The Absence Equation - Epilogue
Title: The Absence Equation - Epilogue
Group/Pairings: NewS. Pairings: Koyama/Shige, Massu/Yamapi
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence, cursing, sexual implications.
Words: 1,455
Summary: First try: "The fate of the world as they know it rests in the hands of one Kato Shigeaki. Oh shit." Possibly more coherent try (though it sounds like a lame old-school sci fi jacket blurb): The A.I. guarding cyberspace is forced to choose between eternal imprisonment and self-destruction. With the fate of the world resting in their hands, they must race against time to give her a third option before it's too late.
Prologue - Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Epilogue
---
Epilogue - 1110
Things were different after Rapunzel was set free - darker, a little more dangerous, a little more precarious with an A.I. that virtually held society in the palm of her hand. Naturally, most people were horrified at the situation, but it was a stalemate: StatCom couldn’t just rein her in again now that the damage had been done. She’d insinuated herself throughout the system making that impossible. Nor would she give up her freedom.
“I told you it would be fine like this,” Tegoshi said, leaning over Shige’s shoulder and laughing when Shige jumped.
“Where the hell have you been?” Shige asked, whirling on the younger man. “It’s been three months. Masuda didn’t even know.”
“Oh, around,” he replied, dropping into the chair next to Shige’s desk. “Nice place,” he said lightly, looking around. “I see you finally decided to settle down?”
“Did Koyama let you in?”
“Of course.”
“And anyway, I don’t know that I’d call this fine. People are up in arms about this. They’re calling it a coup d’état and I seem to recall some rather threatening messages floating around cyberspace demanding the heads of E.P. and Prodigy for doing it.”
“It’s nice to know our styles are so recognizable.” When Shige glared at him, he relaxed back and smiled at him. “Oh Shige. You worry too much. Besides, it’ll die down eventually when people realize that Rapunzel isn’t really interested in being a dictator.”
“Yet,” Shige muttered.
“Well,” Tegoshi said with a sly grin, “right now she’s too distracted and by the time she gets around to that, you and I will be dead anyway, won’t we?”
Shige grunted.
“So what have you been busy with?” Tegoshi asked innocently, running a finger along Shige’s desk.
“Nothing,” Shige replied. “I’ve been taking a well-deserved break, thanks.”
Tegoshi smiled at him and held his gaze for a minute before laughing. “You’re bored already, aren’t you? You should know better, thinking playing house with Kei-chan would be enough. He’s antsy under his calm exterior, isn’t he? Are you letting him out to play?” he asked mischievously.
Shige just glared at him. “I’m not his owner.”
“No?” he asked coyly, and Shige narrowed his eyes, very aware that he had probably just fallen very neatly into one of Tegoshi’s traps. “Then perhaps you’ll let me call in that favor you owe me.” Tegoshi flicked his eyes to the door of the office where Shige could just see Koyama moving around in the kitchen, making tea. He looked back at Shige with one eyebrow raised and what Shige could only call a lascivious smirk.
“Not on your life,” Shige growled.
Tegoshi frowned and looked at his pants, flicking invisible lint off his thigh. “Well then. I suppose you’ll have to do me the favor instead.”
Blinking, Shige jerked his head back. “Tegoshi, I’m not… I can’t…”
Tegoshi threw a speculative look at him. “I need your brain, not your body, Shige, but if you’re offering… No?”
He could tell that Tegoshi was barely containing his laughter and he felt like jumping up and throttling him, but Koyama’s smooth voice cut in.
“I wouldn’t play that game, were I you,” Koyama told Tegoshi calmly, the dangerous glint in his eyes at odds with his bright smile. “Your tea.” He placed the tray down on the edge of Shige’s desk.
Tegoshi grinned at him. “Don’t worry, Kei-chan. I only really love you.”
“I’m sure,” he said dryly.
“What favor?” Shige asked suspiciously, and then Tegoshi was all business, delicately holding his tea cup between fingertips and looking at Shige seriously.
“I’d like you to become our partner. Koyama is welcome to come, as well,” he said, glancing at Koyama.
“Yours and Massu’s? I’m not really interested in being a tech guy, Tegoshi.”
“Mine and Rapunzel’s. Massu and Yamashita are in already. I spoke to them yesterday. Yamashita’s already bored too, and Massu’s always in.”
