Chapter 17: Secrets II

London came back inside about five minutes later. Tokyo and I were waiting for him in the living room.

"Well?" I wondered. London gave me a thumbs up.

"Everything's fine." He answered. "I dumped him a couple miles from here. If all goes well, whoever repaired him last time will find him and take him away from here."

"Okay." I nodded. "So what happens now?"

Tokyo remained silent.

Magus stepped into the room.

"Down to the den, you three," he commanded quietly, "it's time for a very long talk." London closed the front door as Tokyo and I headed down to the den ahead of the old man.

***

Glynn had been shot to the head at close range and he died instantly. Corey was shot in the leg, and Kaguya managed to get the bullet out in time. However, the Core had to go to the hospital to be treated for lead poisoning.

London didn't appear to be in mourning until he took a seat in the den. Glynn's beautiful sword lay blood stained next to the computer table. London looked at it, and started crying. I couldn't blame him; Glynn didn't deserve to die, especially in cold blood. Ayla rushed to London's side, and hugged him comfortingly. Depressed, I sat down by a computer and hung my head. I just couldn't believe a member of my team was gone…dead.

"Everyone," Magus began softly as though he was speaking at a funeral (he probably was), "we are fighting a war. And in war, people die, may they be warriors or innocent civilians." I shuddered. I hated death; I never took it well. "Thousands have died because of the dragonoids, all of them loved ones to someone on earth. Glynn 'D-Daye' MacCloud will be mourned by the entire Slayer society, as the grandson of Gash, as a warrior, a brother, and as a…"

"Shut up, old man!" London snapped as he sobbed. "What did you call us down here for?!"

"Respect the dead, London." Tokyo ordered.

"Shut up, Tokyo!"

"London, Tokyo, please!" I snapped at them. They fell silent. "Go on, old man."

"I…better move on." Magus decided. "Now, Glynn's death probably could have been prevented. Clara…Tokyo…tell us more about this Ghost character." I saw what he was getting at. I should have talked more about Ghost during the last two weeks. I was so wrapped up in my upgrade operations and my crush on Tokyo that I didn't say a word about Ghost at all! How could I have been so brain dead?!

"Ghost is with the dragonoids." I choked, feeling really depressed and extremely guilty. I mentally started beating myself up as I said the next sentence. "Ghost…is an android."

All humans in the room went into shock. All androids however…

"Yep." London responded.

"Affirmative." Tokyo agreed.

"And neither of you told us?!" Ayla outbursted.

London and Tokyo turned away with guilty faces. I went on about the encounter on the country road, and what I found out from my ABHS. London, who was grieving for Glynn again, stopped me after I mentioned Ghost's model.

"Say that again." He requested.

"His model name is AUU #263891 Version 4.0."

"I got another name from him when I scanned him." London announced. "It was Neo-Sapion #4-1: Leelu." As I wondered what the heck he was talking about, Magus gasped in shock. I noticed.

"Rings a bell, old man?" I asked, turning to him.

"4-what?" Magus asked London. London looked up at him.

"4-1. Do you know him?"

"Yes." Magus nodded, sounding like the wind was knocked out of him. "I…I created him."

I froze where I sat. Tokyo fell from where he stood in shock. London hung his head, then pulled an object from behind his back into view. It was Ghost's hand that Tokyo had cut off earlier.

"Maybe," London suggested, "you should analyze this just to be sure." Magus walked to London, and took the severed hand. Tokyo stood up and lounged on the wall. I looked at him. He didn't seem concerned about Ghost…or that a member of the team died. Nothing really seemed to bother him at all.

I wished then to know what was going on in his head, but even the ABHS couldn't tell me that.

***

We all stayed inside. None of us dared to go outside, or look out the windows. Kaguya suggested that we move out of the mansion soon. We couldn't leave immediately, because many dragonoids would be looking for us right away. We couldn't lay low for a long time, the dragonoids or Ghost would rediscover us. So, we packed up what we could so that we would be ready to go at a moment's notice.

Meanwhile, I was busy trying to figure out Tokyo's feelings for me.

However, there was a reason why London called Tokyo a brick wall…

"Leave me alone." Tokyo growled at me, cleaning his katana.

