The year was 2134.  

Otakuland--the center of otaku culture in the entire world--had been 
destroyed by its own defense system.  Thousands of poor otaku within 
the settlement walls died with their home.  Only a precious few 
remained alive and animated, yet scattered across the coast.

We were going to help them find a new home.

But first I had to save my husband.

				********************

   			    The Sword and the Sheath
			 A FAQing Hostile Gaiden Duology
			         By Mark Poa   
		FAQing Hostile series spawned by Twoflower
						
					Part 2
			
				******************** 

Series Chronology: 	This duology takes place between chapters 5 
and 10 of the main FAQing Hostile storyline.  It provides a possible 
view to the adventures of the hovercraft Rurouni’s occupants as they 
search for Otakuland survivors.

				*******************

I didn’t know when things started to go bad.  But, in a hostile world 
like ours, I wondered why I should even be surprised.  

Our mission so far could have been considered a moderate success.  We 
had managed to find several Otakuland survivors and unite them under 
one settlement, to make sure the remnants of the otaku culture would 
have a place to thrive.  And it also made it easier to harness all of 
our resources to help our tribe survive.  

We knew there was another option, but Kenishi and I agreed that these 
people may not be ready to go on such a long trip.

Or another shock.

Anyway, the bad stuff started when Kenishi agreed to go and try to 
rescue the otaku in SeaWorld.  I thought it would not be much trouble.  
But, when Yosh and the others came back in the Rurouni, injured and 
without my husband, I knew something had gone wrong.  

Ken-chan had been captured.

This mission was going to require a kunoichi after all.

				******************

Farina tried to convince me not to go.  She was going to have a tough 
time doing so.  

Youji had already tried.  He tried to convince me that there was no 
way Ken could still be alive. From his flabbergasted look when I said 
no, I could tell that he probably wasn’t used to women who were as 
fiercely determined as I was. It was probably due to the lack of them 
under his command. Well, this was one woman who didn’t give in easily! 

"Take someone with you, at least," he tried to persuade me.

But I couldn't.  I had my reasons for wanting to go alone.

I finally convinced him to let me go alone. Most likely, he thought I 
still would have gone even without his permission.  Well, in that 
respect, he was right. 

Farina, however, kept trying to dissuade me even while I was preparing 
my things.

“I don’t understand why you should be the one to go,” she stated, her 
voice quivering.  “Why not ask Youji or one of his men to go for you?”  

I opened my equipment box.  Inside it were my kunoichi uniform and my 
weapons.  I took out the uniform and laid it over a chair.  I started 
to remove the sash on my kimono.  

“I couldn’t. Youji and one of his men just received word about some 
otaku near the coast. They have to tend to that first.  No one else 
here can pilot the Rurouni,” I explained as I removed my clothes and 
folded them properly.  “The only other person whom we taught to pilot 
the Rurouni was Yosh and he’s injured.  You and the others are going 
to need Cutter and whoever else is staying here to help you defend 
yourselves, in case...”  

I lifted the kunoichi uniform from the chair and held it close to my 
body.  It had been a long time since I last wore it.  

I turned and gave Farina a smile.  “Don’t worry, Farina-san.  I was 
trained as a kunoichi assassin back in Otakuland.”  The frown on her 
face still remained.  I could tell that she was still unconvinced.

I lifted the top of the outfit over my head and pulled it on. Despite 
the fact that I hadn’t worn it in a while, it fit like a second skin.  
I put on the leggings next.  They were a bit worn but still good 
enough and fitted comfortably.  The outfit was completely black, ideal 
for the type of sneaking I would be doing.  I decided against wearing 
the face mask.  The thing always made me sneeze at the most 
inappropriate times in the past.  I started choosing my weapons from 
my "collection".  Picking up my choices, I placed them in pockets 
around my belt and leggings.  

My kunoichi outfit probably intrigued Farina.  She hadn’t spoken a 
word while I dressed.  On the other hand, it might also be because I 
was rarely seen in anything but my kimonos.

I stifled a sigh before it could escape my lips.  I didn’t want to 
show any signs of worry or fear to Farina. That would only give her 
leverage to convince me to stay.

“Look,” Farina finally said, “I understand what it must feel like to 
lose a husband.  Mine was killed during a fight with the Ears.  I 
mourned his loss but I learned to move on.”  She turned around and 
threw her hands up in the air.  “We don’t even know if he’s still 
alive, for Urd’s sake!  For all we know, they could have fed him to 
their dolphins or something.”

I only had one argument left.  I decided to use my trump card.

I stopped my preparations and smiled at Farina.  “I know he’s still 
alive.”  I placed a hand to my chest.  “I can feel it in my heart.”

Farina looked at me with a quizzical look in her eyes.  She sighed in 
exasperation.  “You’re just too stubborn and I’m getting tired of 
arguing with you.  I guess I have nothing else to say then, Arashi-
san.  Except good luck.”  

