{These characters are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}

Blood Relations

by Lara Bartram

"Will it keep?"

"For as long as it needs to. I'll bring them in when they reach 18; that'll be a good point. Until that time, they'll live as normal children." Midori looked with fondness at the two children. Her children.

She kneeled down in front of the two, each of them looking at her with wide-eyed innocence. Smiling at them, she took each of their hands in hers. "I have to go, children. I'll miss you both. I love you dearly and want you to know I wouldn't leave unless I absolutely had to."

They looked at her and nodded, their facial expressions never changing.

Midori looked back at Tamon, her expression changing from warmth to extreme seriousness. "Things are not going well. I'm going to concentrate on finding out the exact point of variance. Then I should be able to apply it to these two."

Tamon nodded.

Midori gave him a small smiled and turned back to the children. "Remember that I love you, and I will see you again." She kissed each of them on the forehead, then stood, releasing their hands. "Be good."

They nodded in unison.

"I wish I didn't have to leave them, but this won't wait. If I put it off any longer, things will only get worse," she said to Tamon again.

"I understand. They will too when they get older."

"No! Never tell them," Midori said angrily. "Only when the controls are released will the situation be known. Only then. Before that and their sanity could be in jeopardy."

"Understood then," Tamon said. "They'll miss their mother." He took the hand of the younger child.

"Please don't make this any harder than it has to be. Do you know just how hard it was to put the controls on them? Look at them now. They barely even recognize me."

"They know you. Deep inside, they'll always know you. They'll know the truth."

Midori sighed heavily and hugged Tamon. "I do grow weary of this. Once this gets worked out, I think I'll turn project control over to someone else. After this, I just can't do it again."

The two kissed, and with one last longing look back, Midori left.

The children started to follow, but Tamon restrained them. "No, children. She's gone."

[7 YEARS LATER]

There wasn't anything different about what had happened, but the results could never have been predicted.

His head snapped back just before the rest of his body went flying and impacted against a wall. He slid down to the ground and laid there, unmoving.

"Kuno-chan, you're totally hopeless. I guess it's another well- paid trip to the infirmary." She grabbed the back of his gi and began dragging him toward the school.

In class, things seemed the same as always. Except for the person sitting next to Nabiki. She didn't notice a thing, but then, this was one of the trickier chapters of calculus and she was turning almost her full attention to it. Besides, she knew there were certain well-paying fools that would need help later. Glancing over at Kuno, she saw that he wasn't taking any notes at all, and she mentally marked him down.

Kuno stared at the blackboard as the teacher wrote the problem down. He considered, for a moment, writing it down in his notebook, but discovered, unlike previous class periods, that he didn't need to.

He already knew the information being presented, he already knew the answer. And more, a lot more.

And he didn't know why.

Nabiki sauntered over to Kuno, expecting him to be drawing a blank on the earlier problems. She was about to deliver her usual greeting when she saw the sheet of paper on his desk in front of him.

It appeared to have all the homework problems finished on it. They were written in a tiny, precise script that was completely unlike Kuno's usual almost calligraphic writing.

Kuno himself was just staring at the paper, the pencil still held in his hand. He had a rather stunned look on his face.

Instead of saying anything, Nabiki backed away, wondering where Kuno had found help so quickly.

* * *

"Ey, Tatchi! I tink it's time fo' de monthly cut!" The slightly more than deranged principal of Furinkan high school, a man the two Kuno children refused to acknowledge as their father, advanced on Tatewaki with his shears.

"Not today, Father. I have other business to attend to."

Grinning merrily, the principal rushed forward to give his son a nice, close shave.

Faster than either was prepared for, Tatewaki grabbed his father's wrist and twisted sharply to the left.

If he twisted another centimeter, bones would have snapped. As it was, the sudden pain forced the older man's fingers to open, and the shears fell to the floor.

Adjusting his grip, Tatewaki twisted just a little more and sent the larger man spinning to the floor as well. With that done, he walked off to his room.

Rising slowly, slight pain in his back, the principal stood and collected his shears. He went to the phone and picked up the handset. Before dialing, he listened to the house. When silence was the only thing he heard, he dialed a series of numbers that correlated to no known public number on record.

He listened to the phone on the other end buzz once, then the click as it was picked up. "There's a problem?" a woman's voice asked. It was the only reason the line would be used.

"I think... I think he broke through the controls."

There was silence for a moment. "Watch them both carefully. I can't leave now, but I'll be over as soon as I can." She was silent once again.

"How are they?" she asked suddenly. "How are my children?"

The silence was an unfortunate answer.

"I see you couldn't even handle two children, Tamon. I will be there as soon as possible."

The phone clicked loudly in his ear as Midori hung up. Sighing, Tamon hung up and went to check on his daughter. With any luck, her controls would still be in place.

* * *

Tatewaki looked at the blade in his hands. It wasn't just a blade, but it wasn't any sort of extension of his body either. The blade was a tool, and he knew it was a deadly tool.

A hundred places on the human body to place it and cause death flashed through his mind. No desire to ever do such a thing, just the simple knowledge.

Resheathing the tanto and putting it back in its place, Tatewaki picked up his bokken and began his regular workout.

It was difficult. Hi body wanted to rebel, do things that weren't part of his practice. Lots of running, leaping, rolling and non-standard slashes... He fought the impulses to perform these moves. Barely.

Stopping and throwing his bokken down in disgust, unable to find any peace in the repetitive movements, Tatewaki kneeled down and picked up the tanto again.

There was something about the bare steel that hypnotized him. He turned it over in his hands and slowly removed the blade from the sheath.

Blade fully bared, he laid it against his skin, observing the contrast between the two.

Metal. It was so much more pleasant to look at and feel than plain wood of a bokken. It felt so much more real, especially the way the edge bit so delicately into his skin. Its sharpness was unrivaled and he knew that it could slice him to the bone as easily as it could cut water.

"Ey, Tatchi!"

The sound of his worthless father's voice drew his attention away from the tanto. Snarling and glaring as the intrusion, Tatewaki prepared to use the weapon. "What do you want?"

"Tatchi, dis be fo' yo' own good!"

"I sincerely doubt that."

His father's voice changed radically in that moment. "But it is. Don't you want to know about everything you're feeling?"

Tatewaki stared at his father. "How... do you know?" he asked in complete stunned amazement.

"Tatchi, get changed into something appropriate. There's someone you need to meet."

It was almost an hour later. Tatewaki had first attempted to dress in his usual outfit, but he had felt downright foolish in it. Instead, he managed to find some more normal clothing that had been stowed far in the back of his closet.

So he was in a pair of loose gray pants and an ivory, button- down shirt. There hadn't been any suitable shoes to go with the rest of the outfit so he went without.

Heading downstairs after freshening up somewhat, he looked for his father. "Father?" he called out. "Father, if this is some sort of joke..." Stepping into the sitting room, the words died on Tatewaki's lips. He had located his father.

"Tatewaki, do you remember me?"

"Mother?" He took one hesitant step forward.

"It's me, Tatewaki." Midori smiled at him and held her arms out.

Tatewaki took one more hesitant step forward before suddenly running and taking her in a fierce hug. "Mother, I thought you were dead!"

Hugging him back, Midori kissed the side of Tatewaki's head. "I know you did, Tatewaki, but I'm here now."

"Kodachi will be so glad to see you!"

"No, Tatewaki. She can't yet. Things aren't finished yet; I still have work to do. She's too young." She kissed him again. "Do you understand, Tatewaki? You mustn't tell her."

"She'll be so disappointed."

