---Meiji Period Japan, January 12, 1881--- ---- "It seems that the art of war is not a contest for supremacy, and not a matter of relative strength. Not taking a step forward, not taking a step backward, I am not seen by opponents. Penetrating the place where heaven and earth have not divided and yin and yang do not reach, directness will attain success." Tai-a Ki: Notes on the Peerless Sword, by Zen Master Takuan (1573-1645) ---- She stood out on the corner as the snow and wind blew around her. In the usually busy Tokyo streets, venders and people were staying in during the snow storm. A sudden gust of wind blew her dark wavy hair back, and she instinctually clutched tighter to her violin case with one hand as she held her coat closed around her neck with the other. She looked at the address again that the geisha at the Geit Okiya had given her, and swallowed hard. They hadn't seen each other in over ten years. She was only seven the last time they'd been allowed to spend time together, and even then the other girl was beginning the training to become a maiko and eventually a geisha. She tried over the years to keep in contact, but slowly, over the years, they had simply lost touch. And now, with both parents gone, she found herself alone in the world, and with no one to turn to for help. She dreaded this; the last thing she wanted was to be a burden. But she was alone, scared and penniless; she'd spent the last of what money she had to get the train ticket to Tokyo. She hoped to possibly earn a living as a musician, but in the meantime she needed a roof over her head and something to eat. Waiting for a carriage to pass by, she crossed the street and headed for the establishment with the newly-built brick facing. As she opened the door, a tiny bell affixed to the top of the doorframe signaled a customer. A fairly attractive young European woman wearing a corset, and with her dark hair done up with a large bow, stepped out of the backroom and smiled warmly at her. "Konichi wa." She said with a smile. Looking at the young lady's red cheeks and the way her teeth were chattering, the woman suddenly took on a more concerned expression. "Miss, you look like you're frozen stiff. Come stand by the stove a bit before you begin your shopping." Looking around nervously as she held her violin case to her chest with both hands, she shook her head. "Thank you, ma'am, but I'm not a customer. I'm here to see someone." The woman raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Ooh?" "Yes, a Yamazaki Linna-san. I was told she works here." The woman seemed to study her shivering form for a few seconds, apparently sizing her up. Finally, the warm smile reappeared. "Of course, wait right here." She said as she went back into the backroom, only to emerge a few minutes later with a young Japanese woman carrying a broom following her. Her hair reached down only to the beginning of her neck. The young lady with the violin had never seen a woman with hair so short before. "L... Linna-san?" the woman asked timidly. The young lady with the broom looked at her boss, then back at the chilled young woman in front of her. "Hai..."she said a bit hesitantly, "I'm Linna Yamazaki. Can I help you?" Linna was surprised to see the young lady in front of her suddenly burst into tears and rush to hug her. "Cousin! Oh god, oh Linna-chan, I've found you!" Linna looked down at the young girl holding onto her, stunned. "C... Cousin Michiru?" Linna finally gasped. ------ "Six months." the agent found herself complaining. "We've been searching for six bloody months now, and what do we have to show for it? Urgh, I tell you, I... Yomiko? Are you listening?" Turning around, she could see her companion with her attention focused on a book, wheeling her suitcase behind her. Waving her hand in front of the woman, she got her attention. "I'm Sorry, Nancy-san. I..." Yomiko Readaman watched sadly as her companion grabbed the book from her and tucked it away in a pocket in her petticoat. "You'll get this back after we make contact." Nancy gently scolded. "Right, this is the street lamp she said to meet her at. Do you see anyone who might be her?" Yomiko pushed her glasses back with her finger as the snow continued to fall around them, "Just the normal inhabitants of Tokyo, Nancy. I..." She was cut off by a tap on the shoulder. Surprised, she quickly turned around, pulling a deck of playing cards out of her pocket and spreading them in her hand. Nancy turned quickly as well, annoyed that someone could've snuck up on them so easily. They both relaxed when they saw it was a dark haired woman with curly shoulder length hair sticking out from underneath a derby. She had a sword sheathed in its scabbard at her left hip, right next to her gun holster. She wore a heavy trail duster coat over her vest, a pair of men's slacks, and spurs on her boots. Both Yomiko and Nancy noticed she was missing her right