Title: Wrenches in the Gears

Summary: Six friends, torn apart and forgotten thanks to a childhood lived in political violence, are somehow reunited and must use their past ties to save their land from a tyrannical, corrupt goverment.

Rating: PG-13+

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama

Chapter Five

Like The Angel

They turn the lights down low,
In shadows hiding from the world,
Only coming out when it gets cold

The seas part when they hit the floor,
The voices carry on and out the door
And everything you touch turns into gold

The military of Utopia was a complicated thing.

It was divided into two portions. One was the open army, the smaller of the two. It was pretty much the offensive unit of Utopia and considering Utopia had no enemies, they didnt do much.

The second half was Security. In charge of all things that took place within Utopia, Security was the iron fist of Albert Fredieggar.

At the head of Security was Martin Bailey. A cool, killer man with a deadly gleam and an even deadlier hand, Bailey was known to be overly aggresive and extremly power hungry. Rumors had it that he killed without compassion, although there was no proof whatsoever of his murders and the ones there was proof of were always marked as 'goverment killings.' Not only was he rumored as a murderer, there were also rumors of him being involved in black market trading and bribery.

Below Bailey in the chain of command were various other officers. This secondary command rank consisted of seven elite soldiers who answered only to Freideggar and Bailey. Although they varied in age, race, and specialties, each was known to be unbeatable in a one-on-one confrontation and nearly as deadly as their leader.

Next in line was the Elite Security. Only the best soldier were bumped up to this rank and they were the only citizens of Utopia who weren't officers that were permitted to carry firearms. The security was divided into squadrons that were controlled by an individual captain.

The lines below this were pretty vague. There were the captains of the regular security and the actual soldiers. These soldiers took place in the everyday life of Utopia, acting pretty much as police officers. None were allowed to carry firearms and used goverment-issued swords as weaponry.

That was how the military was run in Utopia. Mysterious, crafty, and somewhat corrupt it was but efficient and powerful it remained...

-------------------------

'Tomorrow night at eight.'

Taro sighed as he stood in front of the mirror. He rufflied his blonde hair and gritted his white teeth, looking left and right for signs of smudges. He hadn't been this nervous for as long as he could remember.

The source of his troubles were Miyoko Watahashi, a rather strange and interesting young woman he'd met just the other day. A young woman who had scheduled a date for the two of them in less than an hour.

Taro wore a gold-ish colored button up shirt and a pair of casual blue pants. He'd been freshening up and trying to make himself presentable for nearly half an hour and was still unhappy with the way he looked.

He was so engrossed with his work that he didn't hear the door slam and didn't realize someone was in the room until he saw a quizzical face over his shoulder in the mirror.

The blonde whirled around to look down at the smiling face of his friend and roomate Shuichi.

"What's with the getup?" The young man said with a grin, "Certaintly do look snazzy."

Taro sighed and turned back around, "I have a... engagment this evening."

"Engagment?" Shuichi crossed his arm and narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me you have a date."

"You could call it that." He said quickly. 'She did...' he thought with a light smirk.

The dark-haired male laughed and shook his head, "You haven't even been here a week and you're already getting more than me."

Taro sighed and turned around, "I'm not... 'getting' any. I'm just going out to dinner with a girl I met the other day." He thought a moment, "You might remember her. The girl from the clothing store you took me to." Shuichi stared without any recognition, "Name was Miyo."

"Miyo... Miyo..." He shrugged, "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

"Well, I helped her with some muggers yesterday and she wants to repay me." He turned around and continued looking himself over, "Just dinner."

Shuichi stared at him for a moment then sighed deeply, "You've gotta teach me, man."

"There's not much to teach." Taro said with a light chuckle, "Just be-"

"A hero? A savior? A prince?"

"Yourself." Taro rolled his eyes and laughed, "I dunno what else to tell you, my friend."

Shuichi sighed and crossed his arms, "Well, what times your date?"

"Eight."

"Well, you'd better get a move on." He looked at his watch, "It's a quarter til now."

Taro cursed and threw on his jacket. He glanced up at the wall clock before running past Shuichi, "Your wall clock's wrong." He said as he ran out the door and down the road, trying to remember the way to Miyo's residence.

The streets of Utopia were just as crowded as they'd always been. People ran to and fro on tasks no one knew of but themselves. They looked like sheep. Well, perhaps not sheep as they weren't following eachother but maybe ants or something like that. Taro couldn't understand them. He couldn't be outside without looking up at that beautiful, bright sky that he hadn't seen since he was a small child who was too young to value things so small as the big, blue sky.