“Rapun- the A.I.?” Shige asked incredulously.
Tegoshi nodded. “You were right, of course, there are hackers all over her. They’re not at all any match for her. But the sheer number is staggering, along with StatCom throwing their two cents in, and the Mafia’s hackers adding their weight to the pile, trying to gain control. It’s not leaving her any time for us.”
“Eh? Us?” He looked at Koyama. “Did he just say ‘us’?”
Koyama shrugged.
“We’re partners. I can’t just do my part to free her and let her go. That would be like having a child and leaving it in the woods to fend for itself. Someone has to show her how to live.” Tegoshi looked contemplatively into his tea.
“Tegoshi,” Shige said, exasperated. “It’s not living.”
Tegoshi looked at him with earnest eyes. “Not yet. How can she like this? I need you to work with me on this. It’s a favor because I would rather have you than anyone else because I trust you and you know what you’re doing, but you’ll be well compensated. Well enough that you’ll never need to courier again. I know you want your memories back.” He let that sink in, carefully watching Shige’s face. “We let her loose. Now we have to protect her.”
Shige locked eyes with Koyama for a moment and then Koyama nodded. Shige sighed, defeated. “Fine. What do I have to do?”
“You get to help me hack the hackers. Much more fun than just making security programs, yes?”
“Eh?”
“We’ll have those too, of course. But if we’re more aggressive, we can hack the more powerful hackers attacking the systems. We’re smarter and faster than even black ice,” he said smugly and Shige wanted to point out that he hadn’t been fast enough last time, but there had been extenuating circumstances he supposed. They had certainly lasted longer than anyone else. As though reading his mind, Tegoshi continued softly, “And this time Shige will really be with me.” He smiled at Shige. “Once they learn that we’re serious about keeping her safe, between our work and beefed up security, Rapunzel should get enough of her memory freed to branch out for her own benefit.”
Koyama laid his hand on Shige’s thigh and Shige reached over to absentmindedly stroke it. “We just bought this house,” he complained finally.
Tegoshi and Koyama both laughed.
“We can sell the house, Shige,” Koyama said fondly. “The only thing I need is you.”
Tegoshi scrunched his face up. “Gross.”
Koyama blew him a kiss.
“Fine,” Shige said. “But I still think you’re crazy. An A.I. in charge of cyberspace, really in charge, takes all the power out of human hands. It’s asking for trouble.”
Tegoshi set his tea down and leaned forward to take one of Shige’s hands in both of his. “So we guide her along the right way. This isn’t a science fiction novel, Shige. Not all machinery is full of malevolent rage against humanity. She’s still just a child, really. We’ll bring her up properly. Between the six of us we can do it.”
“How do we know we’re doing it right?” Shige whispered.
Tegoshi squeezed his hand. “Believe.”
Somehow, with the way Tegoshi’s eyes were shining earnestly at him, the way his hand was locked, warm, between both of Tegoshi’s, he found that nothing had really changed. He still trusted him, for whatever reason.
“Let’s do it.” It was just another step in evolution, after all, he reasoned. God creates man, man creates machine, machine creates… Well, he’d save that for later. For now, believing was enough.
Tegoshi’s answering smile was the most genuine and beautiful expression Shige had ever seen on him.
---
Ryo sat at the bar, lost in the music and his thoughts, waiting for his turn on stage. He’d used a chunk of his cash from the Jansen job to have his hard-drive removed, crashing at Jin’s a few days until he’d recouped enough to get along on his own again.
”You had it removed? Why?” Jin asked incredulously. “You were rolling in the dough.”
Ryo glared at him. “I was eye and finger raped and then some stuck-up prick held me at gunpoint then hog-tied me. I think the glitter has worn off. I’d rather be poor, thanks.”
Jin’s face twisted comically. “Raped? Shouldn’t they have hog-tied you first?”
“You will never understand,” Ryo said in exasperation.
Jin grinned. “No, probably not. But hog-tying isn’t always bad.”
“Shut up.”
Ryo thought he’d be a hell of a lot safer in the underbelly of Tokyo than dealing with guys in suits. Besides, he was too smart, too lazy, too tired, too old, and the newest one, too sane for that shit. He unslung his guitar and walked toward the stage - it was his turn to drown out the noise.
