The redheaded girl dramatically flopped backwards onto her bed,
covering her head with her pillow to try and block out the morning
light. From safely underneath it she groaned out softly, "I just don't
think I can do this."
After a few moments the nightie clad Lori Anderson sat back up,
sitting cross-legged on her bed. She peeked out her window, taking in
the damage still around the historic city of Meridiana and sighed
softly. "It was all so much simpler a few days ago," she sighed.
She had been your average teenager, mostly. Yes, she was
gorgeous and had her little harem, but what she really wanted was her
teacher. Shy, handsome Adrian Seidelman, the black haired English
teacher who had won her heart as soon as she met him. Even with those
ridiculous glasses his face was so lovely, kindness in those eyes.
Graceful, warm, and a passion that came out in his poetry. And now it
had all changed.
It had been like something out of a bad monster movie, honestly.
A giant, living island, shambling it's way towards the city with the
intention of destroying it. The people were in a panic, everyone trying
to flee town knowing that even the mysterious woman known as Cyber Six
couldn't possibly stop it.
"Cyber Six," Lori murmured softly.
The leather clad heroine had crossed paths with Lori more than
once over the past few months, Cyber Six even saving her life from that
little twerp Jose. Her long black cape lined in red, that odd looking
floppy hat, the sleek leather bodysuit that clung to her every cure...
When Lori had thought that Cyber Six was dating Adrian, she was
instantly ragingly jealous of her. She couldn't have been more wrong, of
course.
Her family had been preparing to flee the city, loading up the
car in front of their building as she bent over to fill the back. Lori
looked up, shocked to see Adrian standing there. Then Cyber Six took the
glasses off, laying them on the top of the car with that gentle smile.
She was gone in that moment, leaving Lori standing there with the
glasses in shock.
Their car had been trapped in gridlock, Lori sitting there
holding the glasses as her thoughts raced. Adrian was Cyber Six... it
explained so much, of course. Her rescues of Lori, her being around
people related to the school, even the timing of Cyber Six appearing
around the same time Adrian had. And it raised disturbing questions in
Lori, too.
Lucas, that goofy science teacher had passed them and Lori
jumped out of the car. He had hung around Cyber Six a lot, he might know
what was going on. But as she explained she saw the stunned look on his
face, both of them coming to the realization that Cyber Six was on a
suicide run. Together they raced to the edge of the city where the
creature was going, where both of them were certain Cyber Six was too.
They just came around a curve when the entire place went up in a massive
fireball, monster in all.
And there had been no sign of either Cyber Six or Adrian for the
past few days. Lori sighed softly, rubbing at her eyes, wishing that she
could just stay home for today. She got up out of bed, stretching out
tiredly. She dressed, grabbing her school bag and heading out onto the
street.
Lori walked the route to school listlessly, wishing that people
would just be quiet. The chattering of students, the cars, it all grated
on her badly today. She saw Lucas cutting through the crowd, the blonde
giant heading right towards her.
"No I haven't seen him," Lori cut off the question before he
could even ask, then softly adding, "or her, either."
Lucas sighed, pushing his blonde hair back from his face.
"Neither have I," he said. His eyes were pained, "I wish she'd contact
me...."
Lori wanted to say something harsh, but the sorrow in his eyes
held her back. "Maybe she doesn't want to be Adrian, anymore," she
offered.
"Maybe," was all Lucas said in reply, the two heading to
classes.
"Hey, where do you think the teach has been?" one of the boys
popped up as she went to sit down at her desk.
The other boy laughed, "Maybe he got splatted by the creature."
"Don't say that!" Lori blurted.
Both boys looked sheepish, obviously having forgotten about her
crush on him. Both subsided slightly and muttered, "Sorry."
There was a sound at the classroom door and Lori looked up,
expecting to see a substitute teacher come inside. Instead the light
glinted off familiar glasses, a slim black haired man walking inside
with absolute self confidence.
"Good morning," Adrian Seidelman said, his black hair flopping
into those gentle eyes. "I'm sorry for missing a few days," he walked to
his desk, setting a briefcase down, "but I had some personal matters to
take care of."
Lori wanted to leap up out of her seat, to rush up to Adrian and
throw her arms around him, but she held herself back, a goofy grin on
her face. Instead she met Adrian's eyes, seeing a twinkle in them as she
said, "It's good to have you back, sir."
"It's good to be back," Adrian agreed.
As Adrian looked out at the students, Cyber Six smiled within
the disguise. It was an odd feeling, knowing that Lori knew the secret,
but it felt good. Especially the joy that had lit up Lori's face as she
entered, worry and tension replaced by a simple light.
'I should have talked to Lucas and Lori earlier,' she mused,
'leaving them in the dark can't have been fun.' Adrian opened the
textbook as she focused her mind on the job ahead, "All right, everyone,
settle down. Open your texts to page 175...."
After class Lori walked up to Adrian and paused hesitantly, "Uh,
Mr. Seidelman, could I... I mean, I'd like to...."
Cyber Six felt a bit surprised at the faint blush she saw on
Lori's cheeks. "I'd like to talk to you later," Adrian said, "would you
meet me after classes?"