"Don't worry. We'll all be reunited soon enough. But right now, I hear you're having some problems. I think I can help you with them."

When Tatewaki pulled out of her arms, it nearly broke her heart. This had happened before, and she had been gone for seven years. She didn't want that to happen, but she knew she would have to leave again. "You're a smart boy, Tatewaki, and you know that I can't answer all your questions, but I'll do the best I can."

Midori sat down on the couch and watched Tatewaki try to voice his troubles as he sat next to her.

"Mother, I... I'm not who I was. I know things I didn't know before. It... it scares me," Tatewaki said. He held his mother's hand like he was still a small child.

"That's because you know more than you should at this age, Tatewaki. Your sister does too, but she doesn't remember it yet.

"It's because of me, Tatewaki. I've... I've done some things I'm not proud of, things I wish I never did. But I can't take those things back now." Midori looked into his eyes.

"You and Kodachi were the first subjects of an experiment in learning through applied gene and hormonal therapy." She looked away at that point, ashamed.

"What? Mother, I don't understand."

"You do, Tatewaki, but I don't blame you for not wanting to." She rubbed his back and tried to think of a way to explain things. "Tatewaki, I... I can't explain why I did certain things because I don't know myself. I wish I hadn't robbed you of your chance at leading a normal life... Just don't hate me for what I've done.

"You _are_ my son and I love you." A single tear ran down her cheek.

"Mother... what am I? Why... why can't I have a normal life?" Tatewaki looked at her closely, trying to memorize every detail of her face so he wouldn't forget again.

"Nothing so dramatic, Tatewaki. You'll get to live your life as you see fit. It just won't be normal." She sighed. "You'll have to learn self-control, something I can help you with when it's time, and then..." She smiled at her son. "You can do anything you want. Probably more than you imagined."

"And Kodachi?"

"Kodachi too."

They sat in silence, simply enjoying the chance to be together again in seven years.

"I don't want you to go," Tatewaki said suddenly.

Midori shook her head. "I knew this would happen. I have to go. It's for your own good."

"If you're going, I want to go with you. I don't want to be left here again. I want to be with you."

Midori hugged Tatewaki tightly. "We'll all be together again soon enough. When you turn 18 and your schooling is complete, you can come with me and wait for Kodachi. How does that sound?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"I'm afraid not. If I could stay, I would. If I could take you with me, I would. But..." She looked apologetically at her son. "It's time for you to go back to sleep." He put her hand on his cheek and felt him tremble. "Go back to sleep, Tatewaki, and when you wake up, I'll be there."

They hugged once more, each of them crying now.

Tatewaki clutched his mother tightly as the needle slid into his arm and the powerful sedative was administered.

The whole process of "controlling" her children was mentally draining to her. Each time she did it, she felt like a little piece of her soul was being ripped away from her. Or maybe she was readily giving it away. To make her son disappear beneath a personality that was not his own hurt.

Doing it the first time was painful. Doing it the second time was pure hell.

Midori watched him sleep for a few moments, his face untroubled and innocent-looking. She and her ex-husband had removed the clothes he had been wearing and put on his yukata, then put him to bed.

There was an ache in her heart from seeing his room. Everything in it reminded her that she was forcing him to live a lie. Not a day went by that she didn't regret what she had done to her children.

"Kodachi is well?" she asked, still watching her son sleep.

"As well as can be expected. Everything is stable with her, though she misses you terribly. She thinks no one hears, but I hear. She cries for you, she calls out for you in her sleep..."

Midori hung her head and nodded. "If it's sooner, to hell with school. They don't need it. This... this is too much."

Tatewaki awoke a few hours later with a splitting headache. He wasn't sure what had happened, but... but it must have been that cur Saotome's fault!

* * *

"Ey, Tatchi! I go'n give ya da special birthday cut!"

"My birthday is not for another three months, 'Father', and even then, I will not allow you!"

The elder Kuno took a playful swipe with his shears at his son, smiling the entire time.

Tatewaki hopped back instinctually and quickly thought of something better he had to do as far away from his father as possible. It was the only smart thing to do since his father seemed quite prepared to shave his head in celebration of his approaching manhood.

"Three months, Tatchi. Only three months more."

* * *

Security wasn't tight. It wasn't any top secret government installation; it was just a lab. So when one of the experiments suddenly went wild, went on a bloody rampage, there wasn't much to be done.

The thick security door opened slowly, showing dimensions that looked more appropriate on a bank vault.

"Coast is clear. He's gone."

A small group of determined-looking men and women emerged from the room behind the door.

After staring for a few moments at the destruction caused in their lab, looking, with grim faces, at the scattered bodies, they began to move slowly. Some still stared at the dead bodies, unable to comprehend the reality of death in such a way.

Even though the deaths were not particularly violent, most consisting of broken necks, shattered noses and crushed windpipes, it was still horrible to see their coworkers that had been too slow to escape.

They had all died rather cleanly and with military precision, bringing a grim smile to one woman's lips.

"Doctor, what do we do?" a slim man wearing broken glasses asked.

"We start looking for him. I have a pretty good idea where he'll be going." She looked around. "And clean this place up."

"Yes, Dr. Kuno."

Midori went to an overturned phone and tested it. Hearing a dialtone, she dialed the number to the house in Nerima.

"I can't talk about this over the phone. I'm coming over right away."

"But... the children."

"This is more important. Their lives, and ours, are in extreme danger."

"You mean..."

"Yes. I'm leaving in two minutes."

"Shit."

"You can say that again." Midori hung up and quickly exited the lab. Things were getting messy.

The door opened before she had even rung the bell. It was, technically, her home, but she visited so infrequently, she always felt like a stranger.

"Where are they? she asked as she walked inside.

"At school, where I should be. What's going on?"

"Kyoji's escaped. I think he'll come here. To deal with the rest of his family." The grim look on her face was all Tamon needed to know that she wasn't kidding. Not that she ever kidded.

"So how do we deal with him?"

She looked at him evenly. "We activate our two best developmental agents. It's the only way."

He shook his head. "You're kidding. You can't be serious about this."

"I am. If any of us want to live to see next year, next month, then this is what we have to do."

"No! Call the police, or the Americans! Let them deal with it! Not Tatewaki and Kodachi!"

Shaking her head slowly, Midori spoke softly, "No, that's not an option. The violence that would accompany such an action would surely be far worse than what would happen if we fail here. If we fail, then the five of us will die. If they come in here, guns blazing, who can say how many will die?"

Knowing she was right and hating the logic, Tamon nodded. "I'll pull them from school now."

"Excellent. We'll need as much time as possible to prep them."

"Father, I demand to know why we..."

"Quiet! Listen!"

That got the Kuno siblings to quiet down and stare at their father in shock.

"Look and listen. Do nothing else." He turned on the television, which happened to be showing a baseball game at the moment.

They stared quizzically at it.

"Children, it's time to wake up and come back to us," Midori said from behind the two. It was the only signal that would restore their repressed knowledge, the only way they could act as themselves.

With alarming suddenness, both their eyes glazed over and they swayed in their chairs, ready to topple over. But as quickly as it had come, that look disappeared, to be replaced by cold, calculating intelligence.

Opening up the small bag she had brought, Midori pulled out two bundles of black cloth. Standing in front of her children, she greeted them warmly, but professionally. "Children, we have a problem."

They looked at her, but showed no emotion at all.

"Kyoji has decided that he shall kill us." She began to unroll the bundles on the floor in front of the two. "You are our only chances of survival."

