When I originally posted this chapter, somebody wrote in and noted that love
and trust seemed to just fall into Kit's lap as well as Kit seemed to be just
accepted into the Sabers. While I'm normally loath to do any rewrites aside
from "tinkering" that is, changing a word or phrase here and there to make
things clearer, the comment stuck in my head and I finally got around to it.
For those of you just joining us. Linna met an American named Kit Walker.
After getting drunk, they woke up in Kit's hotel room, each with a wedding
band around their finger.
C&C, as always, is requested and welcomed.
-Agreeable Komodo
Just Say Yes To Prophylactics.
*****************************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 915am
They sat on the edge of the bed, not quite out of arm's reach of one another,
but not so close that you could mistake them for lovers.
"Well. . ." Kit said before trailing off. It was then he noticed Linna was
making soft sounds and her shoulders were shaking. "Linna?" He asked,
reaching out to touch her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" She gasped, recoiling as though she had been shot.
"I-I'm sorry." He said, yanking his hand back.
"N-no." She said, turning to look at him. "I. . ." she held her face in her
hands and cried.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kit scooted over and slid his arm around her
shoulder. For a moment, he felt her tense and he made ready to pull his hand
away but then like the air out of a ball she seemed to deflate and collapse
against him.
"Look. . .Linna. . .I. . ."
"Just hold me." She whispered.
So he did.
***************
A.D. Police Headquarters, computer room, 930am
"E-Detective Nene Romanov!" Nene announced as she answered her portacom. "Hi
Sylia."
"Hello Nene," Sylia said, have you seen Linna? I was wondering if her friend
Kit knew anything and she's not answering either one of her portacoms."
"Well, no," Nene said, "you think something happened to her?"
"I don't know," Sylia's expression was flat and hostile, "but find Walker, he
may know."
"Sure." Nene said, her thoughts running parallel to Sylia's as she turned off
the com and rested her fingers on the keys of her computer. "Now, if I was an
American in Tokyo, where would I be?" With that, she went to work.
**************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 935am
Both Kit and Linna looked up as the phone rang.
"Answer it." Linna said softly. Nodding, Kit reached over and keyed for audio
only.
"Hello?"
"Mister Walker? This is the front desk, I'm sorry to disturb you but I have a
call for you from a Nene Romanov. She insists upon being put through and
since you left word here that you weren't to be disturbed except in a matter
of gravest emergency. I wouldn't even be calling up except she claims to be a
police officer and is threatening me with arrest."
"How the hell did she-" Kit started to ask and stopped. It wasn't important.
"Put her through." Linna said quietly.
"Are you-"
"I said put her through!" Linna snapped and then her expression softened.
"Please."
"I'll take it." Kit told the phone.
"Yes sir." There was a clicking noise and then Nene's voice came through.
"Okay Walker! Where's Linna?"
"Hello Nene." Linna said before Kit could speak.
"Linna? You okay?"
"Hangover. Could you swing by my apartment and grab some fresh clothes and
some Sober-Up from the drugstore?"
"No prob. You sure you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Nene." Linna said, as Kit turned off the phone.
**************
Room 303, Worshowski Hotel, Tokyo, 10am
Linna wrapped in a soft robe, all but pulled Nene into the room.
"Do you have it?"
"Yeah." Nene held up the bag. Quickly, Linna ripped opened the package and
popped the red pill into her mouth, washing it down with a cup of coffee
before staggering over to the bed and sinking down onto it.
"Where's Kit?" Nene asked.
"Out getting breakfast." Linna said and sighed appreciatively as the Sober-Up
went to work, dispatching her headache with a minimum of fuss. "God, I needed
that. Thank you Nene."
"No problem," Nene said and then took in Linna's appearance. "Wait. You and
Kit-" Her eyes lit up like twin suns again. "you did! Okay, I want details,
was there any food involved?"
"I don't really remember."
"Don't remember? I thought you and Kit spent the night together."
"We did," Linna said, "among other things. . ."
"Among what other things?" Nene asked suspiciously.
