For Fame and Glory

"Kusanagi." Dahlia DeAngelo was grinning from ear to ear as she flopped into the seat opposite her partner in crime. This bar was their favourite haunt when trying to relax, and she had known where to find the other woman right away. She let the word hang for a moment and waved for the attention of the bartender and gestured that she wanted a beer. Dahlia leaned back and let her arms hang over the back of her seat, though it was clear she was damn near bursting with excitement.

"No." Gabbi Allen wasn't nearly as excited about the word as her friend must have thought she would be. 
The slender blonde sat back on her own bar stool and uncrossed her slender legs. Her full red lips were set in a frown. "You're kidding right?"

"Oh come on!" Dahlia cried, not nearly as calm and refined as her partner. The other woman was usually quick with a smart ass remark, or her gun pressed to someone's head. "Don't you get it? The owner of that sword is considered the true emperor of Japan! Can't you see yourself sitting on a big ass throne?" She laughed, nodding her thanks as her beer arrived. "Their government wont allow outsiders to view the sword, and they wont provide proof they even have it!"

"I can't see you ever sitting long enough to stay on a throne." Gabbi said, her finger circling the rim of her martini glass. "Can't we ever stay home for even a week or so?" She muttered, already knowing she was going to say yes. "Or look or cursed pirate gold? Or a pearl hair pin that belonged to Charlotte Banthroy?" She added just for something to say.

Dahlia looked at Gabbi for a long moment, then shook her head. "Fine... we can stay here." She agreed, taking another drink of her beer. "I guess someone else will find the wreck with the sword on off the coast of Okinawa... eventually, or whatever." She added with a rather nonchalant shrug.

Gabbi had just taken a drink of her martini. It wasn't a good thing it turned out for Dahlia. She was on the receiving end of a mouthfull while her friend choked on the rest. "Youre...kidding...right?" She gasped out finally.

Dahlia sighed, clearly this was not the first time this had happened. "Not that it matters, you're not interested." She replied, wiping her face off with the sleeve of her jacket. "You're right, we should give it a rest for a while. Chance for you to scratch the itch that's been irritating the both of us since we left St. Petersburg.""

Gabbi practically tossed her glass aside as she grabbed her friend by the arm and launched off her bar stool. "I can do that in Okinawa! There's always a soldier or two somewhere.  We have to pack, damn it!"

Dahlia didn't even try to hide her grin. "Your bag is in the trunk of my car." She informed the other woman. "But you might want to pack something to amuse you when we get there, because no doubt you'll make me do all the diving, like always."

"Sadly that tattooed hottie over there won't fit in my pack." Gabbi purred, pausing a moment to make it clear she was looking the man over. "Just how long is it before our plane leaves?"

Dahlia followed her friend's gaze and smirked. "Long enough." She replied. The poor man would now have two sets of eyes looking him over and mentally undressing him.

Gabbi sat on the plane with her laptop in her lap, going over her research about the sword for the hundredth time. It left her more than a little giddy.  This was going to leave them very rich and promised to be the adventure they'd been craving. "Too bad we had too leave tattoo behind." She said, knowing her friend was pretending to sleep. "He was yummy. I didn't plan on sharing though."

"Someone had to show him a good time." Dahlia mused without removing the airline issued sleep mask from over her eyes, though there was a wry grin on her lips.

"You think I'm ever going to find one to stay with?" It was an odd question for Gabbi. She'd even closed her laptop and set it aside. She stared out the window, no longer thinking of the sword but the long haired tattooed man who had whispered sweet nothing's in her ear during the night. It was unusual in and of itself.

Dahlia recognised how out of character this was for her friend, and lifted one side of her sleep mask to watch her. "Why would you want to?" She challenged. "Gabbi... Is this your way of telling me this is your last job?"