arm. She tilted her head a bit as she examined the two ladies in front of her, then leaned over to Yomiko. "I understand you have a thing for samurais." she whispered. Nancy, standing to Yomiko's right, spoke up. "Yes, we do. But not just any samurais. We're looking for the kind who likes to wear dresses in their off hours." The one armed woman looked over to the speaker, a grin teasing her lips as she spoke. "A thousand ryu up front, and in my hand, before we go any further." Unseen by the three women, an ominous shadow moved silently across the street, followed by several more. ------ "Hello. Welcome to Akabeko. My name's Sekihara Tae, and I'll be your waitress. May I take your orders?" "Miso soup." the woman under the cloak said, rubbing her hands together for warmth. "The hotter the better." "Same." the blonde said to the waitress. As she left to take their orders back to the chef, the woman in the cloak looked out to see five men struggling to raise a grand piano by pulley up to a sixth story window. She then saw four hold the rope as the piano reached the top of the pulley, as the fifth used a sailor's knot to tie the rope to a tree trunk. "Priss? What are you watching?" Priss turned away from the window to face Nene. "An accident waiting to happen." she joked. Blowing into her hands, she suddenly got serious. "So what did you need to speak to me about, Nene?" The young Russian looked around and lowered her voice, "Priss, have you ever heard of the British Library?" Priss looked at her blankly, "The what?" "They're a secret organization, answerable directly to the British Prime Minister. Not much is known about them, but they're extremely powerful. And they've been asking Colonel Roland and Major McNichol questions about the Knight Sabers." Priss looked around uneasily, "Why are you telling me this? Why not simply tell Sylia?" "Because I ran into you first, and I was going to wait until Syl closed up shop before telling her." Priss groaned. "What kinds of questions?" she asked. Nene was just about to answer when Sekihara returned with their soup. "Here you are, ladies. Enjoy." She said with a smile. Looking out the window, her expression suddenly changed as she saw something in the sky. "That's strange." she said, pointing to the window, "I would've thought all the birds had left for warmer temperatures by now." ------ Officer Daley Wong had his scarf wrapped tight around his neck as he and his new partner continued with their patrols. The young rookie was teamed up with Wong in order that he might benefit by being with an experienced officer. Daley looked at the young man and shook his head. The rookies just kept getting younger and younger. As his new partner put a pair of mittens on, Daley decided to start up a conversation." "Pretty cold, huh?" he asked. The young man nodded his head. "So, have any trouble growing up, being mixed I mean?" The rookie turned to Daley, "What do you mean by that?" he asked in a husky voice. Daley smiled. "Nothing bad, just couldn't help but notice your sandy blonde hair." He looked hard at Daley, then turned away. "My mom was French." He conceded, "And yes, I was teased about it." "Hmm... I'm sorry I brought it up. Just trying to make conversation." The young man let out a sigh. "Nah, don't worry about it. I just overreacted." They rode on a bit further, past three women (one of whom, a cripple, was missing her right arm). Daley studied the young man's profile. "Just out of curiosity, Officer Ten'ou, how old are you?" Rookie Haruka Ten'ou looked at Daley puzzled. "You know you have to be nineteen to be allowed on the force." Officer Wong smiled knowingly, "I didn't ask how old you have to be to be on the force. I asked you how old you were. And don't lie kid, because I can tell when someone's not giving me all the facts." Rookie Ten'ou looked down in defeat. "Seventeen." he mumbled. Daley just shook his head. "Kid, what in the hell you doing in a police uniform at seventeen?" Haruka looked at him. "Are you going to turn me in?" he asked. Wong shook his head. "No, kid. If you passed the physical, that's good enough for me. But in these streets I'm not letting you out of my sight, either. I..." he stopped when he saw Rookie Ten'ou's jaw drop as he stared awe-struck up behind him. Turning around, Daly couldn't believe his eyes. "Holy shit." He whispered. ------ Linna sat next to her cousin Michiru Kaiou in front of the coal stove in the back corner of the Silky Doll. Sylia had naturally given her the day off in order to become reacquainted with her relative. Not that there was much business anyways; the bad weather was keeping most people inside. As Sylia cashed out the sole customer, she went and turned the sign at the door to say they were closed. Linna, who had her arm around Michiru, looked up at the grandfather clock. "Sen... Sylia?" Linna said, catching herself before slipping in front of her cousin, "It's