Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Nexus Earth - [Fic] Unfinished Business

[Kazuo]

… continued from Desolate Litany

“Thanks”, muttered Kazuo, after he and Francis appeared aboard the Macross. Without so much as a backwards glance at the former superspy from the future (not that Kazuo knew Francis was from the future), Kazuo stalked off to find the temporary quarters that he’d been assigned earlier, before the battle. Kazuo was rude under normal circumstances, but his rudeness in this instance was caused by worry.

Worry about what he’d just experienced. Worry about what he’d just seen. Worry about the people he was apparently expected to fight against from now on and the fact that Skye was being asked to fight them as well. Not cool.

For some stupid reason, after being reunited with Skye, Kazuo had unconsciously assumed that they were going to be facing a challenge not unlike the Demon Heads they’d faced back in their own version of Tokyo all those years ago. And sure, that had been a helluva challenge at the time, but that was then. He and Skye were both stronger now. Much stronger. Hell, he could have taken all of those Heads at once at his current level of power. So he’d figured this whole thing was gonna be a breeze – a cakewalk.

Big mistake. Huuuuge fucking mistake.

Kazuo had played it all sorts of cool back on that ship – and it had all turned out in his favor in the end – no doubt making him seem even more dangerous that he was, both to his new enemies and to his new allies. But he’d seen the state of things when he and Kai had first appeared on that bridge. He’d seen dwindling remnants of the princess’ power and the fact that even that hadn’t been enough to drop the monster he’d left her and Valerie and Skye to face so that he could go and ‘save the day’ out in space. He’d seen what the bastard had done to the girl, Valerie. And last, but most certainly not least, he’d seen how close Skye was to being dead.

Sure, she’d tried to play it cool, same as him, but he wasn’t buying it. That battle had almost been then end of the line for her.

And for the first time in years – as soon as Kai had transported the two of them onto that bridge – Kazuo hadn’t been the most powerful thing in the room. Worse, he probably hadn’t even been a close second. Worse still, from what he’d seen so far, out of all those he now called his allies he was the most powerful. It was fucking Tokyo, all over again (well, except for him being 'powerful' - back in Tokyo he'd been the runt of the litter, figuratively speaking). Kuso…

As he stalked down the halls of the Macross, Kazuo reached out with his mind, almost without consciously thinking about it. Kazuo’s telepathic abilities weren’t all that impressive, in terms of raw power – since he’d never put much of an effort into improving them – but he had a maximum range of around a thousand kilometers or thereabouts, so finding Skye’s mind onboard a single ship was as easy as finding his own nose in the middle of his face (that’s where it usually seemed to be, anyway).

Skye, Kazuo’s mind called out to the mind of his oldest friend. Where you at? Meet me at our rooms, yeah? We seriously need to talk.

Click to reveal..

Kuso: Japanese expletive. Similar to ‘shit’.

[z-Skye the Fallen]

Shock might be a good word for what Skye was feeling at the moment. She’d nearly been killed. Not since she’d nearly died at the Assault on Bonegate had she felt so vulnerable. It had been a long time since she’d had to pull herself together again – but last time, her beloved friend had been there, holding her hand and giving her his cloak. And then he’d told her – in his oblique, round-about way – that he loved her.

That’d made her forget about almost dying real fast.

This time, there wasn’t that cushion. No one was holding her hand or checking to make sure she was emotionally alright. She allowed herself to be pulled through to the medical bay once Frank – Fredrick? What was his name? – had dropped her off. The doctor on hand assessed her quickly and released her. A kind nurse thrust a robe at her as she headed for the door, and Skye had pulled it on to cover her ravaged kimono.

With Masune taking care of Kai, everyone else hovering over Val and the injured princess, her assigned guide dead and Kazuo Gott-knows-where, Skye wandered the ship alone. She wanted to go back to her rooms, but she had zero idea of how to get there. She wasn’t dumb, but she needed something other than blank walls and weirdly named doors to figure it out. Had she been in a damned forest, she’d be fine.

She stopped and leaned against a wall, feeling a little overwhelmed and lost. Skye knew it wasn’t because she was physically lost; that was an inconvenience. Everything else that had happened to her today had thrown her off. She closed her eyes, rubbing her face-

… the dark beyond black blade fell in a killing stroke. She could see all the images of her life before her eyes, all inverted in the light of the blade and she knew, she knew who they fought, Death-

Skye. Kazuo’s voice was in her head. Skye jumped and turned, as if she thought she’d see him behind her. But she’d had enough demons in her head to know what this was. Where you at? Meet me at our rooms, yeah? We seriously need to talk.

