Adventures In Parodyverse: Eclipsed By Fate

Note: This is part of a whole series of stories where we get to know various characters of mine a little better. For some background, a while back Jay Boaz and Chiaki Bushido had a rather steamy relationship. This tale says more about what happened then and how that relates to the present.

Adventures In Parodyverse - Eclipsed By Fate

    Chiaki glanced at Hatman for a moment as they sat on a bench located on the balcony of a hotel room watching an empty room in the office building directly across the street. Chiaki's prized sword leaned against one end of the bench easily within her reach. She noticed that Hatman seemed to be purposely looking away from her.

    He resisted taking her on the mission. Resisted a lot, to the point where Sir Mumphrey had to practically pull rank on him to make him go. Chiaki silently resented the amount of protest he raised but she said nothing.

    "How come you're so quiet all the time?" Hatman finally asked an odd question to break the ice.

    Chiaki looked at him again and smiled slightly. The anger she felt a moment ago melted away as she remembered the almost innocent sweetness Hatman possessed, the reason she fell in love with him a short while ago. "It is better to be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt."

    "You sound like a fortune cookie," Hatman pointed out.

    "I believe it was Mark Twain who said that." she laughed.

    He smiled too, remembering again why he fell for her. She had a remarkable intelligence, and was very sweet. Being with her was like possessing the universe's best kept secret. He looked at her, sitting perfectly straight with her medium length hair covering part of her face, her hands clasped together in her lap.

    "Why did you object to bringing me along for this mission?" she asked.

    Hatman sighed. "I have my reasons."

    Chiaki stared at him for a moment with those penetrating dark Asian eyes. "I find that hurtful," she said plainly.

    "It's because you're a civilian and I'm worried about you," he said quickly.

    "I find that to be bullshit."

    Hatman looked at her, a little surprised at her use of language. He looked into her eyes - they should have seemed angry from the sound of her words, but they were more playful. He shifted uncomfortably at that. It was just what he was hoping wouldn't happen. "It's because," he said quietly as he looked away abruptly, "I'm...still attracted to you. Very much so in fact. Physically, at least."

    "But we're friends now," she said. She shook her head slowly. "You should have told me that, Jay. I could help you through it."

    "We're in a hotel," Hatman continued. "Alone, in a fairly nice room. You have no idea how difficult this is, Chiaki...I keep daydreaming about ignoring the stakeout we're supposed to be on and asking you to bed with me."

    Chiaki smiled at him. "I wouldn't accept," she told him. "I know how much it would hurt you. Why would you still be so attracted to me anyway?"

    "A variety of reasons," he said. "You know Zdenka right?"

    She nodded.

    He smiled and seemed a little embarrassed and shy as he explained, "I tend to fall for girls with an exotic look, an exotic name, and an accent." He looked at Chiaki and still seemed a little reddened as he jokingly asked, "Know anyone like that?"

    "Yes," she replied calmly as she shifted in her seat a bit. "Because to me you are fairly exotic. But I don't avoid you because of it, do I?"

    He laughed at that. "Point taken." He looked at her, and those brown eyes were watching him again. "But it's more than that now, Chiaki. We made love...quite a few times. And it was very rewarding. The memory of that is still fresh."

    She nodded once and sighed as she finally leaned back. "The sex was very good, wasn't it?" She sighed. "It's too bad we didn't quite mesh socially and mentally," she added with a shrug. "But I suppose fate has its reasons."

    "I guess so." Hatman stood and looked over the balcony again at the empty office across the street. "Stakeouts are so boring," he added an offhand comment. He turned around and Chiaki was standing right behind him, looking just over his shoulder. It was one of her tactics, to catch a look from his point of view so she knew just what he was looking at. Yet another thing he found cute about her.

    As she moved close enough to see he looked down at her exposed neck and could remember pushing aside her hair and kissing her there gently and feel her responding with the gentlest sigh. Chiaki even seemed psychic sexually - he remembered that it didn't take much touching, kissing, or prompting from him to tempt her to the bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart, and ended up with a serene lungful of very familiar floral scented shampoo.

    And he was so, so close to being able to kiss her, to once again touch her beautiful body and feel every inch of her smooth skin. That's when he realized that she was watching him, noting every movement of his eyes. Maybe every thought.

    Hatman looked down abruptly, seeming very embarrassed. "I knew this would happen, Chiaki. That's why I didn't want to go on this stakeout with you." He turned away from her quickly.

    "No." Chiaki rushed ahead of him, blocking his way. "This is a good thing, Jay. Sir Mumphrey is a smart man. He knows you have been avoiding me. He wants us to learn to deal with our feelings."

    "So far so good," Jay added sarcastically as he headed outside.

    "That's wrong," Chiaki seemed annoyed now. "You aren't angry because of me." She looked away from him. "I suppose I've learned something today. The true nature of our former relationship...it was only sex to you."

