Saber Marionette J is owned and copyrighted by AnimeVillage.com, Satoru Akahori , Tsukasa Kotobuki, Hiroshi Negishi, Kadokawa Shoten, Bandai Visual, Sotsu Agency, TV Tokyo. The works which are written are purely "Fan-fiction", meaning that no profit was made or intended to be made from them, nor do I claim ownership of any characters or places presented within.
It's been quite some time since those magic days of when I first got into Saber Marionette J. Back then I was infused with a wondrous feeling like never before. Here was a story that hit me at all angles, and one that would both attain and hold my attention for years to come. It had everything. Spunk, spirit, underlying morality, and too many more things to list them all here. So, with the drive of a mother Ponta-Kun defending her youth, I began to take hold of things myself, and realized that many points and perspectives of this story were far from settled. Over time, I began to think of how I would answer some of the plot holes SMJ left me with. At the same time, there were many questions that rose to the occasion, the "what ifs" that drive many a fan writer. And then it all culminated into an urge. On that urge, J vs M started.
Fourteen chapters and roughly two years later I sit once again, looking over that epic that started out as little more than a random whim coupled with rambling of my own mind. Things have come a long way since that time when all of my plan was still sketchy, and having marked this as my halfway point, I can still say that things have a long way to go. But on this particular visit, as I return to the first half of my long journey, I now have the opportunity to fine-tune the workings.
For Fanfiction.net I wanted to do more than simply set up a mirror of J vs M. Here I had the chance to make adjustments that never dawned on me during the actual writing, but hit me later. Many times I've gone back into an older story and seen that a certain character was headed into the wrong direction, or perhaps he or she said something misleading to his or her personality. You'll find that in some places, very little has changed. Much of my story satisfied me. But by that same token there were scenes I have realized were too sketchy and needed embellishing, scenes that took away from the story and needed to be cut, and scenes that should have been but never were. Thus the re-writes here and there. So far, nothing drastic has occured, and probably won't. This version stands on it's own though, as it is more than just a mirror - it is a new start.
If you've never read J vs M before, I strongly hope it will serve as I intended it to do. That is, I hope it entertains you as it has done so for myself. I've done my best to embody the very spirit of Saber Marionette in every chapter of it, even if it doesn't always meet up to the standards I've hoped for.
Hand in hand with that notion, if you have been a reader of my works before, I open with a thank you, and then continue on to say that my hope is that this same embodiment did reach you in some way.
In closing, I must say things have come a long way. I never imagined to go as far as I have with this all and I also couldn't imagine not having come this far. It's been inspiring, and I hope the next half of J vs M will live up to the first.
My deepest regards to all you supportive folks out there!
-BakaMattSu
EPISODE 1
"FATED JOB SEARCH"
by BakaMattSu
Though early as it was, the markets on the streets below were already set up for their daily sales and services. A flood of men filled the main square, each intent on completing his own personal agenda of the day. The townspeople seemed to be in complete bustle.
Well, most of them, anyway. In a backlot apartment in Nagoya lay the hero of Japoness, Otaru. He was snoring loudly. Peering curiously down at his distorted, sleeping face, were three marionettes. Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry were the three most important individuals in Otaru's life. It was only fair that he was the most important in theirs.
"Oh, Otaru-sama!" Cherry whispered aloud. "You're so adorable when you sleep!"
Bloodberry, the tallest and most intimidating of the three huffed. "Are you sure it's safe for someone to sleep that long? After all, if anything happens to my Otaru and our marriage is called off-"
"There's not going to be any marriage!" Cherry burst, louder this time. "And you know very well that I care very much for Otaru-sama!!"
The two engaged in a heated argument, which Lime ignored, instead focusing on the cause of their fight, the dozing Otaru Mamiya. Setting their loud voices into the background, she smiled and held one hand over her Otome circuit. Over her heart.
Cherry and Bloodberry stopped short as a fifth individual graced the room with his presence. To the casual passerby, Hanagata Mitsurugi would most likely appear as a flake. Fair enough to that same passerby, he was just that. The blonde-haired, skinny man adjusted his oversized bowtie with one hand, and attempted to keep a heart-shaped box of chocolates balanced in his other. He held back his internal rivalry as he spotted the three marionettes, and spoke in the friendliest manner he could muster, ending up nearly growling. "O-Otaru-Kun??"
