"Don't be too angry with her," Catrine said softly later as Erica picked her up at the gates of the training center, "it was my idea." The blue haired girl had changed out of her hardsuit underclothes to standard street wear, a simple set of pants and top, the blue of her hair shining in the sunlight. Erica Tenoh smiled back, her black hair falling into her eyes, "I think I've calmed down now." After a fairly stiff meeting with the three pilots Tuxedo Kamen had ducked out, finding a quiet place to revert to her other form and then returned here. "Does that mean you forgive Ran?" Catrine asked as they set out together. "No. But I'll punish her later," Erica joked. "Erica," Catrine lightly punched her in the shoulder. "If you had known it was me in the hardsuit, would you have gone all out?" Erica sighed, thinking about it as they walked along one of the busy streets. "No, I guess not," she conceded after a moment. "Exactly," Catrine took her arm, standing close to her. "Remind me not to annoy you, by the way," Erica flashed a grin as she said, "you're positively dangerous in a hardsuit." Catrine blushed with pleasure even as she said, "Well, we did out number you." She looked thoughtful, "I bet you could beat any one of us." "Maybe," Erica conceded. Back at the base Ran Mizuno puffed out a sigh of relief. 'I really thought Erica was going to lose it a minute there.' she mused, the blue haired pilot leaving her office in a simple black flight suit. "Hey Ran," Kyo Yamada called, the black haired young man nodding to her politely. "Kyo," Ran nodded her greetings even as she flashed him a warmer than usual smile. "Could you do me a favor?" "Yeah?" Kyo asked her a bit warily. "Nothing too dire," Ran reassures him, "I just want you to o over the combat data of Tuxedo Kamen versus three of our hardsuits." "Oh ho," Kyo grinned, whipping out a set of glasses and putting them on. Eagerly he asked, "How did they do?" "Three against one," Ran sounded annoyed, "and Tuxedo Kamen still nearly won." Kyo gave her a odd look, "You're not happy your friend nearly won?" Ran rolled her eyes, "I expected to have to call the fight off, not to see Tuxedo Kamen hold her own until they managed to pin her down." "Point," Kyo acknowledged. "Trainer suits, or military models?" "I told her they were trainer suits, but I lied," Ran confessed, "they were full on military models with stun charges rather than active guns." Kyo whistled softly, "Damn." "Yeah," Ran nodded, "and just think, she's only been active a few months. Imagine how good she'll be in a few years?" "Maybe we should get a few of our real aces to practice against her?" Kyo mused thoughtfully, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. Ran grinned back, "Might be something to think about." They reached the combat analysis room as she added, "Once we're done going over the data, I've been asked to send a copy to Major Motoko Kusanagi." Kyo raised a surprised eyebrow, "What does intelligence want with that data?" "I assume it's the Sailor Senshi connection that interests them," Ran said mildly. "All right, I'll help you out, but I expect a favor in return," Kyo said with a sly smile on his handsome face. "And what would that be?" Ran asked as the entered the room, holographic imaging systems and data crystal matrixes sitting about. "Dinner tonight?" Kyo asked mildly. Ran looked up at him, faintly surprised then smiled slightly. "Well, I don't have anything planned," she admitted, "so why not? Yes, we'll do dinner." Not much later on and up at the palace, Major Motoko Kusanagi strode down the hall, her uniform hugging her shapely form. Entering the outer office of Lady Venus she nodded to the receptionist, "Hello Nuku Nuku." Nuku Nuku beamed up at her cheerfully, her wild mane of red hair flowing around her. "Hello Major," she said, "Lady Venus said for you to head right in." "Thank you," Motoko said, hiding a smile as she headed by. If she had wanted to she could have snuck in to maintain the separation between Minako's diplomatic and intelligence roles, but now that she and Minako were in a formal relationship, it provided a good reason for her to pay a visit. Minako looked up from her desk, her blonde hair shining in the sunlight coming through a nearby window. "That had better not be more bad news," she growled, narrowing her blue eyes with annoyance. "Jun?" Motoko guessed as she walked over to her lover and hugged her gently. "Alcard jumped the gun and decided to pay her a visit," Minako revealed glumly as she huddled a moment in the safety of Motoko's arms, "she transformed and bodily threw him out of her apartment." Motoko frowned, "Alcard didn't try to kill her afterward, did he? I'd hate to arrest him, considering his abilities." Minako pulled away as she softly conceded, "Actually, Alcard showed remarkable restraint." A frown appeared on her face, "He said he could sympathize with her, having been used so often himself." Motoko scowled, "Remind me to thrash that vampire." "No, he's got a point," Minako said quietly. She walked back towards her desk as she said, "I should have taken into account that Jun was manipulated by Asuka Ran and how badly she might react to anyone else trying it." After a moment Motoko asked, "Are we writing her off as a agent, then?" "No, not yet," Minako said. She smiled wryly, "I'm seriously considering going out to see her with you as my bodyguard." "With another agent, too," Motoko added, thinking about how powerful Jun's Devilman Lady form could be. "Any suggestions?" Minako smiled teasingly. "Actually..." Motoko removed a data file from her jacket and passed it over. "Hmm," Minako plugged the crystal into a reader on her desk and quickly scanned the data. "This can't be right," she looked up in surprise. "I double checked the data myself," Motoko said with a half smile, "our new Tuxedo Kamen is actually faster than any of the Sailor Senshi when they first started out." "Too bad I can't formally recruit her," Minako murmured after a moment. "There's a rule saying senshi can't work for the crown?" Motoko guessed. "No," Minako shook her head, "but her parents would kill me." "Ah," Motoko nodded, "good point."
Back to Eternal City, Crystal Tokyo Index - Back to Revolutionary Girl Utena Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction