt of the Saotome sword with her foot. "Shouldn't
you take this with you?"

"NO!!!!"

They jumped at the appalled cry. Her control over her emotions slipped,
allowing them a fleeting glance of the frightened child underneath. "I never
want to touch one of those things again as...long as I live."

Shinobu paused at the entrance to the Tendou dojo. Across from her was
the body of the man who tried to kill her, the man who she...who Katana
murdered in retaliation. As she neared the corpse she was stunned to
recognize him. "You were right, weren't you?" Shinobu whispered to the
stiffening remains. "You said that I would bring death and destruction here
...and you were right. If I had stayed in Tomobiki, none of this would have
happened." The teenager sniffed and turned to leave...then returned to Taga's
body and picked up the revolver. "I think I might need this," she murmured as
she felt another part of her soul wither and fall away.

* * *

The sign above the door read the Yakusta Trucking Company. The notice
tacked on the door announced the business was closed until further notice and
that trespassers would be prosecuted. It had not stopped Scalphunter from
dodging into the darkened building as Noa closed the gap. The Sagussan
reached out with her senses to scan the building. Nothing! Somehow, the
Terran could mask herself, rendering herself invisible to her powers. After
confirming the only entrances to the building were on one side of the
structure, Noa took a secure position to wait out her adversary. Scalphunter
did not emerge. After waiting a hour Noa felt anxious. Was there a secret
way out, would that explain the strange absence of her foe's *mei'na?*

Slowly the massive doors of the truck loading platform rolled open
revealing...nothing. Noa carefully stood up and backed away. This was too
deliberate, too obvious an invitation to enter Scalphunter's territory. Over
the course of their battle, Noa had developed a healthy respect for the
killer's abilities. While she was willing to face her one-on-one, she would
much rather do it on a more balanced field of conflict.

From the darkness came a queer, empty cackle, then a muffled voice.
"Don't go yet. I have a present for you."

A small, hard object flew out, bouncing along the pavement. Noa jumped
back to the shelter of the pallets. Then she realized the object rattling on
the ground was a horn, an Oni horn. Sick with a dreadful sense of foreboding
Noa reached for the dried piece of cartridge. Her *mei'na* stretched out and
absorbed the lingering traces of whom this horn had belonged to.

*It's Lum's!!* a horrified Noa gasped. *Lyna's Soul, IT'S LUM'S!!!!*

Through this remnant of her beloved she could feel the Oni-Sagussan's
last moments, how in a possible future Lum was betrayed and murdered by the
one whom she considered her closest friend. By Shinobu. By Scalphunter.

The world went red before Noa's eyes and she surrendered herself to the
warrior's madness which erupted in her soul. In some distant possibility, her
Lum, her *marei'cha,* would be cruelly slain by the fiend hiding in the
shadows of the warehouse. She must be vindicated.

Her abilities emerging at full force, Noa stormed the building, easily
avoiding the fire greeting her arrival. She was unstoppable, a living nemesis
that pursued Scalphunter relentlessly. The overcoated figure stood its ground
and fought back savagely...but to no avail. Noa struck at the muffled killer
on both physical and mental levels. As Scalphunter reeled under Noa's
assault, the avenger reached into her arsenal and unleashed the most
devastating weapon at her call, the soulsword! She slashed at the physical
form of her opponent and ripped mind and body apart.

Sanity slowly returned to Noa as she approached the quivering figure of
her defeated opponent and ripped the concealing hat and muffler away to reveal
the features...of someone other than Shinobu. She gaped at the young blonde
woman before her. This was impossible, this person had fought with the same
style, techniques and body language as Scalphunter. Nobody could impersonate
someone to the extent that this individual had, it was inconceivable.

A flashing green light on the young woman's belt caught Noa's attention
and she looked down in time to see it turn to a continuous red. Noa spun
about and ran for the exit and nearly reached it before the force of the
detonation behind her tore her from the ground and threw her the length of the
parking lot. She staggered back to her feet as a neural bolt fired from the
shadows struck her again, leaving her temporarily paralyzed.

