PROJECT A-KO: SCHOOL'S IN

(First Draft - Completed 5/10/98)

One of my favorite moments in all of the Project A-ko films is the beginning of Cinderella Rhapsody, the third film. It's a film noir look at the three girls we've been following for a bit now, but they're all older. The shot takes place in a pool hall, and is highly stylized (shot in browns and grays, cigarette smoke flitting around the room, etc.)

Well, for my previous story ("School's Out") I took a brief moment from movie 6, so why not take a moment from a movie I actually thought was better? My characters (all right, my versions of these characters) are at about the right age for the pool hall sequence to take place.

Once I had decided to use this scene in my new story I then needed a plot, and because a lot of people have requested it, I needed to tie into the last story I wrote and include Prince Kyosuke. That's okay, I like Prince Kyosuke - there had to be a male version of C-ko out there somewhere. (Yahoo! We're going to Disneyland to ride the Teacups!)

But coming up with a plot hasn't been easy. I seem to have built myself a reputation for plot twists and unexpected turns, and that's one hell of a thing to live up to. Besides, how can the focus stay the way it has been now that C-ko has a boyfriend? And now that B-ko is starting to take over her father's empire? General Zuma retired? And especially since I sent Kei packing into the sunset never to be heard from again? Besides, I've been working on a new album and writing fiction takes a lot of time away from that.

It was while contemplating all of this that a sudden unexpected thought hit me. Space station L7 was destroyed by the Captain in movie one, and IT HAS NEVER BEEN REBUILT! The squadron that meets up with the invading fleet from movie 4 launches from the ground. Then it hit me. Considering that Prince Kyosuke has to remain in Graviton City he's going to need a job. Why not have him help rebuild the space station?

Once I had that idea firmly in my mind the rest started flowing.

I created Prince Kyosuke because I've developed something of an obsession with another anime, Kimagure Orange Road, which happened because of a tribute to it in movie 4. At some point I'm probably going to develop a new web site devoted strictly to that title, but for now I'll be satisfied with Project A-ko, which is still my favorite. At any rate, he was only intended to give a bit of a shock ending to "School's Out", but I've received a ton of E-mail telling me that if I don't keep him that the following would happen: my cat would be painted green, C-ko would cook for me (yum!), A-ko would get really really mad, that I would experience a series of Ayakawa slaps (if you've seen KOR you know what I mean), and that I would be presented for ridicule at the next A-kon.

Well, we can't have that, can we?

So here's the beginnings of my latest Project A-ko fanfic, tentatively called "School's In" for reasons that will become obvious soon enough. Yes, it is a sequel to "School's Out", so leave my cat alone!

Oh, one more thing. I've received some flack about how I've spelled the names of some of the minor characters. That's all right, as I did it on purpose. Thing is, most of these minor characters aren't actually named in the movies, but in a role-playing game that followed. I'm not really all that fond of the game, as it ignores some important facts (like C-ko's black belt in Martial Arts Rock Scissors Paper). So, I've taken spellings that resemble Japanese food brand names but still retain the character references people have come to expect. It's my joke damnit and I'm keeping it!

Er, excuse me... Didn't mean to shout.

Anyway, here it begins.......

"Welcome back to the Cory Emerson show here on netwide, the world wide news network. We've been speaking with Prince Kyosuke about the incredible job rebuilding space station L7..."

A-ko turned her head to look at the television screen. She usually had the TV on just for noise in the background, but it wasn't common for one of her friends to be interviewed; even someone as well-known as Kye.

Except for B-ko, she thought sourly, although that's more due to the business she's inheriting than anything else. Her father used to be in the news all the time.

"As you probably know," the interviewer continued, "Space station L7 was destroyed several years ago during the first alien invasion of Graviton City, with all hands lost. While the station's loss eventually turned out to be a tragic mistake, it took another alien invasion, the third in fact, to instigate rebuilding the station.

"But this time the alien invasion was a good thing, as it brought Prince Kyosuke and his knowledge of space and non-earth technologies to bear. Under his supervision, the new space station L7 has been rebuilt in less than 6 months, and it's better than it ever was before.

"Prince Kyosuke, why did you get involved in the construction of this station in the first place?"

The young man's face filled A-ko's television screen. He still looked younger than his 20 years, but that was probably due to the blond hair, styled just a bit long for today's fashion. Just like C-ko, A-ko thought. I wonder if being an alien has something to do with how young they look.

"Please, it's just Kye," the Prince said, grinning widely. "The place where I'm a Prince is a long way from here, and it's unlikely that I'll be going back there. Earth and specifically Graviton City is my home now." The camera panned back for a moment and you could see that Kye wore a button that said "Hi C-ko!" along with a happy face. And a pink bunny.

A-ko resumed dressing, finally settling on a striped shirt that partially covered her arm bands. C-ko probably liked that touch, she thought. I'll ask her what she thought of that when I meet with her. Why are we meeting at Moriyama's I wonder? A-ko shook her head and began looking for earrings.

Kye continued talking. "Considering that there have been three alien invasions in the past five years it occurred to me that your defense forces could use some hands-on experience with these types of technologies and how to defend against them and recognize them."

The interviewer came back on screen. "But you're not the first alien to offer services to our defense forces. What makes you more qualified than your predecessors?"

"First of all I'm not a drunk. Second of all, I have no ulterior motives about leaving Earth behind. Graviton City is my home now, and it's where I'm going to stay."

"So it's in your own best interests to do this."

Kye grinned. "Besides, I have a girlfriend and needed a job so that I could afford take her out. This type of work is something I'm qualified for. Face it, you don't have many openings for Princes here on Earth."

The interviewer laughed.

Meanwhile, A-ko had found her earrings, long silver ones that resembled metallic tiles. She had bought them to celebrate her freedom from her job the previous week, and they had quickly become her favorites. She looked at herself in the mirror. Still something missing, she thought. The shirt she had selected left her shoulders bare, so she decided on a loose-necked sweater to fit over the shirt.

She looked back at the television screen to see a picture of the space station. "With construction nearly completed..." A-ko didn't let the announcement go any further as she switched the television off. He'd better be back tomorrow. I need him and C-ko to help.

A-ko ran down the stairs and out the door, yelling a quick "good-bye!" to her mother and father, who sat reading in the living room.

"That might be the last time we hear that," said her mother.

Her father grinned, removing his glasses. "And none too soon," he replied. "I'd love to be able to eat a full meal without some of it being pinched by our daughter."

Her mother put her newspaper down with mock anger. "Clark!" she shouted. "That's not very nice!"

Clark put his glasses back on, smiling. "But it's also true, my dearest Diana..."

* * * * *

Another person paid closer attention to the newscast, and was particularly offended by some of the remarks, as they stung directly. This person swilled wine in a large glass, then drained the glass.

"Prince Kyosuke," this person muttered angrily. "You will pay for what you've done to me." The speaker looked at the now empty glass. "I need something more to drink!"

An assistant ran for more wine.

* * * * *

It took a moment for A-ko's eyes to adjust to the dim lighting in Moriyama's Pool Hall. The room was dark and a bit smoky, which she never really enjoyed. She took stock of the tables and the bar at the far end of the room, plus a few dining booths to the left side of the room. But she didn't see C-ko.

I actually beat her here? she thought.

"A-ko!"

A-ko peered in the direction the shout had come from, feeling uneasy. She knew that voice. Then she spotted that voice. "Hello, B-ko. What are you doing here?"

B-ko stood behind the center pool table. "I sometimes come here to relax after a long day at the office," she said. "You?"

"I'm meeting C-ko here for dinner."

B-ko let out a surprised laugh. "Here? In this dump?"

A-ko frowned. "It wasn't my idea! C-ko practically insisted."

"Whatever on Earth for?"

A-ko shook her head. "You got me." She laughed. "Maybe she wants to learn how to play the game."

B-ko also chuckled. "I see she's not here yet. Want to play a game against me?"

A-ko nodded. "Why not? Although I'm a bit worried. It's not like C-ko to be late."

B-ko racked the balls for a standard game of pool. "I know," she said, lifting the rack and tossing the cue ball to A-ko. "That's usually your department."

A-ko set the ball down on the table, fuming. She grabbed a cue from a rack at the end of the table and chalked up. Still mad, she took aim and took her first shot, breaking the rack wide. In fact the cue ball and two others broke in half.

A-ko stepped back a bit, chagrined, while B-ko got another cue ball. She set up a straight shot towards the 9 ball, which was right next to the corner pocket. She took the shot, but missed the ball completely and landed the cue into the corner pocket.

B-ko took a step back, flexing her left hand like she used to do when she and A-ko fought in high school, just before firing Akagiyama missiles. She looked around to see if someone she knew had seen her blow the shot that badly.

A-ko began to approach the table for her follow-up shot when a familiar voice said "My turn!"

Both A-ko and B-ko watched in wide-eyed amazement as C-ko, dressed in a leather skirt, jeans jacket, T-shirt and a striped tie approached the table. She lined up for the same shot that B-ko had attempted, but then thought better of it and banked the shot instead. The cue ball bounced off three cushions before striking the 9 and sinking it.

As B-ko and A-ko watched in utter shock, C-ko proceeded to clean the table, not missing a single shot. As the last ball went in, there was a sound not unlike sunflowers opening, after which C-ko jumped into the air, happily shouting "I win!"

A-ko and B-ko first looked at each other, then bowed at the same time towards C-ko, conceding defeat. C-ko ran to B-ko and gave her a hug, then hugged A-ko. "Ready for dinner?" she asked.