I smiled at her, though she probably won't know the real reason behind 
it.  I didn't want to go into that sappy shoujo act until it was 
absolutely necessary.  But I guess it worked anyway since she started 
helping me pack up.

And they said I wasn’t a good actress back in Otakuland.

				******************

It took me less than half a day to reach SeaWorld territory.  I parked 
the Rurouni a short distance from SeaWorld and took out the tarp to 
hide it.  The tarp was the same color as the sand dunes around the 
hovercraft.  The whole thing blended in with the surroundings.  No one 
would notice the covered hovercraft from a distance.

Could the Handlers have spotted Kenishi and his friends when they 
first came here?  It could have been one of the reasons they were 
caught.  From what Cutter told us, the Handlers seemed aware of them 
escaping.  My husband was sloppy like that sometimes.

There was that twinge of guilt again. I felt it as I made my way up a 
dune.  Ever since Cutter and the others came back without my husband, 
I kept asking myself why I didn’t go with Kenishi on the first rescue 
mission.  

I remembered what I had said to him after that meeting.  I realized 
that all of it was true. Those wounded in our temporary hospital 
needed my help.  There were just too many of them!  I couldn’t bear 
seeing those people--especially the children--suffering. I felt I had 
to stay.  And Kenishi understood that.

Or maybe I was too confident in my husband.  I had seen him handle 
rescue missions before without any setbacks.  I had even gone with him 
on some.  I knew that he could have handled something like that.  

On the other hand, I also knew that he would willingly sacrifice 
himself if it meant that his companions would be safe.  That’s one of 
the things I loved about him, his selflessness in the heat of battle. 
How could I have known that he would sacrifice himself this time?  
Maybe because I didn’t think he’d need to?  Maybe because I thought he 
would be smart for a change?

There were too many maybes. I shook my head to clear the confusing 
thoughts.  But I couldn’t shake the feeling that, if I had been there, 
I could have stopped him from making the sacrifice.  I could at least 
have fought with him to keep things from coming to the point where he 
had to make the sacrifice.  Or I could have been with him in his 
capture.

If I had gone with him.

So, was that it?  Was I doing this because I felt guilty about not 
going with Kenishi?  Was I trying to absolve my guilt by going on this 
potentially suicidal mission to rescue him, when he could already be 
dead anyway? 

NO!  I had told Farina the truth; I believed he was still alive.  I 
still believed it.  Kenishi wouldn’t be that easily killed.  My coming 
to his rescue would not be for nothing.

I reached a place where I could get a view of the SeaWorld settlement.  
I scanned the outside walls, noting entrances and hiding places.  I 
couldn’t make out the inside too much, so I would probably have to 
play it by ear once I get past their primary defenses.  Not too much 
trouble.  Settlements like these often had similar layouts, and there 
was bound to be a map of some sort inside.  

I also noted a possible escape route where I could smuggle Kenishi 
out.  I didn’t know how wounded he was or if he would even be able to 
carry himself.  I muttered a hope that he could still walk, at least.

The sun had not yet set.  I had to wait a few more hours before I can 
make my move.  A ninja’s best weapon was the darkness and I would need 
all that I could get.  

I returned to where I left the Rurouni, lifted the tarp, and went 
inside.  I entered our room.  I sat on the bed and assumed a lotus 
position.  I started my meditations, something I always did before a 
mission like this. 

This time, however, I had a bit of trouble entering a calm state.  I 
saw scenes in my mind – visions, if you will – of Kenishi being 
beaten, tortured, and killed.  In every scene I saw, I could almost 
hear my name coming from his lips.  

I opened my eyes.  I stood up and decided to get some tea before 
continuing my meditations.  I needed to calm my nerves.  Worrying 
would do neither me nor Kenishi any good.

Still, those scenes had already made me nervous.

				******************

It was the kind of night that ninjas hated the most: a night with a 
full moon. Shadows were too scarce.  It was going to be more difficult 
than I thought.  Slightly more difficult, but I believed that I could 
do it.

I watched the sentries marching back and forth atop one of the 
observation towers near the walls. The observation tower was placed 
such that it looked like another abandoned advertisement pole.  I 
would have missed it if not for the gleam of moonlight reflected off 
one of the Handlers’ guns.  I noted two sentries there.

I readied my grappling hook.  As I prepared to launch it, the words of 
my sensei during our training came to mind:  

“Make no sound and stick to the shadows.  Learn to embrace the shadows 
like a second skin around you.  And...hey, you!  Drop that cigarette 
and come over here!”

I blinked.  That was a weird recollection. I probably shouldn’t have 
taken that extra cup of tea before leaving.  On the bright side, that 
extra tea would help me stay alert during this mission.

