I See His Eyes: By Monica Shin

Epilogue: OMAKE ^_^

-----
NAMBU
-----

	"Doctor! Doctor! Please come in!" I nearly curse as the communicator in my
room squawks urgently. Looking up blearily, I pound on it without giving it
another thought; if it's Ryu giving the call, after all, something really
must be wrong -- there's no time to wash up or take off my bedclothes. 

	"Yes, Ryu? What is it?" Ryu looks frazzled and a little upset. Still,
underneath it there seems to be a gleam of... amusement? I'm almost
dreading what he's going to answer, because the last time I'd seen him like
this, it had involved Jinpei, a mile of toilet paper, and some angry police
officers.

	"Um... well... Doctor, you should know that G-1 and G-2 aren't going to be
present on the plane when we do our parade thing tomorrow." The parade
thing... another wonderful PR scheme that ISO's come up with. Since no one
knows much about the Science Ninja Team, we're supposed to make them a bit
more accessible (without giving anything real away) by having the God
Phoenix is supposed to swoop around a few major cities, and give the
citizens a bit of a thrill. 

	It's _also_ supposed to make them forget that half the world has been
ravaged by giant mechs, which ISO and the United Nations haven't quite been
able to counter fully -- somehow, I'm a little doubtful at the
effectiveness of this plan. Still, it is rather vital that the leader and
the gunner is on the plane, since they're going to be doing some sort of
swooping superhero movements designed to show off all of the Team's
fantastic abilities.

	"Why not?" I say this as gently as I can, because I know that there must
be some kind of reason why Ryu looks this nervous.

	"Well, Doctor... I think you should come down and see this. Trust me.
You'll want to... Oh, and there's also the fact that both Ken and Joe can't
really come talk to you at the moment. Um." I feel my eyebrows raise at
Ryu's last tentative statement, before nodding. 

	"All right, Ryu, I'll be right there. Where exactly are you?"

	"At Snack J's." Ryu glances over next to him, and I can just make out
Jinpei's voice, which seems to be some distance away. 

	"Sis, wait! I mean, uh... put that down! Hey, not at me -- okay, fine,
I'll help you... Just don't make me-"

	"Doctor, hurry!" With that, Ryu turns off his bracelet, leaving me in bed
with a lot of questions and more than a few suspicions.

	I take off my glasses for a moment to pinch the bridge of my nose. It
always calms me down -- a childish habit. "Well, I did think Jun took the
news a little too well -- I must say that she had admirable self-restraint
in waiting until we had this lull in Galactor activity, although I wish she
hadn't done it at quite this exact time." 

	I put my glasses back on, and then move to get out of bed when a pair of
arms pull me back in. "Where are you going?" 

	Glancing down at Michael, I sigh. "My wonderful teenaged bunch is doing
some sort of mayhem to each other. I've got to go."

	He grins up at me and shakes his head. "No, you don't. Ken deserves a
little punishment for not having the courage to tell Jun about his
preferences when he knew that she was falling in love with him. He and Joe
can take care of themselves -- you know they won't be _that_ damaged." 

	"Still..."

	"No. I'm not letting you back up -- after all, I'm a little vindictive
myself. Ken didn't even bother to call me afterwards -- the poor boy must
have forgotten, but still! He should just be glad that I'm not the
vengeful, murdering type."

	I smile back and let him pull me deeper into the covers. "So you sleep
with his boss instead?"

	"You bet, doc. Why don't you tell Ryu that you'll see them at Cresent
Coral in the morning?"

---
RYU
---

	"I'm sorry, Ryu. This is something the team should be able to handle on
their own. I'll see you tomorrow, 0700 sharp."

	"But, doctor-" He cuts me off and leaves me shouting to a band of metal --
I suppose I should be glad I'm inside, because if I were at home, there
would be some serious questions about my sanity. Of course, if I was home,
snug and cozy in my bed, I wouldn't need to be yelling, would I?

	I'm puzzled by Dr. Nambu's sudden change in attitude -- I thought he was
gonna come over and straighten everything out, but I guess not. Well, it's
not like anyone's going to be killed or anything, so I suppose we can
manage it on our own. Maybe. I hope. 

	As I turn back to the surreal scene, my mind is playing with the odd gleam
I'd seen in Dr. Nambu's eyes. Very strange -- but then again, this whole
experience is just weird...

	"Uh... Ryu?" My head turns toward the owner of the somewhat hesitant,
panicked voice. "Could you possibly get us down?"

	I shake my head, looking around carefully. Jun isn't back, and neither is
Jinpei, but... "Sorry, Ken. You and Joe have to work this out with Jun, you
know? I'm not going to get involved unless she goes for a gun -- I don't
want her to come after me."

