"This one looks different from the other stops we've come to," understated Jiraiya.
"That's Kowloon Station," stated Kizna. "All the other stations are run by a single company, or they started out as military bases, or were built around a single industry like a space dock. Kowloon isn't any of those."
"Someone cram a bunch of cans together?" asked Naruto, scowling.
"Actually, that's pretty accurate," said Kizna. "Jiraiya? Your comlink has an identify feature that allows you to photograph something and then it can tell you what it is."
"Oh, yeah, that's how I found the showers the other day," said Jiraiya, fumbling with the device. "I think it's this one."
Kowloon Station
System: Aratakis
Owner: Kowloon Trade Coalition (WhatDonalds, Jiffy Kwik Mart, Dears-Starbuck, Jaydee Phenny, Masterson Space Docks, Lackluster Video, Borderlands Books & More, Carabiner Outdoor Supply, Doohan Engineering, Spells 4 U, Dolls R Us, 7th Heaven Bar, Gung Ho Temple, Ni Hao Cafe, Argent Arms, Raging Bull Armory, Little Lotta Refinery, Saotome Engineering, Ka'venga Acquisitions, and others)
Built at a way station between three star systems and between two asteroid belts, Kowloon Station is considered a Gamma-class Hazardous zone due to the tendency of firefights and brawls to break out on a regular basis and the lack of legal representitives. The peace, such as it is, is kept by agents of the various companies doing business on station. On the other hand, as a place where a number of traders gather regularly - one can find information and services here which would be difficult to find elsewhere.
"It sounds kinda like that city where we got into problems in the first place," said Naruto nervously.
"Konmei. This time, don't touch ANYTHING," stressed Jiraiya.
"I still got to get something for Hinata so she won't send death squads after me or something," said Naruto.
"You have some girl trying to kill you? What did you do, forget a date?" asked Kizna jokingly.
"No, he got a love letter from her and then didn't read it for over a year," said Jiraiya.
"Oh, that's nothing," said Kizna. "Unless she's one of the real shy types or something - THAT might kill HER. Or if... oh."
Naruto and Jiraiya nodded with similar expressions.
"Better make it a NICE present," said Kizna.
"How much is it selling?" asked the CEO of a small (by Three Galaxies standards) publishing house.
"Oh, no, that's not the sales figures for Make Out Tactics," said the manager, smirking.
"No?" asked the CEO.
"No, those are pre-orders on the next book," said the manager, smirk still in place.
The CEO blinked. "The book has been out just over a week, right?"
"These are the sales figures on Tactics," said the manager.
The CEO checked the figures. Checked them again. "We appear to be heading for a particularly good quarter. Where's the author?"
"Tsunade-sama, these are the findings from Konmei," said the ANBU operative.
"Hmmm. Oh good. I've been waiting for those." Tsunade was glad of the distraction. A fifty page report on crop yields, followed by a twenty page cost-analysis of trying to make up for the loss of sorghum by acquiring it from other sources - she was seriously considering a substitution-jutsu and a couple of bottles of sake for mid-afternoon break away from the Hokage duties.
"Yes ma'am," said the ANBU, looking over the stacks of paperwork and wondering how the Third had ever managed to get through all that. And the piles seemed to grow every time he had cause to visit the office.
"So, the two of them could be locked in a pocket dimension without food or air," said Tsunade.
"If that was the case, both would be dead by now," pointed out the ANBU operative. "The research into the technique indicates the space itself would have been no larger than this room. It HAS been almost two weeks now."
"Jiraiya could survive longer than that," said Tsunade off-handedly. "That old toad has a jutsu for situations like that. I think it's called 'Hibernation' - though it has a typically more long-winded name that completely escapes me at the moment."
"We are continuing to explore all angles, but you should know that several times I spotted someone in the Akatsuki cloak," said the ANBU. "Someone with a demented aloe plant growing from his shoulders."
"Yes, I've heard about him being spotted several times, he has evaded capture," admitted Tsunade with a frown. "Most likely they're trying to keep tabs on Naruto and are looking for his trail."
The ANBU operative nodded. "If there's nothing else..."
"No, go ahead and return to your duties," said Tsunade as she glanced through the report. "Send Shizune in as you leave."
"Something to send to Hinata," mused Naruto. "Something good. Hey, maybe I should find something for Sakura too."
"NO," said Jiraiya, Nanoha, and Kizna simultaneously.
"WHY NOT?!" demanded Naruto.
"Do I understand the situation right?" asked Kizna. "Naruto has the hots for Sakura. Sakura is devoted to Sasuke. Hinata, on the other hand, wrote a love letter to Naruto in which she said she'd watched him for years and fallen in love with him."
"And Sakura seems to regard Naruto as a friend and comrade, which is better than an annoyance but still a LONG way from dumping Sasuke to be with Naruto," added Jiraiya.
"Big brother's got girl problems," summed up Nanoha.
Naruto frowned and got sulky.
"Love is hard to give up on, but sometimes you just can't make it happen or work," said Kizna after a moment. "If you're in love, and that someone loves someone else, you'll just cause problems for the person you love by trying to butt in."
"You speak as if you have experience on the matter," said Jiraiya.
"Everyone bears those battlescars on their heart at one time or another," said Kizna. "At least Naruto here has someone who seems to genuinely care about him. That's better than a lot of people seem to get."
"Okay, fine, I won't send anything for Sakura this time," said Naruto. "If this even works."
"That IS something we'll have to try and figure out," said Jiraiya. "Fortunately, we only have one more of those stops before we reach our destination."
"Which is where you and I part company," said Kizna. "So let's get shopping. Naruto, was there anything that you can remember Hinata reacting positively to?"
"'Positively'?" asked Naruto, thinking about that now. "Uhm. Well. Let's see..."
Everyone waited briefly before Naruto exclaimed as if something had just occurred to him.
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(Posted Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:39)
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