Mr. Hirugashi was a politician and a businessman. Contrary to popular belief, politicians and businessman do not do the same jobs. There were many ways in which you could contrast the two, but in the end, it all boiled down to one simple thing:
Politicians do everything right because they have to, and they care what people think.
Businessmen do everything right because they feel like it, and people care what they think.
Today however, his double lives had to merge for a while. Politics required that he be a businessman, and business required that he be a politician. As main advisor to 'The Emperor', as he had come to be known, a request had been put forth to him. A request, that needed him to return to the only place where he had ever been unsure, intimidated, terrified. But it would be worth it. The political and business rise would benefit greatly from just one moment of bravery from him.
It might have sounded simple enough, but Mr. Hirugashi was not a brave man. And he also failed to see, how any courage could hold up in the company he was about to present himself to.
"Mr. Hirugashi sir?" the voice of the driver startled Mr. Hirugashi out of his reverie.
"What?" he snapped, he disliked conversing with the help. They were ever so troublesome at times.
"We have arrived."
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It was a nice house. He could see it resting up on a cliff, overlooking what must have been a spectacular sea view. The grounds too, he was certain, would have been lovely in daylight, but with the dark pressing in all around him, the shadows seemed, too still, too somber. Too human. Torchlight flickered in the darkness, briefly illuminating the serene pools, tall swaying trees, wild flowers, and simple rock gardens, that all looked so innocent.
But the shadows never moved.
Mr. Hirugashi shivered despite the warm, humid air. Thunder rolled over head. A summer storm was on its way.
The house itself was white with no roof; instead, a whole patio lay at the top of the structure. It was very clever; grand, but hard to hide in. He would be safe if they held the conference on the roof. A nagging voice told him that if the person he was visiting became displeased with his company, it wouldn't matter if he hid or not.
He knocked at the double doors. The sound bounced around the garden.
The shadows flickered.
The door swung open, to reveal a young woman. Dressed entirely in white, she bowed to them. They bowed back. She didn't say anything for a whole minute. At first Mr. Hirugashi thought she was mute, but they she tucked her black hair behind her ear and said:
"You will be convening in the view room. Haname-Sama," she indicated another woman dressed in white. Where she had come from, and when she arrived was anybodies guess, "Haname-Sama, will show you the way."
Mr. Hirugashi stepped inside the house, but when his body-guard tried to follow, Haname threw out a hand, a lethally precise hand. It stopped just below the Adam's apple of the body-guard.
"The instructions we were given, clearly stated that we were to escort Mr. Hirugashi to the view room. Nobody else was specified. Your presence is unnecessary." Haname's words were cut off sharply and precisely at the end. As though she was unaccustomed to speaking. Perhaps she merely disliked it. Something deep in Mr. Hirugashi told him, that he did not want to find out if she was a woman who preferred actions over speech.
The body-guard glanced at Mr. Hirugashi. With a wave of his had, Mr. Hirugashi, stripped himself, of any chance he might have had to get out of this house alive should his business partner decide that he shouldn't.
The house was beautifully furnished. Contemporary Yamani styles mixed in with more modern Tortallan ones. Walking up a grand staircase, open ended, with no banister, Mr. Hirugashi saw what looked like training implements. The sort of thing you saw in the movies, with flying ninja's and Kung Fu protégés in training.
Odd.
The tricky, winding hallways were lit only as much as they needed to be to walk around. More shadows, he didn't like it. Finally he was presented to a door.
"We will leave you now," the two ladies intoned in almost supernatural unison, "we wish you well," and with that same frightening unity, they bowed, and walked –glided- Down the hallway.
Trying to gather his composure, Mr. Hirugashi reached to turn the handle of the door.
Click
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Stepping into the room, at first, Mr. Hirugashi saw nothing but blackness. Then slowly, his eyes began to adjust to the dark.
Thunder rolled over head, and a brief sheet of lightning flashed across the sky. Illuminating the shadowy figure that stood in the room.