Taro ran through the crowds, weaving in and out of groups of pedestrians, trying to make his way down that path he remembered himself going down yesterday. He passed through the alley that he'd had a scuffle in the day before and finally found the street Miyo lived on. It took him a moment to remembered the door she'd entered but finally made his way up to it and knocked.

He swallowed hard and clenched his fists, waiting to see that strangly attractive face answer the door. He nearly closed his eyes in anticipation as he heard the doorknob turned but opened his eyes wide when it opened. A smile crossed his face as he prepared to see those engulfing brown eyes.

"Yes?" Answered the small, wrinkly, old lady that answered the door.

Taro nearly fell backwards at the surprise but quickly regained his balance and stepped forward. "Um... does... Miyoko Watahashi happen to live here?"

"Miyoko?" The old lady thought for a moment, "She moved."

"She... what?" He blinked.

"Yep. She uped and moved outta here last night. Said she didnt need any hormone-driven pretty boys coming after her at all hours of the night. She ain't no hussy, that girl."

"Ahem." Taro and the old woman both turned to see Miyoko standing with his hands on her hips, staring with those endearing brown eyes at the old lady. She sighed and looked over to Taro, "Let's go." She said with a light grin as she grabbed ahold of Taro's arm and pulled him away.

"Don't get any ideas, playboy!" The old lady shouted behind them.

Taro was stip agap as Miyo chuckled and led him away, "I see you met Old Lady Hasegawa."

He blinked a few times and smiled a bit, "Yeah. She's a sweetie."

Miyoko laughed, "She's just protective."

"So, where are we heading?" Taro asked as he grinned wide.

"A little place around the corner." She said with a light smirk and chuckled, "It's a lot of fun, I think you'll like it."

Maybe it was the way she said it or just the face that Miyo seemed like a crazy one anyways but something about that sentence sent chills running down Taro's spine.

They made their way to the place and Miyo opened the door. Taro was immediatly hit with a wave of alcohol and some strange, broiled meat. The shouts and jeers of patrons filled his ears, making it difficult for him to hear Miyo as she waded into the crowd. He quickly followed, making his way to her just as she finished speaking with a apron-clad man.

She led Taro through the crowd to a small table sitting in the midst of the ruckus. He sat down with a frown, the bumps from the excited crowd was getting on his nerves.

Miyo laughed at his unexcited face, "What's wrong?" She shouted to him, "Not your style, cliche boy?"

He smirked lightly and shrugged, "I'll adapt." He said with a bright grin as a waitress came around. Miyo ordered them both some drinks, not even bothering to ask Taro what he wanted then she scurried off.

"Hope you like Mickey Mallory Cocktails." She said with a wide grin, displaying a beatuiful array of pearly white teeth.

"Never had one." Taro admitted.

Miyo nodded enthusiastically, "Then you are in for a surprise."

Their drinks came and Taro took a quick sip and was immediatly hit with a wave of tangy, mind-numbing taste. He blinked and set the small glass down as his date laughed.

"Told ya!" She shouted. Miyo continued to laugh even as a group of rough-looking man came up behind her. One, a rather large, burly figure, draped an arm around the girl's shoulders and laughed in a drunken stupor.

"I was wonderin' when the gals would get here." He slurred with a loud chuckle, "When's my lap dance, babe?"

Miyo glanced at Taro and rolled her eyes, "It isn't coming, Logan."

"Not comin'?" He glanced up at Taro and frowned, "What do you expect me to do then, Miyo? I'm not desperate enough to ask your fruity friend there for one."

Miyo was about to say something When Taro sighed and reached over. He brushed Logan's meaty arm off her shoulder and looked the larger man in the eye, "We're trying to have a conversation here. Would you mind?"

Logan was taken aback by the smaller male's bravery and took a step backwards. He blinked in confusion then regained his composure and stepped forward, "A matter of fact, I do."

"Logan, just go." Miyo said and pushed him gently, "I'm trying to have a date."

"A date?" Logan laughed loudly, "Miyoko Watahashi has a boyfriend?!" He laughed even louder, "Wow, now that's not something I'd ever thought I'd hear. What kinda chump dates a train wreck like you, toots? Miss Flavor-of-the-week!"

That was the last straw. Taro stepped around the table and placed one hand on Logan's barrel of a chest. He slowly pushed him away from Miyo, "It's not polite to talk to a woman like that."

Miyo rolled her eyes and silently whispered, "Cliche Boy to the rescue."