"You underestimated me, Noa," a smirking Scalphunter approached the
stricken Sagussan, drawing a large knife from her belt. "But then again, you
always did. If I could replicate my *mei'na* to Shinobu, didn't it occur to
you that I could do it to someone else? That was Suzanna Lords, lately
attached to the American Embassy...now not attached to anything." The warped
version of Shinobu smiled at the confusion in her victim's eyes. "Yes, I said
*mei'na!* I know your race's secrets, all of them. Reach out with your
mind's eye one last time...and let it tell you what it learns of me."

Almost unwillingly Noa let her psi-senses probe the gaunt figure
kneeling next to her, and what they told her terrified her. It could not be,
it was impossible, but there was no other answer.

Scalphunter...Shinobu...was a Sagussan.

"It was an interesting relationship you and I shared, a matter of give
and take. I gave and you took!" Scalphunter snarled, tracing Noa's jugular
with the tip of her knife. "You took Ataru from me, took my peace in Tomobiki
away, took my very humanity and turned me into one of you. You took and took
and took until I had nothing left to give because there was no more. Then you
stole the last comfort in my life; my children...my precious, precious twins.
You led them on a stupid crusade and had the temerity to weep over them."

Grabbing Noa by the hair the maniacal killer yanked her upright and
stared straight into her eyes. "I want you to see me do this. I want to see
the look on your face as I slit your throat. And as you fall into the pit of
Hell that you so richly deserve, I want you to remember this. I want you to
remember...THAT YOU CREATED ME!!!!!!"

Her eyes bright with triumph, Scalphunter drew back her knife. Before
it could descend, a shot rang out. The impact of the bullet knocked her away
from Noa, both dropping to the ground. The *ashi'cha* watched the stricken
figure writhe, blood flowing from the wound in her chest. But she did not
scream. Instead, she fixed her eyes on Noa, pulled her pistol from its
holster and dragged it across the asphalt until it was pointed directly
between Noa's eyes. It was the last thing that she did. Scalphunter died
with her eyes glaring into Noa's, filled with a hatred that transcended death.

A gentle hand cautiously turned Noa over to rest on her back. It was
Shinobu. Even in the harsh light of the security lights Noa could see the
young woman unnatural palor. She examined the Sagussan and was satisfied that
she was unharmed. Noa noticed that she avoided looking at the corpse lying
next to them. The Terran was carrying a revolver that looked ridiculously
huge in her small hand and her clothing was discolored with dried blood.

"Bad...night?" the Sagussan forceed past her stiff lips.

"I'd like to say that I've had worse, but that would be a lie."

"How...did you...find us?"

"I didn't find you. Somehow I knew where you were," Shinobu bit her
lip. "I'm sorry. I got here awhile ago. I saw Scalphunter come out a coal
chute. I didn't have a clear shot at her so I decided to wait. I...I used
you as bait to lure her into the open." Shinobu dropped her head in shame.

"Did you hear what she said?" the words came easier to Noa, the neural
bolt wearing off.

"Everything."

"Why did you stop her?"

Shinobu did not answer. There was none. With that, she lifted Noa and
turned to leave the park. The light from the burning warehouse cast strange,
fantastic shadows across the lot. One was Shinobu's and as it fell against a
wall of one of the other buildings, it twisted and reshaped itself.

Neither woman noticed the shades around them. But they hear something
in the thick night air, the sound of someone singing. Noa felt the arms
holding her begin to quiver in fear and looked up to Shinobu's face. Her eyes
were darting from side to side, seeking the source of the voice. Her voice.

Shinobu's shadow stirred, detached itself from the wall and walked
towards the startled pair. It coalesced, grew solid, took on substance and
form. The figure was dressed in black leather that existed only for the
pleasure of being removed, her flesh as white and smooth as a porcelain doll.
Her movements were luxuriant with a dark sensuality, ripe with the allure of
death. She smiled at the astonished girls, a horrible, wanting smile and
began to sing. "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a woman of taste and
means. Been all around this great, wide world, stole many a man's soul..."

