Kirin - Part 4
Aug. 27th, 2005 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tripoverhercatsTitle: Kirin - Part 4
Genre: Drama/Supernatural
Rating: 14+ For cursing and violence
Status: Ongoinghttp://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tripoverhercats&keyword=Kirin&filter=all
Previous Entries:
Part 4 - Information Gathering
Omi swung into the shop, trailing a good 5 or 6 fan girls behind him. “Hey, I’m back!” He called out to a rather frazzled looking Ken.
“Oh thank god, I need the help.” Ken was gamely managing the register while dealing with the daily post-school crush.
“Shouldn’t Aya be here?” It had been five days since the mission and both Aya and Yohji were supposed to be taking shifts in the Koneko again.
“The fans took one look at his ‘poor bandaged head’ and swamped him. He managed to beat his way into the back room and is setting up tomorrow’s arrangements. Frankly he still looks like he should be in bed. Hey! If you touch those flowers again, you’re going to have to buy them!” He sighed as the two girls giggled behind their hands.
“Anyways,” Ken continued, “Yohji is upstairs, I’m supposed to take him to the hospital with Aya in an hour to have the stitches looked at.”
“Let me get my apron and I’ll take the register.” Omi slipped through the horde of girls with practiced ease. He knocked on the door to the back room, waiting for Aya to come and unlock the door. Two months ago, a few of the fan girls had followed Yohji into the back room straining even the normally amicable blonde’s tolerance. The door was locked now to preserve their cool refuge.
The door opened a crack, just enough for Aya to glare out. “Just me,” Omi said. The redhead stepped back quickly.
“Hurry before one of those shameless girls gets it in her head again to try and comfort me.” Oh, that was a very grumpy Aya. Omi slid in and shut the door behind him, twisting the lock as he went through.
Aya retreated to the work bench where he had an array of cuttings, twine and various vases strewn across the table, with a laptop and teapot off to one side. Omi cast a half-curious glance at the screen as the headed for the small closet where the aprons were kept.
“History of the Shinsengumi?” Omi blinked and looked again. “That’s kind of an odd subject.”
Aya cast the laptop a resigned glance. “I’m looking for news on one of the captains, Hajime Saito. Problem is, there’s nothing on him after the end of the Meiji Revolution, not even when he died. He just vanished sometime after Hijikata’s death. The last known reference on him is that Saito was present when Squad Captain Okita finally died of tuberculosis.”
“Why the sudden curiosity?” Omi knew a little about the Shinsengumi, they were fairly popular characters in several historical dramatic shows and a few manga.
“The sword I took from Watanabe’s office. It’s Saito's sword. I’m trying to figure out how some low-ranked gutter slime like him managed to get a hold of it.”
Omi whistled. “That is odd. A sword like that should be a treasure piece. Maybe we can quietly donate it to a museum. I’m sure Manx can come up with…”
“No.” There was a hostile note in Aya’s voice. “That sword doesn’t need to sit in a display case and be gawked at. It needs…” Aya hesitated, giving Omi an odd look. Almost, entreating? “It needs to go… home. Where it belongs, where it can… be used properly.”
“So you aren’t going to use it yourself?”
Aya laughed, a short cold bark. “I’m barely fit to clean the blood off such a weapon. It may not be a Muramasa or a Hanzo blade, but it’s in their league.” Aya turned back to the scattered flowers and resumed piecing together the next arrangement.
“Maybe… maybe I can help you.” Omi offered. “I sent Manx the analysis of the data I got off Watanabe’s system, I can look and see if there’s anything on the blade while you’re at the hospital this afternoon.” He cast a glance at the search engine Aya was using and refrained from curling his lip in derision. “I can at least use a better engine than that. My programs will eat Google for lunch.”
The look Aya shot Omi was unreadable, but after a moment he dropped his head in a quick nod. “I’d… appreciate it. Thank you.”
Omi collected his apron and headed for the door. “Not a problem, Aya! I’m always glad to help a teammate!” The stubborn redhead had been with Weiss for five months now, it was about time he started accepting their help.