Even Lime turned from Otaru to face the newcomer. All three of them usually gave Hanagata little recognition, but when it came to stopping his "disturbances", they were on-call immediately. "What do you want?" Bloodberry mumbled, firmly crossing her arms and staring him down.
Hanagata proudly held out his candied treasure, undaunted. "I brought my wonderful Otaru-kun a present. It was just such a lovely day, and I noticed he had spent all day long cooped up in this apartment with three arguing marionettes. He needed a small reminder that he had a more civilized, quieter alternative just next door." His remarks became more offensive and snooty as he went on with his rant.
The three marionetttes took a step forward, surrounding the hapless Hanagata.
"OTARU'S-"
"-SLEEPING-"
"-NOW!!"
Out on the street, a man carrying a wagon of noodles nearly got hit by the flying projectile. As Hanagata flew by, scattering chocolates as he went, a cry rang from his mouth. "Why does it always have to be me?!"
Otaru Mamiya's eyes fluttered open, and he was comforted to find the familiar apartment around him, and three very happy marionettes waiting for his wake.
"Rise and shine, Otaru-Sama!" Cherry cheerily smiled. "Lunch will soon be ready."
Otaru sat straight up, with a surprised look on his face, equally surprising his three companions. "Lunch??"
"Well, you did sleep past morning, Otaru..." Bloodberry began.
"Past morning??" Otaru's voice began changing tone from surprised to angry.
The three marionettes began to wince, ready for Otaru's verbal onslaught. Living with him so long had prepared them for his short temper.
Lime stepped slightly forward. "Don't be mad, Otaru. We thought you needed a good sleep. You've been working hard so lately, and, and you've barely been able to do anything, being so tired and all..."
Otaru mellowed down. Lime had the tendency to have him do so. "It's just..." Otaru began, but stopped himself short, glancing about at Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. He restarted, choosing his words more carefully. "It's just that I've been looking hard for work lately...and...Anyway, how about that lunch? Cherry?"
Cherry responded immediately. "Right away, Otaru-Sama!" She went off to prepare a meal.
Otaru stood up, and suddenly recalled something. "Lime?" he called, turning to her.
"Yes, Otaru?"
"I was supposed to go over to Gennai's today, to help him out with some things. Could you go tell him that 'I'm sorry, but I don't have time today.' ?"
"Yep!"
With that, Lime opened the sliding door of the apartment, and walked out to attend to her small errand.
Otaru began to dress, not noticing Bloodberry creep up next to him, a smile spreading over her face. "Now that we're alone, Otaru...How about we discuss our overdue marriage?"
"M-marriage?" Otaru stuttered. He found himself blushing, much to his embarrassment. "B-Bloodberry, I don't have time to- We aren't going to- Lime and Cherry-"
"Forget about everything else, Otaru. All you need is me." She lowered her gaze to stare right into his eyes.
He turned away, toning his voice down. "I've told you before, Bloodberry. I love all three of you. You'll just have to accept that. I don't have time for this right now. Where's my hat?"
Bloodberry quietly passed him his headgear. An unhealthy silence followed.
"Ah, well, I better be off." Otaru finally said.
Giving his hat one last shake, he donned it and stepped outside, leaving Bloodberry standing alone. "Otaru..." she weakly whispered aloud.
"Otaru-sama!!" Cherry's voice happily invaded as she stepped into the room, a tray of food in her arms. "Your lunch is ready. It didn't take as long as I thought it would and-"
She stopped in midsentence, noticing she had no audience to address, save Bloodberry, who stood with her back turned to her.
"Otaru left for work." Bloodberry plainly stated.
"Already? But he just got up! He didn't even wait to eat."
The door slid open again, Lime returning happily from her task. "I'm back!"
Her smile faded slightly when Otaru didn't answer immediately. It totally disappeared when Lime realized he wasn't there. "Where's Otaru?"
Bloodberry stood, unmoving. "He left for work."
"At work," Cherry repeated, the uneaten lunch tray still in hand.
The three sat there, with no activity whatsoever. All of their chores had been completed. The firewood was chopped, the floor spotless, and the laundry cleaned and dry. They had been sitting for quite some time now, without so much as a word passed between them. A concentrated listener would have found the ticking of their wall clock as loud as crashing thunder after having been exposed to their dead silence. Lime finally spoke.
