In a highway between Tokyo and one of several airports of the region, on the cab of the semi-truck carrying her tribe, Ayame watched with a mix of annoyance and amusement as their newfound protector, Pausanias, sang about trucks and rubber ducks, not because he did so badly (in fact, he had an incredible singing voice), but because he tapped his knees from time to time like some giddy kid.
A far cry from the silent warrior that saved her from those robots days prior.
She had been cold and aloof towards the man during the first two days, and not just because he was a human and a meta, and her people's story with them; after all, he literally came out of nowhere and said he'd help them in getting out of Japan the moment they told him abour their plan to leave for the simple reason that, as a 'hero', it was his duty. Even after seeing him actually acting like a buddha (like playing with the children, and shrugging instead of retaliating after one of the packmates broke a chair over his head), and of course having been rescued by the man, she still didn't appreciate his presence.
After a while, though, she warmed up to him when it became clear his intentions were genuine, although she still decided to wait until fully opening to him.
That and, as much as she loathed to admit it, the fact he was good-looking for a human, with his muscular and tall yet lithe body, those gray eyes of his and that trimmed beard, although the braids were a bit off-
'Don't think like that!' Ayame berated herself when she realized she had been staring too long at Pausanias. 'You've only known the guy for a few days! Besides, he's greek, they probably braid their hair all the time'
Ayame shooed away those thoughts and looked outside the window, specifically the forest they were passing near, as to not think about Pausanias in a... certain way. There was little to no traffic hindering them due to it being a low-intensity highway, specifically chosen by Pausanias for that very same reason.
The she-wolf was dressed in her usual garbs, a simple frannel and jeans, both red, while her pelts were being guarded by one of her cousins back in the trailer. Aside from that she also wore the disguise she used when in public, a simple hat to cover her pointed ears, and sunglasses to hide her eyes, in case they stopped and for when they reached the airport.
Better than covering her entire body with bandages and feigning having fallen several floors, like a certain young man who at that moment was most likely regretting his course of action given the trailer, while ventilated, was nonetheless cramped and his wheelchair too much space.
This, of course, meant that several wolves were being forced to sit on top of him.
Pausanias, on the other hand, was fully human and so had no need of disguising anything that could out him as a pseudo-demigod, though he couldn't hide the fact he wasn't japanese with those round eyes and tanned skin of his. That said, he still had what could be considered a disguise, mostly because he wore it over his armor: the jacket he hadmade it seem like the forged muscles of his breastplate were actually his. This made him look even more muscular than he already was. His shield and helmet laid behind his seat just in case he needed to grab them quickly, while their swords were hidden in the glove compartment, again just in the unlikely case they needed them.
Indeed, he seemed to be awfully similar to her in several ways.
"Pausanias, can you call the others, to know how are they doing inside? Just in case."
The man gave a nod and grabbed the radio communicator "How is it going back there, over?" He asked through the talkie. The others had a walkie-talkie set to talk back to him.
"It's starting to smell and getting a bit hot, but other than that we're peachy, rover!"
Pausanias sighed. "It's over, Ginta, over. And it's your own fault if you get hotter, over."
"Hey, we've only been here for three hours, and..." Ginta's voice trailed off before they heard a groan. "It seemed a great idea at the time."
This prompted everyone (Pausanias, Ayame and even the rest of the tribe) to laugh at his expense.
Or at least that was what she thought.
"Any idea of how long until we get to Kamakura?" Another voice chimed in, one much deeper and older. It was Ayame's grandfather, the current leader of the tribe, an old wolf without a human form who had also been the first one to fully trust the greek man and believe his words, and seemingly not just due to desperation.
"Still a couple of hours of travel at least." Pausanias replied after checking the time.
She heard her grandfather sigh. "I thought it'd take longer."
That caused Ayame to lose her smirk, not because of the time, but because it made her remember that Pausanias wouldn't be coming with them: he'd get them to the terminal, bid them farewell and wish them good luck in Siberia, and then go back to Tokyo. He didn't even ponder of going to Russia with them and try to be a hero there.
Then again, none of them aside from Pops asked him if he wanted to come with them, even though they'd be rebuffed by him just like with the old wolf.
And then her thoughts on the matter were interrupted she heard the unmistakable sound of a police car's siren, one that was steadily getting closer and coming from behind them. She could see the lights from the window, but the car proper had to be on Pausanias' side since she could not see it.