With Aya’s head still doubtful and Yohji’s arm still in a sling, Ken and Omi closed the shop early so Ken could drive the pair to the Magic Bus. Once the shutters were down and the register counted out, Omi skipped downstairs to the main terminal. None of the other Weiss members ever touched the complex machine, even Yohji who was a fair hand around computers had taken one look at the bizarre setup and left the mainframe alone.
This was Omi’s playground. The sixteen year-old had practically built the system from the ground up and there were very few systems he couldn’t penetrate. “Right then, let’s have a look at you Saito-san.” Fifteen minutes later, Omi sat back as his search program ruffled it’s digital feathers at him.
//WARK!//
“How annoying.” Aya was right, it seemed that Saito had indeed dropped out of all government records shortly after the end of the Meiji Overthrow. Watanabe's files were also free of any mention of Saito, or the sword for that mater. “OK then Strider,” he addressed his program, fingers flying over the keyboard. “In the personal details it says he married one Tokio Takagi, a daimyo‘s daughter. Find out everything you can about her.” The search program blinked a bright eye as it absorbed the new commands and dashed off the screen, diving back into the network.
Five minutes later the computer scrolled up a very short list of entries. Typical of women in that era, there wasn’t much on her. Birth, marriage, death… oh now this was interesting. Her death record listed her as Tokio Fujita… wife of Goro Fujita. A small triumphant smile lit Omi’s features. Goro Fujita. “Found you.”
Happily he began to type out a new series of commands. Halfway into the new search, Omi found himself spinning out of the chair, a dart in his hand. His eyes flickered around the room, seeing nothing. But the feeling of being watched didn’t fade and there was nowhere in the small mission room for anyone to hide. Frowning, he pulled out a scanner. There shouldn’t be any bugs in here, but Momoe’s lessons to always be sure of his surroundings pulled at him. For all he knew, he was being tested again and failure was painful.
Momoe’s apartment was next door to the Koneko, for both an easy access to the shop when necessary and to keep a surreptitious eye on the quartet of assassins. She had settled herself for tea when she felt him enter the room. A killer, one whose ki was contained and very powerful.
“I did not invite you in.” She made no move towards her kunai, those weapons were useless.
“You didn’t have to kunoichi, your threshold boundaries are the same as the hitokiri’s." The figure stepped out of the shadow, transparent, but clear to Momoe's trained eyes. "So, you are not as blind as your charges."
"No, I can see you just fine with my old eyes. What business do you have here?"
"You are Spider Clan, aren't you? I saw your markings all over that boy. He even sensed me a few minutes ago."
She frowned. "I am. Again, what business do you have here?"
Narrow golden eyes gleamed in the lamplight and a feral grin twisted thin lips. "Direct, aren't you. I like that. I'm here because I want to be and because you have a mess on your hands. Just what were you thinking with the Fujimiya brat. Don't tell me you missed what he is." The blue clad figure paced through the low table to stop in front of the old woman. "The other two are equally untrained and quite frankly, damaged."
Momoe could not keep her gaze locked with his. "The other three are... replaceable. Bombay isn't. As for Abyssinian, he's supposed to be dormant. Shion said he had potential, but he couldn't unlock it. So we ended his training once he was adequate for our needs."
"Your Shion then, was a fool. He isn't dormant. He hasn't been dormant since he was a child. He's been in denial, fortunately for him it's been an effective mask. One that I have removed."
"WHAT!" Momoe jerked to her feet, arthritic ankles bitterly protesting. "He's about to walk into a hospital. It's full of the dead! That could kill him!" She tried to move to the phone, to call Manx but the spirit moved faster, his eyes pinning her in place. She struggled against the hypnotic stare, silently cursing ever meeting those eyes.
"Perhaps. But I doubt it. He is strong, if he cannot handle a few restless spirits, then I've sorely misjudged him. And in that case, it's best that he fails now." The gaze continued to bore mercilessly into hers. "Now, kunoichi, you will tell me why you've gathered this quartet of killers and what you use them for."
A/N: I’ve played a bit with Saito’s history. While it is common true knowledge that he changed his name in 1870 and joined the police (and did not marry Tokio until 1874) I’ve made his alternate identity a secret. After all, in Rurouni Kenshin he acted as an undercover officer, so hiding him makes a bit of sense. So I bumped his marriage of Tokio up a bit so Omi could be a clever bish and track him down through her.