Linna held up her left hand.
For the second time, a scream echoed from room 303
**************
Knight Sabers HQ, 1030am
Sylia was only faintly aware of Nigel, Priss and Mackie gathered behind her
as she stared at the wall phone in astonishment.
"They what?"
"Got married." Nene said. "I think she's still in shock. She doesn't even
remember the ceremony. All she remembers from last night is a Karaoke bar and
a few scattered images of her and Kit. . ." Nene made a circling gesture with
her finger. "When she woke up, she was a married woman."
"How original." Priss murmured. Sylia pinched the bridge of her nose. This
was a headache she did not need.
"Where is she now?"
"I made her take a shower," Nene said glancing at something that they
couldn't see. "she said she sent Walker out for breakfast, that was like,
forty-five minutes ago and he isn't back yet."
"Okay, Nene, I want you to stick to her like glue, find an excuse to get her
out and about, go shopping or whatever you feel is nessacary, try and find
out how much she may have told him. Keep her at home afterwards if you can."
"Told him about what-" Nene started to ask and then broke off as
understanding dawned. "oooohhh. Right." She averted her eyes from the screen.
"Whoops! She's out! Talk to ya later." The image winked out.
"Does this mean we have to send gifts?" Priss asked.
Nobody said anything for a few minutes.
"Nigel," said Sylia, "you saw the records from the boomer attack right?" He
nodded. "Do you think you can modify the systems on mine and Priss's suits to
compensate for whatever it is that keeps our systems from being affected by
that jamming field of his?"
"I can try," Nigel said after a moment's thought. "If that's how he's doing
it."
"Don't tell me you think he's a ghost too," Sylia groaned.
"Seen to much to just dismiss it," Nigel said as he lit a fresh cigarette and
headed back towards the work area, trailed by Mackie.
"What's the plan?" Priss asked.
"No plan," Sylia said, I simply want to be prepared for the next time we meet
the Phantom. I find I have this need to talk with him." Sylia smiled a chill
little smile and Priss felt herself recoil from the reptilian coldness in
Sylia's eyes.
**************
Tokyo Airport Hanger 5, registered to Spirit Cargo Transport Inc.
1130am
"Married?" Guran asked disbelievingly.
"Apparently," Kit said, looking down at his finger. He hadn't taken it off
yet and having no idea if Linna had taken off hers, he'd decided to leave his
on as well.
"I don't believe this," Guran said, shaking his head, "You're not even
completely trained and already you're getting married."
"It wasn't even my idea!" Kit yelled. "Hell, maybe it was! I can barely
remember the honeymoon! How should I know who's idea it was?!" Kit slammed
his fist against the side of the plane. "I'm sorry Guran, I shouldn't be
yelling."
"It's all right Kit." Guran said, handing him some coffee, "I shouldn't have
spoken like that." He gestured to a set of nearby stools. "What's important
now is if anything else happened last night."
"Anything else? Like what?" Kit asked. Guran gave him a flat look and Kit
winced. "Oh, right."
Gene surgery had made STD's all but extinct and unwanted pregnancies were a
thing of the past ever since a doctor at John Hopkins had perfect an implant
that altered body chemistry that prevented certain key chemicals from being
made. In short, Kit's gun was loaded, but all it shot was duds. For women,
the implant altered body chemistry so her eggs were sterile.
Kit had an implant, but he had no idea if Linna did, and the implants weren't
always a hundred percent effective.
It was thought foremost on his mind as he took out his portacom.
"Hello?" Linna said as her face appeared on screen.
"Can we talk?" Kit asked.
"Now?" Linna asked and then her face disappeared to be replaced by Nene's.
"She doesn't have anything to say to you!" Nene snapped.
"Nene!" Linna shouted and her face replaced Nene's. "Now's not a good time
Kit."
"Yeah. I was hoping we could talk over dinner tonight." He held up his hand.
"No alcohol, I promise." She smiled.
"Sure." She said. "Crown Cafe at six?"
"I'll be there." Kit promised and her image winked out.
