When Buffy Calls for Backup...

[Aussie Rider]

Please...stop the insanity...My brain...about to explode...


Pg. Buffy/Tendou eventually. I think.




Japan
“Moshi moshi?”
“Tendou-kun?”
“Buffy-chan?”
“I…need your help.”

Five years earlier
To say young Tendou had not been expecting to be knocked over by the young girl of about his own age was like saying he was destined for great things. Obvious. He had been going to get tofu for his grandmother’s mackerel miso. He looked at he girl as he picked her up. Blonde, not from around here.
“Are you hurt?” He asked in Japanese. The girl scrunched her nose up and spoke in English. Tendou looked at her a moment, straightening the words in his head.
“You are…American?” He asked slowly..
“You speak English?” the girl asked in relief. “Thank God for that.”
“Grandmother said this,” he said slowly. His English was not yet perfect. But it was close. “’Diversity leads to understanding. Knowing language leads to greater understanding. Understanding others leads to leadership’.”
“Smart lady,” the girl said.
“Indeed she is,” Tendou said.
“Hey! Girl!”
“Oh no, not them again,” the girl moaned.
“What happened?” Tendou asked as the cops came towards them.
“Well, I was waiting for my dad in LA, but I saw him with his lover and a baby. He seemed so happy and I got upset so I ran and found somewhere quiet to curl up and die only I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up I was looking at those cops and they weren’t speaking English and I panicked and ran and ran into you and…” It took a moment for Tendou to get the words straight, when he had done so, however, he nodded and walked over to the police men.
“Excuse me,” he said politely in Japanese. “I believe there has been some misunderstanding.”
“Get out of the way, boy,” the cop advised. “She’s an illegal immigrant.”
“Actually, she’s an upset teenager, who saw her father happy without her,” Tendou said calmly. “She’s emotionally distraught and you’re only making it worse.”
“What?” Tendou calmly explained to them what the girl had told him.
“So, it was an accident,” one of the officers concluded.
“Yes,” Tendou said. “I can only assume that she somehow found her way into the cargo hold of the plane she was found on. It seemed as good a place as any for her to ‘curl up and die’.”
“Oh,” the officer said. “Well…We really do need to sort something out…”
“Let her fill in some papers and she can stay with me,” Tendou said. “With time, she’ll be able to head home without being so emotionally unstable.”
“I don’t know…”
“You need to find out where she came from anyway,” Tendou said. He had left out the fact she had mentioned Los Angeles.
“True…”
“So, while you’re looking, she can stay with my Grandmother and when you figure it out, she can go home.”
“Well…okay. But I’ll need your address.”
“Of course,” Tendou said with a bow. Moments later he walked over to the girl. “It’s settled. You will be staying with me till they figure out where to send you.”
“Um…thanks, I guess.”
“You do not want to go home?”
“It’s complicated…hey, I don’t even know your name,” Tendou ignored the change of topic, pointing to the sky.
“Grandmother says this: ‘walking the path of heaven. He who shall rule over all’,” he looked at her seriously. “My name…is Tendou Soji.”
“Um…right,” she said. “Well, I’m Buffy. Nice to meet you mister heaven walker,” Tendou gave a small smile. My, what an interesting girl, he thought.

[Aussie Rider]

Today
Bistro la Salle
“Hiyori!” Tendou called, Juka close behind. “Are you here?”
“Yeah,” the quiet chef/waitress said. “What is it?”
“I need you to look after Juka for a while,” he said.
“Konichiwa,” his little sister said with a bright smile.
“Why me?” Hiyori asked.
“Because she likes your cooking,” Tendou said. “I need to help someone.”
“Well, I guess…”
“Thankyou,” Tendou said. “Juka. Be good, ok?”
“Are you going to bring Buffy-chan home?” Juka asked.
“Yes,” Tendou said with a smile.
“Good. Make sure you do.”

