FullMetal*Panic!

The planning session had been brief but efficient. An additional meeting would be called if Seta and Kurz showed up with pertinent information. Before everyone went their separate ways to give the matter some thought and come up with their personal decisions, the ladies decided they would soak in the hot springs for a while.

Keitaro and Sousuke were told exactly what to expect, should they take even one step out into the springs area, by accident or by design.

Kaname took a moment to pull Sousuke aside. She hadn’t had the opportunity to be alone with him since her possession by the spirit of the sword. Her expression was sweet enough…but from experience, Sousuke knew better than to rely on that.

“So, Sousuke. The girls told me that you saved me from the cursed sword. Is this true?” She stood in front of her protector, looking directly into his eyes.

“Yes, Kaname. All other attempts proved ineffective. I took the necessary action and resolved the situation.” Sousuke stood at ease. A few drops of sweat rolled down his face.

“I see. Were you scared, Sousuke?” Kaname had an odd look in her eye.

“Scared, Kaname? I was not frightened by the spirit. I’m a specialist.”

“I know, I know. Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, Specialist. SHEESH! I wasn’t talking about the spirit, Sousuke. I was talking about me.” Kaname had an expectant expression, as if Sousuke should know exactly what she was asking.

“I was not afraid of you, Kaname. I had already mentioned that. You and the spirit were one.”

“SOUSUKE! I don’t want to know if you were afraid OF me…I want to know if you were afraid FOR me. Well…were you?” Kaname’s hands were clenched.

Sousuke did not answer. His eyes darted about, but did not glance in Kaname’s direction.

“Sousuke?” Kaname began to feel a sense of anticipation. Sousuke better not ruin it!

Still no answer. The silence hung between them like a black powder bomb, fuse lit. The sputtering noise was not the fuse. It was Kaname.

“S-S-SOUSUKE!” Kaname’s face was preparing for that look.

“Yes, Kaname. I was concerned for you.”

Kaname smiled. It had taken some doing, but she had won the point. She walked towards Sousuke, intent on giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. That ought to get him sweating. After the first couple of steps, she stopped. That pain was still there. She tenderly touched her buttock. OUCH!

“Sgt. Sagara?”

“Yes, Kaname?”

“How exactly did you save me from the spirit?” Kaname’s voice was curious, not accusatory. Her eyes, however, began to narrow precipitously.

“Uh…”

“Sousuke?” Her smile began to straighten out and turn south.

“Uh…”

“SOUSUKE!” Her eyes were lighting up.

“I shot you, Kaname.”

Kaname was stunned for a moment. She shook her head, as if to clear out the cobwebs. It had almost sounded as if Sousuke said I shot you, Kaname? “What did you say?”

“I shot you, Kaname. With rubber bullets.” Sousuke was sweating heavily now.

“Oh. I see. Where?” Kaname was proud of herself. She was remaining under control.

“In the living room, Kaname.”

That was IT…the straw that broke the camel’s back. “SOUSUKE! I don’t want to know what room we were in. I want to know which part of my body you shot!”

“I did it to save you, Kaname…”

“Where, Sousuke?” Kaname walked slowly forward, each step putting Sousuke further in debt.

“It was the only option I had. In actuality, you should thank me…”

“WHERE!!!” Kaname felt naked without her halisen. A Biblical approach would have to suffice.

“Your backside, Kaname.” Sousuke was drenched with perspiration.

“I see. Your gun, Sousuke. Give it to me.” Kaname held out her hand.

“Kaname, I do not understand. There is no danger!” Sousuke quickly looked about the room. There were no sounds of a struggle. He saw no suspicious figures.

“Yes there is, Sousuke. And there is only one way you will live through it. Give me your gun. NOW!” Kaname stomped her foot. “You can look on the bright side. This is will be quite useful. It will help prepare me for the coming fight. You‘re quite an inspiration to me.”

“Kaname?” Sousuke handed his pistol to Kaname.

Kaname checked the clip. Good. Sousuke must have reloaded. “You have five seconds. After that, I start firing.”

“But…”

“5.…”

“Kaname! That is not a toy.”

“4.…”

“Uh…”

“3.…” Sousuke ran. Kaname smiled, and spoke in rapid succession: “2... 1... 0..."