only two in the afternoon. Are you sure you want to close this early?" "We're dead, and besides," she said, smiling at their visitor. "I'd like to meet your cousin as well." Michiru smiled. "Thank you Miss... Sylia, is it?" Sylia nodded with a smile. Turning to Linna, she took on a more serious expression. "Linna, I hope you're planning on how to introduce her to Priss." Priss! Linna hadn't thought of her yet. Priss would probably be okay with her cousin, but what would Michiru's reaction be to her? And what about their relationship? How does one explain to one's relatives that one is in love with another woman? "Linna-chan?" Michiru asked, "Are you okay? You suddenly turned white." Linna looked from her cousin to Sylia, who also looked concerned. "I... I'm fine, I..." ---bang--- Sylia looked away to the street. Someone was playing with firecrackers, it seemed. Probably some kids who... ---Bang--- Sylia took a few steps back from the entrance. That was no firecracker. ---BANG!--- "Linna." Sylia said, her voice suddenly taking on a commanding tone, "Get Michiru into the back library. Now." Linna knew enough not to question her sensei's orders. She grabbed Michiru's wrist and started for the back of the Silky Doll. "Come on, Michiru-chan. Quickly." "But wait, what's going on? I don't understand what..." ---KA-THOOM!--- The front of the Silky Doll suddenly exploded inward. Sylia leapt behind the counter as Linna pulled Michiru forward, throwing her to the ground and shielding her with her own body. Screams and shouts began to be heard coming in from the outside. Linna painfully pulled herself up off of her cousin, pulling a shard of glass out of her own shoulder as she did so. Sylia rushed to the front of the store and looked out. About sixty feet above her, flying in formation, were at least fifteen flying contraptions, looking like giant box kites with wings. Steam powered propellers moved the vehicles forward. The men piloting the things were dropping explosives down on the streets and buildings below them. "Bloody hell." she gasped. ------ The restaurant Priss and Nene were in suddenly became a sea of noise and confusion, as a small building across the street was blown to bits. Priss stood up, but realized the door out was jammed with people trampling over one another to escape. In frustration, she grabbed the corner of the table in front of her. "Nene, help me pick up the table." she ordered. "What? But why?" "Don't argue! Pick it up!" Three seconds later, a table came crashing through one of the windows in Akabeko, followed by two young women. As more patrons started to file out, Nene watched as an out of control carriage ran over a woman in the street. Priss looked up to see more of the low-flying machines coming their way. And then she remembered the piano. She looked around through the smoke. Miraculously, it was still there hanging from the pulley, the rope tethered to the tree. She ran toward it, watching the skies as the things got closer. Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out her dotanuki. People seeing her holding the deadly blade quickly moved out of her way as she made her way to the rope holding up the piano. She would only get one chance to get it right, so her timing had to be perfect. Nene, watching from her vantage point, suddenly guessed at what Priss was thinking of doing. "She's nuts." she whispered, just before another nearby explosion rocked her off her feet. Looking up, she saw Priss grab the rope with one hand as she cut it loose with the other. The piano immediately started descending, pulling Priss up rapidly on the other end of the rope. Just before she reached the pulley wheel, Priss let go, falling onto the wing of one of the machines. She heard the piano crash violently to the ground as the plane, with its newly acquired passenger, flew overhead. ------ Fire and bricks rained down on the streets below, as Yomiko and her two companions hid beneath the wall of playing cards. As several flying machines flew overhead, Nancy looked over to see their contact run out from behind the cover of Yomiko's wall and out into the open, pulling her gun out as she did so. As scared men and women ran around on either side of her, she began firing up at the contraptions. "Come on, you fuckers!" she snarled, "Can't you even take out a one-armed broad?" As she fired, one of her bullets hit the cockpit of a particularly low-flying machine. It quickly spun out of control, crashing into a clock tower. Debris began to rain down to where Haruka was watching all in shock. Daley immediately began to run over. "Ten'ou!" he screamed, "Look out!" Daley tackled his partner out of the way, both landing with a thud. "Get down, I... Huh?" Daley suddenly realized that, where his arm now rested on his partner's chest, he was feeling something through the rookie's shirt that didn't belong there. Looking up, he saw Haruka blushing