Unmoderated Part 1
Unmoderated Part 2
Unmoderated Part 3

The Negotiators Part 1
The Negotiators Part 2
Adventures in Parodyverse - The Negotiators Part 3


    Visionary entered Hatman’s office, and did a double take.  He expected to see Hatman sitting at his desk doing paperwork, as he wasn’t out on a mission at the moment.  He thought he would stop in and ask a question.

    He was rather surprised to see a dark-haired Asian girl sitting at the desk, quietly typing on an aluminum laptop computer.  He recognized her when he saw a sheathed sword lying at the outer edge of the desk.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Where’s Jay?”  Visionary asked the Psychic Samurai.

    Chiaki looked up to acknowledge him, but continued working.  It was obvious then that she already knew he was there, but was too busy to say so.  “I believe he is taking the afternoon off.”

    There was a long pause as Visionary thought about that.  “He can do that?”

    She nodded as she kept working.  “I gave it to him,”  she said.  “I am completing his paperwork.”  She looked up again and asked Visionary, “May I help you with something?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No, no, I’m okay.”  he replied quickly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I insist,”  she said.  “I promised Jay I would work for my stay here.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s right,”  Visionary reminded himself.  “You’re staying here now.”  He moved closer to the desk, nearly tripping over one of the guest chairs, catching a slight amused smile from Chiaki as he did.  “I just wanted to say um...don’t let anyone here take advantage, okay?  That promise doesn’t mean you can’t say no.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Chiaki replied, still trying to suppress the smile.  “I am willing to help you if you have a reasonable request, however.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t worry about it.”  Visionary insisted.  “It was just a question for Jay.”

    She nodded and went back to work on the laptop.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Since you’re here anyway though--”  He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a symptom of nervousness that earned a suspicious stare from Chiaki.  “Maybe you’d like some dinner?  I mean...not a date or anything, just...you know...food.  Though I wish I could date someone like you--”

    Thankfully Chiaki interrupted him by saying, “Liu Xi already offered to make dinner.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Visionary shrugged.  “Well the offer’s open any time--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Would you like to have dinner with us?”  Chiaki cut straight to the point.  She was quite the opposite of Visionary in that regard.  “Liu Xi enjoys cooking and always makes extra.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Um...yeah.  Sure...if the food’s just going to go to waste if I don’t--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Just say yes if you wish to come along.”  Chiaki insisted.

    Visionary swallowed hard and said.  “Yes.”  

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Excellent.”  Chiaki closed the laptop and placed it in a black backpack.  “It’s about time we joined Liu Xi, then.”  She hefted the backpack and her sword, and led the way to the door.

    Visionary stood there, feeling a little lightheaded at first.  He wondered just how Chiaki managed to hijack his topic and turn it around.  At least he would get a decent dinner...he liked Liu Xi’s cooking.


---


    The scent in Liu Xi’s dining room was intoxicating.  Even the usually quite reserved Psychic Samurai had to stop in the doorway to inhale deeply.  Liu Xi Xian had clearly gotten adventurous with the meal she was creating.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Thank you for inviting me.”  Chiaki whispered as she saw Liu Xi unloading silver trays from a cart.  “I hope you don’t mind, I invited Visionary.”

    The man in question was attempting to hide, partly behind the doorway and partly behind Chiaki.  But being much taller than the Samurai, he was failing miserably.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Welcome!”  Liu Xi greeted him.  “Please, sit.”  She quickly set another place at the table.  Liu Xi was always so welcoming.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Uh...thanks.”  Visionary silently slid into the chair behind the newly placed plate.  Chiaki sat directly beside him.

    Anna entered the room silently, her deep blue hair and silvery blue eyes being most noticeable at first.  Then the most noticeable thing was her clothing - she wore a tee-shirt just a little too small to be tucked into her black leather pants.  It looked like she borrowed them from Yuki.

    Liu Xi and Chiaki turned to look at her.  Visionary did too, only he didn’t have the same question in mind that the other two did, and he was on the verge of drooling.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yuki took me shopping.”  Anna explained.