Logan laughed and put his hands on his hips, "Just speakin' the truth, buddy." He pushed Taro hard, sending him back into the arms of one og Logan's friends. The man pushed him back and laughed.

"You're in for it now." The lackey said with a annoying chuckle, "Let's rock this loser, Logan."

"Gladly." Logan said as he brought his fist back.

As soon as the larger man's fist gained forward movement, Taro stepped sideways. The fist flew by his head and Taro grabbed the arm with both of his. He pulled hard, sending the much larger Logan over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground on his back. The rest of his friends stood dumbstruck.

Taro stepped back and cracked his knuckles, "Any more takers?" He said just loud enough for the others to hear.

No one made any movement but Miyo who burst in front of him and grabbed his arm. She dragged him out of the building and into the street.

"What?" He asked, putting his hands up. "Something wrong?"

"What do you think you were doing?" She asked, putting her hands on his slim waist. Taro scratched his head in confusion and Miyo sighed, "It's not that it wasn't great seeing you take on Logan like that but you could have cracked the floor and I don't feel like having to pay for any damages." She nodded, "Next time you try to 'defend me,' ask them to step outside first."

Taro laughed and nodded, "I'll remember that."

"Good." With that, the girl turned around and looked down the street. At the corner was a large group of people and more seemed to be hurrying towards the scene. She stared a moment before motioning for Taro to follow as she jogged down the street and began struggling through the crowd.

Taro cursed the girl's enthusiasm and trying to keep up, finding it much harder for him to get through the crowd than the small, attractive girl. Finally, he caught up with her and stood by her side at the front of the group, watching the scene unfold.

The crowd was being held back by a couple blue-clad soldiers holding concealed blades. All eyes were locked on the small group of people that stood in the middle of the circle.

About four men were standing around a fifth. The fifth man was on the ground, holding himseld up on all fours and breathing heavily. His face was beat red and blood dripped from a slit lip. He had to be somewhere around fifty and was extremly skinny and small. The four men around him wore elaborate clothes and spoke in inaudibe tones at the hurt man.

Taro could only recognize one of the men and couldn't beleive his eyes. The shortly-cropped black hair and dark black shades was unmistakable.

He could just barely hear the voice of Martin Bailey, Head of Security. "Speak now and save us the time!" Shouted the man in anger, "Where are the rest of you!"

The man spit blood onto the ground and spoke in a frightened, timid voice. "I-I don't know what you're taking about."

"Shut your filthy mouth. We know you're a member of The Rise!" With that, he delivered a hard kick to the side of the man, sending him rolling onto his back.

Taro eyes widened and he stepped forward, pushing the soldier in front of him out of the way.

"Stop!" He shouted, causing all to turn their gaze to him, "He's helpless!"

Bailey looked up at the blonde and frowned, "Get back, boy. This is a military operation."

"He's helpless, leave him alone!" Taro shouted, growing angry.

"Why do you care?" Asked Bailey, walking towards Taro. "Are you a colleague of his? Another member of The Rise?"

Taro's eyes widened and he cursed. "No." He said quickly, "I just don't think you're treating him right."

Bailey chuckled and shook his head, "The way we treat terrorists is none of your business. We could kill him if we wished. That pathetic, piece of shit terrorist." With that, Taro burst forward and brought his fist towards the face of Bailey. He was surprised when Bailey easily dodged the attack and brought his hand up to grab ahold of Taro's throat.

He squeezed hard and lifted the blonde off the ground, "You'll leave us to our business and get out of military permimeters now or face your own death." With that, Bailey threw Taro towards the ground and turned around, "Take the terrorist and escort him to headquarters." Taro gasped for breath and attempted to rise, "Akira! Handle crowd control."

As Taro struggled to his feet, two booted feet stepped in front of him. His gaze slowly rose to look into the tan, burly face of a strange man garbed in elegant blue attire. A long, white-sheathed blade hung at his hip and a rather angry look was planted on his face.

Long, shiny red hair hung about to the man's chin and he sported creamy brown eyes to go with them.

"Get behind the guards if you don't want to be disposed of." He man said with a growl, "You're lucky Captain Bailey was merciful, if it was my decision then your rebellious blood would coat this pavement."

Taro frowned deeply and stood. He stepped up to the stranger, who stood about a foot taller than him and looked him in the eyes, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Captain Akira Mazamune, Head of the Regular Security." He said, gritting his teeth. "And you'll step down if you value that head on your shoulders, boy."