    Jay blinked twice as he thought of a retort...but then it quickly melted away when he realized that she might be right - he was, after all, still quite confused about the whole situation. And then he saddened a bit as he looked at Chiaki. "I'm sorry," he said, noticing that her eyes looked a little teary to him. "I'm really sorry. I...didn't expect you to actually fall in love with me."

    "You're easy to fall in love with," she said quickly. "It seems I'm quite the opposite."

    Jay hugged Chiaki tightly but didn't do anything else as much as he would have wanted to. "I can't lie to you," he said, "I just can't lie to a friend."

    She looked at him as he used that word. The first time he specifically used it to refer to her.

    "I do like you. A lot. But yes, at the time it was mostly sex that attracted me to you." Jay let go of her and sighed. "I'll be facing all kinds of personal guilt for a lifetime and beyond because of that. But right now all I can think to do is ask you to forgive me."

    "I do forgive you," she whispered. "I always knew, and I always forgave you for it. I like you a lot, Jay, and I'm willing to help you work through your personal guilt. But you have to promise to treat me more like the friend you say I am, not someone to hide from."

    Jay lowered his glance as he looked over the edge of the balcony. "Thanks," he whispered with a sigh. "I feel terrible," he added. "I slept with you for so many nights and barely even took the time to get to know you. But you still want to be my friend. If there's any justice in this world I don't deserve a friend like you."

    "First," Chiaki told him, "Sometimes beginning with sex is a great way to get to know someone. And second...now is as good a time as any to get to know me. And for me to get to know you."

    Jay looked at Chiaki and saw her smiling again, her brown eyes soothing away the stress he felt. "Is that true? Beginning with sex is a great way to get to know someone?"

    She laughed. "Yes," was all she said in reply.

    He seemed very happy to hear that, though he didn't respond verbally. She anticipated the question foremost in his mind, earning her nickname once again. "So tell me...why do I get the feeling that you've never actually killed anyone?"

    Chiaki smiled and brushed her hair back. "My...reputation seems to have outgrown me significantly," she said with a laugh. "I suppose walking around with a sword has done that."

    "But have you actually killed anyone?"

    She shook her head slowly. "I've never had to. I was hired by Akiko because of my ability to diffuse delicate situations without violence. She has many enemies, and violence only breeds more violence. Akiko works smarter than the Lynchpin. That's why she survives with only a fraction of his resources. She has a very small, very loyal group of people who survive through intelligence. So to answer your question...the first time I ever attempted to kill someone was to protect you. And I failed...Gamona is still alive."

    "I guess it's better her than me," Hatman agreed reluctantly. He paused for a moment to look at the empty office across the street again. "What do you think of Zdenka?"

    Chiaki smirked at him, probably the first time he'd ever seen her do that. "She's perfect for you," she said calmly.

    He noted the smirk and smiled himself. "So you know we spent the night together?"

    She nodded and looked away from him. "I didn't want to say anything about it," she said. "I'm sure you've had more than enough teasing."

    "Nothing happened," Jay reflexively responded. But then he smiled when he realized what she would say next.

    "I know," she replied calmly.

    "But if we did--" Jay continued, "I guess what you said about sex and getting to know someone...it really helped me. After what happened with us, I want to do better with Zdenka. Now I don't have to worry about whether I know her well enough first."

    Chiaki nodded. "Yes, if you decide on sex with Zdenka it will work well with her, because she likes you. There are two kinds of sex, Jay. The first kind is when two hearts want to be closer. The second...bluntly put...is when someone is getting screwed."

    Jay laughed out loud at that. "You're really funny sometimes," he said. "You really should be more talkative."

    "Thank you." Chiaki gave him the slightest nod. "But I'm really quite shy around strangers. I'm content to be your little secret."

    "Did Sir Mumphrey tell you what we're supposed to do if we see someone in that office?" he asked. "He just told me to keep an eye out for any trouble."

    Chiaki smiled and shook her head. "You can be so innocent sometimes, Jay."

    "Innocent?"

    "It's obviously a distraction," Chiaki told him. "Sir Mumphrey sent us here to figure out how to get along." She motioned across the street to the office building. "That office belongs to some tax accountant. See the tax law books on the shelf? It appears the office has been chosen at random because this one hotel room with a view happened to be available."

    Jay slapped himself on the forehead. "I can't believe I didn't see that." He shook his head. "Why do you think he went to so much trouble? We could have talked at the mansion."

    "With Dream and Flapjack watching?" Chiaki shook her head. "Alone we can share all kinds of thoughts privately."

    "Yeah, but we could have ended up sharing other things," Jay pointed out.

    Chiaki shrugged. "A few hours of sex would have been just as enlightening, I suppose."