I saw my opening and threw my hook, quickly reeling myself in before 
the sentry looked my way. Hiding behind a post, I peeked to see if 
they caught my movements.  No reactions.  Good.  The old reflexes from 
my ninja training were still there.  I had thought that all that 
traveling in the Rurouni would have made me rusty.  

I checked to see if they were looking my way.  As soon as they turned 
their backs, I ran as fast and as silently as I could and made for 
another hiding place.  I reached it and blended with the shadows.  I 
looked at the sentries again.  Still no reaction. I couldn’t help but 
grin.  I still got it!  

So far, so good. But I had to make sure I didn’t get too over-
confident.  I moved towards a window I had noted earlier.  The room it 
led to had a door marked “Main office”, meaning that there was 
probably a map in it.  Luckily, the window did not have any glass, 
which made my entry easier.

I entered a room with broken furniture all around and something that 
smelled like a dead rat.  

I covered my nose at the offending smell.  Seems like no one was by 
that room in a long time.

I took out my penlight.  It emitted a small amount of light, just 
enough to help me see but not enough to alert the sentries outside.  I 
moved the light around the room, taking note of the things inside.

It was a mess!  And from the thick layer of dust covering the floor, I 
could tell that this room had been unused for a long time.  The 
Handlers may have salvaged whatever they could from this place, then 
left it unused.  Funny, I thought there would be someone in their 
tribe who was inclined towards housekeeping.

This was no time to be thinking about neatness.  I explored the room, 
looking for something I could use, preferably a map.  I pointed my 
light towards one wall.

Ping pong!

A map was framed on the wall.  Its glass cover was layered with dust, 
but there was a good chance it was a map of the grounds.  I moved 
closer to it and took out a kunai from my belt. I smashed the glass 
covering the map. The glass completely broke after two hits.  It made 
a noise, but not strong enough to be heard outside.  

After removing the bits of glass around it, I removed the map from the 
frame. The map was a map of the grounds all right!  I thanked Kami for 
that piece of luck.

Holding my penlight between my teeth, I fixed the light on the map. It 
was dated a little before the Great Wars and Catastrophes, meaning 
things were still pretty much the way depicted on the map.  I studied 
the map, taking note of the main buildings and landmarks.  I didn’t 
know where they could be keeping Kenishi, though.  From what I 
remembered from Cutter’s story, the three otaku they had come to 
rescue had been supposedly kept near the dolphin tanks.  I found and 
marked the three buildings nearest to them on the map.  Those three 
buildings were my best bets. I started tracing a route from the “You 
are Here” sign to the nearest building.  

So far, my luck had been good.  I only hoped that it continued to stay 
that way.

				******************

I was still in luck.  The path I took had a lot of old souvenir stands 
and restaurants, making the shadow-hiding stuff easy.  So far, I had 
already encountered two Handlers going about their own business.  
Since they didn’t see me hiding inside an old public toilet, I let 
them move on.  I didn’t want to alert them.  If I had to fight with 
anyone, I had to do it quietly. 

I would be fooling myself if I thought I wouldn’t have to fight.  That 
was a given no matter how good a ninja or assassin was.

I did manage to avoid fighting until I was almost to my first target 
building.  That was the first time I was spotted.

It was mainly due to my own carelessness.  I was on a fast walk down 
an alleyway when I thought I heard a sound.  I instinctively jumped 
behind the nearest kiosk to my right.  

Behind the kiosk was a Handler heeding the call of nature.

He stared at me for a moment, surprised.  Then he shouted, “Hey!”

Then, to my surprise, he tried to close his pants zipper with one hand 
and grab for his gun with the other, hindering his movements.  That 
was a dumb move.  A very dumb move.  

I moved quickly.  Before he could even finish zipping up or drawing 
his gun, I had drawn my kodachi, moved behind him, and slit his 
throat.  The blood flowed like a spray out of his open throat.  He 
fell down dead without so much as a gasp.

I stopped to slow my heart.  After which, I took the cloth from my 
belt and wiped my blade clean.  

I wondered what reactions Farina and the others would have had if they 
had seen me then.  They’d probably be shocked that someone as Kasumi-
like as I could kill like Miko Mido.

Normally, I would have preferred to avoid killing anyone.  But the 
moment I acted, my kunoichi training took over.  The old reflexes did 
what they were conditioned to do.  I didn’t regret it, though.  The 
Handler would have killed me if I had given him the chance.

I was still lucky that time.  The Handler was apparently new to all of 
this.  If he were experienced enough, he would have grabbed for his 
gun and fired at me without bothering with his pants first.  

I replaced the kodachi in its sheath, still maintaining utmost 
silence.  The Handler could have a partner waiting for him to get 
back.  Or someone could have heard his shout earlier.  I slowly moved 
to the corner of the kiosk and peered around it, scanning the 
surroundings.  

No one.  

