Authors Notes
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This is Kaiser Ryouga 2 here. I am sorry for the lack of updates to
anyone who follows this story, I was feeling a little out of sorts
with it, but now I’m back in business! And if you want somebody to
thank for this, thank Deathsythe. It’s thanks to Deathsythe’s comments
that I am choosing to continue this story. Well, that’s about it.
As usual with my workings,
{}= Thoughts
“”= Speech
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It had been two months since had Dizzy joined the Jellyfish pirates
and become a part of Johnny’s all female crew. At first, Dizzy had
found it hard to settle into life on the May ship. It was just so much
different from her previous experiences that it caught her off guard.
Despite that May had helped to get Dizzy settled in and the two of
them had become fast friends.
However Dizzy could not help but feel a deepening closeness between
she and May. It may not have been mutual, but Dizzy was becoming
attached to May in a way that could not be considered to be just
friendship.
May on the other hand, was clueless. In her eyes, Dizzy was just a
friend, and the only one that had a place in her heart was Johnny.
But things change...
**********
Dizzy was back in her room, grooming her wings. It was one of those
little traits that she had picked inside the grotto, and it had stuck
with her. Normally she would take this time to reflect on the past,
but lately, Dizzy had been thinking about nothing more than May.
A mild crimson blush rose unto Dizzy’s cheeks the very second May’s
name came to mind. Dizzy knew how important May had become to her.
Although Dizzy liked all of the crew, May was the only one that Dizzy
felt genuinely comfortable with. No one could put her at ease or
console her as well as May could.
Even the fact that May was human seemed irrelevant. None of it
mattered anymore. All that Dizzy cared about was getting even closer
to May, and just maybe get her to look a little deeper.
As Dizzy finished grooming her wings, she dusted away the stray
feathers and pulled out a book from under her bed. No matter what
happened, Dizzy would always have a yearning for more knowledge.
A knock came at the door, as soon as Dizzy flipped open a few pages.
Without looking back, Dizzy ushered them in.
“Come in.” Dizzy said absently.
The door opened up, and May walked in happily with a tray full of food
in her hands. “Morning Dizzy!”
Dizzy’s eyes widened in surprise, and a second blush came on her face.
She didn’t even have to look up to tell that was May. Dizzy put the
book she was about to read down, and smiled bashfully at May.
“Good morning, May. How are you today?” Dizzy said timidly.
May grinned a toothy grin. “I’m fine, silly! But you didn’t come down
for breakfast, so I brought breakfast to you!”
May brought the tray in her hands right up to Dizzy’s nose, and Dizzy
sweat-dropped at May’s forthright nature. So very blunt.
“Um...thank you...”
May winked. “No problem! But as soon as you finish eating, could you
help me out with something?”
Dizzy set the tray down on her lap, grabbed the fork and began to eat,
just as May spoke to her. “Certainly May, what do you need help with?”
“I just need some help with a few things and you’re the only one I can
trust with it.” May said.
**********
Later on that day, after the morning break, May and Dizzy snuck back
to May’s room. It had to be done in secret, simply because they both
had chores to do around the May ship, but April said that she’d
happily cover for the two of them. (As long as they paid her back for
the effort) As soon as May got to her room, she dragged Dizzy inside
and locked the door behind her. Dizzy was a little thrown by May’s
eagerness, but the young Gear had grown fond of May’s impulsiveness.
It was just another cute thing about her.
“Alright Dizzy, take a seat okay, I have something to show you.” May
said.
Dizzy nodded and sat down on the wooden chair next to May’s bed, while
May started fishing around for something inside her wardrobe.
Following a five-minute search, May wiped the sweat from her forehead
and brandished the object of her efforts.
“This is it!” May yelled. It was a bright yellow dress, cut short and
low, slightly revealing...
Dizzy sweat dropped. “Um, is that a dress?”
The face that May was making showed that she was at a loss to
understand Dizzy’s confusion. “Yeah, something wrong?”
Dizzy didn’t know very much about human garments, she had only known
that there was a certain trend for the type of garment that you wore
at any specific time. She had once heard this been called ‘fashion’
but she had never taken too much stock in it. Until now. Dizzy didn’t
know much about fashion but she did know that this kind of dress was
not standard form. It was sexual, in a very loud way.
Dizzy tried not to think about how May looked in it. “No. I like it.”
May swelled with pride. “Brilliant! I knew you would! I picked it out
with April when we stopped off in the ruins of Switzerland. I just
knew you’d like it, Dizzy!”
Dizzy nodded and rested her hands in her lap. “It is beautiful.
So...is this what you wanted from me?”
May nodded with a satiated smile. “Yep! I just need you to tell me how
I look in it.”
Uh oh. That was what Dizzy didn’t want. To see May in something so
revealing and tight... “Um...May, I do not think that I should...”
The minute May heard that she pouted at Dizzy with mock anger and
placed the dress on her bed. May stood over Dizzy with her hands at
her waist, and a look of disappointment painted on her face.