"Thank you," Lori grinned happily, leaving the classroom with a
bounce to her steps.
Adrian put away the text books, her fingers lingering on the
spines for a moment. 'I nearly lost the chance to do this,' she thought
to herself, 'nearly died when Von Richter's headquarters went up in
flames.' She picked up her briefcase and left the classroom, 'If I've
learned anything from it, I don't want to have any regrets.'
Adrian ignored the smiles and waves from passerby as she made
her way down the hallway, eventually stopping in front of one of the
classrooms. She pushed the door open, Lucas looked up at her and grinned
happily.
"You have no idea how good it is to see you," Lucas said, the
big blonde haired man crushing her in a massive hug.
"You too, Lucas," Adrian kept her voice down in the boy range as
she continued, "you'd better let go before someone sees you, you know."
"You scared me half to death, you know," Lucas said, pushing
Adrian back a bit, "I was beginning to think you...."
"Data Seven and I were clipped by the explosion as we got out of
the building," Adrian confided softly, "it took some time to recover."
There was a short pause and she added, "And I had some things to think
about."
"You've made up your mind," Lucas said, a sad smile on his face,
"about us."
"How did you know?" Adrian asked, a bit surprised.
Lucas looked at her wryly, "You could have come by before
classes, even if you didn't want to approach me at home. I guess I'm
just wondering... why?"
"It's complicated," Adrian looked out the window, at once both
looking more boyish and more feminine, somehow. "I don't know what I am,
Lucas, not in any real way. I need to understand that, and I need to
understand my own actions," she finished.
"Like?" Lucas blinked.
"Lori, for one," Adrian said softly. She flashed him an odd
little smile and said, "I shouldn't have told her who I was. She doesn't
even like Cyber Six very much, but I just... had to tell her. I want to
know why I did that." She ran a hand through her hair as she added, "And
I have no right to leave you hanging until I do."
"Fair enough," Lucas nodded. He smiled again, "For whatever it's
worth, you're still going to be my friend after all this."
"Thanks," Adrian smiled.
Lucas continued on, "And whatever you do, don't underestimate
Lori. She wants something from you, and she'll do her best to get it."
"She wants something from Adrian Seidelman," she smiled up at
him wryly as she continued, "not from Cyber Six."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Lucas actually grinned as a bell rang,
warning the students that they had to get back to classes.
"Later," Adrian was out the door and gone, leaving a bemused
Lucas in her wake.
Classes were just letting out as Lori walked into the classroom
and greeted Adrian with a smile. "Should we talk here?" Lori asked
cheerfully.
Adrian hesitated for a moment then she smiled. "Would you like
me to walk you home?" she quietly offered.
"I'd like that," Lori agreed.
The two of them walked out of the busy school together, drawing
only a few curious glances. The roads of Meridiana were a mix of wide
lanes and narrow alleys, the two of them navigating those routes with
ease of practice. They were crossing an arching bridge when Lori
stopped, the falling sun lighting up the beautiful girl.
"What's wrong?" Adrian asked.
Lori looked at her, the girl's gaze oddly piercing. "I don't
understand how you fooled me so well." she finally said, "now that I
know you're a woman."
Adrian felt her cheeks redden. "No one was looking for a woman
posing as a man," she said, "and I think I did pretty well."
"The baggy clothes help," Lori admitted, taking in the
suspenders holding up her pants, the white shirt, "and you do act like a
gentleman." She leaned on the railing, looking at the water below them,
and hesitantly Adrian joined her there.
"And now that you know I'm a woman?" Adrian asked softly.
"I wonder," Lori looked over at her. "There are a lot of things
I find attractive in Adrian," she said, "and they're the qualities you
have as Cyber Six, too." Lori puffed out a soft laugh, "You've got me
all confused, you know."
"Me, too," Adrian confided. She smiled slightly, deliberately
not meeting Lori's eyes as she continued, "So what do we two confused
people do now?"
Lori's hand slid over, resting over Adrian's before squeezing it
gently. "I may not understand what's going on," she said, "but I want to
find out." There was determination in her voice as she said, "What's
Cyber Six doing tonight?"
Adrian blinked. "Well, I'll be patrolling with Data Seven, but
otherwise..." she trailed off. She looked at Lori thoughtfully, "Are you
suggesting we go out on a date?"
"Yes, I am," Lori said.
Adrian laughed softly. "I don't think I've ever been asked out
as Cyber Six before," she said. She waited a moment before adding, "I'd
love to."
End.
Author's Notes: First of all a tip of the hat to Chris Davies, who's
timely comment on the shoujo-ai possibilities of Cybersix convinced me
to get off of my ass and actually write this story. It's set just after
the end of the TV series, dealing with events in that final episode. For
fans of my other works there is an Arisugawa's Locket chapter that leads
into this story and for the future adventures of Cyber Six try Eternal
City, Crystal Tokyo. Set in the far future Cyber Six is a detective in a
world where most crime has been eliminated. Most, but not all...
Back to Revelations and Aftermath Index - Back to Cybersix Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction