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The following are brief summaries of all the 'Partner' chapters to date. Partner is serialized monthly in 'Ribon' and summaries are added accordingly. It is important to note that I know very little japanese; the few translations made are done painstakingly with a dictionary, and the rest is guestwork. Take the summaries with a grain of salt. If you have corrections, additional information, or actual translations, please email me!






P a r t O N E

September/1999

Ousawa Moe and Nae are two identical 17-year old twin sisters, Moe being the longer-haired, soft-spoken sister, and Nae the more tomboy-ish, outspoken one. The two male leads are twin brothers Soeda Ken and Takeshi, also 17, who mirror Moe and Nae in that they each have opposite personalities. Ken, the quieter, fair-haired twin, is Moe's boyfriend, while the louder, free-spirited, and dark-haired Takeshi, who's content in endlessly teasing Nae. The two sets of twins are seen as the perfect pair of couples, though Nae doesn't quite feel so happy. Apparently she's always been a bit overshadowed by Moe and somewhat forced to be the 'tougher' sister. 

During the middle of the first issue, Nae and Moe have a bad fight, with Nae's bitterness building up, and she argues with Moe about their lives and Moe's relationship with Ken, whom Nae has harbored secret feelings for. The twins begin ignoring each other then, but a couple days later, Nae goes out and buys a lovely necklace as a gift for Moe, because their birthday is coming up, but also because she feels guilty about the fight. She returns home, but Moe isn't there. Suddenly, a chill goes through Nae and shedrops her cup of tea. At that moment, the phone rings and her mother answers it-Moe's been in an accident('traffic' accident so I assume she was hit by a car?) and has passed away. The family goes to identify the body, and they're given Moe's belongings, which Nae clutches while a stunned Takeshi and Ken appear. Ken tells Nae that Moe was supposed to be out buying Nae a birthday present. Nae looks inside Moe's bag and finds a box containing the exact same necklace she purchased for Moe. Shortly after, the family is given another dose of shocking news; Moe's body is missing. The story makes the news, and, despite not being able to provide a proper burial, the family continues on with their mourning.  

Some time later, Nae, Ken, and Takeshi are out shopping and Ken suddenly spots a girl who looks exactly like Moe. He runs over and grabs her, and when she turns around, the three are stunned, as it IS Moe. She doesn't say anything but tries to break free, and Ken keeps tugging her, trying to get her to stay, when suddenly her ARM comes off in his hand, much to everyone's surprise (well, duh ^^). Moe bends down to pick it up, and suddenly a car screeches to a stop next to her, and a man opens the door telling Moe to get in. She does, and the car speeds away. The group (Ken on his motorbike,Takeshi and Nae on another) quickly follows after the car.      








P a r t T W O

October/1999

Nae, Ken, and Takeshi follow the car with Moe in it to some sort of out of the way, hidden building, resembling a research/science center. The three teens attempt to enter but are caught outside by some armed guards. They are then led into the building at gunpoint, still unsure of what's going on or where they even are, and are taken into a room and presented before a group of apparent scientists. The three, still at gunpoint, are shown a film which explains the project the center is working on, the "Living Stuffed People" project, which gives life to dead bodies using a chemical support system, molding them into a different kind of race, the LSP. Basically, they bring dead people back to life and keep them alive by artificially
stimulating their brain and organs, but they resemble little other than living puppets. Nae angrily throws a stool at the projection screen, and a short scuffle breaks out. Nae, Takeshi, and Ken are taken captive
(kept in a sort of prison-like cell) and are soon visited by Moe, who is now one of the living puppets, who eagerly rushes in a plate of food and offers to feed it to Ken, who's disturbed by the current situation but simply can't refuse the girl he once loved.

Some time later, after the three teens have made feeble attempts to sketch out an escape plan, Nae is called out of the cell by one of the scientist assistants, Nakatsu-san. Nae apparently has some plan in her head to win Nakatsu over (or get info out of him) by using her feminine wiles. -_- The two walk for a short distance until Nae points to a door and asks what it leads to. Nakatsu leads her inside; it's the boiler room. Nae's surveying the room while Nakatsu quickly shuts and locks the door behind him. Nae hears the click and turns, but is suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand clamped over her mouth muffling a scream.