Each bundle was revealed to be carrying a large assortment of knives, daggers and short swords. The metal of each blade gleamed in the afternoon sun, casting reflections all about the room.

Midori stepped back from the weapons. "Take care of your brother, as quickly as possible. We wish no further harm to come to people."

Tatewaki and Kodachi both fell to their knees on the floor and began examining the assortment of weapons.

"Arm yourselves as you see fit. You know Kyoji's capabilities; they are your own. He is unarmed, but his strength is greater than the two of you combined. The unpredictable aspect is his insanity," Midori said, sounding like she had made similar speeches before.

Tatewaki picked up each blade and examined it carefully, but did not commit himself to any one. "I need to change," he said simply, then stood and left.

"Anything you require, Kodachi?"

"No, Mother. I think this shall be adequate. Do you know when our brother shall be arriving?"

"Shortly, I'm afraid. I awakened you as soon as I could."

Kodachi nodded. "He'll have to die?"

"Only if you think he should. If you somehow manage to subdue him, we'll take him back and try again. If not, then there will be little grieving."

Again, Kodachi nodded. "I do hope I'm not the only sibling left after this. Dearest Brother is so foolishly brave and noble," Kodachi said, strapping a small knife to her calf.

"I don't want to see any harm come to either of you. I'm afraid it's too late for Kyoji." Midori watched her daughter strap a knife to her side, under her shirt, then choose a brutal-looking Bowie knife as her main weapon.

"That's all you're taking?"

"Anything more and I think I shan't have the time to use them."

"Excellent point, Kodachi. You've learned well."

Kodachi looked up at her mother, smiling. "You taught me,. Mother."

Tatewaki returned then, dressed in a suit that fit him perfectly. "Excellent choice, Mother. When did you get my measurements?"

Midori smiled at how handsome he looked. "Did you know you had an incident a few months ago?"

Tatewaki blinked in surprise. "No, I wasn't aware."

"Ah, well, I had to make sure you were all right. It was then, as I knew I would be bringing you back soon."

"It is most appreciated."

Tatewaki tested the spring-loaded knife in his shirt sleeve, then pushed it back into place. He was ready for his older brother. There would not be a group of sheep awaiting his slaughter.

* * *

Kyoji Kuno lumbered down the street. He had business with his family for leaving him to be the subject of a bunch of experiments. He refused to be used as any sort of guinea pig, refused to be used as some sort of government weapon.

The house was in his sight now. He would make them pay for what they did to him, just like all those people in the lab had paid.

He was Kyoji. Kuno was not his family name, for he had no family. He was Kyoji, and he was unstoppable.

"I recommend a double assault. I shall occupy him face to face and you can finish him from behind."

"Foolish brother. Do you really think he'll fall for something so simplistic? He is insane, not stupid."

"Perhaps, but I do believe we need to coordinate this together. He may be too difficult for us individually."

"Agreed, but..."

"Children! No time, he's here!"

"Mother, take Father and hide in the basement," Tatewaki instructed, getting to his feet and drawing the long, slender blade he planned on using.

"Take care, children," she said before heading out of the room.

"Sister, do not grow sentimental at the fate of our brother. It will not prevent any of us from being harmed by him."

"I hear you, Brother. My loyalties are firmly entrenched with the rest of the family, if that's what you're concerned about."

"Never, Sister."

The sound of the door crashing in halted their conversation. Without further words, they headed in separate directions to find their brother.

Kyoji stormed through the house like a tornado, destroying everything his hands cam into contact with. He didn't plan on being even that kind to his mother or father. His siblings would be nothing more than a paste.

If only he could find them. He growled in frustration and put his fist through a door. "Come out and face me, cowards!" he yelled down the empty hallway.

"My, he seems upset," Kodachi whispered to Tatewaki. They each knew the house like the backs of their hands; even though they had taken different paths, they had ended up in the same spot.

"Agreed. Shall I?"

"No unnecessary risks. I would like to keep the sane brother in the family." She smiled and touched his hand.

"Thank you, Sister. Back me up." He moved off silently, his suit looking completely inappropriate for the situation.

After counting to ten, Kodachi followed, her wicked looking knife drawn and ready for action.

Tatewaki had his blade drawn and was looking at Kyoji's back. Again, the list of vital points where he could place his blade in his brother's back ran through his mind.

It was simply a matter of placing said blade into said brother. He had to admit, assassination was not really his specialty. He just didn't have that special touch for stealth, infiltration, charm and murder like Kodachi did.

Tatewaki suddenly moved without thought, weapon raised, ready to taste Kuno blood. Unfortunately, his lack of stealth caught up with him, and before he could plunge his knife into Kyoji, his older brother spun around.

"Aha!" Kyoji exclaimed and swung his arm impossibly quick.

Tatewaki was suddenly hit with what felt like a sledgehammer. The knife flew out of his hand and his wrist went numb.

Stumbling back, he tried to grab his other knife, but his hand simply refused to cooperate.

"I didn't know you were the one that did the assassination attempts, Brother. I hope you aren't because that was just pathetic." Kyoji smiled revealing teeth whiter than white. "Tell me where the others are, Brother, and I'll kill you quickly. All I want is revenge."

"Why?" Tatewaki asked, trying to buy time for himself. He stumbled back again.

"Because my family left me to rot in a lab, as a tool, as an instrument... My family didn't give a damn about me except as a weapon." Kyoji smiled again. "The weapon is home and doesn't take kindly to being abandoned."

For the barest moment, Tatewaki sympathized with his brother. He paid for it.

"So die!" Kyoji yelled, rushing forward and striking Tatewaki squarely in the chest with his fist.

Tatewaki was suddenly flying backward and couldn't breathe very well. He slammed against a wall and fell bonelessly to the floor.

"Since you didn't want to cooperate, Brother, I guess you'll get the same treatment as the others." Kyoji stalked toward the motionless Kuno at the end of the hall.

"Oh Brother," a soft, seductive voice called out.

Kyoji turned. "My little sister..." But when his eyes met hers, she was ready.

Kodachi struck with the speed of a cobra. She hadn't been able to get close enough for the kill, so she settled with a long, thin cut across Kyoji's chest. This would at least turn his attention away from Tatewaki.

She hoped he was all right, as when she spared a glance at him, he still wasn't moving. "Come along, Brother! I do enjoy a good game of tag!" she said gleefully and bounded away.

"Little Sister wants to play? I'll play for a little while, but it won't change the fact that I'll kill you when I catch you." He walked down the hall the way Kodachi had gone, leaving Tatewaki collapsed on the floor.

Kodachi skipped lightly through the mansion. She felt excited and nervous and scared, like she really was playing a deadly game of tag.

The weight of the knife in her hand was comforting, and the red of Kyoji's blood on it made her feel giddy. Now to just stay away from Kyoji so she could set him up for a most delicious ambush.

Moving in an almost random pattern through the house, Kodachi wondered where it would be best to lie in wait. She needed some place she would have plenty of room to move, but that restricted Kyoji's movement, his retreat.

There was that little area in the cellar, down by the family's wine casks. That would do just perfectly. Laughing lightly, she called out, "Brother! Where are you? I seem to have lost you somewhere in the house! Now I'll have no one to play with in the basement!"

"Don't worry about me, Little Sister, I'm close enough," Kodachi heard him reply.

He _was_ close. Much closer than she had expected, but she hadn't been considering his training, and that could prove to be a fatal mistake in the future. But no, she was Kodachi Kuno and she would not be defeated by her insane brother.

Tatewaki lifted his head, his body aching all over with the pain especially concentrated in his chest. Kyoji must have gotten an extra helping of steroids or something with the power behind that blow.