	He gives me an exasperated look, while Joe looks like he wants to go for
his shuriken, if he weren't -- well, tied up. They're more than just tied
up... after all, we _are_ ninjas; simple knots aren't enough to hold us.
They're more correctly strung up: hanging from the ceiling, so covered in
tough nylon rope that the only things visible are their faces and their
feet. I would laugh, if this had been done by anyone else besides Jun. For
all any of us know, she could have snapped -- I thought she took the news
about Ken and Joe just a little too well...

	Joe glares at me, almost incoherent in his fury. "You damned coward --
when I get down-"

	I shrug. "If you're in any condition to fight after Jun gets through with
you, we'll see about that fight -- but Joe, you should really be thinking
about her, not me. I'm just here to make sure she doesn't kill you; she
could you know, really easily." I'm not about to do anything to make Jun
angry -- that would definitely be a bad way to start...

	Joe exchanges a look with Ken, who seems to sigh in agreement. "She is one
of the team, after all..." At that, Joe closes his eyes, only to open them
again as Jun enters the room. She's in Birdstyle, but a wicked grin is all
to evidently on her face. Jinpei is right behind her, amusement and a bit
of fear warring in his expression. He's carrying a pile of vid-discs and a
vid-recorder -- I don't _even_ want to know what Jun has planned. 

	"Hi, boys. Feeling good up there?" Jun's voice is sharp, but laughter is
also evident just beneath the surface. All in all, I start to relax; Jun
doesn't seem to be in the mood for real damage, just humiliation.
Considering some of what Ken and Joe have put her through... well, what can
I say? I'm smart enough to know when to _not_ be noticeable. Besides, a
part of me wouldn't mind seeing them a bit uncomfortable... 

	"Uh... hi, Jun. We're... uh..." Ken's voice trails off as his eyes dart
back and forth between Jinpei and Jun. 

	"Oh, yeah -- we're just fine; that is, unless you consider being tied up
and hung on the ceiling to be 'fine'." Joe is, as always, the model of
diplomacy; I suppress the urge to wince. Instead, I start trying to think
of an excuse to get _out_ of here as fast as possible... I don't think
Jun's gonna hurt them -- well, permanently, anyway -- and I would rather
not be here for whatever...

	"Well, don't worry about it, Joe. I'll let you down... you have to be
sitting to watch what I'm going to show you, anyway. I just won't untie
you, that's all." Jun smiles at the two, her tone all sweetness and light.
Somehow, that makes me even more nervous... maybe I should reconsider...

---
KEN
---

	I'm not going to panic. Definitely not... after all, this is Jun we're
talking about here. She's the level-headed, scientifically minded one of
the Team. She's not going to go insane on us and start some sort of exotic
torture that'll leave us with the minds of a carrot or-

	"Ouch." I ignore the less genteel words that Joe yells out when we're both
dropped abruptly to the ground by Jun's expertly-thrown knife cutting
through the rope that had kept us hanging from the ceiling. "So you're
letting us go, Jun?" I think that the slightly desperate quality in my
voice is understandable, considering...

	"I'm afraid not, Ken. You and Joe are just going to be watching a few old
vids, that's all. After that, I'd really, really appreciate it if you act
out a few scenes from the show -- just so I can record it. How's that?"
Jun's eyes are a little bit _too_ intense as she gets closer and closer to
my currently immobile face. 

	I gulp, and I feel Joe tense as well. Finally, he answers for the both of
us. "Uh... sure, Jun. Why not?" I know he's thinking the same thing I am --
how bad could it be? Really... how bad... gods, I really, really hope I
don't regret thinking that. 

	"Great! Jinpei, why don't you just slip that disc into the viewer -- oh,
and Ryu!" Ryu startles at Jun's cheerful calling of his name and manages a
half-hearted smile. "Why don't you put our duo here into a few chairs?
They're going to be here a while... oh, and here are a few more ropes. I
wouldn't want them trying to run off -- that would definitely ruin the fun!" 

	Ryu gives me an apologetic look as he picks me up. As he is tying me to
the chair, he whispers, "Sorry, Ken. You know that I wouldn't, but... well,
Jun's just a little too cheery right now. I'd rather not cross her when
she's smiling that much. Besides, it would be a bad idea for me to
interfere, considering..." 

	I sigh. "Don't worry about it, Ryu. I know exactly what you mean." He
nods, and then goes to tie up Joe into the chair next to me. "Joe, you okay?"

