PoT Fic: Recombinant Chapter 9
Here's an action-packed chapter for you guys. ^_^ I hope you will like enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Title: Recombinant
Author: Dolly (universal_doll)
Rating: PG to PG-13
Characters: Echizen, Tezuka, Fuji (primary); Tachibana An, Tachibana Kippei, Momoshiro (secondary); and the rest of Seigaku.
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, AU (or rather, Alternate History/Timeline)
Summary: “Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Full Story Notes & Previous Chapters
New Chapter:
Chapter 9
“Tachibana.”
Tachibana looked over as he approached, looking mildly surprised. “Tezuka. Is there something you wanted?”
Tezuka fell into step with him as he headed back from the water fountains. Fudomine, along with Seigaku, were two of the many tennis teams that had gathered for that day's tennis tournament. And after noticing that that girl - the tenshi -- had worn a Fudomine uniform when they'd seen her last, he'd thought it would be a good idea for them to ask someone who went there if they knew anything about her. Unfortunately, as far as he knew it seemed that Fudomine's tennis team was the closest any of them had to acquaintances at said school.
“If its about our lineup--”
Tezuka shook his head. “I need your help. It's not about tennis.”
Tachibana looked at him curiously. “Oh? Go ahead then, though I make no promises.”
“We're looking for a girl. She's small and thin, with long dark hair and gold brown eyes. She goes to Fudomine, and is probably a first year. That's all we know.”
Tachibana seemed to take a moment to digest this, unidentifiable expressions flitting across his face. “By 'we', I assume you mean Seigaku's team?” Tezuka nodded. “What do you want with this girl?” he asked neutrally.
“It's complicated.” Tezuka let out a breath. “Though our intentions are honorable.”
“Complicated?”
“Very. Its a long story. But its important that we speak with her.” Tezuka replied with as much honesty as he could, not wanting to lie but knowing that he couldn't very well tell the whole truth either. But he was afraid that that might not be enough, as Tachibana was already looking rather suspicious.
There was a long moment of awkward silence before Tachibana replied. “I see,” he said slowly. “I've never seen a girl like that at school, though. I'll . . . keep an eye out though.” Abruptly, Tachibana turned away from him, and left him with a slight wave.
With the vague feeling that he may have done something to help their search, Tezuka headed back to the courts.
The games were about to begin.
~*~
“Game and match won by Seigaku's Echizen, six games to one!”
After shaking hands with his boring opponent, Ryoma walked back over to the bench where his teammates were. It was the weekend again, a Saturday afternoon, and Seigaku's tennis team was playing in one of the prefectural tournaments. But all the interesting teams had already played, and Ryoma didn't have any more matches scheduled. So he sat down on the edge of the bench next to Momo, and jiggled his knees impatiently as the next match began. Kaidoh was up, and was thoroughly beating his unimpressive opponent. Uninterested by the spectacle, Ryoma grabbed his bag and stood up to leave.
“Oi, where do you think you're going?” Momo called after him, and Tezuka sent them both a warning look.
“To get something to drink.”
“Be careful not to wander too far,” Inui advised. “As this is an unfamiliar area.”
“Yeah, don't get lost!” Momo snickered.
“Hmph.” Ryoma headed to the vending machines to buy a Ponta, and then went over to the small wooded area in the center of the park. If he had to sit around and do nothing, he'd rather do it under a tree than on a hard bench.
But he didn't see the creature that was in the tree until it was too late . . .
~*~
“Hmm.” Inui looked down at his watch and frowned. “Echizen should have returned by now. Momoshiro, please go and find him.”
With minimal grumbling, Momoshiro complied. Fuji watched as he left the courts, wondering himself what their freshman was up to. And between Echizen's unusual absences and his avoidance of Tezuka, Fuji had found himself wondering that a lot lately.
“I think I'll take a short walk.” Fuji smiled pleasantly as he picked up his bag and walked off of the courts, paying no mind to the strange looks that his teammates were giving him. As he looked around the area where he had seen Momoshiro heading towards, the sound of muffled voices from the picnic area nearby caught his attention. Sidling up behind a nearby tree, Fuji moved closer to listen as he recognized Momoshiro's voice.
“Ah, fine, I'll tell them. But it was a good game, don't you think they'll be suspicious?”
A short silence, then the soft voice of a young female. “It doesn't matter.”