The pain itself was bearable, but when he heard Kodachi taunting Kyoji, leading him to the basement... Tatewaki tried to call out, tell her not to go down there, but he couldn't force enough air out of his lungs.

Gods, if his new suit was ruined, he'd be really mad. Somehow he managed to get himself to his feet.

Kodachi flowed down the hallways of the basement. It was perfect. She could hide atop the immense cask, nestled in the comforting darkness, then suddenly leap out and use her weapon.

"Kodachi!"

Stopping, Kodachi looked to where the whisper had come from. In a tiny alcove decorated by cobwebs, she found both her parents hiding. "Mother, what are you doing here?" Surely there were better places in the basement they could have hid.

"Kodachi, you need to..." Midori started to say.

"Little Sister, where have you gone? I'm still willing to play if you'll just come out from your hiding spot."

"He's close, Mother. I can hold him off. I'm perfectly capable of..."

"No, Kodachi. With us here, we'll be his first targets. He'll try to weaken your resolve. I know you're quite capable of killing him, but don't let him use us to defeat you. I couldn't bear to know I've hurt you further."

Kodachi considered her mother's words for a moment and nodded. "You're right, of course. I'll..."

She cried out as Kyoji slammed his fist into her ribs, breaking several. She gave a short scream before she crumpled to the ground, five feet away.

Pushing his wife behind him, Tamon faced his wayward son. "Kyoji, don't do this. Don't be a fool."

Kyoji glared at him. "Shut up, old man! You've never done anything for me! I should kill you right now for not being a father."

"Then you do that. You do that, Kyoji. Kill me and see what that accomplishes." He was making a very noble effort to dissuade his son, but he knew that it would be in vain.

"As you request." Kyoji, instead of making it quick, snapped his arm forward, fingers extended, and drove them into his father's chest, just over the heart.

With the sudden and powerful shock, Tamon's heart just stopped, like a toy without batteries... it was just dead.

Tamon clutched his chest, eyes wide with surprise, and made a choking noise. Time seemed to slow as he sank to his knees before Kyoji. For a moment, his mouth moved and a gurgling noise emerged.

Midori watched with horror as he fell to the floor, eyes glazing over, lifeless. "You... you..."

"Yes, I killed him. He deserved it. And now you, Mother." Kyoji's wild eyes focused on hers, drinking in her fear and horror. And, oh my, was that outrage? He couldn't help but laugh. "Goodbye, Mother. I blame you for all of this. I hope this makes you feel better about what you've done."

Kyoji drew his hand back to deliver the blow that would crush his mother's windpipe.

Without any previously typical insane laugh or cry of attack, Kodachi thrust her knife between Kyoji's two lower ribs to the hilt.

Kyoji yelped in surprise and pain, jerking away. He hit the opposite wall and clawed at the spear of fire that was invading his side.

Kodachi, clutching her ribs, trying not to let the pain cloud her mind totally, took her mother's arm and pulled her away from the struggling maniac.

The two hurried from the basement as quickly as they could manage, waiting to hear the sounds of Kyoji following them. Kodachi was barely concentrating on her stumbling footsteps, being supported by her mother, because every movement made her feel the broken splinters of ribs, digging into parts they shouldn't be.

"Just need... a little room... I slowed him down," Kodachi said, dragging herself along.

"No, Kodachi. I'll call up the authorities and they'll take care of Kyoji. He'll..."

"I can do it, Mother. Let me do it," Kodachi pleaded.

"You're too severely injured. We need to get you out of here now and to a hospital." The two were slowly making it to the door. Escape was beginning to look like a very real possibility.

Kodachi started to protest, but hard coughs stopped her. Flecks of blood decorated her lips.

"No, Kodachi. I think you have a punctured lung. I can't let you fight Kyoji," Midori said worriedly. "We have to hurry."

They were as far as the open front foyer now, moving as fast as Kodachi's ribs would allow. "We're almost there," her mother assured. "Just a little farther." Getting out of the house was only the first step though, because Kyoji wouldn't have any problem with killing them out in the open. And what had happened to Tatewaki? Surely he wasn't... dead.

The door was thrown open at that moment, barely hanging on its hinges from Kyoji's original entry, and once again, he darkened the doorway. The wound on his side was bleeding heavily, staining his clothing all up and down his side.

"You two aren't going any further than this room. No more surprises, Little Sister. No more games. Now you die." He stared at them coldly, the grin on his face not matching his eyes at all. "I've already taken care of Little Brother," he said, walking toward the two women slowly. "You two are all that's left."

He left behind bloody footprints as his bare feet crunched over a half shattered vase.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" a voice came from the doorway. A person in a Furinkan girl's uniform appeared.

Everyone seemed to freeze at this new presence, but only for a moment. Kodachi was first to react. "Nabiki Tendo, run!" she yelled.

Unfortunately, Nabiki was not nearly as fast as Kodachi, or Kyoji, to react. He spun around, just a few feet from the door, and was about to deliver a blow that would practically knock her head off.

A flash of silver in the air and precise timing managed to knock Kyoji's hand to the side, sending a spray of crimson blood to hit Nabiki in the face.

She jerked back from the sudden warm dampness and the man howling in pain in front of her. "I just..." she started to say.

Kyoji yanked the small dagger from his hand and threw it aside, embedding it in the door frame next to Nabiki's head. He turned around and looked at Kodachi and his mother backing away slowly.

Emerging from a side hall, one hand clutched to his chest, the other still poised in the position of throwing, came Tatewaki. "You haven't finished me off yet, Brother."

"Brother?" Nabiki blurted out and instantly regretted it.

Kyoji turned to her. "Yes, brother. They've kept their secrets well, haven't they?" He grabbed Nabiki's arm and yanked her into the house. "And you can be the witness to the end of this pathetic excuse for a family."

Nabiki stumbled forward as Kyoji pushed her and tripped over a shattered table. She fell to the floor and stayed there. No one made any move to help her, and she seemed to realize the advantage to staying down out of the direct line of sight.

"Now that we're all here..." Kyoji strode forward quickly and grasped Kodachi's neck in his injured hand, blood drooling from the wound. "You, you little snot, stuck that knife in me. I think I'll kill you last." He struck his mother sharply in the stomach, sending her to the floor gasping for breath.

"But first, I'll take care of Little Brother," Kyoji explained, dragging Kodachi along as he approached Tatewaki. He was in no better shape to resist than Kodachi had been, and soon he was gasping for breath with his brother's hand on his windpipe.

"Look, Mother, at what you've done," Kyoji commanded, facing her. "Look what I'm forced to do." He shook each of his siblings slightly. Kodachi's face was already pale and it was obvious she wouldn't be conscious for too much longer.

She was having a hard time keeping her head upright and her vision kept fading in and out. Kyoji's grip on her neck was like a vise and her legs were too weak to kick out, but she had one last trick.

Kodachi glanced over at her brother, equally snared in Kyoji's powerful grip. Whatever had happened to him, he looked to be of no use at all.

Reaching down, attempting to be subtle, she tried to pull the knife out from under her shirt, and was just able to get her fingers on the grip. She thought that Kyoji was still talking, and that would distract him, but she couldn't hear very well. There was only the sound of her labored breathing and her blood rushing through her head.

In what was meant to be a quick strike to Kyoji's stomach just below the diaphragm, Kodachi's hand emerged with the knife held barely between her fingers at slightly more than a snail's pace.

Kyoji laughed at her feeble attempt. "Little Sister, still playing games, I see." He shook her violently for five seconds, the knife falling to the floor and Kodachi entering the realm of unconsciousness.