	"Yeah, just _fine_. Now, who was the genius who told me that Jun was
dealing with this real well?" I try to shrug, only to discover that it's
really hard to do when you're pretty much wrapped in rope. 

	"Well, don't worry about it. I mean, what could she possibly be showing us
that-"

	Just then, I start to hear the music, then the words. Oh, no. Not this.
Anything but-

	"Not Sailor Moon! Jun, you evil, evil woman-" Joe's agonized voice echoes
the silent agony that has been ripping through my mind as well. I look up
at her, giving my teammate the best 'sad-puppy' eyes I can manage, only to
have her laugh at both of us.

	"Don't worry about it too much, boys. Just decide who gets to be Sailor
Moon and who gets to be Tuxedo Kamen..." Jun smirks, holding up a
ridiculously frilly white gown, and a black top hat. At the looks on both
our faces, she giggles and then follows Jinpei and Ryu out of the room,
leaving us to our fate.

	As I try to block out the voices and the god-awful speeches that the
yellow-haired girl makes -- I mean, 'in the name of the moon' -- what is
that all about? If I ever had to make such ridiculous openings, I would try
to think of something a bit more... I don't know. But still-

	"Um... Ken?" I turn my head toward Joe, who looks back at me with a
half-serious, half-pleading expression on his face. "You know, you probably
look so bad in that-"

---
JOE
---

	"No! NO! Are you insane? Do you _hear_ the drivel that she's spouting?
Besides, what do you think I am? Why don't you-" I tune out the rest of
Ken's tirade, having learned that it's generally a good idea to let him
finish for himself. I decide to be tactful, and not mention that some of
Ken's speeches have a eeriely similar quality to Sailor Moon's... 

	Instead, I try to ignore both Ken and the show, and only succeed in
blocking out the former -- I have more practice in that, I guess. As I
watch the utterly inane show unfold, with all sorts of dramatic speeches
about the power of love, I have to suppress the urge to gag. Anything but
this...

	Next to me, I can see Ken have just about the same reaction. For all of
his 'I wanna be a hero' shtick, Ken can be a real pragmatist; this
trivialization of true conflict must be getting to him, too. I mean, who
hasn't wished for a magic wand or spell that will bring the dead back, or
make the enemy go away and leave everything the way it was? Too bad that in
real life, stuff like that doesn't happen -- shit does. 

	After a few hours of various clips from its 200 episode run, Jun comes
back with a bright smile on her face. "Did you guys enjoy that?" At hearing
our now-weakened groans, her smile becomes a bit malicious, if still
teasing. "I'm glad you did... now," Jun held up the costume for us to view
and finished, "Who is it going to be as the lovely Moon Princess?"

	I know that if I don't say something quick, Ken will... I whisper to him,
"Sorry, lover, but I'm not about to wear _that_." At his outraged
expression, I give him a smile and then turn my head to Jun. "Jun, don't
you think that it would be fitting that Ken be Sailor Moon? I mean, he _is_
G-1 and all of that -- he should really get to play the hero." I smile
sweetly at her the best I can -- I'm not sure if it really comes out all
that well, but she should see what I mean...

	Jun grins at me, and then gives Ken an appraising look. "Well, he probably
would look better as Sailor Moon than you would, Joe... all right, then.
Ken, I'm going to untie you now, and you're going to stand up and go to the
bathroom with this. Okay? Or else..." Jun's expression gets downright
dangerous as her 'yo-yo of death' comes out. Hell, I know that there's an
official name for it, but that's what it is...

	Ken glares at me, and then nods, once. He's given his word -- well, that
means one of us is going to get dressed up as a character from a
20-year-old anime series. I'm not about to-

	"Joe, don't even think about getting out of this. You do, and certain
women in that little black book of yours suddenly discover certain things..." 

	I gulp. Well, shit. Jun _is_ good at this, isn't she? At Ken's inquiring
look, I let out an embarrassed laugh. "Um... nothing, Ken. Now, why don't
you focus on more important things?" Ken lets me know silently how _not_
forgotten Jun's threat really was, before turning his attention toward Jun. 

	Jun smiles gently, before untying my lover. "Now, take this -- oh, and
don't forget the wig. Try to make it look nice, okay?" Ken walks toward the
bathroom with a stiff back and a attitude of 'what I put up with for my
team' that would have worked better if he wasn't carrying a ridiculously
long yellow wig and a girl's dress. 

	Next, Swan turns to me and hands me the expected black and white suit.
"You don't have to wait for Ken -- I'll just go into the next room. Hurry
up, though -- I'm going to be back with the camera pretty soon, and I don't
think you want me taking pictures of your underwear along with everything
else..." At my nod, she grins and waves before leaving. You know, she
really is enjoying this a little too much. 