"Certainly!" A-ko replied, shaking off her amazement. "Shall we get a booth?"

"Oh, we're not going to eat here. I just wanted to show you that I've been practicing! Kye taught me how to play."

A-ko laughed. "That explains it," she said.

C-ko turned to B-ko. "I didn't know you were going to be here. Do you want to join us?"

A-ko looked at B-ko warily, but her old rival just shook her head. "I'm only taking a short break," B-ko said. "I have to be at the defense force headquarters in about a half hour to go over the specs of a new mecha."

C-ko smiled. "Another time then?"

B-ko nodded. "Sure."

A-ko breathed a sigh of relief as they left the pool hall.

"A-ko," C-ko said sternly. "I know you and B-ko don't always get along, but I do appreciate that you don't fight with her anymore."

A-ko snorted. "It's still hard," she replied. "But I have to admit that there's not much for us to fight over anymore. You have Kye, B-ko's so busy helping her father's business, and I'm finally moving out on my own!" A-ko brightened. "We're celebrating tonight, so I refuse to be in a bad mood. Shall we go enjoy ourselves?"

C-ko jumped up and hugged her friend. "Yahoo!"

As they walked towards the restaurant A-ko said, "Love your outfit, by the way."

"Thanks! It's not exactly me, but it sure was fun to walk into the pool hall like this."

A-ko laughed. "Kye has done wonders for your self-esteem. Is he going to be around to help with the move tomorrow?"

C-ko nodded happily. "Uh huh! I can't wait!"

* * * * *

"So you're going to study journalism?" C-ko asked.

The main course of the meal had arrived, a plate full of dishes ranging from shrimp teriyaki to lobster. A-ko was buying, using some of the last of her final paycheck from work.

"Yup!" A-ko nodded. "When the college found out that I wanted to study in my father's field they offered a full scholarship, which even covers room and board! Dad doesn't talk about work much, but he's really good at what he does, and the college recognized that. But anyway I finally get my own place!"

"That's great!" C-ko replied.

"It's kind of small, but as a first year college student you don't get all that much in the way of perks. Besides, it's not like I own all that much stuff, and my new apartment already has a refrigerator and a stove. We just need to move the stuff from my room at home to my new apartment. It shouldn't take too long."

"Okay!" C-ko said. "I promised Kye that we'd go to a movie tomorrow night to celebrate his coming back home."

"How are things with you two these days?"

C-ko beamed. "It's wonderful. Oh, A-ko I'm in love! We went to Disneyland together last week and rode the Teacups 37 times!"

A-ko smiled. "It seems like you're a perfect match! When's the wedding?"

C-ko blushed. "Oh, it hasn't gotten that far yet. Although it would be nice to not have to live with mother anymore."

A-ko was taken aback. "Really? Why?"

"It's her cooking! She loves to show me up, and it drives me crazy! Kye likes my cooking, so that's all that matters to me."

A-ko nearly choked on a meatball. "Kye likes your cooking!?" She exclaimed.

"Well... sometimes... I mean that.... well... he should..."

"C-ko, have you ever cooked for him?"

C-ko was silent a moment. "No," she finally admitted. "I'm scared to. It was okay when I cooked for you, but I want everything to be perfect when I cook for Kye."

A-ko swallowed that piece of news. "It was okay when you poisoned me all those times, but not your boyfriend?"

C-ko sniffed, as if about to cry. "Well, when you put it that way..."

A-ko, sensing the floodgates about to open, then came up with an inspiration. "Hey, I know! How about we make dinner for Kye at the new apartment? Together!"

"Huh?"

"I mean before your date, of course. I'll need to break in my new stove and I can help you put together a grand meal for Kye. How about it?"

The floodgates never opened, to A-ko's vast relief. C-ko smiled. "That would be perfect!" she shouted, drawing looks from some of the other tables in the restaurant.

"Oh, A-ko, I love you!"

A-ko smiled. "I love you too. Now let's finish our dinners before they get cold."

C-ko nodded. "Okay. We'll need sugar, salt, soy sauce, shrimp, sauerkraut, mustard gas, potassium bromide..."

* * * * *

B-ko returned to her private office near the top of the superstructure that was once an alien ship (but thought to be a meteor) and was now the central command center for the Graviton City Defense Force, Skuld Division. From here she supervised the development of new mechas and coordinated field testing of the equipment with the military.

She had also rented separate space next to her office for her own private use, coordinating her long-serving surveillance team, plus a few other... hobbies, which she had just finished attending to.

But for now she paced her office, part mad, part sad.

I'm really happy for you C-ko, she thought. But I don't get it. Yes, he's brilliant and yes he's perfect for you. So why do you still need A-ko?

Even after all this time, A-ko and B-ko could not consider themselves friends. Survivors, certainly. Partners from time to time, usually when needing to rescue C-ko. But these days C-ko had her own protector, while A-ko had decided that the real world wasn't ready for her yet and was returning to school. She had found this out a few moments earlier, thanks to Mari.

And B-ko was exactly where she had always dreamed she would be, helping run the Diatokuji Financial Group Empire. Someday not too far from now, she would actually run it by herself, but for now there was a good sharing of power between B-ko and her father.

But it was lonely. There were times like tonight that she understood, however vaguely, why her mother left her father all those years ago, never to be heard from again. It was hard to be close to a Diatokuji, because Diatokuji had far too much to do in the time allotted.

Even fighting with A-ko would be a welcome break, although it would get C-ko mad at both of them. That wasn't an option, especially as her boyfriend had so much work with the military these days. It wouldn't be good politics to get on the bad side of either of them.

So who did that leave B-ko? Not Mari, who had plans of her own that frankly astonished B-ko. Asa? Ina? Ume? They were hirelings, not friends. Loyal, certainly, but not close. She wasn't even close to any of the people she worked with. The only one she respected was General Yoshida (he got a promotion in my last story - Chris), and it wasn't like he was available either.

Am I always going to be this lonely? B-ko asked herself. How do you stand it sometimes daddy?

There was a knock at her office door. She quickly composed herself and turned to face it. "Come!" she commanded.

It was General Yoshida, who came in and bowed slightly. "Miss Diatokuji," he said.

"Yes General?"

"We're ready for the infra-testing of the Cherry Blossom Mark 4. We have our soldiers in place on the space station and the targets are ready. All we're waiting on is your presence."

B-ko laughed lightly. "They can wait a moment more," she said. That was one of the first lessons her father had taught her. Never wait for them when they can wait for you. "After all, this is only a simulation, not an actual battle."

Yoshida nodded. "I suppose. But we do need to make this an evening test, so sometime before daylight, perhaps?"

B-ko frowned, but then thought better of it. Since becoming the defense force leader Yoshida had shown that he had a sense of humor, and wasn't afraid to use it.

Or was that her influence? B-ko frowned again. Yoshida, for his part, remained passive and unfazed by B-ko's sudden mood shifts. He was used to it.

"Very well," B-ko finally said. "Let's go to the command center and see to this test."

The command center was three floors down, and Yoshida and B-ko decided to ride the elevator down together. So did everyone else on that floor who wanted to see the test. The elevator was crammed with people.

B-ko found herself pressed close to Yoshida; close enough to touch. Then she felt a pressure against her rear. She realized with amazement that it was Yoshida's hand! Yoshida was grabbing her!

For one of a very few times in her life she was speechless, unable to move or even think. Feeling Yoshida's hand there awakened thoughts she hadn't entertained in a while now.

The elevator slowed and the doors opened. People filed out and soon only B-ko and Yoshida were left in the elevator. Carefully an embarrassed Yoshida removed his hand from where it had been pinned to the wall by B-ko's forced closeness to him. He muttered "excuse me" and walked out, leaving B-ko still standing there stunned.

Then a smile slowly spread across her face. Maybe it's not so lonely at the top after all, she thought.

* * * * *

Hikaru Diatokuji looked out the window of his private office at the Diatokuji mansion. He was mentally digesting the financial reports his daughter had forwarded to him. He was pleased.

B-ko had not only thrown herself into the project, but had shown real cunning in arranging for the defense contracts to be awarded to the Diatokuji Financial Group. It was the furthest under budget the company had been on bribes in years.

There was a soft knock at the door. "Enter!" he commanded.

His secretary of 10 years came through the door, carrying a folder full of files. "Contracts for your approval sir," she said.

He nodded but didn't turn around. "Leave them on my desk," he said.

She did so and turned to leave the room. "Mr. Diatokuji," she said hesitantly. "I was wondering if you might be available for dinner?"

Diatokuji shook his head. "Not tonight. Maybe next year."

The secretary smiled and sighed, then headed for the door.

"Wait."

She turned again to face Diatokuji, a look of puzzlement on her face. He had turned to face her, with both hands on the back of the chair at his desk.

"About once a year or so you ask me that question," Diatokuji said. "And every time I give the same answer. Each time you accept my answer and walk away, without bringing it up again for another year."

The secretary nodded.

"Miss Hiyama, would you care to tell me why?"

She blushed a bit. "I'm simply following orders sir," she said. "After the first time you turned me down you implied that I should ask again. You've given the same answer every time, so I make a note of it and put on my calender when to ask again."

Diatokuji looked thoughtful. "I see," he said. "In that case I should probably hold up my end of the bargain. Meet me back here at 8pm."

Miss Hiyama's eyes went wide with shock. "Certainly sir," she finally managed, "but it's well past 9pm already."

Now Diatokuji seemed a bit stunned. He looked down at his watch and then laughed; a loud and boisterous laugh. "So it is! So it is! Let's go now then!"