The last scene switches over to the main lab room, where the Living Stuffed People are, well, 'stuffed', so to speak. An unknown body (no face is shown) is lying on a table, it's arm shown completely open, with wires running from the veins over to a tank which contains a large brain suspended in some liquid matter (it's all very Frankenstein like x.x). An ominous closeup of the Creator/Doctor (Koushin) is shown, looking tense and urging someone, or something to hurry, because he wants a fifth body.
 








P a r t T H R E E

November/1999


The chapter opens with Nakatsu-chan who we last saw grabbing Nae from behind. They're struggling on the floor (I honestly can't tell if he's trying to restrain her, kill her, or rape her x.x) and she manages to break free, but he pulls out a gun and she freezes. She can't reach the exit and starts mentally pleading for Takeshi to save her. Meanwhile, Takeshi, who had already sensed something was wrong, is running through the halls with Ken trailing closely, searching for whereever Nae might be. Cut back to Nae and Nakatsu in the boiler room; he's still pointing the gun at her, and urging her to step closer to him. Nae, who has her back turned to him, suddenly spots a pile of pipes and secretly grabs one, holding it like a Kendo sword (bokken) and realizing it might be her only chance to get out of the situation. She turns to Nakatsu, who is unfazed until Nae swiftly, in one blow, knocks the gun from his hand, and lands another blow to his side.

Takeshi and Ken are still searching for Nae when Ken comes across the boiler room door and calls Takeshi over. The two rush in, but are stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Nae, the pipe slung over her shoulder, with one foot resting on the prone (he's knocked unconcious) body of Nakatsu. Nae tells the boys they're late ^_^. Takeshi grabs Nakatsu's gun and pockets it, leading Nae back to their 'room'. Ken stays behind momentarily to tie up Nakatsu, and his eye is caught by a small book in Nakatsu's shirt pocket. Ken returns to the room with the book, which contains a complete floor-plan of the building, as well as a list containing bio's and stats for all the current Living Stuffed People, as well as the three of them.

The next day or so (it's really hard to differentiate time spans in this story x.x), Ken's presense is requested by one of the scientists, and though Takeshi verbally protests, Ken agrees. He is lead to the living enviorment of the L.S.P and is cheerfully greeted by Moe. One of the guards meanwhile is pestering Takeshi and Nae about what theyd did to Nakatsu, when suddenly a loud alarm goes off. The guard runs out of the room and total chaos has erupted. Another guard yells that it's a disaster, the Type 01 LSP has developed "M.V.". Takeshi and Nae are ordered to stay in their room while the staff members frantically run through the hallways. Takeshi sees Nakatsu running by and reaches out, grabbing him and pulling him forcefully into their room, threatening him until Nakatsu agrees to tell them what's going on.

The Type 01 LSP is the 8 year old boy, Seita. He has developed "M.V.", or "Mold Virus", a quick-spreading and lethal virus which cannot be passed on to living humans, but they can be killed instantly with any physical contact with him. Two guards are running through the halls when Seita (who is actually covered in mold spots) drops down from a vent in the ceiling and creeps up behind one of the men, touching him. The man screams and instantly starts convulsing, while Seita looks on gleefully, as if playing a game.

Nae, Takeshi, and Ken are using the chaotic situation to their advantage and armed with their new knowledge of the floorplan, are attempting to escape. They run for a short while and find their goal, a door labeled C-22, when suddenly Seita crashes down before them from a vent above, a gleeful smile on his face.







P a r t F O U R

December/1999


The three teens are shocked at Seita's appearance stopped dead in their tracks, unsure of what to do. Nae plasters a smile on her face and talks gently to Seita, who smiles, calling her 'neechan', and reaches out to her, but Takeshi pulls her away. The three then run off, with Seita following, yelling for them to wait up. He corners them, moving in on Takeshi when the boy is suddenly shot from the back. Two guards have appeared and are yelling at Seita to back away. A head guard shows up (Iwagaki-san) and starts shooting at Seita, who has not moved. Nae tries to stop the guard, but Iwagaki brushes her off and regards Seita coldly, shooting several more times. Seita addresses Iwagaki-san as his father and asks him to save him; with one more shot to the head, Seita has died (or rather, ceased functioning as an LSP).

