"Walk with me, Mami-san," Doug said quietly, and she couldn't
think of a way to say "no" that wasn't also an immediate
admission of guilt. Not trusting her voice to not squeak in a
completely embarassing and incriminating way, she simply nodded
and followed at his side as he turned and walked -- slowly, for
him -- toward the great lawn that separated Welcome House from
its front gates.
They crossed the grass in silence, and Mami glanced sidelong at
Doug as they did, realizing almost for the first time how very
large and strong he was and how very small and weak *she* was.
If he planned to hurt her... she shook her head suddenly and
violently, garnering an inquiring look from him that she ignored.
*That's not going to happen,* she told herself firmly.
"Mami-san?"
She kept walking for two or three meters after this before
realizing that Doug had stopped. She turned around and trotted
reluctantly back to where he stood. "Okay," she said softly,
"what's this all about?"
Doug raised an eyebrow at her, then lifted his head and looked
about before nodding curtly. "Okay. We're as alone as we can
get without actually leaving the grounds. No one can overhear
us here, and no one can sneak up on us without us noticing --
right, Chikage?" he raised his voice to the open air. "And we
can be seen from the House." He smiled. "In fact, I'm pretty
sure we're being watched by at least a couple of the other girls
right now."
"That's all well and good," she said, realizing he was trying to
alleviate the fears she had not even spoken aloud. "But why?"
"Well," he said, nodding. "I wanted to give you a little privacy
when I asked you -- who are you really, and why are you here?"
Mami's heart stopped and her breath caught, but she was pretty
sure she didn't give anything away. "I don't know what you're
talking about. I'm here for Big Brother, just like..."
"Don't bullshit me, Mami." She blinked at the sudden change in
his tone and language, even though his posture and gaze never
wavered. "You're nothing like the other girls. You don't have
that fawning worship of Wataru that they do. Where everyone else
is always out and about, interacting with each other, you tend to
hide in your room."
"Just because I don't..." she began, but he didn't let her
finish.
"You exchange encrypted emails -- holding rather obscure
messages that read like a private code -- with an anonymous
account on a public mail server in Tokyo, usually on a daily
basis."
She gaped at him. "How the hell did you know..." She gasped and
clapped her hands over her mouth, but he didn't seem to notice.
"And the clincher." From his pocket he drew a small device that
looked very similar to a cell phone. As Mami lowered her hands
and studied it curiously, he flipped it open to reveal a keypad
and a tiny screen covered with flowing geometric designs. He
stabbed a finger that looked entirely too big for the task at
the keyboard and the screen went white. "Command?" a smooth,
female voice that sounded little older than her said.
Doug looked at her, quirked one corner of his mouth up into a
half-smile, and turned the device such that it appeared to be
pointed at her. "DNA scan subject designate 'Minakami Mami';
compare to archived scan for subject designate 'Minakami
Wataru'."
"Complying," the gadget replied, followed by a wavering tone that
sounded like a sound effect from a science fiction anime. Mami
tensed her muscles to flee, but when she felt nothing stayed
frozen in place.
After a moment, the tone stopped. "Scan complete," the device
chirped, with what Mami would swear was almost a giggle in its
electronic voice. "Comparing." *This can't be real,* Mami
thought as she tried to come up with something -- anything --
she should do. *No one has anything like a...*
"Comparison complete," the gadget chirped again, interrupting her
chain of thought. "Cosanguinity coefficient: zero."
*Oh, *crap*,* Mami thought, and got ready to run anyway.
"Elaborate," Doug said with another raised eyebrow.
"After eliminating the common human genome, and allowing for the
standard rate of random accidental matches, insufficient
chromosomal similarity exists to posit a relationship between
the subjects closer than sixth cousins, once removed." There it
was again! Mami could swear the stupid electronic thing was
*amused*. "Further: mitochondrial DNA shows no connection
between maternal lines more recent than two centuries,
extrapolated."
"Scan off," Doug said, then flipped the device closed and slipped
it back into a pocket. He then fixed her with a look that
managed to be stern, even severe, without being threatening.
"Let's start this again, Mami. Who are you, and why are you
here?" She tensed again, and a vague disappointment settled into
the mix on his face. "And don't bother running. I'm both faster
and stronger than you, and you won't get more than a couple
meters."