I breathed a sigh of relief.  It was almost too close.  One could 
never be too careful in these missions.

I went back to the dead Handler and moved him quickly to a less 
obtrusive place.  If someone happened to pass by here, they probably 
wouldn’t notice him.  If they did notice him, the pose I arranged 
would make it look like he was taking a nap break.  Either way, it 
would stall them from the discovery for a bit.  Maybe the bit of time 
it would take to get Kenishi out of here.

Before moving out, I scanned the area again.  Still no one around.  I 
hoped that the remaining way to the building would bear no more 
encounters.

I moved.

				******************

I finally reached the first building where Kenishi could be.  Still 
hiding, I saw that there were two guards at the door.  That was a good 
sign.  It meant that there was something important inside the building 
that needed guarding.  The building itself consisted only of two 
floors.  However, the top floor could be ruled out as a holding 
facility since the caved-in roof would prove to be an inconvenience 
for that.  That left the first floor.  From my vantage point, I could 
see that one of the windows of the first floor had some light coming 
from it.  That looked promising.  There was definitely someone inside 
of it.

When they turned to the other side for a moment, I threw my grappling 
hook up the side of the building.  It landed in one of the second 
floor windows with a slight clang.  I crouched in the shadows and 
waited to see if they heard the noise.

“Hey, you hear something?” one of the guards asked.

“Must be one of ‘em bats ‘gain.  Just don’t mind them, they like to 
hang out in the secon’ floor,” his companion answered.

I released the breath I was unconsciously holding.  I hated it when I 
made some kind of noise.  If my sensei were here to see me now, I 
would have gotten an earful for the “sloppy execution” of my stealth 
skills.  I pushed the device in my palm to reel in the rope and pulled 
myself up.

I moved quietly around the second floor.  No stairways or holes to the 
first floor around here.  I moved to the window fronting the building 
where the two guards were.

It looked like the only way into the first floor would be through the 
front door.

First, I had to take care of the two guards.  

I figured that the old poisoned riceball trick would work here.  Those 
guards appeared to have been standing there for some time.  They were 
sure to go after something to eat.  

I doubt they would go after a riceball, though.  And even if they did, 
I didn’t bring any poisoned ones with me.

The poisoned McDonald’s apple pies would probably do.

I took out two of the pies I brought with me.  I flung one a little 
near the alleyway I earlier hid in.  The other pie quickly followed 
it.  The two made a soft plopping noise when they landed.

“’Ey you ‘ear that one?” I tensed as the one standing nearest to the 
thrown pies made his move.  He cautiously approached the place where I 
had thrown the pies.

“What’s up, Mel?” His companion was younger and was probably the more 
nervous of the two.

The one called Mel spotted the two pies.  He picked them up and I saw 
a grin plastered on his face.  “’Ell, looky here.  Seems like ‘em 
ration keepers done left some extra pies o’er ‘ere!”  He chuckled and 
tossed one of the pies to his partner.  The other one caught it and 
chuckled too.  

“Good, I was getting kind of hungry. You don’t reckon they dropped 
some canned soda there too?”  He opened the package and took a bite.

Mel shook his head.  “Naw, weird dat.  Musta ‘ave been left there by 
that new guy, Checkers.  ‘Eard he was forgetful.”  He took a bite from 
his pies.

Sugoi.  They took the bait, like I hoped they would.  Those pies were 
laced with a strong tranquilizer.  I also added in some laxatives to 
make it more potent.  I wanted to make certain of my distractions.  If 
they weren’t knocked out, they’d be running for the nearest tree.

I waited three minutes for the drug to do its job.  When I heard them 
snoring peacefully below me, I jumped from my vantage point and landed 
near the two sleeping guards.  I dragged first one, then the other, to 
the side of the alley.  

Kami, the one called Mel weighed as much as a Gundam!  When I finished 
dragging him out of sight into the alleyway, I felt the urge to rest a 
while before continuing but I knew that any delay might well mean my 
capture. After all of this was over, I would definitely get myself a 
hot bath and some sake!  I left the two in the alley and went to the 
front door.  I unsheathed my kodachi and opened the door.

Rolling forward, I entered the building, all my senses on full alert.  
I didn’t know what to expect inside.  It was best to be careful.  

I found myself in a hallway lit by four lanterns hanging in the walls.  
There were four doors, two on each side of the hallway.  I closed the 
entrance door behind me and tried the nearest door.  

It was unlocked.  I opened it and looked inside.  Judging from the 
harpoon guns and boxes of ammunition inside, this was probably an 
armory.  No one was inside, fortunately, so I closed the door and 
tried the others.

The other two doors were similarly unlocked.  I wondered what kind of 
security these Handlers thought they had with only two people guarding 
this building.  And it wasn’t a very unimportant building, too. One of 
the two rooms held their medical supplies and the other one was their 
radio communications room.  It was kind of stupid of the Handlers to 
leave them with minimal security.  No one was in any of those rooms.  