* * *

"...and we've called each number, but there's no answer!" Akane looked
at the woman whose face crumpled in despair. She looked so much like her
sister that she mistook her for Shinobu when she answered the frantic knocking
at the door and found an anxious pair standing there. The taller woman had
gone with her father into the garden to examine the gruesome remnants of the
sword fight while Akane informed Shinoko about the night's events.

A waxen Atako entered the living room followed by Souun. This night was
exhausting her with no end in sight. They had only been able to trace Shinobu
here because the intense emotions of her battle with Lady Katana had drawn her
Avalonian sister to the house. Now Shinobu had vanished, but she had told the
Tendous which industrial park where she and Noa would hopefully be found.

The pair thanked the Tendous for their help and begged them to continue
calling. As they left the house, Shinoko blinked furiously, stumbled and
would have fallen if Atako had not caught her. "Is it happening again?"
Ataru's bioroid sister asked her bondmate.

Shinoko nodded before answering. "Yes...and this time, I don't think
Shinobu is going to win."

* * *

Shinobu slammed against the brick wall and fell hard to the pavement.
Groaning, she touched the scoured flesh of her right arm and her hand came
away glistening with blood. This latest battle had gone against her from the
start. She hurled the paralyzed Noa to the roof of one of the warehouses,
leveled her revolver at Kali and emptied it into her. It had not even slowed
her down. When the ghoul got within striking distance, she used the gun like
a club, slamming it against the white face so hard, the handle shattered.
Kali simply licked at the trickle of blood from her mouth and purred, "I like
it rough." Then she backhanded the younger girl, sending her tumbling down
the street. Shinobu recovered quickly and countered with a barrage of newly
learned kicks and punches. Each blow would have killed either Katana or
Scalphunter, but Kali was unfazed. She merely laughed and knocked the girl
away from her with a gesture of her wrist. Finally Shinobu was unable to get
up, even the effort to breath was an exercise in torture.

"Did you hurt yourself?" the husky, sensuous voice of her tormentor
intoned. "Let me kiss it and make it all better." Kali's eyes glowed and
Shinobu shuddered as all control over her body vanished. Without willing it,
she lurched over to the expectant fiend. Shinobu tried to pull away as her
future self caressed her face, her hands lighting burning fires within her.
"You've done such a good job, fighting off those others and keeping yourself
sweet and pure for me!" Kali pouted. "I kept watch. It was most amusing.
Even if they had reached you I would have plucked them from your mind with a
thought. After all, they were only mortal...and I am what I am."

Kali stopped talking as her hands slid up and down Shinobu's unresisting
body, lingering here, pausing there. It was not until she cupped one of her
younger self's petite breasts and pinched its nipple that the puzzled
expression in Shinobu's eyes turned to stunned realization and revulsion at
what Kali meant to do. The demon smiled, revelling in her emotional upheaval.
Her pale finger traced the outline of Shinobu's lips. "Don't worry, soon
you'll learn to love this. Soon you'll love being me." With that she forced
open Shinobu's mouth and thrust her tongue inside.

Shinobu's anger and will merged into a single white hot instrument at
that moment. Without being fully conscious, she reached into the energies she
had absorbed over her lifetime, and pulled them up to shatter the dominance
wielded by Kali. A blow from her right fist to the surprised and unprepared
demi-god's chin sent her staggering. A second against her sternum propelled
her across the street and against a wooden electric pole which snapped under
the force of the impact. The street that they were on ran parallel to one of
the canals that ran through that section of Nerima and the wires from the
shattered pole ran over it. They fell till they hung about ten feet above the
slow moving waters, their deadly cargo of electricity passing unimpeded.