Now back in the cell, Nae is in a state of depression, frightened, disturbed, and horrified at the cruel events going on around her. Takeshi embraces and comforts her, and Nae talks about the beloved pet ferret she and Moe had as children; when it died, they had it stuffed, and it reminds her of the LSPs. A couple days later, Nae, Takeshi, and Ken have fallen into a routine. They eat, sleep, and excersize a lot (with Nae practicing her Kendo), while Ken visits Moe in her LSP habitat frequently. Moe tells Ken she loves him, and Ken realizes he's happy to be with her regardless of the situation.

In the cell, a note is slipped in which causes quite a reaction between Nae and Takeshi, and Ken suddenly appears, acting strange and appearing dazed. He collapses onto his cot and Takeshi spots a package of pills sticking out of Ken's pocket, with one missing. Takeshi shakes Ken and asks what's going on, and where he got them, and Ken says from the doctor (Koushin/the Creator). When Takeshi demands more info, Ken slowly mumbles that the doctor isn't such a bad person, and falls unconcious.

 

 





 


P a r t F I V E

January/2000


Nae and Takeshi watch over Ken until he awakes, with nothing more than a headache. Takeshi and Ken get into an argument about the pills, the doctor, and Ken's visits with Moe. Moe comes to visit Ken, rushing into their room and throwing her arms around him, asking why he hasn't come to seen her. Takeshi gets a little angry but Moe, oblivious to the tension, asks Ken to come back with her and offers to make him Ramen (the only thing she makes). Moe suddenly seems to realize Nae and Takeshi are in the room-she's never really acknowledged them before. She greets Nae, and looks to Takeshi, saying "Ah, this is Takeshi isn't it? The black(dark) Ken-chan!" (in reference to Takeshi's darker hair). Moe continues to plead with Ken to come with her, but Ken (surprisingly) declines. Tears form in Moe's eyes and Takeshi and Nae are alarmed, expecting something to happen, but Moe simply leaves.

That night, Ken has trouble getting to sleep, and keeps envisioning Moe's crying face. He hears someone calling him and gets out of bed, seeing Moe reaching through the bars of the door. Moe again asks him to come with her, and this time he agrees, taking a last glance at Takeshi and mentally apologizing to both him and Nae. Moe and Ken head back to the LSP quarters but are stopped by the young man LSP type 03, Toshiaki. He pushes Ken away from Moe and tells him never to touch his 'wife'. Ken is startled...'wife'? And Moe explains, saying that's right, her and Toshiaki are married. Ken's stunned, but Moe's oblivious (as always) and enters a password-protected chamber with Toshiaki, beckoning for Ken to follow them. Moe stops at a large, fluid-filled cylinder-shaped chamber with a floating membrane in it, and eagerly urges Ken to look at it. Ken is freaked, and can barely ask what it is. Moe leans against the glass and turns to Ken. "It's my baby!" she says. "Isn't it cute?". End of chapter.

(Note: Moe's 'baby' looks like a large, bumby brain with two small slit-eyes and tiny stumps of arms. If you know the tatari-mokke from Japanese folklore, or the manga Inuyasha, it almost looks like that!)

 

 


 

P a r t S I X

February/2000

The A few more closeups of the beautiful 'baby' are shown and Ken has a hand over his mouth, looking very much like he's going to be sick. Moe asks him what's wrong, and tells him to look at the baby. She says she wanted to show him, since he is her friend, the cute baby she and Toshiaki have. At the moment, Koushin comes in, and Ken asks him what the 'thing' is, and Koushin gives some explanation I can't understand. Ken keels over, becoming sick (if this were in color, he'd have been green), and Koushin calls in for some assistants, who run in with first aid kits, towels, and such. Ken then gets into an argument with Koushin, and Moe leans down to ask if he's allright. Ken pushes her away, exclaiming for her not to touch him, and Moe flies back into the 'baby chamber', and lays motionless, her eyes going blank. Ken is stunned, and Koushin and the others quickly move in and scoop Moe up, rushing to another room (to restart her I guess? ^^). Ken walks out of the room and down the hall, leaning against the wall and looking haggard, having flashbacks of Moe from when they first met up until the incident moments ago. Tears stream down his face and he screams in agony before finally collapsing on the floor.