NORAD
“Sir, we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“You won’t believe me, sir,” the general looked at the monitor to see two trails in the water stretching halfway between Japan and America.
“Good God, what is that?”
“I have no idea, sir. There’s no torpedo, I can’t detect any kind of craft.”
If they set their satellites further towards America, they’d have seen a very amazing sight.

California
“CLOCK OVER!” The bike appeared on the road out of nowhere, a red metallic insect flying out from it following the road on a specific mission.

Sunnydale
“Well, so much for you,” Caleb mocked, surrounded by Bringers. “You shouldn’t have come here alone, girl.”
“What can I say?” Buffy said, her voice dripping with venom. “I’m acting irrationally.”
“Well, I can say I’m going to enjoy this. You may not.”
“Can I just kill you now?” Buffy asked. Before the fallen priest could answer, the roof gained a new hole as a small red blur zoomed through the crowed, knocking several Bringers back. “Well. That’s new.”
“What the hell is this?” Caleb demanded as the red blur hovered in front of Buffy.
“A metal bug…” Buffy said slowly as the bug thing began waving around angrily. Almost like it was…trying to tell Caleb off? “Cool.”
“You pathetic little slut! You think…?”
“Grandmother said this,” Buffy’s eyes went wide as she looked at the door. “’Women are to be treated with respect, for they are the mothers of the future’.”
“Tendou-kun?” Buffy whispered. Tendou looked at her with a smile.
“Yo,” he said good naturedly.
“What do you think you can possibly do?” Caleb demanded. Tendou looked at him harshly, and the Bringers still standing.
“Far more than you think possible,” he said. The beetle thing flew from it’s spot in front of Buffy in the Tendou’s hand. “Henshin!” He slid the beetle into the plate on the belt he had been keeping hidden.
“HENSHIN!” Light sparkled as Tendou was covered in strange, almost insect based armour.
“Cast Off!”
“CAST OFF! CHANGE BEETLE!”
“Clock Up!”
“CLOCK UP!” He vanished much to the shock of all present. Suddenly, the Bringers dropped like puppets with their strings cut, gaping holes in their chests like a sharp object had torn through them. Buffy felt a light touch on her cheek at nearly the same time before…
“CLOCK OVER!” Tendou reappeared, his fist driving into Caleb’s chest, sending the priest flying backwards.

What they didn’t see
“CLOCK UP!”
Tendou charged forward, his kunai in hand as he approached the seemingly frozen Bringers. In truth, he was moving faster than anyone on Earth could follow as he sliced the kunai through their hearts. He stopped in front of Buffy, walking over to her and caressing her cheek lightly. “I will always be by your side,” he whispered, turning to Caleb, clenching his fist as he strode towards him.
“CLOCK OVER!”

Buffy watched as Caleb went flying. “How’d you do that?”
“I found my place,” Tendou said, moving forward with purpose. As Caleb clambered to his feet, Kabuto struck out with short, controlled jabs, each one forcing the fallen priest back. As he side stepped the latest attack, he stopped moving.
“1! 2! 3!”
“Rider…Kick…”
“RIDER KICK!”
As Caleb charged forward, Tendou spun, raising his foot into an explosive roundhouse kick. The First’s agent crumpled like a rag doll, his head coming off with a crack, splattering against the far wall.
“Holy shit!” Buffy gasped as Tendou looked at her. Buffy nodded, copying his trademark pose, one finger pointed to the sky, her fingers curled in a loose fist. Tendou nodded as the metal bug detached from his belt, flying out the room. Buffy looked at him a moment, before racing up to him and wrapping her arms around him. “I missed you, Tendou-kun.”
“Juka told me not to come home without you,” Tendou said with a small smile of his own. Buffy chuckled into his chest.
“Juka-chan said that, huh?”
“Yeah,” Tendou answered.
“Well, we shouldn’t disappoint her, I guess,” Buffy said, pulling away. “Let me grab something and let’s blow this pop stand.”