"Otaru's working awfully a lot, lately."
The others agreed.
"I wish he was home more often."
More agreement, and then another period of silence.
All snapped to attention as the apartment door slid open. They soon lost interest. It was Hanagata again. He invited himself in, and then approached the table where the three sat.
"Look at you three lazy marionettes! It makes me so sad inside to know how hard Otaru-kun works to support the three of you."
"Quiet, Hana-ko, or you'll earn another flight." Bloodberry growled.
"How can you sit around, knowing that Otaru-kun is out there, slaving away for the sake of you three worthless individuals?"
"We're not worthless!" Lime protested. "We'd work just as hard for Otaru..."
"Really? Then why are you still here, when you could be out working for him?"
"I warned you!" Bloodberry yelled, rising to her full height.
"Wait, Bloodberry!" Cherry halted her. "He's right. Otaru-sama shouldn't be doing so much for us, we should be doing it ourselves."
Bloodberry's fist hammered into Hanagata's face on its own as she donned a gloomy expression. "I hate to admit it, but it's true."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lime exploded. "Job search! Job search!"
Bloodberry pounded her fist on he warehouse door for the umpteenth time. "Hey! Hey! Anyone home?"
The gate slowly slid open, a runt of a man peering around the side, a confused, but tired look on his face. "Hmm? What is it?"
He was answered by the sudden shoving of a newspaper to his face. There, circled with a thick marker was the unmistakable ad for hired help. He recognized it immediately, carefully curving the edge of the paper downward to look over his apparent employee-to-be. He had hardly expected a marionette of all things for such a delicate task.
"Well?" an impatient Bloodberry asked, tapping her foot.
The man folded up the paper and held it back out. "Give me a moment. I'll have to discuss this with my manager."
He quickly stepped back inside and disappeared from view. Bloodberry turned her head, increasing her hearing sensitivity circuitry to catch the end of the man's conversation.
An angry voice she had never heard before shouted, "Of course! What does it matter, as long as the job gets done, right?"
Then, the familiar man from the gate. "Yes sir. But, still-"
"But nothing! Listen, if you feel that way, just give it a try anyway. If she screws up, I give you permission to fire her immediately."
"Very well sir."
Bloodberry returned her circuitry to default settings. Fire me? It's not going to happen. I won't make any mistake, since Otaru depends on my success.
The man returned, slightly showing signs of definite detest. "Alright, you're hired."
Bloodberry jumped for joy. "Yes!"
Cherry's eyes glowed as she checked the address in her internal data banks. It matched. The farmland was on the outskirts of Japoness, but it wasn't too far from Otaru's apartment, so the location was fairly decent. A farmhand slowly made his way from his house to the dirt path.
A smile crossed his face. "So, you're the famous Cherry I've heard so much about. You truly are a beauty, as they say."
Cherry blushed slightly. "Thank you. I can't waste any time, though. Could you please set me to work immediately?"
Astonished at first, the farmhand smiled again. "Of course. Come with me, I'll show you what to do."
Once in the field, he bent over at a tomato plant. "All you need to do is pick the ripe ones out and put them in baskets," he explained. "It's still very early in the season, so there won't be many, but I'd like to get in few early sales."
Cherry nodded her head. "Okay. Thank you for this work."
Another smile. "Don't worry, you're most welcome to it."
Gennai answered his door to find Lime smiling back at him. "Oh, Lime-chan! Back so soon? Has Otaru changed his mind?"
"Nope," she replied. "Listen, do you have a job that needs to be done?"
Gennai was puzzled. "A job? What do you need that for, Lime?"
"Well, you know, Otaru's got a job, and Bloodberry and Cherry are getting jobs, and well, even Hana-chan's got a job...well, maybe not him..."
"Whoa! Lime, Lime, Lime! Are you getting a job for yourself or for someone else?"
"For me! For Otaru! I love Otaru, and he works so hard that-"
Gennai finally understood. "Ah, Lime! You're upset that Otaru's been working so much lately, aren't you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Come in Lime, I want to show you something."
"Okay."
Stepping inside, she saw Gennai Shiraga's marionette standing at attention.
"Hey, Gemini!!"
The marionette was lifeless as usual, answering in syllabic fashion. "Hello, Lime."
Gennai motioned to Gemini. "Okay Lime. You know I've lived with Gemini for quite some time, right?"