Shinobu took two steps away from the crumpled body of her foe and
planned her strategy, which consisted of the single word "escape." The street
ended in a cul de sac and the reviving Kali was between her and the bridge
that led to the other side. With no other alternative available, Shinobu
ripped out a section of the protective chain link fence and leapt into the
dark water below to make her way to the other side.

* * *

Atako and Shinoko picked their way through the dark alley when a loud
crashing sound ahead of them caught their attention. Shinoko had pulled a
piece of iron piping away from a wall to use as an improvised club. The pair
edged forward to investigate. There, underneath a fire escape ladder they
discovered a still sluggish Noa struggling to her feet.

"What happened to you...and where's Shinobu?" Atako demanded as she
helped her bond-mate steady the Sagussan.

"Down that alley," Noa indicated with a nod. "I saw her fighting on the
street that it leads to."

"Who is she fighting now?" Atako asked as she recalled the three bodies
she and her bondmate had discovered earlier that evening.

Noa's short reply chilled her. "Damnation. Herself."

* * *

As her hands slid down the muck encrusted, concrete side of the canal
Shinobu began to sob uncontrollably. When she waded through the water, she
forgot the locals used canals as a easy means to dispose of large pieces of
junk. She had no idea what she had wedged her right foot in, but did know
that when she had yanked it free, she had twisted her ankle. The pain of her
injury stunned her and she had fallen in a faint. Plunging again into the
waters had revived her, but her strength had vanished and she could find no
way to climb out of the concrete trap that she had willingly entered.

Shinobu started limping down the canal, hoping to discover some means of
getting out, when the air pulsated with a sickening greenish glow. She slowly
turned to look behind her, knowing what she would see. Kali was coming,
floating inches above the water with her biofield coiling around her like a
bucket of venomous snakes. Shinobu was startled for a moment as she recalled
her confrontation with Katana, when her bio-charged blade came into contact
with the koi pond, its waters dispersed the biologically produced electricity
as it would a lightning bolt. Perhaps the same would hold true for Kali.

Shinobu searched the bottom of the canal with her foot, but could find
nothing to throw at the monster to knock her into the water. But as she
looked at the wires dangling above her, a different plan sprang to mind. If
she could reach those lines, the electricity they carried would not only
disrupt Kali's biofield, but might kill her. But there was a problem: all
Shinobu had left to use...was herself. She could destroy Kali, but at the
cost of her life. And Shinobu did not want to die. "Please, please forgive
me," she whispered, hoping her call would be carried somehow to her family and
friends. "Even if it means living on as that thing, I don't want to die!"

"Shinobu!!!"

At that cry both Shinobu and Kali looked at the pedestrian bridge
spanning the canal. Shinoko, Atako and Noa staring horrified at the unfolding
drama below them. The Sagussan pulled out her pistol and fired an ineffective
barrage at the glowing figure flying above the water.

Kali studied the figures above her, smiling. "Sweet sister and dear
friends. Don't go away, we'll be up to play with you in just a moment."

As she heard those words, Shinobu snapped. She knew none of her friends
or family would be safe from the perverted desires of that maniac. All those
she loved would become her prey if she let herself become Kali. And she loved
them more than she loved life, more than she loved herself. "NO!!!!" Shinobu
screamed as she felt the strength return to her limbs, powered by the concern
she held for her dearest ones. "You're not going to touch them. You'll never
touch them. You're coming with me...NOW!!!!"

Shinobu leaped,tearing the live electrical wires free as her trajectory
sent her crashing into the startled demon. The pair fell into the dark
waters, which charged with the conflicting energies, seethed and erupted!!

For the second time that evening, Nerima was plunged into darkness.

* * *

A great shudder went through the dimension of the Bureau of Destiny
Management. Its inhabitants were amazed to see that the chain of destinies,
which had grown to encompass every door, begin to disperse. The rabbit-
costumed beings cheered as if they had accomplished this miracle instead of
their every attempt having failed. Only one of them contemplated the true
significance of this event, and he raised his blond head to stare into the
infinite distances around him and a tear traced its way down his cheek.