The orphaned pirate didn’t notice the flaming blush on Dizzy’s cheeks
but it didn’t do any more good for Dizzy when May’s cleavage flashed
in her face.
“Why not? We’re friends aren’t we? Why shouldn’t you see me in it?”
May asked. Dizzy was stumped by that. She actually did have a point,
if you looked at it from May’s perspective.
Dizzy ran a hand through her hair, trying to avert her gaze from May’s
well-endowed body. “...B-but why did you not ask April or one of the
other girls?”
“Because April likes it too and I know that she’ll try and pilfer it
if I let her know where I hid it! And the other girls are all busy.
Besides, nobody’s a better judge of perfection then you are.”
Dizzy was confused by that. “What do you mean by that?”
May leaned up properly, and held her hand to her chin, in a forced
attempt to look wise.
“Well just look at you. You wear the same uniform as me; yet you seem
so much cuter than I do in it. I think that there’s something special
about you. But that’s just what I think.”
Dizzy blushed again, and looked away with bashful smile. May always
did that somehow. She made her feel so comfortable, even under a
complement. Dizzy didn’t like it when people harmonized her. It was
embarrassing. Yet coming from May, it didn’t feel embarrassing. It
made her feel special.
“May...”
The brunette winked at Dizzy. “What? It’s true!”
The beautiful Gear exhaled and nodded to May. She may regret this, but
if it made May happy...
“Alright,” Dizzy said. “Model it for me.”
May giggled innocently and flashed a V for victory at Dizzy. “Yeah! I
knew you’d come around! I’m gonna get changed now so try not to peep,
okay?”
Dizzy’s eyes couldn’t get any wider then they did. “What!?” Dizzy
spluttered. “I would never do something like that!”
May giggled again. “Oh yeah? So why are you blushing?”
Dizzy covered her face with her hands to hide her flushed cheeks. She
was damn well sure that one of these days that blush of hers would
give Dizzy away.
“Stop teasing me!” Dizzy said; her voice slightly muffled by the hands
over her mouth.
“Hee, hee, hee! Okay, okay! Just tell me how I look in it.”
May stifled her giggles enough to go behind the changing screen and
get her clothes off. Dizzy looked to her side as May’s silhouette
stripped off it’s clothing and flung them over the screen. Dizzy
bravely ignored the outline of May’s now nude form, no matter how hard
it was. May gently fitted the yellow dress on, and smiled to herself.
She knew that she liked it, but it was Dizzy’s opinion that mattered.
Yet May did not realize just how much it meant to her.
May stepped around the screen and stood in front of Dizzy, arms placed
at her sides, and her head bowed in a quiet inquisitiveness.
“So...um...” May started. “How do I look? Do I look okay?”
Dizzy just sat there, gaping at a flesh tight dress clinging to the
object of her affections. It was hard to believe how good she looked
in it if you couldn’t actually see her in it. The dress gave her a
mature, elegant look yet at the same time, May looked so completely
sexy in it.
“You...look beautiful...” Dizzy mumbled.
May’s eyes flashed with a bright happiness. “Really?”
Dizzy nodded in earnest. “Yes. You do. You look very beautiful.”
May did a little twirl and smiled happily at Dizzy. “Thanks. I knew
you’d like it.”
“Why are you so adamant about knowing that it looks good on you?”
May’s eyes lowered again, with another look a depth in them.
“Johnny. It’s for Johnny.” May said quietly.
“Oh.” Dizzy’s expression promptly fell. That wasn’t what she wanted to
hear, not by a long shot. “I see.”
**********
It had been three months since Baiken and Millia had first met each
other. At the time neither one of them thought that would end up
living together but that had been the case. Millia had originally
planned to keep moving, to avoid being caught by any rogue assassin
agents. Baiken had been told of Millia’s troubles with the Zato-ONE’s
assassin organization, so she held no reservations about Millia moving
on. But there was a problem. The city ruins that Baiken had been
protecting were in an alcove facing a high cliff face. It was more or
less blocked off from the rest of the world, except for one checkpoint
at the entrance to the city. There had apparently been had been some
trouble around the outside of the city. So much so that the Union of
Nations had declared Marshall law on the humble town, just until they
could interrogate enough people within the city to substantiate their
suspicions on their current suspects. That meant that Millia was
pinned down to this spot for a while. She had at first refused
Baiken’s initial offer of a place to stay, but now that she was
trapped here, Baiken’s offer did not seem as outrageous. When Millia
returned to Baiken’s home and informed her of the situation, the
one-eyed Ronin questioned Millia about it. She assumed that Millia
could merely force her way through the checkpoint; her powers more
than facilitated such a measure, but Millia argued that making that
kind of trouble would blow her fragile cover. At the moment, this was
the safest place for her, presuming the assassins found it as hard to
get in as Millia found it to get out. So the scarred samurai and the
unwilling assassin chose to live together for the time being. The
checkpoint remained sealed until the Union of nations had sorted this
problem out. It was supposed to be a short-term thing, but that
short-term hold-off had generated into a long-term one. Nearly six
weeks after the checkpoint had been closed off, and it was still in
the thicket of its blockage. You would have thought that this would
infuriate Millia to no end, but in actuality, she was not bothered
about it. Millia had long since come to be attached to the city, and
Baiken.