BANG…BANG…BANG…BANG…BANG…BANG……

Kaname did not pay much attention to her own pain. This is FUN. There are definitely perks associated with staying at the Hinata Apartments. Maybe we could stay a while, after the mission is over....

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

You poor baby….” Mutsumi cooed to Sousuke. “I can put some ointment on for you.”

Sousuke, still aching where Kaname shot him, began to sweat again.

“Maybe you just need some sake and some feminine companionship…” Kitsune smiled her fullest smile.

Sousuke began to look for escape routes.

“I’ll get the small hot tub ready for you Sousuke, the one that Keitaro usually uses….” Shinobu looked concerned...she was...but not about Sousuke’s wounds.

Sousuke relaxed a little.

“That’s a very good idea, Shinobu honey!” Kitsune purred. “There’s enough room for two in there.”

Sousuke did not think they looked that fast. He could likely outrun them. Then again, he had thought the same thing about Kaname….

“Yes, and it can probably fit three, if we sit close enough together.” Mutsumi moved her towel about. All of the girls were similary dressed…or more accurately put, in a similar state of undress. They had delayed their soak in the hot springs, wanting to see what all the commotion was about.

“Oh! No. No no no no no….” Shinobu was waving her hands frantically.

“Don’t you worry, sweetie. We’ll save you a spot , too. You can have his lap after me….” Kitsune winked.

Shinobu collapsed on the floor, stars sparkling in her eyes.

There was a tapping noise.

Sousuke stepped beyond the two buxom girls to see what it was.

Kaname was banging the snout of the pistol against a post. She looked at Mutsumi and Kitsune and bit off her words. “I still have some shots left, Sousuke.”

Sousuke did not hesitate. Discretion is the better part of valor…. He took off running. Kitsune and Mutsumi soon followed. Kaname was not far behind. Seeing the procession, Su joined in.

The chase winded its way through the apartment building. When the hunters and the prey were passing near the entranceway, there was a loud banging at the door. The girls quickly stepped out of view. After making certain that Kaname did not have a clear line of sight, Sousuke went to see who was knocking.

A large group of very winded delivery men stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the apartment. One of them held a clipboard. Wiping his forehead with a dirty rag, he asked “Is there a Sousuke Sagara on the premises?”

Sousuke proceeded very cautiously. “Before I answer that, may I see some identification and a shipping records?”

The foreman of the delivery crew looked irritated, but he complied.

The paperwork looked official. Sousuke had an educated guess what might be in the large wooden boxes after reading the shipping log:



POINT OF ORIGIN: Tokyo
POINT OF DELVERY: Hinata

RECIPIENT: Souske Sagara
SENDER: A. Kalinin

NATURE OF SHIPMENT: Amusement park equipment
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Fragile. Handle with care. Keep smaller crate away from open flames.



“I am Sousuke Sagara. I will accept the delivery.” He gave the men a generous tip, and thanked them for their efforts. As a way of showing thanks, they tossed him a crow bar and told him he could keep it. He soon forgot about Kaname and the other girls.

It did not take long for Sousuke to realize that his guess had been correct.

He was very happy.

It was the powered Bonta-Kun suit and a separate crate of ammunition.

An envelope was taped to the inside of the crate. It contained a fax message. Thought you might want this. Give’em Hell, soldier. The Finance Department says not to worry. There’s no billing across shows. Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin. At the bottom of the document, the members of the support team in Tokyo had all hand-written Good Luck! and other words of encouragement.

Sousuke should have stopped there. There was a second fax document. It was from Capt. Testarossa. It read: Tell Miss Chidori hello for me. Inform her that I might stop by and pay a visit. I hear the hot springs are WONDERFUL!!! Tessa. XOXOX

Kaname had walked up silently. "Just what we need. THAT thing! You've found plenty of ways to get in trouble, already." Getting no response, Kaname became suspicious. "Sousuke, is that message important? Is it about the mission?" Still no answer. "I have the gun, Sousuke....."

Sousuke handed Kaname Tessa's fax.

Kaname stood still for a moment. Then she began to tremble ever so slightly.

"That...THAT...THAT...Bi---" Kaname cut off what she had wanted to say. Su was standing near the Bonta-Kun AS, looking very excited.

Su looked up at Kaname. "Please continue. I like it when you go psycho. You are very fun. When I marry Sousuke, do you wish to come be our maid?" It took all of Kaname's will power not to go psycho right there and then.