"Yeah! Me and her are good friends!"
"Now, Lime, have you ever seen me send out Gemini to do work?"
Lime thought for a bit. "No."
"Of course. I have Gemini do things around the house, but not my outside work. Many Japoness citizens are lazy and use their marionettes for such reasons, but I don't."
A sudden thought popped into Lime's head. "Otaru doesn't have us work either. Can I ask you something, Ji-Chan?"
"Sure."
"Why do you work when you don't have to?"
"Why? For the same reason Otaru does. Working gives me a sort of self-satisfaction. I guess you could say, I like working."
"Otaru likes working." It didn't seem to make sense until she said it aloud. "You're right, Ji-chan! Thanks!"
"You're most welcome, Lime."
The man's instructions repeated over in Bloodberry's mind. When the trucks arrive with our shipments of cargo, bring them inside. She twitched impatiently. I don't see what's so difficult about this.
The sound of an approaching vehicle made her snap to attention. She casually walked outside to see an unmarked transport parking in the lot. The driver was in the front seat, pulling out a magazine to read.
She quickly scanned the vehicle's dimensions and contrasted them to the warehouse. That's strange, Bloodberry pondered to herself. This truck is too big to fit through the warehouse doors. How am I supposed to get it inside?
She slammed her fists together. Of course she could get it inside. All it would take would be a little persuasion, after all...
The magazine lost the attention of the driver as Bloodberry began compacting the transport from all angles. He stumbled out of the truck, his jaw dropping as low as it would go. "Hey!" he gulped. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"
Without reply, she continued until she was satisfied with the smaller rectangular cube, which she then brought and set down inside the warehouse. She actually found this work stuff kind of fun. She couldn't wait until the next truck arrived!
Cherry slowly made her way down the row, placing the odd red tomato in her basket. "How utterly boring," she commented aloud. Her thoughts strayed to her wonderful master, Otaru. Oh, Otaru-sama must be continually bored throughout the day if this is what he must endure each and every day. It's horrible! Very well, then, I'll just have to take care of it for him from now own! After all, whatever makes him happy, makes me happy!
The plain garden around her dematerialized into a simple Japoness apartment where Otaru sat waiting. As the front door opened, he rushed forward to greet a hard-worked Cherry returning from work. "Cherry! Did you have a rough day?"
"Not at all, Otaru-sama," Cherry beamed. "I need only to think of you, and my work load lightens."
"Oh, Cherry!" He exclaimed. "I love you! Do you know what I want to do now?"
He held her hand to his cheek.
Back in reality, Cherry went ballistic. Her hands rapidly plucked tomatoes, ripe or otherwise, and dumped them in waiting baskets. "Oh, Otaru-sama, we mustn't! You can't! But I will!"
"Hey!! What are you doing?" The farmhand's voice broke her from her trance. "I told you only to pick the ripe ones, and you've just about stripped every unripe one you could have!"
She dropped her basket in recognition, and her head bobbed down as she realized she had done just that. "I'm very sorry. I had no intention to-"
"You are Otaru Mamiya's marionette, am I right?"
"Yes."
"Wonderful," the farmhand smiled again. "I can just send him my bill."
Otaru was late again, as usual. He stopped outside the door to his apartment and sighed. He could just picture the three inside, eagerly waiting for his arrival, and also somewhat worried about him. How could he once again face them in this way? He regained his composure, gripping three paper bags as if they were his only life line. Then he slid the door sideways, and braced himself for the tidal wave to come.
Nothing.
He opened one eye. There inside were the distinct shapes of Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry. Lime rushed forward, barely giving him time to hide the bags behind his back. "You're home, Otaru!"
She laughed childishly. "I was talking over with Gen Ji-chan, and then I went and played with the Ponta-kuns and we played shadow tag and...hey, Otaru, what's wrong?"
Otaru had been completely absorbed by Cherry and Bloodberry, or rather their shells, which sat unmoving in the back of the room. He approached them, slowly.
"Forgive me, Otaru," Bloodberry spoke as he neared. "I have filed the incident, and it won't happen again."
"The incident?!" Otaru began to get worried. The last time Bloodberry filed an incident was when she had refused to save the life of a dog rather than get Otaru's next meal dirty.