Slayer Central
“We should go look for her,” Dawn said.
“Why?” Kennedy said. “She’ll be back. Not like she can do anything without us to drag her ass out of the fire.”
“Watch your mouth, bint,” Spike warned.
“Or what, you’ll threaten me?” Kennedy sneered. Spike growled, struggling with his demon.
“He won’t have to blondie bitch,” Faith said, leaning against the door frame. “I’ll give you solo patrol.”
“You can’t do that!” Kennedy protested.
“You guys are the ones that put me in charge,” Faith said as everyone gathered in shock. “Shoulda thought of that in the first place.”
“Faith…” Willow began.
“Nuh uh, Red, no dice,” Faith said with a shake of her head. “You guys don’t realise somethin’, somethin’ I know from prior experience. You’re little group’s never been a democracy. Buffy has the ideas, you guys build on it. No voting , no ‘you’re not doing your job, you have to leave now’. That shit only started now you got the number to support you. Well, fuck that. You want me in charge, its Faith’s rules. People wanna start actin’ tough, they gotta back it up with actions. And one more thing,” she said with finality. “B’ll be back. Probably after going after whatever it is you dumb asses think ain’t down there. When she does, this cluster fuck of a group’s all hers, an’ she’s welcome to ya!” They all looked at Faith in shock as she walked out the door. She stopped momentarily, looking back. “If you wanna survive, start acting like it. Tonight’s it, ladies. Tomorrow we start trainin’. Really trainin’. There’s gonna be bumps and bruises, but me an’ Spikey are gonna make you wusses effective for a change. And when B gets back, we’re gonna get nasty. Hope you’re ready,” with that she walked out, leaving the Scoobies and potentials dumb founded. Spike merely grinned as he headed to the kitchen. That was fun to watch.

Outside, Faith was leaning against a wall, lighting up a cigarette. “That was a bit harsh,” Xander said from the door.
“And you guys kickin’ B out wasn’t?” Faith retorted.
“Had to be done.”
“’Cause she wasn’t bowin’ to your every whim?”
“That…”
“Totally believable,” Faith accused, turning to face him. “I don’t get it, Xand. You used to support her every decision. What happened?”
“Got hard to see where she was coming from,” Xander said, touching his eyepatch.
“Well, that’s fucked up. Looks like Caleb got what he wanted.”
“What’s that mean?” Xander asked. Faith looked him dead in the eye.
“He blinded the one who sees. You were the one that spotted the strengths in B’s plans and added your own. You spotted the risks and corrected ‘em as best you could. Without that, B’s lost her support. You let ‘im win,” Xander looked at her a moment, shocked.
“When’d you get so smart?” He asked.
“”Ya get a lot of time to think in prison,” Faith said, looking up at the stars. “I was trying to figure out how I could have added to the group, salvaged the sitch.”
“And?”
“B had Giles smarts, Willows magic, you backin’ her plans. Where does a second Slayer fit in?”
“That was the problem. We always thought of you as the second Slayer,” the two looked out at the street as Buffy walked towards them. They’d been so caught up in their own conversation, they hadn’t even noticed Tendou’s bike pull up.
“Took ya long enough,” Faith said with a smile. Buffy smiled back.
“Sorry. Had to find myself.”
“And did you?” Xander asked stoically. What happened next shocked him as much as Faith’s earlier revelations.
Buffy walked up to him and stared him straight in the eye. “Stop blaming me for your short comings, Harris. I’m not in the mood. You wanna complain about loosing your eye? Remember, you had a choice. You chose to follow me. This is war. People die, people get injured. You have a problem with that? You leave. This is my house, I pay the bills, I pay the mortgage. If you want to see some wannabe Potentials get taken down a notch, however…follow me,” Xander watched her as she entered the house. Tendou smiled as he walked past them.
“Grandmother said this: those with a destiny will gather the lost and the pathless easily. It’s easier to accept that fact than fight it.”
“Who the hell was that?” Faith asked as Tendou followed Buffy in. Xander shrugged, rubbing his eye before following them. Faith smiled. “Welcome back, B.”