"Shinobu..." Inaba whispered. He was uncertain what was going on, but
knew that something had just happened to the young girl who was still so dear
to him. He lowered his head into his paw shaped gloves and sobbed.

* * *

Shinoko fumbled with her purse, searching anxiously for her flashlight.
Like her sister, she knew the value in being prepared. She snapped the light
on and searched the slowly running water below the bridge. For long, long
moments the probing light disclosed nothing except the occasional floating
piece of trash. Then the three gasped as a blackened, unrecognizable corpse
drifted sluggish across the circle of light gleaming on the water's surface.

Shinoko moaned in alarm, sagging against Atako, nearly dropping the
flashlight. Noa took the light from the shaken girl's hand and searched
again. She did not want it to end like this for Shinobu. A splashing noise
reached her ears and she directed the light there. There she saw a slight
figure dressed in torn and ragged clothing rising from the water. "What's
going on here?!! What's happening to me?!!" Shinobu screamed. "I don't know
how to fight with a sword...and tonight I killed a sword master in a duel.
I've never fired a gun in my life...yet I know how to use one. Why didn't the
electricity kill me like it did Kali? What's happening here...?"

Shinobu broke off her cries as she noticed something moving on her hand.
Something was flowing across the skin to form a metallic layer there. Then
she realized, what ever it was...it was coming out of her.

Noa jumped as she saw thin streams of liquid metal flowing across the
water's surface toward the figure of Shinobu. There they met and moved up and
over the unresisting girl's body, molding themselves to her form. Shinobu's
eyes met her own and they locked. "NOA, PLEASE, DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN...!!!!"
she screamed before the metal covered her face and cut off her cries.

Remembering her earlier, reluctant promise, Noa aimed her pistol at the
changing form. But the tears filling her eyes clouded her sight and the first
shot went wide. Before she could fire again, Atako grabbed her arm, knocked
her pistol loose. "WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!?!?!"

"What she asked me to do!!!" Noa answered back.

The argument stopped as they heard Shinoko's shocked moan. A strange,
fantastic form rose from the canal and flew off into the distance until it
disappeared. Noa collapsed against the bridge's railing. She had failed, she
had failed to protect Shinobu, to release her from her awful fate.

A growing noise in the distance cut through Noa's despair as a series of
hovercycles appeared. It was Sylia and Pathfinder Troop Six. Too late.

* * *

Shinobu gasped as she got to her feet and realized where she was. The
metallic figure reshaping itself before her had brought her to Tokyo Tower,
then discharged her from itself. They were at the very top, standing on a
small service platform used to maintain the electronic transmitters. Shinobu
looked around, noting that the path to the staircase was unimpeded, but the
figure before her seemed unthreatening. Perhaps it had succeeded in its
mission and set her along the path of becoming whatever it was.

"Do not be afraid," a gentle voice said to her. "We mean you no harm.
Unlike the others, we have no desire for you to become us."

Once again the voice was hers, but the attitude was totally different.
For all that she was a mechanical being, this future self was elementally
human. "How should I address you?"

"Mecha would be the most appropriate way. We ceased to be Shinobu
Miyaki over a billion years ago...as we measure our time."

"Why are you here?"

"To ensure we never come into existence. In our timeline, Shinobu was
infected with a type of nanite. In the course of time, an accident occurred
and these were fused with her DNA. To prevent this, we stimulated your immune
system to recognize and reject nanites as an intrusion. When we learned of
our counterparts' intentions, we infused two of them with additional nanites.
These transmitted their mechanical skills with sword and gun to you so that
you could employ these devices in your defense. We were unable to do the same
with Kali, but the nanites already present in your system absorbed the
electrical discharge released in your attack upon her and saved your life."

"Why did you want to prevent yourself from being created?" Shinobu
asked, growing confused at the direction this conversation was taking.