"Well that's settled," Kit sighed, "now what?"
"I suggest lunch." Guran said and escorted the younger man out of the hanger.
**************
The Crown Cafe, 630pm
Kit picked idly at his food, across the table Linna poked at her salad with a
fork. She was still wearing her ring, a fact which pleased him for some
reason.
"Linna," She looked up.
"Hm?"
"I. . ." He ran a hand through his hair.
"I know," she said softly, "its a lot to take in."
"Yeah." He hesitated for a moment, wondering how to phrase it, then plunged
in. "Linna, if there's. . .I mean. . .I swear I'll do right by him!" She gave
him a wan smile.
"Relax," She said, taking his hand, "I'm not pregnant, Nene dragged me to the
doctor already."
Kit's let out a long breath, he hadn't realized that he had been holding it.
"Oh, good, I like kids, but I'm not, I mean, eventually. . ."
"Shush," she said gently, "you're babbling." Kit shushed.
Time passed and eventually, Kit spoke again.
"Linna," He tapped his ring against hers, "about these." She looked down at
the rings then back up at him. "I know what they mean, and I. . ." Sighing,
he took out a small folder. "These are annulment of marriage papers. Say yes,
we sign them and you'll never hear from Kit Walker again. Say no, they go
into the nearest trash can and we try to make the best of what's happened."
Linna stared into his eyes. He was serious she realized, all she had to do
was sign the papers and no one was the wiser. He was going back to America in
four more days and she would never hear from him again.
Her thoughts turned to the disc she and Nene had found. It had been in a
leather bound folder and contained the certificate of marriage, and a video
recording which quite clearly showed her and Kit, drunk as could be, saying
their vows before a justice of the peace and a few witnesses. It wasn't the
kind of wedding she hoped for but drunk or not, she had taken a vow to love,
honor, and cherish the man sitting across from her and she had always kept
her promises. But did she love him?
And what about the Knight Sabers? She could always put in a transfer to Genom
New York, she supposed, or perhaps Kit--she jerked her thoughts back to the
Knight Sabers. He had to know, and if she told him. . .taking a deep breath,
she looked back up at him.
"Before we decide, there's something you need to know about me."
"You're not the Phantom are you?" He asked. She laughed.
"No. . .not quite. It would be easier to show you. Wait here." Standing, she
walked away towards the back.
She came back perhaps five minutes later. "Let's go."
"Go where?"
"To see. . .to see a friend of mine." Kit nodded and signaled the waiter
boomer for their check.
**************
Perhaps half an hour later, Kit stood in a lingerie shop named "Silky Doll"
watching Linna, Nene, a white haired woman he didn't recognize, and Priss,
the singer from the nightclub gathered in a circle near the dressing rooms
talking in a quiet voice. After a few minutes, Linna turned and waved him
over.
"Mister Walker," The white haired woman said as she held out her hand. "I'm
Sylia Stingray."
"Please, call me Kit," he said as he took her hand, noting her firm grip and
the breathy manner she raditated like a lightbulb.
"Very well, Kit," she said. "I understand you and our Linna have decided to
settle down."
"Well I don't know about that. . ." Kit started to say only to be cut off by
Sylia as the flirty manner vanished as though someone had flipped a switch.
"I was joking. Linna tells me that before you and she make any decisions,
there is something you should know, and though I disagree with it," she
paused, as if trying to choose her words carefully, then sighed. "If you
would follow me?" With that, she turned and led the way towards the nearest
dressing room.
Inside, Sylia pressed a spot on the wall, causing the back wall to slide
open, revealing an elevator.
"Never seen a dressing room do that before." Kit noted as they all filed in.
"This is a very special shop." Sylia said dryly as the elevator began to
descend.
"Obviously." Kit said and then looked over at Linna as he felt her fingers
curl around his. She smiled shyly and he smiled back.
The elevator doors opened, revealing a wide open room, made of metal. A man
and a young boy were hunched together over some kind of machinery and a red
suit of armor, sleek and made for a woman's body hung from a rack.