I thought about placing one of the small dynamite sticks I brought in 
the armory and igniting it before I left.  If I set a fuse on it, it 
might provide a distraction for my escape later.  I wished I had 
brought a remote controlled charge with me.  If I had, then I could 
set the explosion off whenever I wanted to rather than depend on the 
timing of a fuse.

Well, first of all, I had to get my husband out of here.

The farthest door was the only one I hadn’t checked.  When I went over 
to it and tried the knob, I found that it was also the only one 
locked.  That was a good sign.  Maybe Ken was being held here.  

Or maybe not.

I placed an ear to the door.  I could hear some movement inside, but 
couldn’t make out anything.  At least there weren’t loud noises.  That 
would have meant there were more than one person inside.

I took out my lock pick.  It had been a while since I last picked a 
lock and, judging on how long it took me to open that door, I was a 
bit out of practice.  The door opened, though, and I returned my lock 
pick to its compartment under my belt.  I opened the door and entered.

It was dark inside. Only a small window allowed the moonlight to enter 
the room. But I could make out a man sleeping in a bed in one corner 
of the room.  Unfortunately, he had his back turned to me, so I 
couldn’t be sure if it was Kenishi.  I moved closer to examine him.

“Ken-chan?” I spoke up.

That was when I heard the man snoring.  Kenishi never snored.

Worse yet, the man woke.  His eyes instantly opened at the sound of my 
voice.  Worse still, he was alert in no time and apparently had no 
trouble seeing in the dark, judging from the way he scowled when his 
eyes focused on me.

“Who are you?” he growled as he stood up quickly.

I was taken by surprise at his sudden awakening.  As it happened, I 
stepped back and tripped, falling on my behind.  Ow!  I rubbed my sore 
bottom and grimaced.

The man saw this and, from what I could make out in the moonlight, 
smirked.  “Well, lookee what we have here.”  He studied me sitting 
before him. “The gods of the waters must have heard my prayers.  Or 
else, those guards thought to bribe me with a gal.”  The man was huge 
and from the way he sounded, could be someone higher up among the 
Handlers.  Ha took a step forward.  “Don’t know where you came from, 
girl, but you’re guite the looker.  Now, come here.  I haven’t bedded 
a gal in ages.”  He advanced closer towards me, licking his lips.  I 
could practically sense his lust.  Looking at him, I recalled those 
ecchi villains in those hentai films from Kenishi’s stash.  

Unfortunately for my would-be-rapist, this was one gal who didn’t act 
like a nubile hentai anime girl.

I laid down and executed a flip that brought me to my feet.  The man 
was obviously surprised by this.  He probably thought I was a 
scavenger girl brought in by his guards and an easy prey.  He was dead 
wrong.  

I drew two ninja stars from under my belt and threw them at him.  One 
hit him at the right wrist; the other lodged itself in his left 
shoulder.  He screamed in pain and cursed.  Those two injuries would 
hinder him from getting or using a weapon.  

I unsheathed my kodachi.  The man gasped when he saw the exposed 
blade.  He backed slightly, but I didn’t give him any more chance to 
escape.  I jumped and flipped over him.  Landing behind him, I grabbed 
his left arm and twisted it behind his back.  He yowled in pain but 
stopped squealing when I brought the blade of my kodachi to his neck.

“Don’t be so stupid as to think I wouldn’t do it,” I hissed at his 
ear. I increased the pressure on his arm, my hand-to-hand training 
giving me some advantage over his bulk.  He flinched slightly when I 
pressed the blade closer to his neck.  However, he did keep quiet.

“The otaku you captured.  Where is he being kept?” I asked him, still 
not letting him go.  Kami, I wished he’d answer fast.  I wanted to 
release him soon.  The stench of his sweat and other smells I couldn’t 
identify were making me nauseous.  

“W-what?” he stammered, then tensed when I pressed the blade close 
enough to draw a thin line of blood.  “Okay, o-okay.  Y-you’re talking 
about that g-guy with the eyepatch, right?  H-he’s held in the 
building near here.  T-the one with the r-red roof.”  He gulped 
loudly.  “P-please let me go.  I h-have a wife and t-two kids!” 

He was lying about the wife and kids, I could tell that much.  But his 
information on where I could find Kenishi was the best I had to go on.  
I twisted his arm more then pushed him to the side. He crumpled into a 
heap in the corner.  

I kept my eye on him warily.  He looked really scared and was 
shivering. A small puddle had formed beneath him.  If this guy was a 
leader like I thought he was, he was pretty pitiful.  He was too 
pathetic, I didn’t want to waste the effort of killing him.