"Now?" Miss Hiyama stammered.

"Certainly! There's a wonderful place I know of not ten minutes from here. Besides, if I've kept you this late tonight I would imagine that you haven't eaten yet."

"Well, no..."

"Then let's go!"

Miss Hiyama took a step back, not believing it for a moment. Then she smiled. "I'll go get my coat!"

* * * * *

There's one more thing you need to know about that first night. Montgomery Zuma, Graviton City Defense Forces General (retired), was in a meeting that might determine his future. His pension wasn't as good as he had hoped and he had found himself after only a few short months of retirement needing a new source of income.

When the phone call came asking for this meeting, he had jumped (well, at least stood up quickly) at the chance.

He now stood at attention in the center of a cavernous room, expecting an interrogation from the podium above, where somebody stood although the face couldn't be seen. He wasn't disappointed.

"General Zuma!" came a strong masculine voice from the dais above him. Zuma cowered in fear.

"It's just Mr. Zuma now," he stammered.

A chuckle from the unseen voice above. "Yes, I know. You've been retired for a short time and already destitute. What ever happened to the bribes that you were paid from the Diatokuji Financial Group?"

Zuma hung his head low. So he knew.

"Answer me!"

Zuma looked up, fearful. "Most of that money went into the spinal operation I had. Since you went to the trouble to find me you should know all about that."

Another chuckle. "Yes, I do know. I also know that your operation failed after a few short days of initial success. Your spine is as weak as ever, is it not?"

Zuma bristled. "I have commanded more men in battle that you ever will!"

"Fool!" came the voice. "I care nothing for your puny little battles. You have never seen some of the same things I have. Your perspective is quite limited, you know."

Zuma tried to see the face that came with the voice. It was familiar now, and yet unlike any voice he had ever heard before. "I know you," he said.

A third chuckle. "Yes, we've met before."

"You seem to think so little of me. You may even be right. So why am I here then?"

"I have a proposition for you. Because of the years you have known him, I need to mine your knowledge of Hikaru Diatokuji for a little project I've begun." The speaker at the podium leaned forward into the light, so that Zuma could see his interrogator for the first time. It was who he had thought. Sunglasses, long-ish hair and all.

"Why do you need my knowledge?" Zuma asked, suddenly fearful again.

The speaker jumped down from the podium, long cape trailing behind. "Let's have a drink together and discuss my plans to ruin the Diatokuji Financial Group. And one other..."

* * * * *

A-ko woke up early for a change. She was just too excited by the prospect of finally getting her own apartment.

She quickly changed and got dressed, wolfing down some food before starting to throw her possessions into boxes. She had most everything done when the doorbell rang. Her parents weren't home so she opened the window to her bedroom and leaned out. C-ko and Kye were both downstairs.

"Hey! A-ko!" C-ko shouted. Kye shouted too, waving and jumping into the air, a huge grin on his face. Just like C-ko's. "Ready to move?" C-ko asked.

"Yeah!" A-ko shot back. "I'm almost all packed! Hey Kye! I saw your interview last night! Have a good trip back?"

Kye smiled. "Not as good as actually getting back!" he shouted, hugging C-ko closer. "Can we come up or should we keep shouting like this?"

"The door's open!" A-ko shouted. "Come on up!" A-ko leaned back into her room and closed the window, then finished throwing things into the last box. She had just taped it up when C-ko and Kye entered her room.

"Looks like you've got everything all in place," C-ko said. "Do you have a moving van to take everything?"

"My dad got a truck for me to use," A-ko replied. "It's not like I have a lot of stuff. We can move everything in one trip."

"Great!" Kye added. "What can we do to help?"

A-ko picked up a box of clothing and handed it to C-ko. "Here C-ko, you take this down." She picked up another box, a bit heavier. "Kye, you take this one."

"Okay," they both replied. A-ko turned around and picked up her dresser in one arm, and her desk in the other to follow her friends down the stairs. It was a tight fit, and A-ko accidentally put a small hole (well, small for say an elephant) in the stairwell wall, but she got her furniture down and onto the truck in one trip.

Okay, two when you count the stereo, television and bed.

Once A-ko's possessions were loaded they all piled into the truck (after A-ko wrote a quick note saying goodbye to her parents) and drove away. If A-ko had looked in the rear-view mirror she would have actually seen her parents come out of hiding and celebrate, but she didn't.

* * * * *

"Wow! You got a place here?"

A-ko, C-ko and Kye were in front of the apartment building where A-ko was now going to live. It was a twenty-story building with terraces and a big garden in front.

"Yeah," A-ko replied. "Pretty neat, huh? It's got everything I need. The laundry's in the basement so that will take some getting used to, but everything else I could want is right in my apartment!"

"Why did you pick this place?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

C-ko pointed up at the building. "Miss Ayumi lives here," she said.

A-ko's eyes went wide. "Really? I didn't know that!" She shook her head. "Anyway, it's not like it matters. She's not our teacher anymore and even if she did pull a dirty trick on us she's getting married to that General guy anyway, isn't she?"

Kye nodded.

"So it's not like we'll be neighbors for long," A-ko continued. "And anyway, even if we are this is a big building. It's not that likely that we'll run into each other."

C-ko nodded, saying "Mmm" as her only response.

Once the front door to the building was open Kye went to hold the elevator while A-ko and C-ko loaded it up with furniture and boxes. Once it was full they went up to the 11th floor. When the door opened a voice called out "Who's been holding up the elevator?"

A-ko, C-ko and Kye spilled out of the elevator along with about a third of the boxes they were moving and fell to the floor. A-ko looked up and said "Sorry..."

The woman standing over her took a startled step back. "A-ko!"

A-ko stood up quickly. "Miss Ayumi!"

A-ko's old teacher took another step back, stammering. "You... you... you're moving in?"

A-ko grinned. "That's right! Just today!"

"Which unit?"

"Eleven-oh-five."

Miss Ayumi shook her head and grinned. "We're going to be neighbors!" she finally said. "I'm in 1107!"

Now A-ko had her turn to look startled. "Really?"

"Right next door to you," Miss Ayumi said.

C-ko and Kye had untangled themselves from the boxes and also stood up. "Wow, neat!" C-ko said. "Neighbors!"

Kye in turn bowed to Miss Ayumi. "I spoke with General Yoshida a short time ago," he said. "Congratulations on your engagement!"

Miss Ayumi blushed. "Thank you Prince Kyosuke," she said softly. She looked at A-ko. "This won't be easy, will it?"

A-ko shook her head. "Probably not. Ever see Kei anymore?"

Anger showed in Miss Ayumi's eyes. "He never returned after that day at the city gate. He can stay gone as far as I'm concerned!"

A-ko extended her hand. "Agreed." she said.

Miss Ayumi suddenly took A-ko's hand and shook it vigorously. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all. I'm not your teacher anymore after all."

"I know!" C-ko said. "Maybe we can just be friends!"

Miss Ayumi nodded. "All right," she said. She looked into the elevator. "For now, would you mind getting your things out of there? I'm late to have lunch with my fianceé."

"Oh! Right!" A-ko said.

* * * * *

It had been a long night, but it had been worth it. The tests of the Cherry Blossom Mark IV had been an overwhelming success, as she had predicted. B-ko had been unable to get any more time with General Yoshida, but that could wait until this evening.

B-ko just had to know what the General was thinking! Why did he grab her like that?

B-ko looked tiredly at her watch. It was after 10 in the morning; later than she had thought. "Better check in with father," she muttered aloud. Then maybe she could get some well-deserved sleep.

She walked down the hallway to her father's office but stopped just short of the door when she heard the doorknob turn. B-ko took a step back to greet her father's personal secretary, Miss Hiyama.

"Good morning miss," B-ko said kindly. She liked Miss Hiyama; she had been around the house for over a decade now.

Miss Hiyama, for her part, suddenly looked up, startled. Then she blushed deeply. "Miss Diatokuji!" she stammered. "I didn't see you!"

B-ko smiled. "I need to report in to father and then get some sleep," she said. "We had a long night."

Miss Hiyama looked down, unable to look B-ko in the face, which B-ko found odd. "Your father did too," she whispered.

B-ko took a step back. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Miss Hiyama actually shook for a moment, then tried to look up. Then, as if struck by a terrible case of embarrassment, she screamed and ran down the hallway, scattering documents all along the hallway.

B-ko stared after Miss Hiyama for a moment, absolutely dumbstruck. Then she shook her head. "I seem to be easier to surprise these days," she muttered. Composing herself, she opened the door to her father's study.

Hikaru Diatokuji stood with his back to the door, looking out the window of his office. He turned his head to look back and his face registered a moment's surprise before finding its usual business-like demeanor. He returned to gazing out the window.

"B-ko!" he said. "How was the test?"

"It was a complete success!" B-ko beamed. "We met every parameter and exceeded expectations by over 30%!"

Hikaru turned to face his daughter. He nodded approvingly. "Excellent! You've done well."

B-ko looked down, her face flushed. "Thank you father," she said. She looked up. "Father, you should have seen it! The targeting mechanisms are precise down to the millimeter!"

Hikaru smiled. "Precise to the millimeter," he said. "From you, my darling daughter, I would expect no less. Well done!" He looked his daughter in the face to catch her yawning. "When was the last time you slept?" he asked.

"Too long ago," B-ko admitted. "I would like to head off to get some rest if you don't mind."

Hikaru Diatokuji laughed; a quiet laugh. Much scarier than his usual boisterous laugh. "Me too," he finally said.