Tall and slim in build, she had long brown hair that was tied into an elegant knot and pinned down with two long pointed hair sticks. A dainty nose, and full, soft lips, both a contrast to the strong way she stood. Long eyelashes, brushed the edge of her cheek like black butterflies; they opened to reveal hazel eyes, clear enough to be mistaken for golden ones, especially in lighting like this. Golden eyes…the eyes of a predator.
Keladry Mindelan was indeed, a very beautiful woman.
"Mr. Hirugashi," her voice was soft, a low musical tone, "so very pleased to meet you again. It has been a while since we assembled to discus anything, business or politics," a slow smile, revealing her white teeth against the gloom.
They turned, he bowed. She didn't. When he raised his head, she only smiled, and said, "A man of few words, Mr. Hirugashi? No matter, it is refreshing to do business with one such as yourself. Please, sit."
Mr. Hirugashi began to feel rather unsure of himself, "Politics, as well, um actually. And no thank you Madame, I prefer to stand."
"Sit. I insist." There was no change to her welcoming tone, only the faintest trace of a blade, stood out among the syllables.
He sat, in one of the high backed chairs, facing her across the table. He was rewarded with a pleased smile.
Keladry Mindelan took a few steps towards him, her hips swaying gently, almost hypnotically. He tried not to notice that, she didn't like it. It got her angry. And that, was something nobody wanted. Dressed rather informally, in a black skirt of a long, flowing material, and a billowing black top, Mr. Hirugashi thought she must have forgotten their appointment. She saw it in his eyes, and another smile, though this one didn't reach her eyes, graced her lips. No, she hadn't forgotten, she just simply didn't care.
"Wine?" she said, gesturing to a bottle of red at the corner of the table.
He looked at her uncertainly, but she wordlessly handed him the bottle. It was a new one, and hopefully unhampered with. When they were both comfortable again, with glasses in their hands, Mr. Hirugashi wondered if they would both just sit in the dark for their discussion. But at that moment, a new girl dressed in white came in, carrying a bundle of something that Mr. Hirugashi couldn't see. She bowed slightly to Mr. Hirugashi, and then swept a deep, long one to Ms. Keladry. It was the kind of bow, which could only be given voluntarily. It was one, of the deepest hounoring, and respect. It was a bow given to kings and queens, but not usually to women like the one in front of him.
"Ayumi, the fire if you will." In moments a fire burned in the grate, casting more shadows into the room. These ones were too human as well.
The girl stood, and then retreated from the room.
There was a moment of silence as Keladry sipped her wine. Mr. Hirugashi watched the blood red liquid moisten her lips. She fingered the glass for a moment, before turning those tiger eyes on him.
"I can only assume that you are not here to waste my time, do you have a business proposal or not?" Her voice was still light and airy, but something in her body shifted, though she hadn't moved an inch.
"One from The Emperor himself," Mr. Hirugashi said, with no small amount of pride. But his ego was promptly deflated when the tigress that sat across from him in human clothing, laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh.
"The Emperor?" more mocking laughter, "oh my, however will he expect to rule anything if his ego has allowed people to call him such things. He is no emperor!" But her laughing ceased. "Tell me, what is it that his Majesty requires?"
Ah, safe ground, this he knew. Clearing his throat, Mr. Hirugashi began, "Not much work will be required, it has all been arranged, time, place, everything, you just have to wait until you receive your instructions…" he trailed off.
"My, instructions?" Keladry said, her voice was decidedly dangerous now. "Tell me at least; who do you want me to kill?"
Oh dear, "Ah, Madame, um, we cannot- what I mean to say is-" her gaze never lost its intensity, "for security reasons we cannot tell you."
"Why?" the word was spoken, sharp and precise. When he had first entered, he had been dealing with political mind games, now it was clear cut, hard business. Mr. Hirugashi was uncertain which was more dangerous; nothing she did could be predicted, not this woman.
"Be- be- because you might endanger the- the cause." he stammered, scared.
She stood up, and he saw a tigress in all her magnificent glory. Eyes blazing with rage, hair glowing in the firelight. Mr. Hirugashi was sure he saw fangs.
Walking over to him, her face was blank, emotionless, but her eyes burned.
"Tell me!" she snarled
By no means a brave man, Mr. Hirugashi whimpered out, "Jo- Jo- Jonathan Contè!"