"Careful Su, that is not a toy. It is a weapons system!" Sousuke was stern in his admonishment.

"I know that. It is cute, but very small. I have built much larger ones. There is a VERY big one downstairs. Would you like to see it?" Su was giving the AS the once over, as if she had some modifications in mind.

"Yes."

"That will be fun! The maid can come too, if she wants...."


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


Seta helped support an injured Kurz.

The scent of cherry blossoms filled the night air. Crickets could be heard, but nothing else. They had managed to evade the small squad sent after them. Eradicate, then evade the stragglers. The moon was high, casting eerie shadows amongst the trees and taller shrubs. Faint lights beckoned a goodly distance ahead…the Hinata Apartments. Should they go there? Would they lead the danger to their own doorstep? No, there was no other choice. At the time of their own choosing, the enemy would come. That maniac would want to see the results of his own handiwork. He would wait until morning light.

“Ahhhh…sorry, I don’t mean to hold you back. I can probably make it on my own now. Thank you.” Kurz was sore all over, and still was a bit fuzzy in the head, but he was coming around quickly now. All he could remember was Guaron’s laughter…a tremendous impact…flashes of pain…the sense of being carried…and then a slow climb back into consciousness.

“Well, it’s just good to see you on the mend. That was quite an explosion. I don’t know what he used to throw you across the room, but your Arm Slave looked like a leaf dancing on the wind. And then, that beam weapon….” Seta had been shocked to find Kurz in one piece, much less alive. He had extracted the unconscious soldier moments before a pulsing stream of light blew the craft into a cloud of metal particles. For brief moments there, his hair had literally been standing on end. “Do you and your friends have anything that can counter that?”

“Only one thing…if even that…owwwww…Sousuke’s Arm Slave…but it’s on the sub…in for repairs. We are standing up to our nose in trouble…any more and we're going to drown...ahhhh…that shield was from a lambda driver…as long as that’s operational, we won’t be able to touch him.” They had found what the Mithril squad had been sent to locate. It was more than anyone had expected. An AS with the lambda driver was bad enough. But, if there were advanced weapons of mass destruction….

“Looks like we will have to find a way to use unconventional tactics against unconventional weaponry. Perhaps Su will have something that will be our salvation. If not, then I suppose Mithril will bring out the really big fly swatters, won’t they?” Seta led the way, finding the easier path for Kurz to follow.

“Yes. I know I would, if it were my finger on the button.” Kurz did NOT want to be around when take your best shot changed into when all else fails. “But I’m still worried. That bastard is crazy, but he’s not a fool. He’s very likely anticipated what will happen. He either expects to be out of here…or he expects to survive it!”

“A rather comforting thought, young man. In any case, we need to warn the others. And then take a long soak in the hot tub. We deserve that much." Seta stretched out kinked muscles as he walked. "That was quite ruckus we had. I thought I missed stuff like that, but I’ll stick with digging, thank you very much.” It was a good thing that Kentaro had showed up when he did. Seta shivered, thinking what might have happened if Sara and Kitsune had tagged along.

Explosions and gunfire could be heard coming from the Apartment building. Seta tensed up momentarily. Had the enemy gotten here before them? He disengaged the safety on the Ukrainian made Goblin submachine gun that he had carried away from the skirmish. He picked up his pace considerably. After a long pause, more gunfire.

Kurz put a hand on Seta’s shoulder, slowing him down. “It’s OK. It’s probably only Sousuke. By the sound of it, he’s being somewhat circumspect. I’ll have to nake it a point to compliment him on his good manners….”


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


Su had led Sousuke and Kaname into a part of the apartment complex that saw little traffic. In an interior room with no windows, the wall decorations and woodwork were all fading. Unused furniture was hidden by dusty covers. A large opening in the floor was of relatively new construction. The young girl stepped on a pressure plate, turning on a series of running lights. Movement sensors triggered overhead bulbs as they walked down a steep incline. The air grew steadily cooler and moister. Ethnic artwork covered the walls. A slight hum could be heard.

At the bottom of the sloped passageway, large metal doors stood shut, decorated by a bas relief of a three-eyed elephant. Su spoke a password that opened the way: “Curry.”