Risking a look around the tree, Fuji's eyes snapped open as he saw the girl that Momoshiro was talking to. It was her. And even more interesting, Momoshiro seemed to know her. But why was he keeping it a secret?
“I called An already. I'm meeting her after Fudomine finishes for the day,” the girl went on in a clipped voice.
“Well, I guess I'll see you Monday then. Try not to get attacked by any more demon things!” This was said in a light voice, though no laughter followed. He heard footsteps then, and saw Momoshiro walk past as he started back to the courts - and still no Echizen. Softer, faster steps could also be heard, and as Fuji came out from behind the tree he saw the retreating form of the girl as she began to disappear through the trees. Making a quick decision, Fuji let Momoshiro go and followed her instead. Momoshiro definitely knew something, but probably not anything that he hadn't found out from her.
The girl seemed somewhat skittish, and it was difficult even for him to follow her without being noticed. He watched from a safe distance as she sat down under a tree near the outskirts of the park, though just when it looked like she wasn't going anywhere she jumped to her feet. She tensed, and her eyes fixed on something moving nearby.
It was a cat, or at least it looked like one. Small and grey, it didn't seem like much, but even from this distance Fuji could see a strange red glint in its eyes. Whatever it was, he decided, it was not a cat. He recalled Kaidoh mentioning a squirrel-like animal with similar features, but before he could ponder the matter further the girl took off running after the creature as it sprinted away.
Fuji sprang after her, dropping all pretenses of not following her as he nearly lost sight of his speedy little quarry. He followed her through streets crowded with office buildings, until she finally stopped in front of one of them. It was an old building, probably from the Edo period, but it looked as though it was being used as an office building now. But he could tell that something was very wrong inside, and not only by the small crowd of panicked workers that was stampeding out of it. There was something sinister emanating from the building that he could feel as clearly as he could see the workers coming out.
The girl's aura was more visible than ever as she stepped closer to the building, which was nearly vibrating with some intangible energy. And then she was gone; inside the building, and out of his sight. Fuji ran in after her, only to find himself nearly blinded by the white, swirling masses of papers that flew through the building's halls. And she was still nowhere in sight. The wind picked up, and he used his arms to shield his face against the razor-sharp paper edges as he turned a corner and found his way to the building's center.
A tall, lithe figure stood on the far side of the room, energy gathering ominously around him. White hair floated around him, and his pale eyes, which had been cloudy and unfocused, abruptly sharpened and turned towards Fuji.
“Well, hello.” His voice was lilting and pleasant as he raised one hand, and something began to spark in it. Fuji tensed, raising his own hands instinctively, but whatever he was expecting never came.
The girl seemed to appear out of nowhere, her small body struggling against the wind as she pushed towards the white-haired man. The words she shouted out then were from no language that Fuji recognized, though as soon as they had been spoken he felt a different type of energy burst from her. The man staggered backwards as she released it, but he quickly recovered.
“Now that's not the way you do it either, little one,” he said mildly, giving her a strange smile. He made as if to move towards her, but then, laying eyes on Fuji again, turned away. “But perhaps this will be a good lesson for you both.” He moved his hand into his shadow and pulled at it, bringing out a shadowy, four-legged thing that was easily twice Fuji's size.
“I hope you're a passable Guardian,” he said off-handedly, and the girl's eyes widened at this. “I would hate to see such a pretty thing as your tenshi get maimed.” Whatever energy he had been controlling suddenly dissipated, and with a flash of white hair he disappeared through the far doorway. “And by the way, this point will be coming down in a minute, so do take care,” his voice floated back.
Fuji's eyes narrowed in both anger and concentration, and his mind raced as he considered how to deal with the giant, impossible shadow creature that stood ominously between them and the exit.
“Get behind me,” he ordered the girl, who, after shooting him an uncertain glare, dashed up against his back. As she moved, the shadow creature sprung into motion after her, and Fuji grabbed her and rolled them both out of its path and behind a nearby desk.
“It must react to movement from us,” Fuji observed, trying to ignore the girl's protests as she was pinned beneath him. “Maybe--” He never finished his thought, as the desk was suddenly slammed into a wall by a dark limb. He quickly got to his feet and stepped back to evade another thrashing appendage, pulling the girl with him.