"In our timeline, Shinobu withdrew from emotional contact. She had been
hurt repeatedly by her failures to find true love. The only relationship she
allowed herself...was with her beloved adopted daughter." Mecha thought
momentarily about Junba Miyaki. "Her child wanted her more involved with life
and as the first step in her campaign she convinced her to visit the Avalonian
bioroid factory and allow them to repair the damage done on Phentax Twelve."

Shinobu gasped, she had been rubbing her throbbing left arm with her
right hand during Mecha's explanation. She quickly stopped. "When she was
placed in the bio-tube for repair, no one knew about the nanites in her body.
The computer was instructed to restore a single being to perfect health. To
the best of its abilities, it complied. It merged the nanites to her DNA.
Each cell in our body became an independent, thinking machine. We are a
symbiotic that uses the term 'Mecha' to describe us as a unit." Mecha paused
again and Shinobu sensed that the machine being was recalling a particularly
painful memory. "When we emerged from the bio-tube, our form was...unstable.
Our daughter, alarmed by our shrieks during the transformation, had already
entered the room. When she saw what we had become, she fainted. We now know
that it was due to the shock of seeing us transformed, but at the time we
interpreted it as the final rejection of us by a loved one. We fled the
factory, the Earth and the universe itself. For a billion years we have been
running from the sound of that scream...and we are tired."

Shinobu heard a tapping sound from behind her and turned to see a
relieved Noa crouched behind a satellite dish, waving her to one side as she
aimed her pistol at Mecha. Shinobu shook her head and motioned to Noa.
Confused, the Sagussan lowered her weapon. "Why have you lived so long?"
Shinobu turned back to Mecha.

"Because while our body retained the knowledge of self-repair inherent
in biological life forms, it lost the secret of death. Now that has changed.
>From your untainted genes, we have reclaimed our lost heritage. As we speak,
each individual that comprises the whole recreates the promise of release
within us. When we return to our time and place we shall liberate ourselves
from the prison of our existence and join those that we loved in that which
awaits us all. But before we depart, we leave you with a warning."

"A warning," Shinobu tensed. "A warning of what?"

"Of the perils destiny still holds. You have defeated Kali, Scalphunter
and Katana, but the potential for them still exists."

"What are you talking about?" her ire rose. "They were aberrations, the
results of others trying to take control of my life for their own purposes."

"No, those individuals only acted upon traits already present in you.
If they were not present, their efforts would have failed." Shinobu backed
away at the dreadful implication of those words. That the evil that she had
beaten that night was not something from out of the night, but born from the
dark places within herself. It could not be true, it must not be true.

"Please, Shinobu, listen to us. While the truth is painful, to deny
that will only bring destruction. Katana was the ultimate expression of your
need to control the world around you. Kali, your desire to be loved...even if
it means forcing others to love you. Scalphunter was your rage personified;
that side of you that wishes to live apart from the pains of life, to be
untouched by the sorrows that fill your days." Mecha reached out to the
weeping girl kneeling in front of her, the light of the coming dawn glowing
bright upon her golden surface. "But there is a way to avoid these fates, to
save yourself and those you love from the destruction that awaits you all."

"How?" Shinobu gazed at her. "What do I have to do?"

"Reconcile yourself with life, with those you love. Great things await
you all. But to do so, you must reunite with the one who is most important to
you. With Ataru."

"Ataru? Impossible! He doesn't want me!" Shinobu whispered, the memory
of each brutal rejection from Ataru tearing at her heart.

"No. In time both of you will come to know your true consequence to
each other. How neither will be able to achieve their true destinies without
each other's help. But if you are to secure your place within his life you
must take the first step. You must return to Tomobiki."

"Tomobiki? But Ataru hates Tomobiki, he'll never go there again."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. The decision must be his, without any outside
influence...or else this vicious cycle will begin anew. Still, ask yourself
this: does it matter where one lives...as long as one can love? Now return
home...and must we." With that, Mecha walked away from the startled girl to
the guard rail. The symbiotic being spread her arms as she faced the rising
sun, embracing the new day. Shinobu started after her, then stopped as she
saw how the light affected the humanoid. Microscopic pieces of Mecha were
carried away on the early morning rays creating a fine golden mist in the air.