B-ko looked up, wide awake now. Rest? Hikaru Diatokuji never rested! "Hmm?"

"Miss Hiyama and I had an all-night session," B-ko's dad said. "A sort of brainstorming session if you will. A lot of positive things were... uh... discussed." He seemed lost in thought for a moment, then regained himself. "Never mind for now. You'll see soon enough. Go get some sleep."

B-ko knew a dismissal when she heard one, so she bowed curtly to her father and left the room. But once outside she leaned against the closed door to her fathers office, all ideas of sleep now gone.

"What the hell...?"

* * * * *

Once all the furniture had been moved into A-ko's new apartment, the trio spent the next hours arranging and rearranging the furniture, until A-ko was satisfied with how her new place looked and felt.

Then A-ko and C-ko forced Kye to sstay in the living room while they rummaged in the kitchen trying to decide what to make.

"What kind of food do you like Kye?" A-ko called from the kitchen.

"I'm pretty easy-going," Kye replied. "How about something spicy?"

A-ko stopped for a second, startled. Everything C-ko had ever made for her had been spicy. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that sooner!" She turned to C-ko and started giving her a list of ingredients to find.

"But why these?" C-ko asked.

"I figure that because your cooking is usually too spicy, why don't we make something that's supposed to be real spicy?"

C-ko's eyes lit up like 1000 Kilowatt bulbs. "Oh! I see! Let's make curry then!"

A-ko nodded. "Just what I had in mind, and I know an easy recipe too."

So A-ko directed C-ko on what ingredients to use, and how much to measure, and when to combine what, while Kye hooked up A-ko's stereo and television set. While ingredients were simmering, Kye would occasionally call out "smell's good!" or "I can't wait for lunch!" The look on C-ko's face approached rapture.

After about an hour and once the meal was nearly finished, Kye asked to use the telephone, so that he could check in with Graviton Command. A-ko pointed out that her phone wasn't active yet, so he'd need to go downstairs to use a public phone. Kye nodded and headed for the door.

"Hurry back," C-ko called. "It's almost ready!"

"Can't wait!" Kye called back.

Once Kye was out, C-ko looked at A-ko. "This was a great idea, A-ko! I've sampled the curry and it's delicious!"

"Hmm!" A-ko replied. "I'm glad this worked so well. Now the big question is, can you cook it this way without my help?"

"I think so," C-ko said happily. "Maybe I can take cooking classes from you!"

A-ko laughed. "Well, all right, I suppose, but I'm no real expert. But why not your mother? She's a great cook."

"I know, but she never measures anything! She just takes what she thinks looks right and puts it in. You know as well as I do that when I try that it always fails." C-ko looked sad for a moment. "But not today! I can't wait for Kye to sample some of my cooking and say that he loves it!" C-ko hugged her friend. "You're the best!"

Kye returned while A-ko was in her room making her bed. She heard a startled "What!?" from C-ko and ran into the front room.

C-ko was holding Kye in a death-grip hug, and was about to cry. She looked up at A-ko. "He's leaving!" she yelled.

Kye looked to A-ko. "I'm sorry, but she's right," he said. "I've been called up to L7 to deal with an emergency. Knowing those idiots it's probably nothing, but I'll need to go and baby-sit them until the problem is taken care of. A taxi will be downstairs to get me any minute now."

A-ko frowned. "That's a shame," A-ko said. "Lunch is ready and everything."

"Can you pack some of it in a container that I can take with me?"

A-ko sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I don't have any clean dishes yet, and we were going to eat on paper plates. That was going to be next."

C-ko's eyes were pools of salty water. "Don't go," she protested.

Kye smiled. "I have to darling, you know that." He kissed C-ko's forehead. "I'll be back before you know it." He carefully disengaged C-ko's grip and said good-bye.

C-ko sat heavily on the floor. She sobbed for a moment, then looked up at A-ko. "It was going perfect!" she said.

A-ko nodded. "I know," she said. "Tell you what. Let's eat your curry, and once we know when he's coming back, we can plan a welcome home feast!"

C-ko looked up. "Really?"

A-ko picked up her friend and gave her a brief hug. "Really!"

C-ko hugged A-ko again. "Oh, A-ko! You're the greatest!"

* * * * *

B-ko paced in her bedroom, from four separate panels in her wall, where painting normally graced the decor, were the video-captured faces of Ume, Ina, Asa, and Mari. They all waited silently for B-ko to begin again.

"This assignment is a special one," B-ko finally said. "My father is a difficult man to spy on, if for no other reason than that everybody spies on him already."

"Why do you need to do industrial espionage within a company you're an officer in?" Uma asked.

"Silence!" All four girls cringed. Well, maybe Mari didn't, but it was hard to tell.

B-ko fumed. "There's something going on between my father and his secretary," B-ko finally said. "I want answers, and I want them now!"

All four girls bowed. "Yes Miss Diatokuji," they all chanted.

"Get to it!" All four girls started to turn off their monitors. "Wait, Mari. I have something special in mind for you." B-ko waited until the other three monitors were off and the painting had slid back into their accustomed places.

"Yes?" Mari grumbled.

"I have a different assignment for you. One that won't take you out of the daily routine of the life you've been building for yourself. I need you to gather information about a certain woman we both used to know, and the man she's hooked up with now..."

* * * * *

The next day was the first day of college for A-ko. She wanted to get straight to journalism, but discovered that she needed to take a literature class as well, and signed up for 20th century literature, just to try something different. As it turned out, it would be her first class, at the north end of the campus of Graviton University.

She actually made it to class a few minutes early, and took the opportunity to size up the room and see where the good seats were. Towards the back was one large woman that A-ko recognized instantly. She smiled and waved.

"Mari!" A-ko yelled.

Mari looked up and grinned. Scary. "A-ko," she said. "What are you doing here!"

A-ko had started down the aisle and sat next to her former opponent and now friend. "I start here at the University today! Journalism major!"

Mari grunted. "Business economics myself," she said.

"What are you doing taking a literature class then?"

Mari grunted again. "I have to for what the department calls a 'well-rounded' education. Personally, I'd rather not be here, but I have little choice."

A-ko grinned. "Oh well, might as well make the best of it. That's what I'm doing. At least we don't have B-ko giving you orders or trying to fight with me."

Mari grunted again, but said nothing.

The bell rang to start class and everyone in the room stood, awaiting the arrival of their teacher. When she walked in, A-ko went wide-eyed with shock. Mari may have as well, but it was hard to tell. A-ko looked up at Mari. "What is she doing here?" she whispered.

Mari shrugged, but said nothing.

The teacher bowed to the class and said, "Please sit down. I will be your teacher for the next few weeks discussing modern literature. My name is," she paused, then went to the chalkboard at the front of the room and wrote, "Miss Ayumi."

Miss Ayumi turned to face the now seated class. Well, everyone was seated except for A-ko, who still stood shell-shocked. Miss Ayumi stifled a gasp as she realized who was sitting in her classroom, then smiled. "Miss Magami, if you wish to model for a statue art class meets at the other end of campus," she commented.

Most of the room laughed, and even A-ko recovered to laugh along. She bowed. "I am sorry miss," she said. "I didn't expect to see you here." She sat down.

Miss Ayumi looked around the room. Her eyes rested on Mari for a moment, then moved on. "I am a new teacher to the University, but not to teaching," she began. "As Miss Magami will attest, I taught for many years at Graviton High School for Girls, and I specialized in literature there as well."

A-ko leaned towards Mari. "So that's what she taught us," she said in a whisper.

Miss Ayumi paused, then looking straight at her next-door neighbor said, "So let us begin!"

* * * * *

By late afternoon B-ko had returned to her office. On her way there from home she received a page from Asa letting her know that video would be waiting for her in the special room in her office. B-ko grunted a sleepy thanks and upon her arrival went directly to her inner sanctuary.

The video was short and to the point. While she had slept, her father and his secretary had had lunch in his office. They had looked at each other with eyes that B-ko had seen before. Kei-kun had been like that when he saw C-ko. There was no getting around it, B-ko's father was showing a romantic interest in Miss Hiyama. And Miss Hiyama was also showing an interest in her father.

So are they lovers? B-ko wondered. Possibly. But with his secretary? What could father possibly be thinking? Doesn't he realize that if word of this gets out the scandal that could break? Yes he is single, but a SECRETARY?

Well! If father can play, so can I.

She sent a thank you to her team and told them to continue their work. She then took a moment to compose herself and then re-entered her outer office to resume her day. She had hundreds of reports to fill out regarding the test at L7 yesterday, and she had received word that some minor problem had called Prince Kyosuke back up there to oversee.

"I'm glad he's around to supervise up there," she muttered. "C-ko, I'm sorry that this tends to separate your boyfriend from you, but without him this would have taken years longer." B-ko took a deep breath and then pressed a button on her phone.

"Yes?" came an officious voice.

"Is General Yoshida available?" she asked.

"He's out at the moment, although I expect him back any moment. Shall I take a message?"

B-ko smiled. "Colonel," she said, "if he's in the bathroom just say so."

There was a cough from the speaker, but the voice on the other line finally said, "Yes Miss."

"Tell the General to come up to my office when he's out. I need to discuss the events of yesterday with him."

"Very well," came the voice, followed by a click.

B-ko nodded and shut off her phone. "Now we'll get to the bottom of this," she said, missing her own pun and reaching for her stack of paperwork. She dug in furiously, scanning and signing forms quickly, rejecting some, approving others, and folding one into an origami platypus which she then stacked on her bookshelf. She was more than half-way through the stack when a knock came at her door.