It seemed like an unlikely pair, but Millia and Baiken had forged an
unknowing friendship. Baiken acknowledged Millia’s power, regardless
of her restraint in using it, and Millia had become accustomed to
Baiken’s fire and spirit in the face of so much fighting and lust for
vengeance. There was a mutual respect between the two of them. They
respected each other’s strength and could sympathise and relate to the
suffering/pain that the other had been through. And as fate would have
it, understandings on a spiritual level lead to understandings on a
physical one.
**********
One morning, around 9.00, Millia and Baiken travelled to a lake just a
few miles south of the city to catch some fish. Millia had told Baiken
that she had a dislike for red meat, and the only flesh-like food that
could satiate her was fish. Baiken agreed that she would show Millia
to the lake at which Baiken had caught her own. It was special for
Millia, simply because she had never done her own fishing before. The
two left Baiken’s dwelling and brought some fishing poles, a blanket,
a couple of bottles of sake (heh, heh!) and a bag to carry the spoils
of their efforts back home. Millia and Baiken walked for about an
hour, and eventually the reached the lake. The lake was beautiful,
crystal clear water sparkling in the bright sunlight, and surrounded
by a dank yet tranquil forest.
Baiken and Millia stepped up to the embankment at the edge of the
water.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Baiken asked.
Millia nodded. “Yes. It is.” Millia’s eyes darkened. “So strange that
that this wondrous place could exist in such a war ravaged world.”
The cerise haired samurai placed the two fishing rods and bottles of
sake over her back on the ground and spread out the blanket over the
slightly wet grass.
“We are lucky to have this. But this world cannot satisfy the needs of
the few, like us. As much as I hate today’s society for constantly
indulging itself, I cannot blame them for it.”
Millia took a seat next to Baiken on the blanket that she had laid out
for the two of them, and gave the Japanese woman a confused look.
“Why not? Humanity is as much to blame for the crusades as the Gears
are. The Gears are the children born of the human race’s arrogance and
insecurities. Isn’t it only fitting that the legacy of human warfare
be the tool that attempted to author its destruction?”
Baiken chuckled lightly to herself. “That’s not a very pacified view.
Humans cannot be blamed for human instincts. Fighting is a part of
mankind’s nature.”
“That is just an excuse for those who can’t face up to our
bloodstained lineage. Fighting isn’t something we’re born with.”
Baiken uncorked her bottle of sake, gulped some of it down in one
swig, and smiled at Millia.
“You’re right. Combat it isn’t something that happens. It is something
people make happen. Similar to a miracle. But if *they* are to blame,
why are *we* still fighting?”
Millia’s eyes darkened as she leaned back. “I have no choice.”
“Everyone has a choice. You could walk away from Zato. He doesn’t rule
you any longer. Neither in practice nor in spirit. And trying to
blindly fulfil a gift to a spectre of the past will not purge you.”
Millia breathed a sigh of frustration, and pulled a few strands of her
unusual blonde hair back into place.
“I thought we were talking about the fighting of humanity.” Millia
said sharply.
Baiken let out a haughty laugh. “We are. Or are you not human?”
Millia had to avoid that question. She herself didn’t know anymore.
“Are you trying to find morality in warfare?”
“No, because there isn’t any. What I am saying is that total
destruction cannot be blamed solely on humanity. If fighting were not
in the spirit of mankind, we wouldn’t keep battling each other. You
have power yet you choose not to exorcise it in a way that will cause
you pain. That is a natural reaction to this situation Millia, but it
doesn’t mean that a fighting instinct does not live inside you. If I
were wrong, you wouldn’t have been able to defeat Zato-ONE.”
The blonde shivered at the mention of that name. Images of him being
consumed by shadows would echo in Millia’s mind when Zato’s name was
spoken.
“You seem to have a strong will to fight,” Millia said grudgingly. “Is
this the result of your own instincts or because you feel something
deeper?”
Baiken gulped some more sake. “I am just a woman who enjoys a good
fight. Aside from revenge it is the one good thing about existing in a
soulless body. I choose to use my powers for my own ends, but not at
the expense of the lives of others. Unless my sword demands it.”
Baiken passed the bottle of sake over to Millia, who took it and
guzzled a share. She wasn’t a drinker but hanging around Baiken had
that kind of effect of you.
“Is that why you didn’t kill me when I asked you to?” Millia said.
“No. I just didn’t want to see a powerful and gifted fighter die in a
insincere and cowardly way.”
Millia closely studied Baiken, who was giving her an equally poignant
look. The blonde had held firm on her ideas about fighting, but
Baiken’s way seemed to bring a light to it that Millia would never
have found out for herself. When she first met Baiken, Millia was
confused as to how she was so easily read by this woman. But within
her was a sage-like wisdom. One that must have taken years to
cultivate. You learned something everyday with this samurai.
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