The weird... the wired. Juri sat down behind her office desk and turned the power on for her laptop computer. She opened up her email account, blinking at all the messages stored there. She scrolled through them, then clicked on one and read it swiftly. "You mind if I stop in?" The short message was simply signed, "Lain." Reply was hit and Juri typed, "Sure, come on by. Just don't freak out the customers too badly." She clicked on send and smiled slightly. "Aww, that takes all of the fun out of it." Lain paused a moment before she added, "I'll see you tonight, then." Juri closed her up email again after checking out her remaining messages then she headed downstairs to check over the bar before opening tonight. She still didn't know what, exactly, the woman called Lain really was. A ghost in the machine? A god of the information super-highway? The princess of the Wired? Whatever she was, Lain was a pleasant and courteous patron of the bar, and that was good enough for her. "Hi, Jiri," Tendo Nabiki gave her a casual wave as she made her way up the hallway. Before the woman could get by her Juri grabbed her by the collar and hauled her back. "Something wrong, Juri-san?" she asked nervously. "Oh, yes," Juri said dangerously. "You're the one who used temporary 'Sping of Drowned Girl' to get all those guys in here," she scowled. "Would it help any if I donated half of my profits to the rape relief center?" a resigned Nabiki quickly offered. Juri paused a moment, letting Nabiki sweat for a moment. "All right," Juri sighed. She fixed Nabiki with a look, "But I'm having Sasami go over your books." Nabiki scowled, knowing how sharp the seemingly young girl could be. "You fight dirty, Arisugawa," she growled. Juri grinned, "I learned from the best." Later that evening a young woman stood alone, smiling slightly, up on the kareoke stage. Short brown hair, long dangling earrings, a single braid on the left side of her face and dressed up in a red shirt and black mini- skirt, she looked beautiful. But there was something... odd about that beauty, an almost unearthly feel. "And you don't seem to understand A shame you seemed an honest man And all the fears you hold so dear Will turn to whisper in your ear And you know what they say might hurt you And you know that it means so much And you don't even feel a thing I am falling, I am fading I have lost it all" There was a gentle smile on her face, and she was meeting the gaze of another young woman sitting in the crowd. Lain almost seemed sad as she sang, her voice taking on a touch of regret as she finished off the song, "I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning Help me to breathe I am hurting, I have lost it all I am losing Help me to breathe." "Hello, Lain," the woman was standing there waiting patiently at the side of the stage for Lain to step down. Long brown hair flowed over her slim shoulders, matching deep brown eyes that gazed up at Lain so kindly. "Arisu," Lain smiled at her tentatively, "what are you doing here?" Arisu smiled down at Lain and softly explained, "I just couldn't forget about you." Lain nodded slightly, accepting that. "So what do we do now?" she asked her softly. "Would you care to join me?" Arisu waved towards the now empty table that she had been sitting at. "I'd love to," Lain smiled back. "That was so sweet," a blushing Hyatt murmured. The dark haired girl went oddly green and then fell right over. "No lying down on the job!" her partner Excel grabbed her, "We're working for the greater glory of Across!" "Arisugawa," Hyatt corrected her weakly. "Arisugawa!" Excel agreed, "Lets go!" Keiko blinked as the two of them raced by her, Excel nearly dragging Hyatt behind her. She pushed her short brown hair back and asked, "Did someone put too much sugar in Excel's tea this morning?" "Maybe someone gave her a drink with caffine in it again," Cybergirl May mused, "those are always bad for her." The busty woman smiled at her lover fondly as she adjusted her maid's uniform, "I'm just glad it's a quiet night." Keiko was a bit surprised to see a counterpart of Ryouko waving from one of the tables. "I'll get that, love," she smiled at May. May kissed her on the cheek, "See you later." Keiko made her way through the crowds, swiftly reaching the table. She gave a smile and nod to Ryouko, then nearly froze at the woman sitting beside her. While clearly a woman, she had an uncanny resemblance to Tenchi Masaki. "I've been getting that reaction all day," the female Tenchi smiled wryly. Ryouko put her hand on Tenchi's, "Why am I not surprised?" She kissed her on the cheek, "You know they want you." Tenchi went red, "Ryouko!" 'That's Ryouko all right,' Keiko thought as she took their orders. "Have you two gone up to the bar yet?" she asked curiously. "No," Tenchi looked at her curiously. "You really should," Keiko chuckled. 'I can't wait to see Minagi and our Ryouko's reactions,' she thought with a smirk. The Staff: The bar's owner is Arisugawa Juri, from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Minagi, Ryouko and Sasami are from the series Tenchi Muyo. Keiko is also from Utena. Cyberdoll May is from Hand Maid May. Excel and Hyatt are from Excel Saga. And finally, Tendo Nabiki is from Ranma 1/2. The Characters in this Episode: Arisu and Lain are from Serial Experiments Lain. Ryouko and the female Tenchi are from Tenchi Muyo (No Need for Boys). Author's Note: I've only seen the first few episodes of Lain, but plan to see more of it. A very cool show. The song Lain is singing is Duvet, the opening theme of Serial Experiments Lain.
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