"C'mon, tell me!" I pleaded. We were in his room on the second story of the mansion. Tokyo was sitting cross-legged on his bed, and I was in front of the closed door just in case he tried to get away. He was not leaving my presence until he told me he liked me. "You keep saving me all the time, and I wanna know why. I know you care about me."

"Leave me alone."

"Stop acting like you hate me." I urged, lounging against the door. "C'mon, tell me how you feel."

"For the last time, Paris, leave me alone."

"Tell me!" I demanded. He glared at me.

"Annoyed."

"No, no! About me! What do you feel about me?"

"Like I said, annoyed." He growled. "Now get out or I'll throw you out."

"But don't you really feel anything for me?" I pressed. "I know you do."

"We had this talk a long time ago, Paris." Tokyo groaned, sliding his clean sword back into its sheathe. "We are machines. We should be incapable of any feelings or emotions. We…"

"Of course we have feelings!" I outbursted, waving my hands at him. "We aren't all machine! We're part human, y'know!"

I must have taken the last straw, because he jumped at me and pinned me against the door. Suddenly, I became the one that was trapped, not Tokyo.

"God…damn you!" Tokyo growled deep in his throat. "We are not humans. We are nowhere near as inefficient as they are." My heart ached suddenly, having him so close to me…I had the urge to…

"We are more human than you think." I growled back. Suddenly, the urge possessed all the mussels in my neck, and I lunged my head foreword…

…and I kissed him.

He instantly pulled away, and let me go as he staggered backward. He stared at me with wide, horrified eyes, like I had threatened his life. He put his hand over his mouth, and looked down at the floor in astonishment. I collected my thoughts, realizing what I had done, and decided that I should tell him.

"Tokyo…"

"Get out." He ordered, turning angry eyes at me.

"Tokyo, please listen to me…"

"Get out." He ordered again, putting his hand to the hilt of his sword.

"I love you, Tokyo!" I blurted. He responded by gnashing his teeth, and hostily pointing his sword at my forehead.

"Get out now!" he ordered in frightened desperation. "If you come back into my room again, I'll kill you! And if you try anything like that again…you'll wish you had never been born!"

"Tokyo, please!" I pleaded, choking back a sob. Why was he threatening me? What was he so scared of? What was going on through his head???

He snarled, and slapped me with the flat edge of his sword. I gasped, and my back flattened against the door. We were still for a few moments, then I turned the doorknob, and opened the door.

"I do love you, Tokyo." I sobbed, walking out of his room and closing the door behind me.

Tokyo didn't answer me.

***

So much was happening, everyone had a headache. Glynn was given the proper burial on the back lot, Magus was busy analyzing the hand London gave him, Ayla was packing her clothes into several suitcases, I helped Alya, Tokyo gave his shuriken a fresh coat of paint, Kaguya took Corey to the hospital, and London made a suggestion of where to go next.

"The boys and I have a friend in San Francisco." He began. "His name is Jeff Snow, he's a dojo owner and a stock car racer. He's a Slayer too, and he gave us shelter when the three of us were traveling up here."

"San Francisco?" Magus wondered, putting his hand to his mouth in thought.

"California?" Kaguya wondered as well. "I've heard of some dragonoid activity happening there…close to San Francisco…but that was a long time ago."

"Sounds iffy." I disapproved. "London, is there anywhere else we can go?"

"Frisco is the nearest safe spot from here." London shook his head. "If we travel too far, Ghost or the dragonoids will find us…and kill us."

"We can't leave yet." Ayla butted in. "What about Corey? They won't let him out of the hospital for another two weeks. We can't leave him behind…but we won't be able to take him with us."

We were quiet for a while. As I tried to think of a way to take Corey with us, I glanced over at Tokyo. He was standing in the corner, sipping green tea. He glanced at me, and I instantly looked away. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, and he was giving me a very evil eye. Damn, I scolded myself, I shouldn't have kissed him.

"There's no hurry." Kaguya reminded us. "As soon as Corey gets out of the hospital, we can go to San Francisco together."

"Bad idea." I clipped. "Too many people traveling at once? That would make the dragonoids suspicious, and they'd send Ghost after us."