furiously. He quickly got up and offered Ten'ou a hand. "When this is all over," Daley said, helping his partner up, "You can tell me why a seventeen year old girl is trying to pass herself off as a nineteen year old man. For now, let's try to get everyone in the streets to safety. Then..." he stopped when he looked up to see one of the machines flying erratically. As it got closer, he could see a woman clutching a dotanuki in her mouth as she struggled to hold onto the wing. Even from this great a distance, Daley could tell who it was. "She's bleedin' nuts." he murmured. ------ "What the bloody hell is going on out there?" Colonel Roland asked angrily. "Sir," Private Sweager explained, "the city's being attacked from the skies." "What?" Roland asked as a nearby explosion shook the ground. Just his luck. This would happen on the eve of Reika Chang's arrival tomorrow. "Where the bloody hell's McNichol?" "Sir, he's out in the compound taking care of..." before the private could finish, Leon came bursting in. "Sir!" he said, his nose and cheeks rosy from the cold outside, "We're being attacked!" "Really, Major McNichol?" Colonel Roland said sarcastically. "Then that would explain the explosions, wouldn't it! Get your men mobilized and get out to the streets now!" ------ "Are you alright?" Linna asked Michiru as Sylia followed them into the library. Michiru nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit shaken, I guess. I..." she stopped when Sylia reached over and placed her hand at the juncture where her neck and shoulder met. As she pinched the pressure point, Michiru's eyes rolled back and she passed out, falling into Linna's arms. Linna picked her up and put her violin case aside as Sylia pulled forward the volume of Shakespeare's Plays from the bookcase, opening the hidden doorway to their subterranean base. "I'm sorry sensei." Linna said as they descended, "I had no idea she'd be coming here." Sylia looked back toward her and smiled. "Heh, now you know how I felt when Mackie showed up out of the blue." Reaching the bottom, Linna gently lay her down on a mat as Sylia began to remove her clothes, her armor now spread out on a table in front of her. Putting on the underlying clothes that went on underneath the samurai armor, she looked over to see Linna's wounded shoulder as the former geisha began to strip. "You going to be okay?" she asked as she strapped on her gun belt, followed by her waist sash. "I'm going to have to be." Linna answered gravely. Her thoughts were a million miles away, though. Her only living relative had to pick today of all days to walk back into her life. And Priss; she was out there somewhere with all this going on. Hopefully, she'd found some cover and was safely waiting this out somewhere. ------ Priss' hands were aching, and the tips of her fingers were slowly going numb. She'd never been this high up off the ground before, and she could feel fear and nausea building up within her. Inch by agonizing inch, she was making her way to the cockpit. The pilot of the machine saw her reaching up with her right hand to grab the dotanuki out of her mouth while holding on with her left. Priss noticed he had some sort of mask on, with a hose sticking out and into a cylinder on his back. The man reached down and pulled out a pistol. Priss knew it was now or never. She crouched down and made a leap for it, coming down with her sword and slicing the gun in half as he was about to pull the trigger. Nearly slipping on ice forming around the cockpit, she reached out and grabbed him around the neck. "Land!" she shouted, in order to be heard above the engines. "Or I'll kill us both!" she threatened, raising her sword with the other hand. The man, in response, quickly jerked his control rod, causing Priss to loose both her balance and the grip around the man's neck. As she fell, her heart felt like it was ready to explode out of her chest. They say in times like this, a person's life flashes before their eyes. Priss, however, only thought of one thing. "Linna." she whispered. As she got closer to the ground, she suddenly saw something coming upward at high speed toward her. Something white. It reached her now, surrounding her on every side, wrapping around and under her, slowing her descent as it did so. Finally coming to a full stop, she then began to gently lower until she found herself lying on the street. The white substance lost its form as she stood up on shaky legs, and reached out to pick up... "Paper?" she asked, holding the leaf in her hand. Looking around, she was surrounded by a veritable mountain of small journal-sized sheets of paper, and the streets were littered with rubble and dead bodies... From a distance, a woman watched her, pushing her glasses back with her hand. Closing her case back up, she turned back to see Nancy and their informant. Nancy was shaking her head smiling. "You're insane, you know