Puzzled, Pausanias looked out of the window from his side and then back to whoever they were. Ayame didn't see what they did, but she did hear him groan in annoyance. "They want me to pull over."
Ayame became worried all of sudden. "Why? Did you go over the speed limit?"
Pausanias shook his head. "This thing can barely reach eighty kays per hour, so no. No idea why, exactly, maybe a random inspection or an alcohol check, but I better stop the truck. Don't want to get a fine and somehow end up chased by the entire department just because I didn't obey, don't we." He then replied to the passengers about the police.
Ayame knew he was just joking, but at the same time, given everything that transpired until then, everything could happen.
Just as Pausanias stopped the truck near a clearing between the road and the forest , the police car's driver decided to catch up. As it drove ahead and then turned around, Ayame saw that it was, indeed, your typical police car coloured white and black, its sirens blaring and its lights blazing as it stopped ahead of the truck. Overall, it did indeed look like your average patrol cruiser.
Well, it would have seeed normal, had it not been for the fact that, rather than the symbol of the NPA, it had the insignia of the Destrons right in the grill.
It was impossible for her to miss it, and not just because of her eyesight: the boys of the tribe, both young and not-so young, were fond of both The Transformers and Beast Wars, the latter mostly because of that winged wolf knight. The agency was very strict when it came to etiquette, so how did some cop manage to emblazon his car with a toy's symbol, said toy's popurality notwitstanding?
She didn't think of the possibility of the driver being of high enough rank to ignore the mandate until they came out of the car.
As the driver of the car parked the vehicle in front of the truck and then stepped out of it, Ayame's eyes opened in shock and fear when she saw who he was.
A man wearing wearing a jacket over a white shirt, a black tie and a wide-brimmed hat. It wasn't these detail what revealed his identity to the she-wolf however, but the wide, serene smile he had on his somewhat wrinkled face, and the fact he had his eyes closed even as he walked up to the truck.
Ayame swore her heart skipped a beat when her mind made her remember who was this man.
Commander Uehara Daizo. The man who had defeated and arrested several known criminals, like Saico-Tek, Nya-Nya and Scarface, all of them dangerous in their own right, with nothing but sheer grit, guile, and his trusty .38 revolver, or at least that was how the song went.
He had also been appointed to solve the case of the 'man-eating dogs'. Which in this case meant he was after them.
"Hello there!" Daizo greeted as he walked up to them.
And then he got close enough, and Ayame's blood froze in her veins when she got a whiff of his scent.
Pausanias, being human as he was. Ayame, however, couldn't be fooled thanks to both her superior smell and yokai senses.
The detective still smelled like a human, plus some smoke, but there was something else there, something she couldn't really discern sans it smelled awfully similar to... ink. And yet, he didn't feel like a yokai like her.
Her left hand had unknowingly raised to open the glove compartment to reach for her sword, but a confused Pausanias stopped her. "Ayame, what is it?"
"Are you blind?! He's Daizo!" She replied frantically, hoping that said detective didn't hear her as he got closer and closer, never raising his speed.
"So? He doesn't know who you are." He reassured her.
"It's not that!" She whispered. "It's his smell!"
At this Pausanias frowned, looking backwards so slightly as to not fully face the approaching, who for some unknown was taking his sweet time in coming to them, but still look at him. "His smell?"
"He is not... I don't know what exactly it is, but his scent isn't fully human!" She replied.
"You mean he's a meta like me? That's why you're spooked all of sudden?"
Ayame shook her head hurriedly. "It's not that! I mean he..."
"Am I interrupting something?" She heard the drawl of an Osaka native from behind Pausanias. Said warrior turned to see the smiling face of Daizo, who was looking up at him due to the difference in height.
Before Pausanias had time to even open his mouth, Ayame practically jumped forwards to meet the officer. Why did she do that despite the situation, she didn't know. Maybe to distract him from... something? Not even she knew!
"Good morning mister commander!" Ayame quickly interjected with what she hoped was a dopey smile, careful to not show her fangs, using two titles to make herself seem like your average young, excitable woman journeying with her 'boyfriend' "Never expected to be pulled over by Japan's most famous enforcer of the law!"
Daizo sniffed the air and then looked over at the trailer. "Are you carrying a pack back there? I mean, carrying animal in that kind of trailer is a crime, you know."
Ayame faked a laugh at that, while at the same time tapping Pausanias' leg to get him to play along. "You know how some dogs are, they follow their owners anywhere!" He replied.