“Put your hands together and think about killing it,” the girl hissed in his ear, tugging him aside as the creature lashed out again. Fuji gave her a questioning look, wondering how that could possibly help. But having no better ideas, he pressed his fingers together in a natural seeming position and concentrated on his desire to destroy the shadowy creature. He felt an intense chill travel through his hands, and a stream of burning cold energy ripped out of them and into the creature. The creature froze on the spot, and then after a tense moment turned pale and shattered into nothingness.
And Fuji's breath nearly stilled in his chest as he realized that he was the cause. So this was what a Guardian could do . . .
“We have to go! The whole building's going to collapse!” As if to accentuate the girl's warning, the ceiling above began to rattle ominously as energy crackled through the lights. With a nod, he grabbed her by the wrist and ran blindly for the exit. Ceiling tiles and light fixtures began to rain down on them, and they made a dive for the door out just as the hall behind them collapsed in on itself.
He stood outside in stunned silence, and watched as the entire building slowly imploded in on itself. “Are you hurt?” He turned his attention to the girl, and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Any doubts he may have had were gone; he was quite certain that she was, somehow, the tenshi they were looking for. And the last thing he needed now was for her to run away again; he didn't really feel like chasing her at the moment.
“Why did it have to be you?” she huffed, and then let out a small sigh. Fuji frowned slightly at the strange reaction. “Could be worse, I guess.” With that, she turned and started walking back towards the park.
“Its not polite to run away from someone when they save you,” Fuji said lightly, following after her.
“Who's running? I'm leading, you're following,” she replied smartly, giving him a sideways glance. Amused, Fuji fell into step beside her, but decided not to push her further. She had acknowledged him, which was enough for the moment. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Fuji knew that that he was missing some important connection, one that bounds of rational thought prevented him from making.
As they returned to the spot that she had been sitting by before, Fuji saw a red-headed girl waiting there that hurried over as they approached.
“Ryo-chan!” So that was the tenshi's name. “Ah, you're a mess! What happened?” The redhead started picking bits of plaster from 'Ryo-chan's' hair, all the while eyeing Fuji warily.
“Same as before, sort of,” Ryo-chan answered vaguely, brushing the other girl's hands aside.
“And what about . . .” she trailed off, looking questioningly towards Fuji.
“He's like your brother. I think the rest of them are too.”
“Saa, Ryo-chan, aren't you going to introduce us?” Fuji interjected, his curiosity more than slightly piqued by the girls' conversation. The tenshi started to reply, but the other girl beat her to it.
“I'm Tachibana An,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand cautiously. “And you're Fuji Syuusuke, right?”
“Yes, and its a pleasure to meet you. I believe I've met your brother; Tachibana Kippei, isn't it?” Fuji said politely as he shook her hand.
“That's him!” An confirmed. “Um, Ryo-chan, does he know . . .”
“No.”
“Aren't you going to tell him?”
“Tell me what? There's a lot of things I'd like to ask you, Ryo-chan.” Fuji's smile widened, to the apparent dismay of An. Ryo-chan just looked annoyed. “You know, you look even cuter when you're annoyed.” This earned him a glare.
“I'll tell you what you what I know,” Ryo-chan said, with obvious reluctance. “But not here.”
~*~
“I wonder where Fuji went?” Eiji pondered, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he followed the rest of the team off the courts. “I bet he's going to get in a lot of trouble though! Just leaving like that without saying anything made Ryuzaki-sensei mad I bet.”
“It is strange that he didn't come back,” Oishi said worriedly. “And with Echizen getting sick so suddenly, its a good thing the tournament's finished for the day.”
“Both of their absences are very strange,” Inui commented suddenly, startling the pair. “Given Echizen's performance during his matches today, it is highly improbable that he is ill. And it is also unusual that Momoshiro did not see Fuji while he was looking for Echizen.”
The three of them fell into silence for a moment, and various degrees of puzzlement slowly dawned on their faces.
“Do you think--”
“Maybe he found--”
“We must be--”
They stopped as they all began to speak at once, and Tezuka shot them a questioning look.
“I can only conclude,” Inui began again, “That there is important data that we are missing.”
Tezuka silently agreed with this assessment. Though, knowing Fuji, Inui would have his data soon enough.