"Enter!" she called.

General Yoshida entered, standing crisply at attention. "You wished to see me, Miss Diatokuji," he stated.

B-ko nodded. "Please, shut the door." After he had done so she motioned for him to sit at the chair across the desk from her. After the usual pleasantries about the weather and offering some tea, B-ko began.

"I want to talk to you about yesterday," she said.

"So do I," the General replied. "The test went very well, don't you think?"

B-ko smiled. "It did, but we can get to that in a moment. I want to ask you about before."

Yoshida frowned slightly, bringing his eyebrows together. "Before?" he asked, puzzled.

B-ko leaned over he desk, closer to the General. "I'm sure you know exactly what I mean," she said.

The General leaned back, a bit startled. He tried to think about what she could possibly be referring to, but was drawing a blank. While he tried to think of something appropriate to say B-ko leaned back in her chair.

"General," she said. "Are you actually going to make me say it?" B-ko blushed.

Now Yoshida was lost.

"Yesterday you took advantage of a moment to let me know how you really feel," B-ko said. "And I'm flattered."

Yoshida was still lost but he got the basic idea. "Miss Diatokuji..." he started.

"I know, I know. General, we would make a good match and obviously you know it. I need to let you know that I don't object to your method of letting me know how you feel, as unexpected as it was. You are engaged to be married thanks to an introduction made by my father, so I understand the need to be discreet."

Yoshida pushed his chair back in surprise. "I don't think this is an appropriate discussion to be having..." he started.

"You're right, of course," B-ko purred. She stood and walked around the desk, then surprised even herself by sitting on the General's lap and wrapping her arms around him. "This is a military complex," she whispered. "And the walls do have ears."

Yoshida was sweating now. "Yes..." he stammered.

"So for now we need to be very discreet." She took his right hand and placed it on her rear. "Just as before. But you should deal with your fiancee soon, so that we don't need to hide anymore."

Yoshida was so stunned that the thought of removing his hand never entered his mind. She thinks I made a pass at her! When? When she was pushed against me in the elevator? After a moment of intense staring at his face by B-ko, he finally recovered and pushed her off his lap. "We should discuss the test yesterday," he managed (only barely).

B-ko brushed herself off and nodded. "Agreed." She leaned close to the General's face. "There will be plenty of time for everything else." She took a step back, then sat back in her chair on the other side of the desk. She pulled out one of the pieces of paper she had marked as rejected.

"Now about these numbers," she began. "This set of paramaters was much lower than expected..."

* * * * *

Elsewhere, a former military commander was going over the same numbers.

"Well?" asked the voice on the screen.

Zuma looked up at the monitor at the vision of his new employer. Flowing hair, sunglasses, cape and all. "I'm impressed," he said. "How did you get this information?"

A laugh, followed by the vision taking a swig of what appeared to be wine. "My sources are my own. What have you found?"

"The new fighters have been built specifically for night fighting," Zuma said. "But it appears that a weakness exists during daylight that I'm certain the designer hasn't considered. Shall I elaborate?"

"Please do."

* * * * *

Half an hour later, a caped figure drank wine and took the sunglasses off, contemplating the next move. "A most interesting weakness. We can use this. And if both Diatokuji and Prince Kyosuke fall, so much the better."

Then a loud, scary laugh erupted from the cloaked figure. "Revenge is sweet!"

* * * * *

That afternoon A-ko had a lengthy break between classes and had arranged to meet C-ko for lunch on campus. After meeting near the cafeteria and sharing a laugh about the fact that they had both brought some of C-ko's curry from their respective homes they found a large cherry tree to sit under while they caught up on the day's events.

"You won't believe it," A-ko began after taking a mouthful of food. "My English literature teacher is Miss Ayumi!"

C-ko paused in mid-bite and looked up. "Hmm? Really? So she's not teaching at the High School again?"

"I guess not," A-ko replied. "Her class is harder than before though, and I was never so good at English in High School. Another weird thing is, Mari's in my class."

This time C-ko nearly choked on her food. "Mari?!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen her in ages! I didn't know she had gone on to college..."

"Me either. Apparently the flower shop she runs is doing so well that she wants to expand the business, so she's come back to get her degree in business economics so that she can apply it to her work."

"Yeah? Good for her!" C-ko paused to take another bite. "How's your food?"

"Excellent! You know, this is the first time I've ever eaten your cooking and enjoyed it."

C-ko looked down. "Humph! You're mean, A-ko."

A-ko laughed. "But I'm right and you know it. This meal would have been perfect for Kye, you know."

C-ko smiled and looked up. "It's really a shame he couldn't stay for dinner."

A-ko nodded. "I know. How is he doing?"

"All right, I guess. I spoke with him last night, but it turns out that there's some kind of mechanical problem with one of the major systems and he's probably going to be up there for a week."

A-ko sympathized. "That's too bad. We should put together a welcome home dinner for him when he gets back."

C-ko smiled. "That would be great!" she said. "But until then my evenings are free. Want to catch a movie later?"

"Sure. Swing by my apartment about 6 or so. I should be done with my homework by then."

"Sounds like your homework is light for a change."

A-ko laughed. "Yeah, but it's only the first day. It's supposed to get a lot harder after orientation."

"A-ko!" came a breathless voice from behind her. C-ko looked up and A-ko turned around, surprised, to see a winded Miss Ayumi running up to them.

"Oh, A-ko!" Miss Ayumi said again, after reaching both girls. She noticed who A-ko was with and bowed. "I'm glad I found you. Hello C-ko. Are you attending school here as well?"

C-ko laughed. "Oh no, not me. I've had enough school for one lifetime thank you."

Miss Ayumi took a moment to catch her breath. "Is something wrong?" A-ko asked.

Her teacher looked at her, teary-eyed. "A-ko, it's like the gym all over again!"

"What?"

"It's terrible! B-ko thinks my fiancee is after her!"

Both A-ko and C-ko stood in surprise. "What???"

"And B-ko has decided to try and take him from me! I just got a phone call from my General, telling me about a meeting he had with her where she made a pass at him! It's like I'm having to fight to keep my man all over again!" Miss Ayumi sat heavily. "Am I never going to be rid of any of you?"

"Hey!" A-ko shouted. "At least I don't want your General. And C-ko has a boyfriend already."

Miss Ayumi looked up. "I'm sorry," she said, starting to sob. "It's just that the shock of running into you two, and now this... I don't want to have this fight again."

C-ko, always the empathetic one, kneeled next to her former teacher. "Is there anything we can do to help?" she asked.

Miss Ayumi reached for her old necklace, forgetting for a moment that she had shattered it on the day of her attempted marriage to Kei. Then she remembered and looked up to A-ko. "I need your help," she said.

A-ko took a step back. "My help?" she asked.

"Yes. I need a champion."

"What?" Both A-ko and C-ko asked.

"I'm no match for B-ko when it comes to this. I'm not her teacher anymore so I have no real way to intimidate her. If this comes to a real fight I'm severely outmatched. You know how she gets. Even if my General were to verbally refuse her, which he already has, she wouldn't listen. I don't have the resources to fight someone who can build mechas overnight."

C-ko looked up at A-ko, who took another step back, horrified. "You want me to fight B-ko?!" she asked.

Miss Ayumi nodded. "If necessary," she said.

"I... I... I don't know if I can promise that..." A-ko replied, looking at C-ko now. "I gave my word to C-ko that I wouldn't fight with her any more, and it's important for me to keep it."

Miss Ayumi looked at C-ko. "I need A-ko," she said. "Can you release her from your promise for this? For me?"

C-ko looked down for a moment, thinking hard. "Is there no other way?" she asked.

Miss Ayumi shook her head furiously. "None that I can see."

"This is B-ko we're talking about," A-ko added. "You know how stubborn she can be, especially when it comes to fighting for what she wants."

"You're both my friends," C-ko said. "Don't make me choose between you again!"

"C-ko, Miss Ayumi's my teacher! How will it be for me if I don't defend her?"

C-ko started to tear up. "That has to be another way..."

A-ko kneeled down next to C-ko. "If you know of one, please tell me! I don't want this either!" She looked at her teacher. "But if I must I will defend Miss Ayumi, because she asked me to."

The teacher brightened. "Really?" she said. "Thank you A-ko!" She stood and bowed.

C-ko though, for her part, sniffed as a tear ran down her right cheek. "A-ko, please, no more fighting..." she pleaded.

"I don't know any other way," A-ko said.

C-ko slowly stood, then yelled "A-ko you idiot!" and ran off.

A-ko started to chase after her, but stopped, knowing it would do no good this time. She had finally broken her promise, or at least stated her intention to break it. This would take a while to resolve. A tear came to her eye.

"I'm sorry, C-ko," she said quietly.

* * * * *

When C-ko returned home she was happily surprised to find Kye on the phone talking to her mother. She ran to her room and as soon as she was sure that her mother wasn't listening in on the other line, immediately began to cry again.

"C-ko!" Kyosuke exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"It's A-ko!" C-ko answered. "She's going to fight B-ko again!"

"I thought all of that was resolved."

"It was! But there's more..." C-ko proceeded to explain about lunch with A-ko and the sudden arrival of Miss Ayumi.

When she was done, Kye was silent for a moment. "It seems we have a few problems," he finally said. "I can sympathize with your former teacher, and the General is a friend of mine as well. But it's not our concern to get involved in their personal lives."

"It's not that simple..." C-ko said. She tried to dry her eyes.

"I know," Kye answered kindly. "But you and A-ko may have a rough time of it for a few days."

