"Did you notice how he was looking at you?" Makoto asked Ami.
"Eh?" asked Ami, startled out of watching her fiance.
"He was really giving you the eye," said Makoto with a wink.
"What?!" squeaked Ami.
Makoto smiled. This certainly wasn't how she had once dreamed of it, but she was adapting. Ami was her friend and they'd all still be together, and Ami was always uncertain about her looks, but it looked like despite this being an arranged marriage - a certain chemistry WAS present.
At which point Makoto noticed that Ami had practically melted down in embarassment, with the deep red of Ami's blush contrasting against her hair. Well, Makoto felt like she was probably blushing too - she wasn't adapting THAT fast.
"Well, I don't know, he's a hard worker even if his heart doesn't seem to be into it," said the Ryokan owner. "And he doesn't seem to have a skill set applicable for working here. He's apparently used to hard work but we needed someone to do maintenance and he's entirely too soft for such tasks. Still, we normally would shift him around a bit to find something he's better at."
The member of the Bureau relaxed on his cushion, sipped his tea, and nodded politely. "Honestly, we've come across further information about Mamoru C1081-B that indicate there are potential problems with him."
"'Problems'?" asked the ryokan owner.
"Yes," said the Bureau. "I'm sorry, but I can't get into any further details at present. I don't know myself - it's all quite hush-hush and above my own security level."
"Oh, how disappointing," said the ryokan owner. "Here in the outskirts of Sendai things tend to be a bit laid back and quiet. Which is great for business but not all that good for excitement. So you'll give us a replacement?"
"Yes, would you prefer the substitute to be male or female?" asked the Bureau member.
"Another male would be preferable," said the owner. "In fact, can you see if you have someone who does plumbing? We could really use one of those."
"I'll check into it," promised the Bureau worker. "I'll bring the details by tomorrow."
"Usagi T1046-E, Makoto K1082-C, Rei H1085-D," said the worker at GeneWorks. "Scheduled for tomorrow by a friend of theirs. One other?"
"She's already been through the process," said Kunzite. "Minor treatment though."
"We've gotten a lot of those," agreed the disguised yoma as it looked over the photos. "It should make the Big Brawl very interesting indeed."
"When the slaves turn against their Masters, it should be a bloodbath," agreed Kunzite. "Be sure you invite these to try out our services."
Rei handled the sword, considering it as she extended the senses that the others didn't have.
She wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe something that the Slave Bureau had done. Her other senses seemed a little stronger after all that.
The sword was old, but not horrendously old. It also had a soul. So she knew within a moment of handling it what the heartbeat sensation meant, and that as she was looking into the sword that the sword was looking back.
After that it really wasn't much of a leap to figure out why the magic sword wielded by that that...
buffoon supplied the wind.
Yes, that buffoon, decided Rei. Why the sword had decided that the buffoon wielding it was NOT a worthy wielder.
The question in Rei's mind wasn't if any of their number would be a better wielder than the former owner of the sword. No, it was more like which would be best.
A moment of contemplation and changing the cold compress on her head, and she'd put enough scribbles and scratches through the names of Usagi and Minako to completely obscure them. That left her and Makoto, or Ranma.
Well, there was no reason they had to decide now. Though if it had been a bow, she'd have been more likely to choose herself.
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(Posted Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:38)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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