Genre: Drama/Supernatural
Rating: 14+ For cursing and violence
Status: Ongoinghttp://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tripoverhercats&keyword=Kirin&filter=all
Previous Entries:
Part 4 - Information Gathering
Omi swung into the shop, trailing a good 5 or 6 fan girls behind him. “Hey, I’m back!” He called out to a rather frazzled looking Ken.
“Oh thank god, I need the help.” Ken was gamely managing the register while dealing with the daily post-school crush.
“Shouldn’t Aya be here?” It had been five days since the mission and both Aya and Yohji were supposed to be taking shifts in the Koneko again.
“The fans took one look at his ‘poor bandaged head’ and swamped him. He managed to beat his way into the back room and is setting up tomorrow’s arrangements. Frankly he still looks like he should be in bed. Hey! If you touch those flowers again, you’re going to have to buy them!” He sighed as the two girls giggled behind their hands.
“Anyways,” Ken continued, “Yohji is upstairs, I’m supposed to take him to the hospital with Aya in an hour to have the stitches looked at.”
“Let me get my apron and I’ll take the register.” Omi slipped through the horde of girls with practiced ease. He knocked on the door to the back room, waiting for Aya to come and unlock the door. Two months ago, a few of the fan girls had followed Yohji into the back room straining even the normally amicable blonde’s tolerance. The door was locked now to preserve their cool refuge.
The door opened a crack, just enough for Aya to glare out. “Just me,” Omi said. The redhead stepped back quickly.
“Hurry before one of those shameless girls gets it in her head again to try and comfort me.” Oh, that was a very grumpy Aya. Omi slid in and shut the door behind him, twisting the lock as he went through.
Aya retreated to the work bench where he had an array of cuttings, twine and various vases strewn across the table, with a laptop and teapot off to one side. Omi cast a half-curious glance at the screen as the headed for the small closet where the aprons were kept.
“History of the Shinsengumi?” Omi blinked and looked again. “That’s kind of an odd subject.”
Aya cast the laptop a resigned glance. “I’m looking for news on one of the captains, Hajime Saito. Problem is, there’s nothing on him after the end of the Meiji Revolution, not even when he died. He just vanished sometime after Hijikata’s death. The last known reference on him is that Saito was present when Squad Captain Okita finally died of tuberculosis.”
“Why the sudden curiosity?” Omi knew a little about the Shinsengumi, they were fairly popular characters in several historical dramatic shows and a few manga.
“The sword I took from Watanabe’s office. It’s Saito's sword. I’m trying to figure out how some low-ranked gutter slime like him managed to get a hold of it.”
Omi whistled. “That is odd. A sword like that should be a treasure piece. Maybe we can quietly donate it to a museum. I’m sure Manx can come up with…”
“No.” There was a hostile note in Aya’s voice. “That sword doesn’t need to sit in a display case and be gawked at. It needs…” Aya hesitated, giving Omi an odd look. Almost, entreating? “It needs to go… home. Where it belongs, where it can… be used properly.”
“So you aren’t going to use it yourself?”
Aya laughed, a short cold bark. “I’m barely fit to clean the blood off such a weapon. It may not be a Muramasa or a Hanzo blade, but it’s in their league.” Aya turned back to the scattered flowers and resumed piecing together the next arrangement.
“Maybe… maybe I can help you.” Omi offered. “I sent Manx the analysis of the data I got off Watanabe’s system, I can look and see if there’s anything on the blade while you’re at the hospital this afternoon.” He cast a glance at the search engine Aya was using and refrained from curling his lip in derision. “I can at least use a better engine than that. My programs will eat Google for lunch.”
The look Aya shot Omi was unreadable, but after a moment he dropped his head in a quick nod. “I’d… appreciate it. Thank you.”
Omi collected his apron and headed for the door. “Not a problem, Aya! I’m always glad to help a teammate!” The stubborn redhead had been with Weiss for five months now, it was about time he started accepting their help.
With Aya’s head still doubtful and Yohji’s arm still in a sling, Ken and Omi closed the shop early so Ken could drive the pair to the Magic Bus. Once the shutters were down and the register counted out, Omi skipped downstairs to the main terminal. None of the other Weiss members ever touched the complex machine, even Yohji who was a fair hand around computers had taken one look at the bizarre setup and left the mainframe alone.