[Aussie Rider]

“Did you miss me?” Buffy said, bouncing the Scythe in her hand. “Cause I didn’t miss the back stabbing.”
“Didn’t you get the hint?” Kennedy sneered. “We don’t want you here.”
“Then get out,” Buffy said evenly. Everyone looked at her. Buffy laid the Scythe on the table, then looked Kennedy directly in the eye. “Do you pay the mortgage here?”
“No,” Kennedy said snootily. “What…?” Buffy had already moved on, looking directly at Willow.
“Do you pay for the food?” She asked. Willow shook her head. Buffy moved on to Giles.
“The electricity? Have you been paying for it?”
“Well, uh, no…” Giles said.
“No,” Buffy repeated. “No, you haven’t. None of you have lifted a finger to help me keep this place going. It’s all been me. So, you want someone else to lead? Fine. But I’m the one that pays for this roof, the food you inhale. You don’t like me being here, you can leave. Personally, I can’t find myself able to care anymore. But if you walk out the door, I suggest you keep going, right out of Sunnydale. Because I’m tired of second guessing my every move for all of you.”
“Listen here you self centred bitch!” Kennedy snapped. “You don’t get it. You aren’t the be all, you can’t…”
“Save it, Kennedy and start walking,” Buffy said coolly. “Go find a nice street corner to stand on,” Kennedy growled and charger her. Buffy moved fast, her thoughts clear for the first time in a long time as she did something she hadn’t done in a long time.
She didn’t hold back, moving as fast as Slayer-ly possible, grabbing Kennedy’s arm and twisting it behind her back.
“Now,” Buffy hissed into her ear. “I could do two things here. I could break your arm. Or I could kill you,” Kennedy was silent. “Get the point yet? You’re so far beneath me you can’t even see the top of the peak I’m standing on. And in case you think they’re going to save you?” She looked directly at them all. “I’ve been holding back for a long time. Since around my 18th birthday. That’s what the Cruciamentum’s all about. Slayers get a huge power boost once they turn 18, apparently. But I held back so I wouldn’t scare the gang,” she released Kennedy, pushing her away from her. “Now, I’m going to take my new weapon I found in the vineyard, head up to my room and get some sleep. When I come back down tomorrow morning, I expect you to have made a decision. I even expect some of you to have left. And to those that are left? We have work to do. So don’t stay up too late.”