"That's a Knight Saber suit." Kit said, making sure to put the right amount
of shock and surprise into his words.
"Yes, it is," Sylia said, walking past him. "And that's Linna's little secret
Kit, she's a Knight Saber. Just like Priss, and Nene, and myself."
"I never knew," Kit said. "I always thought you were an Urban Legend."
"We prefer it that way." Sylia said as she walked over to the suit on the
rack and ran her hand along it fondly. "We kill rouge boomers Kit, that is
our mission. Linna takes the risk alongside the rest of us. One of these
days, she may not come back. "Are you prepared to deal with that?" Kit looked
over at Linna.
"If she is, then I am too." He said firmly.
"Then welcome to our little circle."
"Thank you," Kit said, still admiring the suit. "That is a nice piece of
machinery."
"Yes, it's Nene's," Sylia said as she rejoined them and the breathy,
flirtatious manner was back as she traced a small circle on his chest with
one finger. "Perhaps we could make a suit for you. You seem to be in good
shape."
"Yeah!" Nene said, "You could call yourself. . .uh. . .Skyknight!"
"Skyknight. . ." Kit mused. "No, it just doesn't seem right."
"Of course not," Sylia's tone was dry. "Still, there are a few things I'd
like to go over with you."
"Of course," He looked over at Linna and held up the folder of papers.
Linna opened her mouth to reply when an elderly man in a neatly pressed suit
appeared in the doorway and cleared his throat.
"We've detected a reaction m'lady," he said to Sylia. "Shinjuku District."
Sylia muttered something under her breath as the man and the boy, began to
take Nene's suit down from the rack as the women, except for Sylia ran out.
It was perhaps a minute later that Priss, followed by Linna and Nene
returned, wearing tight fitting bodysuits that left nothing to the
imagination.
"Linna!" He called as she passed, and grabbed her arm.
"Huh?" She asked right before he pulled her to him and pressed his lips to
hers.
"Be careful out there," he whispered, "please."
"Kit, I-," was all she could get out before Nene grabbed her arm.
"Come on Linna!" Nene yelled, half dragging her up the steps.
"Knight Sabers," Sylia said, wrapping her hand around what looked like a
fighter control stick. "prepare for action." She looked down at four lights.
Three were glowing green. "Launch!"
As soon as the machinery had fallen silent, Sylia turned and ran for the
elevator. "Follow me Kit."
Kit followed. The elevator took them up one level, opening up on a small
parking garage where a large cargo van sat, waiting. "The mobile Pit." Sylia
said with a touch of pride.
"Nice. Why not a jet? It would be quicker."
Sylia didn't say anything, but the look on her face suggested that she was
thinking it over.
**************
"So how did it feel?" Nene asked over the com as the three sabers bounded
from rooftop to rooftop.
"How did what feel?"
"When he kissed you!"
"Oh. It felt. . .nice."
"Nice? You were glowing Linna! Glowing!"
"Will you two shut up?" Priss demanded.
"Oh, like you're not wondering what it would be like if Leon kissed you?"
Priss's response was a growling noise and Nene laughed. "So you are
wondering!"
"Cut the chatter." Sylia broke in. "You're nearing the coordinates where the
reaction is.
**************
Sadom District, 8pm
Hollywood had Felix and Oscar, the A.D. Police had Leon MacNicol and Daley
Wong.
Leon looked more like a biker then a cop. He was tall, with closely cropped
hair and shoulders that bulked ominously under his leather jacket. Wong on
the other hand had longer hair that was parted carefully and wore a clean,
neatly pressed suit. Both feet were up on the dashboard and his eyes were
closed behind his wire rimmed glasses.
Rumor had it that they had been partnered together on the assumption that
Wong, who always seemed to be six steps ahead of anyone else, would either
straighten MacNichol out or get himself killed due to Leon's "in your face"
approach to law enforcement.
So far neither had happened, but there was a great many people who were
hoping that would change and soon.
"I'm bored." Leon announced as though it was a great philosophical truth.
