Author's Notes.
This is a bit of an Alternate Universe, mainly because of the borderline shounen-ai obsession I've inserted here. 'Texhnolyze' is an anime with plenty going on for it, with a beautiful 'end-of-the-world' background and interesting characters.
I've placed the vocabulary list at the end.
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"Silk Tie" isn't quite complete, but as I believe there are far too few Texhnolyze fics out there, it is going up. If you've any suggestions for this lowly writer, you're very welcome.
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Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of characters, settings, or any and all parts of this piece of fiction that bears any resemblance to the lovely anime, Texhnolyze.
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Silk Tie
by letmeupme
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..Toyama?
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Silken red cloth slid soundlessly to the ground, replaced by nimble fingers that were somewhat alien on his skin. He felt sorry for the tie. His texhnolyze allowed his perception to include all threats in his vision, and he could see the layers of filth on the floor with all their differing levels of toxins. Like, when you mix up enough weed with alcohol, give it a journey through a man's insides, you get something mildly poisonous enough to register on Toyama's texhnolyze.
Not that you could find many clean floors in Lux, but all the same, silk ties didn't belong on dirty floors.
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The clothes, including the red tie were a bit fine for Ichise. The crisp fabric was smooth and thick at the same time. He sometimes found himself wondering why a mere 'soldier' like himself was supposed to wear such. It wasn't as if the cloth was conducive for combat. Maybe not the suit, but his texhnolyzed arm could easily rip the clean white shirt with a bit of unexpected pressure.
Mr. Onishi had bought him the outfits on his initiation to the Organo, however, and so Ichise would wear them.
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"I have to make sure, Ichise. Are you really in for this?"
Ichise remembers thinking, how very much like Onishi-san it was, to give a guy a way out at that point in time. Nobody had warned him when he'd stepped foot into the world of professional fighting. He might have kept his limbs the way they were, all organic, if they had. Maybe something along the line of, telling him that not allowing the boss's mistress to have her merry way with him was a big no-no. He wouldn't have been dragged out to the middle of nowhere to get one arm and one leg sawed off. His limbs would still be texholyze-free, non-mechanical, and hence would still allow Ichise to continue fighting in a ring. He'd been living on his fists for as long as he could remember, he didn't know how to live otherwise. Quite a conundrum, Toyama would say.
Well, so he'd learned that most of the world moved on fluke and chance, and that you should think twice before accepting an easy job.
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Onishi-san and Doc entered Ichise's life after his ignominious decapitation.
Filled with rage and helplessness, he swore silently as passersby whispered and jeered. The pity in their eyes made him realize how far he'd fallen. What was a professional fighter that could no longer be allowed in the ring? He continued to limp forward, holding his swiftly decaying burden- his severed limbs –close to him. He knew it was a lost cause, but somebody, somewhere might have the resources to stitch him up, and might even believe him when he said he would pay.
When Onishi-san happened upon the one-armed and one-legged Ichise staggering with a roughly made crutch, Onishi-san had simply said to his men.
"Leave him be."
Onishi-san was a born leader of men, and it was visible then, even to Ichise who had never cared much for yakuza bosses before.
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Later on, he would recognize that moment as the time when he found a way out of his hell. He'd seen a greatness one man could achieve, not by weaponry, not by wealth.
Quiet and understated, Onishi-san could move people just by the sight of his strength. Ichise, too.
As he came to know the man himself, he found that he trusted Onishi-san, and that simply being with him, protecting him and carrying out his will gave Ichise a purpose in life.
He of course, understood the debt he owed the man.
But what held Ichise to try to pay more than that debt called for was the man himself, the person who effortlessly soared above the masses, and yet soldiered on to make the best out of a city like Lux. And while there was never much to smile about, Onishi-san was a boss who let a man live with his conscience.
"We'll have to buy you something that looks good on you."
Hence, the clothes.
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After watching Onishi-san's car disappear into the distance, he woke up in a cold, sterile room. He'd lost consciousness from the loss of blood, and he'd been picked up by somebody.
Scrabbling for his missing baggage of arm and leg, he would realize that he was scrabbling with two arms and two legs.
The newly set texhnolyze did not make for any real movement, and he panicked.
The two heavy deadweights sending unwanted, wildly flickering images in vivid shades of black and green to clash with his perception, he thrashed and he hurt, he struck anything within reach, until the person who'd picked him up gave him enough tranquilizer to knock out a horse.
The infuriating person turned out to be an equally infuriating character. A doctor from the Above with connetctions to the Organo, who dreamed of the heights humankind could reach through texhnolyze, she was arrogant, and sure knew how to push his buttons. He ran away from 'Doc' and her facilities at his first chance, not waiting to see whether his body would accept the new mechanical limbs. Ichise was sure the dislike was mutual, but Doc did put in a word for him with Onishi-san so that he wouldn't be harmed.
Doc insisted that she did so to ensure her 'experiment' wouldn't go to waste, but considering how messed up he was until the texhnolyze stabilized, Ichise doubted he would have survived long enough to enter the Organo without that head start.
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And while Ichise never learned to like the lady doctor, he did feel something akin to sympathy when her dream turned out to be a dud.
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Vocabulary:
Lux – A chaotic underground city, Lux, which is governed by yakuza and has an almost primitive feel for its violence and crime. Lux is also known for producing the weed that affects the immune system, allowing for the denizens of Lux to 'technolyze' their body.
Gabe / Ran - A rural village of Lux. It is said that the inhabitants descend from the historic leaders of Lux, and members of the Organo are seen seeking council in the anime. They protect their lifestyle with zeal, and they worship Ran, a young prophetess who sees the future. Gabe is different from the rest of Lux, in that it has a structured (non-chaotic) , albeit medieval environment.
Texhnolyze – The technology used to attach and incorporate artificial limbs to a human body. Its uses range from classic prosthesis to accessorizing oneself as one would with a tattoo. Considering that the city claims its many opposing mafia clans as its governing force, a metallic middle finger that can lengthen and sharpen at will would certainly come handy in everyday life. Texhnolyzed people are prohibited from professional fighting, and there is even a Luddite force called the Union that sees Texhnolyze as a threat to the mind and body.
Lafia – A flower of a type of liverwort that can only be grown in Lux. It disrupts the immune system, and is used in texhnolyzing.
Organo – A board of Mafia leaders that preside over Lux, including an Onishi and a Kohagura, under which Ichise and Toyama work, respectively.
Lacan - A quickly growing group of youngsters who contest to Organo's iron rule, they gather under a sole rule, freedom.
Class – A mysterious governing power from Above, which seems to have more monetary funds and clout than the Organo.
Above – As opposing to the underground city Lux, which is easy to enter from the Above, but is nearly impossible to leave. In the ending chapters of the anime, the Above, which is previously imaginable as a rich, affluent land with a population of upstanding citizens, is exposed as a clean, sterile land with a dying civilization and its ghosts. The Class, thought to be of the Above, are seemingly a different political entity, and are also dying out.
Shapes – Persons that have been Texhnolyzed from neck down, in accordance to a destructive political ideology introduced by a surviving member of the Class. The resulting robots are very uniform with clean lines, making for somewhat unsettling scenery.
Fraher – A perfectly fictional unit for measuring, even in the world of Texhnolyze
Saigo no – Japanese for "My last (piece of)-."
Sead – A glutinous, repulsive drink whose merits lie in its accessibility and alcohol content. Like Fraher, a word made for solely this story.