	I look at the suit in my hands, and get dressed in it quickly. It's not
nearly as hard to put on as I'd thought it be -- considering my lack of
experience with formal-wear, I decide I've done a decent enough job before
trying to balance the hat and put on the mask. I get the hang of the hat,
but the stupid mask... how the hell am I supposed to wear this? Finally, I
figure out that the bits of Velcro on top will let it hang onto the hat
enough to make me look like that _idiot_ from the show...

	Finally, I grab the cane and the rose that seem to be part of the
costume... well, now that I think about it, the rose isn't _that_ bad. If
you sharpened the end enough, and made sure the balance was good, it would
probably make a pretty good knife... At that cheery thought, I start to
whistle as I look around for anything that will sharpen the end of a fake
plastic flower...

	"Ready?" Jun comes in with vid-cam in hand. "I told Jinpei to go to sleep,
and I sent Ryu back, too. I told them they could see the disc if they
wanted to, so there was no point in really sticking around..." Jun's eyes
widen as she circles around me once, appraising the costume. "Not bad, Joe,
not bad at all. You look good in black, that's for sure."

	"Thanks." I think the sarcasm speaks for itself... Jun giggles, before she
starts to fiddle with the camera. After a moment of hesitation, I ask her,
"Seriously, though... are you all right? I mean..." My voice trails off as
I try to find a way to say what both Ken and I are probably thinking.
"Well, if this helps you deal, we're okay with that -- you know?"

	"I know. I-" Jun looks away for a moment, and then sighs. "Well, I just...
it was either this or beating you both silly -- and once I found those
discs on sale at this store... what can I say? I just couldn't resist.
Don't worry -- I won't do this to you two again."

	"All right, then... just this once, we'll-" My sentence is interrupted by
the sight of Ken coming in with dress and wig on. For a long, quiet moment,
no one says one word. I personally can't... not because he looks bad, mind
you, but because he looks _way_ too good. 

	"Wow. Ken... wow." Jun blinks at the sight of my lover in the white
lacy-and-frilly costume, before shaking her head. "You look really,
disturbingly cute."

	"Don't even start." Ken sighs as he looks down at himself, before looking
at me. "Come on, Joe. Don't stare like that, all right?"

	Who would have thought the great Eagle would look so good as a girl? The
blond wig falls just right, so that it looks almost natural; the blue eyes
that look out from under all that hair is enhanced by the wig, and the
dress... well, it's long enough, and has enough padding in the right places
so that Ken looks ridiculously girlish. Trust me, I've seen him in all
stages of naked, and one thing Ken _really_ isn't is a woman. Not at all --
and yet... 

	"Ahem. Now, if you guys wouldn't mind starting with..." Jun starts
fiddling with the remote, until one of the scenes of the first season start
playing on the screen. "There. Now, remember Ken, you have to sound
suitably dramatic; you just saw the man you love get stuck with a giant
flying rock. Joe, just lie there and look like you're in pain -- you know
how that feels."

	Ken and I look at each other for a moment. Finally, I shrug and get down
on the floor, while Ken tries to look miserable; he does, of course, but
probably for a very different reason... He puts my head on his lap, and
then gets a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You know, Joe... I kind of like you
in the suit."

	"If you don't want me to say the same to you, you'd better think of a way
to get us out of this!" My whisper is more than a little strained -- the
thought of just what Jun might do with that recording really had me
worried, considering her mindset at the moment. 

	My lover's bright blue eyes gazes down at me and I can practically see his
mind working on the problem. Finally, the wicked gleam becomes a very, very
naughty smile as he leans down and gives me a kiss. "Ken! This is _not_ the
time-"

	As Ken's mouth comes up from my mouth, he whispers in my ear, "But it's
the perfect time, Joe. If Jun wants a performance, I'll give her one." Ken
starts to make a noise that kinda sounds like crying -- if you're a cat in
heat. Then, in the highest falsetto he can reach, he moans, "Oh, my prince!
Oh, what _shall_ I do?" He buries his face in his hands, and starts to do
that crying thing again. Seeing the smile that was barely hidden by his
hands, I finally catch on to what he's doing. What the hell! If I'm gonna
be humiliated anyway, then let it be _really_ bad... 

