At The Point Of A Blade Part 5


    The Psychic Samurai’s home was the entire top floor of a luxury apartment building in central Paradopolis.  It was one of several homes of hers, scattered around that city and also in Japan.  While she worked for Akiko Masamune, she was paid well - and at the time, she lived simply, and invested every penny.  She ended up retiring in luxury, working only when she chose to.

    Jay Boaz envied her quite a bit.  If he had been a much more shallow man, he might have married her to share her life and wealth.  But he was quite the opposite - while she was eager to share with her friends, he continually attempted to refuse her unsolicited gifts.

    Not her invitations, however.  Upon returning home to the Lair Mansion, Jay called Chiaki to ask her about the headband.  Rather than answer over the phone, she invited him over.  And sent a pre-paid taxicab.  Jay wouldn’t let it rest there, however - he tipped the cab driver anyway.

    As he entered the building, the doorman recognized him and tipped his hat - and then unlocked the penthouse express elevator to send him directly to the top floor.  Jay stepped in, and the doors closed.

    Chiaki was one smart woman.  She knew she had enemies, and her building had many layers of security.  There was the doorman and locked elevator.  The elevator doors opened into a foyer decorated in Japanese style, with lots of plants - it had more than just a visual purpose.  It served as a buffer between the elevator and locked stairway, and her actual living quarters behind another locked door.

    That door was left open for Jay.

    Inside was another, smaller wood-floored foyer lighted minimally, which had a closet for hanging up coats.  An open doorway led into the large living room.  Chiaki was sitting on the carpeted floor next to her low coffee table, pouring tea.  The plush couch was behind her, and the television was playing some movie from a satellite provider.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Come on in,”  she said softly.  Since the sound on the TV had been muted, it was easy enough to hear her.

    Jay had visited her home a few times, so he knew her rules.  He took his shoes off and left them in the foyer.  Then he crossed the living room and sat down right beside her on the floor.  She passed him a cup of tea.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So you tried the headband.”  she began the conversation with.

    He nodded.  “And I guess I had to talk to you, because it scared me a little.”

    She sipped her tea.  “Because...?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because it was...so easy.”  he said.  He sipped some tea too, and looked at her.  She was growing her hair a little longer.  It was different, and kind of attractive.

    Chiaki laughed.  “Only because you missed the twelve years of work it took to get there, and the daily work it takes to stay there.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Point taken.”  he replied with a nod.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“But I’m glad you took the opportunity to try it.”  She smiled encouragingly, and stared at him as she took another sip.  Then she put down the tea, reached out, and hugged him tightly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You didn’t need to do that--”  he quickly said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I did.”  Chiaki whispered.  “Because I know how you feel right now.  The same way I did after my first real fight.  It’s rough, I know it is.”

    He was curious now.  “What happened?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I made him bleed.”  she replied.  “It doesn’t sound like a big deal except...he was Samurai too, and nobody made him bleed in something like a decade.  I was shocked how easy it was.  It haunted me for a long time.”

    Jay nodded, but he didn’t reply.  He took another sip of tea instead.  Though he didn’t say so, he did feel a little closer to her...at the moment, at least.  It varied, at other times he felt like she was completely alien to him.  That’s partly what intrigued him about her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Would you like me to speak to your prisoner?”  Chiaki asked.  “I can do that now that I work at the Safe.  Maybe I can learn something about him.”

    He shook his head.  “That won’t be necessary.  Just make sure nobody gives him anything metallic that he can use his elemental power with to turn into a weapon.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And I assume Yuki went to the Chinese embassy to calm them down.”  she guessed.

    Jay leaned back against the couch and smiled.  “You know, for someone who didn’t want to join the Lair Legion you sure keep up on its business.”

    Chiaki laughed.  She knew he was teasing her.  But she did have a serious reason for her curiosity.  “I did say I would decline an invitation,”  she said, “however, I know our destinies are intertwined.  I’ll never be able to truly turn my back on the Lair Legion.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sounds like what I’ve said, only prefixed by ‘when I retire’.”

    That raised her curiosity yet again.  She narrower her eyes and asked, “Have you been thinking about retiring from the Legion and settling down to raise a family again?”