The first rooms they walked into were small and cluttered. Work benches held small inventions in various stages of construction and disrepair. Blueprints covered the walls. Stacks of plates, bowls, and cups hid much of the floor. A small cot and a voice recorder filled one corner. A table near the cot held a large pad of paper and a box of sharpened pencils.

“Do you rest down here sometimes, Su?” Sousuke asked, seeing the cot. “Do you get ideas in your sleep or dreams?”

“I usually sleep on a tree branch in my room.” Su thought a moment. “There is room for two.” She smiled at Sousuke. “But, when my head is feeling funny, I sleep down here.”

“When your head feels funny?” Kaname asked.

“Yes. Sometimes, I do not feel like playing or eating. My brain feels like it is very very full, and needs to be emptied. My thoughts are like water. Numbers and words swim in my head. If I write them down, I find truly wonderful ideas. So much to research. So much to build. The other girls and Keitaro are not so fortunate.”

Kaname went cold, feeling as if something was walking down the spine of her back. Her eyes lost their focus, as she tried to recall something similar. Try as she might, she could not get a firm grip on anything. She looked over at Sousuke, who nodded his head. He likely had a similar suspicion. Su must be Whispered.

“I must show you my biggest invention! It will be really really fun. While we are busy, the maid can clean some of this up.” Su waved at the sea of flatware and plates. “That way Shinobu will be happy.”

“I…am…NOT…a…maid!” Kaname spat out, beginning to get her hackles up.”

“That is OK” Su said reasonably. “Keitaro always tells us to keep trying our best. If we do, we are sure to reach our goal. I am certain that you will make a fine maid. You only need to practice. Please do not break any of the dishes.” She grabbed Sousuke’s hand and pulled him through an archway.

Kaname followed closely behind them, hands curled into fists. She forgot her anger when she stepped into the vast underground cave. Large lights were everywhere. Xenon. Halogen. Fluorescent. Incandescent. Large wax tapers. Bonfires. Her shadow was huge behind her.

Huge was an apropos description, there. The cavern area was huge. The power generators lining the walls were huge. The cables running across the floor were huge. The railroad cars filled with parts and raw materials were huge. The smelting furnaces were huge. The cranes, elevators, and lifting electromagnets were huge. The chelonian husks of prior cannabalized creations were huge.

The device hidden by scaffolding was not huge. It was gargantuan!

Kaname stared at Su in disbelief. Su was so small. She was definitely NOT huge. Had she done all this? How? Where had all this come from? Somebody’s imagination had run far too wild!

What was that THING?

“What is that large structure you are building, Su?” Sousuke need not have pointed.

Su did a series of cartwheels, leapt, and wrapped her legs around Sousuke’s neck. She grabbed a control box suspended from a cable, and pushed a series of buttons. Vast puffs and clouds of steam issued forth from various machine orifices. Red lights spun and flashed, painting the cavern walls with a rosy glow. The scaffolding, built on rails and wheels, slowly began to retract. Spotlights realigned, highlighting the emerging monstrosity.

“Mecha Tama Four!” Su yelled in Sousuke’s ear. “The Ultra Super Mecha Tama.” Su pulled on Sousuke’s nose. “You must not tell the others.”

“Why not, Su? What are you trying to hide? Do you have evil plans?” Kaname had a prickly feeling. Was this actually what Mithril had sent Sousuke to find? Was Su somehow in cahoots with Gauron?

“She is very nosy. I think we should look for another maid.” Su said, matter of fact.

“Kaname is not meant to be a maid.” Sousuke replied flatly. Kaname could not tell if he was defending her, or agreeing with Su’s assessment. “But, her question has merit. Why must the others remain ignorant of this creation?”

Su gave a brief synopsis of the disappearing items…the turtle nest…and the Giant Mecha Tama that had menaced the Hinata Apartments before being dispatched by Motoko and her sword.

“I told them that I would invent an even stronger robot next time. They told me that I should not make any more monsters, because they are a nuisance. I decided that there were certain boundaries in science that shouldn’t be crossed in any circumstances.” Su looked sheepish. She paused.

“And?”

“I changed my mind!!!” Su jumped off Sousuke and ran over to a large control panel. She threw a numble of toggle switches and typed something onto a keyboard. Cranes began to move, some hoisting large barrels. Massive mechanical arms began moving large weapons pallets. Wire and pulley set-ups extended large hoses, which fastened themselves to ports on the front of the large mechanical construct. Pumps came to life.