"Anything from you, Little Brother?" Kyoji asked, eyeing Tatewaki. When he received no response, he began speaking to his mother again. "I don't understand why it had to be me. Why would you use your own children?"

"Because," Midori answered, coughing slightly, "if it wasn't me, no one would have agreed to provide lab space, materials and money. Without some sort of guarantee that the project would continue forward..."

"So for your precious experiment, you sacrificed me. You made me your science whore because everyone else was smart enough to not want to give up their children! But not you! Not the great genius Kuno... Your science was more important than your family!" he screamed at her. "And look what it's done. Your science has finally killed us all."

Tatewaki wasn't listening. He was doing his best to appear mostly unconscious. It seemed that very soon, he wouldn't need to pretend. Whatever had happened earlier, possibly a collapsed lung, and with Kyoji's hand choking him, he wasn't getting enough air. He needed to act fast.

"And you," Kyoji said, directing his attention to Nabiki, "I don't know why you're here or why Little Brother bothered to save you when he had the perfect chance to take me out... Maybe Little Brother's gone soft... not that he was ever much to begin with."

Nabiki looked at Kyoji, met his gaze, and tried very hard to hide just how fearful she was. She got the distinct feeling that attempting to talk her way out of the situation would do very little good.

"I'm not sure if I want to kill you or not..."

A detestable thought entered Nabiki's mind, which Kyoji seemed to read.

He snorted at her. "I'm not interested in little girls. If I let you live it would be so you could tell everyone about how the great Kuno family treats its children!"

Nabiki shrunk back from the outburst. The whole situation was worse than she could have ever imagined a hostage situation. This wasn't any of her business, it had just been... She just wished she hadn't been so greedy and tried to drop off Kuno's homework (for a modest fee).

Tatewaki felt cold as ice. He wasn't sure if it was from his injuries, Kyoji's hold on him, or the determination that he felt. He would finish this.

He tested his arm subtly and found that he still had strength. That was all he needed. With his other arm, he began to fight against Kyoji's grip, trying to pry his fingers off.

Kyoji laughed at the effort with true amusement. "What's wrong, Little Brother? Air supply getting low?" he asked, now seemingly in high spirits.

Tatewaki increased his struggles, now kicking his feet and using his other hand. He squeezed Kyoji's arm just below the elbow, digging his fingertips into the soft flesh there.

Kyoji continued to laugh, finding the whole situation to be a great joke. "Keep it up. Struggle until all your strength is gone, Little Brother."

Tatewaki moved his hands up to Kyoji's bicep.

"Little Brother, you are so entertaining!" Kyoji said with glee.

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Tatewaki said, his eyes opening to glare at his brother.

Kyoji's laughter stopped and he looked at Tatewaki with surprise. "You're not..."

"No, I'm not," Tatewaki said, moving his arm ever so slightly. "Good night, Brother," he said and released the spring clip. The blade jumped into his hand, then willingly slid into Kyoji's neck.

Kyoji maintained the look of surprise on his face even as a gout of blood jetted out of his neck and splattered on Tatewaki's arm. Tatewaki felt Kyoji's hand spasming on his neck, then loosen and fall away. He fell to the floor and gasped desperately for breath.

The same happened to Kodachi as the only thing holding her up released her. She crashed hard to the floor and laid there. Her chest was barely moving as she breathed in.

Tatewaki stared at Kyoji as he toppled backward, the weapon still stuck in his neck. "Where's Father?" he asked, staring at the still twitching body of his brother.

"Kyoji... got to him," his mother answered. She looked at Kodachi, feeling a little stunned at the events that had just happened. She should have been ready for it all and found that she wasn't in the least. Just sitting on the floor, she realized there were people she needed to call, things to be taken care of.

Crawling over to a phone that had been sitting on a busted table, she dialed an emergency number as relief began to creep into her.

She licked her lips and took deep even breaths before she started speaking. "Yes, he's dead. Send a pair of ambulances. Both my children are seriously hurt." She paused for a moment and closed her eyes. "He's... dead too." Hanging up the phone, she watched Tatewaki hover protectively over Kodachi and wondered how things would have been if this work hadn't motivated her so.

"Wha... what's going on here?" Nabiki finally got the nerve to ask.

"Things you were never meant to see... Are you injured?" Midori answered.

"No, I think I'm fine."

"That's good to hear. Do you know my children?"

"Uh... yeah." Nabiki looked at Tatewaki in his suit, kneeling by Kodachi. "I think so."

"Oh. Well, they'll be... leaving home for a while. I hope you don't miss them too much. And please inform their friends; I wouldn't want anyone to be too worried."

"I, uh... sure."

In an impossibly short amount of time, two ambulances arrived, driving across the lawn to sit outside the door. A black van and a large, black sedan also pulled up. A team of paramedics burst through the door and rushed to Tatewaki and Kodachi to tend to them.

A smaller group of men, some armed with handguns, followed and dragged Kyoji's body away. Nabiki couldn't help but stare at the red streak left behind.

Two men in suits entered the house after the body had been removed and approached Midori. "Doctor, are you sure you're not injured?" one asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"Shall we reset the controls on your children?"

Midori shook her head, looking at the paramedics surrounding Tatewaki and Kodachi. "No, they're awake now. This is as good a time as any. But they won't be interned for government service when the work is completed," she said sternly. "If that's what you want, I'll give up the research, but not my children."

Watching with eyes both sad and pleased, she spoke wistfully as Kodachi was wheeled away on one stretcher. "I must speak with my son now. I told him that I would be there when he awoke," she said and headed over to him.

"Doctor, what about..." The man motioned to Nabiki, still on the floor.

"Oh, well..." What was she to do? "I don't really know what to tell you, young lady," Midori said, speaking to Nabiki. "The best I can do is offer you monetary compensation and recommend a good therapist."

Nabiki just looked up at her, stunned.

"I know." Midori held out her hand to the men, who quickly gave her a pen and a small pad of paper. "When you truly want answers, call this number," she said, writing it down on the paper. She handed it to Nabiki. Speaking to the men again, she said, "Gentlemen, please give the young lady a ride home."

"Doctor, won't you be..."

"No, I'm going in the ambulance with my son. We have some catching up to do. The family will be staying together from now on." She dismissed the men and walked over to Tatewaki.

The paramedics were attempting to strap him to the stretcher so they could move him, but he was resisting their attempts. They had gotten him to remove his jacket and were trying to get his vital signs; he wasn't cooperating.

Midori smiled and slipped her hand into his. "I'm here, Tatewaki," she said, and he immediately settled down.

He looked at his mother with adoration and allowed himself to be strapped down and attended to.

The two men helped Nabiki to her feet. "Let's get you home, miss," one said to her.

She looked at them, then back at the stretcher that was just being wheeled away. "Kuno-chan?" she called out tentatively.

He showed no sign that he had heard her.

"Kuno-chan?" she called out louder this time. For some reason, she wanted him to acknowledge her. She needed to know that it hadn't all been some dream and that everyone was who they appeared to be. She needed to know... "Who are you?" she yelled.

Midori looked back at her, still holding Tatewaki's hand. She held her own hand, pinky and thumb extended, next to her head, then pointed at Nabiki's hands.

Nabiki looked down at the paper, then at the people all getting into the back of the ambulance. The doors closed, shutting them out of her view, and the vehicles roared away, lights flashing.

That was the last Nerima saw of the Kuno family.

