NOTE: This fanfic, aside from drawing on various anime sources, is loosely
(very loosely) based on the Japanese Movie 'Swallowtail' which featured the
J-pop star Chara. Therefore, credit is due to Swallowtail productions, and
I don't claim any rights to the concept, name, or characters. 

Also, this is not your average TimeRunner fanfic. Be prepared to find
elements in this story which are not generally associated with my writing.
This is not a very happy fic, but neither is it a dark fic, either. Anyway,
you'll see what I mean. 

Proper mood music for this series would be anything from Key, The Metal
Idol, especially the opening track, [In The Night], and most especially the
ending theme, [I Am Beside You].

Creative input, especially regarding mood and style, is most certainly
welcome.

On with the show.

=====

Five years ago....

	He stumbled backwards and fell, palms scraping on the asphalt as he tried
to stop his fall. The taste of rust was on his tongue, and he licked his
cut lip.
	He looked up at the boy who knocked him down with a mixture of rage and
frustration that made tears well up in his eyes.
	The ends of his bandanna fluttering in the wind, the boy looked down at
him. "Had enough, wimp?"	The boy chuckled as he was answered by a choking
sob. "Don't you ever, EVER, touch me again, wuss, or you'll regret it."
	"C'mon, Tetsuo," the brown-haired boy said to the one in the bandanna,
"Kintaro just patted you on the back."
	"Mitsuru," Tetsuo said, "stay out of this. He put his filthy hands on my
leather jacket. No one touches Shima Tetsuo and gets away with it. Unless,"
he said as he walked over to the girl with the boyish haircut, "it's a
piece like you. When I find that yen, I could give you everything you could
possibly want. If you be my woman," he whispered.
	"Like hell," Nabiki said without looking at him.
	Tetsuo chuckled. "Oh, you'll change your opinion of me when I'm done with
you. Just you wait."
	Bastard! thought Kintaro. One of these days, I'll beat the living shit out
of you, and I'll make you wish you had never been born!
	"Tetsuo, back off," Mitsuru said. "Now."
	"Hey, whatever, man," Tetsuo said, raising his hands as if in surrender.
"she's yours. Just... leave some for me when you're through, okay?"
	"THAT'S IT, YOU'RE FINISHED!"  Kintaro screamed, rushing Tetsuo, knocking
him to the ground. He pounded Tetsuo's face, over and over and over, his
knuckles cut by Tetsuo's teeth.
	"That's right," chuckled Tetsuo through bloodied lips, "hit me! Hit me
harder! Throttle the life out of me! I know you want to! Fight for the
honor of the lady, boy scout!"
	"Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP! You worthless piece of shit!" Kintaro
screamed as he punched Tetsuo, again and again, until he swore his fists
jarred from hitting bone.
	"Stop."
	Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice. Even Tetsuo turned, as
if forced to by some implied authority in the speaker's voice, or tone, or
diction...
	"This is pointless," Tezuka Shinobu said. No expression could be read from
his voice, not even anger or annoyance, not in his voice, not in his face,
not even in his eyes. He simply stared at Kintaro, and all of a sudden,
Kintaro felt incredible shame wash over him.
	"You've lost control, Kintaro," Shinobu said, tone level. "You've lost."
	Kintaro stood up and bowed his head. "I know. But Tetsuo..."
	"I know what he did," Shinobu interrupted. "His goading wasn't meant for
you, Kintaro."
	Kintaro saw Mitsuru's shake his head. Nabiki simply stared at Shinobu in
wonder and awe, feelings Kintaro had himself, as he watched this
thirteen-year old who had complete mastery of his own.
	Shinobu walked over to Tetsuo and extended his left hand, which Tetsuo
took, all the while chuckling. "Nice leash you have on these dogs, Shinobu.
I don't know how you do it. I..."
	Shinobu pointed a gun on Tetsuo with the right hand.

	Kintaro had never seen fear in Tetsuo's eyes before. 