    He nodded solemnly.  “I think about it all the time.”

    She leaned against him.  “It’s tough being a leader.  You’re burning out a little, I can tell.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not burning out.”  he insisted.  Then he mumbled, “Not yet, anyway.  It would be nice to take a more secondary role, though.  Yuki is really smart, and she and Dream together, they strike a really good leadership balance.  Plus with two of them, it’s not such a burden as it is on one person.”

    He looked at Chiaki and added, “And I think you’d do a good job too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No.”  She shook her head and laughed.  “I’m responsible for too much already.  Plus it brings up some...strange conflicts of interest.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I see your point.”  Jay agreed.  He then sighed sadly.  “I guess I should head back and get all the paperwork in order and get things wrapped up.”

    Chiaki stood at the same time he did, and she hugged him quickly again.  “If you want to talk later tonight, I’ll probably be awake.  Call me if you’d like.”

    He nodded silently, and then trudged to the door to meet his destiny of paperwork at the Lair Mansion.


---


    Liu Xi Xian sat on the edge of a bed in one of the guest quarters of the Lair Mansion, watching Vinnie De Soth lying down, occasionally dozing off.  She wouldn’t let him sleep yet, though, because she had things to talk about first.

    He was in the Lair Mansion at her insistence.  He wanted to go home, but she said that after the abuse he’d taken in Tianjin, she didn’t want to leave him entirely alone for the first night back.  She also wanted him to sleep in more comfort than his usual ancient mattress, ratty sheets, and tiny room allowed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“This is why you should call me when you’re about to leave for a gig.”  Liu Xi told him.  “We could have coordinated and you wouldn’t have been captured and thrown in a cell.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Maybe.”  he replied.  He was too tired to argue.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And--”  She added.  Then she whispered, “It...made me think about how valuable you are to me.”

    That prompted Vinnie to sit up on his elbows.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I could have lost you.”  She lowered her eyes after she said that.

    Vinnie sat up, and looked serious.  “Liu Xi...you could lose me before breakfast, for all we know.  Or nothing could happen for years.  It’s all just random.  Don’t feel rushed or pressured because of something that probably won’t happen.  Trust me, you’re worth waiting for.”

    After he said that he seemed almost shocked that it came out of his mouth.

    Liu Xi stared at him, and then slowly smiled.  “Don’t you see?  That is what I was waiting for.  I wanted you to decide that you deserve someone like me.  You had such low self esteem.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“If only this job of mine wasn’t in the way.”  Vinnie said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do you mean?”  she asked.

    He sighed sadly.  “Between all the enemies I have, the ones that come with the Sorcerer Supreme job, and my own family--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have enemies of my own, you know.”  Liu Xi pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“And,”  he added insistently, “The pretty good chance that sooner or later the Sorcerer Supreme inevitably collides with your friends at the Lair Legion.”  He lowered his eyes.  “I don’t think...I could bear to have you hate me.”

    She sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder.  “Stop underestimating me.”  she said.  “I understand the Sorcerer Supreme job, Xander left me some of his books, remember?  They contain so many clues...spells, and instructions, and as I read them I can’t help but think about why they needed to be used.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’d understand if I had to do something bad to the Lair Legion?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’d be upset.”  she admitted.  “But I would understand, and maybe it would even help that I could maybe explain it to them.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Maybe it’s the lack of sleep speaking,”  Vinnie said, “But I really like you.  I guess I’m afraid of dragging you completely into this mess I call my life.”  He closed his eyes, hoping she wouldn’t be angry.

    Instead, Liu Xi leaned over to him and kissed him once, gently.  She then smiled and slid off the bed.  “That’s probably smart,”  she said.  “But not much fun.  Get some sleep, and maybe when you wake up your mind will change.”

    Vinnie watched Liu Xi leave, and then he lay down on the bed again, and started to drift off, and dream about this wonderful Chinese girl with a very warm kiss.


TO BE CONTINUED?
    

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2009 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin

That room charge could really add up.

A fun romp through distant lands, with some heart-to-heart to cap it off.  Nice job!