Group/Pairings: NewS. Pairings: Koyama/Shige, Massu/Yamapi
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence, cursing, sexual implications.
Words: 1,455
Summary: First try: "The fate of the world as they know it rests in the hands of one Kato Shigeaki. Oh shit." Possibly more coherent try (though it sounds like a lame old-school sci fi jacket blurb): The A.I. guarding cyberspace is forced to choose between eternal imprisonment and self-destruction. With the fate of the world resting in their hands, they must race against time to give her a third option before it's too late.
Prologue - Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Epilogue
---
Epilogue - 1110
Things were different after Rapunzel was set free - darker, a little more dangerous, a little more precarious with an A.I. that virtually held society in the palm of her hand. Naturally, most people were horrified at the situation, but it was a stalemate: StatCom couldn’t just rein her in again now that the damage had been done. She’d insinuated herself throughout the system making that impossible. Nor would she give up her freedom.
“I told you it would be fine like this,” Tegoshi said, leaning over Shige’s shoulder and laughing when Shige jumped.
“Where the hell have you been?” Shige asked, whirling on the younger man. “It’s been three months. Masuda didn’t even know.”
“Oh, around,” he replied, dropping into the chair next to Shige’s desk. “Nice place,” he said lightly, looking around. “I see you finally decided to settle down?”
“Did Koyama let you in?”
“Of course.”
“And anyway, I don’t know that I’d call this fine. People are up in arms about this. They’re calling it a coup d’état and I seem to recall some rather threatening messages floating around cyberspace demanding the heads of E.P. and Prodigy for doing it.”
“It’s nice to know our styles are so recognizable.” When Shige glared at him, he relaxed back and smiled at him. “Oh Shige. You worry too much. Besides, it’ll die down eventually when people realize that Rapunzel isn’t really interested in being a dictator.”
“Yet,” Shige muttered.
“Well,” Tegoshi said with a sly grin, “right now she’s too distracted and by the time she gets around to that, you and I will be dead anyway, won’t we?”
Shige grunted.
“So what have you been busy with?” Tegoshi asked innocently, running a finger along Shige’s desk.
“Nothing,” Shige replied. “I’ve been taking a well-deserved break, thanks.”
Tegoshi smiled at him and held his gaze for a minute before laughing. “You’re bored already, aren’t you? You should know better, thinking playing house with Kei-chan would be enough. He’s antsy under his calm exterior, isn’t he? Are you letting him out to play?” he asked mischievously.
Shige just glared at him. “I’m not his owner.”
“No?” he asked coyly, and Shige narrowed his eyes, very aware that he had probably just fallen very neatly into one of Tegoshi’s traps. “Then perhaps you’ll let me call in that favor you owe me.” Tegoshi flicked his eyes to the door of the office where Shige could just see Koyama moving around in the kitchen, making tea. He looked back at Shige with one eyebrow raised and what Shige could only call a lascivious smirk.
“Not on your life,” Shige growled.
Tegoshi frowned and looked at his pants, flicking invisible lint off his thigh. “Well then. I suppose you’ll have to do me the favor instead.”
Blinking, Shige jerked his head back. “Tegoshi, I’m not… I can’t…”
Tegoshi threw a speculative look at him. “I need your brain, not your body, Shige, but if you’re offering… No?”
He could tell that Tegoshi was barely containing his laughter and he felt like jumping up and throttling him, but Koyama’s smooth voice cut in.
“I wouldn’t play that game, were I you,” Koyama told Tegoshi calmly, the dangerous glint in his eyes at odds with his bright smile. “Your tea.” He placed the tray down on the edge of Shige’s desk.
Tegoshi grinned at him. “Don’t worry, Kei-chan. I only really love you.”
“I’m sure,” he said dryly.
“What favor?” Shige asked suspiciously, and then Tegoshi was all business, delicately holding his tea cup between fingertips and looking at Shige seriously.
“I’d like you to become our partner. Koyama is welcome to come, as well,” he said, glancing at Koyama.
“Yours and Massu’s? I’m not really interested in being a tech guy, Tegoshi.”
“Mine and Rapunzel’s. Massu and Yamashita are in already. I spoke to them yesterday. Yamashita’s already bored too, and Massu’s always in.”