"How are you certain Ghost is with the dragonoids?" Tokyo butted in. I looked at him.

"He had dragonoid swords."

"And?"

"That's not proof enough for you? C'mon Tokyo, who else could he be with?"

"He never said he was with the dragonoids. He may have stolen the swords, or a dragonoid gave them to him. We haven't seen him in the company of one dragonoid. On top of that, he fights like a Slayer, and possesses more advanced technology than the dragonoids could ever invent."

Here's a secret: I hate admitting I’m wrong.

So, faced with Glynn's death, my love/hate relationship with Tokyo, endless questions about Ghost, the kiss, and the fact that I was wrong, I angrily lunged at Magus, and pinned him against the wall by the collar of his shirt.

"Why did you build Ghost, old man?!" I shrieked at him. "Why is he trying to kill us?! Who is he?! Answer me now!"

"Clara!" Magus choked in shock. "Please, calm down! I'll tell you everything!"

"Start talking!" I demanded. From behind me, Tokyo reached his gloved hands foreword and grabbed my wrists. He gripped them so hard, my hands relaxed and I let go of Magus unintentionally.

"Enough, Paris." Tokyo urged. "Don't make an idiot of yourself."

"My name is Clara!" I yelled, kicking his shin with my heel, making him let go of me. My hands went back to Magus's neck. Tokyo grabbed my arms again, then he kicked the back of my knee, and I fell backward. He pinned me to the ground by putting his foot on my stomach.

"The both of you are impossible!" Ayla groaned.

"We all don't have to go at once." Kaguya brainstormed as I struggled to stand up. "We can go as groups. One group can go ahead to San Francisco, and then the second group can go afterward. How does that sound?"

"No!" Tokyo instantly objected. I stopped trying to free myself and looked up at him.

"Are you afraid of being separated from me again?" Kaguya chuckled. I looked up at her. She was smiling. "Tokyo, you know I can take care of myself."

"I can't lose you again! Tokyo blurted. "Last time we split up, I didn't know if you were dead or alive! I promised myself never to let it happen again!"

"Tokyo Kid!" I exclaimed, not believing my ears. "You were actually scared of something?!" I began crowing in laughter.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Tokyo snapped, stomping on my stomach. The wind was instantly knocked out of me, and I shut up.

"Stay on the subject, you two!" London shouted at us. "I think it's a fine idea, Miss Kaguya. How about this? We three androids go first to Frisco, and we secure the area a bit, then we call you guys up. How about that?"

"Fine by me." Magus nodded in approval.

"No!" Tokyo continued to object.

"What are you saying?" Ayla challenged London. "Am I your girlfriend or what?"

"Sorry, Squeaky," London sighed, "but I’m trying to even out the troops here."

"I guess it's the only option we have. I sighed as well.

"Don't leave me, London!" Alya whined in a squeaky voice, pouncing him with a tight hug. That resulted with both of them falling over on the floor.

"I refuse to part from Kaguya-san." Tokyo firmly stated.

"But if we stay here," I argued to Tokyo, "then Ghost will come back and kill us all. You want him to come at an inconvenient time and shoot me, or you…or Kaguya!" Tokyo looked down at me. "You wanna stay here and be the cause of Kaguya's death?!"

"Damuri!" Tokyo shouted at me to shut up, unsheathing his sword, and holding it at my throat. I flashed him a death wish smile, and that kept him from stabbing my gullet.

"Release her, Tokyo." Kaguya sternly commanded her android. Tokyo reluctantly lifted his sword away from me and took his foot off my stomach. I sat up carefully, wincing in pain. Kaguya began reasoning with Tokyo in Japanese, London mumbled lovely words into Ayla's ear and Ayla quietly sobbed on London's chest. Magus walked over to me, and helped me stand up.

"Clara," he began, "is this something you want to do?" I looked into his soft, gray eyes.

"It's not a matter or 'wanting' anymore." I explained. "We don't have a choice now." Magus smiled, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Then you don't mind being their leader while in San Francisco?"