~*~
Chapter 9 Notes:
None! If I missed anything though, please do ask for clarification. :)
Thanks for looking! Comments are appreciated. :)
Title: Recombinant
Author: Dolly (universal_doll)
Rating: PG to PG-13
Characters: Echizen, Tezuka, Fuji (primary); Tachibana An, Tachibana Kippei, Momoshiro (secondary); and the rest of Seigaku.
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, AU (or rather, Alternate History/Timeline)
Summary: “Why couldn't you have been magical girls?”
Full Story Notes & Previous Chapters
New Chapter:
Chapter 9
“Tachibana.”
Tachibana looked over as he approached, looking mildly surprised. “Tezuka. Is there something you wanted?”
Tezuka fell into step with him as he headed back from the water fountains. Fudomine, along with Seigaku, were two of the many tennis teams that had gathered for that day's tennis tournament. And after noticing that that girl - the tenshi -- had worn a Fudomine uniform when they'd seen her last, he'd thought it would be a good idea for them to ask someone who went there if they knew anything about her. Unfortunately, as far as he knew it seemed that Fudomine's tennis team was the closest any of them had to acquaintances at said school.
“If its about our lineup--”
Tezuka shook his head. “I need your help. It's not about tennis.”
Tachibana looked at him curiously. “Oh? Go ahead then, though I make no promises.”
“We're looking for a girl. She's small and thin, with long dark hair and gold brown eyes. She goes to Fudomine, and is probably a first year. That's all we know.”
Tachibana seemed to take a moment to digest this, unidentifiable expressions flitting across his face. “By 'we', I assume you mean Seigaku's team?” Tezuka nodded. “What do you want with this girl?” he asked neutrally.
“It's complicated.” Tezuka let out a breath. “Though our intentions are honorable.”
“Complicated?”
“Very. Its a long story. But its important that we speak with her.” Tezuka replied with as much honesty as he could, not wanting to lie but knowing that he couldn't very well tell the whole truth either. But he was afraid that that might not be enough, as Tachibana was already looking rather suspicious.
There was a long moment of awkward silence before Tachibana replied. “I see,” he said slowly. “I've never seen a girl like that at school, though. I'll . . . keep an eye out though.” Abruptly, Tachibana turned away from him, and left him with a slight wave.
With the vague feeling that he may have done something to help their search, Tezuka headed back to the courts.
The games were about to begin.
~*~
“Game and match won by Seigaku's Echizen, six games to one!”
After shaking hands with his boring opponent, Ryoma walked back over to the bench where his teammates were. It was the weekend again, a Saturday afternoon, and Seigaku's tennis team was playing in one of the prefectural tournaments. But all the interesting teams had already played, and Ryoma didn't have any more matches scheduled. So he sat down on the edge of the bench next to Momo, and jiggled his knees impatiently as the next match began. Kaidoh was up, and was thoroughly beating his unimpressive opponent. Uninterested by the spectacle, Ryoma grabbed his bag and stood up to leave.
“Oi, where do you think you're going?” Momo called after him, and Tezuka sent them both a warning look.
“To get something to drink.”
“Be careful not to wander too far,” Inui advised. “As this is an unfamiliar area.”
“Yeah, don't get lost!” Momo snickered.
“Hmph.” Ryoma headed to the vending machines to buy a Ponta, and then went over to the small wooded area in the center of the park. If he had to sit around and do nothing, he'd rather do it under a tree than on a hard bench.
But he didn't see the creature that was in the tree until it was too late . . .
~*~
“Hmm.” Inui looked down at his watch and frowned. “Echizen should have returned by now. Momoshiro, please go and find him.”
With minimal grumbling, Momoshiro complied. Fuji watched as he left the courts, wondering himself what their freshman was up to. And between Echizen's unusual absences and his avoidance of Tezuka, Fuji had found himself wondering that a lot lately.
“I think I'll take a short walk.” Fuji smiled pleasantly as he picked up his bag and walked off of the courts, paying no mind to the strange looks that his teammates were giving him. As he looked around the area where he had seen Momoshiro heading towards, the sound of muffled voices from the picnic area nearby caught his attention. Sidling up behind a nearby tree, Fuji moved closer to listen as he recognized Momoshiro's voice.
“Ah, fine, I'll tell them. But it was a good game, don't you think they'll be suspicious?”
A short silence, then the soft voice of a young female. “It doesn't matter.”