Being the bright girl that she was, Skye instantly focused on the most important concern. Holy fuck! You can read minds?!

Kazuo immediately felt a surge of disbelief, surprise and fear. He was used to stuff like that; no one really expected him to do something as cerebral as telepathy. He was also used to people being afraid that he was going to plunder their head for secrets. The embarrassment that also rose in Skye was not that unusual, but after her naked shower, he was wondering what she was worried about him learning. What did the Skye Fell who paraded herself so casually have to hide? He let that go for a moment and said, Yeah, funny thing about space is that it ain’t got no air, so talkin’s a bit hard.

Oh. Shit. He reads minds! He'll find out- Don’t think about that, Skye. Just be cool... Bazaroth... not that either!

Kazuo grinned a little, knowing that if he asked “think what?” she’d think about it immediately and possibly strong enough for him to ‘hear’. This wasn’t unusual either. People always tried to hide their secrets. Most of the time, he didn't give a shit. But this was Skye, and the desire to tease her was almost overwhelming. The current situation was too serious for this sort of thing, so Kazuo restrained himself. Knowin’ Skye, it was something pretty dull and unimportant – she worried about the dumbest, most girly things… But it made teasing her about it even more fun. Relax, I ain’t readin’ deeper than the surface, he said. Jus' enough ta talk.

Oh. Alright… be at your room soon. I need to change.

No ya don’t, Kazuo thought immediately, his amusement clear to her.

I dress for your safety, Ka-chan. I’ve seen you try to plan when your little head is doing the thinking. Skye seemed to find that thought funny, as the humor managed to drown out her awkwardness and underlying fear. Be there soon. There was a pause, then she asked, Um… where are our rooms?

[Kazuo]

Kazuo told Skye how to find their rooms (but only after teasing her about becoming lost first, naturally) and then he'd found his way to his own room to wait for his old friend.

Once in his room, Kazuo peeled off the top of the futuristic, space-worthy combat gear he'd been wearing since before the Old Man had grabbed him off that ship back in the Orb Radiant. The suit was extremely useful and it fit him perfectly, even with the wings, but after a while it began to chafe and its tightness stopped feeling like it allowed freedom of movement and started feeling cloying. Getting it off around his wings was always enough of an inconvenience that it reminded him of what it was like back before his wings had manifested and putting a shirt on or taking it off was a two-second affair. He'd have liked to say something like, ah, the good old days, but they hadn't been.

Kazuo tossed the combat gear's top onto the nearby desk and then collapsed onto the room's bed so that he could stare aimlessly at the ceiling. Thinking of the Orb Radiant reminded Kazuo of his now-erstwhile partner, Rankin, whom he'd left back on that ship without a word or an explanation. Chances were good that, in the eyes of the GSD, he'd thoroughly burned all his bridges there. Who knew what his sudden disappearance looked like to them. Kazuo didn't really give much of a damn about them, though; he only really felt bad that he'd ditched Rankin like that. Of course, he hadn't really had much of a choice, but it still felt like he'd abandoned the guy.

Just about then, there was a knock at the door and Kazuo, from where he was laying on his bed, hollered, "Door's open, bijin!"

As Skye stepped into his room, Kazuo swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself into a upright seated position on the side of the bed. Glancing around distractedly in Skye's direction, Kazuo said, "hey", and then, in a half-hearted attempt at humor, he asked, "So, you manage to track down any orange soda yet? Or cigarettes?"

Skye favored him with a small smile, but shook her head in the negative. Kazuo nodded, clearly expecting that answer.

"So", he said after a moment's overlong silence, "I think we need ta-", but he cut himself off and made a face of irritation. "Nah, ferget that shit fer now", he continued after a moment, "We'll get ta that when we get to it." Kazuo looked Skye in the eye and nodded his head at her. "How're you holdin' up?", he asked her.

[z-Skye the Fallen]

Skye’s choices, once she got back to her room, were between the remaining kimono in the locker or nothing. She’d been mostly joking about Kazuo being unable to think if she wasn’t dressed. She knew the power of her looks and she had honed their use to a near-weapon. As a result, seduction had become a part of her, as her husband had been fond of telling her. Skye smiled at the bittersweet memory of him telling her that was why he had to hover protectively around her. It was to keep other men from thinking that she was an unattended weapon.

That wry recollection kept the smile on her face as she pulled on the robe. “I’d kill for pants,” she muttered to herself, then reconsidered. “I’d maim for pants. I’d kill for an orange soda or chocolate.” She nodded as she pulled the belt tight, her priorities firmly in order.