Gabbi wrinkled her nose in the impish way she always did and laughed. "Are you kidding? And miss the chance we find the chance to find the fountain of youth? Or the Bloody Countess' bath tub? I was thinking of finding one of those slaves to go with us." She laughed. "Do we have an enchanting artifact yet? I could make him say nothing but yes, Miss Gabbi, your will is mine, Gabbi!" She laughed."

"Like you need an artifact for that." Dahlia replied with a roll of her grey eyes. "You could enslave a whole football team and no one would think it weird." She added with a yawn, waving the stewardess over and requesting a drink.

"You're just jealous." Gabbi grinned, again opening her laptop. "Tattoo was a lot of fun though. I kind of wanted to see him again." She admitted though her mind was back on ther sword. "We're going to get wet aren't we?" She muttered after a moment

"We?" Dahlia echoed as she finally sat up, running her fingers through the waves of her dark hair. "Excuse me, but how many dives have you done lately?" She added, grinning when she saw food heading down the aisle in their direction. Dahlia was that strange breed of creature who enjoyed aeroplane food. Of course, it was that much sweeter in business class.

"You're disgusting." Gabbi muttered, turning up her nose at the food set in front of her. "I'd rather eat the cushion. Or that worm in the bottom of the Tequila bottle."

"God, Gabbi, you're such a snob!" Dahlia exclaimed, poking her tongue out before digging into her food. It was odd to see these two women together, they were opposites in every sense of the word.

It was raining in Okinawa when the two women stepped off the plane. Gabby was not happy about this at all. She was not a fan of getting wet and didn't care for the thunder and lightning. She was muttering about her shoes as they left the airport, so much so that the two of them would miss the sight of a familiar tattooed man.

Dahlia was rather enjoying the weather, gleefully making sure to splash Gabbi with every puddle she passed. "Cheer up! We can go get food now!" She exclaimed, despite the fact she had eaten no more than an hour earlier.
The tattooed man, however, hadn't missed the elegant blonde and her rambunctious comrade since the moment he saw them on the plane. He was smiling now as he claimed his own bag, knowing they would be all too easy to follow.

"Dahlia! You just ate!" Gabbi muttered, trying to avoid the water that was being kicked her way. She paused a moment and looked behind her, but decided there was nothing there. "And I'm not about to eat anything that moves. Last time we were here you ate something that was still alive and I'm not about to do that!" She said firmly.

"What? You don't like to feel a tickle in your belly?" Dahlia teased, poking her friend in the abdomen with a huge grin. "No... you just like to feel it someplace else, and from someone with tattoos." She added with a wolfish smirk.

"Stop that. I just don't like anything that knows I'm about to eat it." Gabbi said, turning her pert nose up at her friend. "And can we not talk about tattoo anymore? I'd rather talk about the plans. Or an idea on how to stop this disgusting rain."

"That should wait until we're in the hotel." Dahlia replied, always paranoid someone was listening when it came to business talk. "Streets have ears." she added, sure she sure a familiar tattooed arm disappear into a cab behind the one they were loading their luggage into.

"What?" Gabbi wasn't sure she liked the way her friend was holding herself so stiffly. She looked around them but didn't see anything. It was hard to see much with the rain pouring down like it was. "Dahlia, you are seriously paranoid. It will be fine."

"Fine like the time in Panama?" Dhalia snorted. "Sorry, I don't feel like putting myself through hell to get the hard part done, just for someone to scoop the prize from under our nose." She added, now watching the rain slide down the window. She didn't like this feeling she had, like someone was watching and she couldn't find them. It was most likely nothing, just someone else in love with Gabbi.

Gabbi's face was literally green as she watched the tiny octopus squirming on Dahlia's plate. She nursed her sake as she watched her friend eat, barely touching her own Ramen. It was hard to open her mouth at this point for fear the thing might crawl in. 

"Going for the sword? You're sure?" The deep voice on the other end of the line didn't sound happy with this at all. "I buried that thing. I expect it to stay hidden. If I have to come after those two again..." The deep growl was more than enough warning. "What happened to keeping the blonde home?"