"We're sorry, Otaru-sama," Cherry, almost in tears, continued for Bloodberry. "We both went to work for you..."
A sigh of relief. "Is that all? I thought it was something worse. Oh well, I suppose you didn't enjoy it then?"
"No," both answered in unison.
"Well, it is necessary in order to feed us four, and rent this apartment..."Otaru explained.
"We realized that," Bloodberry said. "But we felt that we needed to help out as well..."
"You do, though," Otaru calmly continued. "Bloodberry, you can do lots of things around the house that I could never do as well as you. I mean, you've got all that lifting power. And Cherry, I'd never eat a decent meal without you..."
The two fought back tears, ultimately giving in and hugging Otaru with all their strength. As they did so, two pieces of paper escaped their grasps.
"Huh?" Otaru shockingly bursted. "What're these?"
He gripped the papers out of the air, and felt the two relax their own grasps, and back away.
He mumbled as he read the two damage claims over to himself. Then, avoiding the gaze of his marionettes, he stomped outside without a word.
"Do you think he's mad?" Bloodberry whispered.
From outside, a large scream erupted.
"Uh-huh."
"Rise and shine, Otaru-sama. Breakfast is almost ready."
Cherry's cheery voice aroused Otaru from sleep. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by her warm, smiling face. He groggily tried to remember why he was supposed to be mad at her, but failed. "Thank you, Cherry."
He got up, dressed, and was just about ready for work when Lime approached him, a curious look on her face. "Otaru, what were those things you brought home yesterday?"
"Things?" Otaru pondered over what she could be referring to.
"Yeah, in the bags!"
He remembered now. The bags he had brought home the night before. "Oh, right! Where did I put them?"
"Right here, Otaru!" She handed him the three bags.
"I bought all of you guys a gift," he said as he searched through the bags. He pulled out a bunch of small red fruit. "These are for Cherry."
From the next bag, he pulled out a bunch of slightly larger fruit. "These are Bloodberry's."
Last of all, he pulled out one large green fruit. "This is for you, Lime."
She held it, still obviously lost on his reasoning. "What is it?"
"It's a Lime."
"Huh? No it's not. I'm Lime!"
Otaru laughed. "That's a Lime, too! It's fruit and you can eat it."
"I'm a fruit??"
"Uh-Huh. Those other two are cherries and blood berries. I was in the market after work, and there was a ton of imported stuff from Romana. I thought of you guys when I saw these, so I figured to get you each some fruit." He suddenly realized the time. "Oh, I've gotta be off to work, or I'll be late again! Can you give those others to Cherry and Bloodberry?"
"Yup!"
He was just about out the door when she stopped him. "Hey, Otaru? Could you bring me back some more fruit tonight? I want to see how funny-looking an Otaru is!!"
I always found Lime, Cherry, and Bloodberry particularly "fruity" names, which gave them a sort of un-seriousness. What I mean, is, as opposed to Faust's sabers (which consisted of Tiger, Lynx, Panther, and ultimately Leopard), Japoness' marionettes are light at heart, which gives them that sense of humor. Whilst Faust consistently ordered his marionettes to various tasks, Otaru really didn't give his marionettes any workload...they instead acted on their own. Furthermore, they practically seemed to live off Otaru's tender care. This sort of raised the question as to whether or not they could handle his constant need to work...and hence "Fated Job Search"
Everyone has to start somewhere, and that's partly where this story came from. At first glance, You could probably argue and say that "Fated Job Search" is completely standalone material, and has no place in the scope of J vs M. I would have to disagree with that though. This fic was my test dummy, meaning I really wrote it with the intention of a trial. Could I write SMJ, or was I just carrying a bunch of stray ideas that wouldn't go anywhere? This answered it for me, and as a light-hearted intro, it helps springboard into my writing styling before the overall plot of J vs M kicks in. I carried this idea over my next few chapters, following the real SMJ, which relatively coasted in the beginning, with the plot hidden in the frameworks. I wouldn't ever take Job Search out of my framework, since it has always marked a personal starting point for me. It remains a historical mark in my own personal life.
Yoo-hoo, I'm Lime! Otaru's suddenly sick! He doesn't want to do much, and he has to drink blecchy medicine! Wait a minute, are you going to die? It can't be that bad, can it? Next time, on Saber Marionette J vs. M: "Achoo! Otaru gets a cold". Otaru, I Love You!