"I wish you were here," C-ko said sadly. "I feel betrayed..."

"I know, but I'm needed here." There was a pause as Kye suddenly had an idea. "I know! why don't you come up here?"

C-ko was startled. "To the space station?" she asked.

"Sure! There are shuttles back and forth all the time, and I'm sure I could get you onto one! Besides, it would be a lot of fun to get to show you everything, instead of having to baby-sit all of the mechanics up here."

C-ko brightened like a 10,000 watt bulb. "How do I get there?"

"Head down to the command center, and I'll let General Yoshida know that you're coming. We'll have all the arrangements made by the time you get there."

"Great! So I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yes you will. I'm looking forward to it!"

C-ko and Kye said their good-byes, and then C-ko hurriedly packed for a few days away from home. She told her mother she was going to spend a few days with Kye if anyone called to let them know, then sped out the door.

* * * * *

A few hours later, former General Zuma received a phone call.

"What?" he exclaimed. "That girl is heading up to the station?" He dropped the phone.

"This will require a slight change in plans..." he muttered.

* * * * *

A few minutes later, a lone figure stood in a command room. The figure was alone because every underling had just been dismissed in a pique of anger, mixed with sorrow. The cape was hanging on a hook, but the sunglasses remained. The bottle of wine was now empty, having been drained in the past few seconds.

"With her on the station things will be more complicated," came the solitary voice. "We will have to take steps...

"We will have to take steps..."

* * * * *

One more event about that day to tell you about. It involves a dinner between Hikaru Diatokuji and his secretary, Miss Hiyama. It was at a steak-house in downtown Graviton, which made surveillance by B-ko's team relatively simple. Unfortunately, because the restaurant was busy, the videotape of the dinner, while of Ina's usual quality, had some problems with the sound.

All that was clear was that a "merger" was being discussed. One of a somewhat personal nature, although the details didn't come through on the tape. However, the looks on the faces of both Diatokuji and Hiyama made it easy to reach a conclusion.

To B-ko, watching the tape in her room at home, it was obvious. "They're discussing marriage?" she shouted. "I don't believe this! Of all times, why now? And why her? She's been in this house for years!"

"We don't know for certain that's what they were discussing," Ume said from her monitor.

"Of course that's what they were discussing!" B-ko shouted. "This is my father, after all. 'Merger' is exactly how he'd put it! Just look at their eyes! They're lovers!!!" She stewed for a moment. "Keep on the surveillance, and get me more details!" She angrily hit the switch turning off her monitors.

B-ko slowly shook her head. "Father, what are you thinking?" She would need to confront her father about this, and soon.

"But first," she muttered, "to deal with my General..."

B-ko pressed a control panel and the center of the floor to her room became an elevator, which lead to her private workshop. Tonight, she would work...

* * * * *

The next morning A-ko tried to call C-ko and apologize, and got the news that C-ko had gone to join Kye up at the space station for a few days. She was a bit disappointed, but there wasn't much she could do about it so she instead went to school to study.

A-ko had arranged to study with Mari, an ordinarily surreal experience but other than when they had first met they had never really been enemies. Often as cross-purposes, yes, but not really enemies. And now they were classmates again, without any of the outside influences that they had faced when in High School. So they met at 10 in the morning under the shade of a cherry tree to compare class notes and discuss what had been gone over so far.

By 10:15 it was obvious to A-ko that Mari was much smarter than she had let on when they were together in High School. Mari had grasped all of the concepts discussed in class, and could explain them easier than Miss Ayumi did in class. It was like getting the literature without the babble Miss Ayumi used. A-ko suddenly found herself enjoying the material.

"I wish we could have studied together back at Graviton High," A-ko said. "I understand this stuff much better when I'm working with you."

Mari grunted. "We were on opposite sides then," she replied. "Now that C-ko has her Prince the cold war seems to be over." She smiled, which frightened A-ko for a second.

But A-ko quickly recovered. She had known Mari for years now, and although Mari was much bigger and an intimidating person in general, A-ko also knew that she could beat her if need be. But that hadn't happened since that first day, and A-ko also knew Mari as the woman who ran a flower shop downtown after school.

"You're such a contradiction sometimes," A-ko pointed out. "You are the most intimidating-looking woman I've ever met, and yet..."

Mari grunted again. "My skills are what they are. I've learned to accept them." She smiled again. "If others can't figure it out that's their concern."

A-ko laughed. "Works for me too," she said. "Besides, I'm one to talk huh?"

Mari grunted and nodded.

"Good morning Mari, A-ko," came a new voice.

Both girls looked up. "Hello, B-ko," A-ko said, a bit frostily. Mari just nodded. "What brings you by?"

"We need to talk," B-ko said. "Mari's given me some information that could cause some serious problems for the two of us."

A-ko took a moment to let that sink in. She looked at Mari. "You still work for her?" she asked.

Mari nodded. "Yes," she acknowledged. "I'm not spying on you, so don't worry. My assignment is our teacher. But you're involved now."

A-ko was furious. "I don't believe you two! Why can't you at least make anattempt to grow up a little?"

"A-ko, please," B-ko said gently. "I'm not here to fight with you. In fact, that's what I'm trying to avoid. Doesn't that sound just a bit more grown up than we used to be?"

A-ko let that sink in too. "All right," she finally said. "Please sit down and join us. What's on your mind?"

B-ko sat down and bowed her head gently. "I understand that Miss Ayumi has asked you to be her champion against me in the fight for General Yoshida."

"That's true."

"I don't want to fight you A-ko. We'd both lose our friendship with C-ko if we fight again. Because she has Prince Kyosuke she no longer needs either one of us. This whole matter isn't even your concern. In fact, I doubt you even have the whole story; I know that Miss Ayumi doesn't."

"What do you mean?"

B-ko took a deep breath. "I need you to keep a secret. Even Mari doesn't know about this, and she's the only person from my team working on this assignment. Miss Ayumi's General made a pass at me."

A-ko was startled. "What?"

"And we discussed it later. He's going to break off his engagement with her. It's just not politically easy for him, because they were introduced by my father. But their relationship is effectively over."

A-ko was silent for a moment. "I see," she finally whispered. "I got into a fight with C-ko for nothing?" she muttered.

"The decision belongs to the General?" Mari asked. "Forgive me Miss B-ko, but that doesn't sound like you."

B-ko shot a stern glare towards Mari. "I didn't have to do anything," B-ko said. "General Yoshida made the first move, and I've gone along with it."

"Mari's right," A-ko said. "That doesn't sound like you; at least the you I'm used to."

B-ko frowned, then laughed. "How well do you think you really know me?" she asked. "Our entire relationship has been based upon competition. And since we aren't classmates anymore we've developed into people neither one of us would have suspected. I hear that you want to be a journalist, for example."

A-ko beamed with pride. "Following in my dad's footsteps."

"And I'm doing the same," B-ko pointed out. "The General and I work together every day. It's shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that a relationship has developed."

A-ko looked down for a moment, considering. "I guess what it comes down to for me is that I have trouble trusting your word," A-ko finally said. "We've fought so often over so many different things that it's very difficult for me to believe you."

"Is this worth losing C-ko over?" B-ko asked.

A-ko shook her head. "No," she replied. "But I gave Miss Ayumi my word, and that means something to me as well."

"Even if that word defies a promise you made to C-ko?"

A-ko didn't say anything.

"You honestly don't know what to do, do you?" B-ko asked.

A-ko looked up, but still didn't say a word. But in all fairness, she wasn't really focused on B-ko after a moment. She was focused on a couple walking about 30 meters away, arm in arm. It was Miss Ayumi and General Yoshida. Miss Ayumi said something to her General, and he in turn brought her closer. Miss Ayumi leaned her head on Yoshida's shoulder.

"I think you're lying," A-ko said.

B-ko stood up, outraged. "What?"

"Or at least gravely mistaken." A-ko looked over to Mari, who had spotted the couple as well. Mari just grunted.

"What is that supposed to mean?" B-ko asked.

A-ko could barely contain the giggles just below the surface. "Just turn around," she said.

B-ko stood still for a moment, then slowly turned her head and body until she faced Miss Ayumi and the General. They were kissing.

B-ko's eyes went wide with shock. "This can't be!" she said. "Yoshida and I talked about this!" She took a step forward, then ran towards the couple, yelling "Noooo!"

A-ko and Mari stood. "I'd better go," A-ko said. "This could be ugly." Mari nodded an acknowledgment and A-ko ran to join the others.

She made it just as B-ko was yelling "I thought we had this worked out!"

Both the General and Miss Ayumi had taken a few steps back. "You never let me say so much as a word," General Yoshida said. "You have a tendency to run your ideas through anything in your way."

"Miss Diatokuji," Miss Ayumi added. "You have simply jumped to an incorrect conclusion, a habit you had in High School as well. General Yoshida is mine, and don't you forget it."

B-ko narrowed her eyes, as if to bore a hole in her former teacher. "Wrong," she stated flatly. "He's mine."

A-ko stepped between B-ko and Miss Ayumi. "I think we've had enough for today, B-ko," she said.

"Stay out of this!"

A-ko shook her head. "I can't and you know that." She assumed a fighting stance. "Is this what it will come down to?"

B-ko took a step back, then another. "So be it!" she seethed. "If you want to be her champion that's your business. But the General is mine!"

"He's mine!" shouted Miss Ayumi.

B-ko took one final step back, glaring at Miss Ayumi. Then she faced A-ko and bowed. "Then DIE!" she yelled, ripping her outfit away, revealing her body armor suit.

