Tightrope Dancer, Stage 2

Ao no Kiseki Volume Eight


After leaving the Jules Verne in a shuttlecraft, Sanshirou and Kai work diligently to arrive at their destination, a space station in Tsualnolte territory. Kai stays at the helm, working nonstop to squeeze every last iota of energy away from life support and channel it into propulsion, while Sanshirou devotes himself to repairing the engines and other equipment stressed beyond its parameters. The craft is not intended for long distance travel, and so, to get the most out of their fuel, they are forced to take the most direct route possible, even though that trajectory places them dangerously close to black holes, asteroid belts, and other space hazards. By the time they're a few hours away from their destination, most of the shuttle's warning lights are in the red and they're flying on fumes.

Kai is particularly exhausted because he has had to remain constantly on alert against his own partner. He knows Sanshirou doesn't want him along and thus has taken every conceivable precaution to prevent Sanshirou from somehow taking advantage of a weakness and getting him off the shuttle. Sanshirou admits that he secretly left one escape pod, though the others were ejected to decrease the vessel's weight, and he begs Kai to use it while he still can. Kai adamantly refuses. Instead, he brings out the hidden weapons Sanshirou had asked him to devise--knives made of calcium and obsidian that will not be picked up by metal detectors and a chemical powder that instantly absorbs all of the nitrogen out of the air.

Resigned to having Kai tag along, Sanshirou mentions that it may be their last opportunity to be alone together. Kai quickly gets the point, and the two engage in a flirtation contest, each trying to seduce the other into being the first to come out and explicitly ask for sex. While the game itself is a refreshing approach, Sanshirou eventually decides that they're wasting what little time remains. He pushes Kai down in his reclining chair and the two promptly set about unleashing their arousal.

They manage to dock safely at the run-down space station, where they are greeted by a group of soldiers with guns blazing. The two work together to take out the group of enemies, yet when they examine the bodies, they're surprised to find no tattoos on the faces. Kai had suspected Sanshirou had been called by the Heipan. Now he is forced to conclude that the Heipan are working together with another group for some reason.

The two are brought before the Heipan mercenary commander Basara, who had left the message for Sanshirou. Sanshirou claims he only came to warn Basara to forget about this job, whatever it is, as a way of repaying his debt for Basara having saved his life. He has no intention of joining the Heipan as Basara hopes. Basara takes them to see Ganeisha, the head of their clan, a mysterious person who looks like a young girl but claims to be nearly 200 years old and possesses the ability to sense Kai's empathic powers. It occurs to Sanshirou to beg them to convince Zana to stop trying to kill him for dumping her sister, but he is simply told that Heipan women's rules are absolute. The best they can do is ask him to work for Basara and prove himself worthy of protection, since Heipan men have their own set of rules separate from those of the women.

They are then taken to meet the leader of the group that has allied itself to the Heipan, who turns out to be the rebel Captain Lee. Kai reveals that he had deduced the truth about the alliance, based on the fact that the shuttle Lee and his crew had used was found among Heipan mercenaries. Basara believes that he and Lee are very similar and the two have banded together to accomplish this particular mission. Kai guesses correctly that they've been hired by Mandarei, since that's the only explanation that fits the current scenario. Basara announces that he has set other booby traps for the Jules Verne; the ship will be destroyed if Sanshirou refuses to join the Heipan. Not only that, the Heipan will spread the word that Sanshirou and Kai are responsible for destroying the ship, effectively making them outlaws. Kai asks for time to allow him to discuss the situation with his partner.

Sanshirou hates Lee with a passion and doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Kai, however, contemplates their predicament logically from all angles. They have no way to warn the Jules Verne of their danger. Even if they were to make a break for it and get back to their shuttle, they're out of fuel. They could simply stay put as prisoners, trusting their crewmates to overcome any booby traps, but they can't trust that the other crew shifts will be as well prepared. They cannot hope that the Heipan will give up on them; the crew of the Jules Verne thwarted a Heipan mission, and for that they have been targeted for retribution, regardless of Sanshirou. Assuming Kai and Sanshirou were to manage to make it back to their ship for the return flight, they would no doubt wind up having the ship blown up while they were in coldsleep. When Kai describes the inevitable fate of their fellow crewmembers if they don't agree to Basara's terms, Sanshirou is forced to capitulate.

Basara explains that the Heipan are determined to complete this mission at all costs because the reward for success is a new homeland. Their old planet had undergone a climate shift, burying their homeland under ice and snow. Sanshirou, who was born in space, thinks they're crazy to risk their lives for a chunk of dirt, but to Basara the new homeland that Mandarei is offering is worth any sacrifice. Sanshirou and Kai are told that their mission is to kidnap Sheran on behalf of Mandarei. Sanshirou, now that he's officially working for the Heipan, tries again to get them to do something about Zana. He suggests that he could talk to the woman he dumped and apologize to her, feeling that will clear up the whole problem, but he is told that she died when her ship collided with debris while crossing an asteroid belt. She was already dead when Zana made her attempt at revenge.

Sanshirou and Kai are given a room together. Sanshirou protests that he doesn't feel anything other than surprise at hearing about his former lover's death, but when Kai uses his empathy on his partner, he begins weeping, shedding the tears that Sanshirou cannot. He pushes Sanshirou down on his bed and starts making love to him, insisting it's for his own comfort. At first he is frustrated that Sanshirou seems to be touching him in the wrong places, subconsciously imagining him to be someone else. Yet when he confronts Sanshirou about being distracted, Sanshirou grows aggressive and maintains that he can't think of anything else when he's with Kai. Afterward, Sanshirou quietly performs a Heipan ritual gesture for sending off the spirit of a fallen companion, and Kai snuggles up against him.

End Volume Eight

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