"Well we could always try and find Priss." Daley said without opening his
eyes.
"Aw shut up!"
"It would give us something to do." Wong pressed, clearly enjoying Leon's
discomfort.
"I said shut up!" Leon snapped, his hand tightening around the control stick.
"Damnit! I need coffee!" The com picked that moment to crackle to life.
"All units, all units, this is dispatch, we have a rouge boomer in the
Shinjuku district."
"Dispatch, MacNichols and Wong responding." Wong said as he took his feet off
of the dash and hit the siren.
"Roger."
**************
They rode in silence, each alone with their thoughts.
Kit stared out the window, twisting the band on his finger. He still couldn't
quite believe what he had gotten himself into. Linna a Knight Saber. He'd
suspected it for a while of course, ever since the night at Hot Legs.
Damn it all, he didn't come here to get involved in an underground war!
But he was, so what was he going to do about it?
Sylia let the van's autopilot drive while she stared at her hands. She was
still trying to rationalize her decision to bring in someone else. Kit could
be a Genom spy, but then again, so could any of the others. But the fact that
Genom hadn't attacked their base seemed to indicate that so far, she had
judged each member of the group correctly. Looking out the window, she
frowned. For some reason she couldn't put a name to, Kit also seemed to be on
the level. There was just something about the man that-
"Sylia?" Nene's voice from the com brought both back to reality. "We're here,
and it looks like the A.D. Police beat us."
"Oh and they brought the Kay Suits." Priss put in. They heard a distant
crash. "The usual happened."
"Yes Priss, its terribly amusing, now get in there and destroy it."
"On it!" Priss yelled as Sylia pulled the van into an alleyway.
"What can I do?" Kit asked as Sylia got up from her seat and ran into the
back.
Following her, he found her sitting at a small terminal.
"What can you do?" She asked as she looked up at him. "You can pray."
**************
Genom Tokyo, 830pm
A rouge boomer is not a pretty sight. For reasons unknown, the boomer mutates
into a biomechanical monstrosity as soon as its core malfunctions. At that
point, it begins to absorb whatever machinery it can. Cars, computers, other
boomers, nothing is safe.
Unknown to the public, Genom had suppressed all reports of rouge boomers and
the Knight Sabers in the media, relegating them both to the realm of urban
legends and street myth.
Quincy Roeschroyitz, Chairman of Genom, wasn't very appealing either. Well
into his final years, he was kept alive by an army of machines and the dream
of seeing through to completion his dream of a boomer supported paradise. It
was his obsession.
Vice-President Brian Mason was also not a pretty sight. But that was because
that there was something unappealing about him. His suit was neatly pressed
and he wore black leather gloves. His eyes, however, burned with ambition and
perhaps a hint of madness as well.
"As you can see sir," Mason said, indicating a monitor, "the first boomer is
already on the scene and the other four will arrive shortly."
"Impressive." Quincy said. "How did you manage it?"
"Serendipity actually. As we did at the factory, we replaced the core of a
regular boomer with that of one that was already going rouge. The boomer we
selected however, was linked by subspace to four others as part of an
experiment to improve boomer efficiency for when we begin terraforming the
moon and mining operations on Jupiter." Mason cleared his throat. "For
reasons we don't understand, the others also began going rouge. Our
scientists suspect it has something to do with the subspace link."
"Be sure the boomers are terminated before they kill the Knight Sabers Mason.
I still wish to have dinner with them and find out why they hate my boomers."
"We'll do our best sir. Excuse me." With that, Mason turned and strode
through the doors. "Senile old fool." He muttered as soon as the doors closed
behind him. He then looked at the Boomer standing nearby. She looked almost
human, only the eyes gave her away.
"Dispatch the teams," he said, "Chairman Roeschroyitz wants the Knight Sabers
alive and able to speak."
"Yes sir." She said.
**************
Priss watched in satisfaction as the boomer fell to the ground, its core in
her fist.
"Let's go Priss!" Nene shouted.