*** *** ***

He ran his hand along the thick vinyl of the chair. It was cool and smooth to his touch, the padding thick, yet stiff. The chair was not particularly comfortable to sit in for any length of time, but he had gotten used to it.

He watched his mother as she worked in front of a large monitor, her eyes intently peering at all kinds of technical data appearing on it. She was dressed as she was every day he saw her: a simple skirt, blouse, and her white lab coat. Her hair was pinned up and she had a pair of conservative glasses perched on the top of her head.

His hand slid down the chair, over the arm and casually fingered the thick wrist strap bolted to the side. He moved around and slowly slid into the chair. It was still adjusted from before, when he had sat in it.

His mother looked over at him briefly and smiled. "Need something?" she asked, returning her concentration to the monitor.

He put his hand through the strap and gripped the arm, closing his eyes and leaning back. "No. Well..." He opened his eyes and looked at his mother. "Maybe. I don't know."

She didn't speak.

He put his other wrist in the strap. "I want to know..." He reclined slightly and looked up at the light overhead. "I want to know what I did while I was..."

"You don't need to know that," his mother replied, attention never wavering from the monitor.

"I do," he said softly, his brow furrowing momentarily. "I think I should know how..."

"What other people think of you is not important. That portion of your life is over with. Go back to your room and play your video games." She began to type furiously.

"I don't want to play games any longer. I want to know..." He inhaled deeply once. Twice. "I want to know what you did to me. I want to know why... why I always feel guilty even though I don't remember doing anything."

He looked from the light to his mother, the clicking of keys very loud in the open room. "I want you to tell me. I want you to stop treating me like a child."

"Tatchi, you are a child."

"No, I'm not. Thanks to you, I'm not. I don't think I ever was."

The typing stopped abruptly. Midori turned her head slowly and almost glared at him. "I think you should watch your attitude with me." Her face held no emotion.

"Or what? You'll spank me? Maybe ground me, send me to bed without dinner? I don't think so. I think you owe me this one thing considering what you've done to me. I doubt I'm the only person that was affected."

Their gazes met, both steely and unwavering. The gunmetal blue of his eyes met the deep brown of hers.

"You owe me."

"I owe you nothing."

For a moment, Tatewaki quivered with rage. "You owe me... Everything."

Midori stood, pushing her chair out behind her. She walked briskly over to the big chair, designed functionally like a dentist's chair, and without a word, tightened one wrist strap. Lips pursed, she walked around to the other side and tightened that strap as well.

Tatewaki clenched his hands into fists, loosening the straps slightly, and watched his mother as she filled a syringe.

"You want to know? You won't leave it alone?" Midori's voice held malice and an undercurrent of hurt. "You just won't accept that you are better off now, will you?" She squeezed the air bubbles out of the syringe. "Fine. Don't blame me for the truth."

With a slight swab from a cotton ball on his arm, Midori jabbed Tatewaki with the syringe and injected the contents.

"Now you'll know," she said, removing the needle from his skin.

He was on his bed, curled up as much as possible. His entire body seemed to throb with pain in sync with the thrumming of the huge generators in the building.

The venom he had spewed at his mother after she had shown him what he wanted to know was still fresh in his mind, but not nearly as vivid as the things he had suddenly remembered.

His darkest nightmares were nothing compared to the seven years of hell he had witnessed. But not his hell; the hell he had put all those other people through.

He had wanted to know, to know why the guilt ate him up inside. He had found out why, and it was physically the most painful thing he had ever felt.

"I warned you. But you pushed. You thought you were bigger than it. When will you learn that..."

"Leave me alone!" he screamed at his mother standing in the doorway. "Just leave me alone! This is all your fault!" It was all her fault that he had done those things. He wasn't upset that he had been treated so brutally because he had deserved that. But he would never, couldn't even imagine doing such... horrible things! Such idiotic, imbecilic...

He put his hands over his face and screamed.

Midori watched, an unreadable look on her face. She could see on his wrists the bruises he had received when he had snapped out of drug-induced "hypnosis" and had nearly ripped the straps from the chair.

Those screams then sounded very much like the one he was releasing now. "It's not that bad, Tatchi. Those people... you'll never see them again." It really didn't matter what they thought of him. If only she could convince him of that.

"Mother, it's best that you leave him alone," Kodachi said quietly from behind her.

Midori hadn't even heard her approach. "Maybe you're right. I just can't make him understand..."

"Mother," Kodachi said, gently cutting her off.

Midori took a slow step back, moving from the doorway, then with a saddened look on her face, moved down the hall.

Kodachi watched her go, eyes half-lidded and unreadable. Tsking gently, she looked in on her brother, shaking her head. His screaming had died down gradually, leaving him rocking himself on the bed. Kodachi could sympathize.

She... she hadn't wanted to know. A small, dark corner of her psyche was curious, but she shied away from that curiosity. Seeing her brother, she was able to push that curiosity even farther away.

Glancing at the spartan decoration of his room for a moment, Kodachi walked across the room and sat down on his bed.

She moved down a little when he almost brushed against her. "Brother," she said quietly, hands folded in her lap.

His only response to her was continued rocking, shutting out everything around him.

"Brother, you should really listen to what I have to say. It might not make you feel better, but it will help." She looked down at him, her hands twitching unconsciously for a moment to reach out to him.

"Listen well. I will not say this lightly." Kodachi breathed in, not a deep breath, but enough. With as much strength as she could achieve in their relative positions, she slapped Tatewaki across his exposed cheek.

"Grow up!" she spat at him, though her tone of voice did not match the look in her eyes. "You wanted to know, and now you do. What you do now will be the true test."

She tried to glare at him as he looked up at her in complete shock.

"Will you run and hide in your room? Or will you go on? Will you leave it all in the past as unpleasant memories, or will you endeavor to make things better?" There was a nagging feeling in Kodachi that their positions could be easily reversed, and she shoved that speculation away.

"Only one way will ever satisfy you. I know you, and I know how you think." She peered intently into his eyes. "If you hide in your room, you are no better than whatever it was that you saw in those memories." She drew back. "You may sit in here and rot. Hide your face until people forget you ever existed if you wish."

Kodachi stood regally and looked down at her brother. "You can stay hidden and forgotten, but I plan on going on. I will not let things be." She tilted her head back slightly, sneering at Tatewaki.

"Hide. Hide and see if things change. Because they won't. You have to make them change." With that said, Kodachi turned and strode from the room as if it were all suddenly beneath her.

"He hasn't come out."

Kodachi shrugged, attending her plants. "That's his choice."

"What did you say to him?" Midori asked, examining the leaf of one delicate orchid.

"Only what needed to be. He'll come out eventually. Maybe he'll have learned something."

As if on cue, there were footsteps in the hall just outside the greenhouse.

Kodachi smiled ever so slightly and continued to attend to her flowers.

*** *** ***

[EPILOGUE]

Another idea, another failure. It wasn't something Nabiki was used to. Ever since she had graduated from college (honors in business, no less) and had attempted to make her own way in the world, everything seemed against her.

It was all the fault of Japanese society. Oh sure, it was easy to say 'If you don't like the way things are, change them,' but she had tried. She had tried, very hard, and failed. Multiple times.

No one was willing to believe a woman, at her age, could do anything in the real world, let alone anything business related. Not in Japan. That was an impossibility.

Nabiki could still remember the words of one man, who had probably gotten his money from his parents and had someone dress him in the morning, when she had gone looking for backing.

'Maybe they let little girls run businesses in America, but this is Japan. Business is for men.'

That fat, arrogant bastard. He didn't know a thing about business. The only thing he knew was how to get someone else to wipe his ass. Maybe the fat idiot was right though.