"Nah." I accepted, blushing. In that small moment, I felt…important. I truly did feel like a leader. I mean, the Slayers never really had a leader in any organization, just founders. The Slayers were mostly a group of people who "looked out for #1." For the first time in Slayer history, there was a leader. I felt so proud, full of honor and respect in that small moment.

I did say small moment.

"Hey!" Tokyo exclaimed. "Who said anything about her being a leader?!"

"Oh, shut up, Tokyo!" I exclaimed back in his direction. "I didn't ask to be the leader!"

"Uh oh." Magus muttered.

"Not another one…" Kaguya sighed.

"I've said it before," Ayla moaned, "and I'll say it again…"

"I rather you didn't." London disapproved Ayla.

So, yeah, Tokyo and I had another fight, but everyone stopped us from jumping on each other and ripping our heads off. We ended up marching angrily to our rooms for the night, so definent plans of Frisco were put on hold.

Dammit!

I shouldn't have kissed him.

***

That night, I was completely nervous. I kept thinking about that damn kiss. It went by so quickly that I didn't feel anything. I felt nothing. It seemed almost pointless. Yeah, that's all it was, a pointless gesture. But, a kiss isn't a pointless gesture, it's a sign of affection. You're suppost to feel something when you kiss someone. You're suppost to feel true love, a feeling that makes you warm and giggly, a feeling so strong and good that you never want it to go away.

How would I know, you ask?

I had a boyfriend in my false memories…but I loved him for about two days. He was a total tease! He acted like he really liked me, then he asked me out to dinner and a movie…me paying! And what gratitude did he give me?! Nothing! Not even a kiss! He didn't even make eye contact with me! It turned out that he was on a bet made by his friends…so I kicked his ass. However, the two days I was in love with him, I felt love for him. So, I at least know what it's like to fall in love with someone.

Anyway, the kiss I gave Tokyo really started to bother me. I couldn't sleep, so I walked out of my room, and into the kitchen to get a drink of water. I leaned on the counter and looked out the window. No stars were out, the sky seemed covered in clouds. It would probably rain.

Then, I noticed there was someone outside. I looked carefully through the glass in the window. It looked like a young human male.

Was it Ghost?

Suddenly, he pulled out his sword and started swinging at the air, performing the battle routine. I recognized the shape of the sword: it was Tokyo's katana!

I went outside and quietly closed the door. Tokyo immediately stopped his routine and looked at me.

"Paris," he said, a little surprised, "I thought you were asleep."

"I thought you were asleep." I retorted. "It's half past eleven."

"I can't sleep." Tokyo admitted, sheathing his sword. "We leave tomorrow…and I really don't want to part from Kaguya-san again."

"I know the feeling." I sympathized. "You're still pretty young, so you don't know how to let go of your ties to Kaguya…but there will come a time when she can't be there for you, or you'll have to leave her."

"I wish life wasn't that way." Tokyo sighed. "And what about you? Aren't you sad about leaving your loved ones behind?"

"A little." I admitted. "But we'll see them again, remember? When we get to San Francisco, we'll call them up and they'll come too." I walked closer to him. "Besides…we'll have each other while they're gone."

"What…" he began to ask me. I stepped closer to him, feeling hot in the face and shaking all over. When I got close enough to touch him, he started to see what I wanted, and pulled out his sword defensively. "Stay back! I warned you about trying that again!" I stopped.

"What's wrong, Tokyo?" I asked softly. I felt small drops of drizzle fall from the sky. It was going to rain soon.

"Stay away!" he warned desperately. My heartbeat began to quicken, I shivered in tension. I dared to take another step towards him. He lashed out in fear, and swung his sword at me. He grazed the skin under my left eye, and I felt a small sting as the cut began to bleed. I ignored it, and took another step foreword. He swung his sword at me again.

I caught the sword by the hilt, and wrapped my free arm around his neck. In surprise, he dropped his katana and froze.

"I love you." I whispered in his ear. "Please let me love you." He answered by wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me to him. I lifted my head up to his face, and we both looked into each other's beautiful eyes. I leaned my neck foreword, and gently pressed my lips to his. It took him a moment, but he relaxed and kissed me back. The rain came down a little harder as we kissed. I felt something warm and giggly, and the feeling was so strong that I didn't want it to go away.

True love.