Unfortunately, he had other plans.  When he saw that I had sheathed my 
kodachi halfway, his face formed a frown and he yelled “Bitch!” before 
lunging in with a taser in his hand.  

A slice across his neck and a kunai to his chest ended his wretched 
existence.

I cleaned my kodachi blade but decided against retrieving my shurikens 
and kunai.  They probably reeked of the Handler’s bodily fluids by 
now.

Worse yet, my clothes would probably smell of his stink for being near 
him. When this mission was finished, I'm going to have these things 
disinfected.

I left the room and proceeded to go to the ammunitions room.  I needed 
a diversion if I was going to break Kenishi out of his holding cell.

				******************

The building with a red roof.  I could have killed the Handler twice 
for leading me like that.  

I hid in a tree across the street where I first saw a red roof.  
Trouble was, there were three buildings there with red roofs.  I 
looked at the map I took from the office.  The second building I had 
encircled on the map was across the street.  Apparently, the symbol on 
the map stood for those three buildings.

I muttered something I rarely said outside of a mission.  A curse.

“Kami fudge it!”

There, that felt a little better.  But it still didn’t give me any 
ideas on which building contained Kenishi.  Despite my luck so far, I 
didn’t want to walk into a building and accidentally wander into a 
barracks.  One accidental mistake was enough.

I heard an explosion back from the direction I came from.  The fuse I 
left in the armory had already ignited and created a large explosion. 
The explosion lit up the night sky like a fireworks show during the 
May festival in Otakuland.  As I expected, the Handlers would be in a 
state of confusion because of it.

I saw several of the Handlers leaving the three buildings across the 
street.  A lot of them, actually, though there were noticeably fewer 
people coming from the building in the middle.  When I saw the number 
of people coming out, I thanked my training that I didn’t barge into 
any of them without first setting up my distraction. 

Two Handlers ran close by the tree I was hiding in.  I didn’t pay much 
attention until I caught what one of them was saying...

“...about the otaku?  Shouldn’t we leave someone to guard him?”

“Tank’s there.  No one’s going to be busting him loose tonight anyway.  
Now, come on!  They say the fire’s spreading to the food supply!” his 
companion replied as they hurried past.

The two had come from the middle building.  That was probably where 
they were keeping Kenishi.  

I waited until I was sure no more Handlers would be leaving the 
buildings.  I jumped down the tree and looked around.  From this 
distance, I could judge from the thick smoke that the fire was 
spreading.  I quickly ran to the middle building and entered it, 
kodachi in hand.  No one was around in the first floor.  Even if there 
was no one around here, that Handler mentioned someone named Tank 
guarding Kenishi, so I still stayed alert.

I heard movement in the basement downstairs. Bingo.  I took out a 
smoke bomb and lobbed it down the stairs leading to the basement.

“The hell!?!” I heard a voice shout as the bomb released its load.  
Then there was coughing and a thud.  I covered my mouth and nose with 
a face mask and proceeded down to the basement.

The smoke was already starting to thin as I made my way downwards.  
The smoke bomb included sleeping gas enough to knock out a single 
person.  I peered through the dissipating smoke to make out the 
unconscious guard.

It was a woman?  Well, well, well.  What a surprise.  I hadn’t thought 
that "Tank" was female.  Still, it wasn’t any of my concern.  I made 
my way to the door she was guarding.  It was locked.

I got Tank’s keys from her pocket and unlocked the door.  It was a 
cell with only one window to allow the moonlight in. Kenishi was 
sprawled on his stomach on the floor.

“Kenishi!” I shouted, surprised by some new scars on his back and 
arms.  Those degenerates had tortured him!  I kept back the tears that 
threatened to erupt from my eyes.  

Kenishi opened his eyes and blinked in my direction.  He smiled weakly 
and rolled on his back.  He tried to sit up.

“Kuso! Those guys hit me harder than I thought.  Now I’m hallucinating 
that my wife is here,” he said with a weak chuckle.

My poor Kenishi!  I rushed to his side and helped him to sit up 
straighter.  “No, Ken, I’m really here!  Please tell me you’re okay! 
Please!” I pleaded to him as I cradled his head in my arms. I felt the 
tears starting to form in my eyes.

Kenishi blinked.  He tried to focus more clearly.  “Rashi?”  I nodded, 
tears starting to fall.  He held out a hand and touched my face.  
Using a finger, he wiped away a tear from my eye.  “It’s you!  It’s 
really you!  Aww, hon!  Don’t cry like that!  You know I hate it when 
you cry!”  He moved his face closer to mine and kissed me.

All the worries, all the fears and anxieties I had, all disappeared in 
that kiss. I could feel his love, his hope and faith replenishing my 
energy.  For that one moment, we were alone in that cell.  I felt as 
if the Handlers and everyone else were miles away.  It was only me and 
Kenishi.  I felt that the past few hours had all been worth it. Kami-
sama, it had been worth it!