Sousuke walked down to the cavern floor, stopping directly in front of the metal marvel. It looked like a gigantic turtle. A rather angry looking giant turtle. “Gamera” He said to himself, remembering a movie he had seen with Kaname one rainy afternoon. How utterly ridiculous. There could never be a turtle anywhere near that size! And breathing fire? That’s REALLY stupid. He shook his head, remembering her words.

“That is one of my FAVORITE movies!” Su said, standing right behind him now. “Kaiju! I love kaiju. People said that Daiei Studios ripped off Toho Motion Pictures. I do not believe this. Gamera was different...he was good. He protected children.” She felt compelled to clarify. “At least in the early movies.”

“But he destroyed buildings and killed people!” Kaname exclaimed.

Su shook her head. She tapped Sousuke on the shoulder. “She really is too simple-minded to be a maid. Perhaps she can be our gardener” Turning to Kaname, she spoke as if explaining something to a young child. “Of course he did. How could it be a kaiju movie if he didn’t?”

“Arrrgh! That’s not what I meant….”

Su whispered into Sousuke’s ear. “You probably shouldn’t let her have too much caffeine. Hyperactive people are such a bother.” She bounded away from him, like a fawn discovering it could spring and jump.

Looking at the Mecha Tama with the eye of an Arm Slave pilot, Sousuke had a number of questions for Su. "What is in the barrels? There certainly are many of them.”

“Curry” Su said, as if it were obvious.

“Curry?” Sousuke was perplexed. Curry had different meanings to different people. Was there yet another meaning to the word?

“Yes. Tumeric, fenugreek, cloves, cumin, coriander, caraway, and red pepper. Cooking grade. Imported from India.”

“Why curry?” Kaname asked in disbelief.

Su looked at Sousuke, frowned, and shook her head. She looked back at Kaname. “Curry has excellent anti-oxidant characteristics. They knew that much in Harappan in 3000 BC. I also use it as a containment shield for the ambi-plasmic engine. The ancient Babylonians used curry in their giant mobile replica of the god Marduk. I learned about that from Seta.”

Su went rummaging through bins and baskets, upset that she could not find what she was looking for.

“What are you looking for, Su?” Sousuke was getting dizzy just watching her.

“I wanted to show it to you. I had a small ambi-plasmic engine here. It is gone. Maybe those naughty metal turtles stole it. An engine that size does not need curry shielding.” Su grabbed Sousuke’s hand again, intent on giving him a tour of the chelodean behemoth.

There was an impressive array of small and large homing missiles. There was a head-mounted flame cannon. The claws were made from a near indestructible alloy. The tail as well. Su had spoken quickly. Had she said adamantium?

When she started to describe the mega positronic cannon, Sousuke had to fight to keep from going glassy-eyed. Incomprehendable words jumped off of Su’s tongue. Positrons. Anti-protons. Emitting isotopes C-11, N-13, O-15, and F-18. Reaction of 1 kg. Of anti-matter with 1 kg. Of matter yielding 1.8 x 10 to the seventeenth joules of energy. Magnetic fusion energy. Z-pinch power pulse. Debye screening lengths. Magnetic sheaths. Whew! That was as tiring as listening to Melissa’s endless list of beers she’d tasted.

“Does it have a Lambda Driver?” Sousuke asked.

“Of course not, you silly boy!” Su surprised Sousuke with a flying kick to the back of the head. “Lambda Drivers are so boring. I was going to build a small Tesla shield.” Again, a string of incomprehendable words. Gradients. Vector fields. Matrix multiplication. Ricci curvature. Distributivity. 'A . B = /a/ /b/ cosine theta.' Identity elements. And so forth and so on. Sousuke looked at a silent Kaname. They both just put their hands to their foreheads.

“Was?” Kaname asked.

“Yes. I do not have enough parts now. I had build small inferometers, but they have disappeared too. Those naughty turtles! I would eat them all, but metal is not tasty.”

Sousuke began to feel very uncomfortable. Advanced mechanisms were missing. Haitani and Shirai had mentioned that the had stolen a number of Su’s inventions. Those two fools had delivered the pilfered material to Gauron and his agents. Seta reported that the enemy was building a large Arm Slave.