This was Omi’s playground. The sixteen year-old had practically built the system from the ground up and there were very few systems he couldn’t penetrate. “Right then, let’s have a look at you Saito-san.” Fifteen minutes later, Omi sat back as his search program ruffled it’s digital feathers at him.
//WARK!//
“How annoying.” Aya was right, it seemed that Saito had indeed dropped out of all government records shortly after the end of the Meiji Overthrow. Watanabe's files were also free of any mention of Saito, or the sword for that mater. “OK then Strider,” he addressed his program, fingers flying over the keyboard. “In the personal details it says he married one Tokio Takagi, a daimyo‘s daughter. Find out everything you can about her.” The search program blinked a bright eye as it absorbed the new commands and dashed off the screen, diving back into the network.
Five minutes later the computer scrolled up a very short list of entries. Typical of women in that era, there wasn’t much on her. Birth, marriage, death… oh now this was interesting. Her death record listed her as Tokio Fujita… wife of Goro Fujita. A small triumphant smile lit Omi’s features. Goro Fujita. “Found you.”
Happily he began to type out a new series of commands. Halfway into the new search, Omi found himself spinning out of the chair, a dart in his hand. His eyes flickered around the room, seeing nothing. But the feeling of being watched didn’t fade and there was nowhere in the small mission room for anyone to hide. Frowning, he pulled out a scanner. There shouldn’t be any bugs in here, but Momoe’s lessons to always be sure of his surroundings pulled at him. For all he knew, he was being tested again and failure was painful.
Momoe’s apartment was next door to the Koneko, for both an easy access to the shop when necessary and to keep a surreptitious eye on the quartet of assassins. She had settled herself for tea when she felt him enter the room. A killer, one whose ki was contained and very powerful.
“I did not invite you in.” She made no move towards her kunai, those weapons were useless.
“You didn’t have to kunoichi, your threshold boundaries are the same as the hitokiri’s." The figure stepped out of the shadow, transparent, but clear to Momoe's trained eyes. "So, you are not as blind as your charges."
"No, I can see you just fine with my old eyes. What business do you have here?"
"You are Spider Clan, aren't you? I saw your markings all over that boy. He even sensed me a few minutes ago."
She frowned. "I am. Again, what business do you have here?"
Narrow golden eyes gleamed in the lamplight and a feral grin twisted thin lips. "Direct, aren't you. I like that. I'm here because I want to be and because you have a mess on your hands. Just what were you thinking with the Fujimiya brat. Don't tell me you missed what he is." The blue clad figure paced through the low table to stop in front of the old woman. "The other two are equally untrained and quite frankly, damaged."
Momoe could not keep her gaze locked with his. "The other three are... replaceable. Bombay isn't. As for Abyssinian, he's supposed to be dormant. Shion said he had potential, but he couldn't unlock it. So we ended his training once he was adequate for our needs."
"Your Shion then, was a fool. He isn't dormant. He hasn't been dormant since he was a child. He's been in denial, fortunately for him it's been an effective mask. One that I have removed."
"WHAT!" Momoe jerked to her feet, arthritic ankles bitterly protesting. "He's about to walk into a hospital. It's full of the dead! That could kill him!" She tried to move to the phone, to call Manx but the spirit moved faster, his eyes pinning her in place. She struggled against the hypnotic stare, silently cursing ever meeting those eyes.
"Perhaps. But I doubt it. He is strong, if he cannot handle a few restless spirits, then I've sorely misjudged him. And in that case, it's best that he fails now." The gaze continued to bore mercilessly into hers. "Now, kunoichi, you will tell me why you've gathered this quartet of killers and what you use them for."
A/N: I’ve played a bit with Saito’s history. While it is common true knowledge that he changed his name in 1870 and joined the police (and did not marry Tokio until 1874) I’ve made his alternate identity a secret. After all, in Rurouni Kenshin he acted as an undercover officer, so hiding him makes a bit of sense. So I bumped his marriage of Tokio up a bit so Omi could be a clever bish and track him down through her.