Risking a look around the tree, Fuji's eyes snapped open as he saw the girl that Momoshiro was talking to. It was her. And even more interesting, Momoshiro seemed to know her. But why was he keeping it a secret?
“I called An already. I'm meeting her after Fudomine finishes for the day,” the girl went on in a clipped voice.
“Well, I guess I'll see you Monday then. Try not to get attacked by any more demon things!” This was said in a light voice, though no laughter followed. He heard footsteps then, and saw Momoshiro walk past as he started back to the courts - and still no Echizen. Softer, faster steps could also be heard, and as Fuji came out from behind the tree he saw the retreating form of the girl as she began to disappear through the trees. Making a quick decision, Fuji let Momoshiro go and followed her instead. Momoshiro definitely knew something, but probably not anything that he hadn't found out from her.
The girl seemed somewhat skittish, and it was difficult even for him to follow her without being noticed. He watched from a safe distance as she sat down under a tree near the outskirts of the park, though just when it looked like she wasn't going anywhere she jumped to her feet. She tensed, and her eyes fixed on something moving nearby.
It was a cat, or at least it looked like one. Small and grey, it didn't seem like much, but even from this distance Fuji could see a strange red glint in its eyes. Whatever it was, he decided, it was not a cat. He recalled Kaidoh mentioning a squirrel-like animal with similar features, but before he could ponder the matter further the girl took off running after the creature as it sprinted away.
Fuji sprang after her, dropping all pretenses of not following her as he nearly lost sight of his speedy little quarry. He followed her through streets crowded with office buildings, until she finally stopped in front of one of them. It was an old building, probably from the Edo period, but it looked as though it was being used as an office building now. But he could tell that something was very wrong inside, and not only by the small crowd of panicked workers that was stampeding out of it. There was something sinister emanating from the building that he could feel as clearly as he could see the workers coming out.
The girl's aura was more visible than ever as she stepped closer to the building, which was nearly vibrating with some intangible energy. And then she was gone; inside the building, and out of his sight. Fuji ran in after her, only to find himself nearly blinded by the white, swirling masses of papers that flew through the building's halls. And she was still nowhere in sight. The wind picked up, and he used his arms to shield his face against the razor-sharp paper edges as he turned a corner and found his way to the building's center.
A tall, lithe figure stood on the far side of the room, energy gathering ominously around him. White hair floated around him, and his pale eyes, which had been cloudy and unfocused, abruptly sharpened and turned towards Fuji.
“Well, hello.” His voice was lilting and pleasant as he raised one hand, and something began to spark in it. Fuji tensed, raising his own hands instinctively, but whatever he was expecting never came.
The girl seemed to appear out of nowhere, her small body struggling against the wind as she pushed towards the white-haired man. The words she shouted out then were from no language that Fuji recognized, though as soon as they had been spoken he felt a different type of energy burst from her. The man staggered backwards as she released it, but he quickly recovered.
“Now that's not the way you do it either, little one,” he said mildly, giving her a strange smile. He made as if to move towards her, but then, laying eyes on Fuji again, turned away. “But perhaps this will be a good lesson for you both.” He moved his hand into his shadow and pulled at it, bringing out a shadowy, four-legged thing that was easily twice Fuji's size.
“I hope you're a passable Guardian,” he said off-handedly, and the girl's eyes widened at this. “I would hate to see such a pretty thing as your tenshi get maimed.” Whatever energy he had been controlling suddenly dissipated, and with a flash of white hair he disappeared through the far doorway. “And by the way, this point will be coming down in a minute, so do take care,” his voice floated back.
Fuji's eyes narrowed in both anger and concentration, and his mind raced as he considered how to deal with the giant, impossible shadow creature that stood ominously between them and the exit.
“Get behind me,” he ordered the girl, who, after shooting him an uncertain glare, dashed up against his back. As she moved, the shadow creature sprung into motion after her, and Fuji grabbed her and rolled them both out of its path and behind a nearby desk.
“It must react to movement from us,” Fuji observed, trying to ignore the girl's protests as she was pinned beneath him. “Maybe--” He never finished his thought, as the desk was suddenly slammed into a wall by a dark limb. He quickly got to his feet and stepped back to evade another thrashing appendage, pulling the girl with him.