The next morning
Buffy walked down the stairs, Scythe in hand, smiling as the soft classical music wafted through the house, along with heavenly smells from the kitchen.
“Why am I not surprised?” Buffy asked in near accentless Japanese as she entered the kitchen to see Tendou cooking up a feast.
“Good morning,” Tendou said with a smile. “You’ve been practicing.”
“My secret guilty pleasure,” Buffy answered. “So, what do we have this morning?”
“Mackeral miso, softly boiled with a tomato for a refreshing taste,” Tendou said. “with rice, vegetables and a small helping of grandmother’s green tea.”
“Souji, marry me and have my children,” Buffy joked, watching hungrily as he laid out the food. Tendou chuckled as the removed the lids.
“What’s all this then?” Spike asked, poking his head out of the basement. Buffy smiled.
“Tendou’s cooking,” she said. “Time’s like this I feel sorry for you, Spike.”
“Well, we’re not all perfect,” Spike said as Dawn came into the kitchen, followed by the Potentials.
“Wow…” Dawn said. “That smells…incredible.”
“Before we start,” Buffy said, looking past Dawn to the now arriving Kennedy. “There’s one thing you have to do. Leave your disagreements at the kitchen door.”
“Why should we?” Kennedy sneered. Tendou pointed to the roof, looking up.
“Grandmother said this,” he said. “’During meal times, an angel descends. For it is a sacred time’,” he looked at Kennedy. “I do not feed those who disrupt the peace of a meal. Food should always be served in a quiet, well mannered environment.”
“Wow, what is THAT?” Xander asked, stepping in the back door.
“Breakfast,” Buffy said, seating herself and grabbing a serving. “Itadakimasu!” she said, clapping her hands together before digging in. “Oh God,” she whispered. “Hevaen walker, I repeat my early request: marry me and have my children.”
“Huh?” Dawn said, grabbing a serving of food and testing it. Her eyes went wide as she almost fell over. “This…is…Are you a Cooking God or something?” Tendou chuckled as the youngest Summers dug in.
“She eats like Juka,” he commented as the Slayers all picked some food, finding some where to sit and eat.
“I’ll take another helping,” Xander said with a mouth full of food. Spike looked around. Tendou smiled.
“Even vampires should eat,” he said. He didn’t like the fact there was a vampire in the house, but if Buffy called him ally, then Tendou would be civil.
He handed the souled vampire a serve of food. “Especially prepared. I added just enough blood to satisfy your…hunger.”
“Thanks mate,” Soike said, leaning against a counter and digging in. “Bloody ‘ell!” He gasped. Vampires weren’t supposed to taste, but…
Buffy smiled up at Tendou. “Well, you did it again. Where’d you get the idea for the tomato, though?”
“A little girl’s mother,” Tendou said. “Why?”
“Well, I’ve been doing some shift’s at a restaurant in LA,” Buffy said. “I’m looking for something new to try,” everyone stopped and looked at her.
“You can cook?” Dawn asked. “How come you never cook for me?”
“’Cause I had one bad experience in school before I left for Japan after the Angelus debacle and everyone thinks I can burn water,” Buffy said in mock disappointed. “I just needed some lessons.”
“You…can cook?” Giles gasped out in shock.
“I can ride a motorbike too,” Buffy said, continuing to eat. The Scoobies looked at each other in amazement.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Xander said. Buffy smiled as she finished her meal, holding her hand up. Tendou threw his keys at her.
“Don’t scratch it,” he said.
“I won’t,” Buffy assured him, grabbing the helmets and dragging Xander our side.
“Um, Buff, no offence, but that’s a big bike.”
“I’m a big Slayer,” Buffy said, throwing a helmet at him.
“Alright…” Xander said slowly, putting the helmet on and getting on behind her. Buffy switched on the engine, gunning the bike as she sped down the street, and screaming Xander holding on for grim life. Half way through the ride, his screams of terror had turned to enjoyment. By the time they stopped, Xander Harris looked at his friend in a new light.
“She can drive!” He said, taking the helmet off after he had dismounted. “I mean we had to be topping a hundred…”
“One ten,” Buffy corrected.
“One ten?” Tendou asked with a smile.
“We can’t all move faster than the eye can see, heaven walker,” Buffy teased.
“Why does she call you that?” One of the Potentials asked.
“It’s his name,” Buffy said. “Ten no michi wo iki, subete wo tsukasadoru otoko. Walking the path of heaven, he who shall rule over all. Tendou means ‘Path of Heaven’, Souji is ‘Ruler of All’. Obaa-chan always called him that.”
“Huh?” Was the chorus of confusion.
“My grandmother,” Tendou said. “She took me in when my parents died, showed me that I could make any destiny I choose,” he looked seriously at the Potentials, Buffy and Faith. “No one can force you down any one path. Grandmother said this: ‘if you wish for it, fate is always on your side.’ No one should control your destiny but your own self. Buffy has finally taken that path, by moving where everyone else said there was no reason to move. She was rewarded for it. What about the rest of you?”
The Potentials looked at each other dumbly as he walked past them to begin clean up.

“Teeeeeeendou…” from across the road, in one of the many abandoned houses currently in Sunnydale, the figure watched through the window. How did Souji get here? And why? Did it have something to do with the girl he seemed to be doting on?
The figure watched girl as she moved. How very interesting. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could find a partner in this hell hole he had been training in, and get his revenge on Kabuto all at once.

[Tendou Soujiro]

i didn't read all of your stories, but it was damn good

[Aussie Rider]

It's not done yet. A coupel ideas I'm tossing around include: Buffy becoming Punch Hopper and a huge Rider Teamup. Just don't know which riders to use. I'm thinking all.