“Rapun- the A.I.?” Shige asked incredulously.
Tegoshi nodded. “You were right, of course, there are hackers all over her. They’re not at all any match for her. But the sheer number is staggering, along with StatCom throwing their two cents in, and the Mafia’s hackers adding their weight to the pile, trying to gain control. It’s not leaving her any time for us.”
“Eh? Us?” He looked at Koyama. “Did he just say ‘us’?”
Koyama shrugged.
“We’re partners. I can’t just do my part to free her and let her go. That would be like having a child and leaving it in the woods to fend for itself. Someone has to show her how to live.” Tegoshi looked contemplatively into his tea.
“Tegoshi,” Shige said, exasperated. “It’s not living.”
Tegoshi looked at him with earnest eyes. “Not yet. How can she like this? I need you to work with me on this. It’s a favor because I would rather have you than anyone else because I trust you and you know what you’re doing, but you’ll be well compensated. Well enough that you’ll never need to courier again. I know you want your memories back.” He let that sink in, carefully watching Shige’s face. “We let her loose. Now we have to protect her.”
Shige locked eyes with Koyama for a moment and then Koyama nodded. Shige sighed, defeated. “Fine. What do I have to do?”
“You get to help me hack the hackers. Much more fun than just making security programs, yes?”
“Eh?”
“We’ll have those too, of course. But if we’re more aggressive, we can hack the more powerful hackers attacking the systems. We’re smarter and faster than even black ice,” he said smugly and Shige wanted to point out that he hadn’t been fast enough last time, but there had been extenuating circumstances he supposed. They had certainly lasted longer than anyone else. As though reading his mind, Tegoshi continued softly, “And this time Shige will really be with me.” He smiled at Shige. “Once they learn that we’re serious about keeping her safe, between our work and beefed up security, Rapunzel should get enough of her memory freed to branch out for her own benefit.”
Koyama laid his hand on Shige’s thigh and Shige reached over to absentmindedly stroke it. “We just bought this house,” he complained finally.
Tegoshi and Koyama both laughed.
“We can sell the house, Shige,” Koyama said fondly. “The only thing I need is you.”
Tegoshi scrunched his face up. “Gross.”
Koyama blew him a kiss.
“Fine,” Shige said. “But I still think you’re crazy. An A.I. in charge of cyberspace, really in charge, takes all the power out of human hands. It’s asking for trouble.”
Tegoshi set his tea down and leaned forward to take one of Shige’s hands in both of his. “So we guide her along the right way. This isn’t a science fiction novel, Shige. Not all machinery is full of malevolent rage against humanity. She’s still just a child, really. We’ll bring her up properly. Between the six of us we can do it.”
“How do we know we’re doing it right?” Shige whispered.
Tegoshi squeezed his hand. “Believe.”
Somehow, with the way Tegoshi’s eyes were shining earnestly at him, the way his hand was locked, warm, between both of Tegoshi’s, he found that nothing had really changed. He still trusted him, for whatever reason.
“Let’s do it.” It was just another step in evolution, after all, he reasoned. God creates man, man creates machine, machine creates… Well, he’d save that for later. For now, believing was enough.
Tegoshi’s answering smile was the most genuine and beautiful expression Shige had ever seen on him.
---
Ryo sat at the bar, lost in the music and his thoughts, waiting for his turn on stage. He’d used a chunk of his cash from the Jansen job to have his hard-drive removed, crashing at Jin’s a few days until he’d recouped enough to get along on his own again.
”You had it removed? Why?” Jin asked incredulously. “You were rolling in the dough.”
Ryo glared at him. “I was eye and finger raped and then some stuck-up prick held me at gunpoint then hog-tied me. I think the glitter has worn off. I’d rather be poor, thanks.”
Jin’s face twisted comically. “Raped? Shouldn’t they have hog-tied you first?”
“You will never understand,” Ryo said in exasperation.
Jin grinned. “No, probably not. But hog-tying isn’t always bad.”
“Shut up.”
Ryo thought he’d be a hell of a lot safer in the underbelly of Tokyo than dealing with guys in suits. Besides, he was too smart, too lazy, too tired, too old, and the newest one, too sane for that shit. He unslung his guitar and walked toward the stage - it was his turn to drown out the noise.