It was a quick walk to Kazuo’s door and he called her in as soon as she knocked. She opened the door and almost stopped in the doorway. Kazuo wasn’t wearing his shirt. She kicked herself back into motion with a mental reproach: Nothing you haven’t seen before. Though it had been a long time since she’d seen him wearing so little. It’d been the night she’d gone out with him and Sho; she suddenly missed their third drinking partner acutely.

Kazuo said, “Hey,” and then, in a half-hearted attempt at humor, he asked, “So, you manage to track down any orange soda yet? Or cigarettes?”

Skye favored him with a small smile, but shook her head in the negative. Kazuo nodded, clearly expecting that answer.

“So,” he said after a moment's overlong silence, “I think we need ta-,” but he cut himself off and made a face of irritation. “Nah, ferget that shit fer now.” He continued after a moment, “We'll get ta that when we get to it.” Kazuo looked Skye in the eye and nodded his head at her. “How're you holdin' up?” he asked her.

The urge to laugh it off was on her tongue, but this wasn’t the stubbornly proud girl from Toyko anymore. “Not well,” she said, moving into the room and sitting next to him on the bed. “Have you noticed this place has no chairs?”

Kazuo merely quirked an eyebrow at her segue and Skye nodded, getting back on track. “It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before,” she sighed, watching her toes starting to trace patterns on the carpet. “But it’s worse this time. These guys are really powerful,” she confessed, her worried blue eyes rising to met his. She saw the same worry in his gaze at her words. “I don’t know what Kai pulled out of his arsch, but we were toast. And I can’t stop.”

Skye swallowed tears as Kazuo frowned at her. “Tsunami demanded that I stay and fight, on the bridge,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I was going to run, but… I probably could have, but it’s not like being a soldier. Or maybe it is, when the soldier is forced to stay engaged rather than run. With Luna, She was my sister, my friend. I trusted Her completely, and I trust She’d never put me in such a terrible situation. But Tsunami… She is a stranger, and I don’t know what would happen if I defied Her. I don’t think She’d send me back to Luna. That’s all I want-”

Skye stopped before her fear-fueled rant took off without her. “I’m not sure what I can do about that,” she said, winding her fingers together. “I’ll deal with the almost dying. Some sleep will do wonders.” She chuckled and added, “The last time, I was engaged to be married within three hours of the end of the battle, which kinda took my mind off of it. And last time, I saved myself.”

Skye closed her eyes. “That’s the hard part, Kazuo. I lost today. I may have been captured or defeated, but I always managed to pull through. And now… I know when we face those guys again, they will kill me.”

She hadn't meant to say so much, but it just poured out of her. Feeling uncomfortable with all the sharing, she asked, "You OK?"

[Kazuo]

"Me?", asked Kazuo, "Yeah, m'fine. Got shot up pretty good while fightin' those giant space-robots n'shit, but other'n that I barely gotta scratch on me."

He looked at Skye and she could see the frustration in his good eye, "I'm still pissed that they took off like that, though. I coulda had 'em, Skye. I coulda taken the bastards down..."

Kazuo trailed off. What he was thinking, but what his own pride and ego wouldn't let him say, was that the only reason he might have been able to defeat either Hizashi or Takashi back on that ship was because both of them had already taken a serious beating before he ever got to them. If he met either of them again, and they were at full-strength when it happened, Kazuo wasn't so sure he'd be the one to walk away from it.

When Kazuo looked back up at Skye he had a sarcastic smirk on his face and the look of defiance that was a trademark of his his was back in his eye. "Ah, who gives a fuck?", he said jokingly, "It's just another excuse ta go get shit-faced as soon as possible. Not like I need an excuse."

The scarred Asrai (the scarred what?) leaned back on his elbows, letting his two small wings hang down from between his shoulder blades. "So listen, bijin", Kazuo said as he looked up from his reclining position, "We need ta talk. I couldn't help noticin' back when we first got here that you knew a whole lot more'n me 'bout this place an' what's goin' on around here. That's not too surprisin' to me, seein' as how yer the priestess here - the girl who talks ta deities n'shit - an' I'm just the thug carryin' a big stick around, but now I'm askin' ya to level with me."

Kazuo cocked an eyebrow (the one with the scar running through the middle of it) and said, "So spill it, girl. What don't I know?"

[z-Skye the Fallen]

“I don’t know if it’s safe to talk about,” Skye said simply, “not where someone could have us bugged.” Kazuo was already looking annoyed at her paranoia, but Skye touched her temple and gave him a meaningful look. Kazuo wasn’t the brightest laser in the cannon array, but he wasn’t dumb.

Now spill it, Kazuo demanded.

