http://clampfix.fanworks.net/tb-fix/brief.txt </head><body><pre>Sorry, but no Subaru here. *tons of readers immediately trash the mail* For those who have read Tokyo Babylon, the narrator here is the foreigner whom Hokuto rescued from the authorities in the annex story, "Smile". It was upon rereading volume 6, in the story "Pair" that I realise that there might have been something more to their relationship (sorry Kakyou). At least, even clueless Subaru seems to suspect that his sister's date with the girl will not be limited to something as innocuous as a game of badminton. ^_^;; Puzzled that CLAMP never mentioned anything more about her, the idea for this little fic sprang up. C&Cs please. Thanks. All characters are property of CLAMP. Standard disclaimers apply. --- A Brief Encounter A "Tokyo Babylon" Fanfic Presented by Alison Koh The strong stench of liquor and cigarettes cling strongly to my hair and my clothes. All part of the job, but I try not to think about work the moment I stepped out onto the streets. Time to head home. It is quiet at this hour of the morning. The sun will not rise for another few hours or so. Yet there are already quite a few salarymen staggering drunk onto the streets, trying to reach the nearest capsule hotel to get a much needed rest to refresh themselves after a long night of entertaining important clients and bosses at one of the nearby establishments. Might even be the one where I work. I ignore them as they ignore me. I am probably nothing more than a thing to them. Not a person. Being a foreigner serves to further lower my status in their eyes. I could have gone back to my home country. Her family had offered to help, but I refused. I want to stay in this cold city even though the days have become meaningless to me. I could feel no more warmth in Tokyo ever since she was gone. Nonetheless, I cannot leave because of my wish. I quickly walk past a group of local Yakuza punks. Sometimes they would try to harass me. Fortunately, the owner of the establishment where I'm working at has some influence in the area, so most of the time they just leave me alone. However, tonight they seem especially quiet as they huddled in their street corner, talking only in whispers. This is strange, but I am not interested to know more. I have learnt never to be too curious in my line of work. I stand along the street trying to hail a taxi. Minutes passed and still no luck. And then, from the shadows of a dark alley, a tall figure clad in a long black and obviously expensive coat stepped appeared next to me. I gasped in recognition. He sees me. "Do I know you?" he asks curiously. His voice was casual and smooth, but I do not allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of security. He is a dangerous man. She had hinted to me several times before, and then that incident only confirmed it. I do not reply, preferring to stay silent. If he wants to kill me, there is nothing I can do. But perhaps I can finally see her again. An enigmatic smile creeps up the corner of his mouth. "Ah, you must be that foreigner friend of Hokuto-chan's. No wonder you look familiar. Just got off from work?" Silence. He laughs. A velvety, sensuous sound that cannot hide the chilling cruelty beneath. "So you know." I am afraid but I refuse to show it. I steel my nerves and stare straight at him. It helps that he was wearing his shades, even at such dark hours. I have seen him once without them. His mismatched eyes have haunted me in recurring nightmares ever since. "You wish to avenge her? To kill me?" I shook my head. "No. I'll leave that to you." "Oh," he sounded a little perturbed. I reply, "She wrote me a letter before she left. She told me about the spell." "Then you should know that it'll never happen." "If that is the case, then I shall be happy for her, for she would have won." He frowns, and somehow I feel good about that. However, he reaches out to his sunglasses and removes them, exposing the eyes that I was so afraid to see. I lower my gaze. He chuckles in amusement. "I can still torture her brother forever." I smile. "You will have to meet him someday. He is hunting for you." "Did you tell him about the spell?" "Why should I? Hokuto only meant for you to know. It is your choice after all." The man steps forward. I want to run away but I resist the urge. For Hokuto's sake. He tenderly caresses my face, but I can feel my skin crawl under his chilling reptilian touch. He says, "You are a brave girl. Now I understand why Hokuto-chan liked you so much." "But she loved her brother even more." "Too true," he sighs in a poor pretense at regret. The man steps back and waves his arm. A taxi comes to a halt in front of us. He graciously opens the door and says, "Your transport is here. Have a good rest. Perhaps we'll meet again someday." I step into the vehicle. But before the door shuts, I told him, "I have a wish...that you'll win." He shrugs and says, "I never lose." The taxi drives off. I turn my head to the rear window to take a final look, but the man was no longer there. ----- Dreams of Sakura Home -- http://www.geocities.com/dreams_of_sakura X Shrine -- http://www.geocities.com/asuka_sg</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>