The blonde was about to make his move when both his arms were grabbed and he was thrown into the crowd. He struggled to his feet and preapred to launch an attack when a gently touch tore his attention. He looked to his side to see Miyo looked up at him with those mesmerizing brown pupils.

"Let's go." She said and strarted to pull him away, "It's useless."

With a deep sigh, Taro reluctantly followed the girl out of the crowd. He ignored the whispers of the people around him and the two of them made their way down the street.

The sun was nearly set when they made their way up the steps of Miyo's apartment complex. He sighed and crossed his arms as she began to unlock her door.

The door clicked and she turned over to him with a light smile, "Well, this was..."

He laughed, "It was fun."

She nodded, "We'll have to do it again sometime. Soon." She smiled and put her hands behind her back, swaying slightly, "Ya know, everytime I've seen you, some kind of violence has erupted. Maybe you're bad luck."

"Maybe." He said with a wry grin.

Miyo looked down for a second before stepped forward. She placed one hand on his shoulder and leaned into him until they were just inches apart, "Maybe I like bad luck." She said quietly before planting a kiss on his lips. She pulled away and slowly began to move her hand down his chest, "You wanna..." She motioned towards her apartment.

Taro stared at her for a long moment, thinking to himself about what her intentions were and about the words of Logan earlier. Why was it so unbeleivable for this girl to have a boyfriend? Miss Flavor-of-the-Weel? Train Wreck? Maybe she wasn't interested in him at all but just looking for a fling.

Now she wanted him to come in.

He pulled away and shook his head, "It was fun. We'll talk again." He said quickly before turning around and walking briskly down the street, leaving Miyo standing outside her door with a look of hurt and confusion.

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Taro shut the door of Shuichi's apartment quietly and sighed, stepping into the living room. He noticed Shuichi sitting in his recliner watching the television and nodded to him before plopping onto the couch.

"You're home earlier than I expected." Shuichi said, turning around and smiling to him, "How'd it go?"

"Not too bad." Taro said with a slight smile and looked over at him.

Shuichi stared at him for a moment before his eyes widened, "What the hell?" He walked over to him and looked at his face, "Where'd you get this bruise from?"

Taro looked confused and reached up to touch his face. Pain filled a small area on his forehead and he cursed. It was a bruise.

"I got into a little scuffle... well, two."

"Two fights?" Shuichi shook his head, "With who?"

"Some thugs at a bar." He said as he stood and made his way to the bathroom, "and Martin Bailey."

"Martin Bailey?!" Shuichi bolted up and followed him, "Talk."

Taro entered the bathroom and began wetting a washcloth, "He and a bunch of other soldiers were beating on some poor guy who they claimed was a member of The Rise. I tried stepping in." He sighed, "It didn't work out so well."

"You're lucky the guy let you live."

"Sure." Taro said as he began dabbing the bruise, "You know anything about a guy named Akira Mazamune?"

"Akira Mazamune? Yeah, he's the head of the regular security." He crossed his arms and thought, "Supposed to be one of the best soldiers in Utopia."

"Can't be too great, he only carries a sword." The blonde turned around, "You said only the best and highest can carry firearms, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah but this guy's different." They returned to the living room and sat down, "He's supposed to be one of the greatest fighters ever and one of the most loyal as well. He could probably be one of the top in the military but rumor has it that they keep him in the regular security just to make sure they got someone loyal and good there. Someone who can raise moral." Shuichi turned around and smirked, "From what I heard, the only guys tougher than him are Bailey and his best captains."

Taro nodded slowly and crossed his arms, "Good to know."

Shuichi laughed and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "Well, now that your dates over, you can concentrate. We gotta meeting tomorrow bright and early so get all those lovebird thoughts our of your head and start thinking about The Rise."

The blonde nodded slowly and leaned back. He tried but couldn't get the thoughts of Miyoko out of his head. About wether she was playing him or now. About what would have happened if he had gone in. About wether he should see her again or not.

Things had just gotten a little more complicated.

A beating heart and a microphone,
A ticking clock in an empty home
Still tells of these times so long ago,

Even though I've come so far,
I know I've got so far to go and
Any day now I'll explode

And each and everyday will lead into tomorrow
tomorrow brings one less day without you
But don't wait up just leave the light on
'Cause all the roads that I might take will all one day lead back to you

Like the angel you are left creating
A lightness in my chest,
Your eyes they penetrate me,
Your answer's always 'maybe'
That's when I got up and left

Wrenches in the Gears

A tale of unknown possibilties.

The sixth chapter begins shortly...