“Is this operational?” That question suddenly seemed to be the most pertinent of all. Sousuke held his breath.

“Yes. Once it is loaded, it will be ready to play with. It should be very very much fun!” Su’s face was aglow with anticipation.

“Since important things seem to be disappearing, perhaps you should leave the remote control in my safe keeping.” Sousuke couldn’t imagine a beast like this under Su’s direction.

“Oh, there is no remote control, silly!” Su climbed her way up Sousuke’s back, swinging on his neck when she reached the top. “I learned my lesson. No more giant automatons.” She jumped down, ran to the behemoth, and pushed a button on its tail. The spines on the tail and back turned into an escalator. A hatch opened in the back of the carapace. She skipped back to Sousuke. “This one needs a driver. I’ll let you play with it, if you like!”

“Thank you. Perhaps I will do that tomorrow or the next day.” Sousuke might not miss Arbalest after all.

“I almost forgot. You will need to take a bath first.” Su did not explain why.

“A bath?” Kaname asked. Was that some kind of ritualistic necessity. Did all of the strange markings on the gigantic turtle have some religious connotations?

“Yes. Because of the control electrodes, the driver must be naked. And, I do not want a dirty Mecha Tama! Boys!” She thought a moment and smiled. She clearly spoke to herself. “Of course, now I will need to install a camera….” Su did not sound as if she were joking. Sousuke fervently hoped she was.

Sousuke looked as if he had swallowed something extremely bitter.

“Uh…naked?” Sousuke began to sweat heavily.

“Yes. Very very naked.” Su darted away, looking for photographic equipment.

Kaname followed after Su, catching up with her out of Sousuke’s earshot.

“Su, are you really going to put a camera in the cockpit?“ Kaname asked.

"Yes. Of course. It should be very educational." She collected wires, solder, a small joystick.

“I will make you a deal. I will clean up your mess down here...if you give me a copy of the videotape.” It never hurts to lend a hand.... Kaname thought to herself.

“OK.“ Su also looked for another pilot’s chair. Perhaps she could make the Mecha Tama a two-seater.


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


Su decided to stay behind. She had something she wanted to do. Sitting at an illuminated graphics console, she entered the measurements she had taken earlier. A bank of fabricators sprung to life. Large rolls of fabric spun. Cutting blades flashed and scissors snipped and shaped. Thread spools turned. Sewing machines sewed.

Sousuke and Kaname found their way back on their own, retracing the footsteps left behind on the dusty floors. As they approached the common room of the living area, they heard a cheerful commotion. Seta and Kurz had returned. The girls---still clad in their towels---surrounded the returning heroes. Keitaro was there too, hand clamped over his nose. Small drops of crimson spotted his shirt and the floor in front of him.

“Seta!” Naru and Keitaro exclaimed.

“Daddy!!! Sara came tearing across the room, leaping into Seta’s arms.

Seeing that Kurz was in pain, Kitsune asked “Is there something I can do for you?”

Kurz made a big show of wiping his brow. “I’m kinda sweaty. I could sure use a towel.”

Kitsune opened her eyes briefly, then smiled, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Why sir, you seem to have no redeeming features, whatsoever!” She shifted her towel a touch lower. “I think I’m beginning to like you.

Kurz saw Sousuke. Time to take care of business. “Where’s Sis?” He looked about, seeing Haruka but not Melissa. “I would have thought she’d be here, front and center, waiting to tattoo my hindquarters again.”

“She’s off with her M9, getting prepped. We received your messages.” Sousuke gave Kurz a quick once over, trying to jusdge the severity of his injuries.

“Sousuke.” Kurz’ look went deadly serious. “HE was there…it was…”

“GAURON. Yes, I know. We learned about his involvement from two young men who had been tricked into aiding him. There is much to discuss.” Sousuke thought about the wonders he had seen in Su’s work area.

“Sousuke. He kept talking to Kashim. He’s obsessed with killing you.” Kurz relayed Gauron’s rambling one-sided conversation.

“This is nothing new. You know our history. If I can push him further over the edge, perhaps I can adversely affect his judgement. He means to kill me regardless. Just as I mean to rid the world of his plague.” Sousuke’s eyes went intense, making Kurz shudder involuntarily. He hoped that Sousuke and Gauron did not become two different sides to the same coin. Sousuke’s eyes cleared a bit. “Of course, the mission comes first.”