    Jay looked horrified at first, but then a smile came back when Chiaki seemed to be displaying a smirk. "Oh, you're joking." He laughed. It then became obvious how the whole arrangement came to be. "You talked to Sir Mumphrey first, didn't you? This was your idea."

    She shrugged again. "In part. I only told him that I missed you and you seemed to be avoiding me." She smiled at him sheepishly and added, "I hope you're not upset."

    "No, no," Jay shook his head. "I...guess we really needed this. No, I'm sure we needed this. I feel like we've really bonded."

    "Then we should head back," Chiaki suggested. She took Jay's hand gently as she added, "Let's send you back to the arms of your lover."

    Jay pulled a Rockets cap out of the backpack he had lying nearby. "Want to hitch a ride?" he asked.

    Chiaki frowned for a moment. "I'm afraid of heights."

    "You are?" He smiled and squeezed her hand more tightly. "How can you be afraid of anything at all if you took on Gamona for me and managed to arrange this elaborate ruse just to get a chance to break the ice with me?"

    She paused and seemed to think a moment, and then she took a deep breath. "I'll give it a try," she said as she picked up her sword and carefully tied the strap around her middle to keep it safe. "But please excuse me if I hold on fairly tight."

    "It'll bring back some interesting memories," Jay joked.

    "Now you're being funny." Chiaki waited until he fitted the hat carefully on his head, and then she jumped onto his back and held on tight with both her arms and legs. "I like that," she whispered just as he took off skyward.

---

    "Why did you want to stop here on the way?" Jay asked as they landed gently on a terrace outside of a penthouse apartment. The terrace contained a rather lavish garden with thick greenery, perfectly arranged paths, and several areas of running water. "Whose place is this?"

    Chiaki looked at him for a moment and smiled before heading to the darkened glass door to the penthouse. She pressed her thumb against a small angled blue lit pad on the door. It clicked open, and the lights inside came on.

    "This is your place?" Jay asked as he followed her inside. It wasn't a large penthouse suite, but it was comfortable. The floors were a mix of ceramic tile, wood tile, and carpeting depending on location - wood floors were around the terrace entry area and the dining room, the kitchen and nearby entry front hall were ceramic tile, and the living room and the hall leading to the bedrooms was carpeted. It was filled with antique and expensive looking furniture.

    "Yes," she replied plainly.

    "It must cost a fortune," Jay marvelled. "How much do you pay for rent?"

    She smiled at him again. "Nothing," she replied. "I own the building."

    "You own the Park West building?" Jay sounded like he didn't believe her.

    "Akiko's empire is not all crime-based," she explained. "She invests heavily in real-estate." She nodded toward the room. "This building is my...retirement fund, so to speak. She gave it to me. I make sure it's taken care of and I live off of the rental agreements."

    "Does this place have three bedrooms?" Jay asked as he looked down the hall.

    "Yes," Chiaki answered. "Small ones."

    Jay shook his head slowly and smiled as he looked around. "Wow. I really did need to get to know you better."

    "Follow me." Chiaki held his hand gently and led him to another larger blue glowing panel next to the front door. She touched her thumb to it and then typed in a code. "Put your thumb there," she said.

    Jay did as she asked, and the device beeped three times loudly. "What did I just do?" he asked.

    She gave him a sly smile. "My home is now your home, Jay. If you wish to take Zdenka somewhere private, away from prying eyes."

    "I couldn't displace you like that," Jay protested. "Where would you stay?"

    "It has three bedrooms," she pointed out. "And unlike your curious friends at the mansion I can keep my mouth shut. Or if you still feel uncomfortable I can become scarce. I have a permanently reserved hotel room for myself at one of Akiko's other buildings. I use it as a hideout sometimes."

    "Really?" Jay pondered that for a moment. "I'll...have to think about it."

    "Think all you like," Chiaki said with a laugh. "If you wish to use this place all you need is your thumb. Shall we go now?"

    "Chiaki?" Jay asked as she led him back out onto the terrace.

    "Yes?" Chiaki paused at the door to close and lock it on the way out. She was caught partially by surprise when Jay gave her a hug.

    "Thanks," he said. "For doing so much to try and make me happy."

    "You are welcome." Chiaki bowed slightly. She then tied her sword to her back again and leapt onto Jay's back, hanging on tight. "Let's go."

    With that, Jay snapped the Rockets cap back on his head and they were on their way back to the Lair Mansion.

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2005 by Jason Froikin, and may not be
-- reprinted without permission.
-- The Psychic Samurai (Chiaki Bushido) (C) 2005 by Jason Froikin, all rights reserved
-- All other characters property of their respective owners

To the Spirit of the Night, I surrender...

Post By Anime Jason Thu Nov 17, 2005 at 12:05:26 pm EST	Subject Adventures In Parodyverse: Eclipsed By Fate

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