A-ko almost laughed. She hadn't seen B-ko's power suit in a while, and only once since High School. "Ain't it cold in that?" she asked, repeating the same line she used when she had first seen it.

B-ko smiled an evil smile. "It's been improved," she said. "Come on!"

A-ko bowed, then charged. B-ko did the same. The collision shook the ground.

* * * * *

Hate to take you away from the action, but I'm going to move us to elsewhere in the story.

C-ko and Kye were sitting down to an early lunch at about the same time that A-ko and B-ko had begun their fight. It was kitchen rations from the station's mess hall, but it was better than nothing, and neither Kye nor C-ko seemed to mind. Kye was used to it, and for C-ko this whole thing was turning into quite an exciting adventure.

Upon her arrival Kye had given C-ko a complete tour of the facilities, including the landing bays and the ongoing construction. C-ko mostly watched in wonder as she saw the amazing amount of work done under Kye's direction. Then Kye made certain that C-ko had comfortable quarters she could stay in while he did his work, and they hadn't seen each other again until this moment.

Kye looked tired, and C-ko said so. "Are you getting enough rest?" she asked between mouthfuls of food.

Kye laughed quietly. "Not enough, really," he said.

"That's terrible!"

"Oh, it's not so bad. The project will be finished in another month and then I can take as much time off as I wish. Besides, you're here now, so why would I want to rest?"

C-ko blushed. "You are the sweetest man," she said. "Thank you for this."

"No problem. It seemed the best solution to your problems. By the way, those should be sorted out before the day is out."

C-ko stopped eating. "Hmm?"

"I placed a phone call to the General, and it turns out that he was already aware of the problem and is taking steps to resolve it. If he acts fast enough there will be no fight between A-ko and B-ko for you to worry about."

C-ko brightened. "Really? That would be great!"

"Yes, if the General can act in time. It might be close, but either way it should all be resolved by the end of the day. Then perhaps we can both return to Graviton City."

C-ko smiled. "You mean that?"

"Of course I do. The crisis up here is over, so I can take a couple of days off."

C-ko jumped up in the air. "Yahoo!"

At that precise moment everything shook, with a distant rumble following. C-ko landed awkwardly from her jump, and stumbled. "What was that?" she asked.

Kye was looking up. "It felt like a missile," he said. "This is not good."

Just then there was an announcement over the station speakers. "Prince Kyosuke please report to the command center at once. Prince Kyosuke..."

Kye jumped to his feet and ran to an intercom station. "What's going on?"

"We're under attack!" came the reply.

"Call Graviton Military headquarters and let them know the situation! I'm on my way!" he shouted. He turned to C-ko. "We may have a problem. Want to come with me?" He held out his hand.

C-ko summoned up her courage and ran to him. "As long as can stay with you," she said.

"That's what I had in mind. Let's go!"

* * * * *

Okay, now for what you've been waiting for... back to the fight!

"Akagiyama missiles!" B-ko screamed, pointing her right arm at A-ko. She launched five missiles at A-ko, who jumped high into the air to avoid being struck. All five missiles struck the building behind her, exploding mightily.

"Five?" A-ko asked, surprised, aiming a viscous kick for B-ko's head. B-ko raised her left arm and deflected the kick. A-ko back-flipped and landed a few meters away.

"I told you the suit's been improved," B-ko said. "It holds more weaponry, and after that incident where we nearly lost C-ko I added speed to the flight segments. Here, I'll show you!" B-ko launched herself at A-ko, landing a solid body blow in A-ko's ribs. A-ko countered by allowing herself to fall back, then sending B-ko flying over her. This time B-ko landed a few meters away.

"Still playing with your toys I see," A-ko yelled. "You never learn, so you? I've improved a bit since high school myself!" With that A-ko launched herself at B-ko, grabbing her around the torso and flying towards the Physics building. (Author's note: if you haven't read "School's Out" yet, do so now! Spoilers follow - consider yourself warned!)

"Hey!" B-ko said, trying to pry herself from A-ko's grip. "That tickles! Let go!"

"All right then!" A-ko released B-ko and swerved away to fly perpendicular to the building. B-ko, on the other hand, slammed through the wall and interrupted an important lecture on particle physics. A student named Aoyama had his life changed by this incident; using B-ko's crash through the wall as inspiration for a lemon tart that could feed the world, but that's a story for another time. B-ko crawled out the hole in the wall and looked at A-ko.

"Nobody told me you can fly!" she stammered.

"I guess you didn't do your homework," A-ko shot back. (Okay, so I stole a couple of lines from Urusei Yatsura - this is parody, after all - at least I don't have A-ko in Lum's tiger bikini.)

Watching all of this from the side were General Yoshida, Miss Ayumi and Mari. Miss Ayumi and the General would occasionally cheer on A-ko, while Mari had silently unpacked her lunch and was wolfing it down.

"They haven't changed since high school," Miss Ayumi said.

"Umm," Mari grunted between mouthfuls of food. The ground shook again as A-ko and B-ko collided. The three spectators all ducked as another round of missiles flew overhead, slamming into the chemistry building and creating an explosion louder than expected.

But not loud enough to drown out Yoshida's wrist phone. He glanced down and hit the respond button. "Yoshida!" he shouted so as to be heard. He listened for a moment, then yelled "On my way!"

Both Mari and Miss Ayumi looked at him. "Now?" Miss Ayumi asked.

"L7 is under attack," he said. "I have to go." He looked at the battle before him, then extended his hand to his fiancee. "Come with me."

Miss Ayumi smiled and took his hand. With a final glance back, they left without another word.

Mari, for her part, waited until Yoshida and Ayumi were out of sight and then stood up. In her loudest voice she yelled, "They're gone!"

A-ko and B-ko both stopped and looked at Mari. "What do you mean gone?" B-ko asked.

"The space station is under attack, so the general was called back."

"What?" both A-ko and B-ko shouted.

"I'll be called back too," B-ko said. "We can continue this later, A-ko."

"Wait, Damn it!" A-ko shouted. "C-ko's up there!"

Both B-ko and Mari turned to her, silent.

"She went to the space station to be with Kye after our argument."

"This changes things," B-ko said. "We need to get up there and help her."

"Agreed," A-ko replied. "Truce?"

B-ko nodded. "Truce." she turned to Mari. "Call the squad together! I want the Max-5000 Mark III here and ready to go in 10 minutes!"

Mari smiled. "Yes miss," she said.

* * * * *

"Status report!" Prince Kyosuke yelled.

The bridge was a mess, no denying it. There was exposed wiring, people scrambling to their stations, debris falling, and an annoying horizontal line running through the viewscreen that dominated the far wall. But this was normal, as the space station wasn't completed yet. The main problem was that the first salvo of the attack had created an intermittent short, which in turn caused the annoying horizontal line in the monitor. Kye paced from station to station, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. C-ko, for her part, sat at a console at the upper tier of the bridge, looking at the ship fly towards the station.

"We're getting our ass kicked!" came a shout from the tactical station. "We've got no weapons in place to defend ourselves with. And ground forces are still 10 minutes away!"

Kye nodded. "In other words, we're sitting ducks while they take their shots. Why haven't they finished us off?"

"Sir?"

Kye bent down to the tactical screen. "We're defenseless. They could destroy the station with just a few well-placed shots, and I imagine they know it. So why haven't they?"

The officer frowned. "They plan to take the station?" he asked.

Kye almost smiled. "Go to the head of the class," he said. "What have we got for internal defenses?"

The officer nearly choked on his response. "A few officers, and a lot of construction workers. Nearly nothing."

"Damn!" Kye took another look at the enemy positions on his tactical officer's screens. "Am I imagining things or are there two attack groups?"

The tactical officer took another look. "You're right!" he exclaimed. "There are definitely two attack patterns here!"

Kye stood up, looking his full regal self. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage..." He looked up at the monitor. "And would someone please kick that damned thing and see if we can't get rid of that line?"

* * * * *

"What?" Zuma exclaimed.

His adjutant bowed and repeated his observation. "There's a second attack group! No question about it!"

"What are they doing there?" the former General exclaimed. He wiped his brow. "We don't need this!" He pointed angrily at a large woman standing guard by a security door. "Don't just stand there, you idiot! Tell the Captain! This could change everything!"

* * * * *

A scant few seconds later a tall figure in a cape received the news about the other attack group. "I don't believe this! How is this possible!" There was a crash as a bottle of wine, half-full, fell to the ground and shattered, splashing the caped figure's pants.

"I'm coming to the control room myself!"

* * * * *

From the ground, Yoshida and Hikaru Diatokuji were watching the battle; Yoshida with growing rage, Diatokuji with growing embarrassment.

"What do you mean a flaw?" Yoshida was yelling at Diatokuji.

"We've only just discovered it ourselves," the chairman of Diatokuji Industries said, apologizing again. "It seems that my daughter's design for the Cherry Blossom Mark IV didn't take into account high-frequency weapons and the ambient light of the Earth. Your pilots are going to have difficulty pinpointing their targets because of that."

"Why?"

"They're going to be partially blinded by the combination of light and laser waves! You need to recall those men and get other types of ships up there. Those ships are going to be useless until the station is out of Earth's daylight hours."

"Shit! That's two hours from now!" Yoshida looked down, then back at Diatokuji. "Most of the rest of our fleet is currently being retrofitted, because we had these ships brought on line after the successful test of the other night." He looked around the room. "What do we have by the way of assets?"

"Sir, we're screwed!" came a reply from a tactical station.

Both Yoshida and Diatokuji covered their eyes with their hands.