that?" she said to the woman, who smiled back. "I shot one down though, didn't I?" Nancy had to laugh at her bravado. "So what do they call you anyway?" "Jeena. Jeena Malso." "Well, Jeena, here's your thousand ryu. Care to take us to the Knight Sabers now?" Jeena pocketed the bag Nancy Makuhari passed her, "Where are your horses?" she asked. "Around the corner." Nancy answered. Jeena smiled. "Mine's down the street. Meet me at the Silky Doll." "The Silky Doll?" Yomiko asked confused, "You mean the women's clothing store downtown." "That's the one. Meet me there, I'll lead you the rest of the way." She said before turning away. Nancy headed for the horses, as Readaman took one last look at the woman she'd just saved. She then turned and followed Nancy. Meanwhile, Priss was still standing around in a daze as Daley and Haruka reached her. "What the hell's going on around here?" Daley asked her. Priss, still stunned, just stood there looking around at the pile of paper surrounding her. Haruka spoke up. "Ma'am, are you okay? What did you think you were doing up there?" she asked, when suddenly she saw two people coming up fast on horseback, and stared in awe. Two of the city's heroes, the Knight Sabers, were actually coming their way. No, more than heroes; word was they'd been given the legal status of samurais by the Emperor himself. "Priss!" someone shouted from behind. The two police officers and Priss turned around to see a near breathless Nene running up to them. "Are you insane?" she screamed as the green and silver Knight Sabers finally rode up. "You could've gotten killed up there, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking, you..." "Silky Doll." Priss finally said, "We need to get to the Silky Doll, we..." "Don't bother." Daley spoke up, "It looks like they've left. The attack is over." Nene looked at the devastation around them, "Looks like we have a new enemy guys." she said gravely. The silver Knight Saber looked over to Haruka. "Can this officer be trusted?" "If you mean can she keep secrets," Daley said, "She's kept the fact she's a girl a secret pretty well." Haruka's eyes widened; Officer Wong knew the Knight Sabers? The one who spoke before looked back to her. "Can you and Daley-kun give these women a ride back to the Silky Doll?" It took Haruka a moment to find her voice. "Yes, Ma'am. Of course." ---A Short Time Later--- Michiru opened her eyes to find herself in a dark cave lit by candles and gaslight. Disoriented, she looked around her as she rubbed at the sore on her shoulder. Getting up off the mat she was laying on, she made her way to the winding staircase she saw in the back corner of the subterranean room, ignoring the many side rooms and the weapons displays lining the walls. As she walked up the stairs, she began to wonder what happened, and where her cousin and Miss Stingray disappeared to. Also, where was her violin case? Coming to the top, she tried to open the door, but couldn't. Looking around her, she saw a lever on the wall, and pulled it. The door then opened of its own accord. Exiting the darkened staircase, she saw the library in the back room, and her violin resting on a bookcase. Feeling much less claustrophobic than she was in the darkened passage, she breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing movement in the store, she ran out of the backroom excitedly. "Linna, where did you go, I..." she stopped when she realized neither Linna nor Sylia were out in the store. Instead, there was a woman with glasses who looked like a teacher or librarian, another woman wearing an extremely revealing outfit, and a third who looked like she'd just walked off of the American West, and who was missing an arm. The one armed woman strode forward toward her, her spurs clanging against the wood and broken glass littering the inside of the Silky Doll. "Hmmm... Interesting. You don't like the type she would pick. Which one are you, the blue? The pink?" Michiru looked at the woman in utter confusion. "What? Blue or pink what?" The woman began to chuckle as she slowly reached her hand under her coat. "Very well, have it your way. Where's Stingray?" Michiru became nervous as she looked from the speaker to the two women behind her. "I... I don't know. I just got here today, and..." Before she could finish, she found the barrel of a colt '45 up against her forehead. "Then we'll have to jog your memory, won't we." she said with a sneer. ---To Be Continued--- End Notes: I expected this to take a lot longer to write than it ended up taking. I guess I'd been planning it out in my head so long, it just flowed out. Things will make more sense as the series progresses (I hope ) Haruka Ten'ou and Michiru Kaiou are from Sailor Moon, Nancy Makuhari and Yomiko Readaman are from Read Or Die, Sekihara Tae is from Rurouni Kenshin and Jeena Malso is from the A.D. Police OVA.
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