    Chiaki simply nodded and turned around again.  Liu Xi went back to work arranging the food.  

    Visionary continued to stare, even to the point of following her with his eyes as she walked around to the other side of the table and sat down directly across from him.

    The samurai carefully nudged him hard with her elbow, trying to not attract too much attention.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Huh?”  Visionary exclaimed as he looked at Chiaki.  Then he whispered sheepishly, “Sorry...I never realized how um...curvy Anna is.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She can hear you.”  Chiaki pointed out.  Anna was looking at the table, politely trying to make no attempt to show that she did so.  “Besides, I didn’t know you were into mechanical girls.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I uh...I mean--”  Visionary blushed and looked up at the ceiling.  There were no cobwebs, Liu Xi kept a very clean quarters.

    Liu Xi finally sat down, having served all the food.  She smirked at Visionary as she sat.  Apparently she heard what he said too.  She calmly put her elbows on the table and clasped her hands.  “Go on, Vizh, ask her out.  I’m sure she will appreciate it.”

    He wasn’t sure if she was kidding, but it sure seemed that she wasn’t.  He looked across the table and saw Anna hiding a nervous but flattered expression.  She had never been the focus of that kind of attention before.

    Visionary reached across the table and gently took Anna’s hand, peripherally aware that her fingers could crumple steel if she so desired.  That made it all the more difficult to say what was on his mind.  “Anna, to be honest...I was only admiring you physically.  Emotionally though, I have someone else in mind.”

    Both Liu Xi and Chiaki were smiling, as if they were in the middle of watching some dramatic movie.

    Anna nodded, but it was a few seconds before she smiled too.  “I understand,”  she said.  “I appreciate your honesty.”  And then she looked down and sheepishly admitted, “To be honest myself, I wasn’t expecting physical attention from you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I like to look, I guess...but really someone like Chiaki is more my taste.”  He looked at the Psychic Samurai and cringed as he remembered her sword, perched gently between the two chairs.  “I mean...because she’s so...you know--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Reserved?”  Liu Xi offered.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Visionary quickly agreed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“People choose to see what they wish to see.”  Chiaki informed him.  “I’m sure if you ask Jay you would learn the truth.”

    Vizh looked at the other two women.  Liu Xi was giggling, but Anna was as confused as he was.  She hadn’t heard anything about it either.  “I don’t get it,”  he admitted.

    Chiaki turned toward Visionary and leaned away, so she wasn’t nose to nose with him as she spoke.  “Jay and I, when we were together briefly...we probably made love more than Dream and April do.”

    At that point Visionary turned a nice shade of red, and he began picking at his food quietly as if he were checking for poison or something.  Or perhaps he was hoping there was some about now.  He felt Chiaki gently clasp his arm just above the elbow.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t mean to embarrass you,”  she whispered to him.  “I only mean to give you an example of why never to underestimate someone.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Visionary replied.  He started eating again slowly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“In the long run,”  Chiaki explained further, “It’s probably the reason we waited so long to break up when our communication fell apart.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You were still communicating.”  Liu Xi contributed.  “Just not verbally.

    Chiaki warmly looked across the table at Liu Xi.  “It takes both, and a lot more, to have a successful relationship.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She’s right.”  Visionary replied.  “I had the same thing happen with Pricilla.”  He then turned his attention to Anna again.  “Which is why, Anna, I politely turned you down.  It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

    Anna quietly nodded.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Aren’t you glad I invited you, Visionary?”  Chiaki asked.

    By then, Visionary had his mouth full of food.  He tried to respond anyway, with gibberish, which prompted everyone including Anna to laugh.

    Lara Night suddenly entered.  She discarded her jacket by tossing it onto a table in the next room, and she sat at the far end of the table next to Visionary, where an empty plate had been curiously left earlier.  “Sorry I’m late guys.  What did I miss?”


TO BE CONTINUED?


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2008 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