At this Daizo raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "Family?"
"Yeah, my family, thirty of them and an entire pack of lovely pooches!" She cringed at herself for using the word 'pooches', not just because it was a grave insult towards her kind and because she was the one who uttered it, but also because just how ridiculous the tone she was using had gotten all of sudden. "Antonios here needed to drive his new truck with some weight dragging, and they always wanted to see a truck from the inside."
It was the alibi she and her family had prepared in case they were stopped by the police; she just didn't expect to actually use it... or do so because the single most dangerous thing to her tribe would be pulling them over!
Pausanias understood what she was doing, giving her a small nod, before turning back to the detective. "So, is there any reason you stopped us, commander? Shouldn't you be back in the city, what with those things running rampant?"
Daizo shrugged, his smile never leaving his face. "They gave me a day off, stress and all that. As for you, I'm afraid one of your rear lights is broken."
Pausanias frowned at that, before grunting. "Must have been some asshole we didn't see."
In truth, their ride until then had been very quiet... and Pausanias had even delayed it to make sure they wouldn't be stopped for that very same reason. Something was up.
"You don't believe me? Get out there and take a look, son." Daizo replied before looking at Pausanias more closely and seemingly realizing something. "Say, you're not from here, aren't you?"
"What gave me away?"
"Your face, your accent, and the fact your girl called you Antonios. Could be portuguese or spanish, but they don't have 's' at the end." Daizo replied.
Pausanias, after glancing at Ayame and wordlessly saying 'stay here', gave a little chuckle before opening the door and coming down. "Antonios Fotas, from Greece. Came here for a job as a delivery boy, but ended up a trucker."
"Isn't that better?"
Pausanias shrugged as he closed the door. "Took me a while to learn how to drive the previous truck. This one's a monster in comparison."
As the two made their way to the back of the truck, Ayame grabbed the communicator to tell the others about why had they stopped, hoping that they could keep their composture.
"Someone grab the damn thing!" She practically screamed at it.
"Ayame, did we already reach the-"
"It's Daizo! He's stopped us!"
There was silence for a second, before she heard her grandfather speak in a terrified tone. "You mean Uehara Daizo?
"Yes!" She even nodded frantically despite no one being able to see her do so.
"Oh no." She heard him breathe. He wasn't the only one: the entire tribe entered in a panic at the sudden news, but fortunately they were relatively quiet; none dared to raise their voice beyond a whisper, for fear of being caught.
"Hey, as long as we stay quiet, nothing will happen, right? Right?!" She heard Ginta say.
"He knows you guys are there."
"Say that again, please, I think my ear is-no, nevermind, we're hearing him talking with Pausanias right outside the freaking trailer!"
"Ayame, why the hell did you tell him about us?!"
"I had to tell him, he could smell you!"
She heard groans from several tribemembers. "That's what we get for skipping the changing form training!"
Ginta spoke once again "Then as long as we play our parts, we should be fine, no? I mean,"
"That's the thing, he might not be even human!" She still wasn't fully sure herself, but they needed to get the point across.
And then, as if by coincidence, something moved on the corner of her eye, outside the truck. Ayame glanced in the direction of the movement ... and, once more, her heart momentarily froze when she saw something that, for all intents and purposes, should not even exist.
Where there was a simple police cruiser before, now stood a towering humanoid robot, as tall as the trees behind it, its eyes blazing red as it stood up to its maximum height... and a gun in place of its right hand that, given its height, had to be at least as big as Ayame's entire body.
A gun that was being aimed, given the direction it was aimed at, right at an unaware Pausanias.
..........
Yeah, we're going to be without DS for a while (two more chapters), and hey, cliffhanger! Otherwise was Ayame's acceptance too quick (he'd been with them for a week), or reasonable given the situation? As always, was the chapter well written and entertaining, despite lacking action? Is the drama enough? Should Ayame and the tribe be more prejudiced? Did I introduce Daizo in a proper manner? Was the ending alright? Tell me things, guys!
And yes, Ayame and Pausanias are going to end up together. I mean, why not?
The decepticon in question (Destrons is their original name from Japan) is Barricade. Yes, it's an ink monster (it skipped the transformation, that's why Ayame didn't heard it changing). No, there won't be any more decepticons in the future, it's just a quirk of Daizo that shall be explained in the next chapter.