As her body faded from existence, Mecha's multiple minds began to merge
into a single unit. Whole again for the first time in over a billion years
she looked unblinking into the sun, and saw beyond it an even greater source
of light, the supreme source of creation, the *te'a.*

"Our beloveds," she cried out as she disappeared from Shinobu's time and
place...and from life itself. "We...I come to you at last."

Shinobu watched as the last faint wisps of what had been Mecha lingered
in the morning air, before being dispersed forever by a gentle breeze. She
hobbled over to the rail where Mecha had vanished, leaned against it and
watched the city below her come to life with the new day...

* * *

"...so when Shinobu told me that she wanted to return to Tomobiki, you
could have knocked me over with a feather," Noa told the two girls standing
with her in the antique clothes store. Akane and Hitomi had accompanied
Shinobu, her sisters and Noa there for an afternoon of shopping. "Then she
explained she wanted to give Dr. Tofu two weeks notice before she returned to
Tomobiki to start cram school."

"And you didn't hear a word that mechanical future self said to her?"
Hitomi asked. She and her parents had returned to their house late that night
to discover their cousin missing. Of the battle that had been waged in front
of the house, not a trace remained. All of the bodies and their equipment had
vanished. Powerful forces were working in Japan that dreadful night. Forces
that wanted to conceal their existence as long as they could.

"No. Nene thinks that Mecha was generating some sort of 'white noise'
that prevented us from hearing their conversation. Whatever was said between
them is going to stay between them forever." Noa looked at the dressing room
where Shinobu and her sisters stood. Shinoko and Nintaiko were buying Shinobu
a new outfit to celebrate her safe return to Tomobiki and had taken them all
to this unique store which specialized in Victorian and Edwardian ladies'
wear. Both girls firmly believed that Shinobu's fragile appearing beauty
would be best accented by more formal styles of dress.

Shinobu and Nintaiko were getting along better. The restraint the
Terran held towards her Nendo-kata twin had eased. Perhaps Shinobu had a
greater appreciation for the passage of time than she had before. She was
definitely calmer, less inclined to go off the handle.

Noa gasped in appreciation as the curtains to the dressing room slid
open and Shinobu walked out followed closely behind by her sisters. She was
wearing a dark, full skirt that reached her ankles with an ivory white top
with a high neck and long flowing sleeves. On somebody like Lum the dress
would have seemed too fussy. On the slimmer Shinobu it was perfect.

Shinobu blushed as the assembled girls complimented her on her new look.
She protested their lavish praise and was told to go to the only three way
mirror in the shop to see for herself. It was a free standing mirror and
obviously an antique itself. Its frame was of hand carved oak and the mirrors
were made with old fashioned rolled glass.

Noa watched the girl walk to the mirror and smiled to herself. Despite
what she had learned from Scalphunter on that nightmare night, she understood
why Sylia and Priss advocated Shinobu's formal invitation to join them on
Sagussa. The girl would definitely be an asset to them and their people.

A moan from Shinobu caught her assembled friends' attention and they
turned to find the suddenly pale girl swaying and looking as if she was about
to collapse in front of the mirror. Noa reached her first and managed to
steady her as Akane rushed to the other side. The Sagussan could not
understand what had affected the girl so. She was incredibly pale, almost
white and she could barely seem to breath. Her wide eyes were locked on the
looking glass and when Noa turned to look at the three way mirror, she
instantly understood what had terrified Shinobu so.

The mirror was very old and time and use had warped its reflective
surfaces. While the initial images where sharp and true, the repeated images
behind them that three way mirrors always create when they reflect off of each
other grew progressively warped as they went along. For someone with the
experience of Shinobu Miyaki it was like looking at a series of potential
destinies stretching before her. Each of them more twisted than the last.

A legion of futures imperfect.

*** The End ***