We reluctantly broke the kiss. I looked at his face and saw him smile 
weakly.

“My Goddess!  Are you ever a sight for sore eye!”  He grinned at me. I 
returned the smile back. I managed a small laugh.

“Do you think you can walk?” I asked him, unsure of his condition at 
that time.  

“Don’t see that I have much choice if we’re going to make it out of 
this.”  He started to stand up, then collapsed.  I tried to catch him, 
but his weight pulled me down so that I was lying over him.

“Hey, hey, Rashi!  I know you’re glad to see me, but we better not 
give the Handlers an idea of how much we love each other,” he joked.  

I blushed and smacked him once in the head without thinking.  He 
grimaced and rubbed his head.  “Ara, I’m sorry.  Did that hurt?” I 
asked, genuinely concerned.  He looked up and chuckled mischievously.  
I hit him again.  “Baka! Hmph, serves you right!” I scolded, though 
relieved that he was joking around.  I couldn’t help it.  I finally 
smiled.  

“Here!”  I tossed him a bottle of painkillers.  “Take some.  It will 
help lessen some of the pain.”  He opened the bottle and dry-swallowed 
two pills.  “I don’t have anything to put on your wounds for now, 
though. You’ll have to wait for when we get to the Rurouni.”

“I can make it.  I already feel my strength returning,” he replied, 
getting to his feet.  He succeeded that time.

I handed him one of the pistols I had taken from the Handlers’ armory.  
He checked it, then gave me a thumbs-up sign.

I realized that I had used the word “when”, not “if”.  No doubts about 
it.  We were going to make it out.

				******************

Getting out of SeaWorld turned out to be easier than getting in.  

Immediately after leaving Kenishi’s prison, I set explosives at two of 
the generators behind the three buildings.  The charges were set to 
explode a few minutes after we were well on our way.  They would 
provide us with another distraction.  

We took the other route back to the main gates.  This was both to 
avoid the first fire and any Handler that went there.  We heard the 
charges we set go off halfway to the exit.  The other distraction we 
placed was in full blast.  From a distance, we could see the thick 
smoke coming from the burning buildings.  

Despite being injured, Kenishi managed to keep up.  He limped a bit 
and was perspiring profusely.  But otherwise, he appeared fine.

“Must be that kiss you gave me.  I feel stronger by the minute,” he 
whispered as we hid behind some bushes to avoid two Handlers rushing 
towards the second fire.  

I just smiled at him, then motioned for us to get going when the 
Handlers passed.

Surprisingly, the only resistance we encountered was when we reached 
the gates.  There were three sentries.  Kenishi managed to hit one in 
the shoulder.  The other two fell after my shurikens connected with 
their body.  We hurried out of SeaWorld, straight towards the 
hovercraft.

Kind of anti-climatic, actually, when you consider all the trouble I 
had to go through to get in and find Kenishi.  

The inside of the hovercraft was never a more welcome sight. After 
taking off the tarp and leaving Kenishi to rest in the bedroom, I 
drove the Rurouni away from SeaWorld.  Once we were safely away from 
SeaWorld, I hurried to the supply room to get bandages and medicine 
for Kenishi.  

He kept chuckling while I was dressing his wounds.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, tying the last bandage.  “What’s so 
funny?”

Kenishi tried to stop his laughter. He shook his head. “Nothing, 
really.  I just found it funny that I was rescued by my megami again.”  
He winked.

I blushed at that, smiled and proceeded to return the remaining 
bandages to the medikit.  As I stood up, Kenishi grabbed my arm.

“Hey, don’t stand yet,” he said, gently pulling me down next to him on 
the bed.  He brought me closer for a kiss. I kissed back. All other 
thoughts were lost in the moment.

I broke the kiss. “Come on, Ken-chan.  Your injuries might hurt more,” 
I teased him.  I could tell that he was feeling a little uncomfortable 
right now.  For more than one reason.

He grinned.  “I just need your loving touch to heal them, Arashi.”  He 
brought me closer for a hug.  “You know what?” he whispered to my ear.  
“I forgot how sexy you look in your kunoichi costume.”  

One thing I liked about Kenishi: he knew how to compliment me.

“Like I said...” he started to say.

I shut him up with another kiss.

				******************

“Arashi-san, are you sure you’re okay?” 

“I’m fine, Farina-san,” I answered back through the radio.

“I never would have believed it if I didn’t hear from you or Kenishi!” 
Farina said.  “I was surprised to hear you pulled off the mission!  
You wouldn’t believe Youji’s reaction.  He couldn’t speak for a full 
eight minutes!”

I chuckled.  Behind me, Kenishi also laughed and placed a hand on my 
shoulder.  I grasped his hand with mine and squeezed it.  I looked 
back at him.  “You can tell him that we’re both okay.  How are the 
others doing?”

