Hogosha(1)
Chapter 1
The Witness
"Aa," agreed Shota. "Let's move out so cleanup can get-"
"Was that closet open earlier?" Seiju asked uneasily, staring at the closet door that hung slightly ajar.
Shota blinked, thinking back, but Usaki answered almost immediately. "... I don't think it was," he said, frowning.
Seiju didn't like that answer. He glanced at Usaki, who already had his gun in hand. They nodded before Shota edged forward, pulling the door open. As soon as he did, there was a terrified, childish squeal and a huge boot came flying out, smacking into Shota's face with impressive force. A little girl, not much older than six, darted past the captain, glancing back at him in fear, and ran smack-dab into Seiju's legs.
He reached down, but she screamed, scrambled to her feet, and dove behind Usaki, trembling as she clutched at his legs. Usaki blinked.
After a moment of dead silence, Seiju grimaced. "... she saw, didn't she?"
Shota nodded. "I think so. There's nothing we can do. We didn't know she was in there..."
Usaki was looking down at the tiny arms clinging to his knees, blinking. He appeared to be frozen to the spot. Slowly, he twisted his middle to get a better look at her. Long, waist-length brown hair, elfen face, large brown eyes and pale skin. She was skinny. Unnaturally so. "I believe she's homeless," he replied, reaching down to touch her head gently. He felt a little awkward. He'd never dealt with children before, especially of the female variety.
Slowly, she lifted her head, eyes staring up at him fearfully. She was crying, and he felt something twist inside of him. Shota knelt beside her and she squeaked, burying her face in the back of Usaki's legs as if that would block everything else out. Frowning, Seiju knelt too.
The cleaning crew had started to come in by this point, and Igarashi trounced in, likely wondering what was taking them so long. He grimaced at the sight that met him inside the apartment. "Ah, man, what is with you guys and kids? All the time. I swear, they flock to you," he groused.
Seiju shot him a look before touching her shoulder. She glanced at him and jerked away, eyes wide and staring at him like she expected him to bite her. Seiju gulped. "She definitely saw," he said mournfully.
"Hey, sweety," Shota said, putting his shoulder between Seiju and the girl.
Seiju sighed, but knew it was likely necessary. "I'll go outside," he said, standing.
Usaki shot him a pleading look, but remained stock still and silent. Seiju patted his shoulder before trotting outside. Once he was gone, Usaki glowering after him mutely, Shota held his hand out to the girl, pulling his mask down with the other. "Hey, sweety. Can you tell me your name?" he asked cautiously, all the while turning the charm on in hopes of getting her to release her captive. In this case, the socially awkward Usaki.
She swallowed, clutching the blond's leg, and stared at Shota's hand. Her fingers tightened in their grip on Usaki's leg. She shifted a little closer to the blond, bringing her a little further away from Shota. Igarashi snorted. "Ain't that cute, Usagi? Someone adores you!"
Usaki glared at him. "That's not my name," he snapped impatiently. Igarashi just laughed at him.
Shota rolled his eyes and ignored their bickering, sitting (2)seiza on the floor. He lowered his hand into his lap. "Alright. You don't have to come near me. But can I have your name?"
Slowly, she nodded. But she didn't say a word. Shota frowned. "Can you speak?" She nodded again. "I won't hurt you; I promise," he said worriedly. Was she hurt?
Igarashi sighed and crouched on her other side, head tilted. Her head snapped around, wide eyes focused on him as he dug in his pocket for something. After a moment, he pulled out a box of (3)Pocky. "Want one?" he asked, pulling one out and letting it hang out of his mouth by the tip of the chocolate end. He pulled out another and offered it to her.
Her grip on Usaki's leg tightened as she eyed the treat. After a moment, she gulped and opened her mouth a little. Igarashi's brow quirked, but he slowly put the tip in her mouth. She clamped down on it and inched away from him, half hiding behind Usaki's leg. Shota smiled a little. She apparently hadn't noticed that this brought her closer to him.
"Hey," he said, and her head jerked back around, staring at him. "Your name?"
She just stared at him. Finally, Usaki cleared his throat. "Please?" he asked uncertainly.
Her wide brown eyes lifted to stare at him. He tried not to look. Igarashi snickered. Finally - finally! - she let go of Usaki's pants, if only with one hand. The dainty hand lifted and pulled the Pocky stick from her mouth. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again. Swallowing, she drew in a shaky breath and mumbled something.
Shota's brows furrowed. "Sweety, I can't hear you," he said gently.
She gulped. "A-Ama-Amaya," she stuttered, a little more loudly, then buried her face in Usaki's legs again. She went back to clutching his pants with both hands, getting some of the half-melted chocolate from the Pocky stick onto the dark fabric.
Shota grinned. "There! That wasn't so hard, right?" he asked jovially.
Little Amaya nodded, but didn't pull her face away from Usaki's legs. Igarashi grinned at the blond, who glowered almost hatefully back. Shota sighed at their antics and poked her shoulder gently. "Hey, Amaya-chan? This guy you're hanging on... His name's Usagi-"
"Usaki," the blond corrected immediately.
"Usagi," Shota said firmly, shooting him a look. "Anyway. He's a little uncomfortable with you holding him like that. How about you let go-" She immediately gulped and shook her head frantically. "Okay. Don't let go. How about you hold his hand? 'Cause we have to leave this room and go outside, but we can't with you holding him like that, okay?"
