mar 05 2002
sumi-chan
rose wine chapter 1-- the mizushoubai
** tokiya mikagami, ensui, and all other FOR-related stuff are not mine. everything else is original. **
*** NOTE!!
this writing takes the character tokiya mikagami and places him in my alternate universe.
he has never met the hokage team. he was able to battle with that other ensui student and find out who really killed mifuyu.
he trained hard and killed his master.
he is seventeen in this story.
having done away with the hokage, I, the Author, may now have him all to myself. *fangirl grin*
please remember that I wrote this with non-FOR fans in mind, too. so the conversation in this chapter will focus mainly on tokiya's life story, about mifuyu and all. it's a short piece, and for the FOR fans who already know the mifuyu bit, skip on ahead to the part about kigikumi (in this fic, she is tokiya's ex-gf).
---
this is the revised version. hopefully it is better than the previous version. ^^;;; I've done away with all unnecessary characters.
there isn't much change, though, in the beginning parts.
***
--- --- ---
2:34am. MizuShoubai was a popular bar, though, and its hazy interiors were crammed with the nocturnal crowd 'from dusk til dawn' as it was advertised. Besides, it was Saturday night, not to mention Valentine's.
It was an eclectic atmosphere of music, alchohol, cigarette smoke, and neon lights. Some tables were populated by gangsters and punks; young men who dressed in a way that would make the elderly shake their head, and scantily-clad women at their sides to complete the look. Most had groups of friends who were there for a good time after work or school, or perhaps romantic couples who kept to themselves in the back corners. And there were a few lone drinkers here and there, those who mulled over lost loves or lost jobs.
The bartender looked at her customer, taking notice of his attire. The latter, she noticed, always wore a suit. Not that it looked tacky on him-- hell, this guy was probably a model. He had light blue eyes that called ice to mind, pale skin, and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. The skin and hair, in particular, had Maki wondering about the customer's gender, but that was settled the moment he made his order. His voice was, no doubt, male. It was deep and quiet, and rather intimidating. She wouldn't be surprised if this guy had the fighting skills that went behind the cool voice. She never did hear the cool voice very often, and the customer had never cared to introduce himself (Maki had resorted to calling him Mr. Iceman in her thoughts-- never aloud, of course).
Mr. Iceman would arrive in the bar at around 11:45pm, stay until 3 in the morning, and ordered cups of sake sporadically during his stay. He always sat in the same place. Sometimes he would just sit there, watching the bar scene idly; mostly he'd be deep in thoughts.
Tonight, Mr. Iceman's suit was sky blue outside, grey-black inside, and no tie. There was never a tie. Unlike most of the other customers, he drank sake. Maki didn't even know that MizuShoubai *had* that archaic drink, until this guy came along and ordered it-- but then again, it was a part-time job and she was relatively new at it. And tonight being Valentine's night, Maki was a little bit intrigued that such a good-looking guy didn't have a woman with him. Mr. Iceman ordered another round of sake, and Maki decided that she had nothing to lose by striking a conversation.
It was part of a bartender's job, after all.
"Nice suit."
Mr. Iceman turned to face her and gave a nod as acknowledgement.
"So... what do you do outside of the MizuShoubai?"
"I'm a student with a part-time job," he said, sipping his sake lazily.
Silence.
Maki made another brave stab at conversation.
"What happened, your girlfriend broke up with you?"
Perhaps that was a bit too far?
"She died in an accident a week ago," he said flatly. His face remained perfectly still and bereft of any emotion.
Great. Fine way to break the ice, Maki. Awaken bad memories.
Courtesy soon came into her mind, and she apologized to her customer. Who simply shrugged and continued with his sake.
Maki was already about to turn away, when
"Do you really want to know?"
His blue eyes looked coldly at the bartender, but without malice. They held an... indistinct... emotion.
Maki felt a bit uneasy, but also terribly curious.
"Yeah. That's part of my job, ne?"
Another shrug.
"Onee-san was the most important person in my life..." he trailed off, leaving Maki hanging for a few moments.
"When our parents died. She was all I had left."
Minutes ticked away as Maki listened to her customer's life story. How his older sister had been murdered in front of his eyes, how he had trained in some form of fighting art-- what was it again? Something about a sword and water... He had been taken in by his mentor right after his sister's death.
"It was really shocking, you know, when I found out who really killed Mifuyu." His eyes flashed as he said it.
"Who?"
"Meguri Kyoza. My master."
Maki only found two words
"What?! Why?!"
"As I was told, Meguri had thought that giving me a.. purpose... would speed up my learning. He was right. I had nothing but vengeance on my mind, and I swore that I'd grow strong enough to kill the bastard who murdered my sister. Meguri encouraged that thinking. I'll bet he never thought that I'd find out the truth..."
"The guy dug his own grave, huh?"
"I killed him soon enough." There was a cold satisfaction in that voice that Maki found unnerving.
"Ah, wait, excuse me..." Maki had to attend to another customer.
She returned to Mr. Iceman after a few short moments.
"...sore da?"
He shrugged.
"I lived all my life for only one purpose. After I had exacted revenge, I lost direction."
Maki found herself brave enough to ask about the girl
"What about, anou, the, uhm, late girlfriend?" The last two words came out as tiny squeaks.
He shrugged.
"What about her?"
"Well... she gave, err, new direction to your life, ne?"
He seemed to contemplate this question for a while, looking as if he rolled it about his mind as he composed an answer.
"I suppose one could say that."
"Anou, excuse me again..." The other customer wanted three vodkas, pronto, 'or else'.
Maki returned to find Mr. Iceman about to leave. He paid the bill and stood up.
"Ja," he murmured, already walking away.
"Oi, matte! The exit is over there..."