She paused, and then said, "The politician? The one currently ruling?"
"Y- Yes," stammered Mr. Hirugashi
She paused for a moment, and then said, "No."
Mr. Hirugashi's whole world froze, "No?" he spluttered, "What do you mean?"
"He is a good politician, nobody who works by his laws have any complaints. I won't do it. It isn't worth my time."
"Why should it matter to you?" Mr. Hirugashi cried, anger making him abandon his senses, "You're an assassin! You have a price! You must do! Why 'no'?"
"Because while a part of me is very much in favour of the politician Jonathan Contè, I do however, have a very large, very personal, problem with the man. I certainly wouldn't mind killing off Mr. Conte the man, I would infact, do it for free I would like it so much. And that is why I will not do it."
Her voice was calm, as though disagreeing to murder someone was an everyday occurrence. Perhaps it was.
"Madame! What do you mean?"
"I would enjoy killing him Mr. Hirugashi, and that would make it personal." she paused, taking another sip of her wine. "Assassinating someone you have never met or cared about merely makes it an assassination. Whoosh," her hand sliced through the air, "and their dead. Families and friends grieve, and then they move on. Killing someone because you really want to, or even need to, makes it personal, and if it's personal, it's a murder. And I, Mr. Hirugashi, am an assassin, not a murderer."
She turned abruptly, facing the sea again. The girl –Haname?– appeared so suddenly next to him, he almost shrieked.
"I trust that you have no further terms that you wish to disscuss, Haname will escort you down the stairs to your body guard. Don't worry, he is unharmed, my pupils have not even spoken to him."
Pupils? Well, it did explain a lot.
Even as Mr. Hirugashi left the room, he couldn't help but ask, "Who did you kill because it was personal?"
He never did hear the answer.
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The memories were consuming Keladry.
It had been just another day when she met him. His hazel eyes were so unlike hers, so bright, so alive. And he loved her, how could she not help but love someone who could love even a monster like her?
But then they heard, Jonathan the man had been rejected in his advances towards her a while before, and hearing that she loved him, jealousy eat at his heart.
The man he had hired, however, owed her a favour. He gave her one extra night, one extra night that her love shouldn't have had. He said that she could get him well away from Tortall by then. But deep in her heart she knew: He could run, but he couldn't hide. She would loose him; it was only a matter of what would be, very little time.
She visited him that night, and told him the truth about her feelings to him, adoring him evermore as his eye lit up in joy when she said she loved him. He kissed her, and she still remembered how wonderful it had been, the adrenalin, the lust, the passion, the love.
She spent the last night that they both had with him, loving him, letting him love her. And she never wanted it to end.
A few hours before dawn, she woke, and prepared a glass of water, for him. He woke with a start when he realised that she wasn't there.
"Shh, my heart," she had whispered, "I'm right here."
He asked her, why she had told him what she felt. He knew how she hoarded her emotions like gold.
"Because I didn't want to loose you."
A long kiss, her heart was breaking, a reminder of why she hadn't wanted one in the first place.
"Here, you look parched drink up." He obliged. "Now sleep my love, I'll stay with you."
She laid nest to him, running her fingers through his hair, silent tears coursing down her cheeks. Even when his breathing stopped, and his heartbeat ceased, she still held him close to her, telling him that, "I knew you were going to die, no matter what I did. I wanted you to die in my arms, with my heart in your hands, with what feeble love I could provide. I don't deserve you, I know, I know I don't. But I had to give you at least the illusion that I at least would be with you tomorrow, and for always. Please don't hate me, Please forgive me my love."
Her hands tightened around the glass in her hand, a surprisingly loud crash was heard, and the wine glass fell to the floor. But she saw neither the blood flowing with a sickening grace into the wine, nor the glittering shards of glass on the floor. She saw only his face, only his love, even at the end, she had known he would forgive her. But she still had to ask one more time, to make sure that he still loved her, even in death.
"Please forgive me Neal," she whispered to the night.
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The light of the glass had begun to fade along with the dying fire, and the wine and the blood couldn't be told apart now.
A/N: I was in a very melancholy mood when I wrote this. I knew style of writing, what do you think?
Please review.