Skye flopped down on the bed next to him. “Sleepy,” she mumbled, only to think a moment later, Ok, while I was in Ikaris, I befriended a cat-boy name-

Cat-boy? Kazuo interrupted.

Yes, like a young man with cat ears and cat features, Skye explained as she snuggled close to Kazuo and threw an arm over his upper legs. They’re common in Ikaris, though usually only cat-girls. Cat-boys are very rare. “I’m gonna take a nap,” she muttered out loud and propped her head up on his hip. “Be my pillow.”

As Kazuo gaped at her personally invasive demeanor (though Kazuo couldn’t say he much minded this particular type of personal space invasion) and careless command, she continued, Anyway, Lawrence is my friend and liege-lord. He has a lovely cat-girl wife whom he doesn't love, or rather doesn't love as a man should a wife. Kazuo felt her sorrow when she thought that and caught an edge of a thought, The way I loved him. That addition was quickly suppressed but the grief that danced through her mind with it told Kazuo his friend was still hurting from the loss of her “husband”. He didn’t love her because his true love had been killed by Kai, Lily, Valerie and their friends.

On Ikaris, archmages used to make champions fight each other. Champions won wishes for their archmages, Skye went on, her mental voice matching the sadness she was emanating. Despite being friends with them, Lawrence was forced to fight against them. Kai and the others were pitted against the team Lawrence and his love, Asia, were on. Lily and Kai and the others killed most of Lawrence's team.

Lawrence didn’t blame them for that. Everyone was compelled to fight. But when the archmage allowed Kai and the group a wish, they choose to bring only certain people back. Not Lawrence, and not Asia, despite their friendship before this mess started.

Kazuo shifted a little on the bed, unsure what to do with Skye snuggling against him like this. He’d already figured out she was doing this in case someone was watching but it was a little hard to focus. You said Lawrence was alive, Kazuo pointed out, latching onto the easiest – and least confusing – consideration among the multitude suggesting themselves to him.

Yes, he had the ability to return from death, a little like another guy I know, Skye said with a little smile, her nose pushing at his belt for a moment in what seemed to be an unconscious gesture. Kazuo wasn’t sensing that she was enjoying this in the way he rather wanted her to; instead she seemed very content. But Asia’s soul was destroyed by Lily’s Ragna Blade spell. Lawrence tried to bring her back but all he got was a hollow shell – a living corpse. That is an evil, evil spell, yet Lily uses it indiscriminately. So Asia couldn’t return and Lawrence married another out of duty.

That sucks, Kazuo observed. Still… why all th’suspicion?

From what Lawrence had told me, Kai and the others worked for Satoshi. This company does some really creepy things, like turn people into fighting machines, like those boys in the barracks. They were teenage boys, Kazuo, and watching me shower was about as interesting as watching paint dry. There was no sense of self-consciousness from her about the shower-scene; it didn’t seem to bother her. Lawrence told us that Satoshi was ruthless and everything I’ve seen confirms it. And now, I have Tsunami making me fight, so She’s just as ruthless as them. It all reeks of the stories Mom used to tell me about the fucking Nazis. People like Satoshi… people who compel others like Kai… they are the ones that need to be stopped.

I truly understood that when Kai compelled me to kiss him, Skye said. She screwed her eyes shut and tried not to think of Henry but Kazuo caught a whisper of that name and a spike of fear. I was just going to hug him but when I touched him it went all weird. It was like… Skye floundered for a moment as a surge of fear rose again. I was very happy, and then I was on the beach holding Kai’s hand. It was so real, like I was there. The sun, the sand, his hand in mine... and I was utterly in love… like that first love.... like I never got to be.

Skye turned her head, brushing her face along the curve of his bare side. He heard a soft sniffle and felt a tear roll down one of his scars, the drop tickling its way down his skin to soak into the bed. It took a moment, but Kazuo felt her pull back the emotion; not deny it but tone it down from a bone-deep pain to a strong ache. She shifted again, returning her head to his lap. There was no real sign she’d been crying. In Tokyo, Skye had telegraphed all her emotions constantly; she'd worn her heart on her sleeve. But this grown-up version of his friend was able to keep a calm face while he felt the emotions that tore through her.

Skye shifted and lifted her head. “You should lie down,” she cajoled. “Get on your stomach and nap with me.” She grinned at him. “I swear I’ll react better to waking up next to you than I did last time.”

Damn, but I miss Sho.

Click to reveal.. (Where's the cussin'?!)

Some of you may have noticed that all of Skye's swearing is in English in this segment. That's because she's thinking in German (so it's all written in the same language) while Kaz "hears" it in Japanese. Welcome to the wackiness of Telepathy. Just wanted to reassure my readers who thought I might be slipping.