She trailed off and sighed, taking his empty cup to be washed and put away.
sumi-chan
rose wine chapter 1-- the mizushoubai
** tokiya mikagami, ensui, and all other FOR-related stuff are not mine. everything else is original. **
*** NOTE!!
this writing takes the character tokiya mikagami and places him in my alternate universe.
he has never met the hokage team. he was able to battle with that other ensui student and find out who really killed mifuyu.
he trained hard and killed his master.
he is seventeen in this story.
having done away with the hokage, I, the Author, may now have him all to myself. *fangirl grin*
please remember that I wrote this with non-FOR fans in mind, too. so the conversation in this chapter will focus mainly on tokiya's life story, about mifuyu and all. it's a short piece, and for the FOR fans who already know the mifuyu bit, skip on ahead to the part about kigikumi (in this fic, she is tokiya's ex-gf).
---
this is the revised version. hopefully it is better than the previous version. ^^;;; I've done away with all unnecessary characters.
there isn't much change, though, in the beginning parts.
***
--- --- ---
2:34am. MizuShoubai was a popular bar, though, and its hazy interiors were crammed with the nocturnal crowd 'from dusk til dawn' as it was advertised. Besides, it was Saturday night, not to mention Valentine's.
It was an eclectic atmosphere of music, alchohol, cigarette smoke, and neon lights. Some tables were populated by gangsters and punks; young men who dressed in a way that would make the elderly shake their head, and scantily-clad women at their sides to complete the look. Most had groups of friends who were there for a good time after work or school, or perhaps romantic couples who kept to themselves in the back corners. And there were a few lone drinkers here and there, those who mulled over lost loves or lost jobs.
The bartender looked at her customer, taking notice of his attire. The latter, she noticed, always wore a suit. Not that it looked tacky on him-- hell, this guy was probably a model. He had light blue eyes that called ice to mind, pale skin, and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. The skin and hair, in particular, had Maki wondering about the customer's gender, but that was settled the moment he made his order. His voice was, no doubt, male. It was deep and quiet, and rather intimidating. She wouldn't be surprised if this guy had the fighting skills that went behind the cool voice. She never did hear the cool voice very often, and the customer had never cared to introduce himself (Maki had resorted to calling him Mr. Iceman in her thoughts-- never aloud, of course).
Mr. Iceman would arrive in the bar at around 11:45pm, stay until 3 in the morning, and ordered cups of sake sporadically during his stay. He always sat in the same place. Sometimes he would just sit there, watching the bar scene idly; mostly he'd be deep in thoughts.
Tonight, Mr. Iceman's suit was sky blue outside, grey-black inside, and no tie. There was never a tie. Unlike most of the other customers, he drank sake. Maki didn't even know that MizuShoubai *had* that archaic drink, until this guy came along and ordered it-- but then again, it was a part-time job and she was relatively new at it. And tonight being Valentine's night, Maki was a little bit intrigued that such a good-looking guy didn't have a woman with him. Mr. Iceman ordered another round of sake, and Maki decided that she had nothing to lose by striking a conversation.
It was part of a bartender's job, after all.
"Nice suit."
Mr. Iceman turned to face her and gave a nod as acknowledgement.
"So... what do you do outside of the MizuShoubai?"
"I'm a student with a part-time job," he said, sipping his sake lazily.
Silence.
Maki made another brave stab at conversation.
"What happened, your girlfriend broke up with you?"
Perhaps that was a bit too far?
"She died in an accident a week ago," he said flatly. His face remained perfectly still and bereft of any emotion.
Great. Fine way to break the ice, Maki. Awaken bad memories.
Courtesy soon came into her mind, and she apologized to her customer. Who simply shrugged and continued with his sake.
Maki was already about to turn away, when
"Do you really want to know?"
His blue eyes looked coldly at the bartender, but without malice. They held an... indistinct... emotion.
Maki felt a bit uneasy, but also terribly curious.
"Yeah. That's part of my job, ne?"
Another shrug.
"Onee-san was the most important person in my life..." he trailed off, leaving Maki hanging for a few moments.
"When our parents died. She was all I had left."
Minutes ticked away as Maki listened to her customer's life story. How his older sister had been murdered in front of his eyes, how he had trained in some form of fighting art-- what was it again? Something about a sword and water... He had been taken in by his mentor right after his sister's death.
"It was really shocking, you know, when I found out who really killed Mifuyu." His eyes flashed as he said it.
"Who?"
"Meguri Kyoza. My master."
Maki only found two words
"What?! Why?!"
"As I was told, Meguri had thought that giving me a.. purpose... would speed up my learning. He was right. I had nothing but vengeance on my mind, and I swore that I'd grow strong enough to kill the bastard who murdered my sister. Meguri encouraged that thinking. I'll bet he never thought that I'd find out the truth..."
"The guy dug his own grave, huh?"
"I killed him soon enough." There was a cold satisfaction in that voice that Maki found unnerving.
"Ah, wait, excuse me..." Maki had to attend to another customer.
She returned to Mr. Iceman after a few short moments.
"...sore da?"
He shrugged.
"I lived all my life for only one purpose. After I had exacted revenge, I lost direction."
Maki found herself brave enough to ask about the girl
"What about, anou, the, uhm, late girlfriend?" The last two words came out as tiny squeaks.
He shrugged.
"What about her?"
"Well... she gave, err, new direction to your life, ne?"
He seemed to contemplate this question for a while, looking as if he rolled it about his mind as he composed an answer.
"I suppose one could say that."
"Anou, excuse me again..." The other customer wanted three vodkas, pronto, 'or else'.
Maki returned to find Mr. Iceman about to leave. He paid the bill and stood up.
"Ja," he murmured, already walking away.
"Oi, matte! The exit is over there..."
She trailed off and sighed, taking his empty cup to be washed and put away.