	Shinobu just stood there, gun barrel on Tetsuo's forehead. He didn't say
anything, didn't do anything else, he simply held the gun steady as he
stared Tetsuo in the eye.
	No one spoke. No one moved. No one even dared breathe. Not even Tetsuo.
	A drop of sweat traveled down the underside of the gun barrel, under the
trigger guard, and fell off the tip of the handle.
	Shinobu cocked back the hammer with his thumb. "Leave," he said.
	Tetsuo swallowed hard. "What?" he managed to blurt out.
	"I said leave."



Theme: In The Night - Key The Metal Idol Opening
			
	[Kintaro walks the city streets at night]

Wish I could believe
That you care for me that way
Mirror, mirror speak to me 
In the night
 
	[Kintaro passes Mitsuru, camera changes focus to Mitsuru]

Don't you think I know
This grief can't be cried away
In the tears I cry I see
Rainy day

	[Mitsuru under a lamp post]

Why can't I love you so sleep would come to me

	[Mitsuru close-up looking up at building]

With the eyes closed the mind has a perfect view

	[Zoom up to Nabiki on top of building, arms outstretched, eyes closed]	


It's

	[Nabiki]

Just

	[Mitsuru]

We

	[Kintaro]

Do

	[Tetsuo]

Lost in your arms I float away

	[Yen bill carried by the wind away from Nabiki]

Don't you know

	[Yen passes by Kintaro who chases it]

Once daylight comes I'm searching for you

	[Shinobu watches, shrugs, then walks away]

Y E N   T O W N

A TimeRunner Limited Fanfic Series

All trademarks contained within are property of their respective owners,
used herein without consent for non-profit purposes.

*****
Chapter Two

The Present

	Kintaro sat by the window, waiting for sunrise. He took one long draw from
his cigarette and exhaled it through his mouth and nose, and closed his eyes.
	"Himawari," he said out loud, to no one in particular.

	He opened his eyes, stood up, and walked over to the battered old piano on
side of the room. He sat on the piano stool and idly played the C scale up
and down with his right hand. 

	C D E F G A B C'. C' B A G F E D C. 

	He heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he said, not stopping.
	The door opened.	 "Um... Oe-san?"
	"What is it? What are you doing here so early?" he snapped. C D E F G A B C'.
	"Shima-san sent me to you, to learn." answered the man, nervously.
	Kintaro did not turn to look. "To learn," he repeated. C' B A G F E D C.
	He took another long draw from his cigarette, and sighed. "To learn." A- B
C D E F G.

	=====

	Five years ago

	Kintaro let Shinobu pull him by the collar. "What did you gain from that,
Kintaro?" Shinobu said, in a tone that might have suggested he was asking
what Kintaro had for lunch.
	Kintaro did not answer. Kintaro never answered when he felt nothing he
said or did would come out right.
	"Nothing." Shinobu finished, matter-of-factly. "You gained nothing."
	"Shinobu," Mitsuru started, but his sentence, whatever it was, would
remain unfinished.
	"You gain nothing by taking an eye for an eye," Shinobu said.
	"I know," Kintaro said, ashamed to even look Shinobu in the face.
	"No." Shinobu said, letting him go. "No, you don't know."
	"Then what should I do? Tell me!" demanded Kintaro. "Do I simply let him
walk away, unscathed, all the while letting him do whatever he wants?"
	"No." Shinobu started to walk away. "Not at all."
	"Then what?!"
	"Then," Shinobu said, still walking away, "you stop him, but with a more
concrete goal than to get even for what he's done."
	Kintaro was dubious. "Like what? What purpose could be better than
punishing him for the wrong he's done?"
	"Destroying him completely."
	As Kintaro watched, amazed, as Shinobu walked away, he heard him say,
"Learn, Kintaro."