"Yeah, yeah." Priss retorted as she ran over to where Nene and Linna waited.
They were about to launch when they heard a roar, and another, and then a
third, and a fourth.
"Um guys?" Linna said, "am I hearing things or was that the sound of four
rouge boomers?"
"You're hearing things." Nene said and then they heard the four roars again.
"Okay, maybe not. Nene to Sylia!"
"What is it?"
"We're hearing what sounds like four rogue boomers. What do we do?"
"Get back here." Sylia said, your batteries are almost dead."
"We can't! Our power is too low for the jets to fire!"
"You have spare batteries?" Kit asked as he stood.
"Kit. . ."
"Linna's going to come back if I have anything to say about it." He said
firmly. For a moment, they locked gazes and then Sylia nodded.
"I have some body armor you can wear."
"No need," Kit said as he reached into his collar at the back of his neck and
pulled on a purple hood with a black mask and then pulled up his sleeve to
reveal a shiny metal armband. "I brought my own." With that, he touched
something on the armband and a curious rippling spread over his body. When it
was done, he didn't even look human. His jaw was too regular and even and his
muscles seemed to be perfectly in proportion to his height and weight.
"What the hell?" She whispered.
"Nanotech." Said the Phantom. "Where are those batteries?" For a moment, she
locked eyes with him and then looked away.
If she didn't let him go, the girls would be dead. Just like. . .like. . .
Never again, had been the silent vow she had made over the girl's grave.
Never again. . .no matter what.
"Back here," she said and led the way towards the back of the van.
**************
Linna ducked as a steel girder punched into the brick where her head was.
"We're dead!" Nene shrieked, "We are so dead!"
"Linna, Nene, Priss!" Sylia's voice said. "Kit's on his way in with spare
batteries and the moto-slave. I'm going back to the pit for my suit and some
heavy weaponry. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Kit?" Linna asked.
"He has some nanotech body armor." Sylia said, sounding like someone who has
just had the shock of a lifetime. "I-I think he'll be fine."
"Nanotech?!" Nene exclaimed, "against a rouge boomer?"
"If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestions." Sylia snapped. "Over
and out."
"Crap!" Nene screamed. "So we're supposed to wait?"
"Apparently."
"You're not helping Priss!" Nene screamed. At that point, the moto-slave came
tearing around the corner, ridden by a man in a purple suit.
"Kit?" Linna asked.
"Its the freakin Phantom!" Nene yelled at the same time.
"Kit. . .is the Phantom?" Linna asked as her world turned upside down for the
second time that day.
"Okay, said the Phantom as he got off the moto-slave, "She said to change
Nene's battery first." Quickly, he got behind Nene. "Talk me through this."
"You--" Nene started and then took a deep breath. "You start by depressing
the switch on the left side of the casing. . ."
**************
"Damnit!" Leon howled into the com as a car sailed over their heads.
"Where's those other Kay Suits?"
"On their way sir, E.T.A. is two minutes."
"That's what you said five minutes ago!"
"E.T.A. is two minutes sir," repeated the dispatch officer.
"If we survive this," Leon said sourly, "I'm putting in a request to have Kay
Suits airlifted in." Then he ducked as another car landed on top of the first
he and Daley were hiding behind. "I should have taken that transfer to
Hiroshima."
"I should have taken the blue pill," Daley replied.
**************
The Phantom made the final connections of the battery to Linna's suit even as
Nene finished with Priss.
"So its been handed down from father to son for five hundred years?" Linna
asked as power flooded her armor systems.
"Yeah. The line breeds true from father to son so we all wind up looking like
younger or older versions of each other. That, combined with the mask, keeps
alive the illusion that we're all the same guy."
"Sylia's going to be so disappointed." Nene said. "She spent most of this
morning going through your family history, trying to figure out the secret to
your immortality."
"The simplest explanations are the best." The Phantom replied.
"Enough talk." Priss snapped and leaping to her feet, charged into the
battle. "Right behind ya!" Nene shouted.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Linna asked.