She peeked at him, and after a thoughtful moment, she nodded hesitantly. Usaki breathed a sigh of relief and held his hand out. She instantly latched onto it for dear life, almost jerking him downward. He made a face, forcing a laugh out of Igarashi, and Shota slowly got to his feet. "Okay, Amaya-chan. We're gonna go outside now. You're coming with us, right?" She nodded. "Okay." He looked at Usaki. "C'mon, Usagi," he said pointedly.
"U... sagi?" she murmured, staring up at the blond.
Usaki grimaced and then glowered at his captain, who grinned at him. "... Yes, Amaya-san. Usagi," he grumbled resignedly.
She nodded and lowered her face, staring shyly at the ground. Shota smiled gently and patted her head. "(4)Ikuso, ne?"
xXx
Seiju sighed as he leaned back against the van, a little annoyed. How could he slip up so badly? He didn't even pay attention to his surroundings, and because of that... a little girl saw him kill a man. His fingers curled into fists and he jumped when a hand grabbed his wrist. He blinked at the intelligence guy (what was his name again?). "Ah... Yes?"
The redhead smiled. "Yeah, we checked out that girl they're talking to in there. She's been missing for three months. Her mother kidnapped her and ran away with her during a bad divorce, but she turned up dead three weeks ago. Her killer was some serial killer on the loose at the time."
Seiju frowned. "And no one thought to look for the missing daughter?" he demanded angrily. "There is no excuse for that kind of negligence!"
The intelligence guy coughed. "I'm sorry, sir. It was the fifth brigade that caught the killer. We had nothing to do with it, so... ah, please don't get onto me about it."
Seiju sighed and shook his head. "You're right. I'm sorry." He frowned. That poor girl had been surviving on her own for at least three weeks. It was a miracle she was still alive.
The redhead patted his shoulder. "Sir, you couldn't have known she was in that closet," he said wisely, cutting right to the heart of the matter. With that, he excused himself and disappeared back into the van, just as Shota, Usaki and Igarashi came out, the little girl clinging to Usaki's hand like it was a life-line.
Seiju remained as still as possible while they approached. He didn't want to upset her more... A few feet away, she noticed him and froze, forcing Usaki to stop. Usaki blinked, looked at her, looked at him and shook his head. Awkwardly, he knelt beside her.
"Amaya-san," he said carefully. He jerked his head toward Seiju, who stiffened. "Does he scare you?" She nodded, trembling. "Why? He looks a little wimpy to me." Seiju frowned slightly, insulted. He did not look wimpy!
She blinked and looked at Usaki. "U... Usagi-kun?"
Usaki patted her head. "Look at him. Doesn't he look like a girl?"
Seiju scowled at Usaki, who ignored him, but the girl looked at the brunet thoughtfully. Then she nodded. Usaki snorted. "You think such a girly, wimpy-looking guy would hurt you? He's sensitive. In fact, I'm probably hurting his feelings by telling you this. He won't hurt you."
Understanding dawned on the vice-captain and he effected a properly insulted and pained expression. Shota covered his mouth and turned away, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Amaya looked at Seiju wide-eyed. "B... but... He..."
Usaki sighed. "He hurt that man, you mean?" She nodded. Usaki shrugged. "He was a very, very bad man. He hurt a lot of people, and made a lot of people very sad, Amaya-san. Vice captain Shikibu, him," he gestured in Seiju's direction, "Did that so he could keep him from ever hurting another person."
She looked at Seiju. "... like a super hero?" she asked hesitantly.
Shota started coughing in his effort to reign in his laughter. Seiju glowered at him. Usaki ignored them as he nodded. "Just like."
"... oh." Hesitantly, she took a step toward Seiju, clutching Usaki's arm as she obviously gathered her courage. She gulped. "Sh... Shiki... Shikibu?" Seiju nodded, holding his breath. She gulped again and reached out, grabbing his hand. Everyone was watching as she tugged and he obediently knelt. Boldly, she patted his head. "Usagi-kun didn't mean it, right?" she asked, looking at Usaki. She looked back when he didn't reply, smiling uncertainly at Seiju. "You're pretty. Pretty's good."
Shota could no longer control himself and burst out laughing, slapping his thighs as he nearly fell over with the booming, body-shaking mirth. Amaya's eyes widened and she looked at him, shocked. Seiju threw a rock at him. "Oi! Don't scare her!" he snapped, annoyed.
Shota grinned at them. "You're so pretty, Sei," he teased.
Seiju briefly debated killing the fool and then running away. He shook the thought away and stomped moodily into the van, Shota following behind, still laughing. Once they were gone, Amaya looked up at Usaki.
"Usagi-kun... what's so funny?"
He sighed. "Nothing. Don't worry."
xXx
1: Hogosha: guardian, protector, patron
2: Seiza: a way Japanese people often sit. The toes touch and you rest your bum on the insides of your feet.
3: Pocky: a chocolate-covered biscuit stick made in Japan. You can find them at Wal-Mart (hint hint) in the Asian food aisle
4: Ikuso: Let's go, time to go, etc.
For the record, Sei IS pretty. He's very pretty. And pretty is very good. I agree with Amaya. *biased*