The girls had all caught Keitaro sneaking glances at them, leering like a lecher. Their combined kicks and punches sent him flying. He landed in a crumpled heap just short of one of the couches across the room. Sousuke looked on with a mixture of compassion and disgust. Keitaro had some of Kurz’ less admirable characteristics, but seemed totally unable or unwilling to defend himself.

Sousuke had an idea. One could call it an inspiration. There was a role he could assign to Keitaro. It would certainly enhance his chance of survival, if he chose to stay and fight. And, it just might benefit from his seeming indestructibility.


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


Kurz had settled in on one of the couches, surrounded by a bevy of eager waitresses. He thought to himself perhaps I should get banged up more often….

Seta was describing their adventure in painstaking detail. Haruka had a nostalgic look on her face.

Sara was busy looking for something to break.

Naru was pushing Kentaro out of the room. It was NOT time for him yet.

Haitani and Shirai ran frantically across the room, followed closely by Shiro. Someone had tied a bib around Shiro’s neck.

Kaname aksed Shinobu for a large sturdy basket. Getting one, she headed off towards Su’s lair.

Sousuke motioned for Keitaro to follow him.

“Well, Sousuke, how do you like the Hinata Apartments so far?” Keitaro walked with a dramatic stride, arms flailing and head held high. “I take my job very seriously. Granny and the girls are depending on me.”

“I see. It is certainly a very…active…place. Interesting things seem to happen every other moment. I am surprised that someone has not made a manga about it.” Sousuke had developed a taste for manga of a martial bent. He was not into heavy romance comedies yet.

“What? You mean a story about one guy living with a bunch of young and beautiful girls. A harem style plot? That’s perverted. It’s so cliché.”

“I suppose you are correct. People would get bored very quickly, reading something like that. It is not like real life. Not like a story with a young man raised as a soldier, uncertain how to behave in society, guarding a beautiful and spirited young girl with miraculous powers. As one would expect, they would face many extraordinary predicaments.” Sousuke spoke with complete certainty. Keitaro just stared.

“Of course,” Keitaro began again, as if he had never missed a beat. “My work here is only temporary. Soon, I will be a student at TOKYO U!” He quickly fugued into a daydream. Naru and Keitaro at Tokyo U, surrounded by a group of students amazed at his good grades. Naru looked ready to swoon.

“I wish you good fortune,” Sousuke started. Keitaro struck a triumphant pose. “I hope you are one of the fifteen hundred who make it in, out of the countless number who apply.”

Keitaro twitched, feeling as if he were being struck by the imaginary spears again. Naru held her acceptance letter. Keitaro had failed again. “Good bye forever, LOSER!” Naru said, walking away arm in arm with Kentaro.

“Of course, we have more pressing matters to attend to,” Sousuke continued. “I have something to show you. It may even save your life.”

Keitaro felt as if he had been dipped into arctic waters. Tokyo U was in flames. People were running and screaming. “It’s all YOUR fault!” Naru was saying. "If only you were a man…"

They walked out on to the front lawn. The crates had miraculously disappeared. The Bonta-Kun AS remained there, in all its glory. The monks were loading ammunition.



Is this real, or part of some dream? One spectral voice asked.


It looks real, but can anyone be certain where dreams end and reality begins?


Sure. It’s too DAMN ugly to be a dream!!!


Yes. Hand me those belts of .50 calibre. Careful with that grenade launcher.



Keitaro came up short. “What is that thing?” It looked like one of Su’s contraptions. No. It was much too weird to be one of those.

“This is the Bonta-Kun Arm Slave. The character is from an amusement park, as was the original costume. I have made appropriate modifications. It has served me well. It makes for an effective fighting suit.” Sousuke looked at Keitaro again, convincing himself that he wanted to go through with this. He had a vision of a bucket pouring kerosene on a fire.

Sousuke opened up the Arm Slave. “Get in. Familiarize yourself with the control apparatus. Learn the location of the weapons controls. I will show you how to activate the heads-up display. You will need to become accustomed to the aiming graticule. This is your opportunity to learn how to use this suit.”



We teeter on the edge of reality. It is time to move on. One monk said.


Yes. Every dream must end.