	=====

	The present

	"To learn," Kintaro repeated. He turned to face the newcomer. "To learn
what?"
	"To learn the ropes, I suppose, sempai," he answered.
	"The ropes," Kintaro repeated, amusedly lighting himself another
cigarette. "What is your name?" he asked.
	"Hasukawa Kazuya, sempai," the younger man replied.
	"Do you even know what the ropes are? No? Well, I'll teach you what I've
learned," Kintaro said, standing up and pacing around Kazuya, "but if you
learn more than Tetsuo wants you to, you answer to me. Tetsuo is not your
boss anymore. I am. Do you understand?"
	"I understand completely, sempai."


	Nabiki awoke.
	The room was filled with the orange glow of sunrise. She was alone in the
futon, and she sighed. She drew up the sheets to hide her nakedness as if
it mattered, the way someone alone unconsciously did. She stood up to get
dressed, turned around, and stopped.
	Mitsuru sat there, holding the box in front of himself, crying.


	"What is in that notebook, sempai?"
	Kintaro's attention turned to the notebook tucked in his back pocket.
"This notebook," he said, "contains everything I have learned ever since I
started carrying it five years ago."
	"Everything? Surely you mean everything important you've learned, sempai."
	"No. Everything." Kintaro opened the notebook.
	Pages and pages of blessed information. Everything he had learned since
was here, everything from science to bus schedules to contact numbers to
old sayings was here. And every page had one word as its heading.
	Learn.

	"A wise man taught me that the most important lesson I would ever learn,"
Kintaro said, still looking at the battered leather-covered notebook, "was
that what I learned was never as important as learning itself."
	"What about wealth? What about fame? What about power? Aren't those
important?" Kazuya asked, dubious.
	"Wealth?! Fame?! Power?! Is that what you want?!" snapped Kintaro. "Do you
see that chest over there, Hasukawa?"
	"Y... yes, sempai."
	"If you want those things you mentioned, then take a million or two from
it and run for office. And get out of my sight." Kintaro waved him off.
	Kazuya started for the chest, but stopped himself. "No... No, I would
rather not, sempai."
	"And why the hell not?" Kintaro said irritably. "You've already learned
what's 'important' from me, so get out of here. And stop calling me sempai.
I stopped being your sempai when you stopped learning."
	"No, sempai, I want to learn." Kazuya said weakly.
	"Learn? Learn what?" Kintaro said, barely containing the annoyance in his
voice. "Fine. Let me tell you what Tetsuo sent you here to learn. I deal
drugs. I don't take them. That's number one. You do not test your own
merchandise.
	"Number two," he continued, "I deal in guns, but I do not go around
randomly shooting people. You do not kill off your customers, not even when
they can't pay. Otherwise, how do you make a profit?"
	Kintaro felt like lying down and burying his head in his pillows, but he
continued. "Number three. War is not genocide. You do not win by default if
there is no one left to compete against. You only win when you completely
and utterly defeat your enemy. Which is why there is a small rival gang
presence in this city," Kintaro said, taking another long drag on his
cigarette. "More people join us if we're winning, and we cannot win if we
have no opponent." He exhaled. "That's it. Now go."
	Kazuya walked towards the doorway to leave. He stopped inside the door
frame and said out loud, without looking, "Sempai?"
	"What is it? What more do you want?" Kintaro said as he climbed into bed.
	"Teach me something Shima-san does not want me to know." Kazuya said,
quietly.
	"Do you realize what you are asking me to do?" Kintaro said, sitting up
and staring at Kazuya in surprise.
	"Yes," Kazuya said, rolling down his sleeve, revealing long, horrible
gashes down his arm. "I am asking you to free me."


	

	The city reflected the morning sun's light, its cold streets untouched by
the sun's warmth. The faceless crowds began to walk the streets, one single
mass of humanity running the city that ran it. Some entered the buildings,
some drove around the streets, some peddled their wares by the sidewalk.
	So many people, and not a living soul among them.