Feeling like she wanted to cry, Mami collapsed to the ground in
a sloppy seiza, and began to explain.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
think of a way to say "no" that wasn't also an immediate
admission of guilt. Not trusting her voice to not squeak in a
completely embarassing and incriminating way, she simply nodded
and followed at his side as he turned and walked -- slowly, for
him -- toward the great lawn that separated Welcome House from
its front gates.
They crossed the grass in silence, and Mami glanced sidelong at
Doug as they did, realizing almost for the first time how very
large and strong he was and how very small and weak *she* was.
If he planned to hurt her... she shook her head suddenly and
violently, garnering an inquiring look from him that she ignored.
*That's not going to happen,* she told herself firmly.
"Mami-san?"
She kept walking for two or three meters after this before
realizing that Doug had stopped. She turned around and trotted
reluctantly back to where he stood. "Okay," she said softly,
"what's this all about?"
Doug raised an eyebrow at her, then lifted his head and looked
about before nodding curtly. "Okay. We're as alone as we can
get without actually leaving the grounds. No one can overhear
us here, and no one can sneak up on us without us noticing --
right, Chikage?" he raised his voice to the open air. "And we
can be seen from the House." He smiled. "In fact, I'm pretty
sure we're being watched by at least a couple of the other girls
right now."
"That's all well and good," she said, realizing he was trying to
alleviate the fears she had not even spoken aloud. "But why?"
"Well," he said, nodding. "I wanted to give you a little privacy
when I asked you -- who are you really, and why are you here?"
Mami's heart stopped and her breath caught, but she was pretty
sure she didn't give anything away. "I don't know what you're
talking about. I'm here for Big Brother, just like..."
"Don't bullshit me, Mami." She blinked at the sudden change in
his tone and language, even though his posture and gaze never
wavered. "You're nothing like the other girls. You don't have
that fawning worship of Wataru that they do. Where everyone else
is always out and about, interacting with each other, you tend to
hide in your room."
"Just because I don't..." she began, but he didn't let her
finish.
"You exchange encrypted emails -- holding rather obscure
messages that read like a private code -- with an anonymous
account on a public mail server in Tokyo, usually on a daily
basis."
She gaped at him. "How the hell did you know..." She gasped and
clapped her hands over her mouth, but he didn't seem to notice.
"And the clincher." From his pocket he drew a small device that
looked very similar to a cell phone. As Mami lowered her hands
and studied it curiously, he flipped it open to reveal a keypad
and a tiny screen covered with flowing geometric designs. He
stabbed a finger that looked entirely too big for the task at
the keyboard and the screen went white. "Command?" a smooth,
female voice that sounded little older than her said.
Doug looked at her, quirked one corner of his mouth up into a
half-smile, and turned the device such that it appeared to be
pointed at her. "DNA scan subject designate 'Minakami Mami';
compare to archived scan for subject designate 'Minakami
Wataru'."
"Complying," the gadget replied, followed by a wavering tone that
sounded like a sound effect from a science fiction anime. Mami
tensed her muscles to flee, but when she felt nothing stayed
frozen in place.
After a moment, the tone stopped. "Scan complete," the device
chirped, with what Mami would swear was almost a giggle in its
electronic voice. "Comparing." *This can't be real,* Mami
thought as she tried to come up with something -- anything --
she should do. *No one has anything like a...*
"Comparison complete," the gadget chirped again, interrupting her
chain of thought. "Cosanguinity coefficient: zero."
*Oh, *crap*,* Mami thought, and got ready to run anyway.
"Elaborate," Doug said with another raised eyebrow.
"After eliminating the common human genome, and allowing for the
standard rate of random accidental matches, insufficient
chromosomal similarity exists to posit a relationship between
the subjects closer than sixth cousins, once removed." There it
was again! Mami could swear the stupid electronic thing was
*amused*. "Further: mitochondrial DNA shows no connection
between maternal lines more recent than two centuries,
extrapolated."
"Scan off," Doug said, then flipped the device closed and slipped
it back into a pocket. He then fixed her with a look that
managed to be stern, even severe, without being threatening.
"Let's start this again, Mami. Who are you, and why are you
here?" She tensed again, and a vague disappointment settled into
the mix on his face. "And don't bother running. I'm both faster
and stronger than you, and you won't get more than a couple
meters."
Feeling like she wanted to cry, Mami collapsed to the ground in
a sloppy seiza, and began to explain.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