"What about the other issue?" Diatokuji asked in a quiet voice.

Yoshida removed his hands and looked slyly at Diatokuji. "Already settled," he said. "Let's figure a way out of this mess, or we're both in deep trouble..."

* * * * *

The battle wasn't going well. Kye had been unable to turn the two attack groups against each other, as one was interested in the station and the other seemed to be setting up a perimeter, as if waiting for something else.

Kye knew that the group attacking the station would probably try to establish a hold in the landing bay, and had sent every available person to dig in for a pitched battle. Kye himself remained on the bridge, with C-ko and a few tactical officers to try to coordinate things. But the second group of attackers worried him. Why were they even here? They had taken a few pot-shots at the station but now were detached from the battle.

Kye didn't have to wait long. He noticed on the monitor that the ground forces had arrived. "Here they come!" Kye yelled. "Brace yourselves for collateral damage!"

The second group of attackers went after the ground forces immediately, attacking with high-frequency lasers.

At just that moment, the communications officer called out for Kye, saying that Yoshida was on the link. Kye took the receiver and listened for a moment, then dropped it.

"This isn't good," Kye said.

"What's wrong?" C-ko asked, now more than a little worried.

"Yoshida has sent the Cherry Blossom Mark IVs to defend the station. Ordinarily a good choice, but it's still daylight."

"I thought it's always night in space!"

"Sort of, but right now we're over daylight on Earth, and because of that we get a lot of reflected light from the surface. Combined with a high-frequency beam it makes the defenses of the Mark IV virtually useless. They'll be eaten alive!"

* * * * *

The Cherry Blossom Mark IVs were fighting for their lives. Squad Skuld was the best group of pilots in the Graviton Defense Forces, but they were working almost blind. They had suffered losses of 20% in the first minute, before they could start to adapt. The commander of the force was barking commands like crazy to his men when a voice broke over the intercom, yelling "Get out of the way!"

The commander veered hard to starboard before even giving the order any thought. He had recognized the voice the B-ko Diatokuji from the many lectures he had attended on the Cherry Blossom Mark IVs. "Miss Diatokuji!" he yelled. "We're getting creamed up here! There's a flaw in the design! This fighter is useless in daylight!"

"Never mind that now! We're going to buy you some time!" B-ko called back.

"Uh.... forgive me for asking, but where are you?"

"Look right!"

The commander did so, and his jaw dropped. It was perhaps the largest mecha he had ever seen. "That's you?" he asked.

"That's right, now shut up and let me save C-ko!"

* * * * *

The appearance of the Max 5000 Mark II on the radar screens of the attackers sent most of them into a blind panic. It was much like the design of the Original Max 5000, "The Blue God of Death", that B-ko had once sent against A-ko when they were in high school, but much improved, and considerably bigger. It now held six, with room for more, whereas the original could barely hold one.

There were six currently inside. A-ko, B-ko, and B-ko's four hench-girls, with Mari at tactical, Ume at the pilot's seat, Asa at weapons, and Ina at communications.

"How long until we're there?" A-ko asked.

"We're almost there now. There's a fierce battle going on out there, so we may face resistance."

"There are two attack groups," Mari said. "One is attacking the ships, while the other is trying to establish a landing on the station."

"Right," B-ko said. "Asa! Pick your targets and fire at will! Ume, find us a way to land at the station! Ina, try to contact Prince Kyosuke and C-ko. Find out if they're all right!"

Asa fired her first shots, destroying three enemy ships.

* * * * *

On the ground, Zuma shot out of his seat in alarm. "What was that?"

* * * * *

In another room close by, a caped figure also stood up in alarm. "What the hell is that?"

* * * * *

Back in the control room for space station L7, C-ko jumped for joy, yelling "Yahoo!"

Kye looked over at her. "What?" he asked. "I don't see how things have gotten any better.."

"That's A-ko and B-ko!" she said, pointing at the Max 5000 Mark II on the screen, which was targeting ships from both attack groups. C-ko looked at Kye happily. "They're not fighting each other anymore!"

Kye smiled, then jumped for joy himself. He ran to the communications station. "Find me a way to talk to that mecha!" he said. "We just got some help!"

* * * * *

It became obvious to B-ko quickly that there were two attack groups. Her team not only had the problem of defeating the ships attacking Skuld squadron, but also defending both the squadron and the station. The Max 5000 Mark II, despite it's obvious prowess in battle, could not be in two places at once.

"A-ko!" she called out.

"Yeah?" A-ko asked. A-ko was sitting at the communications station, waiting for some word from inside that C-ko and Kye were all right.

"There's an attack group at the landing bay of the space station. We need some hand-to-hand combat in there. Why don't I drop you off there and you take care of it while I deal with these ships?"

"What about C-ko?"

B-ko turned to Mari. "Can you find her while we deal with the rest?"

Mari nodded with a grunt.

At that moment, the communications station sprung to life. "What do I do? What do I do?" A-ko asked quickly. "I haven't worked your toys before!"

B-ko scowled but said, "The green switch means talk, the red one means listen. Talk first."

A-ko nodded. "Right. This is A-ko!"

"Well hello there," Prince Kyosuke's voice came over the speakers. "I guess C-ko was right."

"Where's C-ko!"

"She's with me on the bridge." A small feminine voice came from the background, yelling "Hi A-ko!"

"B-ko thinks there's two attack groups..." A-ko started.

"We know," Kye replied. "Do you have anything that can handle ground troops? They've breached the landing bay!"

"I'm on it! B-ko will take the ships, I'll take the ground troops!"

"Sounds good. Let's all meet on the bridge when this is all over, shall we? You too, B-ko!"

B-ko leaned into the communications station. "You have a deal! Out!"

B-ko looked at A-ko. "Not bad for your first try at the toy," she said with a sneer.

A-ko looked down, abashed. "Sorry," she said. "I'm not used to these things actually working."

"They have all worked just fine!" B-ko said proudly. Then she broke into an embarrassed laugh. "Except against you. You and Mari ready? The drop off will be fast."

A-ko nodded, and joined Mari, who was by an external hatch.

B-ko started a countdown. "Five, four, three, two, one!" The external hatch opened and both A-ko and Mari jumped, landing hard a few seconds later in the landing bay.

A-ko took a quick look around and spotted a perimeter of invaders about 20 meters ahead. "Follow me!" she yelled.

(Er, a note from the author at this point. Yes, I know they should be in vacuum and blood should be boiling. However, didn't you notice that A-ko and B-ko both can withstand vacuum, which they do in movie 4? And besides, you have to expect that Mari could withstand it. Now return to the story already in progress.)

The invaders never even saw it coming. One moment A-ko was running towards them and the next the invaders were tossed around like so many bowling pins. Complete with sound.

At the other end of the landing bay were obvious signs of a fire-fight, which had moved down the corridors. "Mari!" A-ko shouted. "Head for the bridge and help C-ko! I'll hunt down the rest of the invaders!"

Mari smiled and rushed off, while A-ko set a look of determination on her face. "I'm missing journalism class for this! Now I'm really mad!"

* * * * *

B-ko, in the meanwhile, had turned all of her energies onto the invaders attacking her precious squadron. The Max 5000 Mark II was starting to take some hits though, and she didn't think her mecha would be able to last long enough for nightfall to arrive and squad Skuld to be able to take over.

"As much as it galls me to admit it," B-ko said to her squad, "we need to play an evasive game for a while. Ume, can you make them follow us? We need another 30 minutes before Skuld can re-join the fight!"

"Yes Miss!" Ume barked back.

"Then do it!"

* * * * *

Back in Graviton City, a caped figure had just heard from the troops on the station, who were now taking heavy losses thanks to a young red-haired woman.

"Not again!" the caped one shouted. "Why does that girl continually interfere in my life!" The wine bottle was quickly drained and flung against a far wall, where it bounced instead of shattering. It hit a non-commissioned officer, who was knocked out by the blow.

"That space station is an insult to everything I am!" A hand pointed to an officer by the door. "You! Get my ship ready! I'm going to handle this myself!"

"Yes!" the officer replied, hurriedly running out the door.

At the door suddenly appeared two scantilly-clad women, a redhead and a brunette. Both were heavily armed.

"Hi!" said the redhead with a bubbly smile. "I'm Kei, she's Yuri! Your drug-running days are over! On the floor!"

The caped figure covered the sunglasses and shook his head. "You want the office downstairs," came a small mutter. "The drug people are in Office 1031B. This is 1131B."

The brunette punched the redhead in the arm. "I told you so!" she shouted. She looked back at the caped figure. "Sorry about that." Without another word, they disappeared.

The caped figure shook visibly. "I need to find a new base of operations..."

* * * * *

A-ko methodically went from deck to deck, taking out of the action any invaders she could find. After nearly 45 minutes she finally found the defending troops, near the bridge.

"You guys had fallen back this far?" she asked.

The leader of the rag-tag team stepped forward. "You must be A-ko," he said. "You fought your way all the way up here?"

"Yeah. They weren't much to brag about, to be honest. I doubt there's any of them left if I've made it this far. Where's C-ko?"

"Er, on the bridge, just up there."

"Did a very large woman come through here earlier?"

The trooper nodded. "None of us could stop her!" he said. "She claimed to be a friend of the princess..."

A-ko smiled. "She is," she said. "Now let me through!"

* * * * *

B-ko and her team had run out of ideas when a war-whoop came through the communications system. "Miss Daitokuji came the excited voice of the leader of Squad Skuld. "You've done it! The sun has gone beyond the horizon! Now it's our turn!"