	In the lowest, most dramatic 'hero' voice I can muster, I reply to his
hysterics. "Sailor Moon, forget about me! I-" My voice suddenly gets even
lower as I moan loudly, as if a few dozen Galactors had me at their mercy,
"Oh- the pain! The pain..." As I pause, I peek at Jun to see her laughing
silently at our terrible performance. When I see her stop, I know it's time
for me to go on. "Anyway -- Sailor Moon, my lovely, sweet child, I love you
so-"

	Then I start to cough in Ken's arms, generally going into convulsions that
look like I'm suffering from an epileptic attack. I stop when Ken gives me
a whack on the head. Gazing up at him, I see the silent laughter that I
know is in my eyes as well. 

	"But my hero, what will I ever do without you? I need you to protect me
from all those big, bad Galactors out there... what if Berg Katse got me?
All I could do is cry if that happened-" Ken stops here, and buries his
head into my chest, letting out patently false sobs. Then, his voice
muffled, he continues, "Promise me that you'll always be here-"

	"Stop! I can't take it anymore!" Jun pulls Ken away from me, her eyes
dancing. "Both of you are _awful_. It's amazing that Katse hasn't figured
us out by now if that's the level of your acting ability." She shakes her
head. "I give up -- both of you are just too pathetic."

	I look at Ken, and stage-whsiper, "Should we be insulted?" 

	He grins. "Only if you want to continue being the mortally wounded
super-hero-in-a-tux."

	"Uh... we're terrible, Jun. We admit it and hope that-" I give Jun a quiet
smile that I hope she sees is sincere. "We're sorry, Jun. For real, you know?"

	 "I... I know. I know, and I'm not really angry anymore -- but..." Jun
trails off and stares at us for a moment. Then she shrugs, and actually
smiles. "Well, I couldn't let you off that easily." There's a lot that she
doesn't say, and probably won't ever -- we all know that. Still, she
doesn't seem as angry as before. In fact, she seems kinda happy, which
makes me a little-

	"Jun..." She looks at me, her eyes still filled with laughter. "There's
something you're not telling us -- I can see it in your face. Spill it."

	"I-" Jun blinks, then looks away. "I'm seeing someone right now."

	Ken stiffens at her revelation. "You- you're... Jun! You-" He starts to
laugh, while I stand to join him. We both start to move toward our teammate
with a purpose in mind.

	"Guys... now, don't start getting any ideas. I didn't do anything, right?
I-" Jun bolts and starts running with vid-camera in hand. Ken and I nod at
each other, before splitting up after our prey...

------
JINPEI
------

	"Go sis!" I just remember to whisper, since I'm really not supposed to be
up. I know that sis would definitely not like the fact that I'm awake, and
if Ken and Joe ever found out that I had been watching... well, I probably
wouldn't be able to kick Galactor butt for a long time. Still, who woulda
thought that Ken would make such a cute girl?

	I think that sis is actually gonna get away with the recording, even with
the two of them chasing her. After all, she's on her home turf... I'll bet
that I can get that away from her when she's not looking. Who knows when
it'll be good for me to have that? I mean, it might be fun just to see the
expression on their faces when they see the thing broadcast over twenty
different channels...

	Well, if I want to die a quick, painful death, I'll remember that. For
now, I think that watching the chase is more fun than anything else. Too
bad Ryu can't be here... considering that he's dating my sis now, it might
be fun to see his expression.

	I wonder when he's gonna tell Ken and Joe. Or me, for that matter -- I'll
bet he thinks that I don't know. Why does everyone think kids are stupid or
something? How much more obvious could Ryu and sis have been?  Still, I
guess it's all right. I mean, Ryu's pretty cool, and he can probably make
sis happy... I dunno -- I mean, I wouldn't mind him being my brother since
he pretty much already is.

	I see Ken and Joe have given up on catching sis -- that's pretty smart of
them. She's really hard to get when she doesn't want to be caught -- I know
that for sure. Besides, she doesn't have the recording anymore -- I saw her
sneak it into the drawer when Joe and Ken were on the other side of the
bar. I'll be she won't move it until later...

	Whistling as I sneak back into bed, I think about what kind of expression
the doctor will have when he sees the vid...

-----
KATSE
-----

	Looking through the items that operatives had manage to steal from Nambu's
disposal unit, I grab the vid-disc that was sitting in the pile. I wonder
why Nambu threw this away...

---Finis---

8/15/98
-----
Monica/Akira-chan/Heero/Hayama/Naga/Kircheis no Miko- Proud TABBE! Member
monica@pipeline.com, mshin02@uclink4.berkeley.edu, knomiko@yahoo.com (alt)
http://www.pipeline.com/~monica/ - main web page ^_^
CLAMP, LoGH, Touch, RKen, Gundam, EVA, DearBoys, RoV, Subby, K-sama
"Tell Annerose-sama that Sieg kept his promise..." - Kircheis-sama