Maybe America was where she could go and possibly get taken seriously. Hell, she couldn't be taken less seriously. But for now, she was stuck going back to work for some firm that would hire her as a damned secretary because surely that was the only thing a woman could do.

She opened the double doors of the tall building in just outside of Tokyo downtown and walked into the huge lobby. Her shoes clicked on the impeccable marble floor as she headed to the main desk.

If she was lucky, they wouldn't make her work at the main desk. There was nothing worse than that. She knew. She had done it.

The young woman sitting at the desk smiled at her. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Nabiki Tendo, and I'm supposed to report to..."

"Miss Tendo, of course. You're to go up to Contracting on the 24th floor. They're expecting you."

Nabiki looked at the woman, a bit stunned. "Contracting? Thank you."

"Have a nice day!"

Nabiki acknowledged that with a little nod of her head and went to the elevators. Contracting? Did they need a secretary in Contracting? If they did, she hadn't noticed. But again, these big firms probably had people going in and out often enough that agencies couldn't keep up.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped in. Pushing the button for the 24th floor, Nabiki was somewhat surprised to see that there were only 25 floors plus a penthouse. For some reason, the building had seemed much larger to her than that.

But this was just an office building, she mused as the elevator rose. All production and service must be someplace else because they wouldn't be doing that sort of thing in the middle of the city. It just wasn't smart money.

The cost of getting a large volume of product out of the building to the railway alone would be immense.

The elevator chimed softly and the doors opened. Nabiki stepped out into a cozy lobby area with a large wooden receptionist desk directly in front of the elevators.

"Miss Tendo?" the woman sitting behind it asked her.

This was very odd. They obviously weren't looking for a secretary here, so what did they expect her to do? Executive administrative assistant? There was no way in hell she'd play a piece of cheesecake for some executive, always wearing short skirts so he could get his rocks off. She nodded.

"Down the hall and to your right. Just knock on the door."

Nabiki nodded, thanking her, and headed down the hall. This was quite strange. Yet, there was a bit of nervousness in her stomach that this was another AA job that she'd have to turn down. And she needed the money. She couldn't afford to turn a job down...

To the right, a door with a frosted glass window at the end of a very short hall. There was no name on the door, no placard indicating who the office belonged to; it just was.

Gathering her courage, whether it was to refuse the job or accept it, she wasn't sure yet, Nabiki walked down the hall and knocked sharply on the door.

She stood stiffly, back straight, head up, eyes forward. A picture of self-assuredness and confidence. This might be one of those jobs where competence was rewarded more than having a shapely ass, and being professional was an asset. She would just have to see.

The door opened revealing a middle-aged man, fit and trim in his suit, hair still black, but probably colored, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His face was hard-edged with the experience of working in the business world, and that gave Nabiki an ounce of hope. He looked no-nonsense.

"Miss Tendo, come in, please," he said, his voice sharp and quick.

Many times, she could tell how serious a job offer was by how the person talked and looked. Slurred words were a dead giveaway. Disheveled clothing and appearance were as well. And of course, the face, round and fleshy with eyes only as good as the next girl walking by...

This man was none of those things. Nabiki walked into the office with confidence.

"Have a seat, Miss Tendo and we'll get right down to business," he said, closing the door and taking his seat behind a large, tidy desk.

Nabiki sat down and looked at the nameplate on the desk. Doubts suddenly started to crowd her mind. He hadn't introduced himself to her and that bothered her for some reason. It was like she wasn't worth it to tell his name to, though he hadn't seemed the type.

"Now, Miss Tendo, you're aware of the nature of this company. Someone that knows how to stay loyal to the company is a valuable employee due to the nature of our clients." He leaned back in his chair and looked at Nabiki. "You know how to stay loyal to a company, don't you, Miss Tendo?"

Nabiki nodded. "Of course." As long as they were loyal to her.

He smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. We consider our wages... more than fair. Nothing disappoints us more than someone who doesn't see the generosity in what we pay."

Nabiki nodded again. She understood perfectly what he was saying.

"Good. Why don't we have a short tour then." He stood and waited for her to do the same.

"I just have one question before we get to the tour," Nabiki said boldly, realizing perfectly that she could be damaging her chances at the job... whatever it was.

"Question? Of course."

"What exactly is the position? It's obvious you don't need any..." The word felt dirty in her mouth. "Secretarial help, so..."

The man began to laugh. "No, of course not! We're just looking for some fresh talent to help in developing new contracts and evaluating offers. We have our fill of secretaries and 'administrative assistants' as they like to be called."

The man walked to the door and opened it. "Let's take the tour. You can get a better idea of what we're dealing with that way."

The tour was fairly short as the floor consisted mostly of large offices, smaller conference rooms, copy rooms, a large lounge and numerous secretarial offices and cubicles.

There was one office at the end of a hall that they ended up at. The executive opened the door to reveal a huge corner office with a view out over the smaller commercial district.

"This would be my office?" Nabiki asked, voice betraying her stunned amazement.

"Of course. So... what do you think?"

The job was worth it for the office itself, even if she was paid minimum wage... Nabiki shook her head. "Why me? Why did I get offered this job? It's not because of my work history, so..."

"You were highly recommended when your application reached our company."

"By who?" It couldn't really be by any of her former employers...

"The CEO. We only hire for long-term employment here, and so we oversee, as a group, the hiring of employees. It's one of the benefits of being the CEO, president and owner. But he's more than fair. That's the real incentive for those of us that work here."

Nabiki was getting more and more intrigued, and she was falling more into her old business routines. "Well, I'm very interested, but I think we need to discuss the details."

The man smiled. "Quite right, Miss Tendo. Your reputation does indeed precede you."

The job was tiring and challenging. Nabiki loved it. It seemed eerily perfect for her, selling full surveillance systems and individual pieces of equipment in bulk to governments, companies and... other organizations she didn't bother to think about.

So it was one day she was scanning another contract, well entrenched in the daily workings of things after a month getting acquainted with the company, that she heard the voices in the hall.

"Good morning, sir."

The sound of 'good morning, sir' seemed to float down the hall toward her office. And this wasn't just Genjiro. He was far more informal, and no one on the floor referred to him as sir.

"Good morning, sir," Miko, Nabiki's secretary, said from just outside her door. "How are you this morning?"

"Excellent, Miko. And how goes business?"

"Good, sir. Things are going smoothly," Miko answered. "We have combined contracts this month worth..."

"I'm sure things are going very well. Is she available right now?"

"Of course, sir. Go right in."

Nabiki was staring at the door that was slightly ajar. She couldn't be mistaking that voice for someone else. She was still staring as the door opened.

"Ah, Nabiki Tendo, it's good to see you are doing well." He sat down in the chair in front of her desk and steepled his fingers.

"Um..."

Laughing a little, Kuno shook his head. "What did you think would happen to me? I'd be sliced into sections to be studied? Hardly." He grew serious for a moment. "My mother may have done many things wrong, things people would say are cruel, things people would hate her for... but she is my mother.

"Without her... what would I be?" He stared at her with a frightening intensity that made Nabiki want to look away. "But that is neither here nor there. How do you like our little establishment?"

Nabiki looked at him, the confusion starting to fade. "My recommendation?"

"Of course. It seems all you needed was someone who recognized your ability. I've never been shy about hiring competent people, which is why, if I may be immodest, we are more successful than many high profile corporations." He shrugged, his smile returning.

"I don't know what to say." And Nabiki really didn't. The way things had ended all those years ago, she didn't have anything to say.