	Kintaro bandaged Kazuya's wounds, on his arms and legs and on his back.
"I'm sorry, Hasukawa, I did not know," he apologized.
	"No, no, there was no way for you to know, sempai," Kazuya reassured him.
"I just want to be free of him, and I figured that this was the way." He
stared into the cup of tea Kintaro had prepared for him. "Then again, I
used to be beat up by him a lot before I joined him, and I thought that
joining him would be the only way out. Boy, was I wrong," he said, picking
up the cup and warming his hands on it.
	"Don't worry," Kintaro said, "I'm his right-hand man. As far as he's
concerned, you're still on his side, and that I'll deal with you."
	"I really appreciate this, sempai," Kazuya said.
	"You're welcome," Kintaro said, smiling. "But in order for me to keep my
end of the bargain, you must listen to what I have to say."
	"I'm listening, sempai," Kazuya said.
	"Everyone knows that the most powerful Yen Town in all of Yen Town is
Shima Tetsuo, right? Everyone knows he has his fingers in so many pies,
from drugs to guns to prostitution to local politics. Everyone is glad to
have him and his almighty yen on their side, blinded by the promise of
unlimited wealth as reward," Kintaro said.
	"Yes," Kazuya said. "I got this way because I learned the location of a
yen bill, and I had not bothered to follow the ones who had it."
	"A yen bill? A REAL yen bill?" asked Kintaro.
	"Yes, sempai," Kazuya replied. "You seem surprised about it.."
	"Well, you see," Kintaro explained, "I have never seen one."
	"Never?" Kazuya said in disbelief. "Me never seeing one I could
understand, but you're the right-hand man of the head Yen Town Shima
Tetsuo! Surely you've seen him handle one."
	"No, I haven't, and with good reason," Kintaro said, holding up a finger.
"What not everyone knows, and what Tetsuo would kill you over if you knew,
is that Shima Tetsuo, the most powerful Yen Town in all of Yen Town, does
not have a single yen to his name."
	
	Mitsuru stared at the cursed thing in his hands. It felt like he carried
the weight of the city in that one box. He could not let go of it, and he
felt his arms tiring, and he knew that if the box fell straight into hell
itself he would let it drag him down with it.
	"Mitsuru," he heard Nabiki say as she put his hand on his shoulder,
"what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He realized that his cheeks were wet
with his own tears.
	"The dream," he whispered.
	"What?" asked Nabiki, not comprehending.
	"The dream..." Mitsuru repeated. "Here it is. I hold the dream in my hands."
	"Yes, you do," Nabiki said. "With that, and with the yen my father left
me, we can do anything we want."
	"No, you don't understand!" cried Mitsuru. "All my life I have wanted
this, dreamed of this, spent sleepless nights thinking of this. And now
that I have it... I have nothing left!"
	"No you don't!" Nabiki exclaimed.
	"Don't you understand?!" Mitsuru sobbed. "The dream is over!"

	Nabiki looked at Mitsuru for a moment. Then she sat down beside him and
embraced him.
	"You have me," she said, and all of a sudden, Mitsuru felt more ashamed
than he had ever felt in his entire life.
	He put his arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry," he said.
	"Don't be," Nabiki answered. "Don't be."

	As he shut his eyes, shut his eyes to the box, shut his eyes to the city,
and lost himself in Nabiki's arms, in Nabiki's scent, Mitsuru heard her say
something that made him fall in love with her all over again, something
that reminded him of how much he admired her, even as he swore never to let
her down again.
	"Dream another dream, Mitsuru. Dream another dream."



	To be continued...


	TimeRunner, January 9, 1997

=====
TimeRunner's Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482
=====

"The story grew in the most convoluted way, as many people will be
surprised to learn. Writing episodically meant that when I finished one
episode I had no idea about what the next one would contain. When, in the
twists and turns of the plot, some event suddenly seemed to illuminate
things that had gone before, I was as surprised as anyone else."

--- Douglas Adams, "A Guide to the Guide"