"About this?" He tapped his chest. "I wanted to, hell, I was going to at the
restaurant if you had said no, but then you dropped this whole Saber thing on
me."
"Hey Linna! Phantom!" Nene yelled over the com, "you two planning to join us?"
"Yeah." Linna said as she stood. "Kit. . ."
"I know. . ." He whispered as he touched his armband and faded from view.
"Soon, I promise."
**************
Genom Tokyo, 1030pm
Roeschroyitz watched the monitor as over and over, it displayed the battle
between the Rouge Boomers, the Knight Sabers, and the A.D. Police. The White
Saber was the key, when she showed up, the odds tilted drastically in the
Knight Saber's favor.
And now a new player had entered the game, a man shaped blur with powerful
weapons that moved with grace and speed and he or she seemed to be on the
side of the four ladies who had been plaguing him for so long.
Mason, he decided, was no longer an asset. His greed, ambition and madness
had blinded him. The man was a genius at business, but otherwise useless. It
seemed the scales would have to be tipped.
Closing his eyes, Roeschroyitz immersed himself into VR and called up a CAD
program. It appeared he would have to take matters in hand personally, he did
so abhor taking a personal hand in matters, but the things he had done to
make his dream a reality already would condemn him to eternal damnation as it
was. A comforting thought was that Mason would be there with him and he felt
a smile play across his virtual features at the image.
To work then.
**************
Point Sun, just outside of Tokyo, 1130pm
The stars.
Beautiful, unchanging, a million points of light.
The universe never ceased to amaze her, Linna mused as she sat on an old
piece of driftwood next to Kit.
"Linna," He began, "About us. . ."
"What about us?" She asked, looking at him square in the eye. "Like it or not
buster, we're married, so let's just deal with it."
"You don't seem very happy about it."
"I'm not! Its nothing like I wanted. 'You got married? How was the wedding?'"
Scooping up a rock, she pitched it into the ocean. "'I don't know. I woke up
in bed with a hangover next to a guy I spent the previous evening getting
drunk with!'"
"I understand-"
"No! You don't understand! I came to Tokyo because of rumors on the net! I
came here knowing that if I found what I was looking for, there would be a
night I might not come back! I was prepared to deal with that! I was not
prepared for this morning!"
"And you think I was? Maybe becoming a Knight Saber was your choice but being
the Phantom sure as hell wasn't mine! You know how I found out? Guran shows
up one day out of the blue and drags me underground to show me my heritage; A
jungle, a cave and high tech buried in the remains of New York's subway
system! Then he shoves me into this suit and tells me its my destiny to
fight evil wherever I find it. So what happens? I'm young, legal, and stupid.
I go swinging out into New York. So what happens? My aunt, the dearest person
in my life nearly dies because of my stupidity!" He was silent for a moment,
and when he spoke again, he was noticeably calmer.
"Then I come to Tokyo, hoping for a simple, relaxing vacation and a little
research for a term paper, only to meet this woman, who's beautiful, smart,
and funny and all I can think of is her," His hand came up to cup her cheek.
"I don't know if I'm in love with her or not, but I want to know. I want to
know everything about her, and I can't because in my soul, I find this
overpowering need to protect her, and if I expose my secret, it could put her
in danger, and I couldn't do that to her."
Linna didn't say anything, all she could do was listen as he talked.
"And then, it turns out she risks her life too. For similar reasons. She
understands what it means to be in the line of fire." He grabbed her left
hand with his left hand, holding it so the rings pressed together. "I want
this to work out Linna, God in Heaven Above, I want this to work. I know we
have our differences, and I know we have no reason to trust each other except
the secrets we both have and these rings on our fingers. I know its not much,
and for all I know, its all we have, but I want to know for sure."
"So do I, it's just-" She tore her hand from his and stood, walking away from
him.
"Linna! Oh jeez! Linna!"
"I can't let you in. . . I just can't." She looked at him and he saw tears
forming in her eyes. "Yes, I want this to work too, but for now, can you just
take me home?"
"Yeah, sure, no problem . . ."