“Put your hands together and think about killing it,” the girl hissed in his ear, tugging him aside as the creature lashed out again. Fuji gave her a questioning look, wondering how that could possibly help. But having no better ideas, he pressed his fingers together in a natural seeming position and concentrated on his desire to destroy the shadowy creature. He felt an intense chill travel through his hands, and a stream of burning cold energy ripped out of them and into the creature. The creature froze on the spot, and then after a tense moment turned pale and shattered into nothingness.
And Fuji's breath nearly stilled in his chest as he realized that he was the cause. So this was what a Guardian could do . . .
“We have to go! The whole building's going to collapse!” As if to accentuate the girl's warning, the ceiling above began to rattle ominously as energy crackled through the lights. With a nod, he grabbed her by the wrist and ran blindly for the exit. Ceiling tiles and light fixtures began to rain down on them, and they made a dive for the door out just as the hall behind them collapsed in on itself.
He stood outside in stunned silence, and watched as the entire building slowly imploded in on itself. “Are you hurt?” He turned his attention to the girl, and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Any doubts he may have had were gone; he was quite certain that she was, somehow, the tenshi they were looking for. And the last thing he needed now was for her to run away again; he didn't really feel like chasing her at the moment.
“Why did it have to be you?” she huffed, and then let out a small sigh. Fuji frowned slightly at the strange reaction. “Could be worse, I guess.” With that, she turned and started walking back towards the park.
“Its not polite to run away from someone when they save you,” Fuji said lightly, following after her.
“Who's running? I'm leading, you're following,” she replied smartly, giving him a sideways glance. Amused, Fuji fell into step beside her, but decided not to push her further. She had acknowledged him, which was enough for the moment. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Fuji knew that that he was missing some important connection, one that bounds of rational thought prevented him from making.
As they returned to the spot that she had been sitting by before, Fuji saw a red-headed girl waiting there that hurried over as they approached.
“Ryo-chan!” So that was the tenshi's name. “Ah, you're a mess! What happened?” The redhead started picking bits of plaster from 'Ryo-chan's' hair, all the while eyeing Fuji warily.
“Same as before, sort of,” Ryo-chan answered vaguely, brushing the other girl's hands aside.
“And what about . . .” she trailed off, looking questioningly towards Fuji.
“He's like your brother. I think the rest of them are too.”
“Saa, Ryo-chan, aren't you going to introduce us?” Fuji interjected, his curiosity more than slightly piqued by the girls' conversation. The tenshi started to reply, but the other girl beat her to it.
“I'm Tachibana An,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand cautiously. “And you're Fuji Syuusuke, right?”
“Yes, and its a pleasure to meet you. I believe I've met your brother; Tachibana Kippei, isn't it?” Fuji said politely as he shook her hand.
“That's him!” An confirmed. “Um, Ryo-chan, does he know . . .”
“No.”
“Aren't you going to tell him?”
“Tell me what? There's a lot of things I'd like to ask you, Ryo-chan.” Fuji's smile widened, to the apparent dismay of An. Ryo-chan just looked annoyed. “You know, you look even cuter when you're annoyed.” This earned him a glare.
“I'll tell you what you what I know,” Ryo-chan said, with obvious reluctance. “But not here.”
~*~
“I wonder where Fuji went?” Eiji pondered, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he followed the rest of the team off the courts. “I bet he's going to get in a lot of trouble though! Just leaving like that without saying anything made Ryuzaki-sensei mad I bet.”
“It is strange that he didn't come back,” Oishi said worriedly. “And with Echizen getting sick so suddenly, its a good thing the tournament's finished for the day.”
“Both of their absences are very strange,” Inui commented suddenly, startling the pair. “Given Echizen's performance during his matches today, it is highly improbable that he is ill. And it is also unusual that Momoshiro did not see Fuji while he was looking for Echizen.”
The three of them fell into silence for a moment, and various degrees of puzzlement slowly dawned on their faces.
“Do you think--”
“Maybe he found--”
“We must be--”
They stopped as they all began to speak at once, and Tezuka shot them a questioning look.
“I can only conclude,” Inui began again, “That there is important data that we are missing.”
Tezuka silently agreed with this assessment. Though, knowing Fuji, Inui would have his data soon enough.
~*~
Chapter 9 Notes:
None! If I missed anything though, please do ask for clarification. :)
Thanks for looking! Comments are appreciated. :)