"Don't say anything then. You don't need to." Kuno stood, straightening his suit jacket. "There's work to be done; I wouldn't want to keep you from it.

"Perhaps we'll speak later, Nabiki Tendo." He turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Nabiki looked at the closed door for a moment, then said quietly, "Nice to see you again, Kuno-chan."

"Kodachi decided to start over, go somewhere they didn't know who she had been. And where did she end up?" Kuno smirked. "America. Not that I was surprised. She enjoyed college very much and met a young man. I haven't met him yet and am reserving judgement on him. As her older brother, it is my duty..."

The conversation dwindled as it broached the subject of older brothers, and the two were left idly eating in the lounge.

"So Kodachi got a boyfriend... I never would have imagined it," Nabiki said finally.

"She speaks endlessly about him in her letters. I'm simply awaiting the wedding announcement. It would be nice if she would come back home for it..." Kuno looked down at his food and shrugged. "But she'll do what she wants. I fear she has little use now for an older brother. She's more than capable of taking care of herself."

Nabiki nodded and sipped her tea.

"This offends you, doesn't it?" Kuno asked suddenly.

Nabiki looked up from her cup. "What does?"

"The fact that you have to work for me."

Nabiki assumed an uninterested look and shrugged. "Maybe. Just a little. But then, you're smarter than me, right?" she said, somewhat bitterly.

Kuno cocked his head to one side a little and looked at her. "Yes."

~~~~

For the one hundredth time, she looked at the number on the piece of paper and considered calling it. It was late, there probably wouldn't be anyone to answer if she did call. But... wasn't that why she was up late, so no one would know she was calling?

There would be someone at the other end of the phone, someone who would answer her questions. Strangely enough, that was what she was worried about.

As if it had a life of its own, her hand was dialing the number, and then there was a phone somewhere she didn't know ringing in her ear.

/*Yes?*/

Nabiki froze, unsure of what she should say. "Um..." She was expecting someone to begin ranting that this was a secured number and she shouldn't be calling it, and... and...

/*Ask your questions. That's why you were given the number.*/

One question forced itself to be asked. "Are you really... their mother?"

/*Of course I am. They're not test tube babies. They're my children and I love them very much.*/

"How... how could you do something like that to them? How could you ever..."

/*I don't expect you to understand what I've done. And I've been judged by more influential people than a schoolgirl. I did... What I did is in the past and nothing will change that. Right now, I'm doing my best to take care of them. That's all that matters.*/

There were sounds on the other end of the phone that sounded like things being overturned. Nabiki held the phone a little away from her ear.

/*Tatchi! You stop this instant!*/ Midori yelled away from the phone. /*You are not supposed to be in here!*/

/*But I want ice cream!*/

Nabiki blinked hearing the voice over the phone. Was that really...

/*Fine, Tatchi. You can have ice cream after I'm done on the phone. AND after you clean up the mess you made.*/

/*Yay!*/ The voice was louder. /*Who's on the phone, Momma?*/

/*It's one of your friends from school...*/ There was a fumbling noise. /*Tatchi, give that back!*/

/*Hi!*/

Nabiki had trouble speaking. "Hello, Kuno-chan?"

/*Hi! I'm gonna have ice cream later!*/

"Kuno-chan..." What had happened to him? He was acting like a child.

/*Tatchi! Go to your room! You know you're not supposed to use the phone!*/

That was followed by sounds of protest and more strong words. After a few minutes, Midori spoke once again. /*He's a very strong-willed boy. He can be quite a handful sometimes.*/

"What did you do? Why was he acting like that?"

/*A sometimes unpleasant course of action to... retrain them properly. It just wouldn't do to have them out and about with their old training. It's a very complicated process.*/

"Yeah, I bet it is. Brainwashing people must take a lot out of you. So just what did you do to them this time?" Nabiki asked, a hint of anger in her voice. She was looking out the window at the sun shining on Nerima.

/*I can't take away the... gifts I've already given them. I can only reshape the way they use those gifts.*/

"Gifts? How can you call what you did gifts? They almost died from what you..."

/*No! I can't explain everything that I was working on to you, but the short of it is that we came up with a way to... program people with skills and knowledge, even improved physical capacity. It's quite exciting to see...*/

"Programmed? You brainwashed them."

/*Maybe program is the wrong word. Think of a person as a computer. The things I want them to know are simply copied on to the hard drive. This is all done on a biological/chemical level, so it's not quite so simple, but I'm sure you...*/

"Yes, I understand perfectly. You didn't brainwash them, you just used them as experiments. That's much more understandable. And the other one, the one that was about to kill everyone? He was one of your experiments too?"

/*Yes, one of the early ones. It was too soon, but...*/

"I'm glad I called. Now I'm positive that you're a disgusting person. I'm sure you don't care how much trouble you've caused with this whole thing, and I'm sure you didn't even bother to see what kind of effect this was having on..."

/*Yes, I appreciate your concern and your concern for their well-being, I'm sure.*/

Nabiki blinked at the phone. The woman had just completely tuned out everything she had just said.

/*I'm afraid I have a lot of work to do now, so if you don't mind...*/

The phone clicked in Nabiki's ear suddenly. She set it back down in the cradle and stared at it.

~~~

"It was... weird. It was hard to just forget everything that had happened, ignore what she had said. It just wasn't..."

"It wasn't right. It made you mad. That's understandable."

"Yeah, but... I had to live with that. I lived with it for seven years, while I went through hell to get where I am now. And that's only because of you." Nabiki looked angrily at Kuno. "I couldn't even..." She trailed off and looked down at her cup of tea.

Getting angry at him wouldn't accomplish anything worthwhile. "In any case, that was just one other thing I had to deal with."

"That's unfortunate. I take it things did not progress easily for you in college."

Nabiki shrugged. "Not really, but I got through it. I only had to work twice as hard as everyone else for the same results." She swirled her cup around, looking distastefully at the tea in the bottom of it.

"A lack of respect from your classmates."

"And professors and administration... I gave up on fighting after my first semester. Doing the extra work was easier." Though it had been completely unsatisfying. It had been the first time she had experienced the stab of tradition so deeply. It had been utterly humiliating too, having to prove herself every day even though she was better than 80% of the other students.

"I got over it. I got through it. It just really..." The word eluded her.

"Sucked?"

She looked up in surprise. The look slowly shifted to amusement and she laughed a little. "Yeah, that it did. A sense of humor is pretty good on you. Too bad you didn't have one before."

"Yes, well, there were other distractions. Things I didn't really have control over."

"I know. It was just... too bad."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them.

The lounge door opened and Nagiro entered with Sou from R&D. They both stopped momentarily, seeing who was occupying the room at the moment. "Good afternoon, sir," Nagiro said shakily. He had been taken completely by surprise.

"Please, gentlemen, don't let me bother you. I have things to attend to now anyway," Kuno said, his eyes returning to Nabiki after giving the two men a cursory glance.

Pulling out an elegant, gold-trimmed pen, Kuno got a business card from his waistcoat pocket and wrote something on the back. He pushed it across to Nabiki then stood. "Forgive me for cutting lunch short. I really do have things to attend to."

"It's no problem," Nabiki said and started to stand.

Waving her to sit, Kuno exited the lounge, relieving the tension from the other two men in the room.

Nabiki slowly returned to her seat and looked at the card. Smirking at the number on it, she was actually ready to throw it in the trash, but on second thought, slipped it into her pocket.

Whistling to herself, she cleaned up the remains of her lunch and left the lounge.

[END]

Updated 9-1-98