Dream schmeam. My insurance policy does NOT cover this type of thing!



Just as Keitaro had climbed in, bottled up, and put on the communications headset, Su showed up dragging a large yellow fabric item. “You must wait. I have brought the appropriate modifications. We should not proceed without it.” Moving quickly, with boundless enthusiasm, the young girl altered the external appearance of the Arm Slave. When she was finished, it looked like a giant Mr. Chupi. “Much better!”

Sousuke stood aghast. How could anyone choose to fight in something like this? Where was Keitaro’s pride?

The training session was brief but productive. Keitaro was not a natural, but he did better than Tessa did prior to her contest with Sgt. Major Mao. He might actually be of some value when the fighting started. Might. Sousuke began to feel a faint sense of optimism. As was his wont, Keitaro put a damper on things.

“I am Keitaro Urashima, apartment manager and Arm Slave jockey. It is my destiny to make it into Tokyo U. How can I possibly fail, after mastering this difficult task!” He sighed and leaned back, thrusting his legs forward. “If only Naru could see me now!!!“ He cramped up. The servos were still on and slaved to his movement.

The Mr. Chupi powered suit took off at full forward movement. Sousuke called out for Keitaro to shut down the machine, but he could not reach the kill switch. The front door proved no obstacle---a Mr. Chupi outline proved that, fragments of wood falling from the new opening.

Sousuke froze, watching in utter disbelief as the strange looking Arm Slave burst out the back wall of the building. He could hear a faint series of splashes, then shrieks. Not long after that, the Mr. Chupi suit came bursting into the living room area, a towel stuck to its side. The girls, with one exception, came pelting after it, murder in their eyes. Naru, her nakedness shielded, stood in one of the freshly made holes. She shook her fist in fury.

The powered suit and the girls ran by. Sousuke closed his eyes a moment. One step forward. Two steps back. So much for another good idea.


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

Shiro was very persistent. However, with his short stubby legs, he was not very fast. The tortoise and the hare would both be waiting at the finish line for him to complete the race. Nonetheless, every time that Haitani and Shirai would stop to catch their breath…wait a while…and then give each other high fives, the bulky white shape would waddle patiently into view. It was like trying to argue with winter.

The two troublemakers found themselves in a little used series of hallways and doorways. One door was only partially closed. Curious, they peered inside. There was a beautiful girl sitting in a chair, all alone. Wow! Talk about benefiting from adversity!

Even though they were in a race for their very lives, the two college students were captives of their instincts. There was plenty of time for running, sweating, and hiding. Now, it was time for talking big and trying every pick-up line they could remember. Strange. The girl didn’t seem to take any notice of them. She was probably shy.

When they got a better look at the girl, they both leered. She was really cute. But, when she stood up, they realized that something was wrong. She wasn’t human. She was like a giant doll. A robot of sorts. They had not previously met Moe, the clock tower automaton and tsukumogami.

Haitani and Shirai looked at each other. They had similar thoughts. She might not be human, but they still might be able to score! They would worry about the implications later. It wasn’t as if it were a new idea in anime!

“Hey, baby. Looking to have some fun?” Haitani started off, trying to sound suave and confident.

“You can choose from two college students, a short one or a tall one. Not a loser like Keitaro.” Shirai made it sound as if it were her lucky day. That line just had to work sooner or later.

They hadn’t know what to expect. They were disappointed that she didn’t answer. “Well,” Haitani added helpfully. “At least she didn’t say ‘no.’ “

Moe winked. She waved for them to follow her, Hands on her hips, she did a slow mechanical bump-and-grind. The two boys followed her out the door .

The automaton opened a door, and pointed inside. The two young men could see the vague outline of a bed in the darkness. They jumped up and punched the air. Moe waved and left. There was a noise. When they turned and looked in the darkness, they saw hundreds of small red points of light.

Haitani and Shirai ran out into the hallway. They were soon followed by hundreds of small mechatamas, mouths spitting bullets and flame. Figures! Haitani thought. But why did two normal and good-natured guys like them always seem to end up in so much trouble?

Waiting in the hallway ahead, Shiro yawned a toothy yawn.

***********************************************************
End of part eight.

...Oooooh, now it gets INTERESTING

Now were those FMJ bullets Kaname shot, or rubber ones





Regards