When he wakes up, he's lying in a hospital-type bed, hooked up to various machines. Moe is leaning over him, and she greets him happily and eagerly pulls the hair from the back of her neck, showing him where she was hurt. The two talk for awhile, and then Ken turns solemnly to Koushin, and, with a vacant look in his eyes, asks (begs really) if he can please take Moe to the sea (beach) just once.

Meanwhile, Nae and Takeshi are flipping out, as they haven't seen Ken for three days now and noone will tell them anything. They pester several guards angrily but without response, until Nae pauses by a window and looks out, shocked. Ken and Moe are standing outside, next to Ken's motorbike, with several guards around them. Moe is exclaiming how happy she is, and she climbs onto the bike with Ken, who takes off with the guards following closely behind him.

The two ride to the beach and walk down to the edge of the water, with Moe elated and a little frightened. The two run and play under close surveillance, seemingly like they're on a date. They walk back up to Ken's bike to leave, and when Moe's seated, he touches her face and pulls her towards him. While he embraces her, he reaches around to the back of her neck, through her hair, and *pokes* his fingers into the back of her neck (it's like an 'off' switch x.x). Moe immediately goes limp, and Ken climbs onto the bike in front of her, tying his arms around his waist with a sweater, making it look like Moe is simply hugging him tightly. Ken speeds off and the guards know something is wrong. They immediately chase after him, leaning out the window with guns, but Koushin tells them not to shoot. Ken rides off towards the edge of a cliff, and Koushin gets out of a car, some yards away. Ken speeds up, images of Moe flashing through his head, and crashes through the guardrail, diving the motorcycle into the air over the cliff. Koushin watches, and says quietly (in english) "Good Luck" before the motorcycle decends down to the water below.

 

 

P a r t S E V E N

March/2000

n (Very brief, sorry!). Takeshi and Nae are together when Takeshi begins getting chills and having horrible premonitions about Ken. The scene then cuts to a large boat in the middle of the sea. The scientists and guards from the L.S.P. project are aboard and have recovered Moe and Ken's bodies from the water, after their fatal (for Ken, anyway) motorcyle leap over the cliff. Some time later, Takeshi and Nae get fed up, and, never being told where Ken is, take matters into their own hands, ganging up on one of the guards and using his gun to try and force information out of one of the scientists. A group of guards rushes in but Takeshi refuses to let down, and keeps the gun pointed at them, when suddenly a figure breaks through the guards and walks slowly to Takeshi. Nae and Takeshi both freeze in shock as the now-dead Ken, in LSP clothes and with a Type 05 label, walks forward and calmly takes the gun out of Takeshi's hand.

P a r t E I G H T

April/2000

Ken steps back into place with the group of guards, while tears stream down the shocked Takeshi's face. Ken is led away and Takeshi tries to stop him, but is restrained by the guards. He's forcefully thrown into a cell and beaten by several of them while Nae sits curled up on the floor in a state of shock, her eyes blank. Meanwhile, in the LSP-room, Koushin is visiting with his 'subjects' and 'officially' introduces Ken to the group. Moe (who is currently in a wheelchair, but walking a few scenes later x.x) is quite overjoyed, but Toshiaki is angered and exclaimes he hates Ken. Moe chats with Koushin, while Toshiaki and Carrie do their own thing (Carrie spends most of her time primping before mirrors declaring how lovely she is!), and Ken takes a seat by himself, ignoring the others. A forlorn expression is on his face, and though his eyes are blank as ever, a tear can be seen forming, and he whispers under his breath "Ta...ke..." (Ta-ke-shi).

A bruised and battered Takeshi collapses on the cot in their room while Nae, finally out of her daze, tries to comfort him, and it takes awhile before he can stop sobbing, having repeated flashbacks of his and Ken's childhood. When they're both composed enough, Takeshi and Nae begin working again at an escape plan. Nae plans a route out of the building through the air ducts in the ceiling (which Seita had been running around through), and Takeshi helps her up into the vent in their room. The two part tearfully and Nae begins making her way through the duct.

 

P a r t N I N E

May/2000

coming soon!

P a r t T E N

June/2000

coming soon!