“Good.  Yosh and the others are doing fine.”  Farina paused on the 
other side.  “Wait a minute, Youji’s here.  He says he has something 
to tell you guys.”  We heard the sound of the radio being passed.

“Hello, Arashi-san?” Youji’s voice came through.

“Konnichiwa, Youji-san,” I replied.  “What is it?”

“We have received reports from the other radio that a girl in a sailor 
fuku was seen wandering near Fort Lott-ErDale.  Since you’re near that 
area, mind checking it out?”

“I don’t see why not, Youji-san,” I answered.

Kenishi piped in, “Sure, Youji.  We’ll get on it.”  

“Glad to hear that.  I’m signing off.”  The radio connection closed.

I turned the seat around.  “Looks like we’re off on another mission.  
Are you sure your wounds are healed enough, Ken?”  

Kenishi flexed his right arm.  “Hehe, does this look like someone 
who’s not okay?  Come on, Rashi!  My wounds are fine already!  Your 
healing touch is sugoi!”

I laughed.  Kenishi continued, “Well, anyway, we’ll get through it.”  
He paused as he looked at me.  His eyes conveyed more meaning between 
us than words could have.  “As long as we’re together.”

“As long as we’re together,” I repeated.

“I have to check the something.  Be back in a while.”  He blew me a 
kiss and went to the back.

I saw the radio controls flashing.  There was someone calling.

"Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?" I said to the new 
caller.

"Arashi? It's me, Vixen. I'm calling from a Role Player village," came 
the voice from the other side.

I smiled.  Our lives just kept getting full of surprises.  We never 
knew what was going to happen next.

“Ara! Vixen!  Kenishi, dear!” I called to the back. “It’s the 
Hiroshimas!”

Knowing Strike Team Theta's mission, it was probably more trouble.  Or 
maybe it would be wonderful news for a change.  

But whatever happened, we can get through it... as long as we two are 
together.

[THE END, for now...]


/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o

Author’s Notes:

Thanks go again to my prereaders (listed in the first part).  ^_^  And 
thanks to you, the reader for making it this far.

First, let me tell you a brief history of this omake.  (Better grab a 
drink and some snacks while you're at it. This might take a while.  
^_^;)  I actually had this omake first written way back in May 2000.  
Due to complications and advice from several people I look up to when 
it comes to writing, I decided to reevaluate my first-person writing 
style... Actually, that's putting it mildly.  ^_^;;;  The first draft 
was a bit horrendous, in my present estimate.

So, I decided against having this posted and wanted to revise it a 
bit.  You know how it goes... procrastination can make the time zip 
by.  What was intended to be released before the 20th chapter of 
FAQing is posted, now gets posted before it ends.  ^_^;;;

Anyhoo, this omake was more of an experiment for me.  One, to practice 
writing first person (in case I wanted to sign up for Wings of Fate 
^_~).  Two, to try to write a chapter with a little bit of lime (as 
practice for H! Flash and to influence someone to do some ImproLemons 
:P). And three, to write first person in a female's perspective (I 
don't know why. It sounded like a good idea at the time ^_^;).  I 
could only hope I pulled them off well.

Kenishi and Arashi were two minor characters I introduced in FAQing 
Hostile 4.  I was disappointed that they weren't used much in the 
beginning chapters.  But then again, I just dumped them into the story 
without elaborating on their personalities and traits. So I got the 
idea to write their adventures.  That way, they get to be the major 
characters!!!  BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Er, ahem. *^_^* Anyway, for those interested to know, Kenishi was 
originally based on Rurouni Kenshin characters (as if his scar and 
name weren't dead giveaways ^_~).  This duology title was also 
partially inspired by the Rurouni Kenshin OAVs.  Go, RK!!!  ^_^_v

Arashi's character was a mix between a kunoichi and a Kasumi-clone.  I 
wanted the character to be a sweet girl with an edge.  When Assassin 
used the character in a flashback in one of his FAQing chapters, I was 
delighted that Arashi's kunoichi persona managed to be highlighted, 
even if I didn't make that facet of her character clear when I 
introduced her. ^_^;

Who is the Sword and who is the Sheath?  I'm leaving it to the readers 
to figure that one out.  ^_~

Another influence which might be noticeable in the second chapter is 
the PS game Tenchu: Stealth Assassins.  What?  You didn't think I 
actually studied ninjitsu, did you?  ^_~  Most of the ninja physics 
and weapons used here were based on that GREAT game.  

Partial credit also goes to Isawa Noshinto's chapter 10 for the 
locations used in this omake. Without them, I could have made the pair 
go round and round in circles.  ^_^

C&C, comments, threats, whatever can be sent to 
recklessflyer@mechpilot.com

If you made it *this* far into my author's notes, I really really 
